#I’ve never changed what name I wanted to use besides AJ and a few small other times

[candy-ac3]

Welp I feel awful

So I been trying to figure out my gender for a while but the one thing that I’ve always came back to is that I’m a man, and so I told my mom this (for some context I have said I was using like they/them or she/they pronouns before but wouldn’t ever correct them because they would always say it’s hard when they would never use the right ones and I just stopped at a certain point) and so I told my mom how I wanted my hair and she asked why and I told her because I identified as a man and wanted it short again and she legit said “fine but I’m not calling you a he” and like I knew she wouldn’t she never did and she says she supports me being me but hearing that from her really does upset me and makes me feel awful

[just-dreaming-marvel]

Out Of Time ~ 123

MASTERLIST

< previous chapter

Word Count: 3,800ish

Summary: A little all over the place... Sorry if you hate it.... I promise it will get better.

Y/N led Bucky to her room. But it didn’t go further than a passionate make out. Both Bucky and Y/N knew that Y/N was not ready to go any further. They both changed into comfier clothes and Bucky began to ask her questions about her powers. She was hesitant to explain the reason why she was granted these abilities or where each one was from, so she didn't. But Y/N explained what she could do, and what came from the Stone in Vision’s head and what came from the Tesseract.

“That’s… actually really cool,” Bucky commented. “And all this because you fell with that cube?”

“I guess.” Y/N shrugged.

“This power to be able to speak to the souls of the dead… have you ever used it?”

“Once. Just, this morning in fact. I… I was in New York to visit Ma and Pa’s grave. I hadn’t in a while. I… I got to see them. Like, actually touch them and talk to them.”

“What? Are you serious?”

“Very. It was… amazing. And I also got to see my baby.”

“Yo-your baby?”

“It was a boy.” She smiled. “I even got to name him, AJ.”

“AJ?”

“Anthony James.”

“J-James? You can’t be serious.”

“I am. I named him after the two great loves of my life.” Y/N sighed as she remembered holding her little boy in her arms. “He was beautiful, Buck. So beautiful.”

“I’m so glad you got to have that experience, doll.” Bucky rested his hand on hers. 

“Me, too… and thank you for being so understanding.”

“Of course, doll.”

~~~

Bucky woke up in Y/N’s bed, with her cuddled into his chest. He savored the moment of closeness. He knew he was doing the right thing by her, encouraging her to figure out a relationship with both men, but he really wanted to be selfish. But he couldn’t. He owed it to himself and to her to let her do this. Besides, her and Tony had years together, even made a baby, there’s no getting over that easily. 

Y/N stirred slightly, causing Bucky to look down and carefully watch. She was the most beautiful woman in his eyes. No one would ever be able to compare to her beauty. Even though they were older now and it was clear on their faces that they had both seen their share of things, Y/N’s beauty, in Bucky’s eyes, never faltered.

“You’re staring,” Y/N croaked out in her morning voice. 

“Am not,” Bucky defended.

“Are too…” She snuggled in closer. “It’s creepy.”

He chuckled. “Is that why you’re basically on top of me?”

She hummed with a nod. “You’re warm.”

“Whatever you say, doll.” He held her a bit tighter. “I could stay like this forever,” he whispered.

“Yeah…” Y/N breathed out, sounding a bit off.

“I’m sorry, I know I said I’m giving you time. I just—“

“It’s fine, Bucky. It’s fine really.”

“You sure?”

“I’m sure.” She leaned up and gave him a small kiss. “I promise.”

~~~

The day went by smoothly. Y/N dropped Bucky off at his hut so that they two could get ready for the day. They spent it at Bucky’s place, cleaning his house and taking care of his goats. They ate lunch and dinner under their tree. When Y/N said she should head back to the palace, Bucky quickly brought her in for a kiss.

“I’ll miss you,” he whispered against her lips. “I always do.”

“I’ll miss you too.” She gave him another kiss. “I’ve got to go though.” She stepped away.

“Yeah… you should probably go talk with Stark.”

“Yeah… I should. Maybe in the morning.”

“Let me know if you need anything.”

“I will. Goodnight, Buck.”

“Goodnight, doll.”

Y/N walked through the portal and into her room. But that night, she struggled to sleep. It wasn’t staying asleep that was the problem, it was actually falling asleep. She tossed and turned throughout the night. Not wanting to be a bother to Bucky, she stayed in her room once she had had enough and began pacing.

Realizing she was not going to get any sleep tonight, Y/N opened a portal and lept through it. The Brooklyn Cemetery was a bit breezing. But she didn’t care. She was honestly surprised she was even here in the first place. Maybe it was the closest thing she had to a gravesite for her son, the only place she could feel him. Y/N found her parents headstone fast and froze when she noticed what was next to it. 

It was a smaller headstone, clearly new, with a fresh rose laying above it. The engraving on it read: Anthony James Rogers, We Will Love You Forever. Tears sprung in her eyes as she looked down at the small headstone. She knew that Tony was the only one who could have put it there and that he had to have been there recently because of the rose. 

Hoping that she wasn’t making a stupid mistake, she opened another portal, this time into Tony’s new penthouse. She didn’t know if he would be there, she just had to see him.

“Agent Rogers,” FRIDAY’s voice greeted her. “Welcome back.”

“Thank you, FRI,” you replied. “You going to tell on me?”

“Boss has programed me to only let him know of your whereabouts if I were to ever pick up anything.”

“Where is he?”

“I’m right here.”

Y/N turned around to see Tony leaning against the wall behind her, hands stuffed in his pockets. He looked tired, so tired.

“Y/N. What are you doing—“

He never got to finish his question because, before he knew it, Y/N had thrown herself at him, holding him close and kissing him. He quickly responded to the kiss and put his hands on her waist.

“Thank you,” she whispered against his lips when they had to break for air. 

“For what?” He whispered.

“The headstone. It’s beautiful.”

“I thought that you deserved a place to remember him. I… there was no body to burying but I had found the test a few weeks after you disappeared. I buried it there.”

“I’m sorry… I’m so sorry.”

“I know.” Tony cupped her cheek, brushing it with his thumb. “I am too.” He pulled her in for another sweet kiss. “I’m sorry about the way last time I saw you went.”

“We both have made mistakes… I need to talk to you though, before anything else happens.”

“Should I be concerned?”

“Depends.”

Tony led her to the couch, still holding her hand. Y/N took a shaky breath before she began.

“I need you to stay calm, because this is very important to me.”

“Okay… you’re concerning me. Did you like find Barnes and Rogers or something?” He tried to joke. Tony quickly realized that Y/N was serious and, by her facial expressions, that he had hit a cord. “Wait, have you? Have you found them? Cause if you have, you need to—“

“This was a stupid idea.” She shook her head, standing up. “I shouldn’t have come.”

“No, wait!” He stood up, grabbing your hand to stop you. “Please, don’t go. I promise to listen and not doing anything stupid.”

“You won’t call anyone?”

“I won’t. If it gives me time with you, I won’t.”

“Okay…” The two sat back down. “I don’t know where Steve is. I haven’t seen or heard from him since Siberia. But… I do know where Bucky is and I have spent time with him.”

“You’re here to officially end this, aren’t you?”

“No, Tony,” she shook her head. “Just let me finish.” She sighed. “He wants me to give him a chance.”

Tony scoffed, “of course he does.”

“But he also wants me to give you a chance.”

“That murder thinks that yo—wait. What?”

“He wants me to give you both a chance, so that I can make a decision that I’m confident with.” Tony stayed silent. “I know it’s strange. But our life is strange. Plus, who knows if you and I will even be able to work since I’m in hiding and you… well you are— I understand if you can’t do this because of what happened with Bucky and your parents. I do have to say this, HYDRA was controlling him. It wasn’t his fault. He had no choice.” 

Tony didn’t say anything, leaving them both sitting in silence for far longer than Y/N would have liked. She could tell his was thinking about it all. His thoughts were pounding on her mind, begging for entrance, but she wouldn’t let them in. He needed to tell her his answer himself.

“I understand if I’m asking too much from you,” she continued. “If you don’t want to try—“

“I would try, if it meant a shot with you,” he interrupted.

“You would?” Y/N was genuinely surprised at that. Tony usually didn’t like sharing, especially where Y/N was concerned.

“I would do anything not to lose you again. And if this is my one shot to prove that, I’m not going to let it slip through my fingers. Not again.”

“Are you sure?”

“Y/N, honey, I still am in love with you. And that’s not going to end anytime soon. I know it. So if I have a chance to be with you again, to fight for you like I should have, I’m going to take it. Even if that means sharing with—with Barnes.” 

She could tell that Tony was going to need to have some time to get used to all this, but she was very grateful he had agreed to it. So Y/N quickly took hold of the situation, bringing her closer to Tony for a kiss. Tony was more prepared this time. He pulled her onto his lap as she wrapped her arms around his neck. It was getting heated fast, as Tony’s mouth moved down her neck.

“Tony,” she moaned. “We can’t.”

“Why?” He answered, not stopping.

“I don’t want to have sex again until I’ve chosen.”

“We’re not having sex. We’re making out.”

“Tony.” Y/N moved his head to meet her eyes. “I’m serious. If you’re going to win me over, it can’t be with sex.”

“Why?” He smirked, wiggling his brows. “Is it cause you know I’d win?”

“Seriously?” She playfully smacked him, pushing off his lap. Tony tightened his grip on her, pulling her close to him. “Tony—“

“No. We may not be able to have sex, but that doesn’t mean I can’t hold you.” He pressed a kiss to his lips. “I’m not letting you disappear on me anytime soon.”

She gave him another kiss. “Okay.”

~~~

“Tony,” Pepper called, exiting the elevator. “I’m here to collect the—“ 

She froze, seeing Tony asleep on the couch, with Y/N on top of him. This wasn’t the first time Pepper had stumbled across them like this. It was just the fact that Y/N was a fugitive and that Tony was suppose to report if he had been in contact. She walked up to them.

“Wake up!” She exclaimed, hands on her hips. Both of the adults groaned. “You two need to wake up right now!”

“Really, Pepper?” Tony groaned, opening his eyes slightly. “I was actually sleeping.”

“Same,” Y/N mumbled.

“What the hell do you two think you’re doing?!” Pepper continued.

“Sleeping,” Tony responded. “Which we would like to get back to doing. So if you don’t—“

“This is illegal! Like, globally! You both could get in serious trouble for this! Why are you risking it?”

“Because, Pepper,” Tony sat up, keeping Y/N on him, “we deserve a chance at happiness again.”

“If Ross finds out—“

“He won’t. Besides, Y/N can disappear before he could ever detain her.” He pressed a kiss to Y/N’s cheek.

“Just,” Pepper frustratedly sighed, “don’t be too reckless, you too. I don’t want to have to deal with getting you both out of Raft.” She turned around, glancing back. “It’s good to see you, Y/N.”

“You too, Pep,” Y/N softly replied. Resting her chin on his chest, Y/N looked at his face. “Thank you, Tony.”

He quirked a brow. “For what?”

“For giving this a chance. I know how hard this must be for you. And it—it just really means a lot.”

“I told you, if it gives me a chance at forever with you. I’ll take it.” He softly kissed her. “Which reminds me… I’m taking you out tonight.”

“Tony, you know you can’t—“

“I know, I know. You can’t be seen. That doesn’t mean I can’t bring it all here though.”

“What are you planning?”

“You’ll just have to wait and see.” He pulled her in for another kiss. When they pulled away, they both still kept their faces close. “Are you staying the whole day or are you leaving until tonight?”

“I’ll go. I need to prepare and do a few things. What time do you want me back?” 

“Let’s say, 5? Wear something amazing.”

~~~

Bucky had been a little antsy all day, and extremely concerned. When he woke up, he went to Y/N’s room to see if she would join him for breakfast, but she wasn’t there. All her things still were, so that was a little comforting. He didn’t want to seem weird by waiting for her in her room, so he went back to his hut to distract himself. With Y/N’s powers, there was never anyway for Bucky to know where she was or if she was even safe. That did not sit well with the former Winter Soldier.

He was out feeding the goats, just after lunchtime, when he saw Y/N walk through a portal. Bucky couldn’t help but smile at the sight of her.

“Hey, Buck!” Y/N greeted happily as she came towards the man.

“Hey, doll,” he responded. “Where’ve you been?”

“I talked to Tony.”

“Oh? How did that go?”

“He agreed to it. He’s going to allow me to give you both a chance.”

“I’m a little surprised, to be honest. Does he know it’s with me?”

“He does.”

“Wow. That’s—that’s good, doll. I’m happy for ya.”

“You don’t have to do that, Buck,” she shook her head. “You can be disappointed that he actually agreed to it.”

“I’m just sad that means I won’t have a lot of time with you. That’s all.”

“Sure… you realize I can read minds, right?” Y/N pressed a kiss to his cheek. “But, thank you, Bucky, for allowing me this.”

“Of course, doll. All I’ve ever wanted is for you to be happy.”

“Tony’s taking me out tonight. So I was thinking we could spend the afternoon together.”

“I’d like that. Anything specific you want to do?”

~~~

There had only been a few times in Tony’s life where he had been this nervous, and they all had to do with Y/N. He needed to make sure this date was perfect for her. When she suggested dating both Tony and Bucky, he honestly almost said no. But then he thought about how his life wasn’t the same without her and that she was worth the fight.

To be honest though, Y/N left and Tony did had to take out some rage about Bucky on some alcohol bottles. Basting them with the beams from a gauntlet, before focusing on getting the date ready.

He longed to whisk Y/N away to a fancy restaurant but he knew that was not going to be an option. So he ordered almost the whole menu from her favorite restaurant and made sure it was to be delivered close to the time Y/N would arrive, agreeing them to tip them good if they got there on time.

With Happy and Peter Parker’s help, lights were strung up and the apartment was cleaned.

“Mr. Stark?” The teenager called.

“Yes?” Tony replied, finishing up the last of the lights.

“I know you said this is for a date tonight. But I can’t help but wonder for who?”

“A special friend.”

“So, you’re finally moving on from Agent Rogers?”

Happy and Tony froze, looking at each other cause they knew the truth. Tony’s mouth kept opening and closing, not able to find the words to answer that.

“It’s not actually for Tony,” Happy quickly blurted, causing the other two to stare at him. “It’s for me. I asked Tony to help be plan this all. It’s for me and Pepper.”

“You and Ms. Potts?” Peter clarified.

“Right!” Tony replied, capping his hands together. “He wanted to do something special for her tonight. Especially since they’re new on the dating scene. He asked if he could use my place cause it’s nicer.”

“Right,” Happy agreed. “I really want to wow her.”

“But doesn’t Ms. Potts know that you live here, Mr. Stark?” Peter asked.

“Yes, she does,” Tony answered. “But that doesn’t matter. All that matters is that we get her to fall in love with Happy. Right, Hap?”

“Right,” Happy nodded.

Peter didn’t seem totally convinced, but decided to drop. “Okay.”

Happy and Tony let out sighs of relief and continued to get the rest of the place ready.

~~~

“Steve was the most reckless person I knew!” Bucky chuckled.

“Are you kidding?” Y/N replied, laughing. “He still is! Honestly, I’ve started to blame his stubborn ass for all of this.” Bucky grew quiet. “What is it?”

“It wasn’t his fault. It’s mine.”

“Bucky, stop that. Honestly, if he would have told Tony and I what happened sooner, I believe things could have gone smoother. I also believe that if the two hot heads would have sat down and talked about things more civilized, none of this would have all had to happen… stop blaming yourself, Buck.”

Y/N and Bucky had chosen the day under their tree, eating and laughing.

“I can’t help it,” he shrugged. “I just did so much bad.”

Y/N leaned into Buck and kissed his cheek. “But you’ve also done so much good, and have the potential to do more.” She gave him a kiss on the lips before pulling away and checking the time. “I should go.”

“Do you have to?”

“Having second thoughts? You’re the one you said I needing to be sure with my choice.”

“Doesn’t mean I necessarily like the thought of you and Stark… well, you know.”

“I gave him a no sex rule.”

“You did? How’d that go?”

“He wasn’t so happy.”

“But we can have sex?”

“Nope. That includes you too mister.”

“But we’ve never—“

“Doesn’t matter. No sex until a decision has been made.” She kissed him again. “I really have to go. I’ll let you know when I’m back.”

“I love you.”

