#I’ve been waiting for her to start the reschedule for the sleepover

[decease-soul]

my bestie seems like she doesn’t want to talk to me :(

[marvelsbetch]

Peter Parker’s betrayal

Warning: Depressed Peter, Betrayed Peter, Dick head Stark.

-Peter POV-

I was so excited for this weekend, I had finally convinced Aunt May to let me stay the night at Stark towers. Mr. Stark and had been begging for weeks for me to stay the weekend so we could geek-out about nuclear physics and new suit upgrades to our heats content. After quite a bad Friday, Ned and MJ has been acting weird and Flash seems to have gotten more violent and cocky. Plus, when Happy drove me back to my apartment he never spoke to me, not even his dry hello, he just gave me sympathetic glances as if he knew something I didn't. Saturday was the day, the day I had been waiting for since I first heard of Mr. Stark and his work. Since I read the first news article on Iron Man. Since I was 6 years old.

It started great, the sun was shining unusually bright for a March morning, Aunt May had made me her world famous pancakes worthy of Mr. Stark himself. My bag was already packed and ready, all I had to do was wait. Wait for Happy to come and pick me up and take me to what would've been the best weekend of my life.

How I wish I could go back. I wish I could go back to being this happy and content with my life. I wish.

"Peter! Happy's here!" Aunt May yelled at me from the living room, I was waiting on my bed.

"Okay, I'm coming." I told her grabbing my bag and walking to the door to meet Happy.

All he did was give me a sympathetic look and lead me outside to the car. The last time I'll ever see this car. The drive to Stark Tower was similar to the drive home last night. Awkward and eerily silent. The thirty minute drive felt like two hours as a sense of impending doom washed over me. I should've listened to my senses and asked Happy to turn back.

Soon we pulled into the Stark tower garage and started walking towards the elevator, Happy following close behind. We rode up to the penthouse again, in silence and walked into the living room.

My heart shattered.

Mr. Stark was sat on the couch watching a movie with popcorn and Ice cream while talking to someone. A teenage boy I recognised. The teenage boy who tormented me since freshman year. The teenage boy names Eugene 'Flash' Thompson. Sat on Mr. Starks couch, watching a movie. What is going on.

"Hey Mr Stark." I spoke waving at him and walking further into the living room.

"Oh Peter. What're you doing here?" He asked.

"Come on. It's the sleepover we've been planning for months. The one we begged my Aunt to let us have, you've got to be joking right?" I asked scared of the answer.

"Oh, no I don't. I was busy with Flash, he's such a cool guy you know." Mr. Stark told me. "Why don't you go work on something in the lab while I finish this movie with Flash. Then we can all do something together." He suggested.

"Sounds great." I mumbled as I slowly moved back to the elevator to go to my lab.

Hours passed in the lab and there was no sign of Mr. Stark anywhere. It's as if he forgot me. I had finished upgrading my suit, multiple times, tested it and managed to build new web shooters from scratch. He never came.

"F.R.I.D.A.Y show me Mr. Stark." I requested.

"Of course Peter." She responded, even she sounded like she had sympathy for me.

The image she showed me broke my heart. Mr. Stark and Flash were sat on the couch, likely not even left since I last saw them, laughing with each other. Laughing at me.

"And then he just fell, like out of no where. Didn't trip over anything, just fell. The whole cafeteria laughed at him while I got up and ran away crying like a little baby." Flash told the traitor. Lies. He had tripped me while I was getting my lunch and it split all over my clothes and the floor.

"Oh my God, how pathetic." Mr. Stark said through tears of laughter.

Speaking of tears, I felt my own eyes welling up. How could he? After all we had been through with the Thanos snap, how hard he tried to get me back. How could he do this to me? He even called me son a few times, I sometimes called him Dad by accident but he never let me live it down.

"F.R.I.D.A.Y stop." I requested through sobs.

"I'm sorry Peter. Should I inform Mr. Stark of your distress?" F.R.I.D.A.Y asked with as much sympathy as a robot could as the image disappeared.

"No, he probably wouldn't care anyway." I told her as I heard footsteps coming towards the lab.

"What's up Penis? Upset that I'm closer to Tony?" Flash taunted as he entered my lab, something only Mr. Stark is allowed to do without my permission.

"No. Just overwhelmed." I told him wiping my tears away and getting angry.

"Well, Tony told me to come down and let you know that we may have to reschedule the whole sleepover thing." He told me smirking.

“Why?" I asked.

"We've just made plans, more important than any of yours." He told me leaving the room.

I broke down crying, what's happening. Just a few days ago everything was normal, what changed? Soon heavy crying turned into a full blown panic attack. Great.

"Mr. Parker Mr. Stark has been notified of your current state. He said he'll be here when he can." F.R.I.D.A.Y informed me making it worse.

There was a time when he would drop everything to make sure I was okay. He walked out of numerous meetings, one was with the president, because I was the slightest bit panicky. Now, having a panic attack on the floor below him he's all of a sudden too busy. Too busy with Flash.

"F.R.I.D.A.Y call Nat please." I requested through sobs.

"Peter? What's going on are you okay?" Nat's voice rung out immediately, she picks up fast.

"No. Can you come to my lab please?" I requested calming down slightly.

"Of course. Where's Stark?" She asked as I heard her moving around and a door slam.

“He's, uh, with someone. Too busy to come down and help me." I told her making it worse again at the thought of it. He's basically abandoned me for Flash.

"Okay I'm 5 minutes away. Stay calm." She instructed.

Less than five minutes later Nat came bursting through the doors Mr. Stark in tow. He was holding his ear making me feel like she'd dragged him down here aggressively.

"What's this for?! Me and Flash just got the crucial plot point of the movie!" Mr. Stark yelled at Nat.

"This is more important! You left him down here to have a panic attack on his own! He had to call me to come and help! What's wrong with you?!" Nat yelled back and she walked over to comfort me.

"I told him I would be there when I could, a.k.a, not at the crucial plot point of the movie!" Mr. Stark responded making Nat send daggers at him.

"That's not as important as the welfare of your intern, the person you call your son. What's going on and who's that person in the living room anyway?" Nat growled at him.

"My names Eugene 'Flash' Thompson. I'm Tony's new intern." Flash introduced himself sticking his hand out for Nat to shake it. Strange, I didn't even know he was here.

"Leave. Peter's Tony's intern." Nat growled at him pushing his hand away.

"Not anymore. I decided to hire Flash instead, sorry Peter." Mr. Stark informed me with very little sympathy in his voice. "You can still intern, just not for me."

"Stop talking before I throw you out of this window." Nat warned. "Why all of a sudden do you think Peter's not good enough? You were calling him your son not even two days ago!" Nat yelled.

"Realisation I guess. I realised that the future of my company should be left with someone strong and willing. Not someone who trips over noting in the middle of his school cafeteria." Mr. Stark told her, her eyes went red.

"I didn't trip over nothing, Eugene shook his foot out for me trip over. He's been tormenting me for years." I explained hoping to make Mr. Stark see his fault.

"Now you're lying to me?" He accused glaring at me. "If that's true then why didn't you tell me before hand? Convenient it only comes up now."

"I never told you because I could handle it. Didn't know it would lead to you being the ultimate back stabbing traitor." I growled at him finally standing my ground.

"Don't call me a traitor when you've just lied to my face. I want you out of my building and out of my life." Mr. Stark told me making Nat, once again, glare daggers at him.

"You're utterly delusional. You kick him out you loose me, no more black widow." Nat threatened standing right infront of Mr. Stark, challenging him.

"Fine, I've got everyone else on my side. Wish I could say you'll be missed." He told her smirking.

Next thing I know Nat grabbed my arm and bags before leading me out of the building. We walked passed Happy and Pepper who both stopped us to say sorry and promise that they'll speak to Tony. Nat told them not to bother as he won't change. Happy offered to drive us home but Mr. Stark called him to say that if he did he'd be fired. He still offered but I couldn't let him loose his job over me.

"I'm so sorry for this Peter. I tried to tell but he won't listen, I'll try and fix this I promise. You have my word and my number should you need it. He won't realise what he had until he lost it. You'll both be missed." Pepper sobbed as she hugged me tight, my surrogate mother.

"The offer of a ride still stands, he'll die without me and he knows it. If he fires me it's his loss." Happy told me placing a hand on my shoulder.

"No it's fine, you shouldn't be getting roped into this, this is my mess." I told me making everyone sigh.

"This is not your mess, it's Tony's and soon enough I'll make him clean it up. You have my word." Pepper promised before Mr. Stark walked up to us all.

"If you don't leave now I'll have security kick you out." He growled at me only making me want to cry in a corner somewhere. I've truly been abandoned by my only father figure.

"Fine, we're leaving." Happy said grabbing my shoulder and leading me and Nat out of the building. Did he just quit?

"Did you just quit?" I asked him.

"Yep." Was his short response. Dear God, what has this turned into?

"You'll never be hired again if you walk out those doors." Mr. Stark threatened.

"I'd rather live on the streets than work for you and that brat upstairs." Happy told him before we all walked out of the building.

"This is real. I've been abandoned." I spoke finally admitting it before breaking down into tears.

Nat quickly comforted me and we started to make our way back to my apartment. This is going to be fun to explain to Aunt May.

-2 months later-

It's been two months since Mr. Stark abandoned me and my life has taken an interesting turn. After a day or two everyone had found out about what had happened and boycotted anything to do with Mr. Stark. They never went to meetings, either towers, training sessions and even missions. Pepper left him the night he abandoned me. Mr Stark was truly alone except for Flash, many employees quit and his sales took a hard hit once word got out to the media. My name wasn't mentioned but Flash's was, this made my school life so much harder as Flash now believed he was some sort of celebrity.

Happy drove me to and from school everyday in his own car. He and my aunt had become really close over the past two months and I've started to have the suspicion that they may be dating. Probably. Nat barley left my side if it was necessary, she even sneaks around school sometimes just to make sure I'm okay, I'm far from it. School has become even more of a nightmare than it already was. Flash's taunting became worse and physical, most teachers turned a blind eye in fear of Mr. Stark. Ned and MJ left me after claiming that I was just pathetic, hard to disagree if I'm honest, and everyone of my teachers has become so much harder on me. Life just isn't good right now.

