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[bloatedandalone04]

Please make 1.4 of wrapped around your finger. IM HOOKED

part 1.4 is here !

[bloatedandalone04]

Wrapped Around Your Finger - Part 1.4

Series Masterlist | Original Fic

➪in which anakin feels completely isolated from you for the first time in five years, and he doesn’t know if he will ever be given the chance to fix his mistake.

PSA: strongly suggested to read the warnings before proceeding.

WC; 4k | Do not repost this anywhere, reblogs are fine ♡

Anakin gave his guitar to Theo as he sprinted off stage and towards the very dressing room he broke your heart in.

You never came back after walking away at the beginning of the show, and that had him completely on edge. He looked around the backstage area and when he couldn’t find you anywhere, he checked the dressing room. But you weren’t in there either. 

Maybe you went back to the bus? God, he hoped so. He just got you back, he couldn’t handle losing you again so soon, and for a completely different reason this time. 

His nerves were completely shot as he practically sprinted to the bus, the only thought on his mind being to get back to you and further explain things to you. If he needed to drop to his knees and beg for you, he was more than willing to do so, because you were it. His one and only, and you always would be. 

The show tonight was one of the longer ones, so in the two hours he was on stage you could have literally gone anywhere. His heart was in his throat as he pulled open the bus door and looked around, and he could feel it quicken its pace as he realized that you weren’t here either. 

Where the fuck did you go? You told him you’d be here after the show, yet he couldn’t find any trace of you. 

Actually, he couldn’t find any sign of you at all. Your bag was gone, your jacket was picked up from off the couch, and your laptop wasn’t on the table anymore. “No,” he rasped. “Fuck. No.”

His hands were shaking as he pulled his phone out of his pocket and called you, but he was sent straight to voicemail. 

You were ignoring him.

“Fuck,” he nearly yelled as he called you again, only to be met with the same result. “Fuck!”

After the third call he was forced to leave you a message, and he felt as pathetic as he sounded. “Baby, please. Please….call me back. I’m so sorry,” he rambled as he pulled at his sweaty hair. “We need to talk about this more, we have to work this out, I….fuck, Y/n, you said you’d be here after the show.”

He was crying now and was choking on his words as he said them, and he hoped you would be able to understand him, but he also hoped you couldn’t. He hated the fact that he was the one crying after he fucked things up, possibly beyond repair, when he really had no right to. 

“Please, just…tell me where you are and that you’re okay and safe, please,” he begged and dropped onto the couch. “I love you.” 

His phone fell to the floor after that and his hands came up to cover his face. 

He had no idea what to do. He was shaking and his eyes were sore as he couldn’t seem to stop the tears from leaving them.

What the fuck is he going to do? How is he going to fix this? 

He can’t lose you. He can’t, he wouldn’t be able to function without you. The thought of not having you around him after this was enough to send him into a panic attack, and he knew he needed to get a hold of himself, but he didn’t know how. 

You weren’t here, weren’t at the venue, and your stuff was gone. Where did you go? You wouldn’t have left without telling him, right? You wouldn’t have gone back to London and not tell him, right? 

He didn’t know anymore. 

His phone went off from its place on the floor, and he scrambled off the couch to grab it, and when he saw that it was you who texted him, he nearly cried of joy. But your message wasn’t what he wanted to read, and it left him feeling even worse.

Princess: I’m safe. I just need some time to think. Please, at least give me that. 

-

You slept on a chair in the airport last night, your duffle bag being your pillow and your jacket being your blanket. 

Your eyes were bloodshot and sore beyond words from all the crying you’ve done since Anakin told you that he cheated on you. Did that count as him cheating on you? Not exactly, but his lips touched someone else’s, so what did that make it? Accidentally cheating? You didn’t know and you were too upset to care about what to call it. 

After he went on stage and began the show, you couldn’t stand it anymore and left. You went back to the bus and was originally going to stay there and sleep on the couch, but the more you got into your head, the more you wanted to get the fuck out of there completely. 

Running away from your problems never helped anybody, but you were too stubborn to think rationally at this point. 

So you bought a ticket for the earliest flight back to London and grabbed your things before fleeing from the bus and sending him a text after listening to his voicemail. 

You felt bad about leaving like that, but you were so upset and hurt. Your heart felt like it had been physically ripped from your body and been left back with Anakin in Paris; the place you wanted to visit for so long now with the love of your life. And the two days you were there with him were amazing, and you were prepared for so much more, but every hope and dream you had for that city had been crushed and destroyed. You weren’t sure you ever wanted to go back, Eiffel Tower be damned. 

There were other towers you could see, right?

The whole flight back to London you wrote down the last few chapters for your short story in your notebook, needing the distraction to help keep you sane enough to be able to get back to your room in one piece. 

You looked like a mess once you got back onto campus, and you avoided everyone like the plague as you made a beeline towards your dorm and had a forty five minute shower. It helped a little bit, but you were still left feeling empty as you sat down on your bed with wet hair and opened up your laptop to type out what you wrote down on the plane. 

After you added some final touches, you printed it out and got changed into a pair of jeans and a grey shirt, leaving your hair still damp as you made your way to Kenneth’s classroom. 

It was empty when you entered it, and he looked up at you in surprise when you closed the door behind you and walked over to him. “Miss Y/l/n,” he greeted and closed the book he was reading. “I wasn’t expecting to see you again so soon. I thought you’d still be with that boyfriend of yours.”

The mention of Anakin had a sharp pain shoot straight through your heart, and you flinched slightly as you cleared your throat. “Yeah, something happened with that,” you whisper and he gives you a look of concern as he notices the way your eyes glaze over with tears. “I’m okay. Promise.”

He gives you a smile that nearly had you sobbing right then and there, because how the fuck did things get to this? How did you end up back in London, crying in front of your instructor with wet hair that dampened your shirt as the seconds went on? 

“Alright,” he said quietly and braced his elbows on his desk. “What’s going on?”

His voice was so comforting and caring, you allowed your walls to come down a bit as you held up the stack of papers in your hand and wiped your eyes with your other. “I wrote my short story,” you announce. “I didn’t get around to editing it, so it’s probably full of errors, but I just wanted to give it to you because..”

You stopped your sentence short, but Kenneth gave you a look that told you he knew exactly what you were saying. “Because you’re not coming back to class,” he finished for you. “Are you?”

He stated it instead of asking it, and you bite down on your bottom lip as you nodded. Glancing down at the papers in your hands, he gestures for you to give them to him, and you do so with a sad smile. “You don’t have to read it,” your voice broke as you felt yourself beginning to cry again. “I just wanted to show that I really did love every second of these classes. I know I can do so much more, but it’s just not a good time for me right now.”

Kenneth flipped through the pages and looked up at you. “I’ll read it,” he promised, his gaze the softest you had ever seen it, and you realized just how much you would miss being able to talk to him like this and not feel embarrassed about it. “You’re an amazing writer, Y/n. It was a privilege to have you in my class, and I hate to see you go so soon, but I also want you to start putting yourself first. You’re always worried about everyone else around you, don’t forget to take care of yourself, too. Whatever happened before this, don’t let it take over. Use it, if it helps.”

You nod and wipe at your eyes with both hands now, sniffling quietly as you look at the man you respect deeply. 

“You’re going to go on and do great things. You’re young, you’ve got your whole life ahead of you,” he lightened the mood by laughing and it made you laugh, too. “Just don’t forget to put yourself first. I remember when my teacher told me that, and it stuck with me for most of my life. I didn’t realize how much I needed to hear it until he said it.”

And you didn’t either. 

It was true, you put everyone above yourself and it often made you forget to take care of yourself. But not anymore. 

You were going back home, and you were dropping out of the program, but you weren’t quitting. You just needed to figure some things out and keep yourself grounded until you decided what was going to happen next. 

“Thank you,” you whisper. “For everything.”

Kenneth nodded and set your story down onto his desk. “Good luck, Y/n,” he said and it was the second time he used your first name since you walked in here, and it somehow made everything seem so much more real. You weren’t his student anymore. “I’ll reach out to you once I’ve finished reading this.”

“Okay,” you nod and turn around, giving the classroom one last look before heading towards the administrative office to officially drop out of the school. 

You cried more as you packed up your room, and then Bailey came in and let you cry onto her shoulder as she held you and told you to keep in touch. After that you met Evan’s eyes from across campus, and the three bags you were carrying told him all he needed to know. 

He brought you into his arms, too, and these were the people you were going to miss most about this chapter in your life. “Call me whenever you need to, okay? Or whenever you want to,” he begged and you nod against his chest. “Fuck, this sucks. I’m going to miss you.”

You laugh sadly, “I’m going to miss you, too,” then you step away and get a ride back to the airport, your heart feeling the heaviest its felt in all the twenty two years you’ve been alive. 

-

Anakin didn’t sleep at all, but that was no surprise. 

He got a good two nights of sleep with you while you were here, but now that you were gone, his sleep schedule was already back to being fucked. 

His whole body felt weak as he paced around backstage, holding his phone up to his ear as he called you for the first time today. He told himself that he’d give you some time, but fuck that. He missed you and needed to see where things were with you at the moment. 

“Hi,” you answered, making Anakin instantly stop pacing. 

“Hi,” he said back quickly. “How are you? Where are you?” He had no idea where you were since you only told him that you were safe, and he wasn’t one of those boyfriends that needed their girlfriends location on all the time. 

“In the car,” you answered and he felt his heart drop. “On the way to the airport.”

“The…airport?” He stuttered, his eyes burning as he let your words sink in. “You’re going back to London?”

“No,” you say quietly, and he could hear in your voice the way you were holding back tears. “I’m already in London. I’m going back home, Anakin.”

Anakin felt his whole body tense up, and it felt almost painful to move. So he stayed still as he tried to process your words. “You’re in London? How? When?”

“Last night. I bought a ticket and left. Maybe I shouldn’t have, but I just don’t know what to do anymore, Anakin,” you cried and the remaining pieces of his heart shattered to bits. “I dropped out of the writing program and now I’m on my way back home. I need to feel normal right now or I might just go crazy.”

“Baby,” he shakily said as he met Vinny’s eyes from across the room. His friend gave him a concerned look, but Anakin just turned around and headed for the dressing room. “Baby, please.”

“Please, what? I don’t know what you want me to say. I don’t know what to say,” you sobbed and he let the door close loudly behind him once he reached the dressing room. 

“Say that we’re going to be okay,” he begged, beginning to pace around the small room as he tugged at his hair. “Say that you and I will be fine, that we’ll talk this through and that we’re going to be okay.”

You were quiet for a few seconds, leaving him to listen to your uneven breathing. “You’re in Paris, Anakin,” he hated the way you hadn’t called him Ani even once since the start of this call. “I’ll be in LA tomorrow. Maybe this time away from each other will be good.”

“We’ve been away from each other,” he said as his heart twisted in agony. “I don’t want more time apart.”

“You’re on tour, Anakin-”

“I’ll come home,” he cut you off. “I’ll talk to Helena, we’ll stop the tour for a few weeks or something. Please.”

You sniff quietly. “The tour is too important,”

“You’re more important. We’re more important,” he thought maybe he was getting through to you, but then you destroyed that small ounce of hope with a single sentence. 

“I can’t do this,” you whispered. “I need time. Have fun on the rest of the tour, Anakin. I really mean that.”

Then you hung up before he could say another word, leaving him to call you back three times before you turned your phone off. 

“Fuck!” Anakin yells out and throws his phone onto the couch before sitting down next to it, his hands coming up to cover his face as he tries to hold back his tears. 

This was all his fault. He fucked things up between you beyond repair, and he was the one to blame. 

You flew back to London, for fucks sake, and the whole time he thought you were still here. And now you’re going back to LA, back to the apartment you and he shared, and possibly packing up there as well. 

What was he supposed to do? He needed to be on stage in less than twenty minutes, and he was on the verge of a panic attack. 

Anakin looked around the room wildly, as if anything he would help him even a little bit. His eyes landed on the various alcohol bottles placed on a table in the corner, and he knew he shouldn’t. The last time he drank was at the club with Liz, then she kissed him and he threw up twice and swore he’d never drink again.

But it was different this time. 

He needed to feel nothing right now, to get him through the show, then he’d figure out how to fix things. 

Without giving it a second thought, Anakin grabbed the first bottle he could reach and spent the next ten minutes drinking it. He set the now empty bottle down and left his phone on the couch, swinging the door open and stumbling his way backstage. 

The first person he saw was Liz. Of course it was Liz. 

Anakin’s eyes glazed over and he made it to her in less than four strides. She turned to face him with that fucking smirk of hers, and he narrowed his eyes on the bruise that had formed on the bridge of her nose, and for a split second he was proud that his girlfriend did that to her, then he remembered that you might not be his girlfriend anymore. “There you are,” she cooed. “We were starting to get worried.”

“Shut up,” he muttered, getting into her personal space. This was another situation where he could use his size to his advantage, even if he hated to do it, but he didn’t care right now. “This is all your fault. Y/n left because of what you did, because of what we did. Are you happy? Are you fucking proud of yourself?”

Vinny, who was standing nearby quickly made his way over, as did Helena, who had been talking with Theo a few feet away. “Anakin,” Vinny murmured, pulling on his arm. “Hey, don’t do this, man. She’s not worth it.”

Helena guided Liz away and towards the side of the stage, and Anakin could see how angry his manager was as she talked to the photographer. 

Anakin turned to Vinny, his eyes burning and his head spinning. “She left,” he rasped. “She left, Vin. Y/n left to go back home.”

Vinny stepped back in surprise but kept his hand on Anakin’s arm. “Back home? Like, back to London?”

“No, back to LA. She already went back to London and dropped out of the program and now she’s going back home,” he nearly cried. “She’s going to leave me, Vinny. I lost her.”

The drummer looked alarmed, and he pulled Anakin into his arms within seconds. “It’s okay,” he tried to comfort him, but they both knew it would never work. “It’s okay.”

Anakin felt pathetic. This is the second time Vinny had to comfort him in less than two weeks, and while he knew Vinny would never mind doing so, Anakin still felt terrible. It shouldn’t be this way. He should be better than this. 

“We’ll talk after the show,” Vinny promised, pulling away and reaching up to smooth out Anakin’s hair. “You and I will figure everything out, okay? It’s going to be okay.”

Anakin felt like a shell of himself as he nodded and allowed Vinny to lead him out onto stage, his mind a mess of thoughts and doubts and worries, and all of them were about you. 

The lights were blinding and Anakin’s vision blurred from the flashes. His head was pounding and his throat was dry as he tried to get out the last song of the night as quickly as he could, but he felt sick. The bourbon he had downed earlier didn’t help, either. 

He felt bile rise up his throat but he held it back and tore his eyes away from the crowd so he could look over at Theo. The bass player gave him a concerned look as he began to sing the song as well, no doubt sensing something was wrong and deciding to help the poor guy out.

Anakin was thankful for that as he didn’t have to raise his voice anymore since Theo is singing alongside him now, so his throat was given somewhat of a break. While his friend didn’t have a strong enough voice to be the lead singer, Theo still had a pretty good singing voice, and Anakin knew he should probably start having him sing in more songs in the future.

He felt his heartbeat quicken as even more sweat began to settle on his skin. The flannel he had adorned at the start of the show had long since been tossed aside and had left him in just his graphic tee, but he was still so fucking hot, and the lights weren’t helping at all. 

He made the mistake of looking over to his right, where he saw Liz and Helena standing backstage. While his manager had a frown on her lips, Liz had a lustful look in her eyes, and somehow that made Anakin feel even more sick. 

His fingers fumbled on the strings as he messed up the tempo of the song, which is something he had never done while he was out on stage before. Embarrassment floods through him and he quickly falls back into the right rhythm with Vinny and Theo backing him up as best as they could. 

All these cameras on him were not helping, even though he was used to being filmed at this point. He felt like was three seconds away from having a full on panic attack, and he would probably die of humiliation if he woke up tomorrow morning to see thousands of videos online of him breaking down on stage. 

The headline ‘Anakin Skywalker Has Epic Meltdown During Last Song Of Show’ was one he refused to read the following day. Fuck, he hated those stupid tabloids. They were written by money hungry, self-obsessed assholes who wouldn’t know what privacy is if it slapped them in the face. 

You hated them, too, and your distaste for them was more than valid. 

He missed you. God, did he ever. 

Anakin wasn’t used to missing you. He never needed to. Ever since his third year of high school he’s had you by his side. You were never more than a few feet away from him back then, and even now you were always usually backstage and quietly cheering him on. You should be where Liz is currently standing now. 

Or maybe he should be with you. 

Since the second you became his girlfriend you were always his top priority.

He hated that he had somehow managed to forget that fact the minute a pretty girl started paying more attention to him than you were. Could you be blamed? You were thousands of miles away and chasing your own dream while he was living out his. You couldn’t give him every second of your time like he was used to receiving, and he really fucking hated how he had actually managed to turn into one of those pricks who forgets about how good he has it as soon as things don’t end up going his way. 