Y/N smiled in response as she slipped through a portal. Bucky sighed once Y/N had disappeared. This was all going to be harder than he thought.

~~~

Tony was ready an hour early and was currently pacing in his apartment. Happy had taken Peter home not long ago, letting Tony’s thoughts begin to over do themselves. He was worried that Y/N wouldn’t show or that this would be it, that she’d already know her choice after the one date. Maybe he had overdone it? Or maybe he hadn’t done enough? Maybe he should have—

“You’re thoughts are loud,” Y/N teased. Tony stopped pacing, turning to the side to face her. “And incredibly self-deprecating.”

“Well, you know me… can’t let anything crush my ego.”

“Oh, I know.”

Tony studied Y/N briefly. “You’re wearing the dress from that Stark Gala years ago.”

“I am… I found it pushed away in a closet on the compound. I snuck over there to get it.”

“You look as gorgeous as you did seven years ago. FRIDAY, music.” Subtle waltzing music filled the room. Tony held out a hand. “May I have this dance?”

“You may.” 

Y/N set her hand in Tony’s, letting him pull her into him. His free hand held her close to him at the waist, while her free hand wrapped around his shoulder and rested at his neck. She willingly let him lead her around the room.

“Do you remember that night?” Tony asked softly.

“What night?” Y/N asked.

“The night of the gala…. I told you, you looked stunning and you called me a kid… you asked me why I grab your hand.”

“I can’t forget it.”

“You never told me and I never pressed, but why were you there that night?”

“Obadiah, I was suspicious of him.”

“And I’m guessing the old friend you were meeting up with was Coulson?”

“That’s right.”

“How is he? I haven’t talked to him since you… well, disappeared.”

“I was with him when you called. I… I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay. I understand. Are you, uh, are you still with him?”

“You know I can’t tell you that.”

“I know,” Tony sighed. “Just… if you are, is he keeping you safe?”

“He was. He was really trying. But… I’m not with the team anymore. It was just too dangerous. The government actually knew where I was when I was with them. But that was also because…”

“Because what?”

“I was unconscious for six months.”

“What?” Tony stopped dancing. “Why?”

“My powers… I was gaining new ones.”

“That explains the purple coming out of your hand and breaking the bracelet.”

“Yeah… I’m still getting used to it all.”

“Boss, I have an incoming call from the private line,” FRIDAY interrupted.

“The private line?” Tony repeated. They made eye contact. “Only Coulson has that information.”

“Answer it FRIDAY,” Y/N ordered.

“Tony,” Daisy called over the speakers. “Tony, are you there?” She sounded panicked.

“What is it, Skye?” Tony answered.

“It’s Daisy now,” Y/N corrected.

“Y/N?” Daisy sounded relieved. “Thank goodness. I need your help.”

“What is it? What’s wrong?”

“It’s a long story. We just need you.”

“Go,” Tony said, looking at Y/N.

“What?” Y/N questioned, surprised.

“I can’t help them because the Accords. And Sk—Daisy wouldn’t have called here unless it was urgent and she really needed you.” He pulled her close, giving her a long kiss. “Stay safe. And don’t do anything stupid.

“I’m pretty sure you letting me go help them is stupid.”

Tony chuckled lightly. “Probably. I love you. Go be the hero I know you are.” 

“Thank you.” Y/N gave him another kiss before stepping away. “Where do you need me, Daisy?”

“Zephyr One,” she responded. “And quick.”

Y/N looked at Tony with a small smile as she backed up into an open portal.

next chapter >

NOTES: from now on the taglist when be added by a reblog. I will reblog it using my second account, @just-dreaming-marvel-2​. Just so that my main page doesn’t get too cluttered.

If you want to be added to the tag list, please dm me or send in an ask.

[luci-in-trenchcoats]

Won’t You Stay (Part 2)

Summary: Jensen starts his first day of work and learns who the reader is...

Masterlist

Pairing: Jensen x Director!reader 

Word Count: 2,400ish

Warnings: language

A/N: There is no taglist for this series. Check out the masterlist to see how to be notified of new parts. Please enjoy!

______

“Ella,” you said into your phone the next morning as you walked out of your budget meeting, ready to dive into filming. “It was an accident. I’m sure the girl on the other team knows that.”

“I know. I broke her nose though. I felt so bad,” she said. 

“She’ll live. Talk to your coach. Maybe she knows the other one and you can send a get well card or something,” you said.

“Yeah, I think maybe I’ll do that,” she said. “How’s the movie going? I didn’t hear dad come home last night.”

“There was a slight problem yesterday but hopefully it’s settled now,” you said, hearing the phone get shuffled around. “No, Anthony, I’m not getting you Gil Nicholas’ autograph. Guy isn’t even going to be in the movie.”

“Really?” asked your brother.

“Really. He’s kind of a douche. I gotta go and you guys have school. I’ll talk to you guys later,” you said.

“Wait!” said Anthony. “The Nolan situation. You said you’d help.”

“Help what? You two are dating,” you said.

“Mom and dad, genius,” he said.

“Anthony,” groaned Ella in the background. “Mom and dad will not care that you like boys. Y/N and I like boys and they don’t.”

“Yeah but I’m the only boy and our dad literally plays a badass on TV and in movies, El,” he said.

“Anthony. Our dad also was a single father to me for years. He played dress up and princesses and he gave me the puberty talk. He loves you no matter what. So does mom. Trust me,” you said.

“Yeah, but you’re like, his favorite,” he said. You shut your eyes and sighed. “You know what I mean. You’re special.”

“I didn’t meet mom until I was ten years old, Anthony. Dad and I were on our own. I’m not his favorite. There’s no favorite,” you said. “Dad is just overly protective of me is all. We’ll talk about your cute little boyfriend later, okay? I promise.”

“Alright. See ya,” he said. You shook your head as you hung up and headed onto the set, stopping by the breakfast line to grab some coffee. 

An hour later you were at the Hale’s house location, everything looking like it was running smoothly. You popped inside and saw your dad rehearsing with Jensen, giving them both a smile.

“How’s it going?” you asked.

“Good,” said your dad. “We gonna start soon?”

“Five or so minutes,” you said, Jensen staring at you.

“Sorry. I didn’t realize you were a PA on the movie,” he said. Your dad chuckled along with a few other people in the room.

“Y/N Y/L/N,” you said, holding out a hand and watching the color drain from Jensen’s face. “I’m your director and the author of The Dark Woods.”

“Well fuck me,” he said, shaking your hand as you smirked. “Oh my...I am so sorry for being late last night and assuming you were a PA and you’re Ethan Y/L/N’s daughter and you wrote my favorite book ever which I was totally fanboying out over last night and I’m going to shut up now.”

“Don’t do that. You’re getting paid to talk after all,” you said with a smile. “Walk with me for a second.”

He followed you out to the back porch and across the yard, swallowing loudly when you came to a stop by a tree.

“Sorry about not mentioning it earlier. I didn’t want you to be nervous in your audition if I was there and I figured it wasn’t a huge deal if you found out this morning,” you said.

“No, no mam. It’s-”

“Please, no mam or boss or that crap. Y/N, that’s it,” you said. “I’m not even your boss.”

“I’m mostly embarrassed about how I gushed last night about the book to the freakin author,” he said, some blush crossing his cheeks.

“As the freakin author, we live for that shit,” you laughed. Jensen relaxed and let out a small one of his own. “I watched your audition. You knew Lyle inside and out.”

“I’ve read the book more than a few times. I…” he trailed off, face going red.

“Yes?”

“I should quit while I’m ahead,” he said. 

“Maybe you can tell me why you like it so much over that drink,” you said, giving him a smile. He looked around and raised an eyebrow.

“You still want to do that?” he asked.

“I’m in charge. It doesn’t mean I’m your boss. That’s casting’s job. I would still expect a drink,” you said.

“Is that such a good idea?” he asked.

“Why wouldn’t it be?” 

“I sort of asked as...not friends,” he said. “You being...you and the director…”

“Oh,” you said.

“Your dad is kind of terrifying too,” he said. 

“Yeah. He has scared off more than a few guys. Or they’re more interested in him,” you said, forcing a smile. You’d never in a million years want him to feel uncomfortable so if he wanted to keep things professional, that was okay with you. “I guess I’ll be drinking alone on Saturday then.”

“I mean, I didn’t say…” he trailed off. “Maybe someday-“

“It’s cool, Jensen. Let’s get started for the day, hm?” you said. He nodded and you headed back inside the house, finding your chair in a back room. “We ready to go?”

“Mhm,” said your assistant director AJ as he took a seat beside you. You sat back and pulled on your headphones as various departments started shouting off, the camera lining up its first shot.

“Action!” you called. Your dad walked into the kitchen, pointing for Jensen to take a seat. He begrudgingly did so, your dad going to the fridge and pulling out a carton of eggs.

“You live here?” asked Jensen.

“No. I pay the mortgage on this place for fun. Of course I live here, kid,” he said. “Now keep your mouth shut.”

“You’re not a very pleasant person,” mumbled Jensen. Your dad spun around and grabbed the fork off the table, holding it up to Jensen’s neck. He froze, not even letting a breath escape.

“I am still not positive if I’m letting you live yet so be quiet if you want to increase your odds,” he said. Jensen swallowed and your dad pulled away, going back to the eggs. “I hope you like fried eggs.”

“Actually I don’t,” said Jensen. Your dad spun around again but this time Jensen stared him down.

“Fried eggs it is,” he said with a smirk. Jensen rolled his eyes and you called cut.

“Do it again,” you said. “Jensen, can you pause when you walk in and take a look around this time? Notice the house a bit.”

“No problem,” he said.

“Reset,” you said, waiting for them to get out of view of the camera. “Action!”

“Hey, Jensen,” you said, catching him in the parking lot for the actors near the production office that evening. He spun around with a smile, fixing his backpack on his shoulders. 

“Hi, Y/N. What’s up?” he asked.

“I uh, just wanted to say you did really good today. I’m really happy you’re playing Lyle,” you said.

“Oh. Thanks. I’m nowhere near as good as your dad,” he said. “He’s kind of insanely good at this.”

“He’s had more practice,” you said. “Honestly though, I’m glad Gil dropped out. He wouldn’t have done what you were doing today.”

“Why’d he drop out anyways? He’s in freaking Marvel movies. He’s huge,” said Jensen.

“I think he got an offer to do some serious drama. He doesn’t need a breakthrough role. He’s already had that. To be honest I never liked the choice,” you said.

“Well, Lyle’s smart. Gil isn’t exactly known for playing intelligent characters,” said Jensen. You smirked and he rubbed the back of his neck. “I probably shouldn’t trash talk him. I’ve never met him.”

“I have. Trust me. He deserves it. You know your Lyle Sullivan,” you said. 

“I started rereading today during a few breaks. Never hurts to have the source material in your head,” he said. 

“Not sure Gil can read so you’re already winning,” you said. Jensen laughed and nodded. “You don’t have to reread though Jensen. I kept the script the same as the book.”

“Oh, I know. I could tell there weren’t really any changes between them. I just like rereading it,” he said.

“I like to read it every once in a while too,” you said. “I’d say if you ever had any questions on how to play a scene or how Lyle would act feel free to ask but I have a feeling you won’t need help in that department.”

“You had plenty of notes for me today,” he said, ducking his head down.

“I’m sorry,” you said, his head instantly popping up.

“No, no. They were good. It’s kind of why I’m reading it again. Take the kitchen scene today. It’s very clear in the book how Lyle looks around the space,” he said. You stared at him and smiled.

“Jensen, you don’t have to memorize the thing. It’s why I give you notes, so you don’t have to. I know I went a bit overboard today. I’ll try to ease up some.”

“No, it’s good. Keep doing it. It makes it better,” he said. “I want to make it look as good as possible. I can’t imagine being in charge of everything.”

“Well I only get called kid in every meeting I’m in which is lovely,” you said. “I mean my dad is the other lead. I get the whole people thinking this is nepotism thing.”

“Didn’t you use a pen name during publishing though, at least to get someone to choose it on it’s own merits, not your name? I thought I read that,” he said.

“Yeah. I did. Once I got the deal I gave my real name. I mean, people can think whatever they want. I wanted it published because it was good enough though, not because some chick in an office thinks my dad is attractive or something,” you said.

“I can understand that,” he said. “Hey, can I ask question about the book?”

“Shoot,” you said as he leaned back against his car.

“Why does the cover have a picture of the woods on a bright day if it’s the Dark Woods? I always wondered that,” he said.

“Oh boy,” you laughed. “It’s been a while since I’ve been asked that. If you can believe it, there was a printing error where they forgot to add a filter but it was too late to go back and fix it. I ended up liking it.”

“Here I thought it was because Lyle’s a good guy, Hale too, despite all the reasons they have to be bad,” he said. “You know, light in dark. Symbolism or whatever.”

“Nah,” you laughed, Jensen letting out one of his own. “I do like that interpretation though. I uh, I’m sorry for keeping you. I’m sure you want to get home. I have to go do some more work. I won’t keep you anymore.”

“No, it’s cool. I like talking to you,” he said. “I’ll catch you around tomorrow, Y/N.”

“You too, Jensen.”

You headed into the building, heading upstairs to where your movie had a few rooms to use. You popped into your small office and pulled out your laptop from your backpack, stretching before you grabbed your binder and sat down.

You skimmed through it and made some notes, hopping back and forth between it and your email for a while. You yawned and put your head in your hand, scrolling through a few things and making a choice on a few costume choices for Jensen and your dad.

“Kiddo,” said your dad, shaking your shoulder all of a sudden. You popped your head up from your production office desk, your dad giving you a smile. “You missed mom’s calls earlier. She had me come check on you since you never answered. I think you conked out at some point.”

“What time is it?” you yawned.

“About three in the morning. I checked your apartment first,” he said. “Come on, up and at ‘em.”

“I got to be here at six for prep, might as well stay,” you said, stretching in your seat.

“You’ll burn yourself out if you pull all-nighters all the time,” he said. “It’s only day three.”

“And it took a lot longer to film yesterday’s scenes than I thought it would,” you said. “Everything was good but the location hopping took way longer than I thought it would.”

“Follow me,” he said. You groaned and he pulled you to your feet, guiding you down the hall and outside to the night air. You walked for a few minutes until you were at his trailer door, your dad opening it up and flipping on the light switch.

“Your trailers have gotten nicer over the years,” you said as you stepped up inside

“And what was your favorite part of my trailers ever since you were a little girl?” he asked, walking you back to the bedroom. “The big ass bed.”

“They were awesome for jumping on,” you said.

“Well next time you skip dinner at our place, text mom so she doesn’t worry and the next time you need to stay late, crash here, sweetie,” he said. “Now sleep, kiddo. I’ll be out on the pullout.”

“Thanks dad,” you said, getting a kiss on the forehead before you plopped down on the bed.

“Rest up. Tomorrow’s a big stunt day.”

______

A/N: Read Part 3 here!

[simplyyeol]

back then (when we used to)

—pairing; byun baekhyun x reader

—genre; fluff, college! au, childhood friends to nobodies to lovers! au lmao

—tws; swearing

—word count; 16.439 (whew)

—synopsis; when push comes to shove, and baekhyun suddenly appears in your life again taking your heart as he walked along the road beside you, you wonder if you really could have a happily ever after, with him, just like back then, when you used to.

—author’s note; hi guys! it’s me, cough, aj. you probably all forgot who i am right? well anyways! i made this after a long time of not writing since im on break. thank you all so much for the love you’ve given me so far. it means the world to me. i hope you love this one as much as my last work. thank you so much for supporting me !!11!11 (ugly cries)

“I mean, Baekhyun is cute and all, but I don’t know why you like like him that much if you haven’t even had a proper conversation with him,” Sehun explains as he takes a sip of his orange juice. “It seems kind of... farfetched, you know?” You roll your eyes as you take a bite of your sandwich. “Don’t be a drama queen.”

“I mean! Why don’t you like someone like...” he taps his chin in thought, fork stabbing through the lettuce leaves before he looks back to you, signature smirk in place. “Jongdae.”

You choke on the food.

“He’s pretty cute. And he’s really nice too. He’s even on the baseball team with Baekhyun and you guys seem to get along well. It’s a win-win situation.”

You shrug. “He’s cool, but he’s just a friend. And since when do you care about my love life?”

“Nonexistent love life,” he snarkily corrects and you stick your tongue at him.

“And you’re some best friend. Totally supporting me in my silent love affair.”

“I’m being realistic,” he defends, shrugging.

“And a horrible best friend,” you retort, grimly.

“Maybe you’re just going through this phase—” he starts.

“Okay, look,” you interject, dropping your sandwich on the table. “I have a crush on one of the star players of our college’s team. That just makes me one of the many of the girls fantasizing to be her. That’s all it is. Don’t worry, I’m not gonna throw myself at him and forget who I actually am or some stupid shit like that.” You narrow your eyes at him and pick up your sandwich. “Period.” And then you take a bite.

Sehun drops his fork in his bowl, the clatter ringing even through all the chatter in the cafe. “Wow, Y/N.”

“What?” you bark, bread in mouth, so it sounds more like ‘mwa.’ Even if Sehun is monotone in basically everything that comes out of his stupid mouth, you can hear the smirk.

He shakes his head. “Nevermind. But... since we’re already on this road. You know Park Chanyeol.”

You nod and swallow. “Yeah. Why?”

“Well, he gave me two tickets to his game since Mina and I were gonna go, but you know...” he trailed off and you look at him. He just broke up again with Mina. His now ex. They have an on and off relationship. You don’t really get it.

“I dunno,” you say, eyes flitting from the table to his face. You didn’t want him to go alone, sure, but more often than not, when he takes you to these kind of things, he usually gets sidetracked and well, forgets about you.

“Oh, come on, I won’t leave you this time, I swear,” he says, fist slamming the table.

“Sehun,” you breathe, talking to him as if he was a child. “You said that last time for that basketball guy’s party. And do you remember what happened then?”

His eyebrows furrowed and lips pursed. Apparently your best friend has horrible memory as well.

“You went home with Mina, asshole,” you spit. “And yes, you are my bestfriend and deserve the best romantic life, but you can’t just leave me. Jeez, you’re heartless, Sehun.”

“I won’t leave you this time,” he pleads once more, puppy eyes now in place, hands placed together under his chin. “Please, noona?”

You stick your tongue out at him and continue with your sandwich.

“Oh, come on, I want to go with my bestest friend in the world, and not anyone else. And we’ll have so much fun and I won’t even leave your side, or anything, and as a bonus! I will personally get you a jersey as an added bonus with a certain Byun printed on the back.”

Your eyes flicked to his for a split second at the sound of a certain man’s name.

“I can even arrange a chance at the after party for the two of us, so you can have some even more fun. There’s gonna be free drinks too!” he tries.

You raise an eyebrow at this offer.

“Free food, too!” he chimes.

“We’ll see,” is your final answer.

His straight posture is slumped at your answer, pout adorning his face as he dejectedly looked at his salad that was a part of his so-called, healthy diet, that he put together himself. His eyes flicked to yours as you took another bite of your BLT.

You waved it at him. “Want some?”

He looks back to his salad before dropping his fork and stretching his hand out. You hand the sandwich to him and he takes a few bites before giving it back to you.

The rest of lunch is spent in light banter, talk about classes and upcoming finals.

The two of you have been close since the start of college after there was a mix up in the dorm distribution and you ended up in the only co-ed dorm in college. With a playboy of course. You would think you’d somehow fall in love with him, but the boy being two years your dongsaeng, the spark was never there. He became a little brother figure who you could bully whenever he came over to you to gush about his new girlfriend at how pretty she is. It’s cute enough to pinch his cheeks like you were a distant relative who claimed to used to change Sehun’s diapers. He hated it, which is exactly why you loved it.

He doesn’t bring up the game until you see Byun Baekhyun walk through the cafe doors. You being the shy person that you are, immediately duck your head and finish the rest of your sandwich in one bite, and stand up announcing your departure to Sehun.

“What? I’m not finished yet, wait another minute. We’ll go together.”

“Uh, I actually forgot I’ve got to meet a friend before class starts,” you explain, twisting and untwisting your fingers, eyes locked on Baekhyun’s figure that was currently walking towards you and Sehun’s table, which was conveniently in front of the register. 

Sehun looks at you, nose scrunched then looking somewhere behind you, and then it dawned on him, your predicament. “Oh,” he breathes.

And Sehun being the asshole he is calls Byun Baekhyun over. You never wanted more for the ground to open up and swallow you whole than at this moment.

“Hey, Sehun, what’s up?” Baekhyun says, his honey voice rolling over you in waves. You couldn’t leave due to the iron grip Sehun had on your wrist, caging you and erasing all attempts of escape.

“Hey, hyung. I just needed an opinion. Do you know, Y/N?” Sehun nods to you and you freeze as Baekhyun finally sees you. You hold your breath, waiting for the answer on the tips of your toes even though you were the one who didn’t want it.

His eyes lock with yours and you see the warmth even standing nowhere close to him. You see the small mole on top of his lip, the bridge of his nose, the cherry pink of his lips and all you can think is how he hasn’t changed one bit. 

His eyes flit down to your wrist in Sehun’s hand and you quickly pull it away. Sehun doesn’t hold you back. And then he’s looking away as fast as he saw you, and you miss the warmth that he brought with just a look but you’re glad for the lack of his fierce gaze on you alone.

He hums. “Yeah, I know Y/N. We went to the same middle school but you probably already know that,” he states matter of factly. You purse your lips. Sehun didn’t know that.

Sehun’s jaw goes slack. “Wait, what?” He turns to you, eyes narrowed. “You never told me that!”

“Uhhh—” you dumbly respond as Baekhyun looks between the two of you.

“Right, I just wanted to know,” Sehun clears his throat, grasping Baekhyun’s attention once again, “if we could come to the party after the game?”

“Oh, you’re coming to the game?” He poses the question towards the both of you, but he only looks at you.

“Well, I’m going, but Y/N doesn’t know yet—”

“You should come,” Baekhyun states simply, looking into the depths of your soul. Your heart beats just the tiniest bit faster.

“I’ll see,” you mutter under your breath.

“Well, I’ll see you guys later then?” Baekhyun waves, the corner of his lips raised, and eyes sparkling in a way that only fits Baekhyun. 

Sehun’s arm falls on your shoulder as he rises to his full height, effectively breaking you out of the haze that Baekhyun put on you unknowingly. You scowl at him as you grab your backpack.

“How come you never told me this precious piece of information that came from Baekhyun himself. I’m so disappointed in you,” he remarks as you exit the cafe. You dare not look back.

You shrug, a small shiver running up your spine from the breeze. “It never came up.”

“Bullshit. This stuff is already supposed to be established in our,” he motions exasperatedly in the space between the two of you, “relationship.”

You snort. “I’m not dating you.”

“We’re best friends!”

“That we are,” you deadpan.

“Were you guys only classmates?” he inquires, shoving his hands in his pockets and blowing out a breath.

“If you’re asking if we dated, no. But we were friends, I guess.” 

An understatement but you don’t say.

Starting middle school in a whole new city was overwhelming to say the least. Having just moved to Seoul was already climbing in on itself over you. The whole car ride you refused to meet your parent’s eye on the trip to your new house. They pointed out famous landmarks and beautiful scenery of the ocean on the way, and yet, you refused, the stubborn 11-year old side of you coming out, as you blinked the tears away, never letting them fall.

