#High School Musical: The Musical: The Series: The Final Season: The Answer Time

[entertainment]

Fanfiction is a huge part of Tumblr- My question for you all is, have you read any fanfiction about your characters, or characters from other pieces of media?

[ambrossart]

DANCING WITH MYSELF

— PART TWO

summary: eddie crashes senior prom hoping to steal a dance with his dream girl, chrissy cunningham. instead, he spends the night stuck in the women’s restroom with you—her snarky, insecure best friend. ❖ pairing: eddie munson x fem!reader ❖ word count: 2,366 ❖ genre: fluff with some angst ❖ series status: complete ❖ warnings: no season 4 spoilers, some coarse language, body image issues, allusions to eating disorders, typical teenage insecurities, angst, jealousy, anxiety, secret crushes, childhood memories, happy ending, lots of 80s music one | two | three | four | five | six | seven | eight | nine | ten

It was no secret that Mrs. Cunningham didn’t care for you. 

When you and Chrissy were in middle school, that wretched woman did everything she could to discourage her daughter from hanging out with you. Said you were a bad influence on her. And why? Because you were, as she so delicately put it, an “alarmingly overweight” child with no sense of propriety. She said this once to your mother over dinner (after your mother had the audacity to allow you a second serving of mashed potatoes), and it turned into a nasty fight that ruined the entire evening. Your mothers spent the rest of the night screaming at each other in the dining room while your fathers drank scotch in the den. Meanwhile, you and Chrissy snuck some apple pie up to your room and listened to your Journey records until Chrissy had to go home. Chrissy ate one bite of pie and pushed her plate away. You ate the rest of yours, but you didn’t enjoy it, not at all. 

Mrs. Cunningham warmed up to you a little once you lost the weight… a little, but not very much. 

You rang the doorbell with your heels clutched in one hand and your dress draped over your forearm. She answered the door with a painted-on smile. 

“Y/N, so good to see you…” and she pulled you into a firm, unaffectionate hug. 

Make no mistake, this woman was not embracing you. She was feeling you. Comparing the shape of your body today to the shape of your body three days ago. 

Luckily for you, you passed. 

Mrs. Cunningham promptly pulled away. “You look healthy.” 

“I swallowed a tapeworm.” 

“Oh…” Mrs. Cunningham gave your chin a light pinch. “Good for you, sweetie!” 

You rolled your eyes and went upstairs to Chrissy’s bedroom. 

“Okay, your mom seriously just tried to measure my body fat with her bare hands! No offense, Chris, but your mom has officially gone batshit.”

Chrissy sighed. “Tell me about it…” She was sitting on her bed and painting her toenails teal to match her prom dress. When you sat down beside her, she put down the nail polish and turned to you with a sad, empathetic smile. “I’m really sorry about Chance.” 

You shrugged. “Whatever, I’m over it.” 

“No, you’re not.” Chrissy saw right through you, as usual. 

“No, I’m not,” you said in a low voice, causing your eyes to well up again. You let a few tears trickle down your cheek, then knuckled the rest away. “God… I was really looking forward to tonight, Chris. I thought it was gonna be kinda special, you know?” You snuffled a few times. “I mean, don’t get me wrong, I wasn’t expecting a Pretty in Pink moment or anything.”

“Oh, I love that movie,” Chrissy said, smiling a toothy smile. 

You laughed. “I know you do.” 

“We need to watch that again soon.” 

“Well, I’m free tonight,” you joked, and Chrissy gave you a pouty look that said, Stop it, so you did. “Like I said, I wasn’t expecting Pretty in Pink, but I guess I just wanted a smidgen of that, you know? Just a fraction of it. Not the whole pie, just a little sliver to get me through these last couple weeks of school. I wanted one great, totally cliched high school experience so that, come graduation, I can finally close this chapter of my life with a smile. Or at least a smirk. I could settle for a smirk.” 

Instead, you frowned. “I guess I should have known better, huh?”

Chrissy scooted closer to you. “No, don’t do that. Don’t do that thing where you think the universe is out to get you because it isn’t, okay? Look at me. Hey, look at me.” 

She grabbed your shoulders, forcing you to look into her eyes. In them, you saw a glistening pool of unshed tears. 

“A bad thing happened,” she said in a quiet, broken voice. “It was a really, really bad thing, and I’m so sorry it happened to you tonight. Believe me, hun, if I could go back in time and change it, I would. You know I would. But we can’t change it. We can’t. And I know every part of you wants to run away right now, to spend the rest of the night holed up in your room watching Prom Night and Carrie and cursing us all into oblivion—”

“Don’t forget the voodoo doll I plan to make of Chance Gallagher.” You made a frantic stabbing motion with your hand. 

“Yes, of course, the inevitable voodoo doll…” Chrissy gave you a tired, affectionate look. “But you know what? If you do that, if you shut yourself out like you did last year, you’ll only be hurting yourself.” She tucked a loose strand of hair behind your ear. “Chance may have flaked on you, but you can still have a great night. You will have a great night. We will have a great night, and do you know why? Because we always have a great time together. Right?” 

You smiled. “Right.” 

Then Chrissy drew you in for a much-needed hug, holding you close until you were ready to let go. “Anyway…” She turned back around. “You’re not the only one having a bad day, you know. I woke up with a huge zit this morning.” 

“Oh my god… do your parents know?” 

“Shut up,” Chrissy said, and gave you a half-hearted slap. “I’m nervous.” 

“About what? The prom vote?” 

“No… you know I don’t care about that. I’m nervous about after prom.” She looked down at her painted toenails, blushing. “Jason said he got a room.” 

Your heart jumped into your throat. “Really?” 

Chrissy nodded demurely, her big blue eyes shaded by long brown lashes. 

“So are you two finally gonna…?”

“I don’t know,” Chrissy said, suddenly afraid. “That’s why I’m nervous.” 

After that, she pulled her knees into her chest and went quiet for a while. Your first thought was, Well, at least I don’t have to worry about that, and that made you a little sad.

You had your first kiss when you were fifteen. 

It was at Katie McDillon’s New Year’s Eve party. You spent most of the night sitting in front of the snack table, sandwiched between Teddy Brubacher and Edith Layne. Edith had to remain seated on account of her broken leg (ice skating accident); Teddy just wanted to keep talking to you… and stare at your chest when he thought you weren’t looking. You ate half the bowl of chips because small talk made you uncomfortable. Chrissy spent the whole night in the arms of Jason Carver. They weren’t officially dating yet, but you knew it was only a matter of time. 

As midnight drew near, Katie turned the lights off and everyone chanted, “Three, two, one…” and Teddy Brubacher wished you a Happy Near Year. Then he kissed you. It was a fine kiss, soft but not sloppy, but it didn’t make you feel any type of way.

While Teddy was kissing you, you saw Jason kiss Chrissy for the first time, their silhouettes softly illuminated by moonlight. It was like one of those perfect, slow-motion movie kisses, and they kept kissing even after the lights came back on. Teddy asked you out while “Holiday” by Madonna played on the living room stereo. You turned him down without even looking at him, and he said you were nothing but a big tease.  

That was the last time you ever listened to Madonna and the first time you felt truly jealous of your best friend. 

Tonight was the second. 

Because there Chrissy was in the perfect prom dress with the perfect prom date, taking perfect picture after perfect picture. 

Mrs. Cunningham kept butting in with a stern “Chrissy, stop slouching, dear,” and Chrissy would always sigh, stand up a little straighter, then look over at you and roll her eyes. 

Jason presented her with a beautiful white orchid corsage and tied it onto her left wrist. Afterwards, she shyly pinned a matching boutonnière onto his left lapel. Her hands were shaking because she was afraid she might accidentally stab him with the pin. Then she reached up and pressed a gentle kiss to his cheek. 

Mr. Cunningham went around capturing everything with his camcorder. He put the camera in front of you, and you covered your face with your hand. Such sweet teenage memories… 

While the couple took pictures, you stood off to the side, in the farthest corner, feeling self-conscious in your strapless dress and worrying if people would notice the small amount of back fat that bulged out from underneath the bodice. And now you felt a little like an asshole because you knew you were about to ruin their perfect evening. Because whether she meant to or not, Chrissy was going to spend most of the night by your side, making sure you were happy, and Jason would be left wondering why his prom date wasn’t spending any time with him. 

But as always, he was a good sport about it. 

While Chrissy went upstairs to change jewelry, Jason came over and kissed your cheek, said you looked very beautiful in your prom dress. 

For a moment, you allowed yourself to blush, to get swept up in the fantasy of Jason Carver, captain of the basketball team, thinking you were beautiful. Deep down, you knew he didn’t really mean it, not like he did with Chrissy, but you thanked him anyway. 

“Sorry you’re stuck with a third wheel tonight.” 

Jason looked at you like you were crazy. “You kidding? I’m the luckiest guy in the world right now. I get to take two gorgeous girls to prom… Now, I don’t see a reason to be sorry about that. Do you see a reason to be sorry about that?” 

You shook your head, a faint blush coloring your cheeks. 

“Good,” he said, and handed something to you. 

It was a corsage. Jason Carver actually bought you a corsage… and now he was taking it out of the box and tying it onto your left wrist, making you hate yourself more and more. 

“I know it doesn’t really match your dress,” he said, “but it’s the best I could do on short notice. Do you like it?”

“I do,” you said, but inside you were dying.

And now Eddie Munson was starting to think he’d made a huge mistake. 

He was sitting in his van outside the banquet hall, watching all the couples enter the building. The girls came in floor-length gowns and cocktail dresses, complete with ruffles and bows and lace, and so much tulle. The guys followed them around in black and white tuxedos, looking like a bunch of penguins marching to their inevitable doom. 

Eddie drummed his hands on the steering wheel, the anxiety welling up inside him. “Shit… am I really doing this right now? Am I doing this?”

He glanced to his right, where his electric guitar was resting in its case. “Okay, talk to me, sweetheart. Give me your wisdom. Am I doing this? Am I going in there? Fuuuck!” He gripped the steeling wheel hard, tried to shake it, then smashed his fist against it. “I can’t do this. Why did I think I could do this? This is a terrible idea!” 

He put his hand on the gearshift, ready to put it in reverse… then withdrew his hand and collapsed against his seat. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. “Okay, I just need to calm down. I need… what the hell do I need?” 

He reached over and opened his glove box, hoping to find something to take the edge off, but—“Goddammit!”—it was empty. He flipped it closed and sat back again. 

“You know what…? Fuck it, let’s just rip off this Band-Aid.” Eddie whipped open the car door and stepped out, beginning his final march. “All right, here we go… to victory or to death.” 

Near the banquet hall entrance, Eddie spotted Jeff and Grant standing with their prom dates. Grant’s date was frantically dabbing his tuxedo jacket with a tissue and blubbering about a tiny, barely noticeable barbecue sauce stain. 

“You did this on purpose, didn’t you? You were determined to ruin my prom pictures.” 

Grant rolled his eyes. “Yes, Meg, I’ve been plotting against you the whole time.” 

She jabbed his chest with her index finger. “Hey, I told you not to order the ribs! I told you!” 

Tara said, “At least you guys got to sit down and eat somewhere nice. Jeff here forgot to make dinner reservations. So instead of my steak dinner, which he promised, I got to dine on a greasy hamburger and stale fries… in a parking lot.” 

“And it was a pretty damn good burger, wasn’t it?” said Jeff. “You certainly ate it—along with half my onion rings.” He turned and saw Eddie approaching from the parking lot, wearing a black suit jacket over a t-shirt and ripped jeans. He put up his hand to wave. “Hey, man! You made it!” 

Eddie went to join them, feeling a little uncomfortable and underdressed. 

Tara took one look at him and said, “You didn’t rent a tux? Even Jeff rented a tux… He forgot to make dinner reservations, but he at least rented a tux.” 

Jeff said, “Oh my god, you’ve gotta get over that already.” 

“Hey, I don’t have to do anything. Okay?” 

Meanwhile, Megan took ten steps back and shrieked, “Oh my god, I can see the stain from over here!” 

That’s when Grant finally lost it. “I WILL RIP THESE TICKETS IN HALF! I SWEAR TO GOD, I’LL DO IT!” 

“Hey, you’re the one who asked me to prom, buddy!” 

“I NEVER THOUGHT YOU’D SAY YES!” 

And that’s when Eddie Munson was struck by a horrifying revelation.

“Shit…”

He had forgotten to buy a prom ticket.

_____________________

PREV // CURRENT // NEXT

[californiaboytoybilly]

🩷🧡💛💚🩵💙💜💐🌸 for Steve, Billy, Jason, Nancy, Chrissy and/or Eddie. I'm in need.

Okay okay, I’m gonna do a mix of them depending on who I have the best answers for. Some questions may get multiple answers :P

🩷 Why are they your favourite?

Billy, Eddie and Nancy are three of my all time favourite characters in a show ever, because I can relate to all of them in very different ways.

With Eddie, it’s about growing up an outcast and visibly out of place in a small town. I was tall, queer and autistic in a town where the last two weren’t welcome (and the first made me stick out, because I was the tallest in my class, especially among girls, at 5’11 by fifteen years old).

For Billy, it’s about the cycle of abuse and the anger that being mistreated brews inside. It’s about sitting outside of school and purposefully missing the bus because I didn’t want to go home. About how- even eight years after leaving the situation- I can’t handle being shouted at without breaking down or lashing out.

And finally, with Nancy, it’s about being constantly underestimated just because I’m a woman. About having a drive to prove people wrong, and sometimes realizing I’ve stepped on toes or treated people unfairly in my path to be seen.

🧡 Anything in common with them?

I kind of got into this above, so I’ll pick different characters for this question.

Chrissy - I was a cheerleader for several years in high school!

Jason - I can sometimes be so set in my beliefs that trying to convince me against my deeply held convictions can be… challenging. Not impossible, but might give you a slight headache.

💛 Do you have any polar opposite traits to them?

A few, yeah.

While Steve is constantly seeking validation through romantic connections, I rarely do so. My need for validation comes more in the form of approval of things I’ve done, or towards my intelligence or creativity. I can and do fall in love, I am in love currently, but in the past it hasn’t been a burden to me to be alone. Romance isn’t something I go out of my way to find, just something I appreciate when it comes along.

💚 Favourite representation headcanons?

Oh, this is a real long list but I will narrow it down for readability’s sake.

Chrissy - I tend to head-canon as suffering from chronic pain. As someone who spent 14 years of my life between competitive gymnastics and cheerleading, as an adult I struggle daily with constant levels of pain from injuries, being dropped, being kicked by flyers, the stress of competition season and more. Cheerleading is incredibly hard on the body if done for multiple years.

Steve - my favourites have to be dyslexic Steve and Italian Steve.

Eddie - Appalachian Eddie truther. Also, that boy is so autistic. Please, just look at him. I tend to double him up and make him AuDHD for projection reasons but also because it just… makes sense.

🩵 What’s a popular headcanon for them that you just can’t get behind?

As much fun as it can be to explore in fics, I can’t see Eddie secretly getting laid all the time. This boy is no sex god. He gets overwhelmed when someone attractive breathes on him. Tripping over his feet when people flirt. He’s too focused on music and D&D. I could see someone trying to hit on him, making some comment about his wand and him getting excited and showing off an actual magic wand replica from a book series he loved.