Anakin wanted to stop singing the song and call out to you, but you weren’t in the crowd. You weren’t backstage. You weren’t here. You weren’t with him. You wouldn’t answer him, because you’re so fucking far away while he is here acting like everything is just fine. All he wanted to do was to run off stage, find you, and wrap you up in his arms, but he wasn’t sure if he had that right anymore.

He’s insecure and has never been away from you for this long. It was like he didn’t know how to properly function without you by his side. 

All the excuses in the world would never make up for just how poorly he’s treated you and for how little effort he’s been putting into your relationship. 

He didn’t blame you for wanting to end it.

But he needed you. He had just gotten you back, just gotten that sense of normalcy back, but you were gone again. 

Possibly for good this time, and he only had himself to blame.

-

One more part after this x

[bloatedandalone04]

Bets & Bargains - Part 5

Series Masterlist

➪in which bradley finds something out about you that has him barely in control of himself, and he decides he needs to test something out before going forward with you.

PSA: strongly suggested to read the warnings before proceeding.

WC; 4k | Do not repost this anywhere, reblogs are fine ♡

You were still reeling from the kiss you had with Bradley, even well into the next day.

Kissing his cheek was one thing, but feeling his lips against yours was something else entirely. You wanted more. 

You didn’t get the chance to see him after class yesterday since your schedules were so different, but you didn’t mind since you two had been texting nonstop. 

The texts you shared with Bradley were a nice refresher to the last few messages you shared with Luke, especially that last one he sent you that you didn’t even bother replying to. If he thought that the four years you were together were a waste of his time, then you wouldn’t give him another minute of yours by texting him back. 

Your phone went off as you were walking to the gym that was a few blocks away from the campus, and you sipped on your coffee as you read Bradley’s latest text. 

Fratley: It’s been over twenty four hours since I last saw you. Can we do something today? Pretty please?

You laugh and text him back with one hand as you reach the gym and use your key card to unlock the door to the room you rented for an hour. 

I can’t right now, I’m teaching a yoga class in a few minutes. After?

Bradley read your text but instead of replying to it, he called you. “Why am I just now finding out that you teach a yoga class?” He asked as soon as you accepted the call. 

You laugh and set your bag and mat down onto the floor. “Hello to you, too,”

“Hi. Why am I just now finding out that you teach a yoga class?” He repeats his question, making you laugh loudly as you sit down next to your bag. 

“I don’t know,” you answer and look at your reflection in the mirror that was along the wall across the room. “It never came up, I guess.”

“Fuck,” he cursed and you laugh again, stretching your legs out in front of you and beginning your warmup while on the phone with him. “I should’ve asked you more about yourself. I had no idea you taught a yoga class. That’s so hot.”

Rolling your eyes, you put your phone on speaker and set it down on the floor next to you before reaching forward with both arms and stretching out your back. “It’s really not,” you brush off his words. “It just keeps me busy when I’m not in class. I only do it once a week, though.” 

Bradley mutters something you can’t quite hear before he sighs. “You’re teasing me, aren’t you?” He asks and you snort as you sit back up straight. “First you kiss me, and now you’re telling me you do yoga.”

“You liked that, huh?” You murmur and lean off to the side, opening up your ribcage to get it ready for the positions you would be doing once everyone got here. 

“Liked it? Are you seriously asking me that right now?” He asked in disbelief. “You should let me come to this class.”

“No,” you immediately answer, sitting up again and picking up your phone. “Not a chance.”

“See, I knew you were teasing me,” he muttered. “Please? I’ll be good, promise.”

You scoff. “You’d just be a distraction,” you say. “I can’t focus on anyone else when there’s a stupidly hot guy in the room.”

You could practically hear the smirk in his voice as he said, “So I distract you, too,” then he added, “That’s what you get for kissing me then bailing right after.”

“I did not bail,” you defend yourself with a stupid smile on your face. “I had class to get ready for, and I’m pretty sure you did, too.”

“Alright, alright, fair enough,” he murmured and you gave up on your warmup, instead you sat against the wall with your knees against your chest. “Still can’t believe you’re blowing me off to teach yoga. I’d be mad if I didn’t find it so hot.”

“I’m not blowing you off, I said we could hang out after,” you remind him just as the first few people came through the door. “Speaking of; I gotta go.”

Bradley hummed, “Okay. Can I pick you up after? We can get pizza or something,”

You hadn’t actually eaten much today since you would be wearing tight fitting clothing and didn’t want to look bloated, so pizza actually sounded really good right now. “You know the way to my heart,” you tease and he laughs that deep laugh that had you pressing your thighs together. “Sounds perfect.”

“Great, you should send me the address now so I can be prepared, you know?” He trailed off and you rolled your eyes again. 

“You’re not watching me do yoga,” 

“Fine,” he huffed, making you grin. “I’ll see you later, babes.”

There was that name again. You thought he called you it by accident yesterday, but here he is saying it again and making you feel all flustered right before you were about to teach a class. “Okay,” you agreed in a whisper, hanging up after before you could say anything embarrassing.

-

Bradley couldn’t believe how turned on he got when you told him that you taught a yoga class every week.

It was yoga, for fucks sake, why did he find the image of you doing it so attractive? Then he remembered that he’s found literally everything you’ve done since he met you attractive, then it started to make sense. 

An hour or so passed since his call with you, and then you sent him the location of a gym that was a fair distance from campus. He had a feeling you walked there, and were probably planning on walking back if he didn’t offer to go get you, even though it was nearing seven thirty at night and it was getting darker by the second. 

He wasn’t very fond of the idea of you walking around all the time by yourself, even if the areas surrounding the campus were relatively safe. He knew he shouldn’t be this protective over you so soon, but he couldn’t help it. His mom raised him right in that sense.

Bradley stopped for pizza on the way to pick you up, and he made sure the seat warmer was on since he knew you liked being scorching hot while in the car for some reason. 

He was waiting for only a couple minutes before you exited the gym, and you looked insanely sexy for someone who just finished teaching a class. Your black leggings and tight tank top was really doing something to him, and Bradley had to quickly adjust himself in his jeans just as you opened the car door and got in. “Hi,” you greet and drop your bag onto the floor. 

“Hey,” he managed to say back before gesturing to the pizza on the backseat. “I didn’t know what you liked, so I got pepperoni to be safe.”

“That’s fine, thank you,” you smile and put on your seatbelt as he starts driving again. “Sorry, I look kinda bad right now. If I had known we were hanging out after, I would’ve brought a change of clothes.”

Bradley wanted to laugh, then he realized you were being serious. “You don’t look bad,” he scoffed and turned onto the street that leads out of town and back to campus. “You look as hot as I thought you would. Maybe even more.”

“You’re full of it,” you repeat what you told him the last time you were in his living room, and it once again had him laughing quietly to himself. “You remembered to put the seat warmer on.”

He glanced over at you with a raised brow. “Yeah, you’re the only person I know that puts that shit on when it’s still summer,” 

You laugh, covering your mouth as you did so and he couldn’t stop himself from calling you out on it this time. 

“Why do you do that?”

You look over at him with confusion on your face, “Do what?”

“You cover your mouth when you laugh,” he said, then lightened the mood by adding, “You don’t have anything in your teeth, I promise.”

“Oh, my God,” you cover your whole face this time as you groan, and he cackles. “Thanks for that, I know. I don’t know why I cover my mouth, I guess I just don’t like the way I look when I laugh. That’s all.”

That was by far the craziest thing Bradley has heard all day. He saw you laugh at the party, and even though he was drunk, he still remembered how pretty he thought you were, and it only intensified when he made you laugh the other night at Five Guys. You were carefree that night, but now you were restricting yourself around him, and he didn’t like it. It felt like you were going backwards, and he was more than prepared to go forward with you. 

“I think you look pretty when you laugh,” he said and thought it would make things feel like a cheesy moment in those romcoms he forced himself to watch with Bri, but it didn’t. It felt normal. “You don’t have to pretend with me, you know. I like how natural it’s been between us since we met.”

You lean back in your seat and look over at him in a way that makes him want to pull over and kiss you again. “I like it, too,” you confess quietly.

The rest of the car ride passed by quickly and comfortably, and soon enough Bradley had you sitting on his lap at the small table in the kitchen he barely used. He kicked out the chair next to his for you to sit on, but you surprised him by draping your legs over his and pressing your side against his front. 

He wasn’t complaining a single bit as he casually wrapped his arm around your middle while you both ate. “So, do I get to have a private one on one now that there’s no one here for me to distract you from?” 

You blushed and shook your head as you bit into the crust. “Absolutely not,” 

Bradley whined. He actually whined as he said, “You keep teasing me,”

“I’m not,” you laughed, but this time you didn’t cover your mouth, and that had his pout softening until he was smiling up at you. He thought the whole yoga topic was done after that, then you shifted on his lap and offered him something that made his hold around your waist tighten just a bit. “Ask me that question again at some point and my answer might change.”

You stayed over for another hour after that, and then you rejected his offer to drive you back to your place as you said you wanted to ‘work off the three pieces of pizza’ you ate. 

Bradley already missed having you in his space as he cleaned up the kitchen and put away the leftover pizza, and when his phone went off with a new text, he shamelessly hoped it was you. 

It wasn’t.

Bri ❤️❤️: Hi, Brad. I was thinking about you all day. I know it’s kinda late, but can I come over? 

Had she sent him this text before he started getting to know you, he would’ve been all for her coming over right now. But as he read her text over and over again, he didn’t really feel anything. Maybe he was thinking about you too much right now to be able to take in her request fully, and he honestly hoped that wasn’t the case.

You were so different from Bri. You were sweet, funny, nice, and everything she wasn’t in all the months he was with her. 

Still, he found himself wanting to test something out. He wanted to make sure of some things before he continued hanging out with you.

Sure, I’ll leave the door unlocked. 

He sent the text before he could talk himself out of it, then went upstairs and waited for Bri to arrive. He was flipping through the lecture notes he took today when she knocked on his bedroom door and invited herself in. “Hey,” she said, dragging the word out as she closed the door behind her. 

“Hi,” he said back, finding himself not feeling the way he usually did every time he was alone in his room with her. 

“It’s been a while since I was in here,” she commented as she dropped her bag onto his floor, making herself at home as she began to inspect his room. 

If you consider less than a week a while, he wanted to say, but held off on it. “Yeah, I guess,”

She smirked over at him as she trailed her finger along his desk before lifting her gaze up to the bulletin board that was hung up on the wall above it. “Ooh, the Botanical Gardens?” She asked as she pulled the ticket from the board and held it in her hands. “We should go there. It’d be so pretty this time of year. And I hear it got recently renovated.”

It did. He got to see it firsthand with you. And it was pretty. But Bri wouldn’t get to see it with him. He went to the gardens with you on what he considered a date now that you and he were getting closer, and he refused to let Bri taint his prior experience there. He didn’t want to go there with her, not when he had already gone with you and ended up having a really nice time. 

Bradley stayed silent, making Bri look back at him as she set the ticket you bought him down on the desk instead of putting it back on the board. “Not feeling talkative tonight?” She cooed, reaching up to slide off her jacket. It dropped to the floor as she made her way over to his bed, where he was still laying on his side and watching her every move. “That’s okay. I can think of a few ways to get you in the mood.

When she pressed one of her knees onto the mattress and traced her fingers along his thigh, he tensed up. “Bri,” he said in a warning tone, but she must’ve thought that was an invitation to continue. 

“I know, I know. I’m really sorry about the way things ended between us,” she murmured, biting down on her lip as she moved so she was on her knees next to him. “I miss you, Brad. I shouldn’t have broken up with you.”

This was it. This is what he wanted to hear her say ever since she walked out of this very room the morning of the day he threw that party. The party he met you at. He wanted this, but not anymore. 

It was clear to him now, and by the way his body reacted negatively to her instead of him getting turned on by her advances, that she wasn’t what he wanted anymore. Maybe she never was. 

Maybe it was all just a filler until he met the person he did want. And he was pretty sure he��d already met that person. It was you. 

“Bri,” he tried again, but she ignored him.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered, leaning in to brush her lips against the side of his neck. He pulled away from her touch, but she followed after him with a laugh. “We were good together, weren’t we, Brad? I know you miss me as much as I miss you. Come on, quit teasing.”

He already knew that he wasn’t physically attracted to her anymore, he didn’t need to let this continue on any further. He felt guilty, even though you and he weren’t even together. He wanted this to be you. He wanted you. 

When she reached for the zipper of his jeans, his hand shot out and wrapped around her wrist, halting her actions instantly and making her jump slightly in surprise. “Briana,” he muttered and her eyes widened at the seriousness in his voice. 

She looked so dejected, he almost felt bad that she clearly wasn’t going to get what she came here for, which was his body. She made sure he knew that his body is all he’s good for when she broke things off with him, and it was obvious that’s what she was wanting to get out of this little reunion. 

Still, he didn’t want to completely offend her or make her feel bad. “I have an early class tomorrow. You should go,”

But then her gaze turned cold. “Oh, my God,” she gasped, pulling her hand out of his grasp. “You like that girl you were talking to at the party, don’t you?” So she did see him talking to you, but still went home with Jensen anyway.

Bradley stayed silent again as she didn’t need to know about his relationship with you. No one did. What he had with you, that obvious connection you shared, he wanted to keep that just between you and him. 

She let out a humorless laugh. “You really moved on that quick?” She scoffed and he narrowed his eyes. 

“You moved on the day we broke up,” he pointed out and she rolled her eyes. 

“That’s different,” she muttered and he pushed away his notes and sat up.

“How? How is that different?” He asked and she huffed, standing up and grabbing her jacket from where she dropped it by his bed.  

“It just is,” she answered, throwing her jacket on and glaring at him. “I can’t believe you. What, you meet one girl who actually gives you attention for more than five minutes and you suddenly forget about me?” 

Bradley opened his mouth to defend both you and himself, fed up with the way she talked to him at this point and now about you, but she went on,

“You’re pathetic, Bradshaw,” she laughed again and grabbed her bag. “Thanks so much for wasting my time tonight.”

She opened the door and slammed it behind her, and he could hear her loud footsteps as she went downstairs and left the house, slamming the front door behind her as well. 

Bradley scoffed and ran a hand through his hair, kind of pissed off at the way that whole thing went, but he also didn’t let himself get too heated. She really wasn’t worth it anymore. 

He was getting better at calming himself down before he got too mad, but he was still feeling irritated because of Bri, even after he had a shower and got ready for bed. 

He wanted to call you, wanted to talk to you and let himself get lost in your kind and sweet voice. 

Fuck it.

He grabbed his phone and pressed on your contact, holding it to his ear for a few seconds as it began to ring.

Wait. No.

He didn’t want to bother you with this. You had a good day today, and he didn’t want to ruin it by calling you when he wasn’t fully calmed down yet. 

Bradley quickly ended the call and threw his phone onto his bed before falling down onto his pillow and groaning. He was only a few seconds into his pity party when his phone went off, and when he grabbed it, he saw that it was you calling him back.

“Fuck,” he muttered, rolling onto his back as he accepted your call. “Hey.”

“Hi,” you say and he could hear the small amount of panic in your voice. “Is everything okay?”

“Yeah,” he answered, draping his arm over his face as he sighed. “Why?”

“You called me then hung up,” you laugh nervously, “I got worried.”

Bradley felt himself beginning to smile, and he somehow knew you would be able to make him feel better. “I’m sorry,” he mumbled, dropping his arm back down to his side. “Something happened and it made me….never mind. I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay,” you say quietly, then it was like you read his mind as you asked, “Do you want to talk for a bit?”

Bradley leaned back on the pillow and let himself picture the way you looked at him when he said that he thought you were pretty when you laughed. The smile you gave him in the Jeep was so pretty, he was getting flustered just thinking about it. “Yeah,” he answered just as quietly. “Can we?”

He heard you shuffling on your end of the call, and he wondered if you were in a similar position he was in. “Of course,” you say. “What do you want to talk about?”

He thought about it for a few seconds before asking the first question that popped into his head. “What’s your favorite color?”

You laugh in response, and the sound has Bradley’s mood lifting considerably. “Mint,” you reply. “What’s yours?”

“Blue and red,” he rasped, “What’s your favorite animal?”

“Mmm, a fox,”

“Book?”

“The Catcher in the Rye,” 

“Do you like coffee?” He asked and added before you could answer, “This one is very important.”

You laugh again, “Oh, is it? Yes, I do, sometimes,” 

Bradley falls silent for a few seconds after that, feeling himself get lost in the way you sounded so sweet and genuine right now. 

“Did I answer it right?” You asked him and he turned onto his side, sliding the hand that wasn’t holding his phone under the pillow. 

“How do you like your coffee?” He asked instead of answering your question, and you didn’t seem to care very much as he was met with your laugh again. 

