#I’m definitely gonna be watching more over the next few days since I need to let my hand rest x)

[khytal]

i’m still watching detco I just had to take a break for tristamp. gonna go through movie 9 tomorrow :]c

[erwinsvow]

“stay away from her, rafe,” his sister’s voice comes from behind.

rafe resists an eye-roll, staring out across the pool of tannyhill and in particular, you, his sister’s friend, sprawled out on a beach chair with your nose in a book. he’s seen you before, around the house, usually unable to meet his eyes and flushing at anything he’d say. he didn’t pay much attention before, since you were almost painfully shy and skittish to the touch— definitely too shy for him—but he’s starting to change his mind. 

he watches you lower the book to your chest, covering your flimsy blue bikini and looking up to see where the noise is coming from. you catch rafe’s eye for one second, taking in the fact that he’s staring right at you, and you panic, bringing the book right back up to hide your face. he smirks, until sarah speaks again.

“seriously rafe. don’t even look at her. she’s way too nice for you, anyways.”

“shut up. not doing anythin’, and i don’t have to listen to-”

“sarah!” ward’s voice comes from inside. she walks back inside, telling rafe to leave you alone one last time. he stays out there, minutes passing by quickly, until he notices you glancing up at him again. you walk over in his direction, and even in your demeanor he can tell sarah was right, that you’re so shy you can’t even find the nerve to approach him, and you hover in front of the backdoor, trying to peer inside to see where your friend went.

“need somethin'?” rafe asks you, and he notices your entire body tense up. you turn around slowly to face him, but you stare at your feet while you speak.

“um, i’m sorry. sarah was gonna bring me home.” you look up quickly and then look back down. he thinks it’s cute, though he’s sure he once thought it was annoying. he wonders if you’re like this with everyone. “it’s almost curfew so i should-”

“well sarah’s occupied.” you meet his eyes finally, your own wide like coins, taking in his words. “get your stuff, kid. i’ll take you home.” 

“oh, you don’t have to-”

“get your ass in the car. come on. i don’t have all day.” you comply quickly, gathering your book and bag, not even looking for sarah again, which he likes a little too much. you climb into the passenger seat of his truck, but keep your gaze locked out the window. it’s not until he pulls infront of your house that you speak.

“thanks, rafe,” you mumble quietly. he turns to look at you, but you’re sniffling with quivering shoulders.

“you cryin’?” he’s actually confused—unsure of what he did, if anything. he thought driving you home was something that would make you happy.

“no,” you get out, in between a sob. “i didn’t mean to bother you, or m-make you mad.”

“mad?” he asks, staring at you curiously. rafe thinks maybe he should have expected this, or seen this coming. gears start turning and clicking into place, the way you play with the hem of your dress and keep your head down. you were more messed up than he thought. he chooses his next few words carefully. “and what did i say…to make you think that? hm?”

“y-you said you didn’t have all day. and you sounded upset.” rafe tries to think back, but he hasn’t felt upset with you at any point in the last hour. he exhales, laughing a little. he thinks he could have a lot of fun with you, with the way you behave around him. the very thought of you talking to some other guy like this makes his blood boil. 

“well, m’not. not mad or anythin’ else, okay?” you look back up through watery eyes.

“really?”

“no, kid. not at all. you walk around thinkin’ everyone’s mad at you all the time?”

“i-i don’t know. i guess. you just scared me.”

“well i’ll try not to. get inside. i’ll see you tomorrow.” you climb out, picking up your bag and adjusting your dress. before you turn to head back, you peer in through the open window at rafe. your gaze darts around, finally settling on him.

“tomorrow?”

“yeah, tomorrow. i’ll swing by. g’night, kid.”

“goodnight, rafe.”

[reysdriver]

Hey darlin'! I just saw your one-shots and i REALLY love them!! I need morr about Eddie with Hopper!Reader <33 Please!! A fluff or a smut where the Reader have to deal with her father. Hope you can answer. Have a nice day!! ✨️

-🩷

You and Eddie try to have a chill night in, but it's difficult when you have the world's most paranoid chief of police as a father — eddie x fem!hopper!reader fluff

warnings: none

words: 1.2k

a/n: thanks for submitting a request! I'm sorry it took so long, I've been so busy lately, and I'm sorry I couldn't figure out how to end it lmao but I really hope you like this fic!!

Even though your dad knew about you and Eddie dating, he was definitely not as okay with it as you would have hoped, but honestly more than you had expected. 

He had met Eddie a few times since he found out you were in romantic cahoots with the familiar criminal, and despite your fears, they had gotten along quite well despite their history and their differences. But no matter how many things they actually had in common, no father would fully trust Eddie Munson to be alone with his little girl. 

“Door open three inches!” Your dad called from the couch. “You know the rules!”

You rolled your eyes, standing up from the bed to open the door to Hopper’s liking. 

The door was open three inches, and you swore that it was the draft causing the door to move slightly, but you knew your dad would never believe you. 

“Seriously, Dad?” You asked him. 

“Rules are rules.” He confirmed. “If you don’t like it, then the boyfriend can go.”

You let out a heavy, dramatic sigh before returning to your boyfriend, who was currently sketching out a Dungeons and Dragons character based on you for his new campaign. 

Eddie looked up from his paper when you sat back down next to him. “You can do a lot with three inches, you know?”

You put a finger over his mouth—which he playfully tried to bite—and you shushed him while holding back a laugh at his incredibly stupid, albeit funny, joke. 

“He’s gonna hear you, and he’s gonna drag you out of here. Keep drawing.”

He put the finishing touches on his design, then let out a sound of satisfaction over it before turning the notebook so you could see it better. 

“I think I did pretty good.” Your boyfriend proclaimed. “She’s almost as pretty as you.”

Oh, how you lucked out with this mysterious dork. You thanked him by pressing a quick kiss on his cheek before your dad became suspicious of you two once again. 

“You think I should get it as some ink?” Eddie asked you. 

“Like, you want to get it tattooed?”

Eddie nodded, eyes going back and forth between you and the cartoon version of you that he just made. 

“Absolutely not.” You replied. 

“What? Why not? Do you not love me enough to let me tattoo you on me?”

He was ridiculous, staring at you with big, fake puppy dog eyes and a pleading lip. 

“Of course I love you, but as your girlfriend, I also need to stop you from doing stupid things.”

“What if I keep your tattoo separate from the creepy skulls and spiders?”

Well, that was an offer you almost couldn’t refuse. Even though it was tempting, you would never let him know that he can get to you like that, so you played it cool.

“Ask me again in a year.”

His face erupted into a devilish smile and he held his hands to his chest like a cartoon character in love. 

“I’m getting a tramp stamp of my girlfriend in a year!”

Before you could protest his proclamation, he pulled you into his arms in what you hoped was just a teasing gesture rather than a genuine expression of excitement for something you were certainly not going to let happen. 

Just a second later, your dad cleared his throat very pointedly, which practically frightened you out of your boyfriend’s arms. 

“El wants to watch a movie.” He announced. “Come watch with us.”

You sat up and shook your head lightly. “Um, no thanks, Dad. We’ll pass on that.”

Your dad raised an eyebrow and looked at Eddie’s arm around your waist. “You have something better to do?”

It was at that point that you knew him telling you about your sister and the movie was an order, not an invitation. You bit the inside of your cheek and luckily, Eddie spoke up before you could say something snarky. 

“A movie sounds great, chief. Count us in.”

“Good.” Hopper said curtly before turning around to the living room. 

Eddie stood up and started teasingly pulling you off the bed. You laid down and let out an annoyed groan, resisting his attempts to move you. 

“C’mon, babe, movie time.” Eddie encouraged. 

“It’s just gonna be The Wild Bunch. That’s one of their favourite movies and I know El’s been wanting to see it again lately.” You mumbled. “I’d much rather stay here with you.”

“Well, your dad might never let me back in your house if he thinks I’m trying anything with his daughter in the other room, so we have to. Plus, I like The Wild Bunch too.”

Your face formed an exaggerated frown as you finally got up off the bed. 

Eddie smiled and escorted you to the living room. And although you had just started to build up excitement within you for this movie night, it already got worse. 

El was in her favourite recliner—the VHS case for The Wild Bunch was on her lap, you called it—but your dad had plopped himself down in the exact middle of the couch. Not only did you have to watch a movie with your family instead of chilling with your boyfriend, but you couldn’t even sit next to him because your dad hates the idea of you having fun. 

Before you knew it, you were in a full on stare-down with the Hawkins chief of police. 

“Take a seat.” He said passive aggressively. 

“I want to sit next to Eddie, Dad. Could you move over?”

He shook his head. “I’m not falling for any of your tricks. I was a teenager once.”

“Yeah, like a thousand years ago.” You mumbled. 

The comment was quiet but your dad still heard it. 

“Careful, any attitude and I’ll assume it came from the moron and he won’t be allowed back in the house.”

You looked over at Eddie with a defeated expression on your face. He looked back at you, sympathetic and willing to comply—the latter was a complete switch from his normal mood.

Your boyfriend understood completely why your dad was worried about you and Eddie dating, but that didn’t mean he was happy about it. Of course, Eddie was willing to do whatever he could to seem like the boyfriend every parent would want for their daughter—he really was, some people just couldn’t look past the exterior shell to see it—so he held his tongue and went along with anything. 

The two of you sat down on opposite sides of the couch, separated by your relentless father. 

“Alright, El, play the movie.” Hopper said. 

He then leaned back and kept his eyes on the television in front of you all. 

Eddie soon caught your gaze from across the couch, and he stretched his arm behind his head, oh so conveniently placing it a few inches from your shoulder.

You grinned at him, keeping it subtle, and took his hand in yours. 

The two of you watched the rest of the film like that, holding hands in that slightly uncomfortable way, and the night wasn’t as insufferable as it seemed like it was going to be. All thanks to Eddie, of course.

[suugarbabe]

Always

Pairing: Mattheo Riddle x y/n

Warnings: slow burn, fluff, smut-adjacent? I guess

Summary: You & Theo have been best friends since year 1. Mattheo has been crushing on you since around the same time; everyone things you and Theo are going to end up together but both you and Theo have others in your sights.

You had met Theo your first ever day at Hogwarts. Really you had met him on the train; you had been so nervous that you were going to miss the train you made your mum get you there extra early. You had found a compartment to yourself in the back, making tiny paper birds with notebook paper and flicking your wand up and down to make them dance. It was a simple spell, a children’s spell really that your mum had taught you. It helped calm you down.

You heard more students arriving on the train the closer it got to 9:00. You weren’t bothered that no one has joined you yet, it was almost more peaceful that way. At 8:59, your compartment door flew open and a mess of brown curls was standing with his back to you, shouting down the car pathway, “Down here, Teddy, c’mon!” The curly haired boy plopped down across from you and almost jumped out of his skin, “Merlin! Sorry, I didn’t notice you there. I’m Mattheo.” You gave a weak smile, but didn’t say anything as another boy came rushing in - more like stumbling- and sat right next to you. He had sandy brown hair and was as skinny as a bean pole. You made a mental note to watch out for his inevitable clumsy-ness in the future.

“I’m Theo, thanks for letting us sit with you. We almost missed the bloody train,” he gave you a crooked smile that reached his eyes. “Teddy and I are first years, I’m assuming you’re the same by your robes,” Mattheo spoke again, tearing open a chocolate frog and shoving half in his mouth. You nodded your head, pulling a knee to your chest. “I told you, it’s Theo now, we’re going to school, it’s Theo not Teddy.” Mattheo rolled his eyes, “Not happenin’, Mate.”

“What’s your name?” Theo turned back to you, smile plastered on his face again. “Y/n,” you spoke barely above a whisper, but Theo nodded, repeating your name to himself over and over again like he was committing it to memory. “She must like you better than me, Teddy, she didn’t speak to me at all when I first walked in,” Mattheo mumbled through mouthfuls of chocolate. The tips of Theo’s earns burned the slightest shade of pink, you found it endearing. “You’re gonna have to get used to me sometime, Princess, we’re all gonna be best friends now.” You turned back to Mattheo, confusion clearly written on your face.

He rolled his eyes again, “It’s like an unwritten rule, duh. The people you sit with on the train your first time to Hogwarts end up being your best friends for life.” You took a deep breath, “Well if I’m stuck with you guys for life, I have a few rules.” Both boys sat up a little straighter, listening intently. “You need to learn to eat with your mouth shut,” you gave your want a small flick in Mattheo’s direction, shutting his mouth immediately. Theo threw his head back in laughter, wiping his eyes, “Okay, you’re definitely going to have to teach me that one.”

“And you,” you turned to Theo, “have to let me call you Teddy.” Theo smiled widely, “If you teach me that mouth sealing spell you can call me whatever you want.” You flicked your wrist again, releasing Mattheo from the spell. He gasped for air dramatically like he had been gagged, “I don’t know when, but I’ll get you back for that one, Mouse. I don’t know when, but expect it.” You tilted your head, “Mouse?” Mattheo smiled proudly to himself, “Yeah, ‘cause when I first came in you were as quiet as a mouse.” You felt your face get hot, your stomach fluttering with butterflies.

You were the last of the three of you to get sorted. The sigh of relief you let out was massive when the sorting hat placed you in Slytherin with your new friends. Theo’s long arm was waving like crazy, beckoning you over to him and Mattheo. The next several years consisted of you three growing closer and closer. You and Mattheo would always argue back and forth. But overall you felt closest to Theo. He was like your brother. You cared for each other at parties, fell asleep on each other in the common room, wore his extra quidditch jersey to games.

People asked you both all the time why you didn’t date. So when Pansy asked you again at the beginning of sixth year you had to roll your eyes. “Me and Teddy? No way, yuck!” You gagged, “he’s like my brother. That’s incest Pans, gross. Never ever no.” She laughed at your response, but still seemed a bit nervous. You raised your eyebrows, “Wait why…do you…OH MERL-” Pansy slapped her hand over your mouth, “Shut it, y/n! Do you want to wake up the rest of the girls? Yes, okay. I’m crushing on Theo.” She covered her face with her hands, groaning and presumably hiding your cheeks that were most definitely bright red.

“Oh this is great, truly,” you smiled. “Honestly, you don’t know how happy this makes me, Pans.” The girl across from you lifted her head, “Why does this make you so happy, Y/n.” Pansy was definitely suspicious at your tone of voice and just your eagerness in general. “Because…” you grinned, “a certain gangly limbed, brown haired boy told me he had a crush on a bombshell black haired girl this summer.” Pansy sat there, blank look on her face. You groaned, “Merlin’s beard…Pansy, Teddy told me he’s had a crush on you for the last year.”

Pansy squealed with excitement but quickly covered her mouth, glancing over at the other girls in the room making sure they where still sleeping. “You know what this means, right?” She sat up on her knees, practically bouncing as she spoke to you. You nodded, in full understanding, “It means we have to make sure you look hot as shit for the welcome party tomorrow.” Pansy nodded, “We both need to look hot as shit.” “Wait why we? Who do I have to look hot for?” You questioned. Pansy tucked herself into her duvet, “That’s for me to know…and you to find out tomorrow.”

——————————

As sixth years you were in charge of party planning. You and Pansy had designated yourselves as lead party planners making sure everything was perfect. You had gotten ready together, making sure each other looked “extra hot” as Pansy stated. You were still clueless as to who you were looking hot for, but you still went along with it. You both let the party get started before you made an entrance. As the pair of you made it across the room you found your group of boys. By the second week of your first year, the group had expanded from just you, Theo and Mattheo to include not only Pansy but also Draco, Blaise and Lorenzo.

Theo’s eyes were glued to Pansy the moment he clocked you guys across the room. You smiled, thanking Merlin that Theo would likely finally get a girlfriend and put the stupid dating rumors for you two to rest. He spoke up immediately, “You look amazing Pansy.” She blushed slightly, “Thank you, Theo. You look pretty good yourself.” The tops of Theo’s earn turned the slightest of pink as his smile grew, still crooked as always. He stood up, taking her hand and leading her to the dance floor.

“You looking fucking sexy, too, Y/n-” Enzo started his sentence but was quickly cut off with a flick of Mattheo’s wand, sealing his mouth shut with the charm you had taught the young boy so many years ago causing the rest of the group to burst out laughing. “Can I, erm, talk to you, Mouse? Alone?” Mattheo stood from his seat. You crossed your arms, “Not until you release, Enzo.” He rolled his eyes, flicking his wand again. Enzo opened his jaw wide, moving it around and making chomping movements with his mouth, “You can rightfully piss off for that one.”

Mattheo just gave him the finger before grabbing your hand. You couldn’t help the way your heart raced when his skin made contact with yours. It didn’t always used to be like this. Sure, you had a slight crush when you were eleven, but he was adorable, all the girls had a crush. It had died down a little when he started hooking up with Astoria Greengrass in year three. But last year, when Mattheo started keeping to himself more, not even hooking up with random girls your crush had time to blossom again.