Also please look at his van for ten seconds and tell me he loves cars and knows how to fix them. That thing coughs up rust in the equivalent of a vehicular smokers cough.

💙 What’s a popular headcanon that you adore for them?

As mentioned above: Dyslexic Steve, touch-starved Billy, Eddie with an oral fixation (Hellfire had to give him the Heimlich one time because Jeff spooked him and he choked on a dice he’d been rolling around in his mouth).

💜 Put that guy into situations / take him out?

See, now, I would love to take them out of situations and give them a break with a vacation and unlimited icy drinks and a on-call therapist but… I do be putting them in horrible situations in my head. Whoops.

💐 Favourite polycules for them?

MMM.

Eddie/Steve/Billy/Jason

Steve/Nancy/Billy/Eddie

Jason/Patrick/Chrissy

Steve/Eddie/Chrissy

Jason/Billy/Patrick/Steve

🌸 Favourite mono ships for them?

Billy: My favourite Billy ships are Mungrove, Byergrove and Harringrove.

Steve: My favourite Steve ships are Steddie, Harringrove, Stargyle and Cheerscoops.

Jason: My favourite Jason ships are Tigerfreak, McCarver, Cargrove and Stason.

Chrissy: My favourite Chrissy ships are Buckingham, Sleuthcheer, Patrick/Chrissy (I refuse to call them Pissy and I can’t think of another ship name 😭) and Hellcheer

Eddie: My favourite Eddie ships are Mungrove, Steddie, Tigerfreak, Edgyle and Edancy.

Nancy: My favourite Nancy ships are Edancy, Bubblesleuth, Sleuthcheer, Bancy and Ronance.

[black-arcana]

Taylor Momsen Explains ‘Gossip Girl’ Exit on Penn Badgley’s Podcast, Details Pain and Darkness After Best Friend’s Death: It ‘Almost Killed Me’

Break out your headbands, Upper East Siders and Jenny Humphrey stans. Taylor Momsen reunited with “Gossip Girl” star Penn Badgley for the first time since the 2012 series finale of The CW teen drama, appearing on the Sept. 6 episode of “Podcrushed,” Badgley’s SiriusXM podcast with Nava Kavelin and Sophie Ansari.

During the hour-long episode, the pair reminisced about their time on “Gossip Girl” together; Badgley portrayed Dan Humphrey, while Momsen played his little sister, Jenny, for four seasons. She was just 12 years old when the pilot was shot, and says she didn’t really want to leave her middle school friends — but was “convinced” to do it.

“Larger powers than me came down and went, ‘This is a great opportunity,'” Momsen, now 30, said during the episode, which was recorded before the SAG-AFTRA strike. It was then, filming the show, that she really leaned into music. “That’s where music became such a solace for me. Thanking back on my life, it was this place where I could just be — writing songs, emoting how I felt. I was by myself a lot. I didn’t have my own clique.”

Of the actors on the show, Momsen, who’d played Cindy Lou Who in “How the Grinch Stole Christmas,” was the youngest — Badgley was 20 when he got the role of Dan, and most of the actors playing the show’s high-school characters were in their early 20s. Only Connor Paolo, who played Eric, the younger brother of Serena (Blake Lively) was even close to Momsen’s age. “I didn’t fit in with you guys, I didn’t fit in with Connor’s friends — I was younger than them,” Momsen said. “I was the new girl. I was ‘Grinch’ girl. I was always in this kind of weird, isolated world, partially of my own creating, probably.”

Momsen was in a band with her school friends before “Gossip Girl,” then moved to New York for the show, which debuted in 2007. Two years later, she founded The Pretty Reckless, the rock band she leads that’s still together today.

“It was a childhood thing that I got put into at two years old. I wasn’t making my own choices then,” she said of acting. “Literally, as soon as I got to an age where I could make my own decisions, it was like a click… I woke up one morning and went, ‘Wait a second. I don’t have to do this? I don’t have to do this other job? I can just play in my band and tour and write songs? I can just do that?’ Granted, a little more complicated to get out of a television show than that, but the answer was yes.”

With that, she said she “uprooted and changed my life overnight,” with the help of the “Gossip Girl” team.

“They went, ‘Well, we can’t let you out of your deal, but we can write you out of the show, so you can go on tour,'” Momsen said. “They really allowed me to follow my dream, and I’m forever grateful and thankful to them for that.”

Momsen, who admitted she’s never watched the show, was a series regular for the first four seasons of “Gossip Girl.” However, she appeared in only four episodes of the fourth season — due to touring — before her character moved to London. At the time, there were reports of her being difficult on set and let go. When Season 5 premiered, she’d permanently exited the show to focus on music, but came back for the finale, “New York, I Love You XOXO,” which aired in 2012 and featured a song from The Pretty Reckless.

The band just wrapped their “Death by Rock and Roll” tour, during which they promoted an album Momsen wrote after two big deaths in her life. In 2017, Chris Cornell died by suicide on the last night of his band Soundgarden’s tour with The Pretty Reckless. Less than a year later, Momsen’s “fifth band member” and best friend Kato Khandwala died in a motorcycle crash.

“It took me very down. I fell into a very dark hole of depression and substance abuse, and everything that comes with death and loss and trauma,” she said on the podcast. “I essentially quit everything. I stopped making music; I couldn’t listen to music. It bummed me out, for lack of better term. It was dark. It got very dark there for a while.”

Momsen shut herself off from everyone and “fell apart,” but was eventually able to turn to writing new music to honor Khandwala’s legacy. “I’m going to finish what we started, and not let this take me down entirely,” she recalled feeling. “It came very close to that. I had to make a very conscious decision at some point — where I was either gonna die or I was gonna move forward. I chose to move forward.”

Each night on tour, the band walked on stage to audio of Khandwala’s footsteps, which is the opening of the album’s title track. “It took something that was incredibly sad and devastating and almost killed me, and I tried to turn it into my power,” Momsen said. “He’s here with me every night. He’s no longer here but we’re still doing this together.”

[leelee10898]

Dancing with our hands tied.

Book: TRR/ROE

Pairing: Leo x F!OC

Word count: 1,339

Warnings: swearing, but mostly fluff

Setting: This is a flash back to Leo's social season, before Madeline was chosen and before he ran off to go on a cruise.

A/N: Life has been super crazy, with the end of the school year, holidays and work I haven't had much time to write. I quickly got this together to post so, sorry for any errors. 😬

A/N 2: I have an idea for this to become a series of some sort. More details to come. Also as always if you'd like to be added to the tags, let me know.

This was written for @choicesflashfics using the prompts;

"How long have you been standing there?"

"You're allowed to fall apart a little."

"That's all I really want and need. Some time with just you "

Song inspiration:

The social season was well underway, just a few short weeks and he would be forced to choose a bride. Five suitors from five noble houses across the country and globe with Cordonian ties all vying for his hand. He should be gloating about having five women throw themselves at him, wanting a piece of whatever attention he chose to give, and under normal circumstances he would relish in it. He was dubbed the playboy prince after all but this was something else entirely.  The desperation in their voices when he spoke to them, some doing a better job than most if their words didn't give them away their faces told it all. He was trained to read people from a very young age, body language, and touch, all tell a story and these women wanted one thing, the crown. 

Leo stood in the middle of a crowded room speaking to Lady Jessica and her parents Lord and Lady Britton. Jessica was one of his suitors, as he listened to Lady Britton ramble on about being a suitor during Constantine's first social season, he felt the panic spread through his chest. Of course, she didn't leave out the part where Constantine chose his mother, the mother who couldn't cut it as a Royal and fled, leaving him behind. Lord Britton seemed to have enough of his wife's antics he cleared his throat at the mention of Lady Britton's talents of playing the flute. 

"Yes, Our Jessica is also very talented in the musical area. She mastered playing the piano at the age of four. Isn't that right, Jessica?" He turned his attention towards his daughter. 

"Why yes, Father. That is correct. I am also skilled in archery, ballet, and painting." She answered right on cue, giving a shy smile and batting her eyes. 

"All wonderful skills a wife should possess, wouldn't you agree your highness?" Lord Britton's attention was now on him. 

"Why yes, Lord Britton. I agree, all wonderful talents." Leo politely answered, desperate to find a way out of his current conversation. 

"Splendid?" Lord Britton laughed before turning serious.  "The end of the social season is quickly approaching, if I may be so bold as to ask, have you made a decision yet?" 

The panic now had spread throughout his body, his nerve endings were tingling and his hands began to sweat. "No. I have not come to a decision yet." Leo carefully chose his words, "The decision does not come lightly, choosing Cordonias next queen is something to be taken seriously, I intend to take careful consideration in choosing my future bride." He settled on a quick, sharp answer, in hopes to shut him up; it seems to have worked as he watched the fear flash before lord Britton's eyes. He nodded stiffly. "Of course your highness." 

Leo hated making small talk with the suitor's parents, his eyes did a quick scan of the room and finally, he spotted his out. 

"Now if you will excuse me, there is a matter that requires my attention." Leo cut the conversation off at the knees, he turned to leave, "Lord Britton, Lady Britton, Lady Jessica." He nodded to the three quickly walking through the ballroom and disappearing behind a door on the far side. He walked down the long hall and into one of the studies his father often used to discuss private matters during events.

He stripped his jacket off immediately, tossing it onto the floor, loosening his tie as he paced the room. Breathing in and out he gripped a hold of the tie yanking it free from his neck. Leo walked over to the bar cart and poured a large glass of scotch, quickly letting the contents burn its way down his throat. 

"It's too much. To much. I, Im not cut out for this. I can't do this." He began to pace, grabbing a fist full of his hair and letting out a frustrated growl.  He turned, stopping dead in his tracks to find a beautiful brunette standing there with a nervous look on her face. Lady Ava was attending the social season with her uncle, one of Constantine's Allies from Australia. She and Leo had grown close during the season, and while she wasn't one of his suitors, he still found ways to be around her. 

"I'm sorry, I. I should go." Ava stammered, averting her eyes. 

"How long have you been standing there?" Leo breathed out. 

"Not long." She quickly answered, casting her eyes to the side. 

"Long enough I'm sure." He let out a sarcastic chuckle. "Well, I guess you'll be running for the hills now. Now that you know what a freak show I am." 

"Is that what you want?" Her question threw him off, guard.  It wasn't a question he was asked often, no one took into consideration his wants. 

"I don't understand." Her question confused him. 

"I didn't think it was a hard question." Ava closed the door and made her way across the room. "Do you want me to leave? Is that what you want?" 

Leo stood there staring at her. Out of all his suitors, she was the only one he made a real connection with only she wasn't a suitor. "No." He finally answered. 

"Do you want to talk about it?" She questioned and he shook his head. 

"What do you want me to say? I fell apart, I lost my composure, I cracked under pressure, what a fucking great king I'll make." He let out another sarcastic snort. 

Ava closed the distance between them, "You're allowed to fall apart a little." She placed a comforting hand on his arm. "Even the best of us fall apart sometimes, I know this has to be hard, I can't begin to imagine what you are going through. I know this isn't what you wanted out of life." 

"It isn't but, it's what I was born to do, literally. I don't get a say, what I want doesn't matter. I don't get time to myself. " He turned away to stare out the window. 

"It matters to me." She spoke and he turned to look at her again. "Is that what you want? Time alone? Because right now, you're not in a ballroom, it's just the two of us." 

Leo crossed the room closing the distance between the two of them. He reached out softly cupping her face with his hands. "That's all I really want and need. Some time with just you." He lowered his voice, eyes searching her face.

"Leo." She breathed out, closing her eyes. 

"You're the only one who gets me here, you see me as more than a crown." Leo lifted her chin forcing her to look at him. 

"Because you are more than a crown. You're more than all of this." She motioned around to nothing.  "At the end of all of this, when you make your choice, Just remember that the crown doesn't make the man. You can shape yourself and this country in whatever way you see it." Ava smiled at him and with that Leo leaned in claiming her lips in a soft kiss, before pulling away and resting his forehead on hers. 

"I do not know what the next few weeks will hold," he spoke. "But just know that you are special to me, Ava." 

Ava wrapped her arms tightly around Leo's waist. The two stayed that way for a few minutes before reluctantly pulling apart. 

"We should probably get back before someone notices we are both missing. What a scandal that would cause." She giggled.  

"If it's a scandal you're looking for, I can arrange for something more worth it than a hug." Leo waggled his brows which earned and eye roll. 

"You sir, are diabolical. Now Let's go." She motioned towards the door. 

"Its all I have going for me and wouldn't want to be any other way." Leo shrugged and smiled. He wasn't sure who he would end up with at the end of the season but he would hold her memory for a lifetime.

@kingliam2019 @ao719 @emichelle @annabellewynter @twinkleallnight  @tessa-liam @riseandshinelittleblossom @blackcatkita @katedrakeohd @tinkie1973 @ownworldresident @cordoniaqueensworld @lovingchoices14 @indiana-jr @txemrn @bascmve01 @queenwalton @sfb123 @umccall71 @choicesficwriterscreations

[hsmtmtsnet]

High School Musical: The Musical: The Series fans have been waiting to see Ricky (Joshua Bassett) and Gina (Sofia Wylie) act on their feelings for years — and creator Tim Federle says the anticipation will soon be over.

“We always keep the fans in mind because we know they are why we are on the air and we want them to be satisfied,” Federle, 43, exclusively told Us Weekly ahead of the show’s season 4 premiere. “And also, you want to surprise people, do some twists and trust your own storyteller heart. Because I think if you try to please everybody, you don’t end up pleasing anybody.”

Ricky and Gina’s feelings for each other have been teased since the mockumentary debuted in 2019. Despite a charged moment at the season 1 homecoming dance, it took several more years before the fictional couple gave their connection a chance.

“It’s so full circle and impactful. One of the reasons we wanted to wrap season 4 on a high was to be able to give the audience a sense of closure with the characters they’ve stuck with for years,” Federle explained. “Same thing with the actors — and collaborating with them. [Joshua and Sofia] are the best.”

According to the show’s creator, fans can expect plenty of big moments for Ricky and Gina in the upcoming episodes.

“They’ve got a duet this season that is among my favorite songs we’ve ever done. It is super emotional and has a hook to it that is really cool,” he noted. “Oftentimes, I think the first time you’re in love, you think that’s the standard and it should last forever. My evolving thought is that Ricky and Gina are really in love for the first time together because they’ve experienced some of the world. They’ve gotten a little pushed down. So much happens and it’s beautiful to be able to write this relationship — no holds barred.”

Federle went on to say that it was always the plan to make Gina’s bond with Ricky stand out. Before the pair started dating, Ricky had a tumultuous relationship with Nini (Olivia Rodrigo) while Gina struggled to maintain a romance with E.J. (Matt Cornett).

“I remember we had this thing in the writers room where we always tried to answer the question, ‘But why Ricky for Gina?’ Because E.J. is this amazing guy — who I think the audience will see is starting to land in a really good place in his life. And what we said is, ‘Ricky always makes Gina laugh,'” Federle told Us. “She can be really competitive, self-possessed, ambitious, she can beat herself up if things don’t go well and she’s a real people-pleaser. Ricky just can cut through all of that and make Gina laugh. And I think that’s one of the qualities of their relationship that she hasn’t had with another guy.”