“I like french vanilla. It’s actually the only way I can drink coffee,” 

Perfect. You were perfect. You sounded perfect. 

He felt like he didn’t deserve to be talking to you like this or even to be talking to you in general. Bradley has always messed with things that didn’t need to be messed with and almost always ended up ruining it, and he really didn’t want to do that with you. 

But he didn’t want to end the call so soon. “What’s your favorite movie?”

“That’s a tough one,” you mumbled and he could hear you holding back a yawn. 

“I’m boring you, aren’t I?” He teased and you huff out a laugh.

“No, not at all. I’m just in bed right now and I guess my head automatically thinks I’m supposed to be sleeping,” you say in a quiet voice. “Um, my favorite movie…oh, I Know What You Did Last Summer.”

Bradley laughed at that. “A 90s slasher? Why am I not surprised?” 

“Hey, you asked,” 

You and he ended up talking for a while after that until you eventually had to go to sleep. He ended the call before getting up and putting the ticket from the gardens back on the board, looking at it for a few seconds afterwards. 

By the time he plugged his phone in and got under his covers, Bradley realized that he was no longer mad or annoyed about what happened with Bri, and that you had successfully calmed him down with just your voice. 

He hadn’t felt this way about anyone in his entire life, and not once did he ever feel like this about Bri. He knew he needed to tell Wes and Eli that he was done with Bri and that although he was hanging out with you, it wasn’t because he made a bet on you. 

He assumed they would be checking in on how things were going with the bet soon, and even though he had that brief conversation with Eli the other day about you, he knew it wasn’t enough to have him believing that Bradley’s intentions with you were pure. 

And maybe they weren’t in the beginning, maybe he went to those gardens with you after Bri broke up with him just to spite her, but it wasn’t like that now. He knew that, he just had to make the guys believe it, too.

[bloatedandalone04]

i just read bets and bargains and it is so amazing i really love it so far and cannot wait for the next chapter

yay ! this makes me so happy, thank you ! part 5 is already in the works 🫶

[bloatedandalone04]

Idk if you’ve listened to Ariana Grande’s new album but ‘Ordinary Things’ makes me think of your rockstar!Anakin au every time I listen to it 😩💕

I have not listened to it, but this made me really happy!! 🫶🩷

[bloatedandalone04]

Bets & Bargains - Part 4

Series Masterlist

➪in which you and bradley hang out for a third time and are both left questioning whether or not a friendship could form between the two of you, or something else entirely.

PSA: strongly suggested to read the warnings before proceeding.

WC; 3.7k | Do not repost this anywhere, reblogs are fine ♡

Bradley was still thinking about the quick kiss you pressed to his cheek last night, even a whopping sixteen hours later.

Your lips felt soft and unfamiliar, but he found himself wanting to feel them again. And again. 

You had only given him a small, friendly peck, but it was enough to have him driving back to the frat house with a semi that only got worse the longer he let himself think about you. 

It was quite ridiculous, the effect you have on him. He felt like a teenager again, getting hard from just a kiss on the fucking cheek. 

Still, you were his friend - at least he and you were on the way to being friends - and he didn’t want to let himself think about you like that.

He ended up taking a cold shower then going to bed, but to his surprise, he was still thinking about you when he woke up seven hours later. Why couldn’t he stop thinking about you? He was supposed to be bettering himself so he could get Bri back, but he was barely thinking about her lately. 

Bradley grabbed his phone and sat up as he clicked onto his messages, and he saw that Bri hadn’t gotten back to him after he finally texted her a response yesterday. 

Typical. 

He wished he hadn’t texted her back, because now he had taken the bait she left out and looks like the one who can’t move on, when she so clearly had. 

Instead of getting annoyed at her, though, he let his thoughts shift back to you, and he was clicking on your contact before he even realized it.

Would it be too weird to tell you that I thought about you all night? 

Morning, by the way. 

He figured he had nothing to lose, and if you were weirded out by what he said, then it was a good thing you and he had only hung out twice, so he wouldn’t be giving up too much. 

But he should know by now that you two fit each other concerningly well, and how you weren’t one to be scared away by his forwardness. 

Y/n: No way, I thought about you, too. 

Y/n: Morning, btw.

Bradley felt a dumb grin form on his lips as he checked the time, seeing that it was nearing ten in the morning. He got up and lazily threw his sheets over his bed in a half-assed effort of making it, using his free hand to text you back. 

So we’re both thinking about each other. Any suggestions on where to go from here?

He dressed himself in dark jeans and a flannel before throwing his backpack over his shoulder and making his way across campus to his class, and when he found an empty seat and sat down, the text he received from you left him smiling for the most part of the two hour class. 

Y/n: Round three?

-

Bradley suggested a movie night at his place since his roommates won’t be home, and you were a bit nervous to go back there since you would be completely alone with him this time and not wedged between him and a wall like you were at the party. 

You were also excited, because hanging out with him had been the most fun you’ve had since attending university, and you were in your second year now. 

He didn’t need to know that, though.

You tuned out for most of your classes, and when you changed into a pair of sweats and a cropped tee, your phone went off. Thinking it was Bradley, you pick it up with a smile that immediately drops when you read the caller ID.

Luke.

Of course it was him. 

Even though you were actively ignoring him, he still wasn’t getting the hint that the relationship was over. You knew you needed to send him a final text and set things straight, because you were ready to move on, and he was making it harder than it should be. 

Please stop texting me. We’re done, Luke. I will always be grateful for you and our time together, but it’s time we both move on. I wish you the best. 

That sounded nice, right? You hoped so, anyway. You didn’t want to hurt Luke; you simply wanted him to get the message and stop contacting you until you were both over each other. Maybe you could be friends later down the road, but that was a hard maybe. You were never friends with Luke, you went from strangers pretty much right to dating. 

You wanted to take your time with your next relationship, whether that was with Bradley or not. Though, you couldn’t be blamed for hoping that he is your next.

With no further communication with Luke, you pocket your phone and start the walk across the reasonably big campus and towards Bradley’s frat house, and you smirk at the reminder of why you set his contact name as Fratley. 

You reach the front steps and knock on the door, second guessing your choice of outfit and wondering if it was too casual, but what else were you supposed to wear for a movie night? Comfy casual? Or uncomfortable non-casual? 

When Bradley opened the door in a similar outfit, you felt better about yours, and the not so subtle way he looked you up and down definitely had your worries disappearing and your face heating up. “Hi,” 

“Hi,” he said back and opened the door a bit further. “Took you long enough, I’ve been cleaning for the last hour and a half.”

You cover your mouth with a quiet laugh and step into the house. “You mean this place doesn’t look like the aftermath of a party all the time?”

Bradley playfully scoffed. “Do you think I enjoy living in that filth? I hibernate in my room half the time to avoid seeing what new mess the guys made,”

You laugh again and follow him into the living room. It looked a lot bigger than the last time you saw it, without all the people, and it was actually quite nice. “Well, I’m not sure how long you spent cleaning in here, but…” You turn to smirk at him, finding him already looking at you. “Good job.”

He holds his arms out and leans down in a bow. “Thank you,” he returned your smirk. “Did it all for you. I wasn’t kidding when I said I was thinking about you.”

You blush and look away before he could see the effect his words have on you. “It’s nice to see this place not crowded,” you change the subject and move to sit on the couch. “I can’t believe we met at a party here.”

Bradley stays where he is, the smirk still painted on his lips as he crosses his arms. “Yeah, well, if I had known this was going to happen, I would have agreed to that party a lot sooner,”

You playfully roll your eyes. “You’re full of it,”

He laughs and gestures to the doorway that leads to the kitchen. “You pick the movie and I’ll grab the snacks. Are you feeling like soda or something stronger?”

You debate it for a few seconds and come to the conclusion that you don’t want to be drunk this time around, but one drink wouldn’t hurt. “How about one beer and one soda?” You suggest and he nods with a thumbs up before disappearing into the kitchen. 

Your face was still a bit hot as you sat by yourself, and you knew you needed to get a grip. Bradley was just another guy; a cute, funny and confident guy. 

Yeah, you were fucked. 

Bradley still hadn’t come back when your phone went off, and when you saw that it was Sam calling you, you declined it and opened your text thread with her to let her know that you were busy at the moment. Then she beat you to it.

Sammy: YOU BROKE UP WITH LUKE????

Your heart dropped a bit, though you’re not sure why. You didn’t just break up with Luke, the break up happened months ago, and Sam knows this. 

Sammy: Y/n what the fuck

Sammy: You guys were supposed to work it out.

You scoff and type out a response, and you were a bit annoyed that Luke went running to his sister and your fucking roommate instead of moving on and letting things go like an adult would. 

We broke up months ago, Sam. That’s not new news. I’m busy right now, so I can’t talk about this. And I don’t want to. I’ll see you at home later.

You lock your phone just as Bradley returns with three cans in one hand, and another can and a bowl of chips in the other. You were a bit impressed as you reached up to take the three cans from him with a laugh. “Wow, no need to show off,” you joked and he shook his head with a smile as he set the bowl down onto the coffee table. 

“I don’t like making more than one trip,” he replied and you hum in agreement as you take a chip and watch as he sits next to you. He left very little room in between you, but you didn’t care a bit. This close proximity allowed you to inhale the piney scent of his cologne and see every fleck of gold in his brown eyes.

Oh yeah. You were seriously fucked. 

-

Bradley’s plans of getting Bri back had been completely pushed to the back of his mind, and it’s been that way since he met you. 

The more he thought about it, he realized he didn’t miss her as much as he did that morning she broke up with him. He was far too preoccupied with thoughts of you, and that scared him a bit for a few reasons. 

One; he met you only a few days ago and has spent more time with you than he has with the majority of his friends.

Two; he was supposed to be focusing on trying to fix things with Bri but wasn’t putting much effort at all into that task at the moment as he sits literally right next to you on the couch. 

And three; Eli and Wes might start to believe he’s actually going through with the stupid bet.

Which wasn’t what was happening at all. Yeah, you were the girl he drunkenly and stupidly picked when he came up with the bet, but he was hanging out with you because he wanted to. Not because he was planning on getting money out of it. 

“Did you pick a movie?” He asked as you leaned back on the couch and opened your beer, and he couldn’t deny that he found the way you liked his favorite type of beer attractive. You were really attractive, there was no questioning that. 

You freeze for a couple seconds before giving him a shy smile. “I did not,”

He laughed and grabbed the remote from off the coffee table and leaned back as well. “Well, pick something,” he said and handed you the remote. 

“Why me?” You pout and flip through the possible options of movies. “I don’t know what kind of movies you like.”

“I’ll watch anything,” he shrugged and opened his beer, hoping the cold liquid would help ease his heated body. He had no idea why he reacted to you like this, but he felt like an out of control teen all over again for the second time this week. 

You huff and skim through a few more comedies before settling on a horror movie from the 90s, and Bradley lifted a brow at your choice. “What?” You asked as you tossed the remote onto the cushion beside you and crossed your legs. 

“Nothing,” he answered, nonchalantly draping his arm across the back of the couch. “I just didn’t take you as a scary movie girl.”

You scoff and glance up at him. “The scarier the better,” you say back and he swore you moved a little closer to him. 

“Don’t tell me you’re one of those people who can watch a horror film then sleep peacefully right after,” he challenged, daring to move his leg just an inch closer to yours. 

You shrugged and gave him that unbelievably sexy smirk he loved seeing. “Like a baby,” 

He refrained from asking you to marry him right then and there, and instead he shifted his attention to the TV mounted on the wall and kicked his feet up onto the coffee table. “You’re crazy,” he uttered as he kept his eyes on the screen.

You laugh quietly and sip on your beer as the movie begins. 

Bradley had no idea when the small gap between his body and yours became non-existent, but as he held you against his side with his arm around your shoulders and your beers discarded, he didn’t care to know. 

You were warm, and it might’ve been from the blanket he threw over the both of you, but he liked to think it was because you were feeling the same way he was. 

Your body fits damn near perfectly with his, your height difference making it easy for him to hold you like this without his arm cramping up. 

About an hour into the movie you had fallen asleep, your head pressed against his chest and your arm draped over his lap. You had shifted like that in your sleep, and he borderline loved the way your body reacted to his, even while you were sleeping. He turned the sound down a bit until he could barely hear it, but he didn’t mind the fact that he had to really strain to be able to understand what was happening.

Bradley felt himself falling asleep, too, when your phone lit up from its place on the coffee table. He didn’t mean to, but his gaze naturally shifted to the lit up screen and he accidentally ended up reading the text you received. 

Luke: What a fucking waste of time, huh? We get into one fight and you just decide to check out? Fuck you, Y/n. Don’t talk to me ever again. 

Bradley could only assume that Luke is your lovely ass of an ex boyfriend, and he felt his brows furrowing as a warmth settled over his face.

Who the fuck did this guy think he is? No wonder you broke up with him.

Bradley never talked to Bri like that, or really anyone for that matter, let alone someone he loved. Luke loved you? As if.

He wanted to grab your phone and call the fucker, but you shifted again and drew his attention away from your bad choice of a boyfriend. You pulled the blanket up further and nuzzled your face against the side of his neck, and he felt himself calming down a bit as your quiet and even breathing met his ears. 

You were so sweet, how could anyone ever talk to you like that? 

Without meaning to, Bradley fell asleep with his chin resting on the top of your head, and the next morning he had a pain in his neck so fucking bad, he nearly got up to take enough painkillers to knock him back out again so he could sleep it off. 

Then he glanced down at you, still asleep on his chest, and he thought that maybe it was worth it since he got to wake up to the pretty sight. 

The TV had turned off automatically during the night, leaving the living room dark as he had closed the curtains before you got here yesterday. He grabbed his phone and squinted at the brightness as he checked the time. It was almost nine in the morning, and he knew he needed to get ready for his class that was in about an hour, but he really did not want this little moment with you to end just yet. 

Reluctantly, he gently began shaking your shoulder after a few more minutes had passed. “Y/n,” he quietly said, watching as you began to stir. “Wake up, babes.” 

He didn’t mean to call you that, it just slipped out, but the way you slowly sat up and grinned over at him made him want to call you that all the time. “Morning, babes,” you greet in a hoarse voice, reaching up to rub at your eyes as the blanket falls from your shoulders. “What time is it?”

“Almost nine,”

You gasped, “In the morning?” 

“Yeah,” he laughed and began massaging his neck, trying to work out the kink he felt. 

“Shit,” you mutter and grab your phone, making Bradley remember the rude text you got from Luke. He hated the fact that he knew what you would be reading the next time you checked your phone, and he wished he could’ve done something about it but knew it wasn’t his place. He’d let you tell him more about your ex if you wanted to, and he’d keep his opinions to himself for now. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to fall asleep and stay over.”

“It’s okay,” he waved you off and slumped back against the couch again. “You must’ve needed it. You slept for quite a while.”

You blush and smooth out your hair. “I should get going, I have class soon,”

Bradley nodded and watched as you stood up. “Do you want a ride back to your place? I’m going that way anyway,” he offered. “I need coffee.”

You laugh and look down at your casual outfit, which was strangely sexy to him. “You know, usually I’d turn down a three minute drive and just walk, but I don’t really want to be seen in this so early in the morning, so yeah,” you answer and pull the blanket off him, folding it and setting it aside. 

He huffed out a laugh and stood up as well. “Let’s go then,” he said and began walking with you to the front door. “You look hot, by the way. You shouldn’t care what people see you in.”

You blush again and glance back into the living room, seeing the scattered beer and soda cans. “I can help clean up first,”

“No, it’s alright,” he grunted and grabbed his keys from off the table near the door. “I’ll do it later. I don’t ever make a mess, so the guys won’t get pissed at me for leaving it like that.”

Nodding, you step outside when he opens the door and walk out to the Jeep. Once you are inside, you turn to him with a small smile. “I keep saying this, but I had fun last night,” you say quietly as he reversed out of the driveway. “I know I fell asleep pretty early on, but still.”

Bradley laughed and put the car in drive. “I had fun, too,” he said. “You weren’t kidding about the whole ‘falling asleep after horror movies’ thing, huh?”

You covered your mouth as you laughed, too, and Bradley wondered why you often did that, but now wasn’t the time to ask. “Nope,”

The drive was a short one, and two minutes later he was pulling up to your dorm and regretting not offering to walk with you instead of driving as it would’ve given him a few extra minutes with you. 

He put the car in park then turned to you, meeting your eye as you unbuckle your seatbelt. “Thanks for the ride,” you say in a teasing tone. 

Bradley laughed quietly, reaching over to tuck your hair behind your ear. Then he leaned in and kissed your cheek like you did with him after dinner at Five Guys, and when he pulled away he saw that a pretty blush had taken over your face again. “No problem,” 

You smile again and hop out of the car, getting to the third step and hesitating for a few seconds before you turn around and make your way to the driver’s side door. You pull it open and grab a fistful of his shirt, guiding him into a kiss he was all too willing to accept. It didn’t last long, unfortunately, but it still left the both of you wearing dumb smiles when you pulled away. “I’ll see you later?” You whisper and he nods, reaching up to gently tug on your bottom lip before your smile grows and you step away, closing the door afterwards. 