You did your best to keep it to yourself. You two were still close, not as close as you and Theo, but that’s only because doing things like falling asleep on Theo’s shoulder was nothing. If you were to do that on Mattheo, you’d probably fail every test the next day over analyzing every move and breath he took. Mattheo stopped walking when you two made it to the hallway leading to the boys dorms. The silencing charm cut off right before the halls, making it much quieter and easier to talk there than inside the party.

“What’s going on Mattheo, why did want need to talk out here? And why were you mean to Enzo, he was just telling me how nice I looked, he’s allowed-”

“No,” Mattheo started through gritted teeth, “he’s not allowed, and he was being inappropriate to you.” You scoffed, crossing your arms, “Excuse me?” Mattheo turned away from you, yanking down on his curls. “Mattheo Marvelo, look at me this instant!” He whipped around, slamming a hand on the wall next to your head. You jumped slightly, letting out a small yelp. “He is not allowed to say those things to you, Mouse,” Mattheo spoke softly, his jaw was clenched and he kept his eyes shut, clearly trying to keep himself calm.

You reached up, placing a hand on his cheek, “Why?” The boy relaxed into your touch as he took a deep breath. He opened his eyes, meeting yours as you stared back at him. He held eye contact with you; you had always loved Mattheo’s eyes. Theo would tease him and tell him they were “so brown because he was full of shit”. But you were always quick to defend him. Mattheo’s eyes reminded you of mahogany in the middle. He had the richest shade of brown along the rim of his iris, when the sun caught his face on the train that first day you knew you’d be done for long term.

“Talk to me, teo, what’s wrong?” The corner of his mouth turned up slightly at the nickname. You noticed his eyes flick from your own, down to your lips and back. Your heart rate picked up, not quite believing what he might be thinking. When his eyes flicked down again, you got a surge of confidence moving your hand from his cheek to the back of his neck. You pulled him closer, hearing his breath hitch as your lips met.

Your fingers tangled into his dark curls, his hand that wasn’t holding his weight on the wall found your waist. He took a step closer to you, essentially trapping you against the wall, the front of his body now flush to yours. You mind was tangled, you placed your hands on Matteo’s chest, pushing him back slightly. “What’s wrong?” He asked, “Was it bad did I mess up?” You shook your head, smiling, “No, it was, gosh it was amazing, I just don’t understand how, or why, it’s happening.”

Mattheo rested his forehead against yours, “I’ve always loved you, Mouse. It’s always been you. Ever since that first day on the train, when you charmed my mouth shut with that little attitude of yours.” You smiled at the memory as he continued, “Merlin, no one had ever done anything like that to me before. I didn’t understand it at first but I felt love for you in that moment. When everyone started saying you and Theo should date, I got so jealous. I wanted it to be me. But you were always so much closer with him. I tried to date other girls, to chase that feeling I felt that first time we met but they never did it for me. Not like you, Y/n.”

Your heart felt like it was beating out of your chest. The boy you had been pining after for years just basically told you he loved you since he met you, that his feelings were the same as yours. He opened his mouth to speak again, but instead you tilted your head slightly capturing his mouth with yours. He pulled you closer, seemingly not being able to get enough of you in that moment.

In what felt like entirely too soon he pulled away, “We should get back to everyone else, yeah?” You smiled, nodding your head, “Yeah, s’pose so.” He laced his fingers with yours, leading you back to the couch your friends were sitting. Pansy and Theo now sitting down, Pansy’s legs thrown casually over Theo’s. As the two of you got closer, Pansy’s eyes panned down to your hands. She slapped Theo’s chest, pointing toward you and Mattheo. “Oh thank MERLIN,” Theo exclaimed, causing everyone’s eyes to follow, smiles forming on everyone’s faces. Enzo sat up, “Merlin, finally! We were so tired of hearing Mattheo drown on and on about you, Y/n, year after yea-” in an instant his mouth was charmed shut. Everyone turned to look at Mattheo who put his arms up in defense. You slid your want back in your holder on your leg, shrugging your shoulders, “He talks too much sometimes.”

[targaryenluvs]

REAL LOVE BABY! / CLARK KENT

PAIRING: Red Kryptonite!Clark Kent x Fem!Reader

SUMMARY: To make your ex jealous, your best friend suggests the two of you work together. But it’s not like you knew, he was never planning on letting you go.

WARNINGS: Fake Dating Trope, Obsession, Jealousy, Dark themes, Cursing, Non-Consensual Kissing/Touching, Implied Sex, Baby Trapping, Red Kryptonite Clark

WORDCOUNT: 1,390 Words

A/N: Hello folks! This fic is apart of the lovely @lady-ashfades collab event! Here is the masterlist, go over and give it a look and read with a lot of great writers and tropes ❤️ You can imagine this with any Clark but I was leaning towards Smallville Clark!

Your teeth were bound to be ground into nothing if you kept going at this pace. The drink in your hand was warm, despite the ice inside. Your entire face was flushed as you watched your boyfriend, ex-boyfriend, stand around and laugh.

His footsteps surprisingly weren’t heavy, “The longer you stare, the creepier it gets.” Clark laughed as you turned his way, eyebrows knitted together in anger. “Who cares, why the hell is he allowed to be so happy. If a girl moves on that fast it’s a shit show.” You downed your drink before turning to the barkeep, he didn’t even need to ask, nor did you.

Another glass slid your way.

Clark was quicker than you, he always was. “This isn’t how you get over someone Y/n/n.” You couldn’t help but whine as you stared at the small glass, it wasn’t small but Clark made it look tiny. “You want me to switch to ice cream Kent?” Clark scoffed, his teeth as white ever.

His hand came to hold yours once he’d placed the glass out of your reach, “Anything, as long as it won’t hurt you.” You couldn’t help but smile at him, “Always looking out for me aren’t you?”

Oh you have no idea.

“Always, you’re my best girl.”

“And you’re my best friend too.” You stood on your toes to kiss his cheek, not noticing how time seemed to stand still to him. His hand came to your waist to steady you, “What if we could make him jealous?” Clark kept hold of your arms, which you found odd. “Uh, how do you mean?” You couldn’t bring yourself to meet his eye, so you glanced at his hands taking note of the tacky red ring. His hand rose to your cheek, cradling it before leaning in, “I mean this.”

Clarks lips connected with yours as your eyes widened, this was definitely not how you expected your night to go.

You pulled away after what felt like a lifetime to be met with a wide smile, “I— you,” Clark’s head was turned towards your ex Jake. “Well he’s definitely noticed you now.” Taking. a quick glance, you viewed an angry man not taking notice of the girl clinging on his arms.

Shaking your head to try and clear your mind did nothing. What the hell was going on? Pinching the bridge of your nose, you looked back to Clark, “You kissed me to make him jealous? You’re my best friend Clark and this isn’t a movie.”

“Oh come on, a macho guy like him never thinks before getting angry. And would you rather use some random friend or your best friend? You know I wouldn’t do anything to hurt you Y/n/n.” Tucking your hair behind your ear you nodded along, maybe this would pay off. Either it would help you get over him or get him back.

“Alright, let’s do it.”

Clarks eyes shifted, whether it was just the lighting or something more, you didn’t take notice.

“Baby I’m gonna treat you so good—,”

“Don’t quote Pretty Woman on me Kent!”

Bliss. The next few weeks with Clark by your side were pure bliss in your opinion. Almost every day you woke up to a nice message from him wishing you a good morning. Before, unluckily for you, your ex worked with both yourself and Clark. But now it was the best thing since it was undeniably easy to rub your glee in his face.

“Coffee M’lady?” He had a mug in his hand, outstretched in your direction as you took in the lovely smell of the love of your life, and Clark was there too. “I love you.” Your hands practically snatched the mug from his grip, “Oh I guess I like you too.”

Clark shook his head as you giggled sweetly before taking a sip of heaven to start your day, “You wound me.” You raised your eyebrows, “I keep you on your toes baby.” The word slipped so easily you didn’t even notice, but Clark did. So did Jake as he entered the break room.

You used to call him baby.

Taking your coffee, you mobilised and left the room, leaving your ex and best friend fake boyfriend with tension galore radiating from the room. “Kent.” Jake grunted in acknowledgement, “Jake.” The smirk on Clark’s face was infuriating, “Stop.”

He played dumb as he twisted the Ruby like ring, “Stop what?” Clark tilted his head as he questioned him, “Rubbing her in my face.” His laugh screamed superiority somehow, “Trust me, Y/n wouldn’t want to rub herself on you any-day or anyhow. She has me for that anyways.”

“Oh you fucking—,”

“Clark!” Your shout from down the hall caused both of the men to turn immediately, “Watch yourself Kent.” Clark snickered in his face, “Yeah, cause I’m so scared of you right? Chin up Jakey.”

Jake watched as Clark walked away, jaw close the to the floor at the audacity and arrogance around the sweetheart that was Clark Kent. How the hell was he your best friend?

For some reason you just keep going. Never announcing that you were dating but falling into this calm stage of friendship? A relationship? You were fake dating, or supposed to be, but it felt almost normal now. And whenever you’d bring forwards the topic of what you were Clark would always shut it down.

Especially when it came to the two of you returning to friends.

So after a consultation with Lois, you ended up taking him out for a night on the town. Drinks, fun and hopefully enough time for a talk.

You wiped your eyes as Clark laughed at your wheezing, “I can never imagine you acting so confident! Not in a bad way but— oh god, half the time when your food is too salty you just buck up and eat it. I don’t know why you confronting someone is so foreign!”

Clark shook his head as he crossed his arms, “That’s the old Clark. Don’t you like someone who takes control?” Suddenly the jacket you had on was far too warm and restricting as you choked on air, “Uhh, sure.” You absentmindedly answered before ordering another drink.

Not realising it was already your fourth, Clark hadn’t touched his drink.

“It’s so dark.” Clark nodded as you clung onto bicep, “Luckily I’m here no?” He glanced down at you with a sinister smile and he couldn’t help but admire the glee on your face. “Lucky you’re here.” You agreed.

He was in for a good night.

The sun was harsh in your eyes, attempting to roll over to escape you were met with a human blockade in the form of, Clark?

“Oh you’re fucking kidding me.”

Clarks eyes fluttered open at your exclamation, “What’s wrong Sweetheart?” You shot up, clutching the sheet to your chest as he laughed at your actions, “I’ve already you Y/n/n.” Clutching your head in your hands you tried to make sense of how you ended up in your best friend’s bed naked after a normal night out.

You shook your head vehemently, “That’s— that’s not the point Clark! How the hell did we end up at your place when we were walking to mine? And how… please tell me we didn’t.” Your eyes were beginning to gloss over as guilt pinched at his heart, “Hey, hey I’ve got you. I’m so sorry I don’t know either. We both drank a lot but I would never take advantage of you I swear. It was mutual but you trust me right?”

You didn’t have the energy to argue, especially not with the soreness resting in your body, “I just, I’m confused Clark. I don’t know why I got into bed with you, or you got in with me. Don’t you think this would ruin our friendship?”

He sighed as he managed to slowly lull you into his arms with a gentle smile, “Sweetheart, I think we’ve been more than friends for a while. Tell me you’ve hated these past few weeks and I’ll stop. This is Real Love Baby. He never deserved you.” Having someone with you, constantly doting on you. Especially when it was so easy to talk to them since they were your best friend.

You gave in that night, and gave in again.

[grippingbeskar]

Ok so, i ADORE your writing and i wanted to submit a request for a joel miller x reader fic ^^

Specifically its the readers first time out of the qz since 2004, she snuck out on her own and was found by joel in the woods. She slightly pisses him off because she can be somewhat annoying but he eventually falls for her! You can go anywhere you want with it but please add that she calls joel “cowboy” bc i find that to be so cute

warnings: swearing, slight mention of past violence

a/n: okay this isn’t edited but i wrote it all in one go cause it’s so damn cute. i couldn’t help it. thank you for sending this in!!! i hope you like it! clearly i needed a lil fluff now that there’s no more tlou eps so i hope it’s what u wanted 😭

“You’re gonna get yourself killed.” Joel’s gruff voice growls from behind you. “Stop moving.”

“Stop talking! You’ll scare it!” You whisper-yell back, scootching your body forward on the rock. “Oh, you have to come down here.”

“I’m not gettin’ anywhere near that thing.” Joel huffs, and you roll your eyes, unable to bother with a reply when you can see what you can in front of you.

A bear. A giant, fluffy, brown bear. Standing on its hind legs, clawing at a tree trying to get… something down off the branch. It’s the first time you’ve seen a bear. The first time you’ve seen anything alive bigger than a dog. It’s massive.

“Joel, come on! Look at how adorable it is!” As much as he complains, you can hear him groan as he leans down, knees cracking and breath puffing out in clouds. He eventually crawls up next to you, the broad length of his body pressing against your side on the narrow face of the rock.

The bear was now rubbing its back on the newly scratched bark, roaring quietly as it yawns. The sun was shining seamlessly through the trees, and the forest was just starting to lose the heavy layer of snow that had built up over the winter. Warmth flooded your body from your toes to your ears, but you couldn’t figure out if it was the rising sun or the way Joel had sidled up a little closer, craning his neck so he could see, too.

He leans to the right, squinting into the open forest, and yes— it was definitely just Joel making you sweat.

“See? Cool, right?” You say softly, keeping your eyes on Joel’s reaction. It had taken so long for him to speak to you in any capacity, let alone indulging your curiosity with something like this. You were still hesitant to upset him, or piss him off, but he didn’t seem to be either of these things much anymore. At least, not directed at you.

“Yeah, alright. It’s pretty cool.” He admits, watching as the bear roars a little louder. All of a sudden, three tiny balls of fluff crawl out of a hollow log and begin to roll around in the melting snow.

Your face lights up, you can tell it does. Your grin stretches across your face embarrassingly big, but— “Oh my god. Baby bears. Freakin’ baby bears, Joel!”

He laughs quietly, and you can feel his eyes on you, but you don’t dare move. Even though him staring at you burns you enough you’d swear it wasn’t winter, you keep your eyes forward. The last thing you want to do is scare him off— not when he’s the closest he’s ever been.

You know he wouldn’t feel the same, but it was impossible not to have some kind of feeling for him. He was practically a knight in shining armour to you— without him, you would of died the day you snuck out of the QZ. But there he was, scowling and buried under layers of warmth, layers he’d reluctantly shared with you until you could feel your fingers again. He’d saved you, and you had fawned over him ever since.

He was definitely not on the same page— it was only in the last few months that he’d learned to tolerate you, and somehow it was only making your crush worse. Those famous scowls turned to smirks and hidden smiles, and harsh words melted away into something like fondness. You could hear the care behind the orders he gave you. “Don’t do that” shifted into “Its not safe.” “Shut up” was whispered into a soft “Shh. Listen.”

It might not seem like a lot, but in terms of Joel, it was miles.

The bears continued to roll around, play-fighting while their mother wandered further over to the rushing lake. You shivered as the sun disappeared behind the clouds, and Joel’s hand tugged at your jacket.

“Come on. We gotta get moving.” You sighed, but still smiled as the smallest of the bears attempted to climb a tree, and fell off with a ‘plop’ into the snow. “You’ll be warmer if we’re moving.”

“Just a little longer. Look at him!” The bears continue to fight their way up the tree unsuccessfully, and you wait for Joel to move away. You silently beg him not to, and maybe it works, because he keeps still. No, not still.

Blink and you miss it, but you don’t. You feel him move— just an inch, but he comes closer to you. Touching you all down your side. It stops your shivering, and you find it very, very hard to focus on the bears.

 ─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

“Just a little longer. Look at him!” You laugh lightly, your head facing forward in the direction of the bears. Joel can’t take his eyes off you, no matter how cute some bears might be. It was humiliating. He couldn’t take his eyes off you for a second, not when you were this close, smiling and laughing. You made him feel… good. Warm. Made him forget where he was for a second. It was dangerous and stupid, but he still didn’t take his eyes off you.

He moved closer under the guise of keeping you warm, but he noticed the way you hid your face from him. He always noticed. He wasnt game enough to think you wanted him like that, but he knew he had some kind of effect on you. You didn’t want him, but you needed him. He kept you safe, and he thinks that after all this time you, for some god damn reason, cared about him.

He couldn’t tell you why. He was a dick to you ever since he found you. Sure, he’d pulled you out of the snow and warmed you up for three days. Fed you boiled soup and water and made sure you didn’t choke, but he made sure you paid for it when you woke up. He was colder than the snow outside, sometimes straight up ignoring you when you asked him dumb questions.