He continued: “Ricky has these silly, goofy qualities [that] she has. I mean, there’s this look on Sofia Wylie’s face when she looks at Josh and there’s a look on Josh’s face when he looks at Sofia. I’m like, ‘Nobody amuses Gina like Ricky and nobody makes Ricky happy like Gina. That is so real and worth holding onto. Then the question of the season [becomes], ‘Is the timing right?'”

The fourth and final season of High School Musical: The Musical: The Series premieres on Disney+ August 9.

[joe9cool]

Collide - Justin Herbert - 9

Sara was on cloud fucking nine. 

Justin had just left for practice, they had a small breakfast together before he left, telling her he’d see her Sunday night. They were leaving straight for Texas after practice, which sucked Sara was going to miss him but she was otherwise happy 

“I could fall in looovve with you.” Sara sang as she twirled around his living room, her phone playing Selena on full blast from the bluetooth speaker. She poured herself a big mimosa while she was cleaning. It was a celebratory occasion afterall, she was happy, she officially had a man, who despite his injury blew her back out last night.

Selfish as this may, she wanted him to recover fast, not only for the team, but fuck. Justin was a whole foot taller than her, she wanted him to take advantage. Use that size to fuck her up. I mean she couldn’t complain, he ate her out like a starved man last night. She was in such a good mood, she didn’t even check twitter and it didn’t even bother her that Taylor would be working alongside her man. 

As she was dancing, she picked up Nova and swung her around, the cat looking confused. Her phone began ringing, and Sara saw that it was her Agent. She picked up. “Hello?”

“Sara I have some huge news,” Derek stated. He was known for getting straight to the point. “So guess who reached out to me?” Before she could answer, he cut in “Richelle Mead!”

She gasped. “The author? Of the Vampire Academy books?”  Memories of her being obsessed with the six book series in high school, camping out all night for the newest release, texting all her friends about Dimitri and Rose. 

“The one and only, and guess what? They are making a movie adaption of the books. Richelle is already scouting for the roles and she said she is very interested in having you play Rose!” 

“Shut the fuck up!” She jumped up and down, forgetting that she was holding an animal in her other arm. After setting the cat down with a quick apology, she began her celebration. “Did she give a timeline to anything?”

Derek sighed, “Nothing yet, we probably wouldn’t be looking at any finalization until the end of 2023. But the studio would be Lionsgate and they are looking to spend the money right now. You are the most sought out actresses, and a sure blockbuster.” She smiled, well it for sure would be an amazing opportunity.  “Keep me informed.”

“That’s what I am here for, baby. Also, Ben from Lord Huron reached out and asked if you would be able to sing on another track. They are rereleasing their album with a couple bonus tracks.”

“Oh that’s great! I still have Ben’s number! I will call him as soon as we are done.” They went over filming, and asked if she got the script for the new season of the show. Once they finalized that they hung up.

Once dressed and complete with hair and makeup (emphasis on makeup covering the hickeys on neck, she headed out to meet Ben and the others. Sara was a huge Lord Huron fan, discovering them in 2012 as a sixteen year old, and introduced the show’s audience to their music,  and they blew up. When The Lead singer reached out late 2020 and asked if she wanted to be a part of ‘I lied’ she freaked out, the song and the music video was a success, and as a thank you he painted the single album cover that hangs in her home. Justin asked about it the first time he came over, and she put a bunch of their songs on Spotify for him to listen to.

The studio the band was working at was a decent drive and with the LA traffic it was about a couple hours later that she walked into the old warehouse that he converted into a recording studio. After the greetings they got to work. Ben asked her what songs she wanted to sing on and she chose ‘Meet me in the City’ and ‘Drops in the Lake’. Meet me in the city was a very sexy song about lovers who were in a forbidden relationship and wanted to run away together. It made her think of her and Justin’s story.  Drops in the Lake was a sad song about Love lost and wishing you could go back in time. 

Ben was remixing in the booth and Sara decided to post a photo of the sound studio on her stories. Immediately people began replying, however one caught her eye,

HarryStyles: Glad to see you're in the studio again. Takes me back.

She stared at it. Why the fuck would he send this? What does this all mean? She had spent so many nights wanting this moment. All the thirst traps she posted on insta, all the moments she pretended she was living her best life with her friends while she was really drunk and down a self destructive path. Now she picked herself up, has someone else in her life and he's doing all of this? For what? He is still with Olivia and they seem happy. So why?

"Alright Sara" Ben's voice broke her from her trance. "So I'm gonna go in and record the first verse, and then you do the second. We will combine together for the chorus and you will sing the last line of the song." She smiled. "Oh that's my favorite line!" 

She watched as Ben stepped in the booth and the music began playing. She was on the couch, swaying back and forth and singing along. Since this was a re-record, she was up before she knew it. Once she got the cue she started to sing her part

Go home and say goodbye forever

Tell your ball and chain you won't be back around.

Forget the life you had and don't look back.

Get your courage up and drink this down.

If our love is so wrong, tell me why does it feel so right?

She closed her eyes and pictured the events of the night before. Justin untying the strings of the bikini before reaching his large hands up to cup her breasts. Her breath getting heavy as she felt his lips on her neck. Her reaching behind her and grabbing his length and stroking as she heard his moans. 

Her voice breathy as she sang the chorus

Meet me in the city baby

Meet me in the city baby

Meet me in the city baby.

Am I not the one you're dreaming of my angel?

Am I not the one you wanna love forever?

Sara stopped and opened her eyes and smiled at Ben. Who smiled back and pressed the mic 

that connected them to the booth. "You fucking killed it Sara! I love the voice at the end. You put so much emotion to it."

"Why thank you Ben." He was a great guy. They had so many things in common. His wife was the greatest as well. She had them over for dinner many times. As she came back into the room she saw he was messing the buttons(she didn't know what anything did. Despite Ben and Harry teaching her.) 

"So how's everything? Anything exciting?"

Ben cursed as he hit the wrong button.

Sara laughed and sat on the couch behind him. "Things are going good." She hesitated. "I'm seeing someone." Ben turned around to face her  "Really? Anyone I know?"

"Justin Herbert." He looked at her. "He's the quarterback for the Los Angeles Chargers."

"Ah. Sports?" She rolled her eyes. "The football team." He laughed. "Now you know damn well if it isn't baseball I don't give a shit."

She laughed. "You're right, I should have known."

,"is it a new thing?" She nodded. "Three months. But Ben he is amazing, it's like it's been years. It's crazy, because we are total opposites but the same as. I'm an extrovert, he's an introvert. He hates the media and attention, it's pretty much my job. I'm short, he's tall. But I'm crazy about him in every way."

"Does he feel the same?"  She stopped." He does, but he has a hard time showing it. He's not the most romantic guy, but he's trying."

Ben nodded. "What?"

He sighed. "I'm not saying every guy I'd the same. But  when I met my wife I didn't have to try. Now granted you said he's an introvert, but I hope it's because of that. Sara, you're like a sister to me and I don't want to see you get hurt again."

It was almost the exact same thing Bella said to her. Which pisse her off. "It's different, I met his family. Trust me if you meet him you will see what I am seeing."

"What do you mean if?" 

"Well he is not really into the whole family and celebrity thing. So I don't know if he would be comfortable meeting my friends."

“This is someone you want to be in a relationship with?" That shut her up, and Ben knew he pushed a bit too far. "Listen."

"Let's just finish the recordings" She got up. "I have to use the bathroom" and she walked out.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Atta boy Herbo!!" Justin turned around, following the voice towards his Offensive Lineman who  was cheering, soon the whole locker room was yelling.

"What's going on?" Justin was confused, did he have a good practice, was it some milestone he hit?

"My boy made some lady very happy!" Mike hollered! Justin was still confused. "You don't see your back? Or more importantly feel it?"

"My man Herbo don't feel nothing! He got that dog in him!" The whole locker room laughed. Justin went to the mirror and turned around.

Holy shit 

There were scratches everywhere. From Sara's nails that were done when she was doing promo. He didn't even realize she was scratching that hard. Well, he did keep telling her to go harder. Whoops 

"Ayo! Who's the lucky girl? You still hitting Bisciotti?" 

He would never be able to escape that name. "No, actually my girlfriend did this."

Mike stopped. "Herb, you mean?" Justin nodded his head and smiled. Mike almost tackled him. "AYO Man!!! I'm happy for you! Look at you getting your head out of your ass!!! Sara is a great girl!!!"

"Wait Sara? That's her name?" Ekeler was invested as well now. He noticed his teammate was silent. "Come on man! This is huge our little man is growing up" he stood up to ruffle Justin's hair. 

"Wait, you met Sara?"

Mike laughed. "Well we met her in July when we went to Joe's wedding. Really cool, too cool for Herb. I don't know what she sees in him."

Justin blushed. Not liking all of this attention on him and the relationship. "Come on  guys, shut up." It came out weak and the group laughed even louder.

"You gotta let us meet her man! This is huge!" Sebastian swung his arm around Justin

"I don't know yet guys. It's too soon."

Just shoved off Sebastian's arm and headed towards the showers. Making sure to keep a good time for the team to get on the plane."

Ekeler looked towards the group. "Did you see how red he got? My man's in love "

After the shower the guys got their stuff ready. Justin sent a quick text to Sara.

J: Getting ready to board plane. Miss you already."

S: miss you . Get the W for me.

J: look at you speaking like a true football fan. 

S: learned from the best. Also I'll be watching in your jersey…. And nothing else. Want a picture for good luck?

Justin groaned. This girl was going to kill him

J: only if we win. And I don't throw an interception.

S: I'll blow you if you don't throw one. What am I saying. I'll blow you either way.

"Hey Herb what's with the pink face? Talking to ya girl." Bash came out of nowhere and looked over Justin's shoulder. "AYE AYE My man's getting laid Sunday night!"

"Fuck off" Justin's phoned dinged and he looked at it. It was a selfie of her blowing a kiss to him. Bash gasped.

"Get the fuck out." Justin tried to silence him but it was too late. "Dawg your girl is Sara Wozniak!" Grabbing the attention of the other players, who turned towards Justin. "Ayeee Herbos girl is Sara Wozniak"

Murmurs of "atta boy Herb" and "holy shit" came about. Bosa came over. "Sara Wozniak! Her show is my favorite! I binged the first two seasons in Quarantine."

Justin's face was really pink now. "We met at Joe's wedding, and hit it off."

Bosa shook his head. "That fucker, I didn't get an invite. I got to give him shit for that later." 

Before the conversation could continue Staley called them over to discuss some things before takeoff. Justin was in deep thought. Was he ready for Sara to meet all of these guys? Was it going too fast?

Then it occurred to him. He had a football game to win. This should be the furthest on his mind. He turned on his laptop and began to watch game highlights from the Texans games.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Was it a bit early to start drinking? It probably was but Sara didn't care. After the studio Ben invited her to a local western bar with him and his wife for some drinks. It was 1pm, so not too bad. While Ben and Sasha sipped on their beets she enjoyed a spiked blueberry lemonade. 

"Hey listen, I'm sorry for making all these assumptions about this Justin guy. I should trust your judgment about it. He seems great." Ben smiled and Sara could tell that while he was sorry, there was some truth about his previous statements. "I know you guys are looking out for me and I appreciate it. But trust me it's been good so far. We got off to a rough start, but it seems that he is a better person. He's just stressed about the injury and the pressure of the team doing well."

Ben nodded. "Remember if he doesn't treat you right I'm a phone call away to beat his ass. I could too."

Sasha laughed. "Babe, he's 6'6 and you're barely 6'2 I don't know about that." Sara joined in  " actually I don't know if he's a fighter so you might have an advantage there Ben."

Halfway through their lunch Sara's phone began to ring, she excused herself when she saw Timothe's name.

"Hello Timmy!"

"Sara, my favorite girl, how are you?" She heard the smile on his face. He was always happy.

"I'm great, for what do I owe this phone call for?"

"I need you to do a huge favor and attend Virgil's birthday party as my date."

Every year since Virgil Abloh's death. A party was held on his birthday. He loved parties and he made his friends promise they would continue to celebrate his life. It was a big event that was held at a mansion. The best food, alcohol, and music. All of the celebs would be there."

Sara laughed. "You know damn well I wouldn't let you go to that party alone. Timmy. I will see you Saturday night." 

After plans had been made she returned to her lunch. 

Her phone buzzed again. It was Justin.

J: She lit a fire and now she's in my every thought.

Sara smiled. So he saw her story. He started following her a few days ago and began replying to all of her stories.  Some funny replies and liked a couple photos. He joked that she should take down all of her thirst traps. There was a little back and forth but eventually they came down. She didn't care, everything was going great.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Virgil Forever!!"

Her and Timothee screamed in the elaborate photo booth as it snapped photos. It was Saturday night, and the party for the late Virgil was in full swing as her and Timothee arrived late (her makeup artist couldn't get a lash to stick, and her black curve hugging dress designed for her by Virgil was impossible to find in her closet.) She and Tim arrived to a sea of paparazzi outside the mansion. No doubt the rumor mill was going to be running wild.

Sara had been dogging the questioning that Timmy had given her at her house when he walked into her closet and saw men's clothing. (Sara had stolen a little bit of Justin's shirts and sweatshirts) She had simply told him that she purchased them and they were clothes to relax around the house. He didn't believe that one bit but he left it alone until they were in the car. 

"So you are seeing someone?" Sara shrugged. "I've been on a few dates with some dudes. All douchebags."

"So you steal their clothes?"

"Well some I bought others I took after a hookup."

The subject was dropped when they arrived.  Drinks were poured, appetizers were served and photos were taken. She took photos with Naomi Campbell, among others. She had hit the dance floor after a few. Her heels were killing her, and so Timothee had to hold them while she switched into a pair of flats.

She was wobbling around looking for the restrooms. She went outside to catch some air. Coming across a few strangers she asked if they had a cigarette on them. Sara liked to indulge in one when she was drinking or stressed. She hadn't told Justin about her secret. What he didn't know wouldn't hurt him.

Unfortunately her cover was blown when he FaceTimed her. She wasn't thinking, and she picked up with the white stick in her mouth. "Heey baby." She slurred. 

His eyes narrowed. "What is in your mouth?" His tone was angry. Well fuck

She took it out of her mouth and blew out the smoke. "A cig, they hit the spot when drinking."

"Take that shit out your mouth." She giggled. "Make me. You're not here so I have to have something in my mouth."

Justin growled. "God you are so fucking dirty. I need to teach you a lesson when I get home. How many puffs did you take?"

She thought for a minute. "Probably like nine so far." She took another one. "That makes ten." Justin smirked. "What?"

"Just counting the ass spankings." She moaned. "Fuck you Justin Patrick!"

"Huh?"

"You always do this shit to me when youre not here! Leaving me a fucking mess that you can't satisfy."

Justin laughed. "But don't I always make up for it?" 

"I guess."

"Good girl. Now please do not ever let me catch you smoking again. It's an awful habit. And also please go home. I don't like you being drunk when I'm not around."

She wanted to push further. "You don't trust me?"