And then came Baekhyun, a whirlwind of a boy, all smiling, eyes crescents, and hair a raven-colored ruffled. He flew into your life and you were grateful to him. He suddenly became a staple in your life but really you should’ve seen it coming sooner.

As fast as he entered, he left, and you didn’t like to think about whether it was your fault or his. One day, he stopped trying. Avoiding you, or maybe he just became too busy for you. He grew out of the pre-teen Baekhyun, a child in and of itself and became the popular teen Baekhyun who suddenly became the star of your junior high. You drifted apart, as Baekhyun entered the spotlight and you steered towards the sidelines, suddenly becoming a wallflower in Baekhyun’s life. And then you weren’t in it anymore. But you watched him grow up and everytime you passed him in the hallways in highschool and eventually college, a part of your heart clenched, happy that he was happy and sad because you couldn’t share that happiness with him.

Sehun saw the lingering glances, the almost spoken hello’s to the star player and deemed that you had a crush. He wasn’t wrong so you never corrected him.

“Earth to Y/N?” Sehun called, hand waving in front of your vision. You blinked, slowly turning over to him. “Blanked out there, for a little. You good?”

“Oh, um, yeah. Just thinking.”

“About a Byun Baekhyun?”

“Shut up,” you mumble and he snickers.

A few beats of silence pass as you walk side to side, shoulders brushing against each other.

“You’re not telling me something,” he says.

“No,” you respond.

“Yes,” he retorts.

“Whatever you say.”

“I’ll get it out of you, sometime. I already have a lead.”

“What? Are you Sherlock?” you tease, lips quirked.

He slides in front of you and you stop watching as he dumbly salutes, fingers all crooked. “Holmes, reporting for duty,” he announces.

You laugh and then he smiles. 

Most of the spots are filled when you enter the auditorium, a mess of hair, clothes and Y/N.

You spit out some of the hair caught in your mouth, which probably happened somewhere between where you left the pet store, your part-time job, in a hurry after seeing the time and from now, where you stood, just barely making it into class as the professor entered through the adjacent door . You got a little carried away with the new puppers that had just arrived and that was all your fault. Not that you regretted it, though.

The professor set up his laptop, plugging in wires and setting papers aside, that you really hoped weren’t of the test you took last week. You scrambled to your regular seat, right next to the TA, Kim Minseok’s desk, and next to Kim Jongdae. 

You dipped your head in greeting at Jongdae as you slipped past him to the seat and muttered your ‘hello’ to Minseok who waved you back.

“Please don’t tell me those are our tests from last week,” you say to absolutely no one. 

Jongdae, from beside you, hears this and turns to you. “Those are totally not our tests from last week.”

“Those are totally your tests from last week,” Minseok pipes from the other side of you. You swivel towards him, lips pursed, frown in place.

“Is it bad?” you ask, grimly.

“Can’t say,” he grins. 

“A hint?” you egg and Jongdae echoes your question.

Minseok shakes his head no and points towards the front just as the professor starts speaking. You melt into your seat, hoping that time would tick just the tiniest bit faster, if only to finish this hell you’re in.

45 minutes pass, not that you’re counting every second of it but you just happen to see after sneaking a glance at the clock hung on the opposite wall, when the professor finally announces the very dreadful thing that has you in a slump.

“And now for your tests!”

A series of groans echo your sentiments and you wait as he calls out the names of the other students, fists clenched, nails digging into the skin of your palm. He goes through a few people before stopping on the nervous human sitting right next to you.

“Kim Jongdae!” he calls and you give a pitiful look at Jongdae as he stands up to retrieve it. His face looks almost like a kicked puppy. The professor hands him the paper, says something, that you can’t hear (distance), or read (bad eyesight), but there’s a smile on his face. You sit at the edge of your seat waiting as Jongdae gets closer to you, his eyes lighting up as he reads the grade and when he comes to stand next to you, showing it to you, a cheshire-grin stretching across his lips.

Your jaw drops. “An A? That’s amazing!” He has his hand out towards yours and you high-five it, smiling for him. You sit back down waiting your turn, back straight, hairs raised.

“Y/N!” 

You get up, walking as fast as your legs could take you, grasping the paper with eager hands. The professor smiles and says that it was better than your last and then your walking back, not daring to peak at the letter.

“Did you see it?” Jongdae calls when you get back to your seat. 

You shake your head. “Can’t. You do it.”

You hand the paper to Jongdae and he chuckles leaning over. He faces the paper towards you, back slanting so he’s looking at it as well.

“A B!” you cry.

“An 89!” he exclaims.

“If you round up,” you start excitedly.

“An A!” he finishes.

“Yes!” you yell, fist pumping in the air and once again before exchanging another set of high-fives.

The two of you sit back at your seats ruffling through your tests exchanging answers for the questions you got wrong. The teacher rambles on about how well you all did this time, much better than the last. You paid it no attention, though, wincing as you saw another question you got wrong. You even remember studying about that one!

“Okay, students!” the teacher finally announces and you look up, setting the paper down on the table. “You’ll be doing a project—”

A series of groans cut him off.

“Now, now don’t be like that. It gets even better; you’ll be doing it in partners! The person next to you should do—oh! Would you look at the time? I better be off! Class dismissed!”

The screeching of chairs being pushed in, the mull of the chatter of students, and the scratching of pencils on paper fill the silence that the teacher brought and you stared at Jongdae, dumbfounded. And Jongdae stared at you.

“Is this real?” you breathed, voice ragged.

“I really hope not,” he answers back. “Maybe it's all just a dream.”

“More so a nightmare,” you remark.

Minseok snickers at the two of you. “Don’t be dramatic and get out of here, you two.”

You frown at Minseok as he shoots you out of the auditorium with the rest of the lingering students. You handle your bag, throwing it over your shoulder, carelessly, before turning to Jongdae who walked to your side with another classmate.

You wait for a gap in their conversation before pulling Jongdae away. “Do you have class right now?”

He shakes his head. “No, you?”

You mirror him, before cocking your thumb behind you, head tilted. “Library?”

“Better now than never,” he grins.

Jongdae steps off to the side when someone asks him something about plans on Friday night. You tell him you’ll save him a seat and wave before leaving, begrudgingly thinking about the fact that you wished to have plans on Friday night, ugh.

The library is vacant, spare the few students like you who thought to actually use it other than the librarian that no one ever sees. You tensely smile at a girl who you really can’t remember the name of but told her that one time in that one class after she made eye contact with you. A second later, though, no later, you looked away, wincing because if that wasn’t awkward. 

The tables in the library were settled in clusters if you make your way through the library, high shelves of the paperback on your left, and non-fiction on the right. It’s almost like a maze as you enter the space, and really it's no surprise, when you spot ten people. Max.

You take a seat at the nearest empty table, pulling out your textbook and your laptop. It only takes a minute for you to get sidetracked after you tap in your password the already open tab of Twitter pulling you in.

It wasn’t your fault really! The posts kept rolling in and sucking you deeper and when finally your throat felt parched and you took a sip of water, checking the time, still not seeing Jongdae, did you see half an hour had already passed.

“The fuck is the dude, doing?” you mutter under your breath, opening a seperate tab for your email. The chair across from you screeches and you think, finally, before your eyes land on the person currently sat across from you.

His hair was ruffled and the tip of his nose and cheeks were blushing red, as if he ran. And it wasn’t Jongdae.

“Oh,” he mumbles, more to himself. “Y/N.” A deep breath then, “hey.”

“Oh, um, Baekhyun. Hi,” you dumbly respond, stomach flipping at the sight of him. Your tongue had the sudden urge to fail you at the moment, barely making the cut.

“Sorry, to, um, bother your studying,” he starts, eyes flickering to your open screen which displayed the email log-in page. Thank god he did not see your Twitter account. Maybe you would have actually died. “But, uh, I’ll just sit here for a few minutes and then leave.”

The way he’s fidgeting in his seat makes it seem like he’s trying to avoid someone. “Oh, okay. That’s, um, fine?”

His eyes narrow at you as you purse your lips. Awkward. You are very awkward and you know that. You shuffle in your seat when he looks away and chuckles silently. “Thanks,” he says.

A few beats pass before you deem it awkward enough to drag your laptop closer to you, and look through the few emails that were unread in your inbox. Okay, lie. You weren’t actually reading. It was more so that your eyes skimmed over the same from email at fifteen times, your brain not registering the contact.

Baekhyun apparently decided to break the ice, starting with a deep breath. “So, what class are you working for?”

“Um, microbiology. I’ve got this partner essay and decided to get started on it,” you explain, biting your lip from a nervousness that you’re not sure the cause of.

“Partner?” he asks.

“Yeah... partner,” you repeat, thinking that he needed clarification.

“Oh, are you waiting for them?”

You nod. “He was literally right behind me too, jeez, what is he doing?” you ramble, picking up your phone and searching for Jongdae’s contacts.

Baekhyun doesn’t say anything else as you type a text to a certain essay partner.

jongdae!!!!

You set the phone back down on the table and sneak a peek at Baekhyun who looks, even at a first glance, stressed. Eye circles ring underneath his eyes, the hint of purple tinting his fair skin. His eyes look puffy, like he just took a nap, even though it's the middle of the day, and your heart clenches at the thought that he doesn’t get enough sleep. You notice the way his fingers drum silently along the table, his teeth worrying his chapped lips, like he’s always doing that. Maybe a habit...?

“Are you... okay?” The question comes tumbling out of your mouth in a hushed whisper, like some dirty secret that can’t be revealed. Your eyes rake over him with worry as he looks at you like a deer caught in the headlights.

He’s wary, his mouth opening and closing repeatedly as he forms an answer. “What do you mean?” he finally responds. Answering a question with a question. 

“You look tired,” you point, motioning to the undersides of his eyes. 

He winces, hands fisted as he rubs his eyes, laughing half-heartedly. “It’s nothing. Just got a big game to prep for—speaking of,” and then his eyes turn to you, determined, fiery, fist placed on the table and any sign of tiredness in his eyes vanished. “Are you going to come to the game?”

“Uh—”

“You’re going to the game?” 

Your head whips towards the side as Jongdae strolls in to the area, nonchalant. You take your pen and whip it at him with all the aim you could muster at such a short notice.

“I’m sorry!” he yells as he catches the pen and holds it to his heart before gently setting it down on the table a distance away from your hand.

“Thirty minutes,” you huff, as Jongdae takes a seat beside you. His attention turns toward Baekhyun who looks between the two of you. You can’t tell what the furrow of his brows or the scrunch of his nose conveys.

Jongdae ignores your complaint and addresses Baekhyun. You turn away pointedly, hands crossed over your chest, lip slightly jutted. 

“What are you doing in the library, Baekhyun?” Jongdae questions.

“Um, just, you know, talking to Y/N—”

“Is that Eunha?” Jongdae interjects, leaning over the table, jaw dropped.

“Who?” you ask, curious.

“Yeah, who?” Baekhyun repeats, feigning innocence. You see the way, he blinks at Jongdae owlishly, and his straight posture.

“Your ex-girlfriend, Eunha! Is that why—”

Baekhyun’s over at Jongdae’s side in an instant, hand clamping over the blabbermouth’s mouth, looking around the library maniacally to see if anyone overheard. You choke, not sure what to feel about the new information, but when she leaves out of view, you figure it's her since she is the only one there that wasn’t there a moment ago. You look towards the two idiots at your side.

And if that wasn’t any worse, Eunha suddenly reappeared again right in front of you three. And she looked Baekhyun up and down, and then it was Jongdae. And lastly you.

With her sleek black hair sectioned off into braids, her makeup flawless, and her clothes without a single crinkle in them, you envied her from head to toe.

“Baekhyun what are you doing? Really? Running away?” She gives Baekhyun an incredulous look as he retracts his hand from Jongdae’s mouth, sheepish look pasted on his face. 

“Um, actually—” he starts.

“Seriously, I just wanted to talk. I won’t bite,” she promises taking a step closer. You see Baekhyun’s eyes flit to anywhere but Eunha, and then you see him take a step closer to Jongdae, his hand suddenly coming down onto Jongdae’s shoulder. Hard.

“I’m dating Jongdae!” 

Eunha’s jaw drops open, you choke on air, Jongdae shrieks and falls out of his chair, and Baekhyun colors a scarlet in the next few moments as crickets chirp through the library.

“What?” Eunha breathes, looking as if she just got slapped in the face. And in this case, you felt that it would have been a better situation. “You’re dating—” she stopped mid-sentence, closing her eyes, straightening her back, and taking a long, deep breath. “Jongdae? Is he lying?”

You watch as Baekhyun pinches Jongdae’s back as he opens his mouth, and proceeds to say the words that you are just dying to hear with some popcorn in hand. “Uh... no.”

Eunha’s eyes are almost about to fall out her head as she looks between the two of them. Baekhyun laughs a small laugh, pressing his index finger to his lips, and shushing Eunha. She barks a laugh, hikes her bag up her shoulder, and stomps out of the clearing.

Jongdae’s chair is thrown to the side courtesy his legs as he stands, towering over Baekhyun. “What the fuck—” 

Baekhyun claps his hands together in front of his face, eyes clenched together. “I’ll make it up to you, I promise!” he squeaks.

“I should’ve just let you suffer—”

“—and I am so, so grateful you didn’t—”

“—in pain. Why the hell do I—”

“Coffee, for a month?” Baekhyun pleads.

Jongdae narrows his eyes at Baekhyun. “Two.”

“One and a half?”

“One and three weeks.”

“Okay, okay,” he surrenders, plopping into the chair next to you before turning to meet your eyes. “I am so dead.”

You smile. “I didn’t know you were gay.”

“Y/N!” he whines. “You know what? I am leaving, I have had way too much drama for today, and I feel my wrinkles popping out, god dammit.”

He walks away from the table as you erupt into snickers and Jongdae hollers an ‘8:45 AM sharp!’ after him.

“Don’t be late! I have class first thing and need my supply!”

Baekhyun doesn’t turn around, opting to flip off Jongdae, back still turned. Jongdae swears at him, and you laugh even harder.

What you don’t see is the small smile gracing Baekhyun’s lips as he exits the library doors, a little skip in his step.

Having to take an advanced sociology class for your major made absolutely no sense other than the fact that the people, whoever they were, that assigned the classes, were absolute idiots. You would know since you’re always surrounded by them.

The class ran for two terms but you only needed one, joining in at the beginning of the second this year. Everyone already had managed to find a place to sit, some people to work with, and a nice view of the screen in front of the room. You just wedged into some seats with some of the more friendlier looking girls and somehow managed to blend in to the wall, only needing a passing grade for this class.

You didn’t know many people in this class, but you at least recognized their faces. And that guy sitting at your desk with the suspicious looking hood was not one of them. You stood a few feet away from him, wondering if you should demand your seat back or just sit next to him. Or in front. 

But that’s your seat.

Well. Your inability to communicate with people caught up to you and you took a seat right next to him.

It wasn’t until the end of class that you figured out who he was. You could hear a faint purr from the hooded boy next to you, his pencil strewn next to his head that was lain on the table carelessly. A string of drool marked the paper and you chuckled. But you couldn’t judge. That would be you today if it weren’t for the fact he was giving apparently important information from the girl on your right.

You pondered on the thought if you should just leave him, but if class had finished while you were sleeping you would want someone to wake you up. What if he had a class after this?

You drew closer to him and tapped his shoulder. “Hey. Wake up. Class is over.”

The boy groaned, shifted in his seat the tiniest bit, and continued sleeping. You tapped him a bit harder this time. “Hey. Hey. Wake up.” 

You checked the time on your phone, before placing it back on the table. Taking your time, you placed your notebook back in your bag and zipped it up before tossing a look back to the boy. Still sleeping. The pencil and pen in your bag as well. Another look. Not even a little.

Boy, was this kid tired.

You tried again, and again, with even more force and smiled when the guy stirred, blinking his eyes, movements hazy. He smacked his lips a few times before finally moving his head up and locking eyes with you.

“Baekhyun?”

“Y/N?”

“You take this class?” you both said in unison.

A look passed between the two of you, as you blinked and he started giggling with you following shortly after.

“I take this class, but I’m pretty sure you don’t,” you finally say, smile placed on your lips.

“I owed my friend one and filled in for the day to take some notes.”

You snickered before motioning to the side of your face, your fingers ghosting your skin. “You have drool here.”

“What?” he squawks, hands wiping the opposite side of his face. 

You shake your head. “Other side.”

He pulls the sleeve of his hoodie up and finding the drool, quickly wiping it off before embarrassingly pulling his hoodie on his head tighter.

“What’s with the get up?” you question, as Baekhyun grabs his notebook and you grab your backpack, both walking towards the door. 

A group of students brush passed you and you notice how Baekhyun makes sure to duck his head down as he whispers to you. “You didn’t hear...?”

“Hear what? you whisper back.

He pouts at you and you shrug. “The rumors?” he tries again.

You filter through any gossip Sehun might’ve told you about in the past few days and come up blank. “Nothing,” you state.

He groans, hand coming up to slide down his face. “Come on, man. The rumors?” he harshly whispers, face turned towards you whilst walking, hands outstretched at his sides, and eyes blown out. 

You suck in a harsh breath as he comes closer to your face, and that weird feeling in your chest blooms again. Almost like an eruption of lava, but more lowkey. A good volcanic eruption.

“Me being gay?”

He pulls back when he sees your lips pursed, smile begging to be released. “Oh, from when—”

“Oh my god,” he groans, walking faster in front of you.

“Okay, okay, sorry, I won’t laugh!” you exclaim, speeding up your pace and walking next to him. He took a look at the twinkle in your eyes and the smile playing on your lips and huffs before looking away. Drama queen.

“Seriously!” you repeat again. “Okay, wait, wait, slow down a little.”

He begrudgingly complies, hands now folded over his chest as you swing your backpack to your front and bring out your notebook. You zip it up and he sneaks a glance before voicing his curiosity. “What’s that for?”

You shoot him a smile. “Your favor?”

His eyes widen. “Oh shit! I fell asleep!”

“That you did, but I take pity and give you this.”

You hand him the notebook and he takes it, hand almost brushing yours but you can’t tell from how fast its gone even though the aftermath leaves your heart beating a mile a minute. You don’t even notice.

“You are an angel,” he breathes and sends you the most breathtaking smile that you think he could ever send you.

“Your welcome,” you state, voice soft.

“Thank you,” he says back. 

You continue walking, where? You don’t know. But you move closer to him as he opens the notebook and you show him the pages that you wrote down today. You stop at a small bench on the side of the hallway where Baekhyun sets it down and takes pictures of the pages.

He slides his glasses up when they fall off his nose, before tapping the screen to make sure that its readable. You watch to the side as he ruffles through the pages make sure he got everything. His bangs falling over his eyes, and he shakes his head, the hair stubbornly staying put.

“Baekhyun!” someone calls from the side. You look over and recognize him to be from the baseball team. You forgot his name, though. Something starting with Jong but you weren’t sure. He jogs over to Baekhyun, talking about a late baseball practice and where the hell he’s been.

Baekhyun looked sheepish as Jong-something scolds him, calling him hyung and you can’t help but smile at the interaction. 

“Oh right, that reminds me!” Baekhyun turns towards you suddenly and you feel warm under his and Jong-something’s (Jongin? Is that his name?) gaze. “Are you still not sure about the game?”

You inhale, looking at the way, Baekhyun pulls out his lower lip just the slightest and how it looks adorable (you’re cringing on the inside at your thoughts) on him. “Uh... yeah. Still don’t know,” you mutter.

“Well,” Baekhyun says, looking straight at you and placing his hand on your shoulder, “I hope you come.” 

And then he sends you a smile and you feel your heart strings tugging at each other as he turns around, jogging to the rest of the team. Jongdae shoots you a small smile when he sees you and you wave back but then he’s gone.

It’s not until a good twenty minutes later do you remember that Baekhyun didn’t give you your notebook. You rushed back to the bench where you saw it last. It wasn’t there also.

Well, shit. You’re screwed for that test next week.

hey, this is Y/N. i don’t have your number so i’m texting you though sehun’s. 

You read over the text and groan. Why would he care if you have his number or not—of course you don’t. Delete.

uhhh, anyways, do you still have that notebook you took pictures of? I can't remember if I took it back or not haha

‘uhhh, anyways’ is too awkward, dammit. Delete that as well.

hey this is Y/N. do you still have my notebook you took pictures of? I can't remember if I took it back or not haha

Okay, okay. Not bad, straight to the point. A little laugh in the end to ease the awkwardness. Hit send, Y/N, before you freak out even more. You press the blue button and thrust the phone back into Sehun’s hand before diving into your pasta. Nothing like food to hit your biggest worries.

“You’re such a coward, worrying about texting him,” Sehun snarks, tapping on the screen.

You glare at him, mouth stuffed, and he glances a look at you, smirking at your appearance. “Ass,” you mutter.

“That’s me.” 

The door to the cafe jingles open and it's almost like a fairy tale when your eyes dart to the customer in the almost empty restaurant, with you sitting directly in sight of the door, and lock eyes with Baekhyun.

“Oh, Y/N! Sehun!” he exclaims, waving at the two of you with his signature smile, fingers straight as a stick, gaps wide between them in that weird way he waves at people (he still makes it cute).

You smile a small smile, and Sehun gives a weird ass cool nod that Baekhyun takes a greeting does a weird nod back. He pulls a chair from the empty table next to you, dropping the bag and sitting in the middle, your left, Sehun’s right. His side profile was astonishing.

You looked back to your food, taking another bite, as they engaged in baseball talk, wallowing about whether or not you should bring up the elephant in your room.

Thankfully, Baekhyun, ever the one with many gifts from God, looks towards you abruptly, slamming his hand on the table. You flinch, eyes startled to his, wide in shock, almost mirroring his.

He chuckles and you clamp your lips and relax your posture, eyes drifting away. Well, that’s embarrassing.

“Sorry,” he snickers. “Didn’t mean to scare you.”

“She’s a coward. She’s always scared,” Sehun interjects.

“No one asked you,” you retort, throwing the closest object to you (a napkin) hoping it would hit him straight in the eye (it didn’t; it floated to a stop in the middle of the table).

“Anyways, your notebook. It’s in my locker, I totally forgot to give it back, my bad.” His hand comes up to unconsciously rub at the back of his neck and you inwardly coo at the small pout on his—no! ”If you want, we can go now to the lockers since I have practice. Do you have a class?”

Your mind went blank for some strange reason and the only thing that came out was an “uh...”

Sehun, the sometimes-angel he is, saves you and you are so very grateful. “She doesn’t.”

Baekhyun looks between you and Sehun, an unrecognizable expression on his face, before his lips turn into a smile. “Great!”