He felt guilty now, thinking back, but he was in a bad place. It was dark without you, but since you’d wormed your way into his heart, he could hardly remember what it was like not to have you around. He sure wouldn’t be crammed on a rock watching bears roll around in snow, but he couldn’t think of another place he’d want to be.

“You’re still cold.” Joel says after a while, noticing the way your hands clench and unclench under your gloves. It’s something you’ve done to warm up your fingertips since he’d found you. Your hands get cold first.

“No, I’m not.” You say, eyelashes fluttering rapidly to blink away the fallen snow. “Okay, I am. But where are you gonna see something like this again?!”

“The woods. Where we are gonna walk through for the next two days.” Joel says, and though you stop smiling, you finally turn to look at him. You shake your head, rolling your eyes.

“You cannot tell me that is not the fucking cutest thing you have ever seen. They are rolling around in little balls, Joel. Tiny bears rolling around in the snow!” Your hand grabs his jacket, and he freezes up. You’ve touched him only a few times— times he thinks of far too often, but it still makes him feel like a deer in the damn headlights.

“It’s adorable. Can we move now?” You roll your eyes again, but for some reason you always smile at him after. Like he’s funny or something.

“Fine, but you’re missing out, cowboy.”

“I’m not a cowboy.” He says between huffs as he drags himself upright. He offers you a hand, brushing off the snow from his jacket with the other. You take it, and a rush of heat nearly melts the snow on his head.

“You wore that hat. You’re a cowboy.”

“I wore that one time.” He reminds you to no avail, and you laugh, walking in line next to him.

“It looked good! I think you should lean into it. You got the whole accent going on, and the chivalry act. It’s a winner!” You tuck your arms into the straps of your backpack, your shoulders brushing his. He doesn’t move away.

“Chivalry, huh?”

“You did save my life. Multiple times. And taught me how to shoot a gun.” He scoffs. You thought that was chivalry? Fuck, if only you knew how he’d really treat a woman— how he’d treat you if you aren’t stuck out in these woods.

“Yeah, perfect first date. Learn how to shoot a rusty old rifle.” Joel jokes, and then feels you stop, boots crunching in the snow.

“That was a date?” Wide eyed, you stare up at him, the space between you feeling further than ever and way too close.

“What… I didn’t mean it like—“Joel sighs, taking a step forward. “Thats not what I meant.”

“Oh. Yeah, I knew that.” You shake your head, snow falling off your beanie. It nearly comes loose, and when you walk up next to him, Joel moves before he can think.

He can’t stand that little look in your eye, the one he used to see all the time. It was hurt— hurt caused by him. You’d had enough of that in your life. Joel wasn’t going to be the cause of it anymore. Not when you were the woman he— the woman he cared about.

His hands tug lightly on the sides of your beanie, and you still under him. Your eyes watch him cautiously as he adjusts it on your head and over your ears, and then lets his hands linger. They wander down, still gloved, along your cheeks, wiping away the snowflakes resting on your cheeks. He takes in a breath, and his chest touches yours. When you smile softly, he feels sucker punched, and his hands slowly fall from your face.

“I didn’t mean that.” Joel says in the same low tone he uses when you talk at night, like it’s a secret.

“The date, or the backtracking?” You were still smiling, and it cut Joel up like a blunt knife was searing into his heart. You were fucking painful, but he yearned for it.

“The… both. That— at the time, that wasn’t a date. But that’s not sayin’ I wouldn’t take you on one.” Your face was full of surprise— eyebrows raised and mouth agape. “One with less guns.”

“Joel…” You breathe, and he wishes he kept his hands on your face.

He lets the confession sit, unsure of what to do with himself now he’s put it out there. He’s got two days alone with you in these woods before you reach Tommy, and he’s fucked if he’s gotta deal with your rejection—

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen you with less guns.” You say, clearing the distance between you and him in three bounding steps. “I’m excited to see what you come up with, then.”

“You, uh—“

“Though I am expecting you to break out the hat. I want the full experience.” He can hear the smile in your voice, his head dropping down so you can’t see his matching one.

“I’ll make sure I do that, darlin’.” Your breath hitches, and it’s your turn to hide from him.

You both keep walking, though Joel feels himself pressing closer and closer. His heart is racing, and he’s half worried he’s going to pass out, his vision a little blurry. Did he just ask you out? He feels like he missed it. Just blacked out and someone else took over. Not just that, but he thinks you might have just said yes.

“You do look good in that hat. I was serious.” You admit, staring at your boots. Joel feels his face get hot, unfamiliar territory making his hands shake.

“You’re insane.” He manages, and links his hand with yours.

“Whatever you say, cowboy.”

[lowgothree]

000. ༺ROCK THE BOAT༻∘

summary: after getting unexpectedly left by your roommate, you find yourself in need of a replacement.

contents: reader is down bad. paige in a situationship. kinda angsty.

previous. next. masterlist.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

“i just want you to know…” tina sighs, looking painfully pitying. “it isn’t you…it’s me.”

you sit on the coach in disbelief, unable to comprehend most of what she’s saying to you. are you actually getting broken up with by your roommate?

“it’s just…finn and i think it’s time to take the next step in our relationship.” three weeks. they’ve been dating for three weeks. damn, they uhaul faster than lesbians. 

tina mistakes your confused look for sadness, sticking her lip out and reaching over to put her hand over your hand. she widens her green eyes in your direction, steadying her gaze on yours with a sympathetic smile on her lips. “but don’t worry! i’ve already put in a good word with so many of my friends so that they can tell their friends how great a roommate you were!” 

“when are you moving out?” you sigh.

she looks a bit winded by the quickness of your question. “officially? in two days but since finn helped me pack up my stuff while you were at work, i’m just gonna get the rest of my things now and stay out of your hair. i’ve already paid my half of this month's rent so you have a month to find someone to room with.” she smiles brightly. 

tina is one of those people who is always happy but you can’t help but notice that she looks even more joyous than usual. “i’m…happy for you, tina.”

she smiles even wider and makes a squealing sound as she leans over to hug you. “aww…you’re so sweet! let’s stay in touch, yeah?”

you open your mouth to respond but are immediately cut off.

“babe…can you hurry and get the rest of your things?” finn, her boyfriend, mutters. he’s been leaning against the wall waiting for tina to break the news to you. 

she gives you another apologetic grin. “he’s really tired after work…retail, those customers are ruthless, you know?” she whispers definitely loud enough for him to hear.

tina walks back to what used to be her room, packing a few more things before she comes back to the livingroom to bid you one more goodbye.

"don't be a stranger..." she mutters at you, holding her bags tightly in her grip.

you watch as she and finn leave the house, she leaves her key on the coffee table and you lock the door behind them.

TO: SEAN

you’ll never guess what just happened

FROM: SEAN

What?

TO: SEAN

tina fell in love

FROM: SEAN

Again?

Who’s the lucky guy?

TO: SEAN

finn something

whatever

i think she was fr in love this time tho

she moved out 🙁

FROM: SEAN

OH SHIT

YOU’RE FUCKED LMAO 😂

TO SEAN:

😐

gtfo

FROM: SEAN

I apologize

I mean

Condolences**

TO: SEAN

please help me find a new roommate

i don’t wanna be homeless :/

[she-posts-nerdy-stuff]

Hi lovelies, I know I reblogged a post about the S&B news earlier but I just want to put my own words out here real quick.

I’m slightly late writing this because I spent the last 30 minutes or so watching the wonderful wonderful wonderful brekkerbybrekker on Instagram live and it was honestly just a full half hour or me crying whilst I watched her cry. I feel like we all know her but if anyone doesn’t she’s on insta and tiktok and she’s absolutely brilliant so do go give her a follow.

The Grishaverse has been part of my life actually for only 2 years, nearly 2 1/2, and I say only because I feel like I have been part of this world forever. I read Six of Crows in May 2021 and I had finished reading the series by September. I think it was in June that I started watching the TV show, after I’d read the first Shadow and Bone book. So although I read the books first, or in the case of S&B the books that were relevant to the season, I have never existed in this fandom - and definitely not as an active part of it - without the show there. And really the main thing I want to say is please please please don’t let this fandom end because we don’t have the show anymore. I know it existed before me but I also know that we got a lot more traction because of the show, you can see that in the way the popularity of it spiked before the release of season 2, and I don’t want to lose this because I love it here so damn much. It really hurts that we won’t be able to see our beloved, wonderful cast in all the futures we’d hoped for, and I really hope they know just how much we love them. This is a difficult revelation, but we will continue on together because we are a strong and wonderful community joined by such genuine love for such a beautiful series of novels.

Over the next few days I’m planning on reblogging the analyses of season 2 that I posted in March so if you’ve joined me since then (which I think a lot of you have since we’re so close to 1.3k thank you all so much) and haven’t read them then give them a look because I really think there’s so much wonderfulness to celebrate about that show and that’s what we need to keep doing now. I also might end up writing some new analyses of the show since I will almost definitely be rewatching it.

Deep down, I honestly really thought we were gonna make it

I know that not everyone will get why this provoked an emotional response from me and that’s okay, but please don’t be disrespectful of the fact that it did 🖤

[specialagentlokitty]

Daryl x reader - out my sight

hello!! i just read out my sight and it was AMAZING!!! would you consider a part two, whatever you want, im just curious to see more esp with the fighting and the group probably like “y’all actually love each other?” till they see a small moment that makes them get it. if not, that’s a okay! im definitely looking forward to seeing more of your work in the future!!! ❤️ - Anon💜

Part two:

Daryl did everything to keep you out of harms way, even at the farm, nobody was allowed near you on their own, especially not Shane.

You were sat down on top of the RV, sniper in your hands as you scanned the area again.

“Hey!”

Lowering the gun, you turned around and looked down at your boyfriend.

“What?”

“I want my jacket.”

You huffed, crossing your arms and shook your head.

“Mine now, been wearing it long enough.”

“You ass that ain’t how this works, it’s mine, give it.”

You turned around, going back to your spot to keep watch and he walked around the RV, standing just below it with his arms crossed.

“Come on, give it back I want it.”

“Nope.”

“Don’t be so fuckin’ stubborn, you never liked it anyways.”

You grinned down at him, setting your gun down.

“Yeah but it’s mine now, plus it’s warm.”

“I know it’s damn warm, it’s why I want it.”

“Not happening asshat.”

“I swear to god I will come up there and take it from you.”

You mocked his words knowing full well that he wouldn’t actually come take the jacket away from you.

He knew that he wouldn’t either, he just wanted to wear it since you had been wearing it for so long.

He took the one he was wearing off and tossed it up, and you glanced at it.

“Swap me.”

“It smells like ass.”

“You smell like ass, gimme a jacket.”

You snickered, taking the one you were wearing off and you laid on your stomach, reaching down to pass it to him.

Daryl looked around and he dragged something over, standing on it he placed his hand on the back of your head, quickly kissing you before he took the jacket down and jumped on the floor.

He tossed it on and you smiled softly at him.

“You’re a bitch!” He called.

“Fuck you!”

You sat up there for a few more hours in the sun before you swapped with Dale, and you walked over to the tent your boyfriend was living in.

Looking inside, you shrugged and made your way up to the house, sitting on the steps next Lori who was watching Carl kick some stones about.

“Any idea where the dickhead went?”

“Which one?” She laughed softly.

You grinned a little at her, pulling Daryl’s jacket a little closer around you.

It did smell bad, but it still smelled like him, and it was comforting, especially after so long without being with him, knowing he was alive.

“The one that follows me likes freakin’ shadow.”

“Ah, Daryl, he went hunting.”

“He’s a dick.”

“Aren’t you dating him?” Andrea asked confused.

You shrugged a little, titling your head back to look at her and you took the cup she offered you, drinking some of the water before setting it aside.

“Yeah, but he’s still a dick.”

“Yeah, he’s not exactly the friendliest of people.” She laughed softly.

You nodded, and looked at the small group you had learned was taking care of him.

They seemed like good people, and you were glad he had that, because you knew he needed good people in his life even if he didn’t want to admit it.

You spent the day up at the house with them, helping with a few tasks that they needed help with before making your way back to the tent, sitting inside.

You laid on the blankets, closing your eyes in hope for a few hours of sleep, but it didn’t come because someone tapped the fabric.

“Hey, we’re all getting ready to eat, are you coming?” Rick asked.

You waved your hand dismissively.

“Tired…”

He chuckled a little.

“Come on, just a bit of food then you can come back for some sleep.”

“I’m gonna throw my boot at you…”

“Alright, alright. I’ll get someone to set some aside for you.”

You nodded your head and he closed the tent again, letting you go back to sleep.

You heard shouting outside, and you furrowed your brows, sitting up and unzipping the tent to peak outside, hand on a gun Daryl had left for you.

“Daryl… shut the fuck up…” you mumbled.

He whipped around, walking over he unzipped the tent.

“Get your fuckin’ ass out here.”

“Nah…”

You crawled back inside and laid down to go back to sleep, wanting to make the most of it.

“Hey! Don’t you dare go back to sleep you lazy fucker! Get the hell out here now!”

You refused and he walked into the tent, hooking his arms under yours he dragged you outside and dropped you by the fire.

Snatching a plate from Shane who protested and tried to take it back he walked over and put it next to you.

“Fuckin’ shithead, skippin’ out of meals the fuck is wrong with you?”

“Don’t be such a prick.” You said.

You pushed yourself up, sitting so you could eat the food you were given and Daryl smacked the back of your head.

“Hit me again I’m gonna break your damn fingers.”

“Try it fucker.”

Everybody shared a look.

Daryl sat behind you, resting his back on yours as he began to clean the bolts for his crossbow.

“You guys seriously love each other?” Shane scoffed.

Rick punched his friend in the shoulder.

“Mind your own fuckin’ business.” Daryl grumbled.

You leant forward then fell back, hitting your back against his.

“Be nice shithead.”

He scoffed and grumbled something you couldn’t quite hear.

When you were finished eating you made your way back inside the tent to go back to sleep, and it wasn’t long until Daryl came through a few minutes later.

He laid next to you, resting his head on your chest and you placed hand on his head, gently messaging his scalp.

He hummed a little bit, wrapping his arm around your waist.

“Don’t see why I gotta play nice with ‘em. Don’t like ‘em, I like you.”

“You bitch, you hardly play nice with me as it it.”

“Yeah, but you love me.” He smirked.

He leant up, pressing a soft kiss to your jaw, then your shoulder.

“Don’t you try sucking up now.”

“Come on, say it.”

“No.”

“Say you love me darl.” He whispered.

You hummed a little, placing your hand on the side of his face, running your fingers along his cheek, tilting his head up towards you.

“Say it first…”

“Course I love you stupid.”

You grinned from ear to ear.

“Daryl Dixon loves me.” You beamed.

“Shut the fuck up.”

Laughing, you leant down, and he leant up, connecting your lips together.

You pulled away and he rested his head on you again, closing his eyes.

“Go to sleep..” you whispered.

He nodded, and fell asleep before you, but you knew he was still half awake.

He woke up before you, and he brushed his knuckles along your face, then leant down, kissing your forehead.

He looked between the two jackets and he picked up the one you had recently been wearing.

He was off back out today, and he knew you knew, but he wanted to go before you woke up so you wouldn’t attempt to go with him.

You decided to stick near the RV to wait for him to come back, so when Andrea announced a Walker and you looked through the scope of your gun.

You couldn’t get a good view, so you climbed on the fence, standing on it to try and get a better view.

“Don’t shoot!” You called up.

“Come on it’s just one, I can take it!”

“Yeah and draw others! I’ll go out!”

You jumped the fence, putting the gun on your bag you caught the stick that was thrown to you by Dale and you slowly crept closer.

The closer you got the better you could see.

“Daryl?” You called.

He looked up, and you ran over.

You heard the others shouting and you wrapped your arm around him, placing a hand on the wound in his ribs.

“Don’t shoot!” You yelled.

Daryl coughed a little, leaning against you, his head on yours.

“You’re alright sweetheart, we’re gonna get you some help yeah? You’ll be just as new..”

“Ain’t a few war wounds sexy on a man?” He smirked.

You laughed a little, taking hold of his hand.

“Ya damn right.”

The others ran over, and you placed a hand on your boyfriend’s chest.

“Don’t hurt him! He’s still human!”

“Come on, let’s get him back to Hershel.”

There was a bang, you and Daryl were thrown back.

Quickly rolling over you looked at the wound on his head.

“No.. no… no… Daryl…?”

“Get him! T-Dog get (Y/N)!”

You were hauled away from Daryl and you yelled, trying to break free so you could get back to him.

“Fighting me isn’t gonna help him!”

You stopped, tears running down your face and T-Dog let you go so you could run after them back to the farm house.

You fell jumping the fence, scraping your arm.

You tried to run into the house but they wouldn’t let you in.

“(Y/N)! Calm down!” Lori pleaded.