-Two years later-

Two years. Two years since the faithful night and life has become good. I graduated with great grades, despite me not having the best time in school in the past few years and teachers becoming extra tough on me. I passed with mostly As and A+s. after graduation I got a scholarship to Cal tech and started my courses. I plan to open my own business, not to spite Stark, as fun as that would be, but to help those in need. I want to start a company that focuses on helping to poor and improving their living conditions.

-Ten years later-

My company was a massive success. I make cheap but reliable electronics that not only help the poor improve their lives but most of the profits go to improving their lives in other ways. Just last month I traveled to Cambodia to a town full of people so poor they had to buy their houses on rivers because they couldn't afford land. It was eye opening and we helped so much, buying land for them, helping them build stable homes and facilities, building toilets and other necessities. I feel great with myself if I'm being honest.

I've also recently come out at Bisexual with the announcement of me and my boyfriends engagement, Wade Wilson also known as Deadpool. Life's good.

Also, Flash took over Stark industries but it's not been going well. He can't run a business or build a piece of tech to save his life, the sales have plummeted and they've had to lay of hundreds of people in the past month. Most of which, came to me. Now, let me make this clear, I did not start my company to spite Stark and try and beat him. I started it because people like him and Flash don't care about the people who have less of a say, I look out for the little guy. Always have and always will.

I still continue with my spider man work and have received countless awards for my work helping the little guy. Weather that be a common mugging or helping people escape war torn countries. I found a way to build more houses and have more land while also expanding the rain forest and saving the environment. I have dedicated my life to helping others, I made the decision when I was fifteen and ten years later I still stand my it.

-Five years later-

Stark Industries went bankrupt. Flash had run it into the ground with failed experiments and an attempt to bring back the weapons department but with my work, it wasn't necessary. There were no more wars to fight and weapons were seen as a thing of the past.

"Peter please I'm sorry. Flash manipulated me to believe that you were less of a person. Please, I've lost everything because of him." Stark begged, tears brimming his eyes as he as me for a job in my offices.

First he asked for CEO but me and Pepper handles those duties. Then it was Public Relations but Steve and Clint have those conceded. He went through all jobs only to find them to be taken by those he once called his friends. Currently he's begging for a low-level position but I was willing to give him a second chance. He's suffered enough over the past fifteen years.

"Okay, here's a deal. I'll invest back into Stark Industries but you have to promise to help people. No more Eugene or decisions made by yourself. I'll try and convince Pepper to work with you again but I can't promise anything. It's not completely your fault Eugene ran your company into the ground and I'm willing to help but you have to work with me. You have to promise to help people and the environment, look at what I've achieved." I said gesturing to the office building on the 40th floor of our main headquarters.

Over the past five years Pepper and I had made some excellent business decisions and our profits sky rocketed, we have buildings all over the world and I became one of the richest men in the world. I still give back and if anything, I've given more back in the past few years.

More money. More resources. More output. More help to those who need it. World poverty has dropped to less than 10%, an immaculate improvement to the 80% of fifteen years ago.

"I promise. I don't think I can tell you how happy I am Peter." Stark told him smiling like an idiot.

-Another ten years later-

We did it. The rainforests were saved. No animals were near extinction. Both my company and Stark Industries were on the map helping those who need it, not many now though. World Poverty was less than 0.5% of the population and soon to be eradicated. We saved the planet and the people on it but most importantly, we made a flying car. Life was good.

[lumosandnoxwriting]

HAPPY BIRTHDAY! Can I get a 🎂 #3, 13, and 15 smut for Harry X fem reader

Thank you!!!! <3

NSFW!! this includes face riding, female receiving oral and the slightest touch of fem!dom

Come join the sleepover!!

Title: Take a seat Pairing: Harry x Fem!Reader Prompt: Your bed head is really cute / You’re so hot when you’re mad / Shut up! Why don’t you come over here and make me

“Harry,” Y/N says flatly, poking her boyfriend in the shoulder. When all he does is groan and roll over she frowns. “Harry, wake up.”

“Hm?” Harry hums, slowly blinking his eyes open. He yawns and stretches, before turning over to look at his girlfriend. “Morning, love,” he greets warmly. “What’s wrong?”

Y/N crosses her arms and sighs. “You were supposed to meet me this morning,” she reminds him. “Brunch with my sister? Does any of this ring a bell?”

“Oh,” Harry says softly, realization suddenly hitting him. He glances at the clock and immediately feels guilty when he notices the late hour. “I’m sorry, Y/N. There was these guys at the pub who kept buying Ron and I drinks and I guess I forgot to set my alarm before I passed out.”

“This is the third time I’ve had to reschedule this Harry,” she says frustratedly. “I know you can’t always help it, but it feels like I’m not that important to you. I’m always there for you for every little thing you have to go and do and when I ask you for one, one thing,” she emphasizes. “You can’t even do that.”

Harry sighs as he sits up in bed, rubbing his face with his hands. “I’m sorry, Y/N. Reschedule it and I’ll be there. I promise.”

“That’s all you have to say?” Y/N spits. “I tell you I don’t feel important to you and all you have to say is sorry?!”

Harry bites his lip, watching as Y/N starts to tap her foot, waiting for his response. Y/N looks absolutely breathtaking and he knows it’s bad, but he can’t help but start to get hard. Her lips are puffy from biting them and her hair is a bit damp and messy from the dreadful weather outside. The top she’s wearing is lowcut, and he can’t help but watch her breasts jostle from her heavy breathing.

“Are you seriously checking me out right now?” Y/N asks in disbelief.

“You’re so hot when you’re mad, I can’t help it,” Harry responds, his eyes still wandering all over her body.

Y/N groans, and the sound goes right to Harry’s cock. “Will you shut up! I’m trying to have a serious conversation with you.”

“Why don’t you come over here and make me,” Harry challenges, leaning back against his headboard.

“What did you say?” Y/N asks, stepping forward and kneeling on the bed in front of Harry.

Harry raises an eyebrow and smirks. “You want me to shut up? Then come over here and make me.”

At his words, Y/N reaches forward and grabs Harry’s neck roughly, smashing their lips together. They kiss messily, and Y/N moans as Harry grabs her waist tightly. “You think you’re so much better than everyone, Mr. Chosen One,” she mocks, pushing Harry back so he’s laying flat on the bed. “You think you’re so powerful, like everyone should fall to their knees and do as you please.”

Harry watches in awe as Y/N gets off the bed and yanks her jeans off, taking her panties with them. She’s never been so rough and dominating with Harry, and he’s already rock hard. “Is that what you’re going to do? Fall to your knees and suck me off?” he asks fiercely.

Y/N chuckles darkly and crawls back onto the bed. “In your fucking dreams, love. It’s your turn to worship me.” She crawls up the bed until she’s hovering over Harry’s face, a leg on either side of his head. “Go on then,” she growls. “Eat me out.”

Harry grabs Y/N’s hips and pulls her down onto his face, his tongue immediately licking her slit. “Taste so good,” he hums. He goes back to it, sucking Y/N’s clit into his mouth and humming. The vibrations go right up her spine, causing her to let out a loud moan.

“That’s right, Harry. Suck my cunt,” she moans, her hips starting to grind against his face. Y/N moans and pants as Harry licks, sucks and nibbles at her wet folds, her hips working against his face. Harry suddenly works two fingers into Y/N’s entrance, and she leans forward to grip the headboard tightly. “Fuck, Harry.”

Harry laughs against Y/N’s clit as his fingers curl, causing Y/N to curse. Her thighs start to shake and her toes curl, a clear indication to Harry that she’s on the verge of climaxing. He shoves another finger into her wet heat, and nibbles at her clit.

“Oh Harry,” Y/N moans as she comes, her hips moving desperately against his face. She whines as Harry continues to suck at her clit, unable to take the overstimulation. She rolls off of his face and collapses on the bed next to him. Y/N grins down at Harry and leans over to kiss him messily. “You’re lucky your bed head is really cute, Potter.”

Harry laughs and wraps his arms around Y/N’s waist so he can bring her into his chest. “I really am sorry, love,” he murmurs, kissing her sweetly. “You are important to me, and I’ll try harder to show that.” Harry bites his lip and reaches down to palm his cock. “Now that you’ve had your fun, wanna rethink that whole falling to your knees thing?”

[neshabeingchildish]

WEEK FOUR: GENERAL PROMPTS ♡ 1/28|Hurt/Comfort

I kinda already did hurt comfort whenever Charlotte and Henry discussed the events around Piper’s death and I also feel like this particular universe has a lot of hurt comfort moments anyway, but where I’m usually centering on Charlotte, I’ve decided to give a little attention elsewhere this time.

Fantasy AU  ♡ Full Moon Over Swellview

I’d never even glanced at the moon before that night, or at least, I don’t remember ever doing so. I’m sad to say that my parents had a little... well... a lab of sorts in the woods. The kind that you wouldn’t want the cops to happen by. So, naturally, what happened? The cops happened by. They fled the scene and I ran too, but it was a scatter, so we got separated. That. Sucked. I wasn’t even supposed to be there that night, but Henry was out, being Kid Danger and I couldn’t just hang out at his house without him, so we had to reschedule our sleepover and I had to go to the woods with my mom to check on how the current order was going. 

Whenever we got separated, I’ll admit, I was scared. I’ve never really scared easily, but I think that the sheer panic in which both of my parents rushed out whenever my dad yelled, “It’s the pigs!” Well, it shook me up a little more than usual. 

While stranded and alone, I was worried. I couldn’t call out to them, because if the police caught me, they’d know that it was my parents’ lab. 13 year old me was not smart enough to consider that there might be DNA in there, even with them using all of that protective gear. I was really bummed out because I just remembered that I left my bucket of hair supplies in there and from the looks of things when I circled back around, the police were gonna declare dad’s lab a crime scene. Then I heard the wolves. If it had been one howl, I think I might have been scared. But, there were so many that it sounded like I was next to a surround sound speaker. 

First off, Swellview shouldn’t have even HAD that many wolves. Secondly, how close did they have to be to be so dang loud? The concern was quickly answered when the largest wolf that I had ever seen in my life jumped on one of the cops coming out of the trailer-lab. 

This thing was no ordinary wolf! It was about 8 feet tall and stood on it’s hind legs. It almost moved like a man. Almost. No man could do what I watched him do to that poor cop. I was so terrified that I was frozen into place. I couldn’t move. I just... watched him being torn apart and saw other wolves, come to quickly finish off that cop and attack the other. Now, I wondered about my parents! Were they safe? Would they be eaten too? I moved to go find them and made a sound. I saw them notice me. Their eyes were lit up. Their fangs bloody and their speed - unmatched. I barely had a chance to turn around before I felt the big one grab me and take a bite. 