You give him a small wave before disappearing into the dorm and leaving Bradley with a heat deep in his body. He had to force himself to drive to the coffee shop a few minutes away, and then back home once he got his fix. 

When he entered the house, he saw Eli sitting on the couch with a smirk on his face. “Fun night?” He asked as he nodded towards the cans and empty bowl. “Was it Bri?”

Bradley scoffed as he put his coffee cup down and began gathering up the cans. “No,” he answered and put the cans into the bowl. “Y/n.”

Eli’s smirk grew at that and Bradley instantly regretted telling him about you. “Ah, Y/n,” he laughed. “You really want that money, huh?”

Bradley narrowed his eyes. “No, actually, I don’t,” he replied and grabbed his coffee again. “I don’t want your stupid money, okay? I like Y/n, really. She’s nice and so not the person I thought she was.”

Eli just nodded but was still wearing that stupid smirk as he looked back down at his phone, and it made Bradley feel a bit uneasy. 

“I’m not kidding,” he warned. “Let it go.”

Eli raised his hands in surrender. “I’m chilling, man,” he muttered but Bradley knew better. 

But he refused to waste his time trying to get his friend to understand him when he knew it wouldn’t make a difference. So he just left him there and brought the bowl to the kitchen before getting ready for class, still thinking about the kiss he shared with you that he wished was so much longer. 

He already couldn’t stop thinking about the peck you gave him on the cheek, but now he had gotten a taste of the real thing, and he was so close to throwing out every promise he made to himself about bettering himself for Bri and giving all his time to you.

[bloatedandalone04]

Mutual appreciation time!

Thank you for being my mutual 🥰🫶🏼

love my mutuals ! 🩷🫶

[bloatedandalone04]

In The Way I Need You | Part 10

Series Masterlist

➪in which you start your first shift at jess’ after leaving clay’s house in tears, and a confrontation at work leaves you feeling a lot worse than before.

PSA: strongly suggested to read the warnings before proceeding.

WC; 3.5k | Do not repost this anywhere, reblogs are fine ♡

Clay watched you flee his house with tears in your eyes, and he couldn’t even question you on it before you were gone, your body covered back up by your dress from last night instead of his shirt. 

He had no idea what happened in the three minutes he left you alone for, but apparently it was a lot. Only a few seconds passed by the time he made it to the front door to go after you, but when he looked outside, you were long gone. 

You said you weren’t feeling well and that you needed air, but he was still confused as to why you didn’t let him take care of you. If you weren’t feeling up for that second date, then he would’ve happily let you lay in his bed all day until you felt better, but you fled before he could even offer that to you. 

What happened? 

His brows furrowed as he closed the door loudly and made his way back up to his room, planning on calling you, or at least texting you, as soon as he located his phone. 

But as soon as he entered his room, that plan slipped his mind as his gaze narrowed onto the framed picture that was placed on his still unmade bed. Clay felt his heart drop as he neared the photo, a sick feeling creeping up his throat as he realized who it was of. 

Clay picked up the picture of him and Sam that was taken on their wedding day, and he couldn’t even recognize the version of himself in the photo. It felt like so long ago, and he knew he was a very different person now. 

The guy in the picture was a lovesick fool who missed every single warning sign and red flag Sam gave out. His twenty two year old self felt like a stranger now since he had been forced to grow up so quickly after Joey was born and Sam left him.

He wanted to laugh, because the second things had gotten good with you, Sam fucked it up for him without actually being there. 

Where did you even find this picture? He couldn’t remember where he had put it after tearing his room apart of anything that reminded him of her, so what were the odds that you had found it?

Clay looked around and noticed one of the drawers in his dresser was open a bit, and when he pulled it open and saw an unfolded blue shirt thrown in there, he knew that was where you discovered it. 

This was the drawer Clay barely went into as it was full of all his old tees he used to wear when he was in his late teens and early twenties. They were his vintage and graphic shirts, and the ones he didn’t wear often, so he truly didn’t remember putting the picture in there since he hadn’t opened the drawer in quite a while. 

“Fuck,” he muttered as he picked up the shirt and and looked down at the photo. No wonder you suddenly didn’t feel good, Clay was beginning to feel sick, too, as he stared down at the smiles on his and Sam’s faces. 

Young, dumb and naive Clay. How stupid can you be?

With a groan, he tossed the shirt onto his bed before turning the frame over and practically ripping the back of it off. He pulled the photo from the glass and tossed the frame aside, too, and without a second thought, he ripped it into countless pieces. 

He knew he wouldn’t have been able to do that before he met you, but now that he’d had a glimpse of what life looks like with you, he never wanted to go back. He hadn’t even thought about Sam at all since he left her that final voicemail, and he hated the fact that you must think that he still loves her. 

But that couldn’t be further from the truth. 

The only part of her that he loves is the one he shares with her. The one that brought you and him together. His son; someone who he doesn’t even consider hers anymore. 

Joey isn’t Sam’s. He never was. She brought him into the world, and then she abandoned him. No mother does that to their child. 

As far as Clay was concerned, Joey was all his. 

He throws the pieces of the picture into the garbage bin beside the dresser before looking around for his phone. He finds it on his nightstand next to his alarm clock with your sticky note on it, and his heart ached even more. 

Without wasting a second, he picks his phone up and calls you. He sits down on his messy bed and tugs at his equally messy hair as it rings and rings, and he knows you probably won’t answer him for at least a few hours.

You were upset, and rightfully so. 

“Y/n, I’m sorry,” he started when he was met with your voicemail, and he would’ve laughed at the fact that he is leaving someone else another pointless voicemail, but you weren’t just someone, and nothing was pointless when it came to you. “I didn’t realize I still had pictures with her around, and I hate that you found that. I swear, I would’ve never told you to grab some of my clothes if I remembered that it was in there. It wouldn’t even be in there anymore.”

He felt stupid calling you like this, but he needed you to know as soon as possible that he was over Sam and that she was no longer in the picture. 

“Sam doesn’t mean anything to me. All she is…she’s just the person who helped bring my son into the world. That’s it,” he was rambling now and felt his chest tighten. It hurt a bit, and it felt like he was straining his heart, so he knew he needed to end the call and calm himself down. “I’m sorry. Please, call me back.”

He hung up after that and tossed his phone onto the bed before sitting down and running his hands through his hair. 

How did he always manage to fuck things up? It was going great, you trusted him enough to let him pick you up after a night out, and your second date was a mere few minutes away from happening when you left in tears. Ones that he caused, more or less. 

-

You were embarrassed as you turned off your phone, declining Clay’s second call to you since you left his house crying.

Sam was stunning, and now that you knew what she looked like, you could see the similarities her and Joey share. 

You felt like an idiot and you were humiliated and feeling so insecure right now. A million doubts ran through your head and left it hurting, and your unrelenting tears definitely didn’t help. 

Once you were home, you completely shut yourself off from everything and tried to focus on preparing for your first shift at Jess’ cafe. You wanted to check your phone and even wanted to see what Clay had said in his texts, but you also needed some time away from all that.

So you didn’t turn your phone on for the rest of the night, and by the time you entered Jess’ the next day, you still hadn’t powered it on. You didn’t have much time to use your phone as Jess would be starting your training any minute now, but you still didn’t want to completely cut Clay off. You decided that much after a whole day had passed. 

You turn your phone on and click on his contact, but before you could read one of the four texts he sent you, Jess calls your name, and you have to put your phone away and begin training. 

Around an hour passes before Jess allows you to continue your shift without her hovering over your shoulder. You had just taken your first order when your new coworker moved to get started on it. “Oh, you don’t have to do it for me,” you wave him off. “How am I supposed to learn if I don’t actually make the drinks?”

He just shakes his head with a grin, “The guy you took the order from is a regular,” he says. “Trust me; it’s best if I make his drink. If you mess it up even a little bit, he’ll ruin your whole day.”

“Okay,” you laugh and decide to let him take this one as you begin to wipe away the messy counter. “Good looking out.”

He smiled over at you as he made the drink and gave it to the guy you took the order from, his glare turning into a content smile as he sipped on it. “See? Told you,” he mumbled and you just shook your head, setting the cloth aside and beginning to change the coffee filters. “I’m Miles, by the way.”

You look over and see that he held his hand out to you. “Y/n,” you say and shake his hand. “I’m new, clearly.”

“I can see that,” he nodded and braced his elbows against the counter. “You new to the city, too?”

“Um, kind of,” you answer and wipe your hands on your brown apron. “I’ve been here for about a month now. Still getting used to all of it.”

Miles nods in understanding, giving you a boyish smile afterwards. He was cute, but not nearly cute enough to get your mind off Clay. Miles looked to be around your age, or maybe a bit older, and he had dark brown hair that covered his forehead, and from what you could tell, his eyes were a deep green. “Yeah, the city isn’t for everyone,”

You furrow your brows then laugh. “Oh, no, I’m not…I love it here so far,” you further explain. “It is a lot to take in, though.”

“Ah,” he nodded again and gestured to the customer on his side of the counter, politely pausing your conversation as he began taking the girl’s order.

You smile at him and turn to your side, and your breath gets caught in your throat when you meet Clay’s pretty blue eyes as he enters the shop. He briefly smiles but it falters as he nears the counter, guilt swimming in his gaze as he places his hands against the marble. “Hi,”

“Hi,” you whisper back and try to distract yourself by cleaning a nearby mug. An awkward silence fell over the two of you, and you hated every second of it. It was never awkward with Clay, and the sudden change had your face heating up as you avoided eye contact with him. “Um, do you want a coffee? Or a pastry?”

Clay sucked in a breath and shook his head. “No, I just,” he trailed off and you hesitantly met his eyes again. “I wanted to see you. Wish you luck, you know, on your first shift.” 

He was dressed in what you think is his work attire - though it looked just as formal as his usual clothing - and your heart swelled a bit at the fact that he stopped by before work so he could talk to you, even though it was a bit out of the way from what you knew about where his job location is. 

“Oh,” you say quietly and want nothing more than to throw your arms around him and kiss him right then and there. He was so sweet, you hated how tense things were between you right now. “That’s…nice, Clay. Thank you.” 

Clay smiled at you but it didn’t quite reach his eyes. You wondered if he felt as miserable as you did, then you remembered you hadn’t actually read his texts, so you really had no idea on how he was feeling right now. “Yeah,” he murmured and his eyes held so much longing, you felt your own burn a bit. It looked like he wanted to ask you something, but he didn’t and instead said, “I don’t know if you read my messages or listened to my voicemail, but…I’m sorry about yesterday. If I had known…”

You tear your eyes away from his and bite down on your lip. “Yeah, I um…haven’t gotten around to checking my phone,” you confess and grip onto the edge of the counter as you feel your face begin to heat up. Glancing to your right, you can see Miles eyeing the two of you with a poorly hidden look of judgment on his face, and you could only hope he didn’t bring this up later.

Clay stayed silent and nodded. “Oh,” he said quietly and it somehow made you feel even worse. “That’s okay. Just, whenever you get the chance…I miss you.” 

You bite down harder until you were sure you were about to make your lip bleed before looking up at him. You wanted to say it back, but you were still hurt and a bit stubborn and your emotions were a mess right now. “Do you need me to watch Joey later?” 

His face falls a bit and he steps away from the counter. “Yeah, if you’re able to. If not I can call my-”

“No, I can,” you say quickly and give him a tight smile. “I’ll see you later then.”

Clay swallows hard and nods, giving you a so clearly forced smile and making your heart ache even more. “See you later,” he rasped and turned around, leaving the shop without another glance at you.

As soon as he was gone, you blew out a breath you didn’t know you were holding and turned your back to the rest of the shop as you pulled out your phone. It was nearly dead as you didn’t bother plugging it in last night, and you were seriously regretting that now as you finally allowed yourself to read Clay’s messages. 

8:09 AM

Clay Beresford: I’m so sorry you found that, I swear I didn’t know I still had pictures of her and I around.

8:43 AM

Clay Beresford: Sam is not in our lives anymore, I promise. I care about you so much, and so does Joey. Please call me back.

1:19 PM

Clay Beresford: I understand that you need time, and I’ll give you as much as you need. Just know that she means nothing to me anymore, and she hasn’t for a long time now. 

9:21 PM

Clay Beresford: Joey missed you today, we both did. I know you have your first shift as Jess’ tomorrow, but are you still able to pick him up from school after? I’m sorry again, Y/n. I never wanted to hurt you. 

He’d been trying to apologize and explain ever since you left. 

You felt your eyes sting again, and you brought your phone up to your ear after clicking on the voicemail. “Everything okay?” Miles asks as he hands a freshly made drink to a girl. His voice sounded a bit humorous, and you furrowed your brows at it but couldn’t call him out on it before Clay’s frantic voice met your ear.

Your lip was hurting now as you had gone back to biting it while you listened to his voicemail, and by the time it was over, you were sure you could taste a hint of metal on your tongue. “Fuck,” you whispered as you typed out a text to him with shaky fingers. 

Miles coughed loudly next to you, and you lifted your gaze and glared at him. “I take it you and that rich guy are close?” He laughed and leaned against the counter with his arms crossed. “Or maybe you were but not anymore. He looked like a kicked puppy walking out of here, poor guy. But he’s not poor, right? He looks like he probably owns his own business or something.”

“Shut up,” you say before you could think it through. Your eyes widened and you opened your mouth to quickly apologize, but Miles just scoffs. 

“Oh, come on. A guy like that has no business coming into a place like this. I bet he could buy this whole street if he wanted to, then he’d own us,” Miles continued and you forget your task of texting Clay back in order to defend him from your coworkers petty assumptions. 

“And what if he could? What if he did? What would you do about it, Miles?” You ask with annoyance lacing your tone. You weren’t sure why he felt the need to assume all this stuff about Clay when he had no idea what he was actually like. 

“I’d quit,” Miles answered with a shrug. “I don’t need some rich prick holding anything above my head.”

You drop your phone onto the counter loudly and move towards him. “Shut the hell up,” 

Miles laughs again and it only irritates you further. “Make me,” he muttered. “Christ, Y/n, you don’t believe guys like that actually care about people like us, do you?”

“People like us?” 

“Yeah,” he grunted. “Poor people. We don’t need the rich pitying us when they have it all at their-”

“Shut up,” you nearly yell and then realize you were literally in the middle of your first shift and getting into a heated argument with your new coworker you only shared one brief conversation with before this. The patrons looked over at you with wide eyes and quiet laughs, and you felt embarrassed for the second time this week. 

You couldn’t say anything else, and neither could Miles, as Jess came in from the back room and glared at the two of you. “What is going on?” 

Miles just raised his hands and turned back to another customer. “You hired a spaz, Jess,” 

You opened your mouth to give him a witty remark, but Jess reached out and grabbed your wrist. “Hey,” she said and pulled you with her into the storage room. “What’s going on? You were doing great when I left you, and now I find you yelling at my best worker?”

You let out a surprised laugh, “He’s your best?” Jess raises a brow at you and you sigh before looking down at the floor. “Sorry.”

“Don’t be sorry,” she said, slightly frustrated as she crossed her arms. “Just tell me what happened. Why were you and Miles arguing?” 

You huff and meet her gaze. “You know that boyfriend I told you about at that bar? Well, him and I got into a fight or…something, and he came into the shop today and apologized and I stupidly pushed him away and I guess Miles decided he should assume all these things about him and I couldn’t just stand there and take it,” you explained as plainly as you could, not wanting your boss to completely know what’s been going on in your personal life. “I know it’s a dumb reason, but I couldn’t help it. I’m sorry, Jess, I promise I’m not like that all the time. I just got mad.”

Jess pursed her lips and nodded, her hard gaze dropping a bit. “So I missed seeing just how cute your boyfriend supposedly is?” She teased, lightening the mood and making you huff out a quiet laugh. 

“He’s very cute,” you repeated your words from a couple nights ago, and you were reminded of the way Clay came out and picked you up before taking you back to his house and taking care of you. “Things are messy right now, and I’m sorry I allowed it to be brought into my work life. What happened with Miles won’t happen again.” 

You shifted the conversation back to a more serious one, and you could tell Jess appreciated it by the way she smiled and nodded at you. “You better not,” she said sternly. “Because I like you, Y/n, and I want you to have a real chance here. Okay?”

Nodding quickly, straighten yourself out. “Okay,”

“Good, now get back out there,”

A few hours later, you successfully made it through your first shift and were currently listening to Joey ramble on about what he did at school in the backseat of Rick’s car. 

You were nearly back to Clay’s place when Joey shifted and tugged at his backpack from its place on the floor. You reach over and help him, and once he grabs a piece of paper from it, you let it gently drop back down as Joey leans against the seat again. “I made this today,” he said and held the paper out to you. 