You stood there, and you turned your gaze to Andrea.

“You fucking shot my boyfriend….”

“I.. I’m sorry.. I.. I thought…”

“You shot him!”

You charged forward and you were pulled back, thrown aside by Shane, and Carol knelt next to you placing a hand on your shoulder.

“I swear to fuckin’ god if he dies Andrea I’m gonna kill you…” you sneered.

“You’re bleeding..” Carol whispered.

“I ain’t getting it looked at ‘till I know he’s alive.”

“You think that’s what he would want? You know he’d want you to get looked at.”

You looked up at her, tears burning your eyes.

“Not until I know he’s alive…”

She slowly nodded her head.

“Alright.”

So, you sat there, staring at the house, waiting.

You could see them all talking at the front, and it was Rick and Lori who walked over.

The crouched in front of you.

“He ain’t dead… tell me he ain’t dead.. Rick I swear to god…”

“He’s alive. He’s alive, but he needs to rest before you can see him, alright? That all Hershel asks.”

You nodded your head, knowing it was for the best if he were left to rest alone, but you knew that Rick wouldn’t lie to you.

“Come on, let’s get your arm looked at.”

You let them pull you up and you followed Lori inside to get your arm cleaned and bandaged.

The whole night you stayed on the porch, just waiting and nobody dared to move you, even as the sun rose and they began to come and go.

Lori came over.

“Hey, I’m sorry, I know you want to wait for him, but you think you could help me with some stuff?”

You nodded, needing the distraction and to keep yourself away so you helped her with some cleaning and things by the RV.

“You know she didn’t mean it.”

“I don’t give a fuck, I did Lori. If Daryl dies. If he turns. Amma put a bullet straight through her eyes.”

“You really gonna do that for me?”

You spun around, dropping what you were holding, and Daryl grinned a little bit at you.

“Ain’t that sweet.”

You walked over, placing your hand on his ribs, able to feel bandage from under his shirt, then you raised your hand, brushing your fingers against the one on his head.

He brought his hand up, taking yours and he held it to his chest, leaning down to put his forehead against yours.

“Am alright, ain’t no need to go killin’ people now is there?”

“She shot you…”

“Everybody wanted to shoot me at least once, takes more than a bullet to bring me down darl, you know this.”

You shook your head, closing your eyes as you brushed your nose against his.

You sniffled a little and he pulled away, bringing a hand to your face so he could wipe away the tears.

“Hey, come on now, don’t cry. I’m alright.”

Everybody kept their distance, but it all made sense to them now.

You guys argued a lot, but that moment made them all realise how much you really did love each other.

The way he wiped your tears away, resting your head on his chest, an arm wrapped tightly around your waist with the other on the back of your head.

The way you clung to him tightly as if he were the one thing keeping you together.

Daryl kissed the top of your head repeatedly.

“Come on, come on darl… stop cryin’ am starting to feel bad and I was the one who was shot…”

You laughed weakly and you pulled away.

Taking your jacket off, you wrapped it around his shoulders, and he smiled a little at you, leaning down to kiss the corner of your mouth.

“Come on, let’s get you some sleep moron, I heard you been awake all night.”

You nodded and he took your hand, leading you to his tent so you could get some sleep.

He sat down with a grunt of pain, and you looked at him worried, but he just guided your head to his chest, letting you rest on it.

He ran his fingers through your hair, just like you did for him, and he held you tightly and close, making sure you were safe.

When he woke up after being shot he was terrified it was you that was hurt, and they wouldn’t let him go see you until he slept and was rested enough.

You held his hand close to you, and he smiled down at you, shuffling down so he was laid down with you curled up next to him

[mrs-gucci]

Autopilot

Commander Mills x copilot!female Reader

whew, it’s been so long since I’ve written anything! it’s nice to dust off the old skills and write some steamy smut for the newest (and one of the sexiest!) Adam characters. I missed writing, so it’s really nice to be back :)

(also, two fics in one day?!?! crazy!!)

warnings. SMUT (18+ ONLY), possible 65 movie spoilers (but not anything important), oral sex (m receiving), oh so much dirty talk, unprotected sex, p in v, creampie.

word count: 896

summary~ Instead of getting some sleep, you and Mills have other ideas for the peaceful autopilot period.

** CLICKING “KEEP READING” MEANS YOU UNDERSTAND & ACKNOWLEDGE ALL OF THE WARNINGS LISTED ABOVE AND ARE OVER THE AGE OF 18. READ AT YOUR OWN RISK, YOUR CONTENT CONSUMPTION IS YOUR RESPONSIBILITY. MINORS DNI. **

The ship hums smoothly as it cuts across the deep void of space. All the passengers are safely contained in their cryogenic pods, so the ship is quiet, almost unnervingly so.

Well, it was quiet. Not so much anymore.

Mills let out a soft groan as your lips wrapped around the head of his hardened shaft, giving it a little suck and running your tongue over him. His head tilts back while his hands smooth over your skull, gripping the back of your hair gently.

One advantage of being in a ship with no conscious passengers is that there’s no need to hold anything back. You two have already done this several times and damn, it feels good to let go. 

“Shit,” he grunts, hips lifting slightly off the small cot. “That’s good, right there...mmm.”

It hasn’t taken you long to figure out how to please the Commander. He really just needs to destress, to take his mind off things. Most of the time he wanted to be in control, and you’re more than okay with that, but you definitely enjoy moments like these too.

You hum, taking more and more of him into your mouth until you can’t fit anymore. He lets out a gruff grunt, licking his lips and rubbing your head while you move up and down.

“God you’re good at this,” he breathes, a small smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth. “Haven’t had my dick sucked like this in a long fucking time, sweetheart.”

“Mm — well as your copilot, my job is to assist you throughout this mission, so I’m more than happy to help however I can.”

Mills chuckles and leans back a bit, watching you as you pleasure him with your mouth. A few breathy curses pass through his lips, growing in frequency as his orgasm builds.

Just before you bring him to climax, he pushes you off gently, catching his breath and recomposing himself. His eyes don’t leave yours, not even when he suddenly lunges forward and tosses you on the bed before flipping you over onto your stomach. His large arm wraps around your middle and yanks you up onto all fours, pressing your body flush against his.

His hips press forward, hardened length pushing up against your backside while his lips hover next to your ear.

“I can’t wait to get inside this pussy of yours,” he purrs, pushing down your pants while still continuing to grind himself on you. “You always take me so well, mm, I love fucking your brains out. Are you gonna stay nice and still for me, gonna let me fuck you stupid until I fill your little hole?”

You let out a pathetic whimper at his words, a plague of goosebumps spreading to your arms and down your legs. He smirks, teasing the skin of your neck with his scratchy beard as he frees his thick, lengthy arousal and lines up with your entrance.

He notches in a bit, allowing you a taste of what’s to come before pushing all the way in, forcing you open around him. You moan softly, shuddering with lust. His breathing is heavy in your ear, soft grunts and growls slowly melting your already muddy brain. Sex with Mills always essentially wipes your mind, only able to think about him and feel his body as it combines with yours over and over again. 

“Fuck...s-so fuckin’ tight...” Mills groans in your ear, exhaling shakily. “How are you still this t-tight after I’ve pounded you so many fffuuucking times? Can’t get enough of my big cock, is that it?”

You nod quickly. “There’s n-no such thing as too much of a good thing.”

He laughs at that, giving your ass a playful but firm smack. Your walls flutter and clench around his cock, drawing a rare deep, throaty moan from the Commander.

“Atta girl, make me cum,” he says, panting against your neck. “Make me give you my load, sweetheart.”

Hearing the Commander absolutely lose his usual uptight and composed demeanor is more erotic than anything in the whole galaxy. He’s surrendering, letting himself be taken over by the pleasure building inside his body and god, just that sight alone could make you cum.

“Ohh fuuuuck, Mills! Fuck m-me, mmm, keep going!”

His hips quicken their pace, causing his length to start hitting that sensitive spot on your walls. You moan loudly, jaw slacking as your orgasm builds rapidly.

One, two, three more thrusts and his hips are slammed up against your backside, deep moans and breaths echoing in your ear as he spills inside of you.

“Mmm, mmm, f-fuck…”

Your eyes roll back in your head at the feeling of his warmness painting your insides. But just as your orgasm begins to fade, he wraps his arm around and runs his fingers over your clit, causing your hips to rut forward at the contact.

“Now it’s your turn,” he says, nipping at your neck. “Show me what you’ve got, sweetheart.”

“O-Oh fuck—“

Mills’ fingers suddenly move at what feels like lightening speed and it sends you right over the edge, drawing a soft cry from your lips as your insides spark and buzz with orgasm.

“F-Fuck!”

Suddenly, a loud crash booms around you and the ship lurches, vibrating with impact. You both look at each other for a moment before rushing to get re-dressed.

****

send me your Mills thoughts!

Mills taglist: @safarigirlsp @candycanes19 @clydesfavoritegirl @holacherrycola90 @vedavan​ 

(let me know if you wanna be tagged in my Mills works by either commenting on this post or sending me a message in my inbox!)

[shes4twnksinatrnchct]

Divertissement | II

Pairing: Jake Kiszka x fem!oc

Summary: Tabitha Jane Carmichael's narration of how Greta Van Fleet came to be

Warnings: 18+ MINORS DNI, explicit sexual situations (later chapters), explicit language, mentions of underage drinking/drug use, mentions of child abandonment

Words: 5k (Revised 5/8/24)

***This is fiction (obviously) if you don’t like it, feel free to block and breeze by this.

The next day to follow finds me receiving a text from Josh, trying to aid the bruising we’ve both experienced in our exile from one another.

It ends in me getting my belongings back from him a few days later in the form of me sitting on his bed while he digs through his chest of drawers and top shelf of the closet he shares with his brothers, to  which he’ll hold something up he doesn’t recognize as his own, and I’ll either say, “Nope,” or “Yeah.” 

I expected it to be awkward between him and I when I first got here, but any regard for our wilted relationship has been overshadowed by the dread I hold in my gut at the thought of seeing Jake. 

In fact, the energy exchanged between my ex-boyfriend and myself only solidifies how right he was to break things off. 

The aura of vibrance that once shrouded us in its warmth and artless passion is now tepid and crawling around on the floor while he rambles on of memories tied to my things he stumbles across…none of it’s accompanied by little glances, stolen kisses, or winks of eyes that mean more when exchanged between us than with our other friends. 

Only the gratitude that caresses his features as he speaks of us provides proof that we ever happened. 

We’ve relinquished our title as “lovers,” and although it’s bitter to wonder when things started to change, it’s sweet to be able to cling to the solace in our friendship, still leaning on one another through life’s changes—I find my peace with it. 

“…This?” He holds up a hot-pink hair tie from his drawer. 

“Yeah.” I tap the cardboard box he’s been tossing my stuff into, his fingers wrapping the band around his thumb and his pointer finger before pulling the “trigger” and shooting the pink band flying into the box with a thump. 

“Aha!” He blurts, tan cheeks swelling with his toothy grin. “Definitely these.” He holds up thin, purple lace with a little sateen bow on the front toward the top, making me crawl to the edge of the bed and snatch them away as I try not to encourage him with a laugh. 

“Thanks.” I reply, turning to put them in the box. 

When I turn back around, he’s suddenly got the matching bra draped over his head, casually, flipping through the pocket sized, spiral notebook. 

“Can I keep this?” He asks, not bothering to look at me, and I quirk a brow and ask, “The bra or the book?”

He plucks my lingerie off his head and tosses it to me while his eyes scan over the small pages, his lips gaining a sad smile as he sits next to me on the bed, thrumming more pages aside to read on. 

I had given it to him before I left for college, having it in my possession since we started dating, compiled of memories I took note of through our relationship of four years at the time, layering my extol, reverence, devotion, and deepest affection for him throughout it, cover to cover. 

“What am I gonna do with it?” I sarcastically retort. “I wrote it for you.”

“Well, the words on the page might not match the thoughts in your head anymo—”

“Josh, the theme of that thing is, ‘I’m proud of you, I adore you, I love you’. Nothing’s changed. If anything, those feelings have only grown because you did the right thing and were honest with me.” I promise him. “I don’t care if you keep it, I want you to keep it. Maybe it’ll come in handy as a nice pick-me-up if you have a midlife crisis and need to be reminded of your zhuzh.” I add. “That’s what I’m gonna do with the Highway Tune napkin.” 

He chuckles, probably remembering frantically stating, “I need paper!” in the middle of us watching a movie, to which Jake threw a napkin at him from where we had been eating take out prior.

A few minutes later, the scribbled lyrics were finished on an actual piece of notebook paper, and put together with the riff Jake had been showing Josh off and on for days, and Highway Tune was born. 

My souvenir from witnessing the masterpiece come together was that greasy napkin Josh gave me that read:

So sweet

So fine

So nice

All mine 

“Well, I mean, it was the least I could do.” He shrugs out, rolling his eyes.  

It’s when there’s a knock against the door frame that we notice Jake, and I’m moving away from Josh subtly as if being caught,  wanting to fend off any impression that could possibly be made by the intimate proximity.  

Tucking my hair behind my ear, my eyes find the box of my belongings that I pretend to be fascinated with while Jake’s eyes find his brother and he asks, “Mom’s going to the store, do you need anything?” 

“Oh, I’ll just go with her because it’s extensive.” Josh replies, glancing at me, “Feel free to tag along or stay here and rummage in my absence—just don’t look under the bed.” He warns me cheekily as he stands, tucking the book back into his drawer. 

“You’re leaving?” I ask as he pats my shoulder on his way by. 

“I won’t be gone for long. I’ll get you the rest of your treasures when I get back.” He shrugs. 

Him relieving the rest of my belongings to me is the least of my worries, my eyes catching on Jake when Josh turns his back to me to gently pop his brother in the back of the head as he passes and pipes, “You smell like dad’s grill,” causing Jake to return the favor with a pop to the back of the head of his own. 

Lingering for a moment, he rips away at the ease that had grown accustomed to Josh and I being in here together platonically, my lungs tightening and my skin growing hot. 

While I try to figure out what I’m going to say to him, how I’m going to resuscitate the topic of what occurred days ago without sounding clingy or needy—or bitchy for kissing my ex-boyfriend’s brother, and not necessarily despising myself for it—he steps to his own designated drawers and grabs clean clothes.

It’s now that I notice him in his Slo’ Bones work shirt and pants, gathering his change of clothes and walking to their bathroom. 

When I hear the running water of the shower, I let out a deep breath, falling back onto the bed and staring at the ceiling. 

“What the fuck are you doing?” I whisper to myself. “Where the fuck is this coming from? You’ve never been like this with him.” I scold myself under my breath, blinking up at the ceiling. “It’s Josh’s fucking brother—his twin brother, you sick bitch.”

My fingertips rake across the skin of my forehead as I close my eyes and replay it in my mind the way I’ve been doing since it happened. 

The way his lips melted seamlessly against mine, the wild hold of his hands grabbing at me, the abrupt knock of breath that left us both the moment we stumbled back into someone’s car from being so out of our surroundings, engulfed in one another in a way I haven’t felt since the prime of my relationship with Josh…in fact, the utter fire that caught between us was like a light-bulb being illuminated within my conscience, aiding in the shake-off of grief…as if I’d woken up and found that Josh and I had lost so much of that fever through the years—that the end of our affair together wasn’t the end of the world, because we both deserved the opportunity to find that potent, fierce, ardent urgency to just be with someone without expiration or extinguishment. 

The way I spent my moments of distraction with Spencer that night picturing Jake instead of the one I originally imagined holding to me. 

It was like everything had once more settled just right, falling at exactly the right moment, exactly where it needed to be. 

But of course there lies the question, “Are you actually interested in him, or is he just the closest thing to your ex-boyfriend you can get?

The mind is a fucked place to dwell in sorrow, the heart even more so, loneliness, desperation, despair, infatuation, distraction, adoration, lust and love all appearing one in the same through the rose-colored fog of someone new’s kiss. 

Tonight, I could confess what I believe to be my love to Jake, and decide next week that it wasn’t love at all: he was just there. 

Flinching at the idea of hurting him in all this, I immediately sit up and have to back-track any conversation desired to be had with him about it.

We can’t talk about it. 

Because talking about it will mean acknowledging what happened, and acknowledging what happened will mean dissecting and contemplating the entirety of our friendship. 

So, it gets pushed away, back to the void of my conscience.

We use the Fourth of July as an excuse to nearly burn the house down, as we’ve done for years, Jake and I staying as far from each other as we can through the night—stealing subtle looks and refusing to face one another in the eye. 

In fact, our attempt to bury anything that’s happened, is only dug up and dragged to the surface when Josh blurts, “Are you two pissed at each other or something?” while we shove the cardboard and paper from the firework packaging into garbage bags in the process of cleanup. 