He bit me right on the neck, but his jaw was so big, he practically tore my head from my shoulders. I just knew that I was dead. I hoped that he would leave something for my parents to find. Not to find, but to have something to say goodbye to... if they weren’t already gone themselves. Then, I heard some kind of weird language. A girl was speaking it and the wolf let go of me and, I thought I was delusional, because it sounded like he said words to her. “That beginner’s magic won’t work on me.” Lol. Magic? Dying is a trip. Magic? Talking big ass wolves? And... the moon. Bitch, the moon was beautiful!

I stared up at it bleeding out while this girl and the wolf fought. But, he was trying to break through some kind of forcefield and she was shooting like light and stuff at him from inside of it. I couldn’t see her, just the lights from my peripheral. I was paralyzed and I was certain that I was dead. If I was gonna die. Staring at that lovely full moon was a fine way to go. 

Well, she must’ve gotten an upper hand or something, because we were surrounded by fire and the wolves ran away. The moon was glorious and I shut my eyes as the girl leaned over me. I was too weak to open them again, but I heard her say, “Don’t worry. You’re safe now.”

SAFE??? Dying is a trip. How am I safe when I’m actually dead? Lol.

But... I wasn’t dead. I woke up. I jumped up, wondering if that was a severely realistic and horrifically painful nightmare, but nope. I touched the portion of my body, where I had been bitten. There was a healing wound. Made no sense. That shouldn’t have healed and if so, definitely not so soon. And... I was back at home? How did I get there? Was it that girl? That... wasn’t a dream? A dying dream? There was a real girl somewhere that used some beginner’s magic to save me from a talking wolf and she brought me home and healed me? Or... wait... was I healing because that talking wolf that bit me was... I just started crying. Was I a werewolf, because those weren’t supposed to be real and I wasn’t supposed to be one! 

I had just started going through puberty, now my body was gonna change LIKE THIS? I was furious. I began to smash everything in my path, and I realized that I was exceptionally strong. My dad came in, pissed off and asking me to explain myself. Was he SERIOUS? They left me in the woods! And now, I was a monster! And he didn’t appear to have a scratch on him, shirtless and covered in tats with a cigar hanging off of his lip as though the only care in the world that he had was me wrecking this chickenshit room? I advanced on him, so quickly it might have even scared me if I hadn’t been so furious. I snarled at him and said through gritted teeth, “Give. Me. My. Space.” My eyes lit up. I didn’t realize that they would do that. 

He pissed himself. True story. He and my mom haven’t bothered me since. They don’t know what  am, but they’re still scared. I don’t blame them. Everything that they do angers me, ever since that night. How could they just leave me like that? What if the police had fired into the darkness and accidentally shot me? What if something had gone unstable in the lab and I blew up in it? What if I got bit by a freaking werewolf? They didn’t care about any of that whenever they ditched me. And, that night, I realized... They never even cared at all before then either. I also realized that I had never really looked at the moon before. 

I realized that, because now, I look at it all the time. I know when it’s going to do what it does. I know how I’ll feel. But, I love it. It’s now my nature. A part of me. I don’t appreciate being a monster... but I do love the moon.

[5-secondsofcolor]

The New Year

Note: This is one of the first fics I’ve ever written and the first one I’ve ever published anywhere. I’m far from an amazing writing but part of my new years resolution is practicing and gaining confidence in writing. It’s a little clunky so, please, feel free to leave me feedback! K, thank you for reading.

Warnings: Some swearing? None really.

-----

Calum’s family decide to stay through New Years; David’s freshly retired, Joy is more than happy to spend more time with Cal, and Mali’s just along for the ride this year. They tell Calum not to fret, to enjoy his new year as he planned but he can't leave them.

Caught between a rock and a hard place, he realizes what he's got to do. Introduce Laura to his family. It's not like they weren't friends before, he's known her more than a year, and she's not a secret to anyone. The issue is that they still find themselves in an in-between. What've they got? Monogamy? Yep. Sleepovers? Yeah. Weekends away? A few here and there with a final one planned to close off the year. A New Year's cabin trip just for two. Well they had to reschedule that one.

Joy quickly throws together a dinner, inviting Ashton, Luke, and Michael and his parents, of course. She’s happy to get them together for dinner again, anytime with the boys together is special for her. Knowing they’ll be there has also brought some relief to Laura; she’s still getting to know Luke and Ash but Michael and her get along like a house on fire. Rapidly pairing together at parties and clubs they're dragged out to, there’s a comfortable understanding that they’ve got one another’s back.

Nervousness grips Laura on December 30th, a full day before it needs to. She tries on outfit after outfit trying to find something good enough to meet his family in. Suddenly there's an issue with every item in her closet, it's either too small or too large, too formal or too frumpy, long story short it's all fucking wrong. Then she finds it, a maroon wrap dress buried in the back of her closet. It’s not perfect but it'll work. Now, what in the world does she bring to this thing?

--

“Laura, this is Mali. Mali this is Laura, we've..umm been dating.” Calum says quickly introducing them.

From the corner of her eye, Laura sees a shit eating grin break out on Ashton's face; he's rooting for them, she knows it, but he also finds it extraordinarily amusing that Calum's found someone so similar to himself. both of them said “fuck love” until they found one another. Ashton can see the change in Calum, the way he's stopped saying it in interviews, so now he's just waiting for the day they announce its official.

“It's great to finally meet you.” Mali says ignoring Laura's extended hand and going in for a hug. “I love this dress. The color looks amazing on your skin.” She notes.

“It's great to meet you, too. Calum talks about you so much, it's great to put a face to the name.”

Dinner starts without a hitch. Laura can see why Calum told her to bring drinks; Joy has covered the table in food, cooking every dish she could. After a quick speech from Calum and Joy, everyone digs in. The boys dominate the conversation, Ashton and Luke fighting to give Joy updates of their lives in-between bites.

Luke’s also met a girl this year, he tells Joy all about her, unfortunately, she’s away for the New Year but soon they’ll go to Australia to meet his mom. Ashton goes off about his new project, something about photography or was it film? He’s got so many it’s hard for everyone to keep up from time to time.

“Laura, what do you do for a living?” Joy asks trying to bring her into the conversation.

“Ma, I'm sure she doesn't want to talk about work.”

“It's ok, Cal. I work part-time conducting demographic research at a marketing firm and I work freelance for a few local companies, setting up their online marketing and consulting. I like to write a lot on the side but it'll be a while before that's making me any money.”

“If you keep writing the way you have with Calum, you’re gonna be a songwriter soon enough,” Michael adds hardly lifting his face from his plate.

“Are you a singer?” Mali asks.

“Oh no," She shakes her head. Laura's tone-deaf at best but editing runs in her veins. "I write more poetry than anything but I give feedback to Cal’s writing sometimes.”

Joy gives her a soft smile before Luke grabs back the attention. For once, Laura's grateful for his and Ashton's larger personalities. They feed off one another as they continue telling stories of their last tour and their new album. They miss Joy almost as much as they miss their own mothers. Laura can see why, Joy’s genuine pride at all they've got going on is infectious.

Laura feels herself relax as dinner goes on. All the dialogues slowly bleed into one, allowing her to sit and observe for a moment. Her favorite pastime, watching how enthusiastically people speak about things they’re passionate about. There’s always a glimmer in Luke’s eyes when he speaks about love. Ashton’s smile never breaks from his lips and his gestures get even larger. Mali, much like Calum, smiles wide when she’s happy making her eyes small as happiness takes over her face.

“So how'd you meet?” Mali asks as she finishes a story.

The table falls silent as everyone pauses. Joy and David look inquisitively as Michael snickers. He swears his phone call set their entire relationship in motion.

“I lost my phone outside a coffee shop and this one found it,” Calum explains briefly. Laura nods in agreement but everyone turns to her, waiting for her side.

“Honestly, that's it. I found his phone, held onto it until he came to pick it up, and we kinda just started having coffee together. It had to have been almost a year ago? Right after your birthday. I didn't let him buy me a coffee the day I found it so he came back a week later, and he bought me a coffee then. Let's be honest, he just wanted an excuse to grab the best coffee in this area.” Laura teases rolling her eyes in Calum's direction. “He started joining me while I worked once or twice a week and we unintentionally started a little writing club.”

The entire time Laura speaks, Joy’s eyes are trained on Calum. He holds her hand under the table while he listens attentively, his eyes never leaving her. For years she's been worried, they haven't heard a peep out of Calum about anyone until Laura. There's hardly a peep about her but the few times she's come up there's been excitement in his voice. A little peace comes to her seeing him try in love again.

Ashton and Luke are off after dinner, heading out to some parties. Laura and Calum are up first to volunteer go do the dishes. Laura starts a quiet playlist before taking her usual spot of scrubber beside Calum. Joy runs in occasionally, finding random dishes to hand them. They work slowly on purpose. Calum sings to her and places gentle kisses on her temple as they bask in the silence, enjoying the small amount of time stolen away in the kitchen. The dishes hardly feel like a chore as they playfully lean into one another, a gentle reminder that the other is there.

There's no questioning the feeling they have; it's love but logic says it’s too soon. Neither of them can fully wrap their head around it. There's something different about their love. There's no madness, no crazy proclamations are needed, nobody will be shouting it from rooftops. Much like them, their love is silent, it's found only by those who'll take the time to observe.

“Want to break open that Christmas whiskey and have a quick drink in the backyard?” Laura dries off her hand on a kitchen towel.

“I'd love to,” Calum says grabbing two glasses and a bottle Laura's gifted him as they sneak into the backyard.

Calum hands Laura a drink and watches her in the soft light. She's got a way about her; from the day they met it's kept her coming up in his mind. The girl in the coffee shop with her work scattered about, a simple way of romanticising everyday, and her smile? It's out of this word. The only reason why he left that day was a phone call. Had Michael not called him, where would the conversation have gone? Two, three, four times she came to mind the weekend after they met and Calum knew he had to befriend her. He wasn't sure what she'd be but it wasn't a “What if?” he was going to live with. With nothing but hope, he showed up to the same coffee shop a week later, sat at the same table, and for once let fate take the reigns.