He makes small talk while you finish your food, helping Sehun occasionally on the essay he was pumping out. He leaned over Sehun’s shoulder, his glasses slipping down his nose, and his eyebrows scrunched as they glazed over the screen. He’d gotten annoyed from his bangs that he clipped them up exposing his forehead, and—oh god, what is wrong with you.

“Okay!” you announce,  a little too high pitched and chair screeching back at a screech that resonated through the empty shop. You freeze, coughing awkwardly when Baekhyun looks up at you through his circle lenses and Sehun snickers in the back. You chuckle, smile tense, before grabbing your backpack in light speed, fixing your jacket.

You cock your finger back towards the door, and tilt your head. “Sehun are you coming? Let’s go.” Your heart pounds—probably because you made a fool of yourself. Sehun shrugs before packing his stuff, Baekhyun following.

Sehun and Baekhyun, with their longer legs and faster pace, strode in front of you on the too thin sidewalk. You lingered behind sometimes joining in on the conversation but you felt as if you’d interrupt them with all the sporty jock language they were using.

You just decided to stare at Baekhyun. And admire. And daydream about what it would be like to marry and have tiny babies together. But at the moment. Admire.

Even the back of his head was adorable, added to the fact he was wearing the team’s hat and hoodie combined. Really, whoever designed them was genius. Baekhyun looks absolutely swallowed, only the tips of his fingers peeking out from the sweater paws.

“Y/N? Earth to Y/N?” Sehun knocks on your head, and your eyes immediately snap towards his the moment Baekhyun’s eyes meet yours. “Is the back of his head that fascinating?”

“Wh-what? No, what the—” you end up smacking Sehun feeling the nape of your neck warming up and letting your hair curtain over your face on the side that Baekhyun faced towards you.

“Woah, there, no need to get violent, I was just joking,” he intonates the last word, a smirk voiced and you glare up at him hoping your message traveled light years fast. You take back what you said about him being a sometimes-angel. He’s the devil reincarnate.

Baekhyun laughed his small cute laugh like ’hahaha’ and said something about zoning out. You nodded dumbly and continued to trail along with him.

“As I was saying...” Sehun says, hand waving in the air nonchalantly, “Y/N’s just using me as an excuse for leaving her at the game because she’s probably just embarrassed that she doesn’t want to miss the new episode of Extraordinary You—ow! What was that for?”

You smile up at him, lips pursed, words venomous, “what?”

He looks away, pouting muttering how you’re a big fat meanie. Baby.

“Oh Extraordinary You is so good. Are you caught up with all the episodes? I haven’t had time to watch the last two,” Baekhyun comments and your neck snaps as you look up at him.

“Oh, uh...” with the thought that he didn’t find it embarrassing that you spend your free time watching romantic dramas that could never actually happen in real life, you spoke up. “I’m caught up.” You still mentally threw Sehun into the pits of hell where he belonged.

Sehun snorts as Baekhyun hums.

A curious smile peaks over the edges of Baekhyun’s lips as he looks at Sehun. “Why... is it weird or something?”

“No, just, she thinks that she’s uncool to watch dramas twenty-four seven—mmmph—what are you—!”

Your hand stays at Sehun’s side as you smile at Baekhyun. “Just ignore him. He spouts bullshit twenty-four seven,” you give a pointed look towards Sehun at the end. 

Baekhyun laughs. “Okay, then.” 

“He spouts bullshit twenty-four seven,” Sehun imitates, voice pitches higher.

“I don’t talk like that!”

The walk to the locker rooms aren’t too far, just outside the school campus. It’s only a 10-minute walk from the food court area and you’re there in no time. 

Luhan from the baseball team, which you know of from how much he frequents your apartment to hang out with Sehun, stole the younger boy, stating that they’d be back in a minute after stepping out of the locker rooms. You sat on the bench in the middle of the locker rooms while Baekhyun shuffled through his lockers that was packed to the brim.

“I’m not usually this messy,” Baekhyun mumbles as he takes out another bundle of what looks like an old sport jacket. “I’ve just been really busy these days,” he adds.

“It’s fine, take your time,” you commented, twiddling your fingers.

A few boys stepped in to the locker room, and you looked up briefly recognizing their faces but not their names. 

“Oh, Baekhyun?” one of them called. “You brought a girl into the locker rooms? You never did that with anyone, even Eunha.” The two at his sides snickered and you watched as Baekhyun’s ears turned red at the implications.

“It’s not like that,” Baekhyun barked as he continued ruffling through his lockers. “They’re idiots, don’t listen to them.”

You chuckle softly. “Okay.”

“Found it!” he grins, spinning it around and holding it out towards you.

“Oh, cool, thanks,” you state, taking the book from him.

“Yeah, but I should be telling you that,” he chuckles. “Why do you use a notebook anyway? Laptops are a thing, you know?”

“Yeah, but I like writing the stuff. It helps me remember everything,” you say, stuffing the notebook into your bag.

Baekhyun hums. “Good point, but the hand cramps are so not worth it.”

You shrug it off. “Whatever, Byun.”

“Hey, Baekhyun! Practice is starting. Your girlfriend can stay if she wants, I already asked coach,” one of the boys called.

Your face warms up at the title, and you’re meek ‘I’m not his girlfriend’ is muted by the raucous of the other boys coming in. Baekhyun sends you a shy smile and shakes his head. “Again, idiots, but you can stay if you want.”

“No, it’s alright,” you breathe, “I have class anyways, so it’s time I go. Can you remind Sehun to buy dinner, and say no chicken, please?”

“Yeah, sure. Isn’t his phone broken or something like that?”

“He’s an idiot also.”

“Looks like everyone on this team is an idiot.”

You hum, thinking over the words, one thought shining brightly in the midst of all the others.

The next thing you say is totally uncalled for and if you were in a less delirious state and not around Byun Baekhyun, it would’ve never escaped your mouth. “You’re not, though. That’s why I l love—”

Baekhyun suddenly frowns and your heart drops. You idiot! Why would you say something like that? What if he—shit. You totally messed up. The whole getting to know him, shit, shit, shit. You totally messed up. He doesn’t have time to respond as one of the boys steals him, shoveling him out of the room, throwing you a beaming smile in compensation. You can’t seem to reciprocate.

The locker room is awfully quiet, now.

It has been exactly one day since you spilled your mouth in front of Baekhyun and it has been exactly one day since you have regretted saying that. You saw him this morning, at the coffee shop down the street. He was just minding his own business, looking through his phone while taking a few sips of his drink here and there when you accidentally bumped into him. Nothing precarious happened, like you fell into his arms or his coffee spilled all over your shirt and he let you wear his spare.

No. You blushed as red as a tomato and stuttered a sorry, before scurrying off like a mouse at the stony gaze pointed directly at you.

Why did you even open your mouth and say something stupid like that? You weren’t an idiot. You knew what was implied with those words, and yet you had to go and say it. You probably ruined the friendship you had slowly progressed with Baekhyun, too. What a stupid person you are.

You walked in to the microbiology class with a huff, no regular coffee in hand as you were far too flummoxed after the run-in with Baekhyun to go back into the cafe. Jongdae had noticed something was off and shared a look with Minseok. The TA shrugged. 

You made a small burrow surrounding yourself with first, your books, second, your water bottle, and third, your bag, making a small barrier that you wished would shield you from all the remorse you felt upon yourself. Once the professor had walked in and started the presentation, you pride yourself from behind the wall. 

Your motions were robotic as you copied important things from the presentation, highlighted key concepts in your textbook, and answered questions prompted by the professor. But it was as if your mind and body were separate and your soul was nowhere to be found.

At the end of class, the professor had called you and Jongdae up, mentioning something about the project. 

You forlornly walked up beside Jongdae, the scuffling of your feet earning another worried stare from the boy.

“Y/N, Jongdae, I just wanted to note that since there’s a new student in the class, and an odd number of people, I would like for him to work with you,” the professor explains.

You nod numbly. Jongdae questions as to who. 

“Oh, he actually attend today’s class, I told him to meet me as well… oh, there he is!”

You felt someone sidle next to you and Jongdae shifted to look towards him. “Oh, Baekhyun!”

Your head snapped towards the side, and true to his words, Baekhyun stood to your side, not bothering you a glance. He smiled at Jongdae then at the professor, thanking him.

Jongdae glanced to you, your mouth agape. “Y/N, do you want to come with us?”

“H-huh?” you stutter as you look towards Jongdae. “Sorry, zoned out.”

“Yeah… uh, do you want to come with us for lunch? We’re having pizza,” Jongdae reiterates.

Your eyes flicker towards Baekhyun and sure enough, the cold stare from this morning and the last time you saw him were still there. 

“No, I’m fine. Thank you, though,” you say, lips pulled in a tight smile. 

“Oh, okay, then. See ya!” Jongdae grins, before turning towards Baekhyun who still stared at you. He nudged Baekhyun’s side. “Let’s go, then.”

His eyes are clouded as he looks at you. You can’t tell what he’s thinking and it makes your skin tingle from all the attention. He finally pulls them away from you and you let out the breath you were unknowingly holding. “Yeah, let’s go.”

What an idiot you are.

The smell of meat filled the room packed to the brim with college students. Baekhyun sat stuck in the middle of Chanyeol and Jongdae and was somehow appointed to the meat as he got the lowest runs during practice. The room was far too hot, even for Baekhyun and he grabbed the air conditioner remote, setting it at the coolest. The boys burst into raucous laughter at a story that Junmyeon was recalling but Baekhyun couldn’t find it in himself to laugh. He merely blinked as he flipped another piece of samgyeopsal.

His thoughts were running all over the place, like a hurricane. But it was all trained on you. 

Like that one time when he’d been coming from his class, he’d somehow spotted you in the midst of the crowd. You yawned, pulling down the hood covering your face and he had to hold back a snort at the way your flyaways stuck up filled with static energy. He started walking towards you, wanting to pet down the hairs but he stopped midway. Why would he want to do that? And he stood there like a fool, in the middle of the courtyard staring as you walked away from him.

He’d seen you so many other times and each time you drew him in to you and he didn’t know what was happening. Why his heart sped up at the sight of you so much, as if it were about to burst out of his chest. Why he had the urge to hug the living daylights out of you at the sight of you, as if you were his lover and he was yours. Why he blushed whenever you complimented him like a lovesick teenage boy. 

The not an idiot thing was the last straw. And what followed scared him to the deepest parts of his soul. You couldn’t just go around telling people those kinds of things with that much sincerity and stupid sparkle like you held the sun, stars, and meteorites in your eyes. It made him realize something. This whatever he felt, was different. 

It felt like how he used to feel back when he would consider you his best friend in the skip of a beat if anyone asked. It felt like that, but even more. And it scared him.

It was different from anything he felt when he was with any one of his past girlfriends. It was similar but far too different to even be compared. It was much more than that.

Was it friendship? Was it attraction? Could it maybe be… love?

Chanyeol knocked his elbow into Baekhyun’s ribs, lightly. “Baek, the meat’s burning.”

“Shit,” Baekhyun muttered to himself, still in a daze. This could be called love, couldn’t it? He always went on and on about how, all the girls he’s dated, he’s never loved. His heart was never full enough whenever he was around them to even be considered love. But around you—

“Baek,” Chanyeol called more loudly, this time jolting Baekhyun.

Baekhyun snapped his head towards Chanyeol, voice clearer. “Shit.”

“Yes, shit, the meat is burning,” Chanyeol pointed out and it finally registered in Baekhyun’s mind as to where he was. 

Baekhyun scrambled to save the meat, hurriedly flipping them, and blowing out a sigh as they were still edible.

“What’s wrong?” Chanyeol breathed, mouth full with meat. He placed a piece in a perilla leaf, adding a tiny dollop of ssamjang and placing it in Baekhyun’s hand.

Baekhyun takes it, mulling over the question. “I don’t know.” He put the wrap in his mouth, slowly chewing. “You know Y/N, right?”

Chanyeol nods, sipping his water and swallowing. 

“What do you think about her?”

Chanyeol hums. “She’s nice. Why? Do you like her?”

Baekhyun chokes on the water he’s drinking. “What? Me? Like her?”

Chanyeol shrugs. “You asked me what I thought.”

“But I don’t like her,” he wrongfully states. The way those words fall out of his lips, every word placed in it, feels wrong.

“Didn’t she used to be your friend or something like that?” Chanyeol reasons, eyebrows furrowing.

“Well, yeah, but—”

“Okay, Baekhyun,” Chanyeol interjects, seeing the inner conflict and what exactly Baekhyun was trying to get at here. “I’m going to ask you three questions.”

Baekhyun stares at him, confused. “About what?”

“One.” Chanyeol holds up his index finger, ignoring his question. “Do you like spending time with Y/N?”

Baekhyun blinks but slowly nods. Over the past few weeks where your interactions with him have slowly raised, he realized that whatever time spent with you, whether it was just a few moments, or hours on end, he never despised it. He even sometimes looked forward to it. No matter how cold he acted towards you. 

“Two.” Chanyeol pops another finger up. “Do you think she’s pretty?”

“W-what? How is that even… relevant—?”

“Answer the question, Byun.”

Baekhyun bites his lip. “Okay, yeah, she’s pretty, I guess.” This question doesn’t take long for him to answer. When you were little, Baekhyun always figured you were pretty with your blinding smile and sparkly eyes, and as you grow up, your features maturing and becoming more distinct, he’d say you’d become beautiful. In his eyes at least.

Chanyeol claps his hand, a smile spilling over his features. “Close your eyes for a minute.”

Baekhyun complies, albeit hesitantly, just in case this was just some prank and Chanyeol is just sneaking some raw garlic in his wrap. But Chanyeol’s words pull him in.

“You’re standing there, okay?”

Baekhyun imagines this well enough. He stood in the middle of a road that he’s never seen before, alone. He doesn’t know what Chanyeol’s point is but he doesn’t open his eyes just yet, intrigued as to what comes next.

“Y/N is there next to you,” his deep voice continues.

Baekhyun places you right in front of him. You’re standing there how he saw you the last time you crossed paths. Bundled up in an oversized hoodie, and jeans, your go to outfit everytime he sees you. Hair pulled into a low ponytail because as you said, it’s annoying when its down, and it hurts when it’s too high up. And only a touch of lip balm because makeup takes too much time and according to you, doesn’t fit you. He thinks you’d look pretty in anything—wait, no! This is exactly what he’s not supposed to be thinking. However, the butterflies in his stomach start to stir.

“And then she’s leaning closer  and closer…” Chanyeol hums again. 

The you behind his eyes, mirrors the actions and he watches, wide eyed as you’re almost nose to nose with him. Your breath fans over his cheeks and you flutter your eyes shut, standing there, waiting. He knows what comes next and his heart aches, his skin tingles, waiting for him to continue. He can’t even pinpoint whatever he’s feeling. He needs to repress it, he knows that he should or else it will just end up absolutely horrible. Baekhyun can’t seem to make a decision. His lips press into a thin line before his body is moving before he can react.

And he’s kissing you.

Baekhyun’s eyes fly open. He’s met with Chanyeol’s trademark grin set in place and a slight rise to his eyebrows. “So? What did you see?”

“We…” Baekhyun voice was barely above a whisper and he felt his skin tingle. That was it wasn’t it? “We kissed.” The butterflies raged and he let them.

Jongdae knows the tension between you and Baekhyun. He can quite literally feel it when he’s in close proximity between the two of you. It’s so thick it suffocates him. But he knows he can fix it. He’s good friends with the both of you and he knows where the two of you went wrong. Baekhyun is scared and running away from his feelings and you are beating yourself over having feelings for him. It’s a never ending cycle and Jongdae just wants it to stop. Which is why he’s strategically planned this last work study to the tiniest detail naming it: Let’s Get Them Together Because Everyone is Fucking Sick of it. The name needs work but the sentiment is still there.

The warmth of the cafe drafts over him as he opens the door, with you following closely behind him. He meets Baekhyun’s eyes for a split second before they immediately go towards you as you hide behind Jongdae like he’s some barrier. He doesn’t appreciate this and would prefer more eye contact between the two of you as to initiate something, so he moves away. 

Jongdae reaches the table and hovers, as you take a seat on the edge seeing that Baekhyun took the other. You face each other, but don’t dare to look at one another. The both of you were thoughtful enough to leave a seat for him straight in the middle, so there was that at least.

Operation Let’s Get Them Together because Everyone is Fucking Sick of it is now a go.

“Y/N! Why don’t you show Baekhyun that thing you showed me last night?” Jongdae chimes, smiling. Baekhyun looks questionably between the two of you before focusing his attention on you where you pulled out your laptop and materials. “Would the two of you like anything to drink?” He further questions, inwardly patting himself on the back when the two of you scoot closer together to ‘see’ your screen.

“I’m fine,” you chimed, voice soft. “Thank you.”

“Baekhyun?” Jongdae questions before looking at the cup Baekhyun taps at.

“I’m good too.” 

“Alrighty, then!” Jongdae exclaims, clapping his hands together, before narrowing his eyes at you. “Make sure you tell Byunnie here, everything alright? And in detail too!” 

Jongdae proceeds to skip off, laughing heartily at the weird stares you probably shared behind his back. Jongdae wasn’t planning on doing anything. Just fueling the spark that already came between the two of you.

Baekhyun’s eyes have opened into a new dimension and he knows about what’s driving him to act like this towards you. Well of course, he knows, he’s always known but always chose to ignore it. But now, he wants to change. He wants to change but now, he doesn’t know how. 

It’s been one week since his talk with Chanyeol and the three of you had met up almost everyday, seeing as you didn’t have much time to cram it all into the last day. He felt his walls breaking around you. A small smile whenever you scrunched your nose at a term you didn’t understand, turning to Jongdae all confused with some tech problem only to find out that it was something stupid—you would turn in to a blushing mess after. Whenever he met eyes with you, you would immediately look away and it made his heart clench. 

Sometimes you made yourself so small, he forgot you were even there, letting his walls break down thinking he was only in front of Jongdae. He would then remember that you were present, making eye contact and he would then see the pretty blush you would sport. He’d shut up straight away.

Jongdae had planned to meet at a cafe this time, going out for ice cream later in celebration for finishing. Baekhyun had come far too early, going straight after his last class just in case he came too late—a bad habit of his. And once the two of you arrived together, he’d straightened, ready to get this done and over with. He still didn’t know what was going to happen with the two of you, but has accepted that whatever would happen, would happen. But after that weird encounter with Jongdae, he felt like something was up.

“That was… weird right?” Baekhyun spoke, looking at you.

“Yeah,” you breathed, “totally weird.” You didn’t look him in the eyes as you said this.

There were a few moments of silence that drifted between the two of you, the ambiance of the cafe seeming to make up for the lack of conversation, before you spoke up.

“Did you manage to find the stuff about the stool analysis? That’s what Jongdae was talking about earlier, I guess. He told me about it and I found some stuff just in case you didn’t,” you started shifting your computer towards him.

He leaned over, hoping with the depths of his soul that you couldn’t hear how loud his heart was beating in front of you. You pointed out the parts that you found interesting and the differences between the analysis you’d come up with the days before. Baekhyun hummed, nodding along to everything you were saying, before one point caught his eye. He pointed this out. “This one seems nice to use.”

You grinned, before flipping open your notebook. “Right? I thought so too. I found some additional information about that specimen and compiled them so we could add it to our presentation.” You slid the notebook over to Baekhyun as well, and he had to scoot his chair closer to see. 

“If we use this in our presentation...” he started, lifting his head up and locking eyes with yours. His voice faltered. 

You were a breath away from him, nose almost brushing into his. He stayed there, frozen, wondering as to what to do in this situation, mind running a mile a minute and yet doing nothing at all. You were the first to move, coughing haphazardly, and leaning away from him, before pulling open a few more tabs saved on your bookmarks.

It would be okay, right? It was just you that his heart was beating for. Baekhyun was just a little too late in realizing that.

Jongdae entered at just the right time and Baekhyun spent the rest of the time, avoiding your eye now and trying his very best to control the beating of his heart.

Night had fallen as they exited out of the cafe. Baekhyun and you both carried a drink, yours being hot chocolate and Baekhyun’s another coffee to keep him awake for the rest of the night. With increased practice for baseball came less time for him to focus on his studies. And he really needed that stable GPA.

“Well, I go this way,” Jongdae states, cocking his thumb to the right. You and Baekhyun turn to look at him, confusedly.

“Isn’t your apartment like right next to mine, though?” you ask, confusedly.

“Well, yes, but I promised to meet someone earlier. Sorry I can’t walk you home, Y/N, and no ice cream,” he apologizes before his eyes brighten up again. “Oh, Baekhyun! Can’t you just walk her home? You’re headed in somewhat the same direction, right?”

Baekhyun scratches the back of his head. “I guess?”

“Great!” Jongdae exclaims before skipping off once again.

“Jongdae is acting really weird today…” you comment and Baekhyun can’t help but nod his head in agreement.

It’s a twenty minute walk from where you are now to your apartment building. Half of the time is spent silent with Baekhyun. 

Until you meet Sehun at the crosswalk.

“Oh, Y/N-noona, Baekhyun-hyung!” Sehun calls, and you wave at the familiar face, Baekhyun nodding in greeting. “Didn’t know you were such a gentleman, hyung,” Sehun teases, poking at Baekhyun’s sides. The older man swats at his arm in retaliation sticking his tongue out at the former. You laugh to the side at the two children it feels like you’re walking home.

Your phone buzzes in your pocket, and you pull it out, eyes lighting up at the name.

“Who is it?” Sehun asks, as he slides next to you.

“My mom,” you reply.

The words are falling out of Baekhyun’s lips before he could stop them. “Tell her I said hi.”

You smile. “Okay.”

You pick up the phone, voice soft as you slowly walk in front of the two boys. “Hi, Mom.”

“Yes, yes, I’m good. Oh, by the way, Baekhyun says hello. Yes, the one from next door.”

You look back at Baekhyun. “My mom says hello back and that you should come over some time,” you state. “You don’t have to if you want to, though,” you add as an afterthought.

“I’ll come over if I have some time later,” he tries.

“Sure,” you answer, relaying his words to your mom. Baekhyun can’t help but look endearingly at you from the back.

Sehun brings Baekhyun’s attention on to him, then. “Hyung.”

He looks over, eyes blinking, as he places his hands in his pockets, craving the warmth as a particularly fierce wind drafts through. “What’s up?”

“You like her, don’t you?”

Baekhyun blushes at the sudden confrontation. He thinks about it for a second before replying, not once thinking that it not be true. “Yeah, I do. Why do you ask?”

“She… talked to me earlier about you. Like a few days ago,” Sehun started, voice lowering. The three of you passed the crosswalk and continued on the side of the road. Sehun and Baekhyun lagged the tiniest bit as you walked along unaware of the conversation being shared between the two boys.

“Yeah?”