"I don't trust anyone around you."

"Well you're lucky I'm over this party and I need to prepare for the awful hangover tomorrow." He laughed.

He stayed on the phone with her the entire time she said goodbye to friends, and in the car ride to her place. (Which sucked when she realized most of her shit was at his house.) They hung up and she only had the energy to wash her face and strip naked from the curve hugging dress. 

—----------------------------------------------------------------------------*----

Sara was never drinking again.

It was a fucking miracle how she managed to pull herself together after last night. Well she had woken up to Heidi bitching her out after a clip of her singing the Jeffrey Dahmer line from the controversial song went viral. Big deal everyone else was. Heidi wrote up a apology to put outon her Twitter, even though the consensus among the people was that is was stupid to get mad at that. Everyone at that party was singing it as well.After throwing up a few times she put on her comfy shorts and an oversized t-shirt, skipping the makeup and the contacts she went over to Joe and Alisha's house to watch the game.It was off to a good start, Justin and the team looked good, well let's face it she was only focused on Justin the entire time.

At one point Joe got up to take a phone call and they showed a close up of number 97 on the field. Alisha sighed dreamily. "Bosa is so damn fine." Sara turned her head slowly to avoid dizziness. "Bosa?”

Alisha took a sip of her water. "Joey Bosa. Sweet man, he's huge. He weighs almost 300 lbs."

"Jesus." Sara muttered. "Imagine all that weight on you." Alisha choked and began to cough laughing. "Is it bad that I imagined it as well?"

Both girls were giggling as Joe side eyed them as he came back into the room "What's funny?"

"Sara was ogling Bosa. " his wife stated. "You bitch. I wasnt" Joe groaned 

"Not you too. You already have Herb."  Sara smiled. "Nothing wrong with looking."

"Speaking of Herb, I spoke with Ann-Sophie. He is treating you right? Cause I'll kick his ass." It was Sara's turn to groan. Fucking big mouth. Also what is with the guys wanting to fight Justin? Especially when they weren't even close to his size.

"First off, you are 5'10 and are not cracking 200 lbs. Second, everything is okay now. It was rough but we are official."

Joe sighed. "Listen, Herb is a good guy, he's just not used to living our lifestyle and I think he gets overwhelmed and doesn't know how to handle his feelings. He is football, football, football. He's had flings before but that's it." At the mention of flings Sara was curious. "What flings?"

"He hasn't told you anything?" Sara shook her head no. "Aww fuck, I shouldn't be saying anything. It's not my business."

"He won't open up to me about that, and to be fair I haven't said anything either. I swear I won't say anything." Joe paused. "You swear you won't mention anything?"

Sara shook her head yes

"Last I heard, he was sorta seeing a reporter for the NFL network. Can't recall her name, however it's not too much of a secret but they were trying to keep it on the down low. Could ruin her reputation. However they broke it off last season. She was traveling all over the place. Herb isn't into that. He's a hermit."

She snorted. "You're telling me, we've only been to Jerry's once. Not that I mind, but he's definitely a recluse." Joe laughed. Sara paused, unsure of how to ask the next question. "Do you think he would be seeing both of us at the same time?"

Joe didn't hesitate. "Nah, Justin wouldn't o

Do that to you. He's a good dude from a good family. What makes you think that?"

She didn't want to blow her cover of already knowing about Taylor. "I don't know. I guess since you've known him the longest you would know what he is like."

"Again He's a good dude. Just be patient with him, he's not used to a relationship." 

The conversation was interrupted by the Texans scoring and making it a close game. "WHAT THE FUCK! IM SORRY LOMBARDI NEEDS TO GO!" 

Alisha rolled her eyes. "Sara, do you want to come help me get some food out?" She nodded and followed her to the kitchen."

As she got out the microwavable snacks she stated to Sara. "You knew about the reporter didn't you?"

Sara tried  to look surprised. "Wait what? What makes you think that?"

Alisha smiled. " a woman always knows. We are always one step ahead. You'd think these men would understand that by now."

"When he got injured, I spent a few nights at his house. While he was out, she sent him a bear with an edible arrangement. It was signed 'your TayBae.' That's not someone who thinks the relationship cooled down. Then there were posts on Tumblr saying he picked her up from the airport over the summer. Which would have been right before he met me." She sighed. " I don't want to say anything, cause that would make me hypocrite with Harry but it's eating me up."

"Sara you can't do that. It wouldn't make you a hypocrite. Your relationship with Harry was long over before Justin came into the picture." She pondered over that.

"The only solace is that everytime he has been in LA I've been with him, the exception being when I was in New York."

"Well I'm not trying to sound like Joe, but if he asked you to be his girlfriend, he would have ended it. He isn't like that."

Sara believed it. "Okay"

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

"We doing a victory Brisket at Herb's house? Justin looked up from his tablet to see the whole team smiling at him. "I don't know man. My ribs hurt and we should rest."

"You are so full of shit. I heard you ask the doc for an injection after the game." Bash began laughing. "Oh I get it Herb you in for a long night ehh. Atta boy!" The plane began laughing while Justin flushed red. He had a nice night planned with Sara, one that didn't involve the team."

"That's none of your business." Was all he could say and it sent the boys laughing harder. Mike jumped in. "Ayyee gathering at Herbs tomorrow who's in?"

The usual group chimed in that they would be there. He heard a new voice. "I'm in." He looked over and saw Bosa staring at the group. "I've been wanting to try this famous Brisket you all rave about. "Justin thought nothing of it. Although it was weird that he was joining them.

It was whatever, he just wanted to go home to Sara. He had some plans.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Justin woke up. He felt refreshed.

Except he wasn't on the team plane, he wasn't even on the damn bus.

He was in bed. His bed. He looked around, seeing the usual. Nothing seemed different, until he looked at the photos on the wall. Which was weird, cause he didn't have photos in his bed.

There was one of his family, and one of him and Sara. He felt something on his finger and he looked. It was a shiny silver band. He held up his hand and inspected it. 

"Hi baby!" He looked up to see Sara enter the room. Her stomach looked a little swollen. "Your kid is really active today."

Before he could respond he woke up. He was gasping for breath. He was back on the plane. No one was paying attention. He rested his head and took a deep breath.

That was weird. That meant nothing 

Right?

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"How are your ribs?"

Justin let out a heavy gasp as Sara moaned. "You're seriously ughhhhh oh god baby asking me about my ribs?" He let out another moan as Sara rolled her hips "Fuck baby don't stop."

He was sitting on the bed feet down while Sara was riding him. As soon as he came through the door they were all over each other. Justin had shown her why it wasn't a good idea for him to shave his facial hair. (She had teased him before about shaving, she might have to rethink that)

She moaned as Justin started to suck and bite at her nipples. Once he discovered it as her weakness there was no going back. "God I love your tits." He took them both in his hands and squished his face in between them. "Mine, no one else gets to see these." Sara rolled her eyes. She had mentioned to him that she had a couple roles she had to turn down because they wanted full frontal nudity. She was okay with bras and sex scenes, even the illusion she was nude but that was it. She didn't expect Justin to be so possessive. It was fucking hot to be honest.

"Oh god babe I'm gonna cum!" Sara moaned as she came, him throwing his head back as she felt him release in her. They both collapsed on the bed. Trying to catch their breaths. Sara looked over at Justin and smiled, him returning the expression. "Sooo tomorrow.." He trailed off as she began tracing his chest. "Some of the guys are coming over tomorrow for a victory Brisket. I have to order a bunch of groceries."

"We can go shopping tomorrow. I can make some cookies or something." She couldn't hide the excitement in her voice as she thought about meeting his teammates.

"Naw I think we should just get delivery, it will be easier and you know…." He didn't finish the sentence. She already knew where it was going. He didn't want to draw attention, she exhaled. "I know you're right." She got up to use the bathroom  and she heard Justin get up and follow her. She decided to take a bath, she was surprised to see all the bath stuff he bought. 

Sara lit some candles and started the water. Looking for the bubble solution, she dumped a hefty amount. As she was doing this she felt his eyes on her.  "I'm sorry." He said

"For what?" She submerged herself, moaning as the warm water hit all the Sore muscles. 

"One day I'll be comfortable with being on camera and photographed. It's just intimidating. The fame, I guess it's just people prying into my life I don't like."

She nodded "I understand, trust me it's a lot. Everyone knows almost everything about you but honestly it silences people. I used to be like that. Closed off, but I feel like it gives people ammo to talk crap, to fill the narrative with what they want. I'm not saying life has to be an open book, but people can make things up." He smiled. "I guess. Can I join you?"

"You don't have to ask." He slipped in and rested his head against her shoulder as she laid kisses on his neck. "Are you trying to go for round two?" She laughed. "I mean," her hand slipped down and began to trace his abs. "I wouldn't be opposed. But you gotta be careful. I don't need LA coming after me because I put you out for the season." He snorted. "Die by fucking you is a dream."

She laughed and continued rubbing his chest, avoiding the mid section. Justin sighed. "Please don't stop."

And she didn't, and they did go for round two."

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Alright guys. Practice and media tomorrow. I think we all know the keys to beating the browns next week." Staley turned off the projector and the guys got up. They had a workout, followed by some video review of next week's opponent. It was noon, and Justin had told the guys that were coming over to be at his home around three. He and Sara had delivered a bunch of groceries and she was running around making sure they had enough food prepared. She had texted him pictures of the salads she made as well as drinks. It was a lot, but some guys would be able to take home leftovers as well. Sara had Italian roots, she told him as such there was no such thing as too much food. 

Justin got home, showered and saw that Sara was dressed and ready. "Do you need my help with anything?" She shook her head no "you can start grilling whenever you want." He gave her a kiss and started seasoning the meat and got everything ready. Before they knew it it was 3 and some people started arriving. Once the fawning over who she was stopped everyone began relaxing.

Sara noticed Justin's demeanor was different. When he introduced her he just introduced her as 'Sara' no 'my girlfriend' or anything. She tried to not let it get to her. But he kept giving her one word answers and seemed to act like a friend would. She took a deep breath as she refilled her water. 'That's just how he is. ' she thought

'"Hi you must be Sara." A voice broke her from her thoughts. "Yes hi -"

In front of her was a very big, tall man. He looked like he could be straight out of Game of thrones. Joey Bosa. She smiled,  “Why yes I am, you must be Bosa.” He raised his eyebrows. “Look at you using my last name, you must have been watching me a lot on the field.” He held out a cake. “I am not a baker, so I just stopped at a bakery, I am Italian, so we never go to anyone’s house empty handed.” She took it, it was a chocolate bundt from Nothing Bundt Cakes “Oh my favorite, also Bosa, I knew that was Italian. I am as well.”

“Really? Wozniak isn’t Italian.”

“My mom’s side is Italian, her maiden name is Ricci.” Joey let out an ahhh .

Truth be told Joey had been there for quite some time, he had come in through the backyard and greeted the guys. He had noticed Justin failed to mention  that there was even a woman in the home, let alone his girlfriend. Mike had been filling him in all about this new relationship. Joey knew that his QB could be a douche when it came to girls. Justin was oblivious to Taylor wanting to be more than a hookup, Hannah from the Bachelor wanting to take their relationship public and he ended up dumping her. However, Sara Wozniak was not someone to play with. Call him fan crazed, but he always liked her movies, when he would catch interviews she seemed like a cool person. So far he was right, she was easy to talk to, and the fact that she went out of her way to throw together this shindig for hungry football players? Sara was a dream.

He was awestruck by her beauty, especially seeing her up close. Once he knew all the guys were outside, he made the excuse of putting the cake on the counter. Which led him here, paying more attention to the brunette beauty more than her own boyfriend. 

Speaking of Herb he interrupted the conversation when he opened the sliding door to announce the food is ready. As everybody began to fill up their plates Joey noticed that Justin sat by the team at the dining room table and began discussing plays, leaving Sara to sit by herself at the island. Once he got his plate he put it next to Sara, she looked up and smiled at him and he smiled back. His heart skipped a beat.

He wasn’t the guy to move on his buddy’s girl, but if Justin couldn’t see what was in front of him, maybe she would start looking in a different direction, and he would be right in her line of sight.

A/N Hey guys, I apologize, I feel like this is a weak chapter on my end. I am just on a high after an amazing week 4. But Yes All I am going to say about Bosa is... It be your own sometimes *devil emoji*

Feel free to ask any questions, comment, show concern, my ask box is always open

[gildedgaze]

Do you mind if I ask your top 10 favorite characters (can be male or female) from all of the media that you loved (can be anime, books, movies or tv series)? Thanks....

Hai, thanks so much for this fun question!

Goodness, ten whole characters, let me see…

Evelyn from The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Her life is so beautifully tragic, I read the novel a month ago and I still think about it. She’s messy, fiery and glamorous, everything I love! Lol.

Laurent from the Captive Prince trilogy

Ugh, he’s spikey, caddy, closed off and strikingly beautiful. Intelligent, though one-track minded. He navigates precarious situations with such gusto—I LOVE HIM AND CAPTIVE PRINCE AS A WHOLE SO DAMN MUCH.

Edith from Downton Abbey

Sort of on the periphery of things, her character development from the pilot till the final season is so beautiful to watch. She’s had horrible luck in life but things work out in her favour by the end, and I love that for her.

Donkey from Shrek

So I was in a pretty bad mental space in the beginning of the year and as one does, I took to Netflix. I binged the entire Shrek quadrilogy and Donkey’s character absolutely killed me. Honestly the whole Shrek franchise has my heart, “They judge me before they get to know me, that’s why I’m better off alone,” THE WORLD CAN BE SO CRUEL. But Donkey makes it better!

Sharpay from High School Musical

Mrs. Sharpay Evans carried that entire franchise. She hustled for her spot in musical theatre, tried to keep Troy booked and busy. What did Gabriella do? Swam and cried. Sharpay has been that gorl.

Jafar from the Aladdin (Live Action 2019)

Honestly he is the sexiest villain I have come across. The live-action actor can get it any time, any, day LORD.

Saul from Grace & Frankie

Okay he is the dorkiest, sweetest man and I melt every time he’s on screen. Major quirky loving dad vibes.

Mulan (1998 version)

Took her father’s place? Impersonated a soldier, saved China from the Huns? Queen shit. That movie has such longevity too, from the singing to the plot, the artistry I LOVE.

Raymond from Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman

Y’all this book impacted me in such a bone deep way. It’s the perfect blend of humour, wit while balancing incredibly hard topics. Raymond was just such a good friend to Eleanor, in his simple but comfortably normal way. Need me Raymond in my life.

Violet from Dark Rise

My determined, lion-hearted girl. I LOVED Dark Rise as a whole, Pacat transitioned into the YA genre so elegantly. Violet’s grit and yearning for answers, coupled with her being half Indian/British in the precarious period of English expansionism was so striking—I liked her character from the moment she was introduced.

THANKS AGAIN FOR THE ASK <333

[nottheweirdest]

hi!! hope youre having a nice day

🥺❌✅💔 for the fanfic writer emoji ask (pfft that kind of a lot, feel free to just choose out of the four :3!)

Well hello there!! Today was good, thanks!! Pretty productive from a housecleaning/organization perspective hehe I will very happily answer all of these! I love it!