“Happy almost New Years, guy I’m dating,” Laura says taking the glass.

“Happy almost New Year, phone sitter.”

They clink their glasses together. Does she make everyone feel that way? Like they're the center of the universe. She says something but all he can focus on is the need to hold her in his arms, to run his fingertips over her beautiful brown skin. He takes her drink and places it down before pulling her into him. She'll bring up the lack of attention later but, right now, he just wants her close. She wraps her arms around his waist, resting her head on his shoulder, as they sway to the music pouring into the backyard. Unbeknownst to them, Mali and Joy are peaking into the backyard from a window.

“Dad, look. They're absolutely precious.”

“Window’s open, Mal.” Calum says. Laura hides her face in his chest, her face warming quickly.

“Shit. Sorry, guys!”

“Y'all want some whiskey? It's fancy stuff I got Cal for Christmas.” Laura calls into the house.

With that, David’s off the couch and joining them in the backyard. They all settle outside together. Laura dipping her feet into the heated pool and Mali joins her after a moment. They talk about living in London for a while. Laura recalls the winter she spent abroad in London and Mali adds her own humid summer horror stories. Soon Joy joins them too. She takes the cake telling them of the Australian summers of her youth. Summers hot enough that the pavement would melt the soles of her shoes. Her children call her a liar but Joy presses on. David and Karen corroborating her stories until the kids concede.

The stories continue, everyone sitting around listening to David, Joy, and Karen reminisce on years passed. Memories of the kid's childhoods are traded back and forth until they intersect and begin to overlap. Karen and Joy meeting for the first time, the boys starting the band, having their sons follow insane dreams, and the bouts of sadness that can be found in all the joys of their success. Karen and Joy give Laura the whole story or at least they give it a shot as midnight approaches.

Midnight comes and brings with it hugs and kisses, the sounds of clanking of crystal, and explosions off in the distance as they ring in new opportunities. All of them stay outside watching the fireworks go off and chatting for a little longer.

The whole world’s alight but Calum can only see Laura, the world doesn’t matter. This is the New Year but the only thing that makes him feel any different is standing beside him, staring up at the night sky. The whole year came down to a few points and it’s taken him until now to realize the fateful day he dropped his phone was a one. Fate making sure he took pause long enough to see her and, now, he knows he’ll keep an eye out.

--

“Ok. Ashton had told me you two were cute but she's amazing. Please tell me you're taking her seriously.” Mali says the second Calum returns from walking Laura to her car.

“Mal… please no.”

“Calum, are you serious? You're in love, she's in love, there's basically turtle doves hovering around you.”

“Mali, that's enough.”

Giving her a stern look, he takes the last of the leftovers into the kitchen. He settles onto the kitchen island, helping his mother tidy the kitchen. She sworn by the superstition for years: a tidy house at New Years means a tidy house all year.

Calum knows Mali’s right but fear is louder. Laura terrifies him. Even when they were simply friends, there was so much that began to lead back to her. Writing, happiness, home -- all began to lead back to her and he doesn't want to fight it. He wants to share them with her and it's a feeling that's only gotten stronger in the last few months. But it all boils down to a game of risk. What if he gets too comfortable and she leaves? What if this leads to nothing but new heartbreak? Will this become another reminder to not fall in love?

“Baby, what’s on your mind?” Joy asks, seeing Calums face twist as he runs through all his thoughts.  

“How’d you know dad was the one?” Calum asks, settling on the kitchen island as she packs away the last of the leftovers.

“Dad is the one. I know because, in the harder moments, he always stays. It’s easy to love someone through the good but when things get hard and people pull away, when life wedges in all the reasons to leave, and he chooses to stay, that’s when I know he's the right one.”

Calum nods and stays silent for a moment.

“Laura’s something special isn’t she?”

“She is. It just all came so suddenly, I wasn’t expecting it, mum.”

“Sometimes it’s not about what you’re expecting but about what life knows you’re ready for.” Joy says packing away the last of the leftovers. “Goodnight, baby. Happy New Years.”

“Goodnight, mum. I love you.”

---

The next morning Calum’s hardly slept, his mind a jumble of thoughts. He grabs Duke before going out for a cigarette. He's surprised to find Mali already in the backyard with her writing journal.  

“Good morning.” She coos down at Duke.

“Good morning." He settles beside her and thinks for a moment, "I'm sorry I was short with you last night.”

“It's fine, Calum.” She tries to wave him off, figuring the issue wasn't her.

“No, it wasn't. I'm sorry. It's just… I just don't know how to speak about Laura.” He shrugs unable to find the words even hours later. “Mali, I don’t want to get ahead of myself but I feel stupid not rushing in. It's like when we started the band, my gut’s just saying it's right.”

“Then what's holding you back?”

“I can't… I don't think I could make it if this…isn't real.” Calum says slowly. Unsure of how to voice his fear.

“Cal, I know it's scary to take a leap but if the feelings that strong, listen to it. Just from what I saw yesterday, I think she's on the same page as you  Remember, you'll always have Ash and I, too.”

It's the final push he needs, the most important women in his life have his back. With a sigh, he finds the resolve to see her. He doesn't have a plan but he can't hold all the emotions in any longer. Calum pulls up her contact and dials her number. Knowing full well she's not a morning person, he hopes she's already awake.

“Bueno?”

“Morning, beautiful.” Calum says, rolling his eyes as Mali holds her heart and gives him a silent ‘awwwww’.

“Hola, cariño.”

“What're you doing?”

“Umm writing.” Laura admits, her cheeks burning. She's been caught in that act. In a mad attempt to capture even the smallest part of the way he's making her feel, she's spent the morning writing about him. She's hoping to silence the ruckus in her mind, so much so that she's up early. She's unsuccessful, truthfully, it seems that the only thing that truly silences her thoughts doubles as their source.  

“Mind if I come over? Just for a little.”

“Yeah, I have something for you.” Laura admits, rolling her lips between her teeth.

“Do you? Well then I can't show up empty handed, how does some Nautical Bean sound?” He can't help the smile breaking across his face.

Laura laughs lightly, “That sounds freaking amazing and that way I'll hopefully get this done before you get here.”

“Mm, I can't wait to read it. I'll see you soon. Bye.” Calum says as he hangs up.

“Mal, tell-”

“Tell mum and dad you'll be back soon. Yeah, yeah. Go on now!” She shoos.

Before he knows it, Calum's got their coffees and he's running up the steps two at a time. He knocks softly before letting himself in.

“Hi.” Hey says breathlessly.

Every bit of nervousness leaves his body as he sees her sitting on her couch. A large blanket drapes around her shoulders while she works on her laptop. These are his favorite moments to share with her. When both of them quietly working on something, happy not to go at it alone. He settles in beside her, waiting for a moment while she finishes her work.

"G'morning, bub." She says with a smile, placing her laptop down on the coffee table. “Thank you for the coffee”

“Ok now I gotta hold up my end of this deal,” Laura says opening to a page in the small journal before handing it over to him. “I know I said you aren't allowed to read my personal journals but today's an exception,” He wants to say something but the words stick together, creating a lump in his throat. They share a knowing look, her journal is everything to her. It's her best friend holding the pieces she's afraid to share. He's holding a piece of her heart. She gives him a nervous smile as he starts to read an entry from the night previous.

“These hands have held me in another lifetime.

I can't explain it. Not fully, not even in parts.

I don't understand it, yet it is.

The same way birds fly, it looks impossible, improbable, yet they take flight every day so it must be.

I see it just the same with us.

Neruda’s poems make sense, they're clear in a way I've never known.

Paths are simpler as the future comes with one piece set.

I am not afraid to get my heart broken by you.

Maybe it's foolish, stupid, reckless but something in these hollow bones of mine tells me to take flight.

Tell me, do I sound insane?”

Calum reads the paper twice over; his heart feels ready to burst. He clears his throat, finally finding words to say.

"Well, that makes things a lot easier,” Calum says quickly closing the distance between them and placing a gentle kiss on her lips. He feels a smile grow on her lips as she pulls away. He shakes his head, knowing he can't possibly top her writing, "Last year, your friendship alone meant the world to me. You were there patiently through the worst parts of it and I don't think I could've asked for anything else from you. I hope I returned the favor through your rougher moments. Through the good and the bad we fell into something more that has been an absolute gift to me. I know it won't always be this smooth. I know there'll be days where things are off, when I'm gone and we both feel alone, where we'll both struggle but that's ok. Even in the bad days, I'll still hope it's you I get to love. I don't want any of this, the bad or the good, with anyone else but you. Te quiero mucho. Did I say that right?”

“Yeah.” She whispers, eyes brimming with tears. Without a second thought, she takes back her journal, and careful tears out the page and hands it to him.

"How does the first of the month sound to you?" Calum asks folding the paper carefully before placing it into his wallet.

"For what?"

"To start celebrating anniversaries?"

"Sounds good." She says pulling him in for another kiss.

[cheeseeatingtrashmonster]

Chloe and Nino for bed sharing?

ChloNo sounds like “oh no” and I like that.

Read on ao3

“I’m not letting you two out until you stop fighting!” Adrien yelled through the door. “You’re my best friends and all you do is scream at each other. It has to stop, so I’m locking you in until you’re friends with each other.”

“Never gonna happen,” Nino said. “It’s not actually possible to befriend Satan herself.”

“Adrikins, I have a manicure appointment that I can’t skip, so can we reschedule this kidnapping for later?” Chloe asked, leaning against Adrien’s desk and frowning at the single chip she had in her nail polish.

“No. Now talk. I’ll be back to check on you in a couple hours.”

Nino waited until he heard Adrien’s footsteps fade before turning to the wall of windows.

“Adrien sneaks out of here all the time. Let’s see if we can get out the window.”

“It’s like, a two story drop,” Chloe said. “However he’s getting out, it’s not from this room.”

“No, it has to be from here,” Nino said, getting a window open. He climbed onto the ledge and turned back. “You coming? Or is escaping too much of a threat to your nails or hair or whatever?”

“While I don’t want to sit on a dirty window sill in these pants that cost more than your entire wardrobe,” Chloe said, flipping her pony tail over her shoulder, “it doesn’t matter because you’re not getting out that way.”

Nino rolled his eyes, muttered, “Whatever, dude,” and dropped to the ledge outside the window.

And then he looked down.

“Holy shit that’s like two stories!”