“She said she said something to you and you just turned cold and it was all her fault. I didn’t push her, but I asked her why she didn’t just play it off and say that she didn’t mean it,” Sehun started, getting straight to the point. Baekhyun waited on the balls of his heels for the answer. “You know what she said?”

Baekhyun shook his head.

“It’s better this way. What if I grow too attached and he just leaves again. I don’t think I can do that.” Sehun looked at Baekhyun gauging him for an answer.

So... that’s how she felt?

Baekhyun didn’t like to think about the period when you stopped being friends. He thought it would be better for you, to stay away from his crowd. You would always used to point to them, saying that you didn’t like them because of how snotty there were. And when Baekhyun joined the baseball team, with those same people, he thought you would hate him for that or at least grow to hate him so he just... distanced himself before he could get hurt. Because he was childish. And immature. He didn’t account to how you would feel, thinking that you would get over it. Maybe Baekhyun was as much a stable in your life as you were in his.

“I’m telling you this, because I know you’re a good person and I really don’t want you to hurt her again. When you left her before, I think it affected her more than she lets on. She doesn’t show it much, but I think that’s why she’s so wary with people in general. I really don’t want to see her like that, ever. So please—”

“It’s okay, Sehunnie,” Baekhyun interjects. “I know. I’m planning on making things right between us and I don’t plan on letting her go.”

“Are you sure?” Sehun asks warily.

Baekhyun nodded in confirmation as you finally turn back, hanging up on your phone call and noticing the distance between you and the two of you boys.

You laugh. “You guys are so slow!”

Yes, Baekhyun is sure. He knows what he wants to do. What he needs to do.

You shivered under the touch of the cool autumn sky, the breeze ruffling up your hair. As an attempt to block yourself from the harsh winds, you pulled up your hoodie, the fabric covering your ears giving you just the warmth you crave. 

A familiar mud green slide that twirled around like a pretzel came into view as you turned the corner. Your heart felt full at the images of sunny days and fall evenings spent in the very same space years ago, with a certain child.

It was surreal when you turned towards the swings and saw the same kid that you remember from your childhood. Tousled mop hair that went past the eyebrows, button nose, rosy cheeks, and the poutiest of pouts adorned his lips as he glared at the rock a few meters away. His jean clad legs, swung back and forth and the momentum carried him down then up then down and up again, a repeating cycle. As a child, you could never stand the swings for long—they made you get butterflies in your stomach, and not the good kind.

He spotted you, eyes widening and legs skidding across the wood chips to halt his flight, before you could even wonder whether you wanted to be there or not. It looked as if you’d intruded on a rather private moment. “Y/N? What are you doing here?”

You stepped out of the shadows, clammy hands gripping the strap of your bag. “I’d ask the same to you.”

The swing only slightly rocked back and forth now and you walked up to him, taking the adjacent seat. You didn’t look at him, absentmindedly kicking your legs back and forth but then decided against it when a wave of nausea passed over you. Some things never change. 

Baekhyun exhaled a heavy breath that somehow had layers to it. The creaking of the metal joints, rusted over years of children taking turns and calling dibs, showing, as he rocked back and forth. “You remember this place?”

You look towards the side, his voice drawing your attention. Clear, resolute, brights, but at this moment it sounded much different than the Baekhyun you remember. His head was tilted back, eyes closed and face relaxed, serene, and you couldn’t help but feel that way too. This place did something like that to you. All the jitters, and nervous butterflies were drowned out by the aura of this place, and it made you feel calm, comfortable. Home. “Of course I do,” you whispered. You were afraid that if you spoke too loud, something would break, and this, whatever this was would go with it. Your voice merely echoed through the space between the two of you, the buzz of cicadas quickly rebutting it.

“I come here sometimes,” he looks towards you as he says this, and you hold his eyes. Your eyes wander across his face. He looks so tired. “To think.”

You smile a small smile. “Funny.” He cocks an eyebrow at your comment. You shake your head at his pointed look. “I came here just to do that.”

“Do you come here often?” 

Your breath comes out in visible puffs in front of you. “No.” Another, but larger. “Yes.” 

He chuckles, his signature laugh making your smile grow even bigger. “And we’ve never seen each other before today? Crazy.”

“Yeah,” you grin. “Crazy.”

Your eyes bore into him, as Baekhyun, and as you see the way his shoulders hunch back, the furrow of his eyebrows, how his skin almost sags, the shadows bringing out the darkness under his eyes. You can’t help but ask, again. “Are you okay?”

His head tilts to your side and he opens one of his eyes, peering at you almost upside down, sideways. “Of course I am,” he chirps, “just a little tired ‘s all.”

“Then why don’t you go sleep?” 

He tilts his head back up, eyes closing. “Can’t.” Silence looms over the two of you, but he breaks it, once again. “I actually need to apologize to you.”

You turn towards him, confusion etched over your face. “Apologize?”

“Yes,” he confirmed. “I’m really sorry for being super... distant to you these past weeks. I don’t really know what got over me.”

“No, no, I mean,” you stutter, grasping his words and reason for an apology. “I should be apologizing. I guess, I stepped over a line, and your reaction was normal for what I did—”

“For what you did?” he interjects, puzzled. “I don’t get it, are we even talking about the same thing?”

“The locker rooms?” you try, wincing at the harsh memory and its outcome.

“Yeah… but you didn’t say anything like that—”

“Yes, but I said something that were implied in my words and—”

“Okay,” he grins and you warily meet his eyes. “How about we just forget that ever happened and start over again?” He cocks his head cutely and you inwardly coo, being reminded of the child you once knew (and now know again).

“Okay,” you agree, smiling.

The small smile he sported suddenly turned larger and much more wary. A mischievous grin pulled at the corner of his lips as he stood up to his full height, the swing twirling erratically at the loss of his weight. “I have an idea.” He bends down to pick up the backpack perched on the corner pole of frame when he looks at you, almost shy, and you were transported once again to the time when you were just a child and didn’t know anything better in the world. “You don’t need to be anywhere soon, do you?”

You shake your head no as you mirror him, dusting off your behind for remaining dirt, and straightening out your jacket.

“Great,” he beamed. “Let’s go!”

The arcade was still the same as you remember it. When you came to, wondering where in the hell Byun Baekhyun was taking you and whether you should’ve followed or him or just ditched to a sauna for the rest of the night was swiped clear out of your memory when you arrived at the front. A few of the letters balanced on a hilt of the building, were fused out, the A, C, and E, black in the darkness of the night. The sign now spelled, ‘RAD’ but you remembered the time when all of the letters dazzled bright colors all on their own.

Baekhyun shot you one of his award winning smiles when you looked at him, incredulously, mouth agape. “This was still here?” you marveled, breathlessly. 

He nodded, excitingly. “It hasn’t changed one bit.”

And he wasn’t wrong. 

The entrance was dimly lit, only one person over the counter and the teenage boy looked eerily dead, the light above him flickering on and off. When the bell chimed as you entered, he jolted, eyes glazing over the two of you.

“For two?” He queried, monotonously.

“Yes, please,” Baekhyun replied, bouncing on the tips of his toes.

The boy registered and handed you the tickets as you and Baekhyun paid for your own. Baekhyun tried paying for you saying that he dragged you into it, but you stared him down, and he eventually caved. Why would he even pay for you? It’s not like the two of you were on a—no! Y/N, don’t go there! Bad territory to be roaming around especially this close to a guy in a seemingly empty space. You shake your head free of thoughts as you focused back on the game at hand.

Baekhyun had got the lead when you glanced at his screen, but you quickly overpassed him, a trick from so long ago, now muscle memory, taking over you.

He groaned and you cheered as the tickets from under piled out and a crown displayed on your screen and a frowny face on his. You had an urge to soothe the scrunch between his brows when you saw him gloating off the number of tickets you accumulated over the time you’d been here. 

As you headed to the counter filled with different toys and stuffed animals, the clock behind it showed that it was almost 10. You’d been here for two hours? It barely felt like 1.

Baekhyun’s eyes were trained on a pikachu plushie to the corner. He didn’t have enough tickets to buy them.

“I’ll get the Pikachu, over there,” you pointed, and couldn’t help but coo at the small almost inaudible whine that blew past Baekhyun’s lips. “Are you going to get anything?”

His eyes flitted between the number of tickets displayed on the machine and back to the wall of toys. 

“How about that tiger over there? It kinda looks like you,” you nudged, smiling, when his eyes brightened up again at the sight. 

“Okay,” he states. “I’ll take that one.”

The walk back was heavy, silent. The impending doom and the utter discomfort at not having a bed for the night loomed over you and you cursed yourself for ever giving in to your roommate's enticing offers. Dammit, you and your weak heart.

Baekhyun took a deep breath as the ticking of the crosswalk, halted you from the street. “I go this way.”

He points towards his left and you know your apartment is in the opposite direction but you can’t help but want to lie and walk with him just a little bit more. Everything about today had just been so... nice. There was no other way to describe. It made your cheeks blush red, your breath unsteady, your legs stagger and you heart beat so hard you felt as if it would burst out of your chest.

The words were falling past your lips and you wished to take them back as soon as they escaped when you saw the worry fall onto his face. “I was just gonna crash at a cafe for the night.”

“Too much homework?” he questioned.

“Well, yes, and I’ve been kicked out of my room for the night,” you laughed the last part off, hoping that it didn’t sound as bad as it really should. And then you realized that it did sound as bad as it did and you were quick to rebuke just in case a tiny part of Baekhyun worried for you. “I mean! It’s not a big deal or anything, just I owe Sehun a big favor and apparently his plus one’s house is under plumbing or something and I do have that essay do the day after, and I guess, it just all works out...?”

“You don’t have anywhere else?”

You nervously chuckled. “I already tried...? And it’s fine. Not the first time—”

“You can stay with me,” Baekhyun interjected. You coughed a sudden cough. “If you want to, I mean.”

“Uhhhh, well—”

“You’ll have to owe me a favor, of course, it’s not every day I let someone borrow the mattress under my bed, but it’s fine if its you, as long as it is a big favor.”

You stood speechless for the minutest of moments. “I—is that okay?”

“Yeah, it's cool. A big favor, though, okay,” he pointed. 

You held your hands up in surrender. “A big favor,” you repeated. 

He dropped his finger and a lazy smile that brightened up his face all the more, washed over him. “Let’s go then, I’m bunked.”

You startled awake, eyes shooting open. Darkness meets you and it takes a few moments to register the room you’re in with the only light source being from the tiny gap in the curtain. Curtains. Blue curtains. You don’t have blue curtains. 

You’re currently on the floor. Laying on a mattress. There are two bunk beds on either side of you. One of them occupied with Byun Baekhyun who is currently dangling from the bed and drooling. Your brain finally registers awake and reruns everything that happened the night before, starting from your unexpected meeting all the way to Baekhyun’s gracious offer. Considering where you are now, last night wasn’t a dream.

You throw off the covers, suddenly feeling hot. Did he always sleep with no air conditioner? You wondered whether or not you should stay until he woke up, or if you’d be overstaying your welcome. Padding around for your phone, it was half past nine. You didn’t have any classes until the afternoon. You decided to kill time going through your social media, having nothing else to do. But your eyes soon got bored and trailed towards Baekhyun’s almost right above you.

You could make out his distinct features in the dim lights, the ones you are used to and everyone saw, but there was something so peaceful with the way his eyelashes laid against his cheeks and his lips and cheeks a rosy pink. And the drool. You stifled a laugh when the drool started to roll down his chin, threatening to drop off.

It wasn’t long for your heart to start pounding in your eardrums at the serenity of this environment and how quiet everything is. It starts getting louder, almost deafening until you peel your eyes away from Baekhyun.

You suddenly make eye contact with Chanyeol, who gazes at you blankly, face held in his palm.

You intake a sharp breath at the confrontation as he narrows his eyes at you. “Did Baekhyun bring you here?” he whispers.

You nod slowly before realizing the implication of the statement. “Wait, no! Not like that,” your harsh whisper makes Baekhyun stir and your wide-eyed as Chanyeol hold his finger to his lips. Like a deer caught in headlights you slowly nod in understanding. “I just didn’t have a place to stay, and Baekhyun offered. That’s all.”

Chanyeol’s eyes are clouded. You can’t tell what he’s thinking. For such an expressive person that everyone claims him to be he seems far too intimidating in front of you right now. “Do you like him?”

“What? No! Of course not.” you refute harshly. Chanyeol’s eyes narrow down at you. You wither under his gaze. “Okay, maybe a little. But don’t tell him, alright?”

“And why is that?” he presses.

“Just, please, I—” 

I’m scared. You choke back the words.

“I don’t want to lose him as a friend.”

Chanyeol nods. “Okay. Just be careful with him, okay? Some people use him because he’s Byun Baekhyun and he just lets it happen because he’s too nice and won’t say anything, so just when you’re with him, take care of him alright?”

You look at him questionably. “Why are you telling me this?”

He laughs, waving the question off. “It’s nothing.”

“Huh... you’re awake?” Baekhyun slurs from above you.

“Oh, Baekhyun!” Chanyeol grins. “I was just about to make breakfast, Y/N, will you join me?” A flip had switched in Chanyeol’s demeanor and your eyes don’t leave his, even as he shuffles out of his bed, his earlier words bouncing off the walls in your head. 

Baekhyun groans and flips his covers on top of his head, muffling a five minutes. Chanyeol cocked his towards you. “Coming?”

“Yeah,” you mumbled, trailing behind Chanyeol.

xxx - xxx - xxxx [6:15 PM]: hey, Y/N! this is baekhyun! I got ur number from sehunnie if ur wondering 

xxx - xxx - xxxx [6:15 PM]: i gave sehun a lil something for you :) make sure you wear it to the game tomorrow!

xxx - xxx - xxxx [6:15 PM]: also u forgot your pikachu at mine

‘xxx - xxx - xxxx has been added as a new contact: baekhyun’

y/n [6:16 PM]: ...should i be worried?

y/n [6:16 PM]: and you can keep it. u probably wanted it more than me. think of it as... payment? for letting me stay the night

baekhyun [6:17 PM]: it’ll look cute on u i swear!!! just please :,( for me??

baekhyun [6:17 PM]: also the pikachu will do

y/n [6:18 PM]: i hope ur not lying 

baekhyun [6:18 PM]: i'm not!!!

y/n [6:19 PM]: sehun just came so i hope u stick to ur word

baekhyun [6:19 PM]: you’ll love it, trust me ;)

baekhyun [6:19 PM]: oh, i’ve gotta go now, duty calls

y/n [6:19 PM]: oh okay

y/n [6:20 PM]: get lots of rest and gl for tomorrow!!!

baekhyun [6:21 PM]: dw ill win it :)

baekhyun [6:21 PM]: just for you 

‘message failed to send. try again?’

Baekhyun gave you one of his old jerseys, and a yellow t-shirt. You got the reference, his favorite color being yellow, and ‘byun’ printed on the back of the jersey.

“All the Baekhyun fans have one of these, but hyung said this one was special since he got it personally for you or some bullshit.” You didn’t care much for Sehun’s snarkiness, taking the clothing with gentle hands and scurrying off into your bedroom to squeal because Baekhyun got this just for you!!!

You’d tucked it into a pair of loose-fitted jeans the afternoon after, spending hours doing your hair and makeup before topping it off with a team hat. You’d gone for a minimalistic look, trying too much to make sure it didn’t look like you actually spent hours on it. Not that you were dressing up for a certain someone—who are you kidding, you are totally dressing to impress. Sehun took one look at you and snorted. You swatted his arm ignoring the look he gave you. “I haven’t seen this much effort since prom in senior year.”

You huffed a whatever, stalking out of your apartment and placing yourself in the backseat of his car, as you went to pick up Mina. Apparently the two of them were together again. You figured you knew when that happened.

When you get to the field, Sehun announced that he’s hungry and went off to the hot dog stand. You and Mina, meanwhile, climb up to your seats taking in the view. The bleachers are filled to the brim with people from your school and also people from not. You underestimated the sheer popularity of the baseball team in your state.

And you also noticed many other girls dressed up similarly to you. 

“So there’s something between you and Baekhyun?” Mina spoke up, from beside you.

Your head whipped towards her and your mouth opened and closed like a fish, unable to make a response. 

She glanced towards your shirt and then to the fine print of ‘byun’ across your back and raised an eyebrow at your lack of an answer.

“W-were just friends,” you finally stuttered out.

Mina’s eyebrows raise up another level. “Sure…” she says, sounding totally not convinced. “Because friends blush at the mention of another friend’s name.”

Your hands fly to your cheeks patting them down. “I’m not blushing,” you frown.

She laughs. “Whatever you say, but I personally think you’d be good together.”

You look at her, curiously, egging her to go on.

“I mean, Baekhyun doesn’t really date that often. Eunha—was a stupid decision on his part, I don’t know what got into him. But he’s a good guy and I think he really likes you, Y/N.”

“He likes h-h-uh?” you bumble, head spinning.

Mina snickers. “Yeah, I think he does. And I’m the best when figuring out these types of things,” she grins, adding a cheeky wink towards you. 

Your left to mull about her words, as Sehun enters, handing you your hot dog and soda.

“Oh, it’s starting!” Sehun comments and the pitcher throws the first ball. The crowd goes wild.

The game ends with your team winning 6-4 and you find yourself cheering for them along with the others in the crowd.

Sehun drags you towards the locker rooms, telling you that it’ll be fine, and Baekhyun will totally not be weirded out by you visiting him after the game and telling him a good job. 

“Sehun!” One of the team called out as you entered the locker room. A horde of sweaty boys swatted at your friend and took the compliments he threw out. You craned your neck searching to find a familiar pink-haired boy before someone called your name from behind.

You turned to find Baekhyun, with a towel slung over his neck, bangs sticking to his forehead, and cheeks flushed. Not to mention the smile that spread over his face like he just saw an angel. He looked effortlessly hot. So unfair.

He jogged towards you and before you could even say a hello, he threw his arms around your waist, burying his face in the crook of your neck. You froze for a split second before wrapping your arms around his shoulders, a small smile playing on your lips. You forgot that he was really touchy realizing he must’ve never outgrown the habit, not that it was a particularily bad one. His drooling was far worse. With how tight he was hugging you, you figured it must’ve been out of relief. You knew it. He really was worried for the game.

“You did really well,” you breathed, lips hovering over his ear. He smelled like sweat, undoubtedly and you were sure the warmth would stick to your skin soon enough, but didn’t dare shy away from his hold. He would always hold you like this back then as well and you felt comfort from that fact. Some things really do never change. 

He groaned, voice muffled by your skin. His lips moving against your neck sent shivers through your skin so even if you did hear it, your mind was on another level. Finally he pulled his head back, still crouched so he looked up at you, a smirk sporting his lips. 

“You wore it.”

You rolled your eyes, and pulled your hands away from him, as he stood to his full height. “You’re the one who begged me to, Byun,” you huffed.

“No, I didn’t!” he exclaimed, sounding aghast at your presumption.

“Oh, really?” you egged, eyes sparkling. “Please? Just for me? Ring any bell?”

“Okay, okay, whatever, you say,” he grinned, hand coming up to ruffle your hair.

You frowned playfully before continuing. “But you did a really good job! You worried over nothing.”

“Who said I worried?” he pouted.

You laughed before motioning to his eye bags. He swatted at your hands, before the two of you burst into giggles. 

And then suddenly he’s grabbing your free hand, his encasing yours in warmth and raising it up into the air before shouting a loud ‘let’s go!’ to the rest of the people in the room.

The team chorused shouts in answer before Baekhyun tugged at your arm, eyes smiling like they held the galaxy and stars back at you before pulling you with the crowd that filed out of the cramped room. 

You lost Baekhyun to the crowd once you got to the party. Migrating towards the kitchen, you grabbed a soda from the fridge, deciding to pass on the drinks tonight, no matter how enticing they were. Sehun found you brooding in the corner not two minutes later, and true to his word, didn’t leave your side. You, Sehun, and Mina, played in a beer pong game with some guys you vaguely recognize from your sociology class, but can’t put a name on. You played rock, paper, scissors, every time to see who’d drink and it was as if Sehun got on the wrong side of Dionysus tonight. You quickly got bored, however, gravitating away from the crowd when Sehun and Mina headed out on to the dance floor. It couldn’t really be called that when really it was just the living room with some strobe lights and stereos that blasted half-assed music.

You took a seat on the empty two seater, sipping on your soda, and looking up when Jongdae came down to sit next to you.

“Having fun?” he asked, voice almost muffled by the music even though he was practically screaming.

“I think I’ve had enough for the night,” you laughed. “I’ll just find Baekhyun and Sehun and tell them I’m leaving before I go,” you say before getting up.

“Oh, I think I saw Baekhyun before, I’ll take you to him,” he commented, before leading the way.

It isn’t hard to find Baekhyun, what with his eccentric hair color and white outfit. However, Jongdae suddenly stops in front of you, making you bump into him. 

His mouth opened to say something and you peeked over his shoulder, thinking that there was something there that you just had to see. “What is it—”

Your voice falters and then you lock eyes with Byun Baekhyun. And he’s kissing someone. He’s kissing Eunha.

Baekhyun regrets it the moment it happened. His eyes fly open, when her mouth comes into contact with his and he sees your eyes undoubtedly meet his across the crowds of people hovering over the shoulder of Kim Jongdae. You stare into his eyes and before he can even pull away or shout your name, your gone, surrounding yourself in the shadows with Jongdae running behind you. He snaps his head back, glaring at Eunha.

He doesn’t bother to speak a word to her, opting to run after the way you came from. Shit, shit, shit, this probably would not end well. No, no, no need for negative thoughts, he will make it end well.

He doesn’t find you in the kitchen which was the way you were headed but he found Sehun and pounced on his immediately.

“Did you see, Y/N?”

“Huh, no, why?” Sehun asked, eyebrows furrowed. The smile was wiped off his face and in place a frown. “Hyung…”

“Just, see if she texted you maybe?” Baekhyun pleads, voice growing louder at the upturn of music. Sehun cocks his head but does as he said, eyes widening before showing him the text.

y/n: sorry sehunnie, didn’t feel too well. went back home if you need me ^^

Baekhyun’s heart runs into overdrive, and he’s out of the door a split second after. His feet are carrying him as fast as possible and when he’s finally on the elevator going up to your floor, eyes blown out and breath ragged from running, he takes a moment to conserve himself. It was a mistake. And you have to understand that. Because what Baekhyun realized as he was egging the taxi driver to go faster across the city, was that he wanted you there with him. He wanted to kiss you. Not Eunha. Not anyone else. And he wanted to kiss you really fucking bad. 

The door dings open and he sees the color of your jacket as you shuffle through your bag, presumably looking for your keys.