🥺 Is there a certain type of moment or common interaction between your characters that never fails to put you in your feels?

When one of the boys (Sonic or Shadow hehe since that's pretty much all I write) comforts the other. Oooo it gets me in the feels every time. 💖

❌ What's a trope you will never write?

High school au. I will never write a high school au, and I won't read them either. No offense to those that do and enjoy them, you do you! 💞But high school is not a time in my life I care to revisit in any capacity. 😜 I prefer adult stories, featuring adults in adult situations. lol Maybe it's because high school was so long ago idk 😂

✅ What's something that appears in your fics over and over and over again, even if you don't mean to?

hahaha is it bad that the first thing that came to mind was biting? lol Well, definitely biting, whoops, but other than that there's lots of stargazing, and lots of togetherness in rain or storms. There's lots of sunsets and season mentions as well. 😁

💔 Is there a fic of yours that broke your heart?

Hands down The First Law of Thermodynamics. It's the last in my Moments series and I got the idea for it randomly in the shower actually. A song came on (because I listen to music constantly, including in the shower lol) and the idea just hit me like a sack of bricks. The feels from it were already so powerful I had to push it down for a few days because I wasn't in a mental or emotional place to write it. When I finally did, I immediately started crying and proceeded to sob the entire time. I was so upset there must have been a disturbance in the force because my mom called me out of nowhere convinced something was wrong lol Like yeah mom, I'm fine, just sobbing over my Sonic the Hedgehog fanfiction (is what I definitely did not say lmao). So yeah, that one 😅

Fanfic Writer Emoji Ask

[wheel-of-hyperfixation]

Every couple of months this concept for a fic (a whole damn series tbh) pops back into my mind

I really want to make myself write it. Reasons I should give it a shot (this list is kind of just for me, lemme convince myself)

I used to start writing stories as a kid (many a few pages that I started but never continued) and even though I never finished them, it made me so happy. I think I'd like to explore the storyteller in me from a new place; not as a dancer.

All the writing that I end up doing now is for school. I'm typically not one to boast but I will say that my written responses and essays are reallll fucking good. And even with fighting my own brain trying to write for those assignments (anxiety, depression, adhd yall do NOT make it easy) I still Love writing those essays. I have Fun writing those essays

I say I don't have free time but I do manage to find time to rest. Usually though resting just ends up being laying in bed all day watching some show on my laptop. And then I feel shitty (physically and mentally) that I haven't done something more productive. Not productive like "you should've deep cleaned the entire apartment on your first day off in three in a half weeks" but like "hey girl could you just maybe do something that involves some healthy brain stimulation? pls??" I think this would be a good outlet yk healthy for my brain and my body

I'd really like to be able to share something of mine with the folks here I admire

Going off of #4, I have such a hard time sharing my art online but sadly my career path kind of depends on my ability to do that. I have yet to a really clean, simple answer of how to overcome that--at least they haven't been routes I've felt I could make myself do (I'm very stubborn). This however might be a good way for me to practice and build this skill, in a place where my career, My Dream isn't at stake.

_______________________________________

so the plot..

Eddie Munson x (lemme be self-indulgent and also add to our minimal representation on here) BlackFem!Reader

Will the upside down be a thing that happened? I'm guessing no. But if it is then ofc this man survives -as he should as he should-

Eddie has finally graduated ('86 baby <3). He has another 6 months-a year afterwards working every moment he can and saving every penny. He finally leaves Hawkins (would need to write some sad shit with leaving Wayne ofc but yk maybe in a later chapter as a little flashback) for [SOME BIG CITY - i have some choices but it depends on details about Reader i haven't given thought to yet]. He's trying to get into the music scene-- make friends, find some footing, get a consistent gig somewhere if he can. There's a rock night at a local bar he sees a flyer for and there he meets this percussionist who's drumming with a band playing that night. BAM! They're instant friends. IMPORTANT: i headcanon that Eddie also managed to learn to play drums sometime in late middle school/early high school, he doesn't have formal training but can work his way around a drum set. Plot things plot things plot things -> New best friend percussionist has a job with this proffesional dance company as an accompanist; they play for classes and rehearsals and has recently been in talks with the director about their upcoming season because of a new work one of the choreographers will be building. It'll be a lot of workshopping but just conceptually it seems great. The other two accompanists who usually work with the company don't drum though and the choreographer really wants a musical focus on percussion. BestFriend calls Eddie while he's still at the studio speaking with the director and choreographer :)

WELCOME READER!! I'm not sure who exactly she'll be yet but currently mulling over some possibilities: a friend of this choreographer from a previous job who they've asked to help with the choreography? a brand new company member? someone who's danced a couple seasons with the company (corps dancer) and is getting her first larger role? Lots of possibilties but the point is that she's part of the new work too.

And they meet when Eddie comes for his first day-- it's company class in the morning and rehearsal begins later after their lunch break (again it's lots of workshopping, collaborative space, freestyle amongst the dancers as they just get to play around with the music). Eddie is a little entranced by Reader the whole time, and Reader tries to not get flustered and distracted in the middle of learning these movement phrases when she catches him watching her specifically.

Pretty, lovely, dream-like things ensue for them <3

_________________________

That "quick rough summary" turned into a word-vomit brainstorm with a lot more detail than I anticipated. Cool.

[anabdaniels]

Angel of Music- Act I

Chapter summary: The first night acting around Jack makes you realize that he still a weak spot of yours.

Word counting: 2.3k

A/N: If you have never watched The Phantom of The Opera, you'll have no problem to read this, maybe you'll only not get one or two jokes involving the story of the musical. There's some illustrative GIFs on the chapter, but they don't have the purpose of give reader an appearance, they're here just for the dramatization of the scenes and because I'm a fan girl of this musical.

|Masterlist | Series Masterlist|

Twenty-five years is a lot of time and Jack was aware of that.

The most he loved his career and being on stage, he was getting tired of the crazy routine of theater, which was only fair once he had entered the acting life when he was only fifteen and received his first Tony at the age of 19, which ended up making him known worldwide and giving him the chance of act on some of the most famous and loved musicals such as Les Misérables, Sweeney Todd and The Phantom of The Opera.

Sometimes Jack had to stop for a moment to process that all of that was true, involuntarily remembering all the times people told him that he was just a southern hillbilly that would never have a future in theater and mockingly laughing at how wrong they were and how some of them had the courage of trying to become his friends at the moment he started to receive notoriety.

Being a theater kid for as long as you could remember, it wasn’t a surprise to your family and friends when you decided that Juilliard would be your next step after high school. Those four years had taken the blood out of you, but it worthen every second when you got your first role on a Broadway musical and started to build the solid career you have nowadays.

When you got the role of Christine Daaé at the West End season, you were already in heaven, but after being informed that The Phantom role was given to your old co-star from Sweeney Todd and Hamilton, you were probably the happiest you’ve ever been on your life. Your favorite role with the best co-star you ever had, there was no way it could get any better.

The first rehearsal day ran better than then you were already expecting, all your scenes and duets with Jack running flawlessly, as if hadn’t been four years since the last time you two had worked together, but this wasn’t a surprise at all, you still remembered the comments and critics about your unbelievable chemistry with Jack when you two played Mrs. Lovett and Sweeney Todd and the same happened when you two incarnated Eliza Schuyler and Alexander Hamilton. Not a single spectator could ever guess all the real-life drama going on between the two of you.

After a long day repassing some scenes an exhausting number of times, the last rehearsal was finished, and you and Jack decided to go to the coffee shop on the same street as the theater to enjoy the rainy afternoon and spend some time talking calmly, which had been almost impossible with the daily nonstop rehearsals.

“Can’t believe I finally got you as my Phantom.” You said excited about it with an open smile after taking a sip of your hot chocolate.

“Y’had a couple of good phantoms on your time on Broadway.” He answered with a soft smirk while resting his coffee cup on the table, running his tongue over his upper lip, removing the slight remains of the cappuccino on his mustache; the mustache that was his only “absurd” request when he became a renowned actor, he could let his beard grow for a role, but shave the mustache was out of the question.

“So, you’ve been taking a look at what I’ve done since our last collab.” You concluded with a smug smile.

“Course I have. Why do you think I’ve accepted the Phantom role once more?” he questioned raising one eyebrow, still smirking.

“Because it’s a formidable classic?” you made a hunch and waited for his answer.

“Can’t say this hadn’t any weight on my decision, such as the fact that it’s a good play to have as the last one.” You frowned immediately at his explanation, taking a sip of your drink before asking what you intended to do.

“You’re leaving the theater?” Jack nodded softly “And what’ll come after that? Cinema, music, or what?” you questioned curious, making him chuckle and shake his head.

“A ranch with some cattle and a couple of dogs.” He replied calmly and you remained quiet, wondering if he was kidding or not. Realizing your confusion, Jack proceeded. “I was planning to tell you this before, but with all the craziness with the opening night coming, I couldn’t find a good moment.”

“I really didn’t expect it.” You admitted sincerely “I mean, you love all this so much.”

“I do, in fact, but, you see, darlin’, I’m tired. I’ve been doing this for over 25 years.” Jack sounded truly sure about his decision, which didn’t make you happier about the novelty “Not to mention that it had become a pretty lonely life, in the countryside at least I’ll be closer to my parents and sister.”

“As your friend, I’m happy you’ll finally have your dream ranch, but, as an actress, this sounds tragical to me.” You said with honesty, making Jack smile.

“Look at the good side, we still have a six-month-long season together.” He said in a warm tone, reaching over the table to hold your hand, caressing its dorsum.

“Then we better make it worth every day, if such a thing is still possible for us.” Despite your soft tone and smile, it was clear that you were upset, and of course, it was only because of the loss it’d be to the theater community.

“I know our last time working together had its ups and downs, but it’ll be better this time.” Jack affirmed in a soothing tone, leaning softly to kiss the back of your hand, making you smile slightly more.

“I hope you’re right.”

With a wide smile and a few butterflies in your stomach, you observed your reflection in the mirror, already in your costume with red and green strips and a perfect embroidery with rhinestones, and the classic long-curled hair wig of Christine. You had worn that a ton of times and already had done that countless times, but the first nights always made you slightly nervous. Your random thoughts got cut when someone knocked on your dressing room door, making you look at it.

“Come in.” you couldn’t hide your happy expression as the door got opened to reveal your mustached Phantom of The Opera, giving you no option but to check him out attentively, far from being the boldest thing you had done with him over the years. “To what I owe the honor?” you asked playfully as he entered the room.

“Just came to see my angel of music.” He answered half as himself, half in character, grabbing one of your hands and planting a kiss on its dorsum.

“Making sure the Vicomte is not around?” you teased with a crooked smile.

“Always.” His reply came promptly while his eyes stared deep into yours, not letting you know if it was just him assuming the Phantom personality to mess with you or if he really meant it. You intended to ask, but one of the staff members showed up to call both of you to get in place for the beginning of the play.

You always had been extremely professional and excellent at keeping on character effortlessly, and you were sure it would be simple as always in all the other times you played Christine to just keep acting with no bigger problems. And it was that easy until that moment, while you stood there and watched the scenographic mirror moving to the side to reveal The Phantom.

    “I am your angel of music, come to me angel of music”

Of course, you had watched Jack acting as Erik before, but being in the position of being Christine took you to a whole new level of fascination by how stunning he was while smoothly singing and reaching his hand out to you, making it extremely easy for you to seem amazed as the script needed you to do.

The most catch you were, you had no choice but to focus on what you had to do, the theme song was already playing and you had to keep your cool and act while moving around the stage with Jack holding your wrist and singing incredibly with that velvety smooth voice, sounding so familiar yet so different with his southern drawl being suppressed.

When the apex of the song was happening, it demanded a lot of your self and breath control, as if the high notes weren’t hard enough, you had to keep your composure more than ever while your handsome partner approached you, letting his big hands hover around your face as his voice became harsh and demanding.

“Sing!”

You felt a shiver all over your body and you sang as if your whole life depended on it, at that moment starting to understand how Christine must felt with the demands of the Phantom and why she obeyed blindly and unconsciously because you honestly didn’t have a single clue about how you managed to hit that last high-note without have a voice break or lost your breath. When you finished that song, your hands moved to hold your neck in a mix of your acting of Christine’s shock and your truly unexpected adrenaline that you still couldn’t understand why was hitting you that bad; you had performed with Jack before, you had been on the place of act as his romantic pair for long months in other seasons, you had a nice and comfortable relation with him out of the stage, you had spent countless nights on his bed, moaning his name with bated breath. There was no reason for you to feel so nervous and taken aback by his every action, yet there you were, feeling genuine tears falling down your cheeks as you observed him walking near you and singing.

     “Turn your face away from the garish light of day”

Seeming to not notice how affected you were, or only being too good at staying in character, Jack remained unwavering calm as his warm voice reverberated over the theater, having not only you hypnotized by it, but the whole crowd also completely captivated by him, letting clear why he was such an acclaimed actor and how powerful his stage presence was. In all his exceptional composure, Jack kept his gaze glued on you with full attention, once more letting you wonder what was acting and what was true, especially when you noticed his extra dilated pupils.

As you felt his arm moving around your shoulders, you almost regretted had agreed with that move during that scene, unaware if it was the warmth of his hand on your collarbone, his breath tickling your skin, or his voice so close to your ear that was making your heart pound on your chest and that uncontrollable heat ran through your veins.

“Touch me, trust me, savor each sensation.”

When finally had come the moment when Christine fainted, you couldn’t be more thankful for it, and it wasn’t only because being carried in Jack’s arms was always an incredible experience, but also because you could just lay down for a moment and recover your composure while you heard the crowd going wild, applauding, whistling and screaming at the very moment he sang the last note of The Music of The Night.

Having recovered your tranquility, you paid attention to every note of the music to be sure you would “wake” at the right moment. You started to sing and walk, once more approaching Jack, needing to fight yourself to keep your hands off him for as long as it was necessary for the scene. At the moment you finally could touch him to pull the mask out of his face, you were unable to say if you were more caught by his irreproachable acting or by the fact that even with the SFX makeup of Phantom’s deformed face Jack was still looking amazing.

“Oh Cristine… No”

Your favorite theater character being portrayed by your favorite actor right in front of your eyes felt almost like a spiritual experience, it seemed so natural and simple for him to just drop amazing vocals and heartbreaking acting, making it hard for you to keep concentrating on your acting, but at the same time costing you no effort to seem mesmerized or sad.

Luckily for your composure and self-control, a couple of minutes later, the scene was done and you were running towards backstage with Jack, with not much rush, it would take a few minutes for you to need to be on stage again. You took a deep breath and dried the couple of tears on your face, still processing the roller coaster of emotions you’ve felt in the last twenty minutes, and inhaling slowly when Jack’s hand rested on your shoulder, slowly turning to look at him. A teasing smirk formed on the unmasked side of his face as he held your chin between his thumb and index finger.

“You’re the best, sugar.” He rubbed his fingertip under your chin and winked at you, following through the corridor right after. You tried to convince yourself that he was just messing with you and keeping the Phantom personality, but you knew that teasing attitude very well, that was 100% Jack being himself.