Taking it from him, you’re once again almost in tears as you look at the drawing. Joey was getting better at drawing and coloring with each passing day, and his attention to detail at his young age was extremely impressive. This drawing was of you, Clay and Joey, with you being in the middle this time and the Beresford boys on either side of you. “Wow,” you say quietly, meeting Rick’s gaze in the rear view mirror. “You’re quite the little artist, huh, babe?”

Rick gave you a knowing look as Joey said, “Daddy and I like it when you’re at our house. You make things better,”

And then you were on the verge of tears for the second time today.

-

@evilnight07 @espinathena-17

[bloatedandalone04]

In The Way I Need You part 10 is nearly doneeeeee!!!!!!!!!

so very sorry it's taken me so long

[bloatedandalone04]

I WAS LOOKING THROUGH THE JJ MAYBANK X READER TAG AND SAW YOUR FIC AND WAS LIKE "WAIT THAT LOOKS LIKE CARLY'S THEME" AND THEN I REALIZED YOU POSTED A JJ FIC OMGGGGGGGGGG

SURPRISE?! Just a quick one, but one hopefully I’ll write more for him in the future 🫶🩷

[bloatedandalone04]

Love Like Ours

➪the one where you and jj sneak off during a keg party for some alone time.

Warnings: fluff, swearing, making out, alcohol consumption, groping, pda, indications of smut, hi i finished season one in a single day and couldn’t help myself, mwah

Word Count: 1.5k

Do not repost this anywhere, reblogs are fine ♡ THANK YOU FOR 4.5k FOLLOWERS

Agreeing to have a kegger at the beach was not something you wanted to do, especially after you found out that JJ had taken the gun from that dingy, sketchy motel room. But now that darkness had taken over and left the beach drowning in shadows and the moonlight, and now that you had consumed a fair amount of beer and booze, you were very happy you ended up going instead of staying at home by yourself.

JJ, your oh so poise boyfriend of two years, was by your side, a red cup in his hand and his arm thrown over your shoulders. The beer in the cup was spilling onto you, but you were far too gone to care at this point, and you only laughed as the amber liquid rolled down your arm and got absorbed by your shirt.  

His signature red hat was placed on your head instead of his own in a not so subtle claim of territory over you, because in JJ’s eyes you were far too good for him and completely out of his league, but you’d never catch him admitting to that out loud. 

It was dark, but you were still able to see the pink blush that formed on JJ’s neck and face at the amount of beer he’s consumed since the party started. “We should have a fire,” you suggest in a dreary tone and JJ’s eyes widened as if it was the best idea he’s heard all night. 

“We should totally have a fire,” he agreed and finished off the drink before tossing the cup aside. “How do we make a fire?” He couldn’t finish the question without laughing, and you join in as you cling onto his muscle tee to steady yourself.

“I don’t know,” you answer and look around the sand. “Sticks. We need sticks.”

You step away from JJ in order to begin your quest of finding something to start a fire with, and he watched with hooded eyes as you stumbled along the sand, a small and content smile on his lips. “Hey, JJ,” John B greeted as he slung his arm around his best friend’s shoulders. “What is our girl doing, man?”

“Our girl?” JJ scoffed just as you made your way back to him and threw your body against his, draping your arms around his neck as you connected your lips in a kiss. He kissed you back, stepping away from John B until his arm fell back to his side. “Think you mean my girl.” He mumbled once he pulled away and you grinned up at him, pressing multiple kisses to his cheek. 

“Glad the two of you don’t give a shit about the no Pogue on Pogue macking rule, huh?” John B laughed and drank from his own red cup. 

“Nah,” JJ confirmed, wrapping his arm around your middle. “Think we stopped caring about that rule a long time ago, right, baby?”

You nod and tug him away from your friend. “So long ago,” you agree and turn away from him but keep your hand firmly bunched up in his shirt. “Sticks, JJ, we need to go find sticks.”

John B furrowed his brows and laughed as he watched you and JJ drunkenly stumble towards the darkest part of the beach. “Yes, sticks,” JJ replied and wrapped his arms around you from behind. Before you could wander off again, he pulled you back against his chest, making you release a surprised laugh. “I don’t want to have a fire right now, babe, I want to get you alone.”

You blush and lean back against him. “We kinda already are alone,” you point out, but you still had to raise your voice over the music and loud chatter around you. 

“More alone,” he reiterated and leaned down to press a kiss to the side of your neck. He pulls away and grabs your hand, guiding you towards the path that leads up to the docks. “Come on. Come with me.”

You laugh and allow him to tug you along with him back up the dirt path you came down a few hours ago. “Where are we going?” 

“Away from all the noise,” he answered and threw his head back with a loud groan. “God, is there usually all this noise?”

You laugh again and stop, pulling your hand from his just to grab hold of both sides of his face and press a deep kiss to his mouth. Any other complaints die on his tongue as he kisses you back, his hands reaching up to tangle in your hair that was messy from the late night breeze off the water. 

The noise was fainter now, but you could still somewhat hear the conversations of both the Pogues and Kooks, informing you that you weren’t quite isolated from the party yet. 

You run the tip of your tongue along JJ’s bottom lip when he tries to deepen the kiss, then pull away with a teasing smirk. “I thought you wanted to get me alone,”  

JJ matches your smirk and leans down to kiss the skin below your ear, and the quiet moan you let out had him laughing to himself. “Sorry, I got distracted,” he says and tangles his fingers with yours again. “Let’s get out of here.”

You follow him back up the path and along the boat docks until you reach one that very clearly belongs to one of the Kooks. It was massive and put all the boats you’ve been on to shame, so when JJ dared to step onto it with a questioning look in his eyes, you were powerless to stop yourself from going after him. 

He holds his hand out to you and you jump from the dock and onto the boat with a small squeal, and then you are back in your boyfriend’s arms as he connects your lips again in another deep kiss. 

You laugh into the kiss and run your hands up his sides under his shirt. “Whose boat is this?” You ask in between rushed kisses, and JJ pulls away to glance around the abandoned and dark boat. 

“I have no idea,” he replied and kissed you again, making you grin against his lips. His hands slid up from their place on your hips and began squeezing at your chest, and the air was quickly getting hotter and hotter. Your own hands move to grip at his biceps, and his sleeveless shirt gave you perfect access to them. They flex under your touch and you moan at the feeling as JJ backs you up against the wall of the boat. “I want you.”

You break away and tilt your head back against the wall as he begins placing open mouth kisses to your neck. “Here?” You breathlessly ask and softly dig your nails into his skin. 

“Why not?” He questioned, reaching behind you to slip his hands in the back pockets of your shorts. “How hot would it be to fuck on some random persons boat? Only we’d know what happened on it whenever we pass by this thing in the water.”

The invitation was definitely tempting, and you’d be a liar if you said you didn’t want him, too. The idea of fucking against the wall of a Kook’s fancy yacht had you growing more and more needy for him, and you could feel him pressing against you in his shorts as he also grew needy for you.

You turn your head and can faintly see the outlines of the party goers further down the beach, and the semi public setting of this little makeout session had you moaning rather loudly. 

Turning back to him, you kiss him and brush your tongue against his, tangling your hands in his blond hair and tugging on it. “Think John B was feeling a little left out back there,” you change the topic as JJ unzipped your shorts. “Almost made me feel bad that he’s alone now.”

“Don’t,” JJ practically begged, giving up on his mission of ridding you of your shorts in order to pick you up and hold you against the wall. “Please, do not make us go back there. John B’s fine, I promise. He just wishes he has what we have, but this is just for us.”

You bite down on your lip and tightly wrap your legs around his waist. His words were sweet, and this was a side of JJ that only you got to see, and on the rare occasion. “We’re pretty good together, huh?” 

JJ groans and pulls away from your collar bone to look you in the eye. “We’re amazing together,” he corrected and you grip his shoulders to hike yourself up a bit higher, his hat falling off your head in the process. 

“He’ll be fine,” you state and pull at JJ’s hair. 

He closes his eyes at the tug and confirms your words, “He’ll be fine,” 

You smile and kiss him for the hundredth time today. “Now, what were you saying before? Something about only us knowing what happened on this Kook’s boat?”

[bloatedandalone04]

Midnight Rain

➪the one where bradley is the best boyfriend you could ever ask for, but even he can’t fully erase the bad memories of your last relationship.

Warnings: fluff, smut, angst, oral (f receiving), mentions/descriptions of bad past relationships, mentions of abuse, past abuse, toxic ex, trauma?, bad coping habits, arguments, crying, swearing

Word Count: 3.6k

Do not repost this anywhere, reblogs are fine ♡

Bradley Bradshaw is the love of your life. 

While you had no plans of ever leaving him, you still knew that no other love you could ever have will live up to him. 

He completely flipped your world upside down and opened your eyes to everything you thought you knew about love. Well, turns out you knew nothing about it before. 

He showed you with every sentence, with every word and action that he loved you and cared so deeply for you, neither of you knew what to do with it. 

It was almost overwhelming. 

Almost. 

It was nearing ten in the morning, and you probably would have slept for even longer if it weren’t for the way Bradley was softly pressing kisses to the skin of your bare shoulder. 

The quiet moan you let out had him grinning and pulling you against him so your back was pressed to his chest, and his arms enclosed around you as he murmured, “Happy birthday, baby,” deeply next to your ear. 

His morning voice had you moaning again as you kept your eyes closed and reached a hand behind you to grab hold of his hair. You blindly guide him into a kiss that had him releasing a content hum before pulling away. “It’s just another day,” you mumble before burying your face back in your pillow. “Sleep with me for a bit longer.”

Really, you hadn’t been sleeping for long. He had kept you up well into the early hours of the morning in the best way he knew how to. So you couldn’t be blamed for wanting to stay in bed with him, but in a different way this time. 

Bradley laughed quietly and pushed your hair away from your neck so he could lean in and kiss along your skin. “Not a chance,” he muttered. “Today's my favorite holiday.”

You scoff but are powerless to stop the smile from taking over your face. “My birthday is not a holiday,”

But he just shuts you up with another kiss to your lips. This one was deeper than the last, and when Bradley rolled you onto your back, you opened your legs and allowed him to settle his body in between them. “It's the most important day of the year,” he said against your mouth. “The love of my life was born on this day, twenty nine years ago.”

You cover your face with your hands and groan. “Don’t remind me how old I am,”

Now it was Bradley’s turn to scoff. “Are you forgetting that I’m four and a half years older than you?” He asked and took both your wrists in one hand, pinning them above your head on the pillow. “Now, will you let me go down on you before taking you out for breakfast?” 

You blush and nod almost instantly, any and all ounces of sleep disappearing from your body. “Is this my birthday present?” You ask, already breathless from the way he keeps your hands pinned as he kisses his way down your body. 

“No,” he answered as he used his free hand to pull back the sheets that were covering your naked body. “Tell me, baby, are you sore from last night?”

He was referring to the way he fucked you for hours last night as if he hadn’t seen you in months, when in reality he’s been home from deployment for over two weeks now. 

Still, Bradley wasn’t a slacker in bed. He wasn’t satisfied until you were, and if that meant railing you until two in the morning, then that’s fine by him. 

“Just a bit,” you reply and bite down on your lip when he hums and leans in to gently run his tongue down your folds. Your body jolts when he does it again, and the small smirk he wore had you whining. “Feels good.”

Bradley made a noise of approval and began to circle your clit with the tip of his tongue. You bend your knees so your feet are planted on the bed at either side of his shoulders, and you push up against his hand. 

He lets go of your wrists and almost immediately your hands find home in his hair. “Tell me if it’s too much,” he practically begged, not wanting to ever push you past your limits and provide you with discomfort rather than pleasure. 

“Okay,” you breathe, knowing he would stop if you didn’t give him a verbal response, and you would probably cry if he did. 

Bradley was amazing at eating you out, and he left you craving more and more each time. The first time he did it, back on the third date, you were left clinging onto his bedsheets and crying out so all his neighbors could hear. You were embarrassed about it a while after, but Bradley was all over you for the rest of the night, successfully pushing your worries and insecurities aside. 

In fact, the last time you felt super insecure about yourself was about two years ago, just before your second date with him. He’s made you feel like the most important person in his life ever since then, so you had no reason to feel like you weren’t good enough around him.

“Oh, God,” you moaned when he worked you open with his fingers until you were taking them to the knuckle. He wraps his arms around your thighs and pulls you closer to his face and pretty much buries himself in you. 

He enjoyed this as much as you do, and that much was obvious with every stroke of his tongue as he got you off with his mouth and fingers. 

You were a panting mess when he pulled away and kissed you deeply, and were lightheaded when he tugged you off his bed and towards the bathroom, where he had you stay still as he washed your body in the shower. 

You were still reeling from the morning’s events when Bradley guided you into the Hard Deck later. Your fingers were loosely laced with his as both your friends and his wished you a happy birthday. 

Phoenix was staring at your necklace that Bradley had given you just before you arrived, and she teased him for branding you as his own with the simple ‘B’ that was attached to the chain, but you both knew that she was probably your biggest supporter. 

Nat had actually been the one to give him enough confidence to ask you out, and that was something she proudly held over his head since it worked out extremely well for him. 

As the night went on, you got a bit bored of the music coming from the jukebox, and Bradley took it upon himself to unplug it and sit down at the piano. He pulled you onto his lap and reached around you to begin playing the chords of your favorite song that turned into the birthday song towards the end. 

You blushed and turned to bury your face against his neck as he kissed your forehead, not used to the attention being solely on you for so long. 

Before Bradley came into your life, you were in a pretty rough place. You had just gotten out of a bad relationship a few months prior to meeting him, and you thought you would’ve needed at least a few years to move on from what you endured from your ex, but you were proven wrong. 

Bradley tried his best to make you forget about your pathetic excuse of an ex boyfriend, who laid his hands on you more than once in the three years you were with him. 

You felt stupid for staying with a man who very clearly didn’t love you, but back then you felt like it was as good as it was gonna get. 

Oh, how wrong you were. Bradley was very good at proving just how wrong you are about a lot of things regarding your ex. 

“Happy birthday,” Bradley said for the fifth time since waking you up. His lips were peppering kisses all along your skin as he pressed his body close to yours against the railing outside the Hard Deck. 

“Thank you,” came your breathy reply as his lips trailed all over your neck. “This is probably the best birthday I’ve had in a while. Well, this one and my last two, all thanks to you. You make everything better.”

Bradley pulled away with a smile and caressed your jaw with his fingers. “You make everything better, too, baby. I can’t remember who I was without you,” he confessed and leaned down to kiss the side of your head. “A prick, probably.”

You shake your head and jump up, the way he effortlessly caught you making you feel a bit light headed. You were sure you would never get over how strong he is. “You weren’t a prick, Bradley,” you say and kiss all over his face. “I know you weren’t. You’re far too kind and sweet and caring to be a prick.”

He grinned up at you and secured his arms around your middle as you cling onto his shoulders. “I think you’re the sweet one,” he mumbled and began walking towards the parking lot. “Let me take you home?”

You practically moaned at his question and nod, kissing him multiple times before pulling away. “Please, take me home,” 

-

Tears burned your eyes as you used the key Bradley gave you to unlock his front door. 

You had the worst day possible at work, and it only got worse the more you thought about it. Everything that could’ve possibly gone wrong did, and you felt like you were on the verge of a full on breakdown. 

Swiping furiously at your eyes, you try to blink away the oncoming tears as you drop your key into your bag and set it down near the door. 

You just wanted Bradley. After a terrible fucking day, all you wanted was your sweet and far too caring for his own good boyfriend. 

And it seemed like you were getting him. “Baby?” He called out from the kitchen. “Is that you?”

You were a bit scared to try out your voice, since you spent the whole twenty minute drive here sobbing. “Yeah,” you weakly say back, cringing at your hoarse voice. 

A silence followed your response, and a few seconds go by before you hear Bradley’s footsteps near the doorway. “Baby?” He said again, and you squeeze your eyes shut as you keep your back turned to him. “What’s wrong?”

You bite down on your lip as you prepare yourself to allow your boyfriend to see you in this state. Turning to face him, you dig your nails into your palms and shrug, watching as his eyes widen and he tosses the dish towel he was using to dry his hands somewhere behind him. 

“Hey,” he rasped, taking one stride towards you and wrapping you up in his arms. “What’s wrong? What happened, baby?” 

“Bradley,” you cried as you pressed your face against his chest. “Today’s been terrible.” 

He cradled the back of your head with one hand while his other ran up and down your back. “Why?” He softly asked. “What happened?” 

Your body shook against his, unstoppable tears flowing down your scrunched up face. “Everything went wrong,” you sobbed, leaning into your boyfriend’s touch when he used his thumb to wipe away your tears. “Mandy forgot to get the presentation ready for today, and when it was time to go up and deliver it, I was the one who got blamed for it.”