“I told you,” Chloe said. She went to the door and started fiddling with the doorknob.

“How the hell does he get out of here then?” Nino asked, falling back in the room.

“Who knows,” Chloe said. “And who cares? Look at my nails! This is awful!” She held out her hand for inspection and Nino, having nothing better to do and a potential opening to mock Chloe, gave her hand a look.

“Chloe, you have exactly one chip in this manicure.”

“I know! It’s awful, I feel disgusting.” She turned away with a huff.

“Whatever. Maybe I can take the door off the hinges or something,” Nino said. “Aaaand the hinges are on the outside. Awesome.”

“Let me try,” Chloe said. “Look away,” she said, standing in front of the door with a hand to her hair.

“Why? So you won’t reveal that you’re a dweeb that knows how to pick locks?”

“No, because I’m going to have to take a bobby pin out of my hair, and I don’t want anyone seeing my hair like that.”

“Whatever,” Nino said, turning his back to her. After ten minutes of listening to Chloe hiss and swear and threaten the lock, Nino turned around. “So no luck?”

“I said don’t look at me!” she screeched, jumping away from the door.

“Well, you had to ruin the bobby pin, what did you expect, that I’m not going to look at you the rest of the time in here?”

“Yes,” she said. “Obviously.”

“Yeah, no.”

“Ugh, I made my nails worse!” Chloe screeched.

“Oh my gosh shut up about your nails!” Nino yelled.

“My nails are important!”

“They are not!”

“How dare you?”

“How dare you, Chloe? There are so many more important things than your nails right now! We’re locked in Adrien’s room. I have music to work on tonight. I have stuff to do tomorrow and need sleep. So can you please shut up?”

“Well I’m the only one doing anything about this, so I think I get to complain about whatever I want to!”

“Only one-? Chloe, I tried the window. I would have taken the door off the hinges. You goofed around with a bobby pin.”

“And in the process added two more chips to my-”

“Oh for crying out loud!”

Nino marched into Adrien’s bathroom and started throwing drawers and cupboards open. He collected items seemingly at random before dumping them on the coffee table in front of the couch. He held up a bottle of forest green nail polish. “Is this shade acceptable?”

“What?”

“You know what?” I don’t care. Sit.“ He pointed to the couch.

“I don’t want to-”

“Chloe, I’m trying to fix this situation and do something nice,” Nino said, gesturing to the stuff on the coffee table. “Please just shut up.”

Chloe looked closer at the items on the table. Cotton balls, acetone, orange sticks, a nail file, and the nail polish in his hand.

“You’re going to do my nails?”

“Yeah. Now sit.”

She sat, but crossed her arms. “How do I know you won’t just paint sloppy lines and make a mess?”

“Because Marinette was my best friend growing up,” Nino said. “You think Miss Clumsy did her nails on her own? Most of the time that was my handiwork.”

Chloe blinked in surprise. Marinette had always had impeccably cared for and polished nails. If Nino really was behind that, she was in good hands. Ha, Adrien would have liked that pun.

“Fine. But don’t screw up.”

Chloe held her hand out to Nino and he attacked her nails with acetone, wiping away the scarlet with a gentleness she hadn’t suspected of him. He trimmed and filed her nails to the length and shape she specified, and even made her soak her hands to soften her cuticles before he pushed them back.

“I can’t believe you’re so good at this,” Chloe said as Nino focused on applying the base coat.

“This is why I get invited to the sleepovers in class,” Nino said. “Rose and I sit there doing everyone’s nails.”

“I wouldn’t know,” Chloe sniffed and turned her head away. “I’ve never been invited.”

“Well maybe if you weren’t such a bitch,” Nino muttered, cleaning up the corner of one nail.

“The only reason I’m not storming away right now is because I can’t, but you’re being utterly ridiculous. I’m not invited because they’re jealous of me.”

“You keep telling yourself that,” Nino said.

They were silent while he finished his work and Chloe sat there with a fresh manicure in green.

“Not my first choice in color, but I have a few outfits to go with it,” she said. “Assuming it doesn’t chip immediately, which it will.”

“Whatever,” he said. He glanced at the door. “What do you think it’ll take to get Adrien to let us out? Watch a movie together? Vow to set up a friend date for brunch? Friendship bracelets?”

“I don’t know,” she said. “Is he even checking on us?”

Nino pulled out his phone and scrolled through a couple apps.

“Nope, he and Marinette are on a date.” He turned the screen so she could see.

“Well, how are we supposed to prove we’re friends if he isn’t even here?” she asked, her voice going shrill.

“I don’t know.” He sighed. “Well, you’re trapped while that dries, so I get to pick the movie.”

Nino picked a classic terrible horror movie and Chloe almost bounced off the couch in excitement.

“Did you pick this because you thought I wouldn’t like it? Because I love it, and Adrien will never watch it with me.”

“Are you kidding?” Nino said, flopping on the couch with the remote, “I bought this copy. It was a gag gift for Adrien. I love it and I know how much he hates it.”

They watched the movie, cheering for the monster killing people in an empty milk packing factory. When the movie finished, it was late.

“I guess we’re staying here tonight,” Nino said. “He still hasn’t responded to anything I sent him.”

“Well, you get the couch then,” Chloe said, flouncing over to the bed and kicking off her shoes.

“Excuse me? I’m like a foot taller than you. You take the couch.”

“No. We’re only here because of you.”

“You’re the one who can’t be nice to save her life! I’m only here because Adrien tricked me. I don’t owe you anything, and I’m not sleeping on that couch.”

“Well, neither am I!”

“Then enjoy the floor,” Nino said, crawling in the bed and putting his hat and glasses on the bedside table, pulling his headphones on to block Chloe out.

“I’m not moving!” she shouted over his music.

“Neither am I!”

The idea occurred to them at the same time. They grabbed all the pillows, including the ones on the couch, and put them as a wall in the middle of the bed. Neither had a pillow for their head, but this seemed to be the best use of the pillows for the night.

“I hate you,” Nino said.

“Feeling’s mutual,” Chloe snarled.

Around two in the morning, Nino woke up with a dull ache radiating from his neck into his head and grabbed one of the pillows from the wall, sighing in relief when it was in place.

Around two thirty, Chloe woke up with her face smashed into the mattress and realized what this was probably doing to her skin, so she grabbed a pillow from the wall.

Around six thirty, Chloe woke up feeling warmer and safer than she had in years. She fell back asleep even as she realized why.

Around seven fifteen, Nino woke to the distinct sensation of a mouthful of hair. He shoved Chloe’s hair back down and shifted so his mouth rested against the top of her head away from her pony tail.

Around eight, Adrien walked in and saw what had to be a miracle.

He took pictures and hoped he would get to show them off at their wedding someday.

[chelseaapproved]

I’ll Sing a Song Beside You

Read on Ao3!

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9  | 10  | 11  | 12  | 13

Chapter Five

“Would you rather lick the floor of the metro or lick a public toilet?”

“Ew! Neither!”

“You have to choose one, M.”

“I wouldn’t want to do either of those though.” Marinette looks up from painting her toes to glare at Alya.

“That’s the whole point of the game,” Alya groans, clearly frustrated with Marinette. “I don’t think I’ve ever met someone so bad at this.”

“You keep giving me gross ones!”

“Ugh fine.” Alya switches from the green polish to the blue one. She’s going for some fancy marble effect that Marinette is jealous of. For all Marinette is creative and artistic, she has yet to master the art of painting nails. “Would you rather marry Adrien or have a successful career designing clothes?”

Marinette feels her face warm up at the idea of marrying Adrien. She might be a little pathetic. “Both,” she says, once she gets control of her pounding heart.

“You can only choose one.”

“But they’re my two life goals, how am I supposed to choose?”

“As previously stated, multiple times, that is the point of the game. It’s not supposed to be easy. How have you never played this before?”

“I don’t know,” Marinette shrugs. “Can we play something else? I’m clearly not cut out for this game.”

Alya definitely says something but Marinette doesn’t pay attention—she’s too distracted by the very familiar ‘thunk’ she hears on her balcony. Marinette freezes, her back stiffening as she realizes she forgot to lock her sunroof. Which means—

“Good evening, Mari! How are… you…?” Chat stares wide-eyed at a slack-jawed Alya.

Oh no.

“Chat Noir,” Alya exclaims, breaking the silence. “What are you doing here?”

“I—er,” he glances at Marinette, panicked.

“Cookies,” Marinette blurts out.

“Cookies,” Alya repeats.

“Yes! He, um, orders cookies from us sometimes. And if he gets here after my parents go to bed, he’ll come up here to get them!”

“Right,” Chat says, throwing Marinette a look that clearly tells her the lie sucks. “So, do you have my cookies ready for me?”

“Um.” Marinette glances around her room but there are obviously no cookies to give him. “I must have gotten distracted by our sleepover that I forgot to bring them up. I’ll be right back.”

“I can get them if you want,” Chat says quickly.

“No, you stay there. Just give me a second!”

Marinette flings open the trap door and races down the stairs. They usually have a few sweets at the end of the day but most of their leftovers get donated to soup kitchens and homeless shelters. She scrambles to find a few cookies and rummages through the cabinets to find an extra box to put them in.

She grabs a marker and writes ‘For Chat Noir’ in fancy calligraphy. It’s already been too long so she doesn’t bother with string or ribbon.

Rushing up the stairs, she can hear Alya questioning Chat. Marinette flinches before bursting into the room. Chat is awkwardly standing in the middle of the room with Alya beaming up at him.

“Here are your cookies! Sorry to keep you waiting so long.”

“No harm done little lady.” Chat grabs the box out of Marinette’s hand, brushing her fingers as he does so. It sends a tingle down her spine that she ignores. “The sweets from here are well worth the wait.”

“Right. Well, I hope you enjoy them. Bye!” She all but pushes Chat back toward the bed so he can escape through the sunroof.

“Don’t forget our interview,” Alya calls as Chat starts up the ladder. Marinette winces; Alya must have cornered him into an interview while she was getting cookies. She makes a mental note to bring it up to him the next time they meet.

“I won’t. Take care of yourselves. Thanks again for the cookies!” Then he’s gone.

There’s a beat of silence.

“How long has Chat Noir been visiting you and why haven’t you told me earlier?”

--

Chat doesn’t visit for the rest of the weekend. It should be good because after the very awkward and uncomfortable conversation with Alya, they spend the entire weekend hanging in Marinette’s room. Marinette thinks Alya was hoping to catch another glimpse of Chat but thankfully the cat knew to stay away.