He’s by your side in a second and you turn and look around to see what's all the raucous. You visibly stiffen. Your face is streaked with tears, eyes puffy, cheeks blotchy, and lips a dark rouge as if you’ve been biting them for hours. 

“Y/N…” Baekhyun starts hand reaching for your wrist unconsciously. You shift away from this and Baekhyun notices that deflating.

“What are you doing here?” you question, voice wobbling, as if you were about to start crying any second now. And from the way it looked, it seemed to be true.

“That kiss—” he starts, and Baekhyun realizes his voice is far too loud for the quiet of the empty hallway and as you flinch, he takes a sharp breath. “That kiss meant nothing. Eunha doesn’t mean anything to me anymore. She’s just an ex, and I guess she thought since I was being nice to her that meant that we could be together again, and really it isn’t anything like that because I don’t like her anymore.”

You blink owlishly at him, looking as if you aren't digesting what he was saying, which made Baekhyun halt. “Why are you telling me this?”

“Be-because, you saw! You saw me kissing Eunha, and I obviously had to explain it or else there would be too many misconceptions—”

“You don’t have to tell me that. It’s not like I’m your girlfriend or anything.” You laugh heartlessly and sniffle. “I’m just some delusional girl who thinks that just because she used to be your friend ages ago, she would somehow have even a sliver of a chance that you would like her, but again that’s delusional! Because it somehow managed to slip my mind that you’re Byun Baekhyun of the baseball team. Handsome, smart, athletic, kind, caring, loving and not the Byun Baekhyun who’d tripped over his own feet and have dirt and drool over his face all the time—”

Your crying as Baekhyun kisses you.

His weight leans into you and you take small steps back as your back hits the wall behind you. He adds more pressure, tilting his head, hand gripping your hand more just in case you felt as if this wasn’t real, which he believed what would be running through your mind now. 

He feels like absolute putty when you soften at his touch and splay a delicate hand over his chest, and when he bites down on your lip you make a noncommittal noise from the back of your throat that has him falling. 

You squeak when Baekhyun’s hands, one placed on your hip and the other on your neck and in your hair and everywhere, tilt your head higher, bringing him deeper into the kiss. It isn’t until you gently push him back, breathless, and eyes hooded that he takes a moment to consider the predicament he stood in. 

“I’m not dreaming, am I?” you breathe, wiping the stray tears away from your face.

Baekhyun chuckles softly, patting down your hair. “I thought you would say that.”

The clicking of a lock from the other side of the hall, snaps both your attention towards it. Baekhyun is amused as you look at him wide-eyed as the clicks continue. You pick up the key that somehow dropped to the floor in the midst of everything and are quick to open your door pulling Baekhyun in. 

When the door shuts behind Baekhyun, with you leaning against his chest, breathing deep, and Baekhyun leaning against the door, he can’t help but feel like the luckiest man in the world.

His hands snake their way into your hair, one of them tilting your chin up. “Round two?” he smiles, cheekily.

You blush a pretty red before nodding and meeting him in the middle for a kiss.

[scullyy]

Birthday Boy

Word Count: 2.8k

Summary: It's AJs' birthday! The kids have gathered around for another rockin' hootenanny!

A/N: brUH I’ve been working on this for agesssss and it’s finally dooooneeeeee ~~and it’s still not my best but I TRIED and perfection doesn’t eXIST-~~ it’s a VERY belated birthday gift for @bluebutterfly1 cause she’s been wanting this foREVER. SHE'S AMAZING OKAY-

so yeah this is based off a deleted scene from TFS where it was AJ’s birthday and what not anyways ily and enjoy x

-

It was hard being a kid sometimes, not having the words to describe how you're feeling, not even knowing what it is you are feeling was also a bummer. AJ had hoped he would know when he got older, especially by Clem's age. He would know so many more words and feelings and extra stuff about the world. He had already learned so much just from Aasims' teachings.

But Aasim hadn't taught him why everyone was giving him strange looks this one particular winter morning.

Clem was the first, she wasn't as good of a liar as she thought she was. There was this...odd smile on her face. AJ recognised it as the same smile Louis makes whenever he tries to get out of trouble. Ruby, Violet and Aasim had immediately zoomed off into the school once breakfast was done, only running out to share little whispers with Clementine. Omar was cooking something in his special big pot, more focused than AJ had ever seen, but he refused to tell the kid what it was.

He hadn't even seen Louis! Not even during breakfast! The only other person outside was Willy, still stationed at the watchtower. AJ's curious mind and talkative nature tried to squeeze as much info out of the young boy, but he was able to keep his mouth shut for once.

It all led him to sit beside Clementine in an unusual silence for the two, one that didn't sneak past her. Nothing AJ did - or in this case, didn't - could slip by her radar. "Why the long face kiddo?" Clem bumped her elbow into his shoulder, attempting to steal his attention.

AJ picked at a speck of dry skin on his hand, sporting a very obvious pout. "Did I do something wrong?"

That caught her off guard. Her leg trembled from both the cold and her deeply-bundled nerves. Keeping a secret, especially one she knew AJ was going to love, was tougher than she thought. "What makes you think that?" Her eyes moved rapidly from AJ and the school doors, keeping her crossed fingers hidden beneath her thigh. The other kids better be done soon...

"No one is talking to me. Like when I shot Marlon and everyone got mad at me. I didn't like that and I don't like this." He kicked at the air, his little legs still too short to touch the ground.

"I'm sure everything is fine-"

As her hand reached out to hold him, he pulled himself away, jumping straight to his feet. "Don't say that! I know you're lying!"

His desperation near broke her heart. She could never say no to his cute face, damn him. Heaving a sigh of defeat, she gave in. "Okay fine, follow me." The other kids would surely be pissed at her for letting on too early, but she would rather that than an upset AJ.

And boy did that remove the frown from his face. He bounded around her as she got her crutches in order, kicking up sparkling snow behind him. "Where are we going?"

"The music room-"

The young boy had bolted off before she could finish, reminding her of another young boy she used to know when this all started. "Slow down, kiddo! You're not the one on crutches!"

His eagerness outweighed Clem's command, which was usually his law. He could hear muted talking from within Louis' music room, a few giggles here and there too. He crept closer to the door, utilising his amazing ninja skills. His tiny hand gripped the tinier doorknob, opening the door just a crack to find...huh?

The doorknob was set free from his hand, which had now fallen loosely by his side as he took one quiet step into the room. "What's this?" AJ disturbed the other kids, finding them in compromising positions. Louis was on his very tip-toes, tying some blue tinsel around the fireplace, Aasim and Ruby were lighting the last of the candles as Violet was gently moving the gramophone back into it's original place.

It was a real life record scratch moment.

"Oh shit," Louis broke the silence first, drawing everyone's line of sight to the intruder. He chucked the last of the tinsel up onto the mantle in a careless manner before throwing his hands into the air. "Happy birthday AJ!"

The other kids all dropped what they were doing, raising their hands in line with Louis. "Happy birthday!"

Said child stood there with his mouth hung wide open, taking in the sight. "What?" It was the only word racing through his mind.

Louis kneeled down to his level, sporting one of the biggest smiles AJ had ever seen. "It's your birthday little dude, gotta celebrate it big time."

"My...birthday?" Whatwhatwhatwhatwhat-

Willy tugged on the thick tinsel that ran from the fireplace to Louis' piano. "We managed to scrounge up some decorations from the drama class."

"And we re-used the banner from the party back when these guys got kidnapped." Ruby pointed to the banner above the doorway. The original message 'We're getting them back' had been scribbled out and somehow replaced with 'Happy birthday Alvin Junior'.

AJ spun around, his eyes bouncing between all the bright decor; the flickering candles, the weird fuzzy stuff on the piano, it was all so new. "You did this..for me?"

A slightly puffed Clementine finally made her way into the room, smiling with pure glee at how well her friends decorated the space. She stood beside her boy, trying to decipher what he was feeling. "What do you think AJ?"

"It's awesome!" He threw his hands up into the air.

Louis looked between his friends, all of them sharing evil little smiles. "So, who wants to go first?"

"First in what?" AJ questioned, nearly vibrating at wondering what else they could have planned.

Clementine gently nudged him forward with her crutch, pushing him into the centre of the room. "Gift-giving."

"Gifts?" He continued to question. So much new knowledge in such a short span of time.

Louis dead-panned, merely wanting the festivities to begin. "If you keep asking questions we're going to be here all day. Of course, we got you gifts! It's a thing you give someone to show appreciation or celebrate, and today little dude we're celebrating you."

"I'll go first since my gift is the coolest," Violet was guided over to AJ by Ruby, her smile never wavering. From behind her back she presented a roll up parchment, the corners slightly ripped.

AJ pulled it open and blinked rapidly, taking in the faded faces and text. "Green Day? What's that mean?"

"They were a really cool band, before everything happened," Violet nodded to the outside world. "I figured you could hang it up in your room. If I ever find one of their records, you'll be the first to listen, little man." Slowly guiding her hand to the curve of his shoulder, she gave him a gentle punch.

AJ was still hung up on why a day would be green but appreciated the thought from Violet nonetheless. "They look cool...but what's on their eyes?"

Green Day was a rare source of joy from Violet's sordid childhood, a fleating sense of nostalgia washed over her as she came to realise it'll do the same for him.

Ruby skipped closer to AJ once Violet took a seat on the piano stool, thankful that she got to go next. "I figured since you've become an A+ gardener, you could have this little guy," She brandished from behind her back a small pot, with an even smaller plant inside. "If you take good care of it, he'll grow big and strong."

"Just like me!" AJ was near bursting at the seams; the flower was rather dainty, small and barely purple, yet ready to flourish.

She gently pinched his cheek, gushing openly. "Just like you," Ruby bounced away on her feet, feeling another sense of pride at impressing the tot. She patted Aasim on the back, which turned more into a push when he didn't catch onto her actions. "C'mon, it's your turn now!"

Aasim shuffled over, not bothering to hide his gift. He cleared his throat before passing it to AJ. "Here dude," In his grasp laid a tightly bound book, his name carved into the leather cover. His precious journal that he guarded so dearly the night they first met.

AJ took it gently, treating the book as if it were made of glass. "But it's yours?" He questioned, remembering their first encounter. How times had changed.

Aasim shrugged, unsure of what to say. Dammit, he had this all planned out beforehand! "It's ours. Think of it as 'Ericson's History Volume One', you can finish it off if you like."

"This is cool, I hope I can write as good as you." AJ was so captured by his friend's neat handwriting, he didn't notice Aasims' sincere smile.

"My turn!" Willy yelled, pushing Aasim out of the way in the process. His gift was the only wrapped one, albeit it was wrapped in old textbook pages. A tear in the paper revealed a small piece of wood shining through. "It's a slingshot! Mitch and I used to hit walkers with them all day, now we can!"

AJ hadn't even finished tearing the paper away, but his heart still soared. "That's cool, I wish Mitch was here." He added quietly.

Willy lowered his head, gently fidgeting with his own fingers. "Me too."

Their friend's passing left a forever space in every room, an unnerving emptiness that will never go away.

"Okay Willy, my turn," Omar butted in, wanting to steer the conversation back to the joy. He handed AJ a wooden spoon with a neat little bow wrapped around the handle. "It's my best spoon. You can use it to help me cook dinner tonight."

Louis whipped his head to Omar, shooting daggers from his eyes. "You never let anyone help!"

Omar kept a strong smile as he turned to his friend, unphased. "No, I don't let you help because unlike you the kid actually listens to instructions."

"I listen, just like to take a more...casual approach to cooking." He shrugged, finding a sudden interest in his shoes.

"If by casual you mean undercooking the fish, then sure."

Louis poked his tongue out at his friend before sauntering over to AJ, ready to present the greatest gift of all fucking time. "I figured it's time for an upgrade, say goodbye to that crusty knife," Louis whipped out a small bar stool from behind him, holding it out in front of the boy.  "I present...Stoolio! Get it? Cause it's a stool."

"Nope!" AJ beamed brighter than Clem had ever seen, despite the joke flying way over his head. Louis just had that effect on people. The stool was heavier than it seemed, as it immediately hit the floor when AJ took ahold of it. The faded wood declaring the weapons' age, AJ traced the deep cracks with his fingers. "I think I'll call it CJ, Chairles Junior, like my name."

"That's a much better name. It's strong like you too. It defeats monsters, protects people and looks super cool." He purred, selling the gift as only the best of the best.

AJ looked between his new weapon and Louis, letting the weight of it settle in his small palms. It was stronger than his little knife, though not as easy to hold as his gun. But if Louis could do it, so could he. "Sounds more like you."

Clementine noticed the hitch in Louis' breath, both their hearts thumping from the young boys' sentiment. Louis could feel his heart slip up into his throat, thumping faster than his breathing could keep up. "Uh, wow, thank you. It's both of us."

If only AJ was aware of how much his statement meant to Louis, how he would hold onto it during his weakest hours. If that kid could believe in him, he must be doing something right.

Louis cleared his throat, choking back a quiet sob as his heart settled back down. "There's one final surprise, from all of us." He hopped over to a box beside the ladder, dragging Omar over with him.

The boys reached into the box and began to lift something of great weight, as they struggled to keep a tight grip. "Just don't ask how we got it." Omar heaved, forgetting just how little muscle he truly had.

From the box emeregd something AJ could only imagine in his wildest daydreams. A...giant...Disco Broccoli!

The tot stood in pure disbelief, his jaw hanging wide open. "Is that-"

"Oh hell yeah it is," Louis sneered, maybe just a little more excited than AJ.

The boys set it down besides the dusty fireplace, with Omar wiping his brow. "You like it?"

AJ wandered closer, getting a better look. It was certainly Disco Broccoli, despite there being a hole in his cartoon hand. He had the cool glasses and everything! But he looked...funny. "What...what is it?"

Louis clasped the tots' shoulder, it was always a fun venture showing him something from the old world. Seeing the wonder in his wide eyes, made the hassle Louis went through to get the damn thing worth it. "It's a pinata, bro! You hit it and stuff is supposed to come out."

Omar tapped the side of the pinata, being greeted by a soft echo. "There's nothing in it, but it's still fun to hit."

"You can use Chairles Junior there." Louis was nearly bouncing at the idea as he handed the stool leg to the birthday boy, ready for the absolute carnage he was about to witness.

AJ gripped his new(ish) weapon tightly, eyeing down the funny looking Disco Broccoli. "Awesome."

Clem watched from the piano as AJ tried to lift the stool above his head, nearly tipping over from its' weight. Her thoughts drifted to a dream she had, Lees' words at the forefront of her thoughts. "Wanting to give him a childhood, but knowing what it takes for him to survive."

"You okay, Clem?" Louis bumped his shoulder with hers, breaking her away from her memories.

Nodding slightly, Clementine hoped he couldn't notice the tears in her eyes. "Yeah, thanks for this. It's amazing."

"No problemo, it's good to see him smile."

Clem continued to watch AJ laughing with his friends, a smile tugging at the corner of her lips. "He's been doing that a lot since we've arrived here."

Louis continued to gaze at her, despite her not noticing. "You both have."

-

Just as it had always been, Clem and AJ sat side by side together on the steps of the courtyard, appreciating the rare beauty of the sunset. The sky a gallery of purely blue and purple. Clem disrupted the silence first, after having spent a lengthy amount of time remembering Rebecca and Alvin, wondering if they would be proud of their young boy. "Can I admit something?"

AJ curiously turned to her, awaiting with an eager tap in his foot.

"I don't actually know if today is your birthday," She pouted. "I know it's at the start of winter, but that's it. There were no calendars, no way to check the date. I just kinda had to guess every year. I also don't know how old you actually are." If she had to guess, either six or seven. Without access to a calendar, all these years trying to keep track of the fleeting months grew tiresome and redundant. Each day was the same, a date made no difference. Hell, she wasn't even sure of her own age anymore.

"Maybe I'm a thousand years old!" He bounced like the truly giddy child he was.

Clem laughed openly into the chilly air. "Sure thing, Grandpa." She pushed at his shoulder before looking back at the sky, knowing deep within her gut that Alvin and Rebecca were smiling with her.

They remained in a balanced silence for a while, until AJ turned back to her. "I don't think it matters. I get bigger and stronger every day, no matter how old I am I'll always protect us."

Clementine wrapped her arm around him, pulling him in close the same way she always had and the same way she always will. "I know you will, forever," She pressed a firm kiss to the top of his head, smiling into his thick hair. "Wanna know what we're having for dinner?"

"What?"

"Beans with apple slices."

"BEANS!"

[skythealmighty]

A girl in a spider costume zooms through the sky on webs strung from her hand, whooping. A narration cuts in of a sassy teenage girl. 

“All right, let’s get this part over with. I’m not the first, and I’m certainly not the last. Cut to backstory!” she said, then snapped. The scene changed.

The girl, outside her costume, is eating a bagel. She has blond-brown hair in a messy bob, blue-green eyes, and pale skin. She’s wearing simple clothes. “My name is Skye King. In my universe, I’m one of two spider-people, though I’m the only Spider-Girl. Spider-Man is in New York. My business is in Seattle. One day, during summer break, I was bitten by a radioactive spider after my 15th birthday. You get the jist, right? Then I had spider powers, yadda yadda yadda. We’ve all heard it before. Well, the thing is, not really. That spider was from another universe (at least I'm 99% sure).” While she said all that, in the cutscene, a spider bit her on the hand and she threw it outside. “I could tell something was wrong, so I decided to cancel my hangout with my friend the next day, telling her I was sick. I couldn’t have been more wrong, but it was a good call. I absolutely trashed my room that day.” It showed Skye in her room, sticking to the bedcovers and the ceiling and her books. “Needless to say, my parents were kinda, okay super mad. Oh well, small price for a little superpower! I discovered during the next few days that I could create portals with my webs, and the first one led to the universe with the graffiti Spider-Man, Miles Morales.” Another scene showed her fistbumping with Miles, masks down on their spider costumes as they sat on top of a building. “There, I officially got my suit from Aunt May with some help. I wanted a little piece of everyone I met, so I asked Miles to decorate my costume a bit. He got the left arm, and I gotta say, it looked pretty sweet! Over the next week, I visited other universes and added to my suit a little at a time. You name them from Miles’s movie, I’ve probably visited them. Peni Parker (got a robotics upgrade from her), Noir (the guns were cool, but he also got a bit of space on my mask), Gwen (I stole her hoodie idea and went to gymnastics), Peter B. (not much, his suit’s the same as the original), and even Peter Porker (got a cartoon hammer, I love Looney Tunes)! They were all really cool, but my story isn’t about meeting them. Way too cliche, and probably done before, too. This little mini story takes place in the universe where that spider came from. So why don’t we finally get started, now that you know who I am?” The scene returned to Spider-Girl swinging from the Seattle Space Needle. She winked at the camera, and the screen turned black.

Skye yawned, sitting up in bed as her alarm went off. “Hey Google, alarm off,” she said tiredly, getting out of bed and getting dressed off-camera. She ate her breakfast, said hi to her family, packed up her backpack (not forgetting her Spider Suit), and jogged out the door to her bus stop. She napped on the bus until it arrived at school, where she was woken up by her Spidey senses. She got off the bus. “Hello again, Edison High,” she sighed, walking into the cafeteria and sitting down at a table full of older students. The narration starts. “This is my average, everyday high school, Edison High. These are my art club friends, Olivia, Jack, Darth, and.. well, they’re important to me, but maybe not to you. My other friends are Sofia, Haylie, Mitchell, AJ, and Micheal. At my high school, nobody apart from Sofia, AJ, and Haylie know I’m Spider-Girl, even though she’s the main topic of gossip. School’s boring, so I’ma skip it.” 

The scene of a high school day is fast forwarded until the very end, where she goes to the bathroom. “I’ve long since made a secret exit, and most girls don’t check the bathroom mirror, so I get dressed in my onesie there. It’s really not that hard, and I have a drone get my backpack home. That does mean I have to do my homework in class, but I’m pretty smart, so I can do it most of the time.” Skye, in her Spider-Girl suit, exits the stall and opens the mirror like a door, walking inside. She drops her backpack into a carrier drone, then opens a secret door from the inside and webs to the top of the school. “All in all, a pretty normal day. No crime at the moment, so I decided to visit another universe again. I mean, why not?” She spun her web in a circle, creating a portal, which she swung into. “I wanted a little something to add to my outfit. But that day? Fate didn’t like me one bit.” She looked around at the other portals, which had markings on them, the logos of the different Spider-Men she’d met. One of the portals was unmarked, and that was the one she swung into. As soon as she did, she attempted to make another web, but failed. “Aw, what? Talk about bad timing..” the Skye in the scene said, before yelling and slamming into the ground. “I think I’ll stop the narration now, so you can focus on the story.”

The screen was black, but then Skye opened her eyes. In front of her was a rainbow Spider-Man, upside down in front of her. She yelped and scrambled backwards in surprise, bonking her head. “Ow..” she muttered, rubbing her head. She flicked her wrist, trying to spin her web. Nothing happened. “Damnit!” she cursed.

“You okay?” the rainbow Spider-Man asked, letting go of his web (which was unsurprisingly rainbow as well) and landing on the ground. “You hit your head pretty hard.”

Skye grinned under the mask. “I’ve had worse. I mean, when you’re Spider-Girl, you gotta be able to take a few hits, right?” She got up, standing in front of the walking rainbow and looking him up and down. “I like the sugar glider wings,” she complimented. “I bet those come in handy a lot, huh?”

He smiled too (though only shown with the eyes of his mask). “Yeah, they do. So, how’d you get here anyway? Super collider?”

She shook her head. “Nah, got here on my own. Part of my powers include going to other universes, weirdly enough. My webs aren’t working, though,” she flicked her hand for emphasis, “so I’m stuck here for the moment. I don’t think that’ll last for more than a couple days, so no need to worry.”

He sighed in relief. “Good, I’m already taking care of four Spider-Children, so I don’t need more.. why are you looking at me like that?” he asked, after seeing her starstruck expression. 

“There’s more!?” she said, sort of high-pitched. She covered her mouth. “Oops. Um, basically, when I run into another Spider-Person, I want a way of remembering, so I add to my outfit.. I was looking to upgrade mine for a while, so this is perfect!”

He laughed. “Alright, I’ll take you to them. Be warned though, they’re all pretty extra in their own way.” The scene cut to him swinging her up to an apartment, setting her down.

“Thanks for that,” she said, embarrassed. “If I had my webs, I wouldn’t need you to do that, though..”