It’s as if a record playing has scratched to a halt with a deafening zip. 

My eyes immediately claw at Jake for some sort of explanation he can throw out to his brother about our lack of comradery—fearing that if I try to explain it away, it will only flee my mouth in jumbled, stuttering words that Josh will know is bullshit and will further grow all the more interested in what’s happened. 

“No?” Jake replies, adding with a shrug, “Why?” 

Josh looks up toward his brother while he ties off one of the bags, pulling a hand away briefly to motion between us, “Usually you two get within ten feet of one another and actually speak when we hangout, so…” He finishes tying the bag and straightens his back. 

“It’s just a little awkward, now, I guess.” Jake now ties the last bag. 

Josh scoffs out, “Since when?” 

His words heap anxiety and breathlessness over me as I cling to each syllable of Jake’s response, his brown eyes stoking at my own, momentarily, while he explains, “Since you two split.”

I have to paste an expression on my face that reads, “I feel the same way,” as Josh whips his head around to look at me in confusion.

“It’s not even weird with us anymore so why is it weird with you two? It’s not like you had a big fuss over it.” He dramatically waves his hands as he laughs it off, before stopping and looking from me to Jake, back to me, and once more to his brother. “Unless you did have a big fuss.”

What did we have?  

I wait for Jake to spring to the adamant denial, to which I’ll support and hopefully get Josh’s mind on the matter settled. 

Except Jake doesn’t push away the notion of us getting into it, and I’m left looking like a deer in headlights—the combination, naturally, silently confirms to Josh that Jake and I did exchange heated words over him and I breaking up. 

“Oh, no, no, no, this just won’t do.” He insists, shaking his head. “You two don’t fight. It’s like a universal law.” 

Jake and I have never fought.

Bicker and tease one another? Yes.  

Chase one another away with bitter words to the point we don’t speak and keep our distance within the same vicinity? Never. 

Josh appears to be witnessing some natural catastrophe that only occurs once every thousand years, befuddled and at a loss of words as he continues to look us over. 

“We’ll get over it.” Jake assures him, striking something in me that can’t quite keep shut up. 

“Will we?” I cross my arms, my brows dropping with his assumption that what’s occurred can just be smoothed over like a misstep in fresh concrete before it solidifies and marks it forever. 

“I figured you already were over it being that you ran off with Spencer after it happened.” He hisses at me in a tone I’ve only heard in the thick of his quarreling with Josh, snapping it out to me with jealousy dripping from each word. 

My eyes widen, the picture he’s painted dancing a little too closely along the line of the truth for my liking as he discloses it to his brother.

“Okay, Jake, we broke up—there’s nothing wrong with her being with other people, now.” Josh defends me to his brother, keeping his voice calm to not allow the situation to escalate. 

“Need I remind you, Jacob, I was drunk, and still upset over everything so try to have a little grace when it comes to how I feel the need to make myself feel a little better.” 

“No, Tabitha, there’s no need to remind me that you have no issue using people to make yourself feel a little better without giving a shit about how it will affect them when you’re done.”

It’s said like it’s a never ending pattern of mine, use people up and toss them aside. 

I can’t decide if he’s being deliberately overdramatic to get me all the more fired up, or if that’s how he actually views me. 

That I laid out a web for him to get caught in and shook him out of it when he didn’t just cooperate and sleep with me that night like some evil whore out to get his soul.

“Oh, is that what I do?!” I bark out, about to step closer but Josh blocks me and says, “Hey,” in an attempt to stop our arguing. 

“It’s certainly not what you don’t do!” He throws back, prompting me to open my mouth to snap something back, but I’m interrupted by Josh’s abrupt, “Hey!” 

We both fall silent. 

Jake tosses his bag aside and storms off, leaving Josh to turn and look at me. 

“What the fuck was that?” 

Tears of frustration swell in my eyes, a shaky hand pinching at the bridge of my nose as Josh’s expression softens. 

“Tabby?” 

“We’re fine, Josh.” I lie, clearing my throat. “We just got into it at that party because he didn’t like the fact I was with the guy who has given you such a hard time, then when I alluded to the fact I wasn’t gonna be with Spencer for very long and maybe it would humble him, Jake said it was a mean thing to do.” It spills from me before I can stop it, a decent excuse to be pulled from thin air. “I guess he’s still disappointed in me for not being a fucking saint!” I yell it as loud as I can, knowing Jake hears it from the way the door slams across the yard as he steps into the house to join the rest of our families. 

Feeling him grab one of my hands, staring into my eyes earnestly, he calmly says, “I feel like I’m in the fucking Twilight Zone. I need you two to get your shit together.” 

I feel like I’m in the Twilight Zone, an odd feeling creeping in at the fact that I’m screaming and yelling at Jake instead of Josh—who was always happy to oblige in a back and forth of who could talk the loudest at the other person…though  ours would always end in one of us inevitably stumbling over words and striking laughter between us both, forfeiting whatever petty argument altogether and expediting the process of making up from our tizzy. 

I take note of the fact Josh will go back and forth forever, while Jake walks away. 

“My shit is together.” I state bitterly.

“Tabby.” He’s serious, any light-hearted dramatics free from his voice as he looks at me pointedly. 

“I’m not apologizing to him.” I double-down on my stubbornness, shaking my head as I pull away from him and grab the garbage bag designated to me. 

“He won’t, either.” He warns me as I turn to walk away. 

“Okay, then I guess we’ll both just be pissed off at each other forever.” I shrug, cursing Jake under my breath from the moment I’m free of anyone at risk to hear. 

It was all horeshit—my tendency to talk a big game without actually ever being able to back it up when it came to holding grudges or dragging out silent treatments. 

Always the first to fold and apologize for the sake of just missing whoever it was I’d be in a rift with—all to give myself some peace and relief knowing everything was okay once more. 

I held out for two days, and even that was a struggle one might compare to dragging themselves across pavement.

I was finding it harder and harder to justify my anger, grappling for anything and everything to hold against him. 

“How can he be mad at me for something he also did? He kissed me back!” I would pace my room and spout out, wanting nothing more than to climb the walls and knock my head into the floor.

The more time passed, the more I realized fury toward me wasn’t the sole contender for his disdain—he hadn’t been disappointed in me for kissing him, he was sick with himself for partaking in it, briefly. 

The same onslaught of emotions I had felt when it happened had struck him all the same, and he couldn’t process it properly because doing so would mean biding—reminiscing—on the whirlwind of chasing down ecstasy with his brother’s ex-girlfriend, and having to press those difficult questions: 

“How long have you felt this way without realizing it?”

“Do you need to tell Josh?”

“What now?” 

Questions I, myself, had also been weighing, but I refused to make a damn decision in finality until I talked it out with Jake. 

I wasn’t going to fuck up their band by coming clean without consulting him first, after all. 

Slo’ Bones is busy as usual, waiters and waitresses alike weaving through one another with trays filled with plates, some even carrying stacked platters on their arms as the evening is bombarded with loud chatter and bustle from more customers stepping inside to dine. 

“So…are we at least gonna eat?” Beth asks me as I scan the room for a familiar head of brown hair, stopping and looking at her. “I’m starving, Tabby.”

“Go wait in the car if you need to. I’ll be just a minute and we can grab something on the way back to your house.” I assure her, looking at Jake once again, finally seeing a shy smile on his face as he speaks with an older couple as they pass by while he scrubs a table clean for the next flock of people. 

When he turns and sees me, his smile that had held from speaking to the customers falls, and I can see his chest move under his shirt from the heavy breath he takes.

I glance around to see if his manager is present—the bane of my existence anytime I’ve stepped foot in here while the boys are working, to see he’s disappeared into the kitchen for a moment. 

Taking the opportunity to nearly run to the booth, Jake gives me a quick look over as I approach him, and immediately says, “Not now, Tabitha.”

“Okay, then when?” I pipe back, sounding more fragile than I intend, despising the way I’m mentally willing him to look at me while he refuses to. 

He only shakes his head, causing me to sternly state, “Jake.”

“You really wanna fight over it here?” It’s a low beg that’s whispered out, as he finally looks at me, his umber eyes pleading with me not to get into it now of all times because if I throw out bait to hook him into making a scene, he might just bite.

“Can you please come over when you get off?” I ask quietly, a sweetness to my voice that I hope works well enough, watching him as he goes back to ridding the table of food residue 

“Maybe.” He mumbles. 

“We can’t just not talk about it, Jake.” 

“I don’t know, that’s served us pretty well the last several days.” He retorts with a tight, sarcastic smile that’s gone as soon as it arrives on his lips. 

“Jake.” 

He drops his act, seeing the way I’m doing all but falling at his feet and groveling. 

I want to make it right. 

“Fine.” Is all he offers me to my relief. 

“Just text me when you get done.” I add. 

“Fine.” He repeats, raising his brows as he finishes his table just in time, not even giving me a second glance before going back to the kitchen. 

Like a dog tucking their tail, I’m turning on my heel and waltzing back through the packed out restaurant, my heart beat ringing in my ears as I make my way into the parking lot toward Beth’s black Jeep. 

When I get it and brush my sun-lightened brown  hair from my face, grabbing my seat belt to buckle myself in, she looks at me with a strawberry blonde brow quirked. 

“Everything okay?” 

“Mhmm.” I nod in assurance to avoid getting into anymore. 

“Are you and Jake fighting or…?” She only digs  her heels in further out of pure nosiness, a trait that has come in handy many times when one needs an FBI tier investigation done on someone, but can be annoying when my own secrets come into play. 

“No, I just needed to ask him something and he couldn’t answer his phone because of work.” I lie, pulling my phone from my purse. 

“Hmm.” She says, unconvinced but not enough to start anything at the moment. 

Once I make it back to her house and retrieve my car, it’s nine o’clock, and the drive back to my house from hers is nearly thirty minutes due to her living on the outskirts of the North West side of town, and me living on the outskirts of the South East side of town. 

Pulling my car into the driveway, I see from the absence of Lee’s truck that he and Sierra are still gone, having left before I did to attend her cousin’s wedding. 

Not long after I’ve stepped up the brick stairs of the house’s porch, fumbling with my keys to unlock the door, my phone dings and I see Jake’s name above the message:

I’m heading that way.

I type back, “Okay,” and step inside, trying to decipher if the fluttering of my stomach is a cause of concern or excitement. 

No, no. Not excitement. It can’t be that.

Walking through the house to make sure there’s nothing I need to tidy up too terribly, I run to my room to change out of my shorts and sleeveless top  into a long sleeve ‘The Kills’ t-shirt, pulling on over sized sweats—hoping that if I cover myself from head to toe my mind won’t be at risk of wandering to the idea of him touching any of my exposed skin. 

Then I wait. 

Pacing the hallway that leads from my bedroom to the living room, back and forth, fumbling with the small, shining birthstone attached to its thin gold chain I received as a birthday present from Lee and Sierra for my sixteenth birthday, I wait for the sound of car tires rolling on gravel. 

When it finally comes, I shutter out a breath and go to the door, whispering reassurances to myself before seeing his silhouette through the window in the door.

I pull it open before I can knock, the heavy wood of it pushing wisps of my hair back in its wind. 

He drops the hand he was about to knock with, stepping back when I step forward and shut the door behind me, not bothering to invite him inside because being reminded we have a house to ourselves is not what we necessarily need right now. 

“Hey.” I offer to him, a closed lip smile running after it as he rolls his jaw and steps back to the stairs, sitting down on the porch and stretching his legs down the brown and gray stones underneath us. 

I sit beside him, my knees coming to my stomach as I cross my arms and face him, waiting for him to start, but I see his own reluctance. 

It’s more awkward speaking to him than my own ex. 

“I’m sorry about how I acted at your house.” It’s as if I'm tracing my finger around the bandaid that actually needs to be ripped off, hoping it’s enough to suffice. 

He looks at me, his hand circling his wrist that holds a couple bracelets he’s acquired through the years that he won’t rid himself of, even the tattered one I threaded together with Beth’s help his sophomore year of high school. 

It’s obvious what exactly he’s waiting to hear, and although I expect him to speak on it before I do, I know if I truly hold him to that, we’ll be here for another three days. 

“And I’m sorry about what happened. It was stupid, and saying I was drunk was not an excuse, and you have every right to be pissed at me.”

“You think I’m pissed because you kissed me?’ He asks, chortling it out in disbelief, looking to be confused as to why I would ever think he’d be mad at me for doing such a thing to him. 

“Well, yeah?” 

Looking off into my yard, he licks his lips, thinking through what to say to me, swallowing before he says, “I’m not mad you did it. I’m mad you just left and acted like it didn’t even happen.” He admits. “I was fucking reeling and you just frolicked away with Spencer, acting like you didn’t just throw a stick of dynamite between us while you skipped off.”

“What would’ve happened if I hadn’t left, Jake? What, we would’ve sat down then and there talked it out—drunk and horny? I can imagine that would’ve lasted all but two seconds before we finished what we started and really got ourselves into some shit.” 

“But if you would’ve let Beth take you home, we probably would’ve already talked through this by now without all the resentment.” He says, next, causing my brows to shoot up. 

“Resentment? You resent me for leaving with someone else?” 

“Maybe I do, Tabby.” He snaps, growing frustrated with my inability to not take things as he means them. 

“That’s not resentment. It’s just jealousy, but of course you won’t admit that because then you’d have to tell me why you’re jealous when we’ve never been anything more than friends.” I go to get up and escape to the inside of my house, but he’s grabbing my wrist gently, stopping me. 

“I don’t think we’d be here if that were true.” He informs me, taking my eyes captive in his somber irises, guilt painting a portrait over the features of his face…

“Okay, well, we are here. So, what the fuck do we do?” I ask, interested in any game plan he is willing to disclose. “We can’t just pretend like Josh and I don’t have all the history that we do–I mean-I don’t even know what he would think of all of this.” 

“I think,” He starts, his tone so confident and sure that it smooths the feathers that have been ruffled with our conversation, “We wait some time, and then get Josh’s opinion and go from there.” 

“Wait some time? How much time?” I ask.

“I-I don’t know, Tabby…like, a couple years—”

“Years?” I’m the one in disbelief, now. “I can’t wait years, Jake, that’s not fair to me or you.”

“It’s not fair to Josh for us to do this right in the middle of him trying to figure all his shit out, either, Tabitha, okay? It’s a fucked up situation either way, and you might not even know what you want—I might not even know if I want this…there’s so much shit going on right now: I just got out of school, you’re going back to college at the end of the Summer, everything with the band…We did something when we were drunk, Tabby.” He’s pouring gasoline over the agreeably outcomed ‘what if’s’ that have been dizzying themselves in the back of my mind since this all started with him. “How many people do that with someone and it actually turns out to be worth their time?” His match falls to it all, setting it all ablaze and leaving himself to glow in the flames. 

“So…I’m going back to school, Josh is figuring things out, and I’m not worth your time? Is that what we’re gonna tell people when all this inevitably gets thrown out there twenty years from now in a  memoir?” 

“Tabby, I didn’t mean it like that.”

“Jake, it’s okay.” I assure him, pulling from his touch, and standing up. “I’m so glad we had this conversation. Truly. Now we can both move on to things that will actually be worth our time.”

“Tabitha—”

“Real good talk.” I state viciously as I slam the front door behind me, locking it.

I press my back to the door that now stands between us, my mind running in circles as my heart tries to pry out of the bear-hug I feel myself have to disarm it into to keep from opening the door all over again and running after the boy that I hear get into his car—wheels slinging gravel as he flees me like a bat out of hell. 

That was the last time I actually had a conversation with Jake for years. 

Two weeks later I moved back to Texas, and fell into a three year, shame-fueled silence on the topic and acknowledgement of my ex-boyfriend’s brother

[clemblog]

Caine’s Lesson - Part 19

•

Gangle had had a crush on Zooble for a while now- She’d noticed over the past few weeks that Zooble had slowly gotten more close and buddy with her. She might even dare say protective when it came to Jax’s bullying of her art and just general timidness. It made her so happy, it was so much easier to keep her comedy mask on nowadays, especially since Zooble had slowly started got into the swing of catching her mask if anyone knocked it off. The gesture gave her butterflies.

So… She’d come to the decision that she was going to admit her feelings to her today!! She needed the distraction from Pomni and Gummigoo’s disappearance.

Gangle had finished helping the citizens for the day and had decided to approach Zooble then, as she assumed she was also done with her chores. However, what Gangle forgot to realise is that Zooble was not strained by anxiety like Gangle and was able to chat with the citizens, and hence able to fall behind on the daily chores.

None of the circus group were forced to do chores of course- Take for example Jax, who only did things for the ranch occasionally when he was in a good mood. It was just something most of them kept up with to show thanks to Mama Croc and her boys, as well as help settle the rest of the NPC’s into their world!