Mandy was your slacking co-worker, and she’s made problems for you many times in the past. That was just one of the reasons Bradley strongly disliked her. 

That and the way she always flirts with him whenever he goes with you to your work parties, despite him arriving with you under his arm. 

“I had my things ready, I was prepared, and she completely threw me under the fucking bus,” you continued, finding a small bit of comfort in the way Bradley ran his hand up your back until it began massaging your shoulder. “I got screamed at in front of everybody, and she just laughed. She laughed, Bradley.”

He scoffed, “Yeah, well, I never liked her, so I’m not surprised,” he muttered. “And I’ve never liked your choice of work, you’re surrounded by fucking idiots there that take advantage of you.”

You stay quiet as you let him gently rock you back and forth, and already you are feeling better now that you are with him. 

“I’m sorry you had such a bad day, sweet girl,” he murmured, kissing the top of your head as your cries quieted down. “What can I do to make it better?”

You shake your head, placing your hands on his biceps and pressing yourself closer to him. “You’ve already done it, Bradley,” you whisper, closing your eyes as the weight of the day comes crashing down onto you. “Just being with you is enough.”

 Bradley kissed your head again and abandoned whatever task he was doing in the kitchen as he guided you towards his living room. “Let me take care of you,” he requested in a quiet voice, gesturing for you to sit down on the couch. “Do you want me to make you something?”

You shake your head and lay back on the pillows he had scattered on the couch, one of the few things he had around that made the house look lived in. “I just want you,” you pathetically answer, even though you knew he would never think you were that. “I want to lay with you.”

Bradley nodded and leaned down, caressing your jaw in both hands as he pressed a kiss to your forehead. “Okay,” he mumbled. “I gotta go turn the oven off, then I’ll come lay with you, okay? We can put a movie on or something.”

You nod in agreement, and he leaves the room, picking up the dish towel on the way back to the kitchen. He was back in under a minute, and then he was gently laying down on top of you, careful to not put too much of his body weight on you. 

Honestly, you wouldn’t care. You wanted him to crush you with his weight right now, you were so desperate to feel that he was with you at the moment. 

Bradley wraps his arms around you and presses his face against the side of your neck as he whispers, “I love you,” 

You bury your nose in his shirt, inhaling the intoxicating scent that only belonged to Bradley. “I love you, too,” you say back, leaning into the way he peppered kisses all along the skin of your neck. 

-

“I can’t believe you right now,” Bradley muttered as he threw his keys onto the table next to the front door. 

You stay silent as you hover near the still open door, your eyes guarded and your fingers picking at the skin around your nails. 

At your lack of response, Bradley turned to you with a huff, lifting his arms in a quick shrug. “Well? Are you going to say anything?”

You chew on your lip as you meet his eyes. “What do you want me to say?”

He lets out a humorless laugh as he pinches the bridge of his nose. “What do I want you to say? What do I want you to say,” he echoed, dropping his hand abruptly afterwards. “I want you to explain to me why I had to basically carry you out of that fucking restaurant because you couldn’t keep your mouth shut.”

Your smart remark dies on your tongue and you quickly look away as you feel the heat rush to your face. 

Bradley was beyond pissed at you right now, and you suppose he had the right to be, but you hated fighting with him. You always tried to avoid getting into arguments, because you were both stubborn and it didn’t make it easy to win said arguments, though you both tried to every time. 

“What? Got nothing to say now?” He mocked and shrugged off his jacket, leaving him in just a dark button up and his jeans. “You couldn’t stop talking when we were out, and now you can’t seem to give me a simple response.”

You huff and dig your nails deeper into your palms, and you watch as his eyes narrow at it. “I’m embarrassed, Bradley,” you mutter and he laughs.

“Yeah, well, that makes two of us,” he grunted and ran a hand through his hair, his gaze dropping back down to your hands as you pierce the top layer of your skin. “Okay, baby, stop that.”

You furrow your brows then realize he was talking about the way you were scratching up your palms, and you drop your hands with a loud sigh. “I can’t help it, Bradley,” you say, closing the door loudly behind you before turning back to him. “It’s how I cope with this kind of thing.”

Bradley’s eyes narrowed again and he placed his hands on his hips. “How you cope? No, that’s how you coped when you were with your piece of shit ex,” he nearly growled. “You cope with me by talking things through.”

“I’m embarrassed, Bradley, I don’t want to talk-”

“Well, tough!” He cut you off, making you shut up as he took a step towards you. “That’s what you and I do; we talk. I don’t yell at you or degrade you or get in your space and-”

He lifted his hand and you were powerless to stop the quiet cry that left your lips as you cowered away from him. Realistically, you knew he wasn’t going to hit you like your body reacted to, and when you looked over at him and saw the look of horror on his face, his hand tangled in his hair, it just confirmed it.

Flashbacks to when your ex would hit you during heated arguments flicker through your head, and you feel your whole body tense up at the cruel reminder of who you had wasted too many years of your life with.

It was almost scary how quiet it had become. Your involuntary reaction had quite literally knocked the wind out of him and left him speechless for a few seconds before he regained his sense of voice. 

“Hit you,” he finished what he was going to say and you squeezed your eyes shut as you didn’t want to see the look of pure guilt he was giving you. “Baby, did you think…you thought…that I was-”

“No,” you instantly answer and shake your head. “I swear, I wasn’t thinking that. It’s just, I was…You were talking about it and I started thinking about it and I just…I had no control over that. I’m sorry. I know you would never.”

“I would never,” he echoed and you opened your eyes to see his pained expression. 

“I know,” you say quickly, walking over to him but keeping your hands to yourself. Bradley looked nervous and on edge and like he wanted to touch you but was holding off on doing so. You knew what kind of thoughts were probably running through his head, the comparisons and regret, and you wanted to put a stop to all of it. 

He was not your ex, and he was nowhere near being anything like him. You knew that, and he knew that, he just needed a reminder. 

“I know you would never hurt me,” you say and reach down to take his bigger hand in both of yours. You press his palm against your face and lean into his hesitant touch, looking up at him with a sad smile. “You’re not him, Bradley. You’re nothing like him. You’re everything, Bradley. I love you.”

“You’re everything,” he said back and your words must’ve been enough for him to feel like he could hold you right now as he took you into his arms and pressed you tight against his chest. “You’re everything to me, Y/n. I love you so much, baby. I promise, I’ll never hurt you, I’ll never do anything to make you feel like I ever could. I could never, sweet girl.”

You nod and wrap your arms around his middle. “I know,” you whisper and bury your face in his shirt while he pressed multiple kisses to the top of your head. “I’m sorry I reacted like that.”

“Don’t ever apologize to me,” he rasped, holding you tightly against him. “Not when it comes to something like this. I’m so sorry I brought back those memories. That’s the last thing I ever want to do, especially over something so fucking stupid like what happened at dinner. God, baby, I’m just so sorry. I love you.”

“I love you,” you say back and bunch up his shirt. “It’s okay, Bradley. We’re okay.”

“We’re more than okay, sweet girl,” he murmured, pulling away just to be able to kiss you properly. You kiss him back and melt into the way he held you as if you were the single most important thing in his life. “We’re everything, you’re everything. I’ll do better, okay? I promise.”

You wanted to assure him further and say that he already was doing everything right, but he was too far in his own head right now, you knew he just needed to be with you. And that was fine, because you needed to be with him just as much. 

So instead of going back to the conversation of dinner, you take his hand in yours and pull him towards his bedroom, where you kick off your heels and guide him into bed with you.

Then you held each other for hours, still dressed in your formal outfits and not caring a single bit about the wrinkles you knew would form on your clothes.

[bloatedandalone04]

are you okay?? 😭

I’m sorry it just hurts to not see any new notifications from my fav account for two weeks n im boutta go crazyyyy.

seriously tho is something wrong ☹️

hi !! i'm good, i promise. i'm just super tired and worn out from school, but i've got 2 weeks off, so i'm working on some stuff ! i think a bradley fic will be out tomorrow and after that i'll dedicate my time to finishing up my anakin series and continuing my clay series.

thank you for checking in ! i appreciate it so much. i can't believe it's been over 2 weeks now, i'm sorry for the lack of updates ! xx

[bloatedandalone04]

Listen, I love you and your writing...but WHAT THE FUCK CARLY

i love you im sorry i love you i mean it

[bloatedandalone04]

Wrapped Around Your Finger - Part 1.3

Series Masterlist | Original Fic

➪in which which anakin finally confesses to what’s been slowly killing him inside, and your reaction leaves him running on pure adrenaline once he’s forced to go on stage.

PSA: strongly suggested to read the warnings before proceeding.

WC; 3.6k | Do not repost this anywhere, reblogs are fine ♡

Anakin was a sweaty mess as he ran off the stage and into your awaiting arms. Despite you gesturing for him to do that, you still cringed when his damp body made contact with yours and when his lips pressed loud kisses all over your face. “Ew,” you laugh when he rubs his face against yours. “You’re so gross.”

He laughed as he handed his guitar off to one of the crew guys with a grateful smile before wrapping his arm around your shoulders. “Get used to it,” he hummed as he gently gripped your jaw and pressed a chaste kiss to your mouth. “Because I still haven’t fully registered the fact that you’re staying on tour with me.”

“I’m staying, Ani,” you promise and push him away. “And you’re showering as soon as we get back to the bus.”

Anakin takes your hand in his and pulls you back to him. “I don’t want to go back to the bus yet,” he said and you gave him a confused smile.

“Okay,” you trail off, placing your palm flat against his chest. “What do you want to do then?” 

He watches as Vinny and Theo walk past him and towards the doors that lead to the parking lot, both of them shaking their heads when they see the way Anakin couldn’t keep his hands off you. “Let’s go on a date,” he suggested and you raised a brow in curiosity. 

“A date?” You ask with a laugh. “Ani, it’s almost one in the morning, nothing will be open.”

“We’re in the City of Light, baby,” he beamed and took your hand in his. “I’m sure we’ll find something that’s open.”

You follow after him, chewing on your bottom lip as you glance around. You looked just as excited as he did, and the way your eyes met his with a glimpse of longing in them had him quickening his pace. 

Liz was talking to one of the stage crew guys, and she opened her mouth when he passed her, but Anakin just continued on. He could faintly hear her scoff as he opened the door and pulled you along with him, but she was crazy if she thought he would waste anymore time with her.

“Where are we going?” You ask and he shrugs.

“Let’s just walk around,” he suggested, noticing the way you started to shiver a bit at the cool air. “See if we can find a place to grab something to eat.”

He shrugged off his leather jacket and draped it over your shoulders before wrapping his arms around you from behind. “You want to walk around Paris at one in the morning?” You ask with a laugh as you place your hands over his. 

“What, are you scared?” He teased and leaned down to kiss your cheek. “Don’t you know that as long as you’re with me, you’ll be fine?”

“I do know that,” you reply and tuck yourself into his side as you begin walking again. “I’m so happy I’m back with you, Ani. I gotta say, I’m not a big fan of missing you.”

“I’m happy you’re back with me, too,” he murmured and leaned down to kiss the top of your head. “And I’m not a big fan of missing you, either.”

“Great, so let’s stop missing each other,” you suggest with a smile as the two of you walk down the nearly empty street. A comfortable silence passes as you look out for any possible food shops, then you glance up at him with your pretty smile. “Promise we’ll go see the Eiffel Tower before we leave? I’ve always wanted to see it.”

Anakin hummed in agreement. “I know, baby. We’ll see it at some point before we go,” 

You sigh contently and allow him to pull you towards a small shop that sold different flavors of coffee and pastries, and you spend the next forty five minutes trying anything and everything you wanted with no complaints from him. 

Anakin was sure he’d never complain about another thing for the rest of his life when it came to you.

Which is why he wasn’t grumpy or annoyed that he had gotten maybe three hours of sleep once you and he returned to the bus. You had a shower together, and had to keep reminding one another to be quiet since there were three other people sleeping on the bus and you didn’t want to wake them.

He fell asleep easily with you in his arms and your body half on top of his, and he knew his sleep schedule would even out soon enough now that you were back with him. 

A few hours after waking up, you and Anakin moved to the couch and were preoccupied with other things, but still very much present with each other. You had your head on his shoulder and your back pressed to his side, your laptop settled on your thighs as you typed away on a project he wasn’t allowed to know about yet. His left arm was wrapped around you while he used his right hand to scribble down lyrics to a possible new song he’s been coming up with ever since you told him you were coming to Paris. 

He knew his inspiration would come back along with you, that much was clear with how fast he was coming up with lyrics now that he had you under his arm. 

He was lost in thought when you closed your laptop and shifted to look at the notebook on the armrest of the couch, and he heard the excitement in your voice as you read off the paper, “Wrapped Around Your Finger…is that a new song?”

Anakin nodded and you sat up a bit and positioned yourself so you were practically on his lap. “Is it about me?”

“Of course,” he answered and matched the big grin that formed on your face with his own. “Who else would it be about?”

You shrug, “One of your groupies?”

Anakin felt his heart drop a bit at your choice of words, but he kept his composure and gently traced his fingers along your arm. “Only have one of those, and she’s right next to me,” 

You grin and lean up to kiss him quickly. “Right answer,” 

“Is it?” He laughed. “You know you’re not just some groupie, right?”

“I know,” you tease. “I just like messing with you.”

Anakin scoffed lightly and you grinned up at him. “You’re the worst,”

You slap his shoulder before pulling him into a hug. “I’m glad to see that you’re writing again,” you murmur as he wraps his arms around your middle. 

“Guess that’s what happens when you’re around,” he joked and you shake your head with a smile. 

“You don’t need me to be able to write great songs, Ani,”

But that couldn’t be further from the truth. Anakin couldn’t even function properly without you around, let alone write a fucking song. “That’s not true,” he muttered and pulled away so he could look you in the eye. “I need you. Not just to help me write songs or inspire me. I need you with me for the rest of my life.”  

Your smile softened and you bit down on your lip briefly before kissing him, and you continued to do just that until it was time to head to the venue. 

-

Anakin seemed to be extra clingy and affectionate lately, and while you weren’t complaining a single bit, you were a bit confused as to why he couldn’t seem to stay away from you whenever you were near Liz. 

She was glaring at the two of you from your place backstage, and you were getting pretty irritated with her. Before you could actually go over to her and call her out on it, she set her camera aside and made it to the two of you in three strides. “Anakin,” she muttered and he avoided looking at her as his arm tightened around your waist. “I don’t appreciate you blocking me and refusing to talk to me now that she’s back. What, I suddenly mean nothing to you now? Is that it?”

You furrow your brows at her sudden outburst and look up at your boyfriend, who still wasn’t looking at the angry brunette. “What is she talking about?” You ask, making Liz glance over at you with something you couldn’t quite decipher in her eyes. 

“Tell her, Anakin,” she seethed and it was almost comical how quickly that had him looking over at her. “Or I will.” 

You could feel your heartbeat pick up a bit, and you open your mouth to question him again, but he takes your hand in his and begins to pull you towards the door that leads to a hallway. “Come with me,” he requested in a small voice that left you powerless to object.

He guides you with him down the hall and towards the small dressing room. This venue was a lot bigger than all the ones you’ve been to in the past, so the guys were given an actual dressing room tonight. Anakin gestures for you to sit down on the couch that was in the room, and you do so hesitantly. “What’s going on, Ani?” 

You weren’t sure why you were suddenly so nervous. It’s Anakin, the guy you’ve loved for half a decade now, what could he possibly have done to change that?

Anakin runs a hand through his hair and makes it messy within seconds, despite him having just brushed it and made it nice for when he went out onto stage. “I need to tell you something,” he started and moved to sit next to you. 

You tried not to think about the amount of space he left in between you as you whisper, “Okay….what?”

“I love you,” he said. “You know that. I love you so much.”

“I know,” you laughed, but you were a bit scared now. Why was he acting so weird? “I love you, too.”

He nodded and dropped his gaze to the carpet. “Last week, Liz and I were at a club. It was when we were in Germany, it was our first night there, and she wanted to check out this bar,” he began and no matter how hard you tried to get him to meet your eyes, he just wouldn’t. “We’d been doing that a lot together, her and I; getting drunk and staying up well past one in the morning.”

That kind of explained why he looked like he had gotten less than ten hours of sleep when he picked you up from the airport, but that wasn’t all of it. You knew it wasn’t, because that didn’t sound all that bad at all. Yeah, the excessive drinking and partying definitely wasn’t ideal, but that came with the job, you guessed.

“It was right after you and I fought and I was a prick to you. Liz somehow was able to sneak drugs in, and when she offered me one, I took it,” 

Your eyes widened and you reached over to grip his shoulder. “Anakin, you took drugs?”

He finally looked over at you, and there were hints of tears in his eyes. “I shouldn’t have,” 

“You’re right, that was stupid,” you tried to lighten the mood with a small smile he didn’t return. 