You remained standing in the same place while observing Jack disappearing through the corridor, only being reminded that there was still a lot of work to be done when your dresser showed up by your side, pulling you to the dressing room with her, but even with the whole rush of the full clothe changing, your mind was still stuck on that moment at the corridor that you couldn’t describe, only then realizing that those six months would be way harder than you were expecting.

[entertainment]

If you could have written an episode of the show, what would be the main plot?

[nanatsumu]

TEENAGE FEVER.

pairing: iwaizumi hajime x f!reader, oikawa tooru x f!reader

synopsis: iwaizumi has strung you on long enough and you’re finally at the end of your rope.

genre: heavy angst... like make your heart wrench in pain heavy, one sided pining

warnings: manga spoilers, bad grammar (didn’t know it was that bad until i used grammarly), MATURE themes, drinking, smoking, alcohol, iwaizumi being an asshole (he’s also a frat boy because surprise! frat boys should never be trusted), subtle hints at sex, bittersweet ending

word count: 5.9K

series masterlist

part one | part two | part three | part four

it was evident in the way you weren’t sure how to sway your hips to the beat of the music and the way you awkwardly isolated yourself in a quiet corner of the house, sipping on some soda (since you did not want your first frat party experience to end up with you wasted and throwing up on some stranger) that you were definitely not accustomed to the party life.

“are you sure you’ll be fine by yourself y/n?” your roommate asked you with a concerned look on her face.

“i’ll be fine reina,” you give her a tight-lipped smile as you gesture to the phone in your hand. “i’ll just sit here and chill on my phone until you get back.”

“okay okay, i’ll quit babying you now,” she throws her hands up in the air. “call me if some dude tries to hit on you though.”

“will do, but i doubt with how loud the music is that you’ll even answer,” you playfully roll your eyes as she erupts in a fit of laughter.

the brunette pats the back pocket of her jeans where her phone currently resides at.

“even if i don’t hear it, i’ll feel it.”

it becomes quiet momentarily (besides what you assume is i love it by dean blaring in the background) until she starts to looks around warily before leaning in and whispering something into your ear.

“if a hajime iwaizumi tries to talk to you, try to find a way to get out of the conversation,” she pauses for a moment before continuing. “that guy is seriously bad news.”

“y-yeah, i’ll... do that.” you hear her let out a sigh of relief as she straightens up her posture.

it’s hard to hear what she’s saying from there on out, especially with how obnoxiously loud the music has gotten, but you manage to catch the words ‘friends’ and ‘beer pong’ before she slips away amongst the sea of students and you’re left sitting alone on a couch by yourself with only your phone as entertainment.

you had recently moved to california from japan on an academic scholarship for uci, so when you heard reina mention the name ‘iwaizumi hajime’ it sparked a sense of familiarity within you and piqued your curiosity as to if he was also a foreigner studying abroad.

you’ve only been living in the states for a month now which meant you were still getting used to the strange lifestyle here, so the thought of being friends with someone you could potentially relate to had always been swimming in the back of your mind.

“so what’s a pretty girl like you doing here all by yourself?”

a voice snaps you out of your thoughts as you let out a small shriek and the next thing you know, your phone flies out of your hand, hitting the person that just sat down next to you.

“ow!” he cries as he clutches his forehead in pain.

“shit! i’m sorry dude!” at this point you’re scrambling around, not sure where to put your hands as you wave them around haphazardly.

“you know, it’s not nice to throw your phone at someone who's trying to make conversation with you right?” the stranger says in a whiny tone as he switches over to rubbing the red spot forming on his forehead in an attempt to soothe the pain.

“and you know it’s not nice to sneak up on a girl if she’s alone right?” you scoff. “where the hell did you even come from?”

“my mom’s vagina.”

“i didn’t mean literally!” you growl.

he shrugs before making himself comfortable by resting his arms on top of the couch and spreads his long legs.

“y’know, i don’t appreciate you manspreading and i especially don’t appreciate the fact that you’re confident enough to do so when i have no idea who you are.” you grimace.

“the name is oikawa tooru, introduction over,” he gives you a lopsided grin. “but you can call me tooru if you’d like, apparently everyone calls each other by their first names here in the states.”

“japanese?”

“yeah, but i’m not a student here,” he places two fingers on your cheek and gently pushes your head in the direction of the kitchen where you see some people conversing with each other. “you see the guy in the denim jacket with the piercings?”

your eyes wander around until you spot a boy sporting a denim jacket with piercings, just as oikawa described, but you also take note of how oikawa failed to mention that his friend was absolutely breathtaking: he didn’t have a chiseled face but he did have a nice jawline, his hair was spiky but it was styled properly, but what stood out to you the most was the small patch of permanent ink on his wrist.

and it’s as if the heavens were on your side tonight because just as you were thinking about whether or not the tattoo on his wrist branched into something bigger and more complex, he slips off his denim jacket and the sleeveless t-shirt he had on underneath allowed you to see that his entire arm was covered in numerous quantities of tattoos varying in design and color that blended together seamlessly.

“he’s the one that snuck me in,” he leans in closer to your ear and you can practically feel his hot breath on the shell of your ear which makes you shiver. “it’s funny how much college can change a guy, huh?”

he continues.

“his demeanor back in high school wasn’t too different from how it is now, but it like... intensified after he moved here,” oikawa throws his body back and you’re relieved that he finally put some distance between you two because you weren’t sure how much longer you could take him being so close to you. “dumbass probably got caught up in the wrong crowd.”

“and what are you doing here?” you direct your attention back onto the chocolate-haired boy.

“me? i play for a volleyball team in argentina but i’m just visiting iwaizumi.”

your jaw drops and it’s not at the fact that he plays for argentina, but at the way he says it so indifferently like it’s not a big deal at all.

“wait, what the hell!?” you shake your head and take a moment to recollect your thoughts. “i thought you were a student at another school but you’re telling me you don’t even go to school at all?”

“yup!” he grins. “the season just ended and with the free time i have now i just decided to fly here and visit iwaizumi for a bit, y’know, see how well he's adjusting to the university life.”

“and you should’ve seen the look on my face when i saw him for the first time in 4 years and all of a sudden he has an arm full of tattoos and a shit load of piercings.”

“wait, did you just say iwaizumi?”

“hm? yeah, iwaizumi hajime? you know him? i heard he’s pretty popular around here, but i’m pretty sure it’s for all the wrong reasons though.”

“my friend told me he was bad news...” you say sheepishly.

it’s silent for a moment and you’re worried you might have said something wrong or offended your new friend (could you two even be considered friends? i mean he did pop out of nowhere and started talking to you) but your worries are all washed away when you hear a laugh escape his lips.

“i wouldn’t say he’s bad news, just rough around the edges and has a bad habit of hooking up with girls.”

“you know i don’t appreciate you bad mouthing me behind my back shittykawa.”

a deep voice startles both you and oikawa, and when you turn around to see who the owner of the voice was, your mouth grows dry when you realize it’s the iwaizumi hajime standing right behind you.

“iwaizumi!” oikawa stands up and walks over to the spiky-haired male standing behind the couch before slinging an arm around his shoulder. “i was just making small talk with...”

“y/n. l/n y/n.”

“y/n! a pretty name for a pretty girl,” oikawa winks at you and you roll your eyes at his shamelessness. “anyways i’m gonna and grab a drink.”

oikawa pats iwaizumi on the back before sauntering away, leaving you and iwaizumi to be alone together.

“so, y/n?” his gaze is intense and you can’t help but shift around uncomfortably in your seat at the way he’s borderline checking you out. “you’re not from around here are you?”

“uh yeah,” you scratch the back of your head. “i’m from japan but i recently moved here for university.”

“is that so?” you flinch subtly when iwaizumi plops down next to you but it doesn’t go unnoticed by the male. “relax y/n, i don’t bite.”

his voice is velvety with the right amount of gruffness to it, contrary to his friend, oikawa, whose voice is a bit higher and on the whinier side.

“so... what are you majoring in, iwaizumi?” you ask, attempting to make some sort of small talk with him.

“i’m majoring in sports science, what about you?”

“education,” you answer, suddenly feeling a bit less tense than you were earlier. “i wanna become a teacher, but probably just for primary school, middle schoolers and high schoolers scare me.”

iwaizumi laughs.

“and primary schoolers don’t? i have a little sister and she’s literally the devil incarnate.”

you giggle and you think about how easy it is to converse with iwaizumi, but the warning reina gave you earlier still lingers in the back of your head and so you’re careful not to let your guard down too much.

“so how are you liking california so far? it’s different from japan isn’t it?” he asks.

“well, it’s... different i’ll give you that,” you start playing with your bottom lip subconsciously as it’s a habit that you picked up back in high school. “but my roommate is nice at least and that’s the only that matters to me.”

“i’m also planning on moving back to japan in the future but it’ll only be after i finish university and get my bachelor's degree or something,” you continue.

“taking an internship doesn’t seem too bad either? it’s still a while before i graduate so i wanna try and enjoy my university life before i get into thrown into the real world because i don’t wanna be old and wrinkly and live with regrets— i’m rambling now aren’t i?”

“you’re alright,” iwaizumi smiles. “it’s honestly like a breath of fresh air hearing how you have your life planned out, or at least you have a plan on what you want to do with your life because most of the girls i’ve met or i’m friends with are either undecided or are all about ‘living in the moment’ and while being undecided or having that type of mindset isn’t necessarily a bad thing, it just gets repetitive sometimes being surrounded by the same type of people.”

“but you— you’re different from them, i like that.”

you can feel your cheeks starts to heat up and iwaizumi is amused by how you can get so flustered over such a simple compliment.

“thanks... i guess?” you compose yourself and try to cool yourself down by putting your hands on your cheeks.

“so what are you doing here at this party? you don’t strike me as a party animal.”

“because i’m not,” you chuckle. “my roommate dragged me here and i only said yes because i was told it was only gonna be a small get-together, though she didn’t mention anything about the booming music and the alcohol.”

“you a lightweight or something?” he cocks an eyebrow.

“i’m 19, actually, so still not legally allowed to drink,” you state as a matter-of-fact.

“so? i was 19 when i drank for the first time,” he says and you’re alarmed at how he can say it so casually.

“ha, no thanks, i’d rather not accidentally get wasted and throw up on someone later tonight.”

“well, i’ll make sure that you don’t throw up on anybody then,” he stands up and extends his hand out for you to take. “why don’t you come along with me and i’ll fix you up a drink?”

you look at his hand with a wary look in your eyes as reina’s words start to play in your head like a broken record.

‘that guy is seriously bad news.’

“so what do you say, y/n?”

you stare into his brown eyes and it’s almost as if he injected curiosity straight into your veins because the next thing you know, you’re sitting on the counter with iwaizumi standing in between your legs as he’s pouring a bottle of bailey’s irish creme into a tumbler glass for you.

“this is probably the best option for you besides white claw but i’m sure as hell not gonna have you drink that shit especially when it’s your first time,” he sets the almost empty bottle on the counter behind him before handing you the glass, which you reluctantly take. “and i’m not gonna be an asshole and give you spirytus.”

you inspect the liquid by bringing the glass up closer to your eyes and whirling it around a few times in a way that is similar to that of a kid inspecting their halloween candy for poison or blades and it elicits a snicker out of iwaizumi.

“i don’t know... i told my mom i’d move to california to study and be a teacher, not go to parties and practice underage drinking.” you deadpan which only further humors the male in front of you.

“and i told my mom i’d move to california to study sports science, not pierce my ears and get my entire arm tattooed,” he says and you assume that this is his way of trying to coax you into drinking the glass of whiskey in your hands. “i’m sure a little bit of alcohol won’t hurt and i promise you’re not gonna get wasted, take a lick for all i care.”

“fine, but if i accidentally puke all over someone’s shoes then i’m counting on you to pay for dry cleaning.” you say before bringing the glass up to your lips and taking a tiny sip— and to your surprise, it wasn’t that bad.

the taste of whiskey wasn’t overbearing as the taste of cocoa and vanilla overpowered it, but you weren’t complaining as it made it easier for the drink to slide down your throat without you feeling the need to scrunch up your face in distaste.

“not bad right?” iwaizumi smirks and it immediately triggers your fight or flight.

“i haven’t even said anything yet.” you roll your eyes.

“well? what do you think then?”

his hand brushes up against your thigh as he goes to settle them on either side of you, effectively trapping you on top of the counter.

“i-it’s not bad i guess...” your words trail off at the end as you allow your eyes to wander away elsewhere in an attempt to distract yourself from how intimate this position feels.

“y/n,” you turn your attention back towards iwaizumi and your eyes widen at the close proximity between you two. “do you use any lip products?”

“just lip... gloss...” your breath hitches when you notice that he‘s starting to lean in closer as his eyes travel down to your parted lips.

but before he gets a chance to put his hands on you, you feel your phone vibrate in your pocket as realization also seems to hit iwaizumi at the same time and he immediately jerks away.

“uh, i think my roommates calling me,” you jump off the counter and dig into the pockets of your shorts so that you can retrieve your buzzing phone. “i’ll see you around campus?”

“yeah, see you around.”

he watches as you head for the exit and once you’re out of sight, he leans against the counter you were just sitting on a minute ago and lets out a breath he didn’t even know he was holding.

“that was so lame of you iwa-chan.”

he turns his head towards the direction of where the voice came from and sees oikawa striding into the kitchen.

“you totally got her wrapped around your finger, don’t you?” oikawa states as iwaizumi chuckles.

“fuck yeah i do,” he brings his hand up for a handshake. “i can’t believe she fell for my ‘you’re different from other girls’ speech.”

“and i usually never go for freshmen since they’re always so damn annoying but y/n... she’s gonna be a fun one to play with.” he adds.

“you’re a real douchebag.” oikawa says as he downs the rest of whatever is in his cup before discarding it into the nearest trash can.

“hey, if i’m gonna move back to japan soon then might as well make the most of the time i have left here, right?” iwaizumi defends himself.

“spoken like a true jackass.” the chocolate-haired male snorts.

“whatever,” iwaizumi rolls his eyes as he runs a hand through his hair. “i’m leaving in less than a month and a half so i’ll hit it and quit it.”

“that phrase is so corny, why not ‘bust a load and hit the road’?” oikawa suggests.

“i am not having this conversation with you right now.” iwaizumi irks before walking out of the kitchen with a mopey oikawa hot on his trail.

“so rude!”

it’s been almost a week now since your encounter with iwaizumi and you have yet to see him around campus. well, it was inevitable as he was all the way on the other side of the school, but deep down you wished you could at least run into him during the course of your week.

you briefly remember reina giving you an earful once you got back to the dorms because you had explained to her the minute you two got back that you met iwaizumi hajime at the party and even met one of his friends.

“y/n, didn’t i tell you that you should stay away from that guy?”

“but he seemed like a really nice guy to me...” you started fiddling with your fingers.

“that’s what he wants you to think, y/n,” she takes a seat next to you on your bed and wraps an arm around your shoulder, patting it soothingly. “i just— you’re new here and from the moment you stepped foot in our dorm i knew immediately that you’re gonna live a successful life and the last thing i want happening is for some college playboy to break your heart and ruin your life.”

your heart couldn’t help but grow fuzzy at her words.