Gangle walked over tentatively, watching Zooble as held several tools in her hands and was talking with a couple NPC’s who all held their own tools.

A wave of anxiety fell over her.

“M-Maybe I should do this another day-“

Next time Gangle was going to ask her out in the time before bed! That way it could be just her and them! Just a quick one on one chat and Gangle would tell her- Definitely-

“Pssst..! Psssst…! Zooble? Zoobleeee? Zoobley? Hey… Wake up! Can I talk to you…?”

Zooble however was dead asleep, exhausted from the days work. Work was a natural Jax repellent so she always dug in to her chores will full force. It was a quality Zooble had that left Gangle a little flushed, the dedication she had to the things she liked was admirable.

But with Zooble not waking up, she’d just have to wait to tell her another day… It was starting to seem like the universe didn’t want her to admit her feelings to Zooble…

Did Zooble not like her? Did she find her annoying and babyish like Jax did? Was she being nice to her for the sake of it? Did she not really care? Would she one day stop catching her mask when it fell? Would she start to drop it like Jax often did?

Gangle didn’t know how long she’d been overthinking, but the sun had started to rise and she found herself moving through the day in a depressive blur. Why was she like this? Why was she like this? Why was she like this? She had just started feeling better. She’d been doing wonderfully in terms of her mental health, even Ragatha had fussed over her at such. She’d been so proud. But now she was falling back into these stupid thoughts over some silly feelings-

“Gangle? Hey. Gangle…? Earth to Gangle, talk to me. Please? What’s got you so stressed ribbons?”

“…I don’t want you to hate me…”

“Hey. No. I’d never hate you, knowing you you’re overthinking something which is no big deal, so I’d never hate you. Unless of course you turned around and started acting like Jax. Then I’d hate you. But never over something like this.”

Gangle sniffled at this with a shy smile, wiping at her face.

“You’re too sweet to me…”

“Gangle. You’re probably the only person here who I want to be sweet and gentle with.” Admitted Zooble, softly.

“…No wonder I have a crush on you-“

“…You what?”

Gangle flushed at this with a squeak, hiding her face in her hands.

“Forget I said anything!”

Zooble snickered at this fondly, moving to sit in front of her.

“Gangle~”

“…”

“Gangle, come on, you can look at me!”

“Noooo, you’re gonna a tease me~”

“Maybe, but that’s only because I love you, you little sweetheart~”

“…you do?!”

“I do, how could I not?”

“…Cause I’m pathetic and a crybaby.”

“No.”

“What?”

“You’re sweet, kind, caring, which sure makes you a little sensitive but it just shows how much you truly care about you do and people around you.”

“…really?”

“Yeah, you’re a beautiful person, Gangle, and I’m sorry idiots like Jax try to shame you into feeling like those qualities aren’t one’s worth keeping.”

“…Hey.. Uhm Zooble?”

“Yes Gangle?”

“…Do you wanna be girlfriends?”

“I’d love to be.”

The two embraced in a quick hug, curling into each other in their happy emotions with a soft embrace. They slowly pulled apart, Zooble cupping Gangle’s face once again.

“I have a question now~”

“O-Oh! What is it?”

“Can I kiss you?”

“Y-Yeah, you can.” Nodded Gangle, shyly with a smile as her mask face lit up pink at the ask.

Oh god she was kissing a girl now-

The pair had hesitantly moved closer to each other, leaning in to gently press their lips together in a gentle tender moment of understanding. They held onto each other like they were the only ones that mattered. In the stress of it all, living in an adventure, Pomni and Gummigoo going missing. At least they had each other.

Who knew how long they’d have everyone else with Caine’s current mental state?

•

By the way I was wanting to ask if you guys would be alright with me sending links to ao3 here on tumblr for each new chapter. It’ll make my posting process so much easier but hey lmk.

Part 20

[w1ldthoughts]

Reservations and Redemption

Series Masterlist

Synopsis: Jack and Zoey’s first date.

From the very beginning of the night Zoey was reminded that this wasn’t some regular degular dinner date. There was a car ready to pick her up from her hotel right at 8pm like Jack said, and he’d be meeting her at the restaurant. A burly looking security guard awaited her when she arrived, walked her in through the back entrance and up the stairs to a private table next to a massive glass window, overlooking the city.

He was already sitting at the table waiting for her, wearing a brown short sleeve button down with white stripes on the collar and these adorable little glasses. His bright blue eyes shined brighter the moment she came into view.

“Thank you Mike.” Jack nods to the security guard, standing up to pull out the chair across from him. “Hi Zoey, you look amazing.”

The heat she felt on her cheeks made her want to melt into the floor. “Thanks, you don’t look so bad yourself.” She responds, getting a slight chuckle out of him. “When I saw the security guard out there I definitely thought I would be meeting someone up here to sign an NDA before I got to you.”

“I usually save those for the second or third date.” He jokes. A waiter arrives soon after and brings them water as they look over the menu and make small talk. “Wait a minute, you work for David Tutera? My mom used to watch ‘My Fair Wedding’ and I’m not even gonna lie, I tuned in for a couple episodes. Those venues were all decked out and sexy. Definitely got me excited for my own wedding.”

“Yeah mine did too!” She smiled. “And it’s crazy to think about because I used to watch and hope that someday he’d plan my wedding if I had the money. Now that I’m here it’s a definite possibility.”

The rapper was getting more nervous by the minute. Zoey was gorgeous and successful and funny and honest. She was exciting and scary at the same time and he desperately needed some food in his system to push down the kaleidoscope of butterflies in his stomach.

“So…how’d you meet Normani? I saw that you two have been friends for a while now.”

The woman across from him takes a sip of her water. “Yeah we met at X-factor auditions when we were teens, immediately hit it off and have been inseparable since then.”

“You can sing?” His ears perk up. “Imma definitely keep that in mind for later. Have you sing me a lullaby or something to go to sleep one day.”

“I only sing for fun now, I’ve got a job I love and definitely enjoy and value my privacy even more being around Nor. Having to see the shit she deals with on a regular basis just makes me that much more grateful for the life I have.” She pauses as they both thank the waiter when their food comes out. “My job allows me to meet and interact with all of these amazing people, but the entire world doesn’t need to know my business.”

Jack sighs, nodding his head. “Privacy…my most prized possession. Not really something I considered when I started doing this but now that I’m here, I’m realizing how important it really is to separate your public persona from your personal life. Glad I get to escape to Louisville though and be home. I’d probably be the worst person in the world if I lived here full-time.” He explains.

“Yeah the little glimpse I saw of LA Jack a few days ago was enough. This version of you is so much better.”

His lips pulled into a grin and he let out a laugh. The mop of curls on top of his head shook slightly and she wondered if his hair was as soft as it looked. “You’re gonna make me apologize for that for the rest of my life aren’t you?”

“Oh absolutely.” She responded, watching him roll his eyes playfully.

After dinner was over and he paid, the man looked over at her, clearing his throat awkwardly. “I’m not ready for this date to end.”

“So this is a date? I thought this was an apology.” She teased.

“Can’t it be both? Either way, I don’t want this night to end yet.”

Zoey met his eyes and looked away immediately, staring out the window. “What did you have in mind?”

“Now that’s a surprise.” He winked, standing up to grab her hand which she happily accepted.

Mike escorted them down the same secret path she’d taken earlier. There was a different car waiting for them in the empty parking garage and the two hopped in the backseat. Within minutes they had arrived at their destination. The car pulled around to the side of the building and into another secluded parking lot. He was going to great lengths to make sure no one saw them and she appreciated that. Another muscled man joined Mike and the two led the way into a massive private theater room.

There were drinks in the corner, popcorn and blankets and the ceiling was decked out with constellations. Zoey almost had to physically pick her jaw up from the floor.

“You did all this?” She whispers, her voice incapable of upping the volume.

“I did.” He whispers back. “Let’s go sit.”

Of course he’d done his research and picked out ‘Crazy Rich Asians’ for them to watch. It was essentially the perfect romantic movie. The drama, the cute couple, the wedding scene? It was probably one of the most visually pleasing films she’d ever seen and that’s why she loved it so much. Halfway through the movie she was covered by this soft, fuzzy blanket wrapped in the arms of a six-time Grammy nominated artist silently wondering how the hell this even happened.

She could hear him softly humming along to “Can’t Help Falling in Love” making small circles on her shoulder. Zoey looked up at him, biting her lip. Jack took his other hand and ran it gently across her cheek with his thumb, taking a deep breath. Their faces were so close already that he could smell the sweet vanilla fragrance she used. He leaned in a little more but hesitated as soon as their lips touched because if he was already this far gone, the kiss would probably send him over the edge. Fuck it.

They started slow, small tender pecks that became a delicate tongue filled dance, leaving their bodies humming with excitement. His large hand cupped her face and she rested hers around his forearm, desperate for more physical contact. They were both surprised his glasses didn’t fall off. She was so warm to the touch that it almost felt familiar, like he’d been wandering around the world alone for a while and was finally back home. After what felt like an eternity, they broke apart, breathy giggles filling the room as he rested a hand on her hip and their eyes were back on the movie. Their minds were very much elsewhere.

Before she knew it the movie was over and the night had to end. She regretfully took his hand and stood up from her seat when Mike turned on the lights.

“We should do this again.” Jack said, his eyes looking a little sleepy even though his pulse was still racing. “Text me when you get back to your hotel so I know you’re good?”

She nodded and welcomed the innocent kiss he placed on her temple. He walked her all the way out the door without letting go of her hand and kissed her knuckles before she got in the car. That was one hell of an apology she thought to herself when the door closed.

Jack watched sadly as the car pulled out of the small parking lot. There was a small laugh behind him. “What could possibly be funny right now man?” He asked, looking butthurt.

Mike shook his head, “nothing J, you’re just sprung and it’s nice to see. You know Urban’s gonna be on your ass about it though right?”

“He already has been.” He says with a scoff, taking off his glasses to rub his eyes. “I don’t know what the hell imma do Mike. I like her but you know I’m not a relationship guy.”

The car they’re taking back to the hotel comes into view. “Slow your roll Romeo, nobody said you were getting married tomorrow. Just take it one day at a time. We’ll head home in the morning, you'll figure yourself out and maybe make plans to see her again.” The security guard pauses, opening Jack’s door. “You do want to see her again, don’t you?”

“As soon as humanly possible.”

Is there anything above cloud 9? Because that’s how Zoey felt walking in the door.

“Come here right now and tell me everything.” Her friend didn’t even let her take two steps before hounding her about her night. “Was he nice? A gentleman? What did you guys do? Where did you go? Was the food good? Did you kiss? How—”

“Mani, breathe.” Zoey tells her, sitting next to her on the couch. “Yes he was nice. Very much a gentleman, we had dinner at 71Above and then went to this cozy little movie theater and it was just us in the room. We kissed and the food was great. Any other questions, your honor?”

Mani nods her head slowly, taking everything in while her best friend looks on in annoyance. “Anything you want to share with the class, Miss Hamilton?”

“No it’s just that DK and I knew that you two would hit it off and we can’t wait to double date.”

“Who says I’m going to date him? He’s a rapper who lives in Kentucky full time and probably has a revolving door of women that he entertains. I’m not an idiot, I don’t want to set myself up to get my feelings hurt by thinking I’m special.”

The singer raises her eyebrows at her friend’s assessment on the dilemma at hand. “But you have a little crush on him, don’t you?”

“No, I don’t. I had a good night but it was probably a one time thing.” Zoey assures her.

“Sure Zozo. Whatever you say…”

“I’m serious! Sorry about your double date fantasy but, it’s just not like that between us. I most likely won’t even see him again unless you or D have another party. And I do not have a crush on Jack Harlow.”

She definitely had a crush on Jack Harlow. And she was counting down the seconds until she got to see him again.

[blainesebastian]

coffee cart girl (pt9)

words: 3,293 ship: austin x female reader summary: you’re the coffee runner on the set of Elvis. Coffee deliveries run pretty easy, until Austin accidently spills coffee on you. notes: you can find previous parts under this tag :)  warnings: none tag list: under the cut! sorry if links aren’t working, refer to the link above if needed.

All good things eventually come to an end, so it’s a sad day when the Elvis film is officially wrapped. Your dad has used that expression of ‘one door closing and a window opening’ and you’ve always kind of enjoyed living your life like that. Opportunities sometimes come from the strangest or unexpected of places.

You for sure never thought you’d be in a relationship with Austin Butler, so, just goes to show that the universe is in a constant state of flux.

You’re definitely not complaining though.

Settling down on your apartment couch, you smile as Jillian facetimes you—a weekly occurrence since the movie’s been over. You pick up the call with a smile, leaning it against a bowl on your coffee table so she can see you lounging.

“Long time no see.”

You chuckle, “It’s been three days, Jill.” You get it though—going from seeing someone every day to every other few weeks can be jarring. Jillian’s a great friend, last thing you want is to lose contact. Some people are just in your life for a season, somethin’ you’ve learned far too many times the hard way.

You really hope Jillian and Austin are not a part of that analogy.

A soft silence passes, you watch as Jillian mills around her own kitchen putting dinner together and…right, you should probably eat something, or at least figure out what you want to do. Since the end of filming, Austin has been bouncing around to different obligations—you expected this but admittedly, you miss him.

Texts and calls just aren’t the same.

“It’s tomorrow, right?”

You blink, focusing back on Jillian. “Uh,” Picking at a loose thread on the couch, “Yeah, tomorrow.”

“Are you nervous?”

A laugh comes up from your chest, “I’m not the one being interviewed, you know, all I’m doin’ is waiting for him in the back. Maybe someone will bring me coffee for a change.”

Jillian snorts, making some sort of mac n cheese dish, least you’re pretty sure. It’s homemade at the very least, “Yeah but he’s gonna talk about you. The interviewer is gonna know you’re there and not be able to stop themselves from askin’.”

Shaking your head, you push your face into the cushion of the couch. “He’s there to promote a movie, not me.”

“I’ve personally seen the way he looks at you, he’s gonna talk about you—won’t be able to help it.”

There’s an eyeroll but you can’t stop a soft pink blush from kissing your cheeks either, working down your neck. It’s a conversation you’ve definitely had with Austin—there’s been other candid pictures and even a few articles pop up on how he’s seeing someone, though because you’re not a celebrity, no one can seem to nail down who it is. You’re sure Jillian’s right, in a sense, that a question might be asked.

But knowing Austin, he likes keeping personal things private. He might mention you but it’ll be brief—not because he doesn’t want to talk about you or somehow keep you hidden away because he’s ashamed, but because he’s protective.

You like that.

Things are only going to get more hectic; the goal is to figure out the best way to navigate them.

“How’s the script goin’?” Jillian asks, changing the subject, which you’re definitely thankful for.

“Finishing touches.” You let out a long breath, “And then I told Austin he can send it to a few people.”

Jillian grins, “I’m proud of you! I’m sure that took a lot of arm wrestling.”

You smirk, “You have no idea.”

It’s a good thing though, you know that. Austin and Jillian and your sister—a bunch of important people in your life have been telling you, gently pushing, that in order to move on to the next step? You have to be willing to actually take it. There’s a fear of rejection that is very real, of not feeling like you’re good enough—but how else do you know if you never try?

Maybe the script comes back with negative reviews, maybe you’ll realize that character development and story progression that made a lot of sense to you, doesn’t translate to someone else’s experiences.

It’ll be hard but you can take the script back, read the notes, take the feedback seriously, start again.

But what if…it’s the exact opposite?

“Good luck tomorrow—let me know how it goes.”

You pull yourself out of your thoughts before you nod, giving Jillian a smile and hanging up the call. Drawing a pillow into your chest, you chew on your lower lip as you consider ‘good luck’. You’re not giving any interview answers that will one day be on YouTube, or turned into gifs on Tumblr but…

Maybe having some good luck and good vibes wouldn’t exactly hurt. Hopefully it’ll all run so smoothly that you won’t even need it.

--

You know it’s probably something completely lame to admit, but every time you see Austin, your heart ricochets right up into your throat. It’s pounding wildly as you watch him get out of the SUV he’s arrived in at the talk show venue. It’s not one of the major stations with famous names, nothing like that, but something you’ve learned about Austin is that he likes branching out, talking to anyone and everyone. He’s a genuine soul, he likes connecting with people.

Smiling softly, you lean off to the side near the front door, as close as you can get with security. While Austin’s personal bodyguards and assistants know you, the venue does not and won’t let you get very close to where he’s walking in. There’s a speckling of fans along the sidelines, lingering, getting riled up when he steps out and begins walking to his destination. While his bodyguard, Richard, tries to move him along—Austin stops.