Unfortunately, Ladybug is able to beat the only akuma of the weekend before Chat even shows up. Normally, Marinette would consider this a good thing but it’s been days since she last got to speak to him—really speak to him, without any third-party members present—and she misses him.

“Hey Marinette.”

Marinette startles and jumps in her seat, hitting her knee against the bottom of her desk. Already embarrassed, Marinette can feel her face growing warm while Adrien watches on with concern.

“Are you okay,” Adrien asks.

“Y-yeah,” she forces out. “You’re fine. I mean, I’m fine. Me. Is fine.”

“Okay…” he says with a hesitant smile. One of these days Marinette is going to have a conversation with Adrien that doesn’t make her want to bash her head in a wall. “Uh, anyway, I was wondering if you had any plans for lunch?”

Marinette blinks at him. “Me?”

“Yeah,” he says, rubbing the back of his neck. “Would you—Do you have any plans?”

Marinette looks around but everyone has already fled from the classroom. She has no lifelines. “I—I was just going to go back home. Alya and Nino are going on some weird date-not-a-date thing and I usually eat at home anyway because the food is fresher and warmer and it gives me an opportunity to talk to my parents. But I don’t have to do that! I am always open to other things and eating with new people and doing whatever during lunch. I mean, not whatever, I still want to eat but I just meant I don’t need to eat at home.”

Adrien stares at her, a small smile forming on his lips that gets her heart pounding. He’s too beautiful for her to handle.

“I have to go home and wanted to know if you’d mind coming with me?”

The next few minutes are unclear to Marinette—she thinks she might have blacked out—but suddenly she’s in the back of the limo with Adrien beaming at her.

“Thanks again for coming,” Adrien says when he catches her eye.

Even in her daze, Marinette can recognize it’s a weird thing to say. “You don’t need to thank someone for hanging out with a friend,” she says.

Adrien shrugs. “I know but… I had a rough weekend and this morning was even worse and I just… really needed a friendly face?”

Marinette’s heart goes out for the boy sitting next to her. Her biggest regret about her interactions with Adrien is that he seems like the kind of person who really needs a friend but she is wholly underqualified to be that person for him.

“I’m sure Nino would have rescheduled his thing with Alya for you,” she says.

Adrien looks down at his lap. “I didn’t want to ask him to do that just for me. Besides, he’s still not allowed in my house…”

Marinette closes her eyes and takes a deep breath. She is going to get this out properly the first time. “Adrien,” she starts. When he snaps his eyes to her, she feels bold enough to hold his hand. “Friends like helping each other. And Nino, especially, is a wonderful human being who will always be there for you. You could have asked him for help. But I’m glad you reached out to me.”

He squeezes her hand. “You’re really important to me, Marinette.”

And here comes the blushing. She pulls her hand out of his and anxiously plays with her hair. “Ahh… y-you’re important to me, too.”

Adrien’s colossal bodyguard thankfully cuts off their conversation by opening the door. Marinette squeaks out a ‘thanks’ but the man stays stoic and silent as usual.

Adrien leads Marinette to the dining room where two plates are waiting for them. He must have called ahead and asked the chef to prepare a meal for her as well and it just… melts her. She doesn’t think she is going to survive this afternoon.

They sit in silence for a few minutes, picking at their salad.

“D-do you want to talk about your weekend,” Marinette finally asks. She stays looking at her food because that’s the only way she can have this conversation without panicking.

“It just wasn’t a good weekend,” Adrien shrugs. “Not much to talk about.”

“Okay,” Marinette says. “I’m here if you want to talk.”

“Thanks, Marinette,” he says with more gratitude than she can handle. This entire lunch is more than she can handle, in all honesty.

They lapse back into silence. Marinette wracks her brain for something to say and break the awkwardness between them but her mind is unsurprisingly blank.

“My father overbooked me again this weekend so I barely had time to breathe, let alone relax,” Adrien says. Marinette puts down her fork, intent to give Adrien her full attention. “I was supposed to go over Nino’s to help him test out some new software he downloaded but I had to bail last minute. He said he understood but there’s only so many times you can ditch someone before they give up on you, you know?”

“I’m sorry you missed out on the weekend. Nino understands your father is…particular,” Marinette settles for a much gentler word than what she’s thinking. “We all do and none of us judge you for it.”

“I feel like a horrible friend.”

“You’re not. I bet if I called Nino right now he would agree that you’re an amazing friend, Adrien.”

His cheeks turn the faintest tinge of pink, which is absolutely adorable and has Marinette blushing like crazy herself.

“You’re an amazing friend, too,” he mumbles.

Her face grows even hotter so she decides she should move on from that particular subject. “Y-you also mentioned today wasn’t too great either.”

Adrien sighs. “It’s stupid.”

“It’s not stupid.”

“I have a fencing match tomorrow and Father said he would try to make it this time but when I woke up this morning, he was gone on a week-long trip.”

Marinette stares in horror at the poor boy in front of her. She can’t imagine what it must be like to live with a father like Gabriel Agreste. Super-talented and awe-inspiring fashion designer, but unfairly neglectful father.

“I’m so sorry. That must feel awful.”

“I’m used to it.”

“Is there anything I can do,” Marinette asks.

“Just being here is enough,” he says. Somehow, Marinette doesn’t faint on spot.

--

Despite the incident on Friday, Chat drops into her room without any warning. She supposes he isn’t the one forced to interact with a suspicious Alya all the time now.

“Hey,” she says, barely glancing up from the banner she’s working on.

Chat leaps off the bed and stands next to her. “What are you working on,” he asks.

“My friend has a meet tomorrow,” she explains, “and his family isn’t going so my friends and I are going to go and root for him instead.”

“You’re making a banner for him?” His voice sounds off but Marinette doesn’t bother with it.

“Of course. What kind of fan would I be if I didn’t make a sign?”

“You’re so nice,” he says. “I can’t believe you’d do this for him.”

“It’s not a big deal. I’d do it for any of my friends.”

“You’re a really wonderful person, Mari.”

Marinette puts down her banner and properly looks at him. He has tears in his eyes and is looking at her like there’s no one else in the world that matters.

“Chat, what’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” he says, blinking rapidly.

“Come here.” She leads him to the chaise and pats the spot next to her to sit. He immediately sits and leans into her, letting his head rest against hers.

“What happened,” she asks.

“I needed this,” he sighs.

“You’re making me nervous, Kitty.”

“The past few days have been crappy and I didn’t get to see you, which made it even worse. I had a friend cheer me up earlier today but I really just needed this.” He nuzzles the top of her head to drive his point home.

Marinette reaches up to scratch behind his cat ears, a spot she knows he’s weak for. “You want to talk about it?”

“Not really. It wasn’t anything bad and I already talked to my friend.”

“Want to watch anime and cuddle on my bed?”

“Absolutely, I do,” Chat says, leaping off the chaise.

Marinette grins at him and grabs her laptop while he runs up to the bed. She glances at the half-finished banner she abandoned, then back at Chat. It’s going to be a late night, but both her boys deserve it.

[cophinelovin]

My Life Changed When I Met You Ch. 2

Thanks for your response on this story. Here’s the second chapter. :)

Also on ff.net and AO3.

February 2004

Delphine couldn’t believe that it had happened. She had gone out with Paul. He had kissed her. On the lips. Her heart was fluttering as she thought about his lips on hers. He had been sweet, taking her to dinner and a movie, paying for everything. He had taken them in his car, since he had his license already. It was everything Delphine had hoped it would be. She didn’t know she could feel this way. She was giddy and couldn’t stop thinking about him as she walked downstairs, beaming. She had to tell Cosima.

She sat down on the couch, taking the wireless phone off its receiver and dialing her number.

“Hello,” a man’s voice answered.

“Hello, Mr. Niehaus. Is Cosima there?”

“Oh, hi, Delphine. Yes, hold on.”

“Delphine?” Cosima answered, smiling. “Dad,” she called out, “I’ve got it.”

Delphine heard the click of the phone before she spoke. “Cosima,” she whispered, giddily, “I have something to tell you.”

“Yeah?” she asked, flopping onto her stomach on the bed and propping herself up with her elbows. “Is this about Paul? Oh my god, your date!”

Delphine chuckled. “Yes, we went out last night,” she told her, laying down on couch and putting her feet up onto the back of it.

“How was it? Was he good to you? Oh my god, because if he wasn’t, I’ll kill him,” Cosima rambled.

“Yes, Cosima, he was very nice,” she explained, “We went to dinner and then he took me to the movies, and he held my hand for most of it.”

“Oh my god!” Cosima squealed.

“Yeah, and um, he kissed me.”

Cosima felt a strange pang in her heart at Delphine’s words, and her smile faded. She pictured Paul’s lips on Delphine’s and the idea made her shudder with disgust. She didn’t know why she felt this way. She was happy for Delphine. She was the first of the two of them to go out with a boy. Still, she felt odd about it.

“Oh, wow,” Cosima replied, more solemn than before, “That’s, um, wow, Del. Was it...did you like it?”

Delphine remembered the jolt that had run through her body as his lips touched hers and she brought her fingertips to touch where he had pressed against her. “Yes,” she whispered. “It was good.”

“Cool,” Cosima answered, unsure of what else to say. “So is he, like, your boyfriend now?”

Delphine chewed her bottom lip. “Um, I don’t know,” she responded, “Maybe? We are going out on Friday again.”

“Sounds like he is,” Cosima stated, trying not to let her weird feelings come through in her voice.

Delphine giggled. “Yeah, maybe he is,” she answered, her head floating in the clouds.

“That’s awesome, Del,” Cosima told her, trying to be supportive. “So, you still coming over later? We’ve gotta get that project done for Mrs. S.”

“Yes, I’ll be there around 4,” Delphine told her. “See you later, Cosima.” She hung up the phone, a smile plastered on her face, thinking only of the cute boy who was into her.

Cosima sighed and placed the phone back on the receiver on the nightstand. She flipped over onto her back, staring at the ceiling. There was a feeling she couldn’t quite place rumbling around in her stomach. She shook it off, getting up to go grab some breakfast. Maybe she was just hungry.

---

March 2004

Cosima hadn’t seen much of Delphine in the past month and she missed her. She had her new boyfriend now, and didn’t seem to notice that she’d left Cosima behind.