“trust me, if this were any other guy then i wouldn’t mind you talking to them, but hajime is notorious for breaking hearts and ruining lives,” she puts her arms behind her back and uses them to support her body as she leans back. “there was this girl back in my freshman year, half japanese half white, her name was kaori, and i’ve never cared to keep track of any of hajime’s flings but she was the most serious case.”

“hajime and her met the same way you and him did, at a party, and he chatted her up until she eventually gave into those pretty boy charms of his and they started going out. the first few weeks were fine and the entire campus was raving about how this was one of hajime’s longest standing relationships yet and they seemed to be at a good spot in their relationship. but it wasn’t until one day, photos of her nudes were plastered all over the entire school and someone in hajime’s friend group ratted him out and said that he was the one who started sending the photos. obviously the school found out but they couldn’t get enough evidence that hajime was the one who sent her nudes around but since they had to do something, they decided to suspend kaori instead for ‘distribution of explicit content’ and the whole school started flooding her dms with death throats and she was labeled ‘the whore of uci.’ i think she eventually got tired of everything because she disappeared from the school without a trace, like completely disappeared. all her socials were deleted and she deleted her number so no one could contact her at all.”

after reina finished the entire story, you were remembered speechless. sure iwaizumi was a bit on the flirtier side and didn’t hesitate to test the waters, but that didn’t mean that he was completely shameless and disrespected your boundaries. you had a gut feeling that underneath that tough facade of his was a boy who was a normal college student like everybody else and had a goal in mind that he wanted to achieve, but after hearing reina’s story you weren’t sure what to think anymore.

“that poor little thing, she was such a sweet girl and it’s such a shame that she just had to go and get involved with hajime. if she still went here then i’m sure you and her would’ve gotten along,” reina adds. “she kind of reminds me of you in a way, you have this innocence to you that can’t be replicated yet you actually have a spine unlike those girls that throw themselves at hajime. tsk, how shameless of them, throwing yourself at a boy who’s known for tossing girls to the side once he’s down with them.”

needless to say, after that long conversation you had with reina, you’ve started to become more wary of the boy, but an unknown force keeps pulling you back to him.

reina had invited you to another party this weekend and while you were a bit reluctant about accepting her invitation, you thought that this might be your chance at ever seeing iwaizumi again so with your one track mind, you accept her offer without a second thought which now leads you to present time.

you feel a wave of deja vu wash over you as sweater weather blasts from the speakers and you can feel the heavy bass shake up the entire house.

you and reina struggle to nagivate through the crowd all while trying to avoid the couples making out in order to get upstairs where her friends had texted her to meet and you’re glad you’ve gained enough confidence to give her the green light when she asked if you wanted to meet her friends because you’re not sure how much more your eardrums could take.

“it’s right here!” reina knocks on the door three times and just when she’s about to go in for the fourth knock, the door swings open, revealing an all too familiar chocolate-haired male.

“y/n!” he exclaims as he throws his arms around you and reina just barely manages to dodge his long arms.

“hey! you almost hit my fuckin’ face you douche!” she cries. “and who the hell are you? i’ve never seen you around before.”

“oikawa, you’re still here?” your voice is muffled by his chest and you have to muster up all of the strength you have to pry him off of you.

“baby, you’re gonna be seeing me around for a whole month!” you and reina give each other a blank stare.

“first of all, don’t call me baby,” you duck down and it proves successful in getting out of his hold. “and secondly, what are you doing here?”

oikawa pouts at the lack of contact but continues the conversation nonetheless.

“iwaizumi snuck me in again and i’m staying at his place for now so wherever he goes, i tag along,” he points behind him as you and reina peer inside the room. “so what are you guys here for?”

“well my friends told me to meet me here, but it seems like they’re fraternizing with the enemy.” reina scrunches her nose up in disgust and you catch a glimpse of iwaizumi with his arm wrapped around a blonde girl’s shoulder.

“well iwaizumi’s friends are friends of mine and since your friends are iwaizumi’s friends then you’re my friend as well!” oikawa proclaims as he throws his arms around both you and reina this time and pulls you guys in for a side hug.

“let’s head in!” he pulls you guys into the room, not forgetting to lock the door as it shuts behind him.

iwaizumi notices you and you give him a small smile before taking a seat next to reina, oikawa following suit as he sits next to you as well.

“hajime.” reina greets him with a curt nod.

“reina... nice to see you,” iwaizumi says briefly.

“so who’s up for a game of seven minutes of heaven?” the girl who’s in iwaizumi’s arms proposes.

“c’mon! seven minutes in heaven? really? we’re in college now, let’s do something a little more daring!” a boy with black hair shouts.

“fine, let’s play strip poker then!” you hear someone suggest.

all of the girls in the room groan.

“pervert, you just wanna play it so that you can see us in our undergarments.”

“isn’t that the point of the game though?”

“i don’t even know how to play poker.”

“is this your second time at a party?” oikawa leans in and whispers into your ear, not wanting to put all of the attention on your conversation.

“yeah, i wasn’t planning on going in the first place but reina managed to convince me.” you lied straight through your teeth, not wanting to spare the embarrassment of telling oikawa the real reason why you came to the party.

“oh really? what would have you done all by yourself on this fine friday night if you stayed back at the dorms by yourself then?” he questions.

“probably head to the cafe thats off campus and try their new milk bread,” you say bluntly.

“milk bread?” you turn your head a bit and see oikawa trying to stifle a laugh.

you slap his thigh which prompts him to yelp.

“what’s so funny idiot?”

“n-nothing! it’s just... i like milk bread too.”

“really?” your eyes sparkle and oikawa can’t stop the genuine smile that forces its way onto his face. “do you wanna come with me tomorrow to try it then? i was gonna ask reina but she’s going on a blind date or something tomorrow and i don’t wanna bother her.”

“sure, but why me?”

“well i don’t know anybody else here, and you’re technically like my friend right?”

“what makes you think we’re friends?” he says but quickly comes to the realization that it sounded a lot more heartless than he had intended it to.

“sorry that came off rude...” he sheepishly scratches his neck.

“no i get what you were trying to say, but i mean, i consider you my friend so isn’t that enough?”

“geez quit flirting you two!” reina groans as she pushes you and out of reflex, oikawa immediately latches onto your arms so that you don’t accidentally bump heads with him.

“we’re not flirting,” you roll your eyes before muttering a small ‘thank you’ to oikawa after he releases you. “i’m just inviting him out to that cafe that i’ve been telling you about since you’re too busy going on that blind date.”

“hey hey hey! you were to keep quiet about that y/n!” reina loudly whispers as everyone else in the room roars in laughter.

“oops! sorry reina!” you snicker behind your hand.

“oh you’re so gonna get it!” she tackles you onto the floor. “oikawa, hold her down!”

you feel an extra set of hands put your arms down as reina uses her legs to pin your legs down.

“w-wait! oikawa i thought we were friends! don’t—” your words are suddenly cut off and you begin to break into a fit of laughter as reina commences her tickle assault on you.

“f-f..fuck o— AHAHAHAHA..... FUCK OFF R-REINA!” you manage to say in between breaks.

after what feels like minutes of torture, reina finally lets up and you’re free from the shackles that is her and oikawa.

“you’re a traitor oikawa!” you cry as you sit back up, massaging your shoulders to release the tension that had built up in them within a span of 30 seconds.

the said male flat out ignores you though as he turns to face the rest of the group.

“any-who, who’s up for a game of spin the bottle?”

“that’s lame.” iwaizumi finally speaks up.

“you’re lame! don’t make me tell everyone what went down last friday when—” oikawa is about to continue his sentence when iwaizumi suddenly sends him a cold glare that shuts him up.

“scary!” oikawa wraps his arms around you for what seems to be the umpteenth time tonight. “save me y/n!”

you roll your eyes.

“you’re awfully touchy with someone who you’ve only known for a week yet only met twice,” you complain but don’t make an effort to shy away from his touch.

“but we’re friends right? you even said so yourself!” he smirks at the face you make when you come upon the realization that he’s used your own words against you.

“whatever, do what you like,” you mumble against his arms. “i seriously envy your ability to get along with people easily.”

iwaizumi lets out a low growl as he witnesses the scene in front of him unfold. he wasn’t going to let oikawa get to you first when he clearly had his sights set on you from the moment you stepped foot into that party last friday.

he was going to be the first man to make a move on you and what better way to do so than a game of spin the bottle?

“how about,” iwaizumi picks up the half-empty bottle of beer next to him as he downs the rest of the contents inside before placing it flat on the floor in the middle of the room. “a game of spin the bottle?”

“and you think seven minutes of heaven is lame?” oikawa scoffs. “didn’t lara jean play it in middle school in that one flashback in to all the boys i’ve loved before?”

“you watched to all the boys i've loved before?” you ask oikawa.

“hell yeah i did!” he grins. “iwaizumi told me it’s corny but can’t a guy love his chick flicks?”

“you’re so lame!” you giggle, even though you too had watched it.

“have you seen the second movie?” he asks as you two begin to go off-topic again.

“no i haven’t, i heard it was bad so i just never bothered to watch it.” you shrug.

“dude we should watch it together then!” he suggests.

“and if it’s bad then i’m gonna kick you out of my dorm.” you snort.

the black-haired male from earlier clears his throat which prompts you and oikawa to stop talking.

“first of all, oikawa, y/n, get a room, and secondly, let’s play spin the bottle!” he yells.

the first few minutes of the game were boring and the matchups were weird, to say the least: reina had to kiss the blonde girl (you found out her name was genevieve), the black-haired boy (kevin) had to kiss some girl who you recognized was from your seminar class, and then when it came to be oikawa’s turn, the bottle landed on him so he just ended up kissing himself through a mirror out of his own free will (trust me, no one there wanted to see that happen and no one could stop him even if they tried.)

there were about 12 people in the room, 13 including you, and out of everyone there the one person who you would definitely not want to kiss.

iwaizumi.

it wasn’t like you despised him or anything, but after hearing about him from reina along with the girl who had been sitting in his lap this entire night, you really did not want to deal with a target on your back and an enemy acquired within your first month of living in the states.

so when it came down to your turn, you were silently praying to the gods that it would land on anybody but iwaizumi— heck even oikawa would be a better option.

but it seems like lady luck had her smile turned away from you because as the bottle began to slow down, a symbol of your fate being sealed in this very room, it had landed on the one person you did not want it to land on at all.

“y/n, you have to kiss hajime!”

the whole room went silent.

“what?!” genevieve shrieks and the ringing in your ears lingers around for longer than you’d expected. “i am not letting some... freak! kiss hajime!”

“genevieve, y/n is not a freak,” reina defends you, oikawa following up with a ‘yeah! she’s not a freak!’ as well. “you literally just met her and you’re just mad you don’t get to kiss him.”

“and while i’m not too... happy with this either, rules are rules.” the brunette continues as she sends a disapproving look iwaizumi’s way.

“well, pucker up buttercup,” iwaizumi picks genevieve up off his lap and scoots over to you. “i’m about to make it up to you for last week.”

he leans in closer and you shut your eyes, preparing for whatever is about to come next.

his lips are soft in a way, and what’s supposed to be a quick smooch turns into a full-blown make-out session as he starts to deepen the kiss by holding you from the back of your head, tangling his hand within your hair, and tilting his head to the side for more leeway.

you try to push him away but it proves to little avail as the grip he has on your waist with his other arm is too strong. your hands mindlessly find purchase in his brown locks as his tongue swipes along your bottom lip, asking for entrance. at first, you’re hesitant, but when you open your eyes and you see him staring into your e/c orbs with that alluring look in them, you can’t help but part your lips just the tiniest amount as if to test the waters, but it proves to be more than enough room for iwaizumi to easily slip his tongue into your oral cavity, turning the kiss into battle for dominance.

he tastes like a mix of beer and mint, a strange combination but he makes it work somehow.

the hand he had on your waist trails further downwards and finds a resting spot on your thigh and you can’t help but let out a small moan at the way he starts to rub the sensitive part of your thigh as his hand inches dangerously closer and closer to your core.

it’s only when you start to hear whistling and the ‘get a room!’ comments that you remember that you’re still in the middle of a game of ‘spin the bottle’ and that there's an audience watching as you two shamelessly make out.

this doesn’t seem to faze iwaizumi, however, but the adrenaline in your body aids in your attempt to push him off of you and once you’re completely free from his grasp, you immediately make a beeline to anywhere else but this cursed room.

“y/n!” you hear oikawa and reina call after you but you would rather die than spend another minute in that godforsaken room— especially not after iwaizumi embarrassed you like that in front of everyone.

part one | part two | part three | part four

[hsmtmtsnet]

Sofia Wylie's Gina Finds the 'Balance' in This HSMTMTS Performance Sneak Peek

It's the summer of Gina (Sofia Wylie) on High School Musical: The Musical: The Series, and for a lot of HSMTMTS fans, it's about time! Over the course of the first two seasons, Gina has grown from "villain" to supportive cheerleader to finally going for the lead. As the Wildcats settle into Camp Shallow Lake for Season 3, Gina is determined to get the starring role in the camp musical — Frozen — while also enjoying being in her first real relationship. It might seem like a lot, but if TV Guide's exclusive sneak peek at Gina's solo number in Episode 2, she's going to figure out the "Balance."

"Make way for Sofia Wylie. Whenever she sings, dances, acts, or breathes, Sofia Wylie sets a world-class standard. I can't wait for audiences to discover her latest and greatest solo yet. She — and Gina — are just getting started," series creator and executive producer Tim Federle told TV Guide of the clip.

The short clip features Gina and a stunning gold jumpsuit performing a new HSMTMTS original and owning every second of it.

"Gina's got a little bit of an edge to her, and Sofia loves playing that edge, but I think that this is a very rom-com season for Gina and Sofia wanted pastels. She wanted a super girly wardrobe. She really participated in this, and it was so fun," Federle elaborated on Gina's arc for the season. "But there is that side of Gina who is used to being sidelined and not playing the roles she wanted, on stage and off. This is the season where Gina is not going to take no for an answer."

Not taking no for an answer sounds very reminiscent of the Gina we met in Season 1, before her walls were broken down and we realized her sharp defense mechanisms were the result of a life of moving around and never having the opportunity to make lasting friendships. Can a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity bring back the Gina who was willing to do anything to get her way? Wylie doesn't think so.

"I think we've all experienced a kind of shifting between different versions of ourselves. I don't think life is linear. We are always growing and not necessarily regressing, but we do revert back to our habits," she explained to TVG. "It's quite easy for Gina to go back into that competitive mode, especially since she's in a new place and she's really going up for the lead. We will get to see some spunk from Gina, but she's trying to grow, and I think she's learned a lot from the past few seasons that will remain with her throughout this one."

Gina will just have to find — you guessed it — the balance between ambition and single-mindedness. The theater is not the only place where Gina has to find an equilibrium. Though she enters Season 3 and Camp Shallow Lake in a bubbly relationship with EJ (Matt Cornett), it didn't take long for Ricky (Joshua Bassett) to show up and throw a lot of things into question.