“That’s not all,” he mumbled and you gently massaged his shoulder with your fingers. That wasn’t the worst of it? “After I took it, I drank a lot and I guess it increased the effects or something. Liz pulled me to the back of the club and she…she started touching me.”

You felt your heart stop for a second at that, and your fingers paused. 

He continued before you could say anything else, “She pushed my shirt up and started kissing all over my chest and…she kissed me. But I pulled away as soon as I realized that it wasn’t you- I thought it was you,” He was rushing his words now but you could barely hear him over the sound of your ears ringing. “I promise, I swear, I pulled away the second she kissed me. I pulled away and I left, I….baby, say something, please.”

Your hand dropped from his shoulder and you tore your eyes away from his and stared down at the floor. “You…” You trailed off as you felt tears gather along your water lines. “Kissed her?”

“She kissed me,” he desperately corrected you, but you felt like getting up and sprinting out of the room. “I pulled away. Please, please, baby, you have to believe me. I could never do that to you, I’d never cheat on you.”

He moved closer to you, but the room was quickly beginning to feel like a furnace. That was the only way to describe the way your whole body heated up in a burning flame. 

“Y/n, princess, please-”

“Stop,” you begged and felt the first tear slip from your eye and roll down your cheek. “Please, just…stop.”

Anakin fell silent, and when you looked over at him, his blue eyes were wide and drowning in guilt. More tears slipped down your face as you processed his words and really let them sink in. 

He kissed Liz. Or, she kissed him. Either way, his lips touched hers. 

His inability to keep his hands off you, his speech to you over the phone about how much he loves you, his request of you staying away from Liz. 

It all made sense now, and you almost wished you never found out why he had done all that. He’d been hiding this from you for a week now. Was he ever planning on telling you had Liz not threatened to do so herself? Had he really changed that much in the month you’ve been separated? 

“Um,” you tested out your voice, and it was weak like you expected it to be. “Why? Why did you… go with her to all these clubs?”

Anakin looked like he was in agony as he answered, “Because I missed you. I missed you so fucking much,”

He reached for your hand, but you instinctively pulled away as you felt yourself begin to build up walls around your heart. “So you let her get that close to you?” You muttered and turned to glare at him. “You take drugs from her? You cut my calls short just to get drunk with the fucking photographer?”

“I’m so sorry,” he rasped, reaching for you again. “Baby, I’m so sorry. I love you, I-”

You pulled away and moved over until you were pressed against the armrest, but even that didn’t feel far enough. A few days ago you were craving to be next to him, but right now you wanted to be as far away from him as possible. It was scary how fast things had changed. “I need to be alone,” you whisper, wiping at the tears that showed no signs of stopping. 

Anakin shook his head, but stayed where he was instead of trying to touch you again. You could appreciate that, at least. “I don’t want to leave you right now, baby,”

“You have to,” you murmured. “You need to go on stage.”

“I need to talk about this with you,” he responded, but the look you gave him told him all he needed to know. 

“Go, please,” you pleaded and nodded towards the door. 

He looked like he had been kicked repeatedly as he stood up. “Can we….please, can we talk about this after? I don’t know how I’m going to be able to go out there without knowing you’ll be here afterwards,”

You avoided his eyes as you traced random shapes onto the armrest. You never could look at him when you lied. “I’ll be here,”

Even that didn’t seem to be enough, but that was all you could give him right now. “I’m sorry,” he whispered. “I love you. More than anything. I always will.”

You nod and a few more silent seconds pass before he opens the door and leaves you alone, and almost instantly you begin sobbing. 

It felt like you were suffocating. Your throat hurt from the heavy cries that ripped through it, and it felt like someone had literally taken a knife to your heart. It ached that fucking badly. 

How could he let this happen? Why didn’t he tell you sooner? How long was he going to keep that to himself?

It felt like you had been with a complete stranger since yesterday. The Anakin you knew would’ve never hurt you in the way he did, no matter how accidental or unintentional. 

You heard the fans erupt in screams as the guys went on stage, and you were still sobbing as you forced yourself to stand up and leave the suffocating room. You didn’t make it very far back down the hallway before you heard a voice that made your skin crawl, and you turned to see Liz leaning against the wall beside the dressing room door. “So he told you? I’m sorry you had to find out about our little affair this way,” She had the nerve to smirk. 

She fucking smirked. 

You wouldn’t be able to stop yourself if you tried. Never in your life had you felt this disgusted, humiliated and enraged at all once. 

Before she could get another word out, you curled your fingers into a fist and walked over to her, then punched her square in the face. The faint crack you could hear didn’t make you feel any better, nor did the sound of her camera falling to the ground. 

She was clearly caught off guard as she stumbled back and slumped against the wall. “You fucking bitch,” she seethed as she held onto her bloody nose. 

You glared at her through blurry eyes and ignored the throbbing in your hand. “Me? You’re the bitch here,” you muttered, your voice deadly calm despite your heart racing. “If you ever touch him like that again, I’m not just going to give you a free nose job.”

Her eyes widened just a bit as you turned around and rushed out of the dark hallway, holding onto your backstage pass as you pushed open the doors and moved to your spot next to the speaker. 

They hadn’t started performing yet, and when Anakin looked over at you from his place in the middle of the stage, you could feel your eyes burn again. 

You knew then that you needed to leave before anything worse happened. 

-

Anakin had no fucking idea how he was supposed to sing when his throat felt like it was closed up and his lungs had no air left in them.

He knew things would change as soon as he told you what he did, he just didn’t expect you to immediately shut down and close yourself off. 

He should’ve expected it, though. He’s known you for five and a half years, he knows how stubborn you are, and how kind you are, and he knows how quickly you close people off who’ve upset you. 

It felt like he couldn’t breathe as he stared out at the thousands of people who came here for him and the guys. The stage lights felt like they were seconds away from lighting him on fire from how hot and blinding they were, and his hands were shaking as he gripped the microphone stand. 

This could very well be the worst show of his life, and while he deserved it, Vinny and Theo definitely did not. 

Vinny was delivering their opening speech when Anakin looked over to his right, and to his surprise, you were there. In your unofficial but official spot backstage, you wore the most heartbroken expression he had ever seen. 

It had him faltering in his stance, and when he looked at who was next to you, he was about three seconds away from walking right back off this stage. Liz was holding a cloth to her nose, and she looked pissed, while you looked like the one in pain. He knew you must’ve run into her before this, yet he couldn’t even be happy that you very clearly had your way with her - if the blood on the cloth was anything to go by - he was too on edge right now. Too terrified. 

You fought for him, though, so maybe that was a good thing?

Or maybe not, because before he could begin the first song, he watched as you tore your gaze away from him and didn’t even glance at Liz before turning around and heading for the exit. 

Almost immediately Anakin’s hands released the stand and he was making his way backstage, but Theo stopped him before he could fully get there. “Anakin,” he said, his voice barely audible over the sounds of screaming fans. “Don’t do this man. Think about them.” 

He turned towards the packed seats and had never felt this conflicted in his entire life. In any other situation he would be off this stage and following after you within half a second, but he had his bandmates, his manager and the people who paid over a hundred dollars each to see him to think about now, too. 

How could he possibly let them down after he’s already let you down?

“She’ll still be here after the show,” his friend promised, and that was just barely enough to have Anakin retreating back to the middle of the stage and performing just as terrible as he felt.

[bloatedandalone04]

They Don’t Know About Us

➪the one where you and leon can’t stand each other in front of your friends, but it’s secretly all an act.

Warnings: swearing, fluff, fake arguments, kissing, forbidden relationship ig

Word Count: 2.2k

Do not repost this anywhere, reblogs are fine ♡

“God, you’re arrogant,” you mutter as you flip through the files for the new case you were assigned to with Leon. 

The blond agent smirked over at you as he grabbed the files from your hands. “Tell someone who cares,” came his reply and you glared at him as he stood to his full height. 

“I just did,” you say and reach for the files, but he lifted his arm and held them way above his head. Leon was fucking tall, and you were average height, so you had no chance on getting that folder from him, even if you jumped. You weren’t going to embarrass yourself by trying. “Give them back.”

He shook his head. “No,”

Chris and Jill exchanged a wary look as they stayed still, both unwilling to make any sudden move that would tip either of you off. 

You glared at Leon as you reached for the files again, but he just held them even higher. “Leon, give them back,” you say in a deadly calm voice that should’ve had him complying, but he just laughed.

“Make me,” 

Jill blew out a breath as she looked over at Chris, “Seriously, who the hell put these two together for another mission?” She asked, and the oldest Redfield shrugged. “They clearly can’t stand each other. It’s almost dangerous at this point.”

“I know, I-” but Chris couldn’t finish what he was saying as you let out a loud noise of frustration. 

“Give them, Leon,” you try again but he just looks at you with an unreadable expression on his face. “You’re so annoying, for fucks sake.” 

Leon laughed and leaned against the side of the desk once you had given up on trying to get the folder back. “You know, it’s really not nice to talk about yourself like that,” he said and Chris furrowed his brow as he knew that would definitely set you off. 

“Are you serious?” Yeah, that one really didn’t help the blond’s case. “Are you actually serious? You’re so fucking immature, Leon, I can’t believe you still have a job with the way you act.”

“Cry me a river, Y/n,” he said back and you huffed before quickly reaching for the files, but Leon must’ve known you were going to do that as he instantly stood up and held them above his head again. 

“God, you’re insufferable!” You yell and push on his chest, but he was built like a fucking brick wall and didn’t move an inch. 

“Keep telling yourself that,” he muttered back as he threw the folder onto the desk loudly. “I’m still gonna be the one saving your sorry ass on this mission, just like how I did on the last one.”

You give him a death glare. “I can take care of myself just fine,” 

“Yeah?” He laughed, though it sounded humorless, and he reached over and grabbed your hand. He lifted your arm and pointed to the scar that started on your wrist and ended at your elbow, and his gaze hardened. “From the looks of it, that’s nowhere near being true.”

You rip your arm out of his grasp and grab the files in both hands. “Fuck off, Kennedy,” you mutter and leave the room.

Chris and Jill stand in silence as they try to process the heated argument they just witnessed, and they debate on what they could say to break the ice. “Leon,” Chris started, but Leon just shook his head and pushed through the doors as well, using enough force for it to slam against the wall beside it as he left. 

Leon stormed down the hallway, his gaze cold as he avoided looking at the various cameras that lined the walls. As he turned the corner and neared the stairwell, his pace slowed and the angry expression he wore faded just a bit as he pulled open the door. 

He met your eye for a split second, then you were throwing yourself into his arms as soon as the door closed behind him. The files fell from your grasp as you bunched the fabric of his shirt in your hands, your head coming to rest in the crook of his neck as you let out a sigh of relief. “I’m sorry,” you whisper as he wraps his arms around your middle. “I hated that.”

“I know,” he said back and kissed the top of your head. “I did, too.”

You’ve kept your relationship with Leon a secret for eight months now, since the two of you weren’t allowed to engage in anything with each other because of your job. It was deemed too risky, so none of the agents ever got involved with one another, and that was why you and him had been sneaking around. 

At first, Leon was all for the rule of not dating his co-workers, then he met you and promptly changed his perspective. You were the most beautiful girl he’d ever seen, and you were so sweet despite your sometimes hard and cold exterior. 

Other agents became suspicious of the two of you at the beginning, so you and Leon came up with the idea of pretending to hate each other at work. Instead of risking being fired or transferred, you played up an act that everyone seemed to believe. This way allowed you to still work together, and be paired on missions together where you could look out for one another. That was the only way you wanted to do it, and it was working so far. 

Everyone truly believed you couldn’t stand each other, when it was the exact opposite behind closed doors. 

“I’m sorry,” you say again and pull away to be able to look up at his blue eyes. “I love you.”

Leon leaned in and kissed you, a sweet and innocent peck that still left you a bit light headed when he pulled away. “I love you,” he said back and you rested your head on his chest again. “I hate fighting with you, even if it’s just for show. I didn’t mean any of what I said.”

He took your hand in his and lifted your arm like he did in front of Chris and Jill, but this time he pressed soft kisses to your scar. “I didn’t mean it, either,” you say and smile as he presses a final kiss to your elbow before you wrap your arms around his neck. “At least we made it believable. I refuse to be separated from you if someone were to catch onto us.”

“They won’t,” he promised, nudging your nose with his afterwards. “They’re not gonna take you away from me. We just have to keep up the act and everything will be fine.”

You nod and run your hands through his hair as a smirk forms on your lips. “You were pretty hot in there, you know,” 

Leon’s mouth quirked as he slid his hands down to grip your waist. “Yeah?”

You nod and brush your lips against his. “I love when you get all sarcastic and cocky,” you confess. “It’s sexy. Makes up for the mean words.”

He laughed and kissed you properly. “I hate being mean to you,” 

“It kinda turns me on,” you teased then traced your fingers along his jaw. “Really, I hate having to hide us. I’d give anything to be able to hold your hand in public.”

“I’d give anything to show you off,” he said back and you grinned at him.

“Wishful thinking,” you state and he nods before pulling away from you and picking up the files. Unlike how he held them above you in front of the others, this time he handed them to you. “Call me later?” You quietly requested and he nodded, giving you one final kiss before you went your separate ways. 

-

“You two fight like an old married couple, and not in a fun way,” Chris said as he leaned back on the decently sized couch in Leon’s apartment. He nursed a beer in one hand, his other flipping through the files he received for his own upcoming mission. 

 Leon had just finished going over the updated folder that had all the necessary information for the mission he’s doing with you when he looked up at his friend. “There’s a fun way?” He joked, but Chris just gave him a cautious look. 

“I’m serious, Leon,” he murmured. “If you want to switch with me, you can go solo and I’ll go with Y/n.”

That had the smile fading from Leon’s face. “No,” he said, almost too sternly and too quickly. He shook his head and cleared his throat before continuing. “That isn’t necessary at all, Chris.”

The brunet rubbed his forehead and set his drink down after finishing it. “You’ll get each other killed with the way you go back and forth with one another. I’m afraid one of you won’t make it back if you go together,”

“She’ll make it back,” Leon stated before quickly adding, “We both will. We’re good at what we do.”

“You’re also good at being at each other’s throats,” Chris pointed out. “It’s dangerous.”

“Every mission is dangerous,” 

“You know what I mean,”

And Leon did. While he could somewhat appreciate Chris’ concern for both him and you, Leon knew there wasn’t a safer place for you than by his side. Leon will and has risked his life for you in the past, and he was more than prepared to do it again. “Thanks, Chris,” he muttered and gathered up the papers he scattered on the coffee table. “But Y/n and I will be just fine. We can get along for a few days if it means successfully completing a mission. We’ve done it before, we can do it again.”

Chris looked a bit hesitant as he sighed and nodded. “Alright, well, let me know if you change your mind. I’d like to see you both in one piece once it’s over,” 

“We’ll be fine,” Leon said again and grabbed Chris’ empty glass, planning to refill it and get the man tipsy enough to drop the conversation, because there was no way in hell Leon was letting you go on the mission with Chris instead of himself. 

-

“Let me go with Leon,” Jill begged as you flipped through the channels on your TV. When you just glanced at her, she huffed and threw more popcorn into her mouth. “He’ll end up killing you, Y/n. Like, seriously, I don’t think it would be intentional at all, but it’ll happen. You two will get into another petty argument and the next thing you know, you’re dead.”

“Oh, please,” you scoffed and settled on a trashy reality TV show that you had been loosely following for a few weeks now. “Leon and I work fine together.”

“But you hate each other,” she pointed out as she looked at the screen. “That could very well end with your deaths.”

You roll your eyes. “Jesus, Jill, we’re not gonna get each other killed,”

She held her hands up in defense. “I’m just saying, if you want me to take the mission with Leon-”

“I don’t want that,” you cut her off and quickly soften your glare. “Thanks, but we’ll be able to get along for a few days, or however long it’ll take.”

“If you say so,” she mumbled and sipped on her wine glass. 

One of the things Leon loved about you was your stubbornness, and your inability to let things go. You were about to give your friend a snarky remark, but your phone going off interrupted you before you could even start, and when you saw the caller ID, your annoyance turned into longing.

“Hi,” you answer in a tone that barely concealed your excitement. 

“Hi, babe,” Leon said back and you tried to hide your smile from Jill by turning your head. “Bad time?”

“No,” you reply quickly, burying yourself further under the massive blanket Leon bought you not too long ago. It was probably your favorite thing you owned, not only because it was from him, but because it reminded you of him during those nights he couldn’t stay over and wrap himself around you. “I’m just watching a show with Jill.”

She glanced over at you when you said her name, but she didn’t seem to think much of her mention, thankfully. “Never thought I’d feel jealous of Jill,” he laughed and the sound made you smile. “She gets to spend more time with you than I do.”

You drop your voice to a faint whisper and cover your mouth a bit so Jill didn’t hear you. “You see me all the time at work,”

“Yeah, but I have to act like a dick to you at work,” he muttered and you laughed quietly. 