Cosima sat on her windowsill, a joint pressed to her lips, careful to blow the smoke out of her window. She had been doing this a lot, smoking and thinking. Things were changing. It wasn’t only Delphine that had changed. Cosima felt a change in herself too, and she was scared.

It had been a few months ago when it had happened. She had been out at the bowling alley with Sarah and Felix. She hadn’t meant to, but she couldn’t help but notice when Shay walked in. The junior strolled in, hand in hand with another girl. Cosima knew Shay had a reputation; everyone knew she was gay, but to see it firsthand was different. Cosima couldn’t stop staring.

Shay and the girl took the lane next to them and Cosima had a hard time focusing on the game. Not that she was any good at bowling in the first place, but the distraction made it infinitely worse.

She was confused. Why was she so distracted by them? Why did she feel the need to look at them every time their hands brushed? Why was her body warm?

When the two girls next to them kissed, Cosima’s eyes went wide before she shook her head, looking away, hoping that no one had seen. She felt a pounding throughout her body that she had never felt before. She had gone home, trying to make sense of it all.

As she laid in her bed that night, she started thinking. Could she be interested in girls? Is that why she never showed any interest in boys? Was she gay? She didn’t really want to be gay. Gay people had it rough. If she was gay, she could never truly be happy. She could never get married and have a family. Did she even want those things? Wasn’t that what everyone wanted?

She couldn’t stop thinking about Shay and the way her hands moved over the other girl. Did she want to be that other girl? Did she want to kiss Shay?

Now, sitting in her room, the weed relaxing her, she knew. She had thought about it all the time for the last few months. She knew it was true. She hadn’t told anyone because she was scared. She hadn’t acted on it. She wouldn’t even know where to start. The fact that Delphine hadn’t been around was making it harder. She was terrified of what she would think when she found out. Would she hate her? Would she think it was gross? Would she be totally weirded out? She didn’t want to lose her as a friend, but she’d have to tell her eventually.

---

June 2004

“Hey, Delphine!” Cosima called out, catching the blonde right before lunch.

Delphine smiled back, shoving her books into her locker. “Hi, Cosima.”

“Hey, so, I was wondering if you would come over Saturday night. You know, we haven’t really spent a lot of time together recently and I kinda hoped we could have one of our sleepovers, like we used to,” she told her.

“Yeah, I think that would be fun,” the blonde answered, “Sure.”

“Cool, awesome,” Cosima beamed.

“I’ve got to go meet Paul. See you later.” Delphine shut her locker and ran down the hall.

Cosima leaned her back against the row of lockers, sighing. This was it. This was the night. She was going to tell Delphine she was gay. Her hands shook just thinking about it. What if it went really badly? Why did she think this was a good idea? She wanted to tell someone so badly. She needed to. It was eating her up inside.

---

“Cosima!”

The brunette turned to see Delphine running after her as she walked out after school.

“Oh, hey, Del,” she replied, smiling.

“Hey, so, Paul invited me to this party Saturday night, and I told him I would go. I know we had plans, but maybe we could do this instead? We could reschedule the sleepover for another time,” she told her.

Cosima’s smile faded, trying not to show her disappointment. “Oh, um, yeah, I guess,” she mumbled.

“Yeah?” Delphine beamed. “It will be fun.”

“Yeah, um, sure, that’s cool,” she replied.

“Great!” Delphine exclaimed, pulling Cosima in for a hug. “Ok, I have to run. Paul is waiting. See you tomorrow night!”

Cosima sighed as she watched the blonde run off. She missed her. She missed the time they spent together before Paul.

---

Cosima arrived at the party when it was already in full swing. She had never been invited to one of these parties. She definitely wasn’t cool enough. Ever since Delphine had started dating Paul, she had suddenly become one of the popular kids. Cosima felt like she had been left behind.

She spotted Delphine in the corner with a red cup in her hand. She made her way through the hordes of drunk teenagers, waving to catch her eye.

“Cosima! You made it,” Delphine smiled.

“Yeah, quite a place,” she replied, sarcastically.

“Oh, it’s fun,” Delphine answered.

“Del, could we maybe, go hang outside for a bit? It’s super loud in here,” Cosima asked.

Delphine nodded, grabbing her hand and leading them to the back porch. They sat down on the steps and Cosima pulled out a joint and lit it.

“You want?” she offered.

Delphine shook her head. “I think I’m okay with beer for now.”

“You go to these kind of parties a lot?” Cosima asked, taking a long drag from her cigarette.

“Yes, well, Paul is usually at one almost every weekend, so I go with him,” Delphine replied, her eyes drifting away from Cosima and looking out. She seemed distracted.

“Are you ok? I feel like we haven’t talked in a long time. I don’t even know how you’re doing...how things are with Paul...nothing,” Cosima told her.

“Oh, yes, I am fine,” Delphine responded, unconvincingly. Her mind was on the conversation she had had with Paul earlier.

“Babe, there you are,” Paul shouted from the doorway. “Come on, the guys want to play beer pong and I want you on my team.”

Delphine looked back over her shoulder before looking at Cosima. “I will be back, okay?”

Cosima shrugged, giving her a small nod. Delphine stood up, leaving Cosima alone once again.

She felt upset. She couldn’t even get a moment with her best friend. She had wanted this evening to go differently. She had wanted to open up to her, to feel the connection they had always had, to tell each other their deepest secrets. But instead, all Delphine cared about was Paul, the stupid jock. What did she see in him anyway?

When Delphine didn’t come back for a half hour, Cosima got annoyed. She walked back inside only to find Paul practically shoving his tongue down Delphine’s throat. She sighed in frustration and went to leave.

“Cosima!” she heard as she felt a hand around her wrist.

She turned to face Delphine. “What?”

“Where are you going?” Delphine asked her.

“Home,” she stated.

“Why? We barely hung out,” Delphine replied.

Cosima scoffed. “Whose fault is that? I came here to hang out with you and all you’re doing is spending all your time with Paul!”

“He’s my boyfriend!” Delphine answered.

“And I’m your best friend. Or at least I used to be. Sure doesn’t feel like that anymore. You barely hang out with me. You barely even talk to me. You don’t even know anything about what’s going on in my life. So forget it. I’m going home,” she spat angrily.

“Cosima!” Delphine shouted as the small brunette walked out the door.

Cosima kept walking. She fumed as she stormed away, not knowing why she was so angry. She should be happy for Delphine. She seemed happy with Paul. Why was she being so selfish?

She arrived home to her empty house. Her parents were gone for the weekend and it was so quiet. She hated the feeling. She face planted onto her bed as her tears came. What was wrong with her? It wasn’t normal to feel this way, to want someone all to yourself. She’s still your best friend, she told herself, you should be happy for her.

She closed her eyes as she rolled to her side. As she opened her eyes, she had a thought. She had an overwhelming feeling of want. A want for Delphine to be there next to her as she opened her eyes, to see her beautiful face smiling back at her, her infectious laugh seeping into Cosima’s eardrums. It made her smile for a moment until the dread washed over her and she gasped.

Did she have a crush on Delphine? Is this why she was acting so weird about Paul? Cosima sat up, panicking slightly, trying to make sense of it. Delphine was her best friend. They shared everything. And she was straight. So straight. She couldn’t have a crush on her. It would ruin everything. Delphine would never like her like that, so it was so stupid to even think about her in that way. She shook her head, wiping away her tears and burying her face in the pillow as she fell asleep, as confused as ever.

---

Cosima bolted awake, the sound of the doorbell jolting her up. She felt around for her glasses. What time was it? As she slipped her glasses on, she looked at the clock. 1:45. Her heart pounded. Who was at her door this late? Being home alone was starting to completely freak her out. The bell rang again. Whoever was there was not leaving anytime soon. She got up, throwing on her sweatshirt and tiptoed downstairs, trying not to make any noise. Maybe she could get a look at who it was. She held her cell phone in her hand, ready to call the police.

As she got to the bottom step, her phone buzzed, scaring her and she yelped. She looked down at it.

Hey, I’m at your door. Are you awake?

Shit, she thought. Delphine. It’s Delphine. She took a deep breath and ran to the door, opening it to find the blonde a complete mess, tears streaming down her face.

“Del? Jesus, you scared the shit out of me,” Cosima told her before realizing what she looked like. “Shit, Del? Are you ok? Come in, come in,” she said as she gestured inside.

Delphine didn’t say anything. Instead she let out a small sigh and stepped inside, walking to the couch in the living room and slumping down.

Cosima followed her, sitting next to her, her face contorted with worry. “Del? What’s going on? What happened?”

“Cosima…” she sobbed, shoving her face into the brunette’s shoulder.

Cosima wrapped her arms around her best friend, rubbing her back gently. “Hey, hey, it’s ok, whatever it is, it’s ok,” she soothed.

Delphine sniffled and pulled back. “He...he doesn’t understand,” she muttered.

“Hmm? Who? Paul?”

Delphine nodded and took a deep breath. “He tried...he wanted to...I told him I wasn’t ready and he got so mad.”

“What? What did he do to you?” Cosima asked, her anger building up as her mind flew to worst case scenarios.

Delphine shook her head. “He didn’t touch me. He just...he just wanted to, and I told him no, and he got annoyed and told me I was being stupid.”

“Oh, Del, what a jerk! I’ll fucking kick his ass,” Cosima told her.

Delphine let out a small laugh amongst her sobs. “I know you would.”

“Would? I will.” Cosima wiped Delphine’s tears off her face with her thumb as she whispered, “What an asshole. I’m so sorry, Del. You deserve so much better. You know that, right?”

Delphine nodded. “I know, but I just...he is usually nice to me.”

“Don’t tell me you’re going to take him back after this,” Cosima warned.

Delphine shrugged. “I don’t know,” she whispered, looking down at her hands.

Cosima huffed. “Del, you can’t be with a jerk like that.” She took her hands in hers. “You are such an amazing person, and you deserve someone who treats you well, all the time.”

Delphine swallowed. “Cosima, I’m really sorry...about earlier.”

Cosima squeezed her hands. “Yeah,” she whispered, “That kinda sucked.” She sighed before continuing. “I miss you, Del, and I was really looking forward to spending some time with you tonight, and then...I know it’s stupid. Sorry I was so selfish.”