"She starts off the season in a very loving, exciting, romantic relationship with EJ, but I think there is always her past that is kind of confusing her," Wylie teased. "It's just hard to move on from certain things, so there's always going to be something that lives between two people. Ifthat person remains in her life, it will always be kind of hard to get past that, but she's really trying to continue that relationship with EJ and grow, and trying to be a good girlfriend for the first time."

If the clip of Gina in Episode 2 is any indication, this looks like a young woman who knows exactly what she's doing.

[inkandpen22]

Permanent Chaos (3/?)

Pairing: MGK x Female!Reader

Word Count: 3.2k

Warnings: mild swearing, mentions of smut, mentions of underage drinking 

Part Summary: Sam and Y/N are on The Late Late Show to promote The Seasons of Life. 

Masterlist

Before the interview, Nicole practices questions with me so I don’t get blindsided. Meanwhile, Sam and his manager, Steven, practice talking about our upcoming photo shoot for Vanity Fair. Steven is much more laid back than Nicole. Sam is free to do whatever he pleases. The country sees him as an average twenty-something. If he ever messed up he would be forgiven. Nicole emphasizes to me whenever she can that I have no room for error. I must be a saint as “America’s Sweetheart.”

There’s a knock at the door to our dressing room and Steven opens it. A man with a check board and a headset instructs, “Ms. Voss, Mr. Merka you’ll be on in five. If you could follow me.”

“We’ll be right off camera if you need us!” Nicole informs me and Steven agrees with a hum.

“Have fun guys!” he adds.

Sam holds the door for me and the two of us follow the man down the hall into backstage. Sam takes my hand as a precaution, just in case the chaos might separate us. Through double doors, we enter backstage and we’re stopped behind where we’re meant to enter. Loud music begins to echo from the stage and I recognize the song as one of Machine Gun Kelly’s. He’s all the rage now, one of those rockstars that girls fifteen and up obsess over. I don’t have much space left in my mind to obsess with everything going on. As we wait, I bop and sway my head back and forth to the beat absentmindedly.

The man says over his shoulder, “he’s great huh!”

I frowned confused, “wait, is he performing live?”

The man raises an eyebrow as if the answer is obvious. “Yeah, his interview was a few minutes ago. I’m surprised you didn’t cross paths when you got here.” He’s then pulled away by a lady dressed in all black. “I’ll right back! Stay right here!”

I scoff under my breath, the dude treated me like a dingus.

“Well, he was friendly” Sam mutters sarcastically under his breath.

“Right! Geez, he’s what? Only around four years older than you? At least he looked it. My bad for not knowing I’m apparently in the same building as a god!”

Sam snickers but covers his mouth since we’re not allowed to be loud. The song ends and the crowd goes wild on the other side.

“Ladies and gentlemen, Machine Gun Kelly!” The applause goes on and on with James attempting to speak over it into the camera. “After the break, we’ll have the breakout stars from the hottest show of the decade The Seasons of Life, Y/N Voss, and Sam Merka! So don’t go anywhere!”

The audience gets loud at the sound of our names and a shot of adrenaline rushes through me. People rush around backstage to get the music equipment off the set. Sam and I move up against the wall so people can get through. The crew is yelling to make the switch quick. Propping myself up against the wall, I watch the chaos happening. Sam leans against the wall and faces me. I don’t mind the tight quarters though. He acts like a wall, blocking me from the craziness.

“It never gets like this on set,” Sam says, scanning the stage.

“That’s because we don’t film live,” I remind him with a chuckle.

My arms cross over my chest and Sam props his elbow on my shoulder. If this was a photoshoot, this would be a great shot of us. We’re being ourselves, depending on each other as per usual. We’re comfortable with one another. To kill time, I glance around as people move about backstage. My eyes meet a lengthy, bleach blonde, tattoo-covered musician walking off stage. He instantly goes for the guitar case against the far wall in the corner. As if he could feel me looking, his attention snaps away from his guitar and toward me. His focused features gently fall as he stares at me from across the busyness of the show. A chill shoots up my spine and spreads across my face. Instantly, I'm drawn in and can't find the means to look away.

Sam steals my attention when he straightens up in my side view. “We’re on,” he informs me.

I immediately bring to focus and adjust my floral pencil skirt to appear put together.

The man from before leads us up to where he left us last. “Okay, here’s the deal. James will announce your names. There will be cheers, you will walk out together and sit on the couch. The order in which you sit doesn’t matter.” He pauses to press on his headset, “sure, alright, one minute.”

I shift my head to the side and yet again I see them, the same pair of eyes that made me freeze. I quickly snap my attention forward as though I’ve been caught red-handed. He’s not what I had expected. I’ve heard of Machine Gun Kelly, who hasn’t? I’ve seen pictures here and there. I’ve heard a song or two. Never in a million did I ever imagine we would meet eyes and he would make me stop breathing for a second. It was nothing short of groundbreaking. It’s dangerous and immaculate at the same time.

Soon, the noise of the audience dies down to signal the end of the commercial break. Sam and I are told to walk out so we cross through the corridor. Sam leads and reaches his hand back for me to take. I do so mindlessly since it’s what we always do. We wave to the audience and James stands up to greet us. He hugs Sam and they exchange a few words. I keep on waving to the audience and point towards a girl who has a shirt with the show’s title on it. Sam moves over so James and I can say hello.

“Hi, James! How are you?” I greet as we embrace.

“Excellent, how are you, Sweetheart?” He charms.

“Great! Excited to be here!” I gush as I shuffle to the side to settle on the couch beside Sam.

“Thirty seconds!” A man, whom I assume is the producer, announced loudly.

I sit down next to Sam on the light blue velvet couch. He sits back and crosses his arm over the back of the couch behind me then slides it down to rest over my shoulders. I lean into his side, crossing my legs toward him. 

“Five seconds!” James sits down in his black desk chair next to Sam and looks into the camera. He’s given the signal and he lights up. “I’m joined here by the two biggest young stars of the decade, Y/N Voss and Sam Merka!” The audience applauds loudly and I wave to all of them. James turns to us with a bright grin. “First off, how are you two?”

“We’re great, couldn’t be better!” Sam answers with a charming smile. He takes my hand and I rest them on my lap instinctively.

At the start of the series, our management and the show’s team encouraged us to be mildly affectionate in public situations to promote interest in our tv counterparts. Since then, it’s come so naturally to us because as friends we genuinely feel better when we have physical contact when on display. We’re security blankets for one another.

James continues, “you two play the power couple, Hollyn and Elliot, on the hit show The Seasons of Life, better known simply as Seasons. It’s all anyone is talking about lately! Has all the publicity changed your lives at all?”

Nervously, I tuck a strand of my hair behind my ear before I speak. “I can’t speak for Sam, but at least for me, I answer with a confident “yes!” The Seasons of Life has changed every aspect of my life. When we first started filming the first season, I was still living in South Carolina. I went to a normal high school and had to travel back and forth between here and there. Back then, no one really knew of me. I was your average teenage girl trying to have the best of both worlds.”

James nods, seemingly fascinated by my response.

Sam smiles in agreement, switching his sight between James and myself. “My story is basically the same except I was in college studying law.”

“That’s right!” James perks up, “There’s a decent age gap between the two of you!”

We glance at each other and nod, both of us grinning.

“Does that make the more romantic scenes between Hollyn and Elliot harder?” James inquires.

“No, not at all” I answer, squeezing Sam’s hand.

“Y/N has always acted with such maturity and grace that she makes it unbelievable easy onset. The eight years feel nearly nonexistent.”

“We haven’t had too many extremely romantic scenes,” I add jokingly, looking fondly at Sam.

He meets my gaze and hums in agreement. “Have to build up that suspense!”

James laughs at Sam’s remark and goes on with his questions. “Last year, during the season finale, Twitter blew up because your characters finally got together! And had that bow-chicka-wow-wow scene,” James wiggles his eyebrows. The audience cheers in excitement. Everyone was over the moon about the scene. “Y/N, what was going through your mind during that scene?”

“Sam, Jonathan, and the rest of the Seasons family never fail to make me feel so secure onset. For that scene, in particular, Jonathan made sure it was just the three of us on set so that space felt relaxed. It was my first time ever filming a sex scene of that magnitude and I was so lucky to have this fella right here to help me,” I gush as I place my hand on Sam’s knee with a pat.

“That’s lovely,” James feeds into the sappiness that the audience eats up. “Was there ever talk of getting a double for you?”

“I told our director, the producers, everyone that only I can do the scene. It didn’t feel right to me to have someone else play Hollyn. Especially for a scene that would have such an impact on the characters involved. The fans had been begging for Elliot and Hollyn to finally get together and I couldn’t pass up being a part of the moment when they finally did. It wouldn’t have been fair to the fans if it wasn’t me playing the role.”

The audience approves of my response with their loud reaction which eases my nerves immensely.

“Absolutely incredible,” James compliments. “I can’t imagine the scene being done without you two. I mean, you two have such chemistry! What were your reactions to watching the infamous final scene? Did you watch it together?!”

Sam and I side-eye one another then burst out laughing because I can recall my exact words. I’m sure he can too.

“This is a question for Y/N,” he points out between laughter.

I hit the back of my hand on his stomach, “why me?!”

“You said!” He chuckles, so he does remember my words.

I get the giggles as James pushes me to answer. I settle down and catch my breath. “Well, I had a watch party at my house with the cast, and right after the scene happened and the show cuts to the dramatic final credits, I yelled “yay! Hollyn finally got laid!”

James hides his face with his cards as he laughs. Laughs of all kinds spread throughout the audience and I can feel my face getting warm. James’s laugh is contagious and I can’t stop.

“You all know how uptight Hollyn could be! Maybe she’ll be a little more laid back!” I add with a shrug and James bursts out laughing.

“You two are absolutely hilarious,” he wipes his watery eyes. “And adorable! Please tell me you’re dating in real life!”

Sam hiss between his teeth and glances at me. “I’m sorry, we’re not…” he answers hesitantly.

“What!” James’s jaw drops, “but you two are so cute together! I mean, you’ve been holding hands the entire time!”

We shake our heads and Sam explains for us both. “Y/N and I are super close. We can see how people would assume we’re dating but in all honesty, we’re just really good friends. Considering, for example, to have done the final scene from last season we kinda have to be. We met when she was just a teenager and I was in graduate school. We’ve seen each other grow. We’ve been around the world together and since our characters are paired together, so are we. Meaning, we’re constantly together and I’m thankful we are because I’m so lucky to have such an amazing partner in all of this.”

“Aw, isn’t he the sweetest!” I pout playfully and rest my head on his shoulder.

“Ugh, can we change the whole “only friends” thing?” James begs. “I ship it!”

The audience agrees and then he moves on to talk about the next season. We say all that can be shared at the time being and we share some pictures from filming yesterday as a teaser for the season.

“Y/N, is that you crying here?” James questions.

The photo on the scene behind us shows the part where I cry because Elliot just told Hollyn she’ll only ever be a rich girl from Los Angeles.

“Yeah, the first episode is filled with drama! Elliot and Hollyn already have a rocky time.”

“No! You’re joking!” He whines, disappointed.

We flip through more photos and answer a few more questions. James says into the camera that when we get back we’ll be playing a game. The game is Who is Most Likely To? Between me and Sam who is more likely to…

After the commercial break, James looks toward the camera with the utmost enthusiasm. “And we are back with Y/N and Sam! I have given each of them a paddle! One side says Y/N and the other reads Sam! Now, the game is Who is Most Likely To? So, between the two of you, who is more likely to “fill in the blank?” We all set?”

“We’re good!” Sam and I say at the same time as if we practiced.

“Alrighty, question number one...” James reads his cards. “Who is most likely to sleep until noon?”

I instantly flip my paddle to myself without a second thought. Sam is such an early bird. The type to get a five-mile jog in by ten. I lean forward and Sam said me as well.

“I’m not gonna deny it. If I could I would stay in bed all day,” I giggle without shame.

“You have stayed in bed all day,” Sam teases and I playfully nudge him in the arm. The whole set finds it humorous.

“Who is most likely to get a tattoo?” James reads with a raised brow.

The audience “ooh’s” in anticipation. I flip my paddle to Sam’s side, never in a million years would I get a tattoo.

“Y/N, you flipped your paddle super fast. Why is that?” James inquires.

“Mhm, nope! There will be no ink on this skin!” I wave my head frantically. “Sam can do whatever he wants with his body but it’s a no for me.”

“We’ve actually talked about tattoos before and I plan on getting one here soon,” Sam describes.

James asks him about what he plans on getting and that conversation goes on a minute or two. Sam explains where he plans on placing the tattoo and when he’ll get it done.

James reads over the card and smirks, “who is most likely to date another celebrity?”

Sam, no doubt. I feel no urge to date, thank you very much.

“Oh! Looks like we got ourselves a mix-up! Sam said Y/N and Y/N said, Sam!” James laughs toward the audience.

“Me?!” I gasp, earning amusement from the audience.

Sam turns his body to face me, “why not?”

“You know, if you two dated this could work itself out,” James points out to get a reaction from the crowd.

“I’m not really looking to date at the moment,” I explain, and James is surprised. I explain further, “the show is important to me and this summer I just want to fun. Plus, my schedule is quite hectic and I would feel bad for dragging someone else into it all.”

He completely understands and asks the final question. “Who is most likely to get married first?”

I flip my board to Sam again. James starts to laugh and I comprehend that it’s the same case as last time. I check Sam’s and I’m right, he said to me.

“Why do you keep putting me?” I fuss playfully.

“Because it’s true! You’re such a little liar to say me!” Sam teases.

“You’re older!” I reason.

“Oh please,” Sam rolls his eyes and leans back into the couch.

“I’ll have to agree with Sam on this one,” James adds and I look to him betrayed.

“Y/N, you’re America’s Sweetheart! Every young guy’s dream girl!”

I hide my face in my hands and shake my head with a giggle.

“Doesn’t mean I’ll be the first to get married! I have no interest in anyone right now!” James and Sam beam as I finish.

“Ah, ah see! You said “right now,” James points at me.

These two are teaming up on me now.

“Thank you so much you two for coming in! It’s been a lot of fun!” James thanks.

“Of course, it was a blast!” I charm.

He stands and so do we. He hugs Sam then me, “you two make me laugh like no others.”

James looks into the camera and wraps up the end of the show. “Thank you, Julia Roberts, Adam Levine, Sam Merka, Y/N Voss, and Machine Gun Kelly for joining me today! Have an excellent night everyone! Until next time!”

The band starts their music. Sam and I dance to the beat and James join in. The produces yells that the show has cut to a commercial.

To hear my name and Machine Gun Kelly’s name mere seconds apart is something I never thought I’d hear.

“Thanks again for coming!” James repeats once the show is over.

“We had fun! Thanks for having us!” Sam compliments.

The duo shares a brief “bro hug” and James embraces me one last time.

Then, Sam and I head backstage to our dressing room. Nicole and Steven should already be back there since I didn’t see them on the set.

“That went well!” Sam mentions while we walk down the hall.

I hum, “totally not getting married first though.”

“Whatever, you’re lying to yourself,” he laughs as he opens the door to the dressing for me.

Nicole and Steven are waiting for us and instantly begin talking about the Vanity Fair shoot tomorrow. It’s never-ending.

____________________________________________________

Masterlist

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