“Nah, it’s fine!” He took off his mask, grinning. “I don’t mind. I’m Thomas.” He held out his hand.

“Skye,” she said, taking it after pulling her own mask off. “Now if you don’t mind, you got some thread and needles?” He pointed her to a room. “Sweet!” she said, running in. “I’ll be back!”

After a few minutes, she came out with the same sugar glider extensions he had, but they were the bi flag instead of the gay flag. “Ta-daa!”

“Nice,” he nodded in approval. “There’s some spare clothes in the closet if you don’t mind sweats and t-shirts.”

She grinned. “That’s what I usually wear anyway!”

The screen showed a Spongebob ‘one hour later’ cutscene, then showed Thomas and Skye watching a movie. She was wearing a blue t-shirt and purple sweats. There was a knock on the door. “Come in, guys,” Thomas said, not taking his eyes off the movie. Skye, however, looked towards the door to see four different Spider-Men come through. One wore a royal outfit with flowers, hair uncovered, one wore a pink outfit with hearts and a baseball cap, one wore an outfit similar to Gwen’s with a V, and the last one wore a blue outfit that had a tie design on it and four robotic spider legs on his back. Her eyes widened.

“Okay, now I definitely need to update my outfit again!” She grinned, dashing into the room she’d been in before where her suit was. The others looked at her.

“Uh… who was that?” the one in the royal outfit asked, looking perplexed.

“You’ll see,” Thomas answered.

After a half hour, while everyone was on the couch with masks down, she came out with the suit on and mask up. The hoodie was up, and on top of it, there was a gray V like the Gwen lookalike’s mask. One of the legs had pink hearts and red flowers, and the other had the same design as the tie design but only up to below the knee. She was grinning, until she realized something. “Oh, right, I never introduced myself. I’m Skye, Spider-Girl!” she said, pulling her mask down and bowing. 

“Virgil,” said the Gwen lookalike.

“Roman!” introduced the royal one.

“Hi, I’m Patton!” grinned the pink one.

“Salutations, my name is Logan,” said the one in the tie.

“Nice to meet all of you!” said Skye, grinning and sitting down with the rest. 

A timelapse showed the day going by, nothing super interesting. The timelapse stopped at the next day during lunch, because that’s where the action is. Besides, this is supposed to be a short story, so I won’t bore you too much.

Everyone was having pizza. “Mm, they do not make pizza like this in Seattle, let me tell you,” Skye said after finishing her first slice. “I almost wish they did, but then I’d never cook for myself!”

Suddenly, everyone froze, Spidey senses going off. “Oh no, why in the middle of lunch?” Roman groaned, setting down his slice and going into one of the stalls in the corner. Everyone but Skye followed him, her going into the suit touch up room. One by one, they all emerged in their Spider suits. Thomas and his gang swung out, while Skye took a deep breath and glided after them using the addition she’d just added yesterday, since she still couldn’t use her webs. They arrived in Times Square to see the Scorpion causing trouble with the Tinkerer, again. 

“Peter always has to deal with these guys, why don’t they ever quit?” Skye asked, perched next to the others on top of a building. 

“Evil never rests?” Logan offered.

“Nah, these guys are just really annoying,” Thomas sighed. 

They all jumped down, standing in front of either the Tinkerer or the Scorpion. Virgil, Logan, and Skye were in front of the Tinkerer, while Thomas, Patton, and Roman were in front of the Scorpion. “Time to kick some ass!” Skye said, crawling up a building and launching herself at the Tinkerer. Soon after, Virgil and Logan swung at him in turn, Logan knocking the Tinkerer out of his own vehicle and taking control, which he then used to stun the Tinkerer while Virgil tied him up. Thomas swung and glided onto the Scorpion’s face, blinding him. Patton and Roman tied the Scorpion up, then Thomas kicked the Scorpion over and over in the face, temporarily stunning him. As if it was second nature for her, Skye swung using her webs and tied the Scorpion up some more, knowing her webs were stronger than the others’ by nature. As she landed on the ground, she looked at her hands and smiled. “Looks like I can go home now,” she grinned to the others. “Sorry for overstaying my welcome.”

“Nah, you’re fun to hang around with. Come back anytime,” Thomas said, waving goodbye. She nodded and made a portal, swinging through as it closed behind her. She hung in place in the middle of all the universes, making five webs above the top of the portal she just came in from. The middle one was a rainbow spider, and the other four were a gray V, a red rose, a pink heart, and a blue tie. She grinned and swung through the portal labeled ‘home’, swinging above the city. She was lucky it was Saturday, so she didn’t miss any school. But how would she explain it to her parents? She shook her head to clear her thoughts as she spotted a robbery. Good never sleeps, she thought, webbing one of the criminals with a sigh. The scene faded to black.

“Hey, don't get mad, I told you it’d be short. Cut!”

@ask-spiderverse-virgil

[sharethisgemwithme]

Zach and Grace Friday panel at Connecticon 2019

Some highlights and notes from the "Growing Up with Steven Universe" panel featuring Zach Callison and Grace Rolek, Friday afternoon at Connecticon 2019. There are some promo spoilers. Most quotes are approximate from the notes I took on my phone. There may be a recording of the panel, but the camera was blocked by the audience question line for a while and when I got to the front of the line, I saw it wasn't even pointed at Zach and Grace.

Sorted into broad categories:

Movie hype / spoilery talk

Host asked about the poster. Zach said he's kinda looked at it, but not studied it closely. Grace: "Spoiler alert, someone has a neck." Zach: "That's all anyone can talk about."

What's the hardest scene to record that you've done. Zach: "I hate to do this but the hardest scene I've done I did a few weeks ago and I can't talk about it for quite a while." [audience groans]

Audience member: "I have a question about the movie." Zach makes police siren noises, "Oh no the Cartoon Network spoiler police!"

Attempts to get even small details were denied. "So we saw you have a neck. Is your voice going to change?" [pause] Zach: "A week from today (Friday), there's a big panel and there's gonna be a bunch of stuff. I recommend you watch."

This was earlier in the day, when I met Zach in the autograph line. Me: "I'm really looking forward to all the stuff that's gonna come out next week in San Diego." Zach: "There's so much. I'm not going to be there, after six years of going, I need a vacation."

Zach makes ABUNDANTLY clear how excited he is for what's coming up, "I am thrilled with what they've done after CYM."

Reaction to the new gems from CYM. Zach: "Sunstone is one of my favorites now. Like an after-school camp counselor." Grace: "Obsidian is one of the hardest secrets I've ever had to keep on this show." They finished recording CYM in 2017!

Have you ever cried in the recording booth? Zach: "Over a dozen times. One time really badly... with something that hasn't come out yet."

What's the biggest theme you've taken from the show? Zach: "I'm really sorry to do this, but I'm gonna skip this question because the theme I take away is something that hasn't come up in the show yet." He says the show has become intensely personal to him and his experiences, both intentionally and unintentionally, and says if he accidentally gave hints as to upcoming themes, it wouldn't be fair to the crew. (This probably ties in with some of the stuff below under “Outside of SU”)

Favorites and funniest

What's the hardest scene to record that you've done. Among stuff that's aired, Zach: Storm in the Room. Connie: "Either Nightmare Hospital or Full Disclosure when Connie is like 'Stop ghosting me, Steven!' "

What are some funny moments from recording? The opening scene from "Winter Forecast", the directors INSISTED on real marshmallows, "nothing else would do". Grace: "And these were not small. There's jumbo and then there's novelty size." Zach: "They got novelty size." Grace: "I could barely fit one inside my mouth."

Favorite episode (this question might've had a "besides the Big Plot episodes" caveat).

Zach: "Onion Gang. Any of the weird Onion episodes."

Grace: "I realize this is an unpopular opinion but I love the Ronaldo episodes. I have a Keep Beach City Weird sticker on my laptop. I don't like having stuff that's too overtly Steven Universe because I don't like to toot my own horn, but KBCW is great because it's 'if you know, you know'." Zach: "It's a lifestyle."

That segued into talk about "Rocknaldo", which Zach thought was hilarious, especially the way CN trolled everyone with the Bloodstone promo. Grace "Was that the one where Ronaldo tried to kill someone in the basement?" Discussion brings up that's "Horror Club". Grace continues, "That was a great one, like what are we DOING? No one went to jail for this?"

Favorite songs:

First, ones that they did.

Zach said "Let's Only Think About Love". I think he added a second one, but my notes say “or” and then stop there so I think I moved on to the next bit and forgot what else he said.

Grace says "Of course 'Do it for Her'" but also that she loved providing background harmonies for "Escapism". "Aly and AJ was the first concert I ever went to, so to do back-up vocals for AJ was the greatest fangirl moment." (There’s been some confusion as to whether Zach and Grace had vocals on that song, it’s now clear that they did)

Then, overall. Zach immediately sings "It's over, isn't it? Isn't it over?" Grace grumbles that she can't take the same answer, so she throws out "Stronger Than You".

"Back in the start of the show, it was a lot more lighthearted. What's the funniest or weirdest line you had to record?" Zach IMMEDIATELY goes into voice: "A boy on the cusp of manhood can't spend the whole day wackering." Grace enjoyed her line from "Open Book": "Of course you like the ending, you LOVE schmultz."

Pivoting into the weirdness of early episodes, Zach says "Frybo and Cat Fingers were back to back, 5 and 6. I don't know how anyone stuck with the show after that."

What's the biggest theme you've taken from the show? Grace: "I think about Mindful Education all the time. Here Comes a Thought is such a great song but also an important mantra."

Other than Uncle Grandpa, what crossover would you like to do? Zach: "I wanna be the very best!" Audience cheers. Grace says she would've loved to do "Adventure Time".

This segues into a joke that people confuse Zach for Jeremy Shada (Finn), in some cases even when Zach is standing in front of a poster that says ZACH CALLISON. Grace says that her boyfriend loves the joke so much that Zach is listed in his phone as "Jeremy Shada".

Behind the scenes

What was it like seeing the show blow up the way it did? Grace: "I used to go on Tumblr and read all the posts, all the reactions people had, but after Jail Break... couldn't do that anymore." Zach: "I poke my head into a reddit every once in a while."

What's it like in the booth with the rest of the cast? Grace: "Deedee and Michaela always get to do the funniest things."

Discussion of how voice acting lends them a little more anonymity than live-action, and there's still a spectrum of how recognizable people are.

Grace recounts a story from earlier in the day, possibly on the way to that very panel. "The elevator was pretty crowded and I was able to get on but Zach wasn't. And as soon as it closed, one of the other people in the elevator was like 'Oh my god, Zach Callison almost got on the elevator with us!' And I was like 'Oh my god, that would've been so cool!'"

Both Zach and Grace recounted times when they've greeted stranger wearing SU apparel and gotten blank stares in response, like, "Uh, yeah, what's your point?"

Zach: "As of Sunday, I'm leaving the country to be a hobo for a bit." He's flying to Siberia, then taking a 62-hour train ride to get on a boat to Korea, where he plans to visit the Korean animation studio where SU is drawn (as seen in "Steven's Dream"), something almost no actors do (apparently Michaela was more or less the first to do so, for any show at all).

Sometimes Grace will have a lot of "catching up" to do with the plot. "One time Rebecca was like 'oh by the way Lars is pink now." Zach jokes, "Lars is pink, Ronaldo and Pearl are married, oh and Steven is dead."

Have you ever cried in the recording booth? Zach: "Over a dozen times." Grace says she has, sometimes in group records.

More joking around: "Yes, I'm Zach Callison, the voice of Onion. I'll be in my booth." "You should have a print that's just Onion." "With the flames behind him."

What were your auditions like? Grace: "I was reading the sides from 'Bubble Buddies', and Connie is worried she's gonna die with no friends and I was like 'This is a kids show? This is a show for children and I'm supposed to say these words?!'" She saw Rebecca Sugar's name attached to the show, which she recognized as a fan of Adventure Time, particularly Marceline "I'm edgy like her!"

Audience member starts her question: "Ohmygod, my heart is in my ass. Wait, can I say ass?" Grace: "You can say whatever you want, you're not under the thumb of Time Warner." Zach: "Technically, I've never signed any NDA. Oh hell, I'm leaving the country in three days. ACT ONE!" [laughter, and he does not continue with joke spoilers]

Outside of Steven Universe

Tell us about yourself outside of Steven Universe. Zach: "I'm a dirty rowdy hippie." He goes to music festivals barefoot (but not urban ones).

Zach talked about some of the over-the-top scenes he's been in or seen on "The Goldbergs", where he plays a minor recurring character, including one where the actual rain they were filming in wasn't enough, so the producers dumped thousands of gallons of additional rainwater on the cast.

Zach said he hasn't auditioned for anything new in a while (I think he said at least a year) because of burnout. Whenever SU may end, he's ready for a break. Following on with that, discussion of what a shitty industry Hollywood is, especially for kids.

Zach: "A lotta people (in this industry), their big break is a show they hate, and that kills me to think that. And it couldn't be further from the truth for anyone in SU. If I had booked a live-action sitcom that ran six seasons, I wouldn't be here. I'd be in a much darker place."

What would you be doing if not this?

Zach: "I enrolled in college, signed up for things, never went to class, and eventually dropped out. I never had any other plan." Ties into further discussion of what an absolute nightmare Hollywood is for kids, that some of his friends from high school are no longer around.

Grace: "I went to college for two years (she would've graduated this spring), trying to make sure I had a plan B lined up. But flying back and forth from San Francisco to Los Angeles was getting ridiculous and I realized I wasn't being fair to my plan A."

[me-myself-and-my-fos]

The Kids Are Alright

Pairing: Archie Hopper x Nicole Hopper ft. Hopper kids

Word Count: 1.3k

Summary: A reflection on the Hopper family’s life

A/N: THIS IS ALL @astralshipper’s FAULT IM S O F T

As their mother, Nic naturally worried over her children a lot. From the moment each of them were born, she had an overwhelming instinct to protect them, a little too overwhelming at times. When one of them got sick or hurt themselves while playing, she was there to dote on them. As they got older, it took her husband to assure her that the kids could take care of themselves. But she still worried, asking if they’ve eaten or if they slept. The kids would always need her though, no matter how old they got.

While Ichabod had sought comfort in his father during his first breakup, Ichabod came to his mother the first time his heart was broken while in adulthood. And when Ichabod found who he believed wholeheartedly to be his true love, Nic was the first to know. She was also the first to know about his engagement. Her son had come to her for advice. He was very aware that she proposed to his father (twice in fact) and he wanted to know how to propose to his longtime girlfriend. He was satisfied by her advice of “you’ll know the right moment, and just speak from the heart.” It paid off too, and a few days later he came back to his childhood home where Nic and Archie still resided, and gave them the news that he was going to be getting married.

Elizabella was adored by her mother and father, but more doted on by her mother. Nic did everything to help Bella through life just as she did with Bella’s brother and sister. But the middle Hopper child seemed more self sufficient than either Nic or Archie expected. It didn’t stop Bella from confiding in her mother about her first crushes, once on a boy and another on a girl. And no one was sure who was more nervous about Bella’s first date, Nic or Bella. As time went on, Bella still needed her mother, but it seemed to be less frequent in Nic’s eyes. When Bella decided to leave Storybrooke for a few years and live in Boston, her mother had never been more worried. Nic knew how well her daughter could adjust to change and that Bella was able to take care of herself, but Nic still worried. And when Bella came home to Storybrooke, only to move in with her girlfriend Hope, Nic was able to breathe a sigh of relief. The real challenge, however, was when Bella got engaged. Her mother somehow managed to congratulate her through tears, then Nic told Bella that she wanted her daughter to wear the same wedding dress she wore.

Out of all three kids, Nic worried about Lily the most. The youngest child had a definitive wild streak, and her love for playing rough gave Nic many reasons to worry. When Lily broke her arm playing soccer, Archie was the voice of reason who calmed his wife as they waited for their daughter to come back from getting x-rayed. Lily eventually mellowed out as she hit her mid-teens, occasionally having her signature wild moments, but she truly bonded with her mother in the bakery. Nic showed great pride in Lily’s natural talent for baking, worrying only the first time Lily used an oven. Lily was also the last kid to leave the house, and she stayed a little longer than her siblings did. Nic didn’t worry too much. She saw her daughter at the bakery every day. It was a few years later that Lily met her husband, and Nic and Archie both cried at their daughter’s wedding.

Ichabod was the first of the children to give Archie and Nic a grandchild. In late December, Icha and his wife, Katrina, welcomed a little boy, who they named James, into the world. He was a bubbly baby with dark hair who adored watching Pongo play and always giggled when Archie played peekaboo with him. And it was 3 years later that Ichabod and Katrina welcomed another baby boy into the world, Benjamin, who also had dark hair but from a small age had a mischievous glint in his eyes.

Lily and her husband, William, were the next ones to have children. It was very unexpected to everyone in the family when twins were born, a boy and girl who both had their mother’s fiery red hair. Their daughter was named Olive, and Lily decided to name her son Archibald, after her father. Olive was the more quiet of the two, always keeping to herself or sticking close by her brother. Young Archibald, or AJ as he’d later be referred to, was quite the social butterfly and said hello to everyone he met. As the twins entered school, Lily and William welcomed another child into the world, another boy, whom they named Henry after the close family friend.

Years later, Bella and Hope adopted an infant girl named Thalia. The newest addition to the family may not have looked anything like them, but Thalia was loved by the whole family. Archie and Nic loved babysitting her, and every time she was picked up by her parents Thalia was sound asleep.

The sound of Pongo barking pulled Nic from her thoughts. She looked away from the window just in time to watch James run past with AJ in tow as they chased Pongo up the stairs. Olive ran after her brother and cousin, almost running into Archie as he started clearing the table of the dirty plates.

“No running in the house!” Bella called after the kids, taking a sip from her glass of wine. She huffed out of her nose as Ichabod replied.

“We ran in the house all the time as kids. Give them a break,” Ichabod said, laughing.

“Let them burn off some energy before we go home, they’ll be easier to handle,” William told her.

Archie put the dirty plates in the sink before sitting back down on the couch in his spot beside Nic. Thalia toddled up to her grandfather and Archie grinned at her.

“Hi peanut,” he beamed.

Thalia held up an apple slice to him. “Apple.”

“Can I have one?” He asked her, trying his best not to chuckle. She stared at him and held the apple up more. He gently took it from her. “Thank you.”

“Thank you!” She said before running over to her mothers for another apple slice. Nic smiled softly at the exchange, unable to contain how much she loved the little parroting Thalia was doing. She’s been doing it a lot lately and Archie feeds her small phrases, ones she apparently likes to yell as she runs through the house.

Archie looked over at his wife and noticed the tears in her eyes as she watched Thalia. “Are you okay, muffin?”

She brought up a hand to the back of his head, threading her fingers through his gray hair. Nic gave him a small smile. “I’ve never been happier.”

“Mom,” Lily called from the kitchen, Benjamin and Henry standing on step stools. “Do you want to help me show the boys how to bake cookies?” Nic looked over at Archie for a moment as Thalia walked back over, munching on an apple slice. He picked up his granddaughter and sat her on his leg.

“Go have some fun,” he insisted, kissing Nic’s cheek.

She smiled and stood from the couch, making her way to the kitchen. “I would love to, what are we baking?”

“I was thinking of peanut butter cookies but the boys want–” Lily began.

“Chocolate chip!” Benjamin and Henry said excitedly.

“We could always make both,” Nic suggested, helping Lily collect the ingredients needed to make cookies.

“Are these kids ever going to leave this house without a sugar high?” Lily laughed.

Archie smiled as he bounced a giggly Thalia on his knee. He watched happily as Nic started to explain to their grandson’s about baking cookies. Nearly a lifetime ago he couldn’t imagine having this life, he never thought it was possible. Now, he couldn’t imagine going a day without seeing his grandchildren or talking to his children on the phone, even if it’s for a few minutes. Life is good, and he was thankful for that.

[voidendron]

I've started getting a handle on the Star Wars AU Septic bois and it makes me happy! I’ve been changing quite a few things from my original plans for it, but they’re all coming together really nicely imo <3

uh...it’ll be under the cut because it got long ^^”

some things may still change, but for now this is what I’ve got!

Chase

Chase’s species is Bothan and he’s a smuggler, though he doesn’t actually use the term “smuggler,” himself. Literally everyone else does for him, but hey. His crew consists of three droids (Bolt, Beeper, and Slink) and two Corellian hound littermates (Kye and Sophe). He tends to prefer the presence of droids over people. Originally the only Septic he knew was Anti because he had a bounty on him for dodging payments, but he later met Marvin and Sam by chance and they’ve been friends since.

He was adopted by an Ithorian couple as an infant. His parents had a tendency to take in orphans, so Chase has five other siblings with only one of them being their parents’ biological kid. From oldest to youngest his other siblings are a brother (Ithorian, the biological kid), sister (Twi’lek), sister (Nautolon), Chase, brother (Quaran), brother (Human). I don’t have names figured out for his siblings yet, but his Twi’lek sister is married and has two kids; she lives on Ryloth, so if he ever mentions going there it’s probably to visit her. Their parents used to live in Coruscant’s lower levels, so they knew infants/toddlers wouldn’t last long on their own before they were picked up by someone undesirable, so they took it upon themselves to adopt these kids. As such, Ithorese is actually Chase’s native language and he doesn’t know any Bothese, and he has kind of an odd accent paired with throaty/growly way of speaking.

He stayed neutral throughout the war, smuggling for whatever side offered the best pay for the job. He tends to be indifferent toward former Imperials/Rebels after the war and gets annoyed when Jackie and Jameson fight.

Marvin

Marv’s species is Cathar, which is a feline humanoid. He’s also a Mandalorian and one of two survivors of Clan Magniif. He’s extremely protective of Sami (”Sam”), the other survivor from his clan and holds a grudge against both Rebels and Imperials for the deaths of their people. He only knew Sam and Angus (leader of a rival clan) to start off, then later met Chase by chance. Didn’t like him at first, but the smuggler quickly grew on him.

He was found in a destroyed Cathar settlement as a toddler, so Magniif’s leader took him in as a foundling. He was raised by Mandalorian customs as one of the clan’s own and remains loyal to it even after its destruction. He’s also extremely impulsive and thinks with his fists instead of his head.

During the war, Magniif tried to stay out of things, but was eventually talked into helping a Rebel cell. That resulted in the Empire making an example of them and wiping out most of the clan. After the war, he and Sam take whatever odd jobs they can for supplies or credits.

Jackie

Full name Sehnaj’akk’eedara, Jackie’s a Chiss, which look mostly human besides blue or silver skin, blue/black/silver hair, and glowing red eyes (Jackie has blue skin with darker blue hair). He’s known for being reckless and protective to the point of risking his own health.