“Maybe you can come over after work tomorrow? I know it’s cutting it close to the mission date, but-”

“I can definitely come over,” he cut you off and you blushed deeply, sparing a glance at your oblivious friend to make sure she wasn’t catching onto your call with your boyfriend. 

“It’s settled then,” you whisper and want nothing more than to be with him right now. You loved Jill and she was one of the few people you trusted with your life, but she only filled a small part of your heart. Leon filled a much bigger portion. “I miss you.”

Leon hummed and you closed your eyes as if to savor the sound. “I miss you, babe,” he said back. “I’ll let you get back to Valentine. Have a good night, I’ll see you tomorrow. I love you.”

You grin and lower your voice even more. “I love you, too,”

[bloatedandalone04]

Bets & Bargains - Part 3

Series Masterlist

➪in which you and bradley hang out again and get to know more about each other, and quickly realize that you’re more alike than you thought.

PSA: strongly suggested to read the warnings before proceeding.

WC; 3.5k | Do not repost this anywhere, reblogs are fine ♡ | THANK YOU FOR 4.4K FOLLOWERS

Bradley reread Bri’s text an embarrassing amount of times, and he was still reading it now as he made his way onto the campus grounds. 

His phone was in his hand, her text on full display as he tried to think of how to respond to it, despite it being sent a mere sixteen hours ago. After he got home last night, he stripped down and had a shower in an attempt to cool himself off. He felt guilty about hanging out with you, mainly because he had agreed to that bet he was going to call off, and because he was clearly still hung up on Bri.

He was always bad at replying to texts, which is why he had yet to get back to her, and that was probably another reason she broke up with him. 

Still not knowing what to say, he pockets his phone, his fingers brushing against his wallet and a piece of paper. He had thrown on the jeans he wore last night to the botanical gardens, and when he pulled his hand back out of his pocket, he saw that he was holding the ticket you bought for him. 

God, were you sweet last night. You and he talked for so long, and it was all enjoyable conversations, which was a bit unexpected for the first time he’s actually hung out with you. One of the first things Bradley noticed about you was your voice, and he was sure he could spend hours on end just listening to it, which was a bit concerning since he had no business feeling that way about you so soon after meeting you. 

He was actually a bit shocked that Bri had texted him after seeing him once outside of his house. As much as he hated to admit it, him going out to meet you might have actually scored him a few points with her.

When he tore his eyes away from the ticket, he immediately met your gaze, and a genuine smile took over his lips that matched your own. He puts the ticket in his bag this time before meeting you halfway, his eyes lingering on your floral printed skirt for longer than necessary. “Hi, Bradley,” you greet in your sweet voice that made Bradley bite down on his lip to stop the groan that nearly slipped from his mouth.

“Hi, Y/n,” he said back, watching your lips curve upwards. “Is floral your trademark?”

You look down at your white cropped tee and skirt before shrugging. “It can be,” 

Bradley’s grin only grew at that as he moved to stand next to you. “Can I walk you to class?”

“You definitely can,” you answered and began walking towards the opposite side of campus from where his own class is. He’d probably be late if he were to walk you all the way to yours, but he didn’t care too much, which is a bit surprising for him as he’s always tried to be school-orientated. 

“I had fun yesterday,” he says as he quickly catches up to you. One thing he’s learned about you is that you’d easily leave him in the dust if he isn’t quick enough to keep up, and that was actually something he admired about you. 

You look up at him as you grab hold of the strap of your bag. “Me too,” 

“We should hang out again,” he offered, then added, “Only if you want to.”

You raise a brow as you ask, “Do you want to?”

He scoffed, “I wouldn’t have brought it up if I didn’t want to,”

You nod and break eye contact. “I was just checking to make sure you’re still different from all the stereotypical frat guys I’ve met in the past, that’s all,”

“Trust me,” he started, holding the door open for you. “I’m very different.”

You grin at him as you enter the building. “And you’re proving it very well,”

“Good to know,” he replied and you turned to give him a softer smile. 

“You don’t have to walk me the whole way,” you tell him as you adjust the strap of your bag on your shoulder. “You’ll probably be late for your own class.”

That was true, but oddly enough Bradley didn’t care. “It’s fine, I just finished my class,” he said and you raised a brow as you checked your phone. “I had an eight AM lecture.” He added when he saw you read the time. 

“Oh,” you say, believing him with a nod. “That sucks, I hate lectures.”

“I think everyone hates lectures,” he says as you resume walking again. 

“I have a question.”

Bradley saw the opportunity and took it, “Shoot,”

You smile at him then give him a shy look. “Will your girlfriend get mad that we’re hanging out?”

That had his own smile fading a bit and his brows furrowing. “My girlfriend?” He asked, wondering if you had seen him and Bri around campus before and he just didn’t see you. If that’s the case, it was nice to know that Bri hadn’t gone around and told everyone she knows that she had dumped him like he was nothing at all to her. 

You nod and drop your gaze to his neck, and he thought you were going to ask about his scars or something, then you said, “She seems very possessive of you,”

Your index finger pokes at a sore spot on his throat and he knew then that you were referring to the hickey Bri had given him before breaking up with him a couple mornings ago.

“Oh, yeah, uh,” he trailed off as he felt his face flush in embarrassment. “That’s a really fucking embarrassing story, I’m not gonna lie.”

“Oh,” you repeat and give him a small smile. “That’s okay. Maybe one for another day then. My class is right here.” You point to the door next to him and he nods, grateful that you didn’t try to pry the story out of him.

“Okay,” he said, rubbing at the back of his neck before running his fingers over his sore throat. “I’ll see you later then?”

You nod and give him a small wave before disappearing into the classroom, leaving Bradley to stand in the hallway for a few extra seconds with a dumb grin on his face before he quickly realized that he would probably be close to ten minutes late to his own class if he didn’t start walking right now. 

-

You were blushing pretty much the whole three hours you were at class for. 

Bradley was so hot and so not the kind of guy you would ever go for, which is exactly why you found yourself wanting him. You usually stayed with the attainable ones, hence why you were with your ex-boyfriend for three years before ending it. Luke was your best friend’s brother and he went to the same high school as you, so you got to see him everyday. It was easy with him, but now you wanted a challenge. 

While Luke was your first love, you knew he wasn’t going to be your last. Maybe you thought that at first, when the relationship was still new, but three years later, it was dulling for you. 

With that being said, you still weren’t entirely sure if Bradley was in a relationship or not, so you couldn’t get your hopes up too much. Maybe a good guy friend is all you need. 

Just then your phone went off, and you found yourself wishing it was him texting you, but you also knew better.

Luke♡: Fine, don’t answer me. But just know that I don’t plan on waiting forever for you to figure your shit out. 

You scoff and click on Bradley’s contact instead of answering your ex, but just as you began typing, a text appeared on your screen. 

Fratley: Hope your class went by super fucking fast, and it wasn’t boring.

You smile down at your phone and type with one hand while you use your other to rummage around for your keys in your bag. 

Funnily enough, it went by super fucking slowly, and it was a total bore. I blame you.  

You pull out your house key and were just about to insert it into the lock when he texted you again,

Fratley: That’s not really fair, I walked you to that class and everything. Would grabbing some food and shakes with me make it better?

You look at the time and see that it was nearing four thirty in the afternoon, and then your stomach growled. With a shake of your head, you drop your keys back into your bag and turn around as you replied to him.

You know what, it just might. Meet you at Five Guys in a bit?

Fratley: You read my mind.

Five Guys was around a thirty minute walk from campus, but you could probably make it in half that time if you really tried. You’d be risking looking like a sweaty mess when you got there, but it beat paying for a cab. 

You make it to the restaurant by quarter to five, and you spend a second or so admiring the nice looking red two door Jeep in the parking lot before entering the building. 

Bringing your hand up, you wipe away the thin layer of sweat that gathered on your browline as you look around the red and white interior. You drop your hand when you meet Bradley’s gaze, and you smile at him as you begin to walk again. 

He was sitting towards the back near the windows, and you were a bit out of breath when you finally reached him. 

You definitely reached your step goal today. 

“Hi,” you greeted as you dropped your bag onto the seat across from his at the booth. 

“Hey,” he said back with his cute smile that had you blushing like a teenager. 

“I’m sorry I’m a bit late,” you say as you sit down across from him and rest your palms against the table. 

He shrugged, that damn smile still painted on his lips. “It’s okay, we didn’t set up a time,”

You look at him for a few seconds before letting out an embarrassed laugh. “You’re right, that probably would’ve been a smart thing to do,” 

“That’s alright, we’re both idiots,” he grinned and you laughed again in agreement. He looked a bit nervous as he nodded towards one of the two paper cups on the table. “I ordered us shakes, I didn’t know what kind you liked, so I played it safe and got you vanilla.”

“That was nice,” you beam and he slid it over to you. “Thank you.”

He smiled before it promptly dropped. “I just realized that I should’ve waited to order these. You probably think I drugged it or something,”

You laughed loudly before slapping your hand over your mouth. “I wasn’t thinking that at all,” you say as you look down at the shake before back up at him. “And I still don’t think that since you would’ve just admitted to it, and despite what we just said, I think you’re smarter than you let on.”

Bradley quirked a brow as he sipped on his chocolate shake, then grimaced. “I hate paper straws,” 

You snort softly and shrug. “Save the turtles?”

He set his drink down with a look of fake disappointment on his face. “Oh no, you’re one of those girls?”

You lift a brow as you sip on the vanilla shake. “I won’t apologize for thinking about the environment, frat boy,” 

“So you’re telling me you prefer cardboard straws? Is that it?” He scoffed, pulling the soggy straw out of the cup and setting it down on a napkin. “It’s like drinking from a rolled up newspaper.” 

You laugh again and cover your mouth, your gaze softening at the smile that formed on his lips. “That’s oddly specific,”

“But am I wrong?” He asked, and you stayed silent, making him smirk as he sipped on the shake. “That’s what I thought.”

Half an hour goes by, and Bradley was a proper gentleman when he asked what you wanted, then went up and ordered for the both of you. You didn’t know anything about his family life, but you could tell that he was raised at least somewhat right, and that’s going off of the hours you’ve spent with him since that night at the party. 

You were already done with your food and were sipping on your shake as he asked, “Am I allowed to know who made you so mad yesterday? Because I was genuinely caught off guard when you told me to fuck off when I didn’t even say anything yet,”

You shake your head and smile as you pull out your nearly-dissolved paper straw. “I wasn’t telling you to fuck off,” 

“Who were you saying it to then?” He asked and smirked when you tossed the straw into the paper bag with your wrapper. “Told you, by the way.”

Rolling your eyes, you shrug. “It was just my ex,” you answer then add, “And you didn’t tell me anything.”

“I did, too,” he replied as he leaned back and crossed his arms. “Your ex, huh? Do you still like the guy?” He asked and you were probably imagining it, but you could’ve sworn he sounded the smallest bit jealous when he asked that. 

“Like is a strong word, Bradley,” you mutter and he huffs out a laugh. “In all seriousness, I think I stopped loving him long before we broke up.”

“You were in love?” He asked as he gathered up the wrappers and napkins, stuffing them into the paperbag afterwards. 

You nod and give him a grateful smile. “Yeah, he was my highschool sweetheart or whatever,” 

Bradley raised his brows as he nodded. “It was pretty serious then,” he trailed off and you nodded again. He fell silent for a few seconds before leaning over and bracing his elbows on the table. “Are you gonna get back together?”

Now it was your turn to be quiet as you took in his question. You hadn’t let yourself give it much thought, and hadn’t actually decided if you wanted Luke back or not. He was a past chapter in your life, a good one at that, but you wanted more. 

You wanted a fresh start. 

Luke was an amazing boyfriend, and the perfect match for highschool Y/n, but you were getting older. You were maturing, and you supposed Luke was, too, but not in the same way as you. 

You were entering your second year of college, and it was clear that he wasn’t the right fit for the person you were becoming. “I don’t know,” you answer, though you were starting to strongly feel like the relationship was great while it lasted, but maybe it was past the due date to move on. 

Bradley looked in thought for a couple of beats before he asked, “What happened?” He sounded hesitant to ask that, and you could appreciate his kindness and subtle interest in your life. 

“I guess I just…stopped missing him,” you confessed, and it was the first time you’d admitted to that. Your eyes widen a bit in embarrassment and you try to laugh it off as you sit up. “Anyway.”

He gives you a small smile as he stands up and throws away the bag. “Did you drive here?” 

“No,” you answer and stand up as well, grabbing your bag and slinging it over your shoulder. 

Bradley nodded as he pulled out car keys from his pocket. “You called a ride then,” he stated and you shook your head, making him furrow his brows. 

“I walked,” you clarified and watched as his lips parted slightly before he looked out the windows and at the darkness that came with it being night time now. 

“You walked?” He asked and looked back at you, and you nod. “Are you planning on walking back, too?”

You shrugged with a smile. “I don’t like paying for rides,” 

Bradley laughed before taking your hand in his and unknowingly releasing butterflies all over your body with the simple gesture. “Good thing I don’t charge,” he replied and guided you out to the dark parking lot. 

“You have a car?” You ask, a bit shocked since not many people you knew drove or had their own cars. He nodded and your surprised expression dropped as you added, “You already paid for dinner, you don’t have to drive me home as well.”

“I’m not letting you walk half an hour back to campus in the dark by yourself,” he murmured as he led you over to the very Jeep you were looking at before dinner. “I was raised a bit better than that.” 

His words were sweet, but you were too busy looking at the pretty red car. “This is yours?” You ask the most obvious question and he holds up the keys in response, the Jeep label on the chain enough of an answer. “It’s nice.”

He laughed, “Thanks, it was a birthday present,”

“Recently?”

“No, I’ve had her for just under four years now,”

“Her?” You ask with a smirk as he lets go of your hand in order to open the passenger side door for you. 

A faint blush formed on his cheeks, but he wasn’t embarrassed as he nodded. “Yeah, her,”

“Why am I not surprised?” You laughed as he shook his head and closed the door before getting in on the drivers side. 

“What’s that supposed to mean?” He grunted as he started the car and effortlessly backed out of the parking space. 

He did that whole one hand on the wheel while the other was gripping your headrest thing, and you were powerless to stop the blush that formed on your face. “I don’t know,” you were actually at a loss for words at how you managed to find yourself in the continuous presence of a guy like him. 

Not wanting him to see how red your face had gotten, you lean forward and turn on your seat warmer. Bradley glanced over at you with a small grin as he kept his left hand on the steering wheel and his right elbow braced on the center console. “Are you cold?”

“No,” you answer and look out at the dark scenery. “I just like being warm when I’m in a car.”

He laughed, “Why am I not surprised,” 

You spare a look at him and see that he was wearing a boyish grin, and when you asked, “What’s that supposed to mean?” he just shrugged with a smirk.

Oh yeah, you two matched each other’s energy almost too well, and it was a bit concerning how quickly you found yourself liking him. 

“Thanks for dinner,” you say in an attempt to change the subject. “I can pay you back.”

“Please don’t,” he laughed again and glanced over at you before looking back at the dark road. “Five Guys is, like, the cheapest place to eat at. You also bought the tickets yesterday, so we’re nearly even now.”

“Nearly?” 

He nodded and looked over at you again as he said, “Nearly,” 

You fall silent after that, wondering if that meant that he wanted to keep hanging out after tonight. You made it back to campus and Bradley pulled over to the side of the road outside of your dorm, and he turned the car off before turning to you. “Thanks again,” you start and take off your seatbelt. “I like hanging out with you. I know I keep saying it, but you’re different from the other guys I’ve hung out with in the past.”

He smiled at that. “I like hanging out with you, too,” 

You debate on your next words, and you knew you didn’t have much to lose at this point, so you take a nervous breath before saying, “My ex and I aren’t getting back together. I know that earlier I said that I didn’t know, but I think I do. We had a few good years together, but I think it’s time to move on,”

Bradley nodded in understanding, “I hope you didn’t feel pressured to come to that conclusion. I didn’t mean to pry earlier,”

“Oh, no,” you wave him off and grab your bag. “I knew it before, I just wanted you to know, too, I guess.”

He nodded again and shifted in his seat. “I just got out of something, too,” he tells you. “It wasn’t as serious as yours was, but it still fucked me up a bit. I mean it, though, I really like hanging out with you. I almost wish we met sooner, I could use a few more good people in my life.”

You give him a comforting smile. “Yeah, I get that,” you trail off and sling your bag over your shoulder. “Have a good night, Bradley.” You hesitate for a few seconds before leaning over and pressing a kiss to his cheek, and he laughed softly before smiling over at you. 

“Maybe I’ll see you tomorrow? Or later in the week?” He asked with that same smidge of desperation that had you nodding in response. “Have a good night, too, Y/n.” 

You waved at him as you closed the car door and pulled out your keys, and you tried not to think about the fact that he waited until you were fully inside the building before he started the car again and left.