He takes pictures with anyone who asks, signs whatever might be in front of him. It’s…really nice to see, actually. Your gaze lingers, taking in his wavy blonde locks, perfectly coiffed on his head. The jet-black hair is long gone and his natural color only seems to bring out the blue of his eyes. He’s dressed all in black which highlights the long lines of his body—slacks, shirt slightly unbuttoned, suit jacket that has a soft sheen to it in the sunlight.

Your stomach flutters as he moves and finally spots you, a soft smile on his lips. He reaches for your hand, Richard sliding one of the metal guardrail fences that are set up aside,

“She’s with me,” He tells building security, squeezing your fingers.

You can hear distinct murmuring from behind as you move quickly inside, the doors closing afterwards. You can’t allow yourself to be bothered or distracted by it, too busy turning to instantly throw your arms around his shoulders. He chuckles lightly, picking you up in a brief hug before pulling back.

He smells amazing, sandalwood and something distinctly Austin and he seems to be taking you in as much as you’re doing for him. It’s been about two weeks since you’ve seen one another in person but it feels longer than that,

“Sight for sore eyes,” He tells you, reaching to cup your cheek before pressing a soft kiss to your forehead.

Your fingers curl into the bottom fabric of the lavender dress you’re wearing today, something simple but one of your favorites. It sits along your thighs, clinches at your small waist and has small yellow daisies patterned on it. Paired with some heels? It’s a look.

“Yeah you clean up nice.” I missed you too. You laugh warmly, running your fingers along the lapel of his jacket before you both have to begin walking. Of course he’s on a schedule, wouldn’t want to make him late—you’ll have plenty of time together once the interview is over.

Someone from production meets Austin about halfway into the building, guiding them towards the interview room he’s going to be sitting in. Your eyes take in as many details as you can possibly manage with how fast you’re walking—Steve, apparently, has a very ‘to the minute’ job that reminds you of Sal (with a far better attitude). Entering into a large room labeled Studio 7 that looks like a behind the scenes theater production, Austin is motioned towards a hair and makeup chair near the curtain he’s going to walk out of. You linger, not wanting to get in the way at all but also wanting to watch Austin talk about the film and share out anything he can about what he’s worked so hard on.

“Carol-Ann will run you through a typical questionnaire,” Steve says, checking a clipboard and occasionally touching an earpiece in his right ear. It’s almost ironic to you that Austin has to get touchups—brushing the hair back that’s leaning over his forehead, padding a spot along his hairline, a soft kiss of blush with a makeup brush. The camera finds so called ‘flaws’, you guess, even though it doesn’t feel quite possible that Austin has any.

You stand by quietly, giving Austin a small smile any time his eyes find yours. Steve then moves to hook a mic onto his suit jacket, testing it with a small tap before he nods,

“Should be about twenty minutes out there and then five minutes before we go on—any questions?”

Austin shakes his head, standing from the chair. He thanks the makeup artist before reaching for your hand, approaching the edge of backstage where the room opens up into a studio. You can’t help but dip your head out a little to look at where Austin will be—it’s set up like a typical talk show. On one side, there’s pastel colors and couches for the guest and host to sit on, a slew of cameras separating that and the backside of the room where audience members go. And there are plenty there, the lucky ones that maybe waited outside all night or bought a ticket.

It's just kinda surreal, especially for you but you also can’t imagine for Austin. While he wears a celebrity title well, knowing what to say, holding the gaze of whoever he’s talking to, and passing off charm easily, he’s also humble and sweet, thoughtful. Your eyes find him again and you swear you can feel his hand shaking, just a little.

“You nervous?” You ask, running your thumb along his knuckles.

“Nah, just excited energy.” Though you’re not sure you one hundred percent believe him.

Steve gives Austin a two-minute warning and he takes a deep breath into his chest before nodding, smiling down at you. “Wish me luck.”

“I will,” You tell him before squeezing his hand, “But you don’t need it.”

Leaning back just slightly, you watch him walk out on stage to meet the talk show host. The crowd definitely loves cheering for him and you’re once again reminded how much Austin seems to be made for this. Just like Elvis.

--

There’s an exchange of hellos near the pastel-colored couches, Austin leaning down to greet Carol-Ann with a hug, thanking her for the opportunity with added pleasantries. You notice there’s a moment when Carol-Ann motions to backstage, though you can’t understand what she’s referring to because the noise of the crowd drowns it out. Whatever she says however, Austin glances towards you before shaking his head, shoulders a bit tight even though there’s a gentle and pleasant smile on his face.

Once Austin sits, the interview starts almost immediately and you’re able to watch from one side of the backstage area, keeping to the shadows but you hear the questions and responses. Regardless of how nervous Austin might have seemed before going out there, he’s a natural at talking to people—he turns the interview process into a conversation, even asking Carol-Ann things herself every so often. He’s just genuine and it warms your chest from the inside out as you watch him—you know that he’s not just doing that because he’s under the public eye but rather because he’s sweet and humble.  

You feel like not many people are left in Hollywood like that.

All the questions and clips shown about the movie go swimmingly and there’s a round of applause as Carol-Ann announces that they’re almost out of time. Austin leans back against the pastel, crossing his long legs—the jet black of his suit seems to pop along the soft colors.

“Before we go, I just have to ask—” And before the words are even out of her mouth, you know what she’s about to say, “You came into the studio today with someone beautiful—can you tell us anything about her?”

There’s a moment where you completely draw a breath into your lungs and hold it there, a slight hammering of your heart in your ears. Even though you knew this was coming, unavoidable at this point by accompanying Austin to this interview, it still throws you off balance.

Austin takes a patient breath too, his smile pleasing and calm as he nods. Regardless of the question that has nothing to do with the film, he takes it in stride as much as he can. Jillian was right, in a way, there was no way he could avoid talking about you during this interview.

“Yeah, I got a girl,” A soft laugh leaves his lips as the audience applauses and he gently waves to them before answering the rest of the question, “I uh, I met her on the set of Elvis and she’s incredible.”

And just like that, your relationship is officially out in the open.

The moment comes and goes and…you’re not quite sure if you’re waiting for something to feel earth-shatteringly different or for another shoe to drop. It’s supposed to be the same right? You and Austin are unchanged—everything’s just on your terms now. No more concerns about keeping yourselves hidden or sneaking around, a bit more control over your own relationship instead of leaving it up to others with exposing type articles or photos that make you feel like you’re on an episode of Gossip Girl.

Case in point, Carol-Ann tries to push—she playfully asks Austin for more details, a name, something else to feed the satisfaction of hungry and curious fans.

Austin’s smiling but he clamps down on his response, “That’s all I’m willing to share right now—I’d like to keep her to myself.” And even that’s a winning answer because Carol-Ann smiles and there’s applause mixed with some girls giggling in the audience, cheeks kissed pink and totally heart-eyed towards Austin in these pastel-colored chairs. He seems to know exactly what he’s doing.

You smile a little, curling your long hair around your ear. Being able to keep your personal lives private might not always be the case. But at least for now you both are making decisions on your own terms, and no one else’s.

--

You’re not exactly sure what the plan is after the talk show but you figure you can talk it over once you’re both in the SUV. You’re leaving the same way you came in, except this time there’s more fans built up on the walkway leading to the car and even some paps with cameras attempting to push their way past the barriers. You let out a slow breath, hesitating near the door before you can walk out.

Austin turns to look at you, gently reaching for your hand with a smile. There’s no doubt that he can sense you’re uncomfortable, “We just make a beeline for the car, you can stick behind me.”

You shake your head for a few reasons. For one, this is something you’re just going to have to get used to—right? You certainly don’t plan on breakin’ up any time soon and…as Austin’s girlfriend, you’ll be invited to events that’ll have fans at them. Not only that, but even out and about, odds are you’ll run into someone who recognizes him. It’s a little overwhelming, not to mention just weird, going from a girl who delivers coffee to this.

Not to mention that this sort of thing is only going to grow—Austin’s role in Elvis is really going to put him on the map. Last thing you want to do is somehow, accidentally, make him feel like he needs to avoid this, this popularity that is well-deserved.

“No,” You squeeze his hand, running your thumb along his knuckles. Secondly, you remember how Austin arrived here and, “I’m sure they’ve been waitin’ out there to see you, I’m not gonna take that from them. I’ll be fine.”

He holds your gaze for a long moment before nodding, “You sure?”

There’s a playful eyeroll paired with a smile, “Yes, I’m sure. C’mon.” Motioning him forward, building security opens the doors for them, Richard taking the lead to make sure everything is all clear as you walk.

Your only goal as you head out of the talk show building is to stay out of the way—it’s quick chaos, Austin zigzagging to different sides of the divide to sign autographs and actually talk to fans as he takes pictures with them. A small smile lingers on your face as you watch him, doing your best to disregard any questions thrown in your direction. You are definitely not diving into that rabbit hole.

You both are close to the SUV and you pause one more moment as Richard reaches the doors before you do, pulling one open. A pap with a camera grabs your attention from the right, mostly because he’s yelling over the crowd. He’s got his phone in his other hand aimed at your face, you assume recording a video,

“Mr. Butler! Miss! Hey miss, turn around—let’s see your face!”

It’s an automatic reaction for you turn your head in the opposite direction, almost bumping straight into Austin when he reaches for your elbow. Stepping in front of you, he puts a hand out to create distance between your body and the prying pap—

“Can you not film her please?” He requests calmly but there's an air of seriousness there, it’s clear this is not something he's willing to discuss.

“Not gonna tell us who she is?”

Austin guides you around the SUV door, encouraging you to get inside first before he throws out over his shoulder, “She’s my girlfriend and I’d appreciate you not shovin’ a camera in her face.” He gets into the car too, the door closed behind him. There’s a few moments of Richard and Austin’s assistant getting in as well, doors shutting, before the SUV begins to wade its way into  traffic.

He lets out a soft breath, running his hands through his hair. Turning to look at you, his gaze flutters over your body before finding your eyes, “You alright?”

Despite the slight rattling of eager fans and paps who don’t understand the concept of personal boundaries…you feel okay. Finally alone with him, or well, for the most part. You take in a deep draw of oxygen before nodding, a small smile tugging the corners of your mouth.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” A soft pause before, “‘Girlfriend’, just—don’t think I’ll ever really get used to you sayin’ that.”

Austin smiles a little, reaching his arm across your shoulders. You chuckle, allowing him to draw you close in the backseat of the SUV. Sliding across the middle seat, you mold yourself into his body, his arm creating a cage around you as yours maps across his waist.

“Well you better start.” He says into your hairline, your head fitting perfectly underneath his chin. Breathing him in, you close your eyes.

Feels like home.

--

Cannot believe there’s only one part left! Thank you all for everything :) there is a post regarding requests here if you’re interested!

tag list:  @pearlparty, @theinvisiblecapricorn, @kittenlittle24, @andrewgarfields-girlfriend, @mirandastuckinthe80s, @nonsensical-nonce, @softlispoken, @dudinhahoff, @peterparke-r, @lottiee03, @little-diable, @therealwriter17, @bob-the-tomato, @bcofl0ve, @domaniquessidehoe, @oh-austin, @rosequartzluvr, @callthedarknessdown, @laperceval, @ghostinthebackofyourhead, @starry-night-20, @ahoyyharrington, @obsessedunicorn24, @lulu-recs, @queenotaku23, @embobemm, @milaa24, @medleyj, @myownparadise96, @butlersluvbot, @girlokwhatever, @pinkle-monade0103, @vintagebitc, @xcallmetaniax, @adoreyouusugar, @karamelcoveredolicity, @thisisntmeok, @kvcssghbjbcd, @mamaspresley, @elvismylove, @chaoticbilly, @pulisvertz, @killerqueenfan, @jasminex12, @simpforevery1, @dre6ming, @behindmygreyeyes 

[deantfwinchester]

Fresh Start 2/?

Pairing: Pre-Outbreak!Joel x Neighbor!Reader

Summary: When you move to Austin after finishing grad school, all on your own, you find a small house for rent next door to a handsome contractor and his teenage daughter. He gives you a hand moving in, but it turns out he could use more help than he knows.

Word Count: 4k

A/N: Lol more Looking After Joel content (like anyone’s surprised)

Pre-outbreak or no outbreak (take ur pick). It's f!reader, 2nd person, w/ no use of Y/N.

Welcome once again to the Joel Miller fluff crusade.

Part 1

You saw Joel and Sarah a few more times in passing over the next few days, each time smiling warmly and waving across the way, but always on the way out. Most days you saw a younger man on the way out with the two of them, who bore some resemblance to Joel, and you figured that must be his brother Tommy. Sarah had mentioned her Uncle Tommy while recounting her day over loose pieces of bookcase as the three of you built a few nights prior. 

Since that night, you’d been trying to find the time to gather what you needed to make dinner for your neighbors, in an effort to adequately thank them for all their help getting your new home put together. After spending the weekend unpacking the last of your things, you resolved to hit the grocery store for the ingredients you’d need on Monday after work, and try to get dinner ready for delivery next door around the time Joel got home.  Monday morning, you noticed it was just Joel and Sarah hopping in the truck as you got ready to leave for the day from your own driveway. Joel looked over at you, squinting in the bright morning sun, and smiled wide, waving. 

“Just the two of you this morning?” you called, waving back at him.

“Yep. My brother’s outta town. Took a long weekend,” he said, walking over to you. You began walking as well, meeting him halfway. “I’ll have to introduce you two sometime soon.”

“Definitely, I’d like to meet him,” you said, smiling back at him. 

He nods back and continues, lifting one arm up to rub at the back of his neck sheepishly. “Oh, I uh, got an idea of how my week’s gonna look. Would you wanna come over for dinner on Wednesday? I think Sarah would really like it, and you could meet Tommy too, since he’s around all the time. Damn near lives here himself.” 

You tried hard to keep your eyes on Joel’s while he spoke, but you couldn’t help but be distracted by the way his shirt lifted barely two inches above the waist of his jeans, exposing a bit of his stomach. Your neck burned a little thinking of him, silently scolding yourself, pleading to Get A Grip. “Wednesday? Um, yeah, I don’t think I’m busy at all. I’d love to,” you replied almost too quickly. Joel didn’t seem to notice, however, mostly seeming relieved, and he smiled in response. God he had a gorgeous smile. Starting to seem like the Texas heat wouldn’t be the only thing making you melt. 

“Great! We’ll be looking forward to it,” he said, satisfied with your answer.

“I will be too! Thank you, Joel,” you replied, hoping he saw only your earnest appreciation and not your cheeks warming under his gaze. 

“Anytime. Well, I gotta get her to school,” he said, pausing and turning a bit to walk back toward the truck. Once again slightly bashful, he added one last thing.

“I hope you have a, uh, wonderful day, darlin’.” No doubt he could see the red in your face now, almost stuttering at his genuine tone. 

“I-I hope you do too, Joel. I’ll see y’all later,” you replied, smiling back and turning to your own car. He watched as you got into the car, and didn’t return to his own until he heard your engine start. Taking a moment to gather yourself in the driver’s seat, you realized this crush on Joel was only going to grow each time you talked to him. You tried to tell yourself this was a bad idea. Joel’s your neighbor, and you wanted to keep it friendly and welcoming, and you had no idea how Sarah would react if something ever did happen between the two of you. No, you’d make sure to get a hold of it before bringing dinner over for the two of them tonight, which you’d conveniently left out of the conversation with Joel. You’re wanting it to be a surprise thank-you, and thinking it might be nice to not have to worry about what to do about dinner after working in the heat all day. For your neighbor. Your friend. Just that. 

_____________________________________________________________

You arrived back home around five, shopping done and ready to start cooking. You set to preparing the different parts of the meal you were making. The lasagna you took a bit of time and assembly, and you were definitely making quite the mess. Around the time the bolognese finished, you looked out the window and noticed Joel’s truck still wasn’t outside the house next door. Not too concerning, you knew he worked late quite a bit. If nothing else, you could bring dinner to Sarah, and he’d have less to worry about when he did get home.

You’d been cooking for over an hour when you noticed the sun beginning to set outside. You got the hefty casserole dish into the oven, and cleaned up the mess you’d created in your kitchen, tying up the very full garbage bag to take outside. As you headed toward the cans in your driveway, a taxi pulled up in front of the house next door. Now this was strange, you had yet to see a single cab in your very residential neighborhood. You noticed as well that Joel’s truck still wasn’t in their driveway. This made more sense as you watched Sarah emerge from the back of the car on the street side and quickly walk around to the lawn, opening the door for the other passenger. You certainly were not expecting Joel to emerge from the car, grip tight on the top of the door, with Sarah leaning in to help him out. As he got out and shut the door, draping an arm over Sarah, with a pained expression on his face. While he leant heavily on the cab’s door, Sarah reached in and pulled out a pair of crutches, helping him to get a grip on the first one. After settling on the first crutch, Joel pushed the door to the cab shut behind him, and began to hobble forward. Before Joel can grab the other crutch from Sarah, you see him begin to lose his balance, enough to instinctively go down on his newly wrapped ankle, and you rush forward to help. 