While more typical of his people to be Empire or non-aligned, he agreed with the Rebels’ standpoint and joined them with no questions asked. It did take them a while to start trusting him, but he was eventually granted his own Y-Wing and made part of a squadron of fighters. Because Chiss weren’t known for being part of the rebellion, there were a few instances that Jackie was sent to sneak into Imperial territory to steal something or tell his comrades how best to attack an outpost.

Primarily though, he was a pilot during the war who protected Rebel supply ships. After it ended, he became a data courier for info too sensitive to be sent over transmissions. That’s how he met Jameson and Schneep, then eventually Chase, Marvin, and Sam.

Also, fun fact: He saw Vader in his TIE once and flipped out about it for days after because “Oh my god I could have DIED” if his squad leader hadn’t ordered an immediate retreat.

Jameson

A Human from Coruscant, Jameson had once been a politician’s right hand. He was known for blackmailing the senator’s opponents and doing shady business with bounty hunters, but nothing could ever be proved to pin the charges on him.

When he joined the Empire, he started as a spy, then a hacker, then eventually was granted an officer’s rank and took charge of a small espionage group. While only a low-ranking officer, Jameson (JSE-815) and his team often had their stations changed to whatever outpost or battle cruiser needed their aid. After his promotion, he rarely went on the field himself for spying and instead stayed behind to work at computers with his hackers.

During a Rebel raid on an outpost he was stationed at, Jameson ended up taking charge of the troopers when the colonel was gone (he’d taken a large group of troopers to attack the Rebels’ base, which turned out to be something they’d planned, and left the outpost ill-protected). Only having experience leading espionage, Jameson’s tactics were quickly overwhelmed and he and a few others ended up cornered in the command room. In a last-ditch effort to protect the information in the computers from falling into enemy hands, he and the remaining Imperials detonated grenades to destroy the information completely. Jameson hadn’t expected to survive; he received damage to his neck and now uses a vocoder to speak, lost three limbs (both legs, right arm), and received internal damage that required organ replacement. Shortly after the event, he also got an AJ^6 to improve his productivity, though at the consequence of affecting/limiting his personality.

After the Empire lost the war, he was sent to Sunspot Prison. He was later released a few years later under strict parole to aid Jackie with a mission that needed a hacker. He’s not fond of his current companions, but at least he’s not in a cell.

Schneep

Schneep (SN-334) is a modified surgical droid and was built shortly before the Battle of Geonosis and purchased as a Republic droid. He started out with a very flat personality as programmed in the factory that built him, but the more his owner joked with him and encouraged him to think for himself, the more he started to develop his own personality. He quickly latched onto sarcasm and grumpiness. His owner found it hilarious. His patients...not so much.

Throughout the Clone Wars, he’d receive a tweak here, an upgrade there, until it eventually came to the point it was hard to tell what his base model was (2-1B surgical droid), and sometimes even unclear whether or not he was actually a surgical droid. His programming was even modified to allow him to defend his patients if they were in danger (big no-no and cancelled the warranty on him). The first time he sawed a B1 battle droid’s head off was certainly a shock--to both the other droid and his patient.

After his original owner was killed in the war, he ended up passed around a lot, eventually somehow found himself under a Rebel general, then an intelligence gatherer after the war. So he somehow survived not one, but two wars and has never even had a memory wipe. 

Now carrying a piece of the divided information Jackie and Jameson need to deliver, he was sent with them. It wasn’t until eventually meeting Chase that Schneep was finally given a name instead of being called by his serial number.

Anti

Anti Septik is a bounty hunter of unknown species and planetary origin (though is believed to be a Rattataki from what glimpses of his skin have been seen). He wears a full suit of armor to hide his identity, and uses a universal translator to hide both his voice and accent. He’s ruthless, can find ways to track a contract down no matter where they go, and seemingly can’t die. A former partner claims she saw a target nearly cut Anti’s head off, but he got right back up and started shooting. 

Nothing is known of his past, but any hunters who’ve worked with him before refuse to do so again. He’s greedy and bloodthirsty; if a target is wanted dead or alive, he’ll kill them every time whether they’re ready to surrender or not, and has killed partners to get their half of the earnings, too. 

He has a green lightsaber that he stole from the body of a Jedi killed in one of the Temples after Order 66. He uses it more for show, keeping it hanging at his hip most of the time, but knows how to use it if he needs it.

I don’t have much on Angus or Sam yet (besides they’re both Human and Mandalorians, and that Sam lost an eye during a training bought), and I’d like to add Jacques and at least some Ipliers. However, the only one I have any ideas for is Host; the rest I’ll have to figure out!

[shipppersrus]

In Another Life- Clementine AU

Prologue

Chapter 1

I stared at myself in the mirror, this outfit looks stupid. It’s the first day of junior year and I can’t figure out what to wear. I changed one more time before finally deciding on something; I put on my chaotic yellow sweatshirt with some jeans and my red flannel, this will do. I through my laptop and my phone into my phone noticing I got a few messages from Duck and Mariana but thought I’d wait to reply, I’ll see them soon anyway.

“Clementine! Aj! Breakfast!” I heard Lee calling from downstairs.

“Coming!” I yelled as I knew it was going to be a race to the table between me and Aj. I grabbed my bag and ran down the stairs noticing Aj was right at my heels.

“Aww you cheated Clem!” He said as he was the last one to the table.

“No I didn’t, you just have to be quicker than that goofball.” I smiled as I grabbed a plate to fill up with food.

“Hey what I say about running in the house?” Carley came down the stairs dropping off her bag and kissing Lee.

Aj and I both made faces as we continued to mock our parents.

“Sorry mom.” Aj beamed as he shoves bacon in his mouth. I hadn’t gotten used to the idea of calling Carley mom yet, though it’s been 8 years, but I do call Lee dad or papa bear depending on the day. Aj was quick to call them mom and dad, but that’s probably because he never knew his other parents. He’s 5 going on 15 but I can’t lie I was so happy to get a little brother, it definitely made things a lot more interesting.

“Alright guys time to go.” Lee said as he wiggles my car keys in front of me. I took them and grabbed my bag to head out. “Hey no hug?” Lee stopped me in my tracks.

“Bye dad.” I hugged him then I stretched my arms out for Carley. “Bye Carley.”

“Have a good day Clem.” She smiled at me.

Lee bent down to Aj’s level and scooped him up with kisses and tickles. “Hey be good today Aj.”

“I will.”

“Are you nervous?” Carley asked him.

“No, I’m going to show those big kids what I’m made of.” Aj did his march. It’s not everyday a 5 year old gets to skip first and second grade.

“Just no fights, okay son.” Lee rubbed Aj’s hair.

“No fights.” Aj has a knack at getting into fights at school.

“Okay, okay, let’s go.” We headed to the car and got in.

“Clem can I get in the front?” Aj sat in the front awaiting to see if he needs to climb in the back.

“No, dad would kill me. Hop in the back.” Aj huffed and puffed before climbing back. I drove to pick up Duck then we were on our way to school. I had known Duck since Kenny and Lee became friends and simultaneously Duck and I became friends. We dropped off Aj to Buckwheat Elementary then to Ericson High School. Another school year of the same shit. I searched the parking lots for any parking spot close and as soon as I found one Minnie sped right into it.

“Gotta be quicker than that Clem. Besides no one wants to see that rust bucket in front of the school anyway.” Her sister Sophie got out the car as well and so did her girlfriend Violet. Sophie was nothing like Minerva, she was sweet, non confrontational and well nothing like her twin. Violet and I used to be friends before her and Minnie got together, Vi had a crush on Minnie for years so when Minnie reciprocated Vi couldn’t turn her down even at the expense of our friendship. Minnie thought Vi and I had a thing and not being friends was the only way to prove otherwise. Minnie and I also play softball together and let me just say she’s the biggest hater on the team at least towards me. Duck ended up flipping Minnie off for me as I drove to find another.

“My car doesn’t look that bad, right?” I asked him.

“No, you have the sweetest car in the lot! 1967 Ford Mustang these new school kids don’t know anything about the classics.” Duck caressed my car, he never failed to make me smile. I finally found a parking spot but of course it was by what I like to call “Ericsons Troubled Youth” these kids were the rebels of the school, as I’d like to say. Marlon was the leader; he was a football players and was a huge player at school most of the softball team, cheerleading team, and lacrosse team have slept with him. Then there was Ruby and Asaim, the other oddball couple. Ruby hated authority figures and was never afraid to tell a teacher off and as for Asaim he’s not the troubled youth type, but whatever. Minnie, Vi, and Sophie were also apart of their crew, then there’s Louis. I’ve had a small crush on him since I was a freshman but wouldn’t know what to say if I ever got the chance anyway and also I’ve never had a boyfriend so there’s that. They were all seniors and most seniors here don’t date underclassmen so my chance is slim to none. They all chilled around Marlons obnoxious truck as I accidentally made eye contact with Louis, I turned as quickly as I could before he noticed and met up with my friends Brody, Mariana, Gabe, and James. Violet used to be apart of our group but now it’s like she’s Minnie’s puppet, I do miss my best friend though. Brody was new last year and right as Vi left she joined us, so it kind of worked out. Mariana is Gabe’s little sister, she’s a sophomore and the youngest of the group, we’ve played softball together since Lee moved us back to Macon and became fast friends. Then there’s Gabe who’s best friends with Duck and has had the biggest crush on me since I think I met him. And Last but not least James, he’s kind of the odd one out and doesn’t talk much, but when he’s not with his boyfriend he’s with us.

My classes were the same old, same old. The day was long and drawn out up until Anatomy. I completed most of my science so this was a senior class and you my lab partner for the semester was Louis. I felt my palms get immediately sweaty as I walked over to take my seat next to him. I know I was playing it cool on the outside but on the inside I was a wreck.

“Hey you must be Clementine.” He turned his body to me.

“Yup, that would be me.” I tried not to look at him. He smelled really good, like expensive.

“So you got any nicknames I can call you, like Clemster, Clemmy Clue, Clem Clem… or is it just Clementine.” He was giving me his full attention.

“Clem, is what most people call me I guess, so I guess that of Clementine.” I finally looked at him and whoa was he more attractive in person. He had the cutest freckles, and his dreads looked so nice, not to mention the way his shirt cling to his muscles. “Umm, what about you? Got a name?” ‘Got a name?!’ I thought to myself.

“Wait you don’t know my name?” I slightly panicked inside. Of course I knew his name! But now since I said I don’t I have to follow through.

“Nope, you gonna tell me?” I played it cool.

“Hmm.” He eyed me. “Nope. I guess you’ll have to guess or figure it out.” He smirked at me. I could tell how amused he was and couldn’t help but playfully roll my eyes.

“Okay um, Hunter?”

“Do I look like a Hunter?” He said completely offended.

“Kyle?” He choked.

“Alright. Uhh Lou-.” Now I definitely wanted to play along. “Lou-Lawrence.” I smirked.

“Okay now you’re just fucking with me.” He smiled.

“Nope I’m not, are you going to tell me?” I asked not wanting to give in.

“It’s Louis.” He gave in.

“Oh yeahhh!” I teased.

“You already knew that didn’t you?” He watched me intently.

“I guess you’ll never find out.” I said playfully.

“I like you already Clementine.” He continued to watch me as I felt hot all over. I watched the board as the teacher went over the syllabus, but honestly my mind was on Louis and on Louis only.

Prologue

Chapter 2

[ayyoitsalex]

Chapter 1 - A Whole Different Story

I haven't spoken to you all lately and I think that needs to change. A lot has been done over the past few years that may surprise you, and some might not. I of course am your host for this program; Selena Joy Ryan. As I've been for years past this part of the story begins with me and where I am now. When I finished my college career I got my teaching credential and moved back home with my then girlfriend Sam Collins. You all remember Sam, she was the girl who became my best friend on the basketball team in high school, and a whole lot of shit happened. With her boyfriend being a psycho, mine dying, which I'm not speaking of lightly by the by, Sam being gay, me discovering I have a love for girls too, moving away to college together, and yeah. After a few years being back home we both felt it, and when I say it I'm talking about the feeling of just finally settling down. Sam proposed to me and I said yes. Our engagement didn't come without it's own backlash as some people within the community didn't feel comfortble with my sexuality while being a teacher. They tried as they might to get me fired but my bitchin' lawyer of a sister Natalie helped me in suing for prejudicial termination. We won and it was a big deal for Sam and I. Eventually we married, my sister Natalie being my maid of honor, Aunt Haley, Sophia, and Kelsey acting as bridesmaids. Elizabeth was our flower girl, so it was a whole family affair. Sam decided to take my last name to hyphen along with her's, so she is now Samantha Ashley Collins-Ryan. The next logicial step was to start our family but with us being two ladies some issues arose. We thought about adopting, but in the end we decided to go the donor route. We couldn't really decide which one of us would be the one becoming pregnant at first. In the end I was the one who went through the pregnancy. Our first son Cole Harrison Ryan was born and I'd never fallen in love so quickly. He's got my dark brown hair and green eyes it's like if I were born a boy. Cole is sort of a mix between myself and Nathan when it comes to his personality. He's very observant of people and isn't super social right away until he feels comfortable with the people he's with and then he's great. Though we didn't just stop with Cole, Sam took on the next pregnancy my thinking is cause she just didn't want all of our kids looking like me haha. Then our second son Adam Justin Ryan was born, but cause we're cool moms we call him AJ sometimes. AJ reminds me of Sam's brothers with their messy dirty blonde hair, freckles, blue eyes, and goofy smile to go along with their sense of humor. He definitely gets it from his Collins family influences.  YOU THOUGHT WE WERE DONE?! Nope, we finally had our baby girl Charlotte McKayla Ryan, but we like to call her Charly. I may be a bit biased but she is absolutely the cutest child I've ever seen.  I took on that last pregnancy, and after that I can say we were done. At last our whole squad was finally complete. My brother and sister have families of their own, and I'll let them tell their story when it's their turn. But until then you're stuck with me. I still teach at my old high school, but now I've upgraded from teaching freshman to seniors with regular and AP english. My parents are still around so they help me out with the kids from time to time as do Sam's parents. Our parents both were over the moon when we told them we'd be having kids, and their love translates to them spoiling the crap out of them every chance they get. Weirdly the person I didn't expect that from my dad is the biggest culprit of this especially with Charly. I think it's cause she reminds him of me when I was a baby. Well let's get into a day in my life? -5 am- *CRY* I turned over from my face being buried into my pillow. Sam still fast asleep I let her be to go and get Charly. As soon as I opened the door to her room she stopped. She's too smart for her own good. She reached out for me and I smirked. I'm getting out worked by someone that's not even two years old. I picked her up to snuggle her a bit. "You know exactly how to get mama up don't you.." She flashed a toothy grin at me. "Mhmm yeah don't act like you're all innocent Charly girl." I laid her on the changing table. When I finished cleaning her up we went downstairs so I could fix the boys breakfast and pack lunch. Sam followed downstairs sleepily her eyes barely open. The smell of coffee immediately revived her while myself I popped open an energy drink. Don't even begin to judge me. "Morning." Sam yawned before kissing me. "And hows Charly this morning." Sam's voice got progressively higher as she proceeded into her baby voice, it's the cutest thing. I gave Sam food to give to Charly and she fed her while I got things started. My mom always set the example of eating breakfast was imperative for a good day, so I made sure when I had my own family I continued that belief. Hell look at how I turned out. I'm not attributing it all to breakfast but it had to contribute somewhere. Boom eggs, bacon, and toast. Nothing super fancy but it'll get you to lunch. Sam struggled to finish feeding Charly, so I had to laugh for a minute while watching the fight. "Charly. We are not doing this. Please just ahh for mommy." Seeing Sam make the most ridiculous faces to coax the baby into eating is one of the small joys in my life. She heard me snicker and Sam immeditely glared to me while trying to hold in her own laugh. "Need me to finish that?" I said sarcastically. "No I'm perfectly capable getting her to eat." She flipped her head back around to Charly determined to prove me wrong. I rolled my eyes then went to wake the boys. I got AJ first and he slowly crawled out of bed before going downstairs he's the easy one. Cole isn't exactly a morning person, so I proceeded with caution. I sat at the edge of his bed nudging him gently. He stirred for a minute bfore pulling the covers over himself. I nudged him again slightly firmer, and again he didn't wake up. The last attempt I took a deep breath and YANKED THE BLANKET OFF. He shot straight up hair a mess and practically falling over. "Wake up Cole!" He plumetted back onto his pillow letting out the loudest sigh. "Aha c'mon bud gotta get ready." He nodded and rubbed his eyes. "Morning sleepy." I leaned in and kissed his forehead before he gave me his own morning kiss on my cheek. He thinks he's too grown for that but HE NEVER WILL BE. "Breakfast downstairs we're leaving at 7:30 no later okay?" "Mhmm.." Cole stretched out his arms. He followed behind falling onto my back for me to carry him downstairs. He laughed as I obliged. What can I say he's my first born, my dad did it plenty for me. When we got to the kitchen, before sitting down at the table he gave Sam a morning kiss as well. "Morning mom.." He yawned again shaking his head to waken himself up more. "Morning honey. Did mom have to pull the covers off?" Cole refused to answer so Sam knew she was right. "Gotta get up when she gets there the first time bud." Sam shrugged her shoulders. I took Charly out of the high chair so she could play in the living room. I put on some PBS kids show I'd never seen but it keeps Charly company. Sam would continually remind me of time to make sure we'd be out of here on time. I heard some laughing at the table come to see Cole and AJ horsing around with each other. "Hey!" I developed my mom voice slowly over the years and they both looked at me stopping whatever it was they were doing. "Let's get cleaned up and ready quit playing around." They shoved their way up the stairs. It was really satisfying to have things like that happen so quickly. Sam just nodded smirking. When it came time to leave I kissed Sam bye before loading the kids up. "Ah! Say bye to mama first." I pointed the boys back to the direction of Sam who was waiting at the front door. They hugged her and sandwiched her face with a kiss on each side. "Bye loves have a good day!" Sam waved as we pulled out of the driveway. I dropped the boys off at school walking them to the gate while holding Charly. I knelt down so they could say their byes. "Bye guys learn some stuff." I hugged them tight. "Bye mom I l-o-v-e you." Cole smiled. "Love you mom." "L-o-v-e you too Cole. Love you too AJ. Say bye brothers." Charly waved her hand. They both waved back and it was small things like that, that make me love these guys so much. "Okay let's drop you off with grandma." Mom met me at the front door always eager to care for Charly. "Ah! There she is there's my Charly girl!" She knew exactly who my mom was now and was always eager for her embraces. Some times she'd even reach for my mom first before Sam or myself. "I'll be here at like five to get the kids. Unless Sam can get them before I can. You gonna have fun with grandma Charly?" She smiled big clinging to my mom. "We always do, and I think everyones gonna be here today so we might do big dinner if you all wanna stay for that." "What's the occasion?" I tilted my head confused slightly. "No reason just sometimes we don't get together as much. Besides you know all the kids love being together." "Hope you and dad are making a lot haha." "Don't worry we have a good helper huh Charly!" Mom looked at Charly who proceed to throw her hands up. "Okay you get going we got it from here." I hugged my mom before leaving for work. As far as works concerned I still work with my aunts Sabrina and Camryn. They make eating in the teacher's lounge more tolerable, plus sometimes they share their snacks. Along with just my school hours job of teaching English, basketball always called for me. I was also the boys coach. I'd taken over for coach K and while some of you are wondering why didn't her daughter Kayla do it? Well Kayla's off doing big WNBA things playing for the Seattle Storm. She'll drop me tips from time to time cause to be honest she's better than I am no question, so it's always good to get some advice from her. When work finally finished I blew my last whistle to end practice. "Alright good job today guys no practice tomorrow." I walked away with thank yous from the collapsed players on the hardwood floor. The days of wanting to just die after practice still lived vividly in my head as I walked by my championship banner. *RING "Hello?" I answered pinning the phone between my ear and my shoulder. "You having dinner at mom and dad's tonight?" Nathan asked. "Most likely, I'm sure Sam will appreciate a night of not having to cook or wash dishes. What about you and the girls?" "Yeah we'll be there, Natalie called me before this so it'll be full house." I smiled from ear to ear, I love being surrounded by my family. Sam called me immediately after hanging up with Nathan to just let me know she'd be heading over after work. I rang the doorbell hearing the commotion already going on inside. Elizabeth answered the door giving me a tight hug. "Hi sister!" Elizabeth's going to school not too far in San Diego but it's still a bit of a drive to get here. "Mm hi there Liz, how’s everything?" Before I knew it voices called out for me. "Aunt Sel!" Daisy ran up from behind me hugging me. I twirled her around to face me. "Well hi Daisy!" "Can we play basketball later?" I love that the legacy of basketball is continuing within the Ryan family. "We'll see what time we finish dinner sweetie. We can play if it's not too dark out later." Daisy is Nathan and Sophia's only child and shes a year younger than Cole. She ran back to hang with the boys while I saw Nathan.  "I can't wait until I can coach her." "She's getting really good. Though Soph is always trying to steer her towards dancing." Another knock came at the door. "Late as always." Nathan smirked at Natalie while she rolled her eyes. We all hugged a big sibling group hug. Natalie's son Julian came in behind her with her husband Wes who was holding their daughter Alexis. "Hey guys, and hi Lexi!" I greeted them all as we walked into the living room. We were soon summoned for dinner by mom. The tables were split into parents with the babies, and kids at a table in the other room. Every now and then one of us would check in to make sure food was actually being eaten. "So how's everything at school Liz?' I asked her while sucking up bits of spaghetti. "It's okay just still getting into the groove of the semester after being on break for so long. Anything new with the kiddies?" All of us took a minute to think if there was actually anything new to report. "Oh! Daisy is joining an AAU league soon with some of her friends. She's pretty stoked on that." Nathan said. Both my dad and I high fived just at the notion of basketball with everyone laughing. "So proud." Dad said smiling. "What about you Nat?" "Well I mean nothing from work. You'd know dad haha" Dad being Natalie's boss at the law firm. "As far as the kids go I mean Lexi's talking more huh sweets. Say yes mama." She looked over at Lexi in the high