“No, no,” Delphine answered, “I haven’t been very fair to you. I miss you too, Cosima. I’m sorry I’ve been spending so much time with Paul. You’re totally right. I got wrapped up in dating him. It’s been really exciting but I’ve completely ignored you. So, I’m so sorry.”

Cosima gave her a small smile. “Well, maybe we can hang out tomorrow? I kind of have something important I want to tell you.”

“You do?” Delphine asked, curiously.

“Yeah, I mean, it’s been awhile since we talked,” she told her.

Delphine nodded, looking up at her. “Cosima, can I stay here tonight? My parents think I’m here anyway so I can’t really go home.” “You told them you were here?””

“Well, yes, I told them before Paul had invited me to the party, and then I conveniently left out those details,” she explained, flashing a grin at the brunette.

Cosima shook her head. “So bad, Cormier. Lying to the parents.”

“Well, it’s not technically a lie now, is it?” she asked, “If you let me stay.”

Cosima chuckled. “Of course you can stay. I’m exhausted. Come on,” she told her, grabbing her hand and leading her upstairs to the bedroom.

She gave Delphine an oversized tee shirt and a pair of shorts and she changed right there, not caring that Cosima was around. Cosima could feel her cheeks flush red as she caught a glimpse of the blonde’s bare stomach, grateful for the fact that it was too dark for Delphine to see it. They got under the covers and laid on their sides, facing each other.

“Thank you, Cosima, you are the absolute best,” Delphine cooed.

“Yeah, I know,” Cosima laughed in response. “I’m just glad we’re hanging out again.” She thought for a moment about what she was going to tell Delphine the next day and her stomach turned, hoping it wouldn’t change anything between them. This could be the last time she sleeps over. What if she’s uncomfortable? Cosima closed her eyes, not wanting to think about that possibility.

“Me too,” Delphine answered, snapping Cosima out of her thoughts. “I love you, Cosima.”

Cosima smiled, looking over at Delphine’s gorgeous curls and the way they fell around her face. “I love you, too, Del.”

---

Cosima woke up around noon the next day, and Delphine was still sleeping soundly. She watched for a moment as the sun grazed the golden hair of the girl next to her. She sighed as she got up to make breakfast.

The moment Delphine woke up, the memories from the night before came flooding back and she felt her anxiety pool in the pit of her stomach. She looked over to the other side of the bed only to find it empty. She got up, heading downstairs to find Cosima standing at the stove.

“Good morning,” she called out.

“Del! Hey,” Cosima beamed, “I’m making eggs. How are you feeling?”

“Tired,” she admitted.

“Tired? We slept for like 10 hours,” the brunette smiled, scraping the eggs off the frying pan and onto two plates.

Delphine shrugged. “Well, it was a bit of a rough night.”

Cosima came over to the table with the plates. “Yeah, sorry. Hope you slept okay.”

“Knowing you were there makes it better,” Delphine replied, and Cosima couldn’t hide the heat she felt creep up her cheeks.

They finished their breakfast and ended up on the couch, sitting on opposite ends, both sets of legs up on the coffee table in front of them.

“So what did you want to talk to me about?” Delphine asked.

Cosima felt her heart rate shoot up and her palms start to sweat. She looked over at the blonde. “You know, we can talk about it another time. You’ve had a rough night. I want to make sure you’re ok.”

“Cosima…” Delphine said, “What is it? I am fine. I am here for you.”

Cosima took a deep breath. “I...I don’t know...I’m kind of like, nervous to tell you this, because I don’t want things to change between us,” she started.

“Why would anything change?” Delphine asked.

Cosima shrugged. “I’m just scared.” She looked down at her hands, feeling a rush of tears come up behind her eyes unexpectedly.

Delphine reached over and rubbed the brunette’s shoulder gently. “Hey, whatever it is, it’s ok.”

Cosima looked up at Delphine through blurry eyes and took a breath. “I...I’ve realized something recently...and it’s scary and weird, and I don’t know how I feel about it, but I think it’s true...I know it’s true...I...ugh....it’s so hard for me to actually say it. I don’t think I’ve ever said it out loud.”

“What, Cosima?”

“Well, I...you know how I’ve never had a crush on a boy?” she asked.

Delphine nodded. “Yeah?”

“I think I figured out why,” she told her. “I...I think it’s because I like girls.”

Delphine looked at her, confused. “You think you are gay?”

Cosima nodded, still not able to say the actual words. Her tears streamed down her face as she tried to read the reaction on Delphine’s face.

“Please don’t hate me,” Cosima pleaded.

Delphine looked down and thought for a moment about what Cosima had just told her. She was surprised, lost in her head for a moment. She had known gay people existed, but her parents had always told her it was wrong, that it was unnatural. But this was Cosima. Her best friend, who she loved no matter what. How could it be unnatural if it was her? She lifted her head, Cosima looking back at her, with the saddest, most scared eyes she had ever seen on her face.

She snapped out of it, staring Cosima in the eyes and reaching out for her hands. “Oh, no, no, Cosima, I don’t hate you. It’s ok,” she smiled. “It’s ok.”

Cosima sniffled. “Really? You’re not upset?”

“Why would I be upset?” Delphine asked. “I’m surprised, maybe, but now that I think about it, it makes sense. You are right. You never had any interest in boys and you always seemed sad about it. So, this is right, Cosima. This is you.”

Cosima closed her eyes for a moment, taking her hands away from Delphine’s to wipe her tears away. “Th...thank you,” she stumbled.

“Come here,” Delphine told her, pulling her shoulders into her long arms. “I love you, you know that? You’ll always be my best friend, no matter what.”

Cosima let herself relax into the blonde’s embrace. She couldn’t believe how well this went. She felt the warmth seep in, feeling Delphine’s body so close, and her heart fluttered. She knew in that moment that she loved Delphine too, but maybe more than she should. She decided then and there that she would never tell her, could never tell her, or else she would lose this, and she never wanted to lose this.

---

[hellotvv]

Tues + Wed

So the past two days, have been pretty chill good days. I’m slowly getting lazier and lazier about making these blog posts. Since idk, I have a lot more motivation when interesting things happen haha.

So yesterday, it was a pretty simple day. Uhm, was done with Nhi cancelling and she ends up telling Hope and I, that she couldn’t make it to Disney on Wednesday. Since blah blah blah, but honestly am done with her LOL. If someone reschedules like 3x, it’s like yeah I’m done. I met up for lunch with Kristy + Christy + Jessica. It was nice seeing christy tran again, since I haven’t seen her since like idk spring break or something. But it’s always good to catch up. She was telling us that she really appreciates us, since idk good friends are hard to find. There was a lot of things we talked about like school, life, her tattoos, etc etc.. Caught up a bit with Kristy and Jessica too, so that was cool. We ate at the attic and just had a nice time. Then we were gonna watch lala land, but we got too tired/lazy and the theaters with reclining chairs didn’t have lala land for whatever reason. So we were like ehhh and lazy after eating. So we just went home haha. Then at night, since I uhh fked up and missed my cousin’s bday party, I managed to take her to eat ramen for dinner. I wanted to take her to kitakata, but it’s closed on Tuesdays. So I took her to Ikkousha which was where my friend Calvin worked. I just talked to her about college and school and stuff, since she’s a senior getting into college and yeah. She’s nervous about what school she’ll get into and what not. Hopefully she gets into a couple schools she likes :) Then I ended the day kinda sleeping late and waking up early for today (wednesday).

Today, I woke up at like 10ish and was tired. Was supposed to go to Disneyland with Hope at 11, but she’s a lagger. But it was a good thing, since I didn’t get out of bed till like 11:20ish and she randomly had to go to bank of america to deposit something for grandma or something. By the time she came over and we left, we got to disneyland by like nearly 1 LOL... Disneyland was SUPER crowded today, like holy... I guess it’s the first day annual pass holders (cheapest one) can go, so it was so crowded. You’d think a random wednesday when a lot of local HS + elementary school + certain colleges are back in school wouldn’t be so crowded. But disneyland was actually at max capacity, but we managed to get in. But there was no point, since there was no fast pass + every ride was like 80+ minutes lol... So most ppl went to california adventures. But car land the wait was like 140 minutes, i was like WTF... So we barely went on like 2 rides tbh LOL. But we met up my friend Fyona there and took pics casually, ate at Cove Bar and shared a tritip nachos and I got a pizza for myself too. I kinda wanna go to cozy cone or whatever and get this one mac n cheese on this cone that foodwithmichel got before :O but maybe next time. Didn’t hang out with Fyona too much, but yeah. It was kinda cool hanging with Hope, might be last time I see her for a while unfortunately~ We left at like 5ish, since Hope had church service at like 6 or something. Also we don’t need to go the whole day, since annual pass holders haha can just go whenever even if just a couple hours :). Honestly disneyland can be pretty draining walking around + standing for long lines + yeah. So it was fine leaving around 5ish. Got home, took a nap, edited some photos, and now back to reading chinese novels and sleeping for tomorrow. I don’t know what my plans are tomorrow, I was gonna get bfast with Helene. But she sick and pushed it back to Friday. So will figure out Friday plans as we go :O Tomorrow, will be a pretty yolo day tbh haha.

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As for emotionally. Hmhm, when I was at Disneyland, it was like... I kinda wished I was there with a bae, since idk there’s a good amount of couples there and it’s like sighhh never got to go to Disneyland with a bae before. Winter break sometimes feels like it would have been a lot more fun in some ways with a gf. Like the potential cuddling/sleepovers/adventures/Disneyland/etc... But oh well, what can I do? As for Catherine, I’ve been chilling. Haven’t really snapchatted her or anything, since trying to chill. I don’t think she would be a very good gf even tho we’re like good friends, and I think it’s best for me to like just chill and keep my distance for a while. So it’ll just be like oh fun friend to hang out with and no crushing. I definitely feel like the crush kinda went away, which is good since I’m glad like I can be happy + fine on my own, and that crushes can come and go quickly which means like idk not dependent on other ppl or falling too hard and can control my emotions + be happy on my own. So yeah, gonna keep working on myself more and more. Still trying to make the most out of this remaining break and I think this year has been off to a decent start. Nothing horrible happened, nothing sad, and honestly there’s been a lot of good things happening to me even if I’m not like super happy. I’m content and honestly it’s important to learn to be fine with being content. Since you honestly cannot be happy 100% of the time. :3 So yeah, good start, gonna try to follow through with New Years resolution, make the most out of break, and make the school year pretty gud too!