“Woah! Hang on a second!” you call as you approach them. Joel is huffing with effort when he notices you, and lifts his arm, allowing you to slip right underneath and support his side. Joel straightens up, leaning heavily on you, and lets out a breathy “Thank you.”

“‘course.  Looked like you needed a hand,” you smile up at him. He smiles back down at you, and despite your grin, he could see your eyes wide, and brows knitting together in concern. Joel felt a growing warmth in his chest at the sight, reminding him of the wave he felt during your conversation this morning. 

You motion for Sarah on Joel’s other side to hand you the remaining crutch, and help him get a comfortable hold, as you slip out from beneath his shoulder. You keep hold of him as he adjusts, letting your hand linger lightly on his back.

“Good? Okay, let’s get you inside, then I want the story,” you said, rubbing his back a bit before letting go. Joel trudged forward, shifting his focus toward keeping his balance rather than missing the feeling of your hand, warm against his back. You kept close to his side, making sure he was stable, as Sarah led the way inside. 

The two of you got Joel seated on the couch, and Sarah ran to her room to change out of her school clothes. You take Joel’s crutches and place them on the wall by the couch, and sit down on the ottoman in front of him, motioning for him to place his injured leg up next to you. 

“Comfy?” you asked, and Joel nodded. 

“As I’m gonna get for right now, I think.”

“Okay, story time. What the hell happened today?” 

That look was back on your face, Joel realized, the one you gave him outside from beneath his shoulder, that warmed him from the inside. He just wanted to look at you for a while, feeling like he could melt under the care in your eyes. 

“I, uh, fell. On site today,” he responds, a bit flustered after catching his too-long pause. 

You wait a beat for him to elaborate, and when he doesn’t, you speak. 

“Wow. You’re a riveting storyteller, Joel. Way to paint a picture for me. Feel like I was there,” you say with more sarcasm than he can bear at the moment. Joel groans and rolls his eyes at your tone, and you grin at him, placing your hand on his injured leg, rubbing lightly, attempting to coax more of an explanation from him. “Okay, so injury acquired at work, that much we know. I assume also, based on the wrapped ankle and accompanying crutches, you saw a doctor somewhere? What did they say?”

Joel sighed, conceding to your press for information. “Yep, at work. Fall involved some scaffolding and I, uh, got unlucky, I guess. One of the guys drove me to get it checked out, and Sarah met us there. ‘S just a sprain, not a big deal,” he shrugged. Before you could respond, you heard Sarah yell from the hall. 

“He’s lying!” she said. Joel sighs at this, shaking his head, opening his mouth to protest as she walks back in the room. “Nope. Don’t even try it. We came from the ER, where he waited two hours, got an x-ray, and the doctor told him he’s very lucky it’s not a fracture.” She placed her hands on her hips and looked at you, exasperated. 

“It’s fine,” Joel says, “just gotta wait a couple days, then I can get back to work.”

“A week. The doctor said a week before you can go back to work. Then he said you need to spend another week supervising, no heavy lifting.” Sarah’s spiel made Joel sigh once again, this time in defeat. Your eyes were wide, impressed by her ability to both keep track and wear him down. 

“Good memory.” you say incredulously, smiling at her. 

“He remembers too, he’s just lying. That’s why I took the bus to the hospital instead of home like he told me. To hear the instructions myself,” she says to you, though pointed elsewhere. “ And Uncle Tommy’s still out of town, so…”

“So you took a cab home from the ER??” you say, turning your head back to face Joel, who looks at you confused. It’s Sarah’s turn to sigh now, and she turns toward the kitchen. 

“I’m getting something to drink,” she breathes, and turns to Joel, “keep that elevated!”

You turn back to Joel now. You’re touched by Sarah’s concern, and give him a look letting him know as much, and wait for him to continue.

“Easier than the bus like this,” he shrugged.

“Well, what about the guy who drove you there? Where’d he go?” you ask. 

“He had to get back to work, couldn’t wait around. ‘Specially with me gone for the rest of the day,” he says, like it made perfect sense. You look at him, face once again marked with worry but without the accompanying smile, he notices. You reach around Joel’s side and grab the throw pillow sitting next to him on the couch, then tap his leg lightly, signaling to lift it from the ottoman. You slide the pillow into the space he occupied, then move his leg back down to settle on top, laying your hand above his ankle once again. 

“I get it,” you tell him, “but I don’t want it to happen again. Gimme your phone.” You take his phone and add your number to his contacts, and hand it back to him after sending yourself a text. “So next time-“

“Next time? You plottin’ my next fumble?” Joel asks, grinning at you. You shake your head at him. 

“Let me finish! Next time you need a ride, or anything else you think I could help with, call me,” you say, gesturing to the phone now back in his hand. “I put my number in there and sent myself a text so I have yours now too.”

“Well, thank you, darlin’, but you don’t have to-“ Joel starts, but you cut him off. 

“Nope. Promise me you’ll use it. If you need to, if you want to, for anything either of you need. I know your brother’s usually here, but just, put me above the cab company on the list, at least. Promise?” you plead with Joel. The worried face is back, and he’ll do just about anything to make it go away. 

“I promise. Thank you,” he says, nodding, looking at you with a sincerity that reaches your bones. You look anywhere but at him, feeling your neck heat up into your ears like this morning. You pat his leg a couple of times, then stand, clearing your throat a bit. 

“Well. Safe to say you guys haven’t eaten yet, yeah?” you ask, loud enough that Sarah can hear in the kitchen. 

“Definitely not. And im stARVING,” says Sarah, walking back in and passing a glass of water and bottle of Advil to Joel, before placing an ice pack on his ankle. 

“Okay good, give me a couple minutes, and I’ll be right back.” Sarah’s eyes grow wide with curiosity, and you turn to head out the door just as Joel begins to protest. 

“What did you-“

“Just trust me,” you called to him, walking out, then peeked back in the door and pointed at Joel, “don’t go anywhere.” You said, raising your eyebrows at him. 

Sarah started laughing as he deadpanned back at you, eyes narrowed “Hilarious.”

“Too soon?” you ask him through laughter. He rolls his eyes and smiles at you, shaking his head. “Alright, I’ll be right back.”

______________________________________________________________

With all the excitement of the last hour, you’d run out the clock on dinner, with only a few minutes remaining on your timer when you walked back into your kitchen. You pulled the lasagna out of the oven, covered it in foil, then stacked some potholders and returned to Joel and Sarah’s. 

When you walk through the door, they turn to you, eyes wide. You can practically see their mouths watering like cartoon characters. Mission accomplished. 

“Okay, so I’d actually planned to bring dinner over here for y’all tonight. As a thank you for your help last week. Couldn’t have picked a better day, huh?” you say to the two of them. Joel just stares at you, speechless. He definitely hadn’t seen that coming, but he wasn’t really surprised. Just, didn’t know what to say. Sarah speaks for both of them. 

“You didn’t have to do that, we were happy to help. We had fun that night!” she says, excitedly, “but I am hungry, so come on.” Sarah leads you into the kitchen, then ushers you out, grabbing plates from the cabinet, insisting on handling it herself. You walk back into the living room, where Joel’s gathered his words, though they’re certainly nothing new. 

“This is real sweet, but you really didn’t have to do that, darlin’. Seriously,” Joel says to you, gravely. 

“I wanted to, Joel. Seriously.” you say, mirroring his intensity. 

“I’m sure you did. I don’t doubt that,” he says, smiling knowingly at you through the words. 

“Well, if you guys are good, I’m gonna get going. I’m sure you’re tired, so eat, enjoy, then get some rest,” you say to him, moving to leave. He’s exhausted, that’s for sure, but he’s also sure he doesn’t want you to leave. He’s got no idea how to make you stay, when Sarah walks back in from the kitchen, holding three plates filled with huge slices of the lasagna. 

“Nope, you’re staying. You made it, it’s huge, eat with us,” she pushes one plate into your hands and another into her father’s. 

“Oh, that’s sweet Sarah, but you guys have been through a lot today, I don’t want to intr-“

“Stay. Please. We’d really like you to.” This time it was Joel, insisting as well that you stay for dinner with them. With both of them staring up at you expectantly, you have no choice but to relent, taking your plate and sitting on the couch next to Joel.

______________________________________________________________

The three of you sat and ate together, first listening to Sarah tell stories of her day, then banding together to bully Joel into more details about what happened on site today. Sarah had a very strong feeling that, while unfortunate, the fall probably looked hilarious. The three of you giggled about the events of the day long after the empty plates were abandoned on the end tables. Sarah was curled up in a chair across from you two, when she got up, stretching, and announced she was heading to bed. She reached for the empty plates, but you stopped her before she could get to them. You told her not to worry about them, saying you would handle it, and she let you. After saying goodnight, she left for her room, leaving you and Joel alone. 

“You’ve gotta be pretty tired yourself, huh?” you ask Joel, reaching out and patting his arm, before getting up to grab the empty plates. 

“I’m alright. I’m glad you’re still here,” he says, that same sincerity in his eyes as he looks up at you, and you falter under his gaze, eager to busy yourself. Stacking the plates in one hand, you reach down and touch the ice pack on Joel’s ankle, finding it squishy and melted. 

“This, uh, this isn’t doing you any favors anymore. Hang on,” you grab the limp pack and carry it and the plates into the kitchen. After cleaning the dishes and covering the lasagna, you place it in the fridge, then open the freezer beneath it to replace the melted ice pack. Luckily, you find a second just like it, which you grab and return to the living room. 

You place the new ice pack on Joel’s elevated ankle, fiddling with it until you’re satisfied it’ll sit comfortably still. You’re at least partially trying to occupy yourself beneath his gaze, still unsure how to react to this feeling. He’s smirking at you when you meet his eyes, amused by your fussing over his injury. 

“You really don’t have to do that, sweetheart. I’ll be alright, I can handle it,” he says while you attempt to fluff the pillow beneath his leg before sitting down next to it on the large ottoman. You place your hand on his leg once again, this time not hesitating to rub comforting and light along his shin.

“I know you can. But so can I. You’ve had a long enough day, just let me help,” you tell more than ask him. 

“You already helped out plenty, bringing dinner over. She would’ve probably eaten something microwaved for dinner. Or worse, had to cook something for us herself. She does that enough already,” he glances down at his hands in his lap then, and you notice the guilt creeping into his voice. You lean forward then, and put one hand on his forearm, and he looks up, meeting your eyes.

“Hey,” you say gently, “she’s okay. More than okay, she’s wonderful. She was so sweet today, remembering every detail from the doctor, getting you in here and settled. It was adorable actually, watching you listen while she bossed you around a bit.”

“Sweet as can be, but ‘s not her job. I’m s’posed to be taking care of her, not asking her to take the bus home, or having her lug me out of a cab from the ER on a school night,” he says, running a hand over his face. You give his arm a reassuring squeeze before responding. 

“This whole situation was a one-time thing, and you know that. Getting hurt on the job the one day your brother’s not with you? Bad luck. All it can be. Don’t beat yourself up about this, and definitely not when you’re this exhausted,” you say to him, hoping to provide what little comfort you can. He nods a little, head turning back to his lap, looking at your hand still resting on his forearm.  “And don’t forget, find yourself in a run of luck like this again, you can call me instead.” You move your hand down, resting on top of his, and patting once again. As you move to lift it, he grabs your fingers, just wanting to keep your hand in his for a bit. You don’t move a muscle. 

“You really mean that, don’t ya?” he lifts his head again and smiles at you, still holding your fingers tight. 

You smile back, nodding at him, “anything you need, I told you,” squeezing his hand in return. He’s holding your hand in both of his now, and you rub little circles against the back of one with your free thumb. You wonder, for a moment, if you’re doing something you shouldn’t. He’s hurt, tired, and clearly carrying too much to think straight. Would a more awake, or less upset Joel be so open to this physical affection? Before you can spiral any further, Joel speaks again. 

“Well, in that case, I was wondering if I could ask a favor of you this week,” he says. 

“Anything. Shoot.”

“It’s a lot, and I hate to ask, if you can’t do it, I’ll understand,” he begins rambling. 

“Joel. Just tell me what you need,” you cut him off, squeezing his hand in yours. 

“Well, since I can’t drive for the time being, I was wondering if you could pick Sarah up from school for the rest of the week? Tommy’s on his way back already, he’ll get her there in the mornings, but without me there, he can’t leave the site in the middle of the day to get her home. She can take the bus if she needs to, it’s not a big deal, I just-“

“Joel. I’ll be happy to pick her up this week. My schedule is flexible, so it won’t be a problem. I’ll be there, and I’ll make sure she doesn’t wait on me either,” you assure him. 

“That’s- I can’t thank you enough, darlin’, really. I-“ Joel cuts himself off with a yawn, and you rise before he can even finish. 

“Alright, that’s my cue. And yours,” you keep his hand in yours, giving it one final squeeze before he lets his fall, reluctantly. “Time to put yourself and this day to bed. Do you need help getting up?”

He smiles at his lap once more. “No, I’ll be okay. I think I got the hang of those things anyway,” gesturing to the crutches against the wall behind him. “I’m gonna sit here a while longer. Thank you again for your help tonight. I’d walk you out, but..”

“Don’t you dare get up Joel, not until you’re heading straight to bed. Promise?” you smile back, making him swear once again. 

“I promise. Night, darlin’” he says, smiling slightly, eyelids at half mast. You doubted he was making it off the couch tonight, but you didn’t want to push. 

“Night, Joel. Get some sleep, I’ll see you tomorrow,” you lock the door from the inside on your way out, fairly confident Joel wouldn’t be getting up or remembering to do it himself. You walked out into the warm night air, head spinning with the countless moments you shared with Joel tonight. You didn’t realize how late it was until you walked back in your own home, feeling exhaustion take hold. You’ve got plenty to do tomorrow now, too, so sleep was of the essence. You head to bed yourself, silently thanking the universe you’d already cleaned up the kitchen.

[blondedmuse]

HEART OF GLASS

max mayfield x fem!reader

warnings: none

author’s note: max deserves a big sister so i wrote this

word count: 542

Steve begged you to be on what he called "babysitting duty" so that he didn't have to be a chofer for Dustin and his friends. And while they definitely did not need one, they were all incessant on carpooling with Will because his mom wouldn't let him bike.

Now, because it was Steve, you said no. Multiple times. But again, because it was Steve, he's wasn't exactly one to back down from a challenge and his begging just got too annoying to physically tolerate.

So, here you were parked outside the arcade, waiting on Dustin and his friends like a mom waiting for her kid at the end of a school day. What was probably more embarrassing was that you were maybe thirty minutes early and had nothing else to do for the day.

While waiting, you spotted Max sitting outside in your rearview mirror, which was unusual considering the kids would rather stay ‘til closing than ever leave early. And since you seemingly had nothing to do besides wait, you decided to walk over to her.

"The boys are being jerks," Max told you as you sat down next to her on the edge of the concrete sidewalk outside of the arcade.

"Did you give 'em a piece of your mind?" You asked and she nodded.

You smiled. "Do you want me to give 'em a piece of mine?"

She shook her head. "No...I'll just wait until Billy gets back."

"Well, you can wait with me in my car of you’d like. The sidewalk sucks to sit on."

"Only if you don't mind, do you?"

"Absolutely not. I need a girlfriend like you while spending time with these goons," You laughed. "You can even go through my music collection."

Max didn't say anything but nodded, smiling to herself while heading to the passenger seat of your car. She couldn't bring herself to say it, she was more than grateful to have you around. To her you were the sister she never had—and what you’ve heard from Lucas, “like, the coolest, ever.”

“My cassettes are in the glove box,” You said and she opened the small compartment. “Find one you like.”

Your collection wasn’t too extensive, but there were a few cassettes falling out here and there while Max rummaged through and you watched as she marvel at the music. Your collection ranged from The Rolling Stones to The Cure and Fleetwood Mac and needless to say Max was impressed.

“No way! You have Paralleled Lines by Blondie and is that…Three Imaginary Boys!?” The glint in her eyes was full of admiration and you couldn’t help but be in absolute awe.

“Yeah, you want it?” You offered her the album.

“Well…yeah. But it’s yours! I’m not just gonna take it from you.”

“You wouldn’t be taking it from me if I gave it to you.”

Her eyes widened. “Wait, really?”

“Yes, really, I have a job, I could easily get another one,” You said truthfully. “Besides, I want you to have it.”

“Are you sure?”

“Positive.”

Max grinned from ear to ear, giving you a big Thank you. She loved that she had someone like you because you were there for her when no one was; and you were like, the coolest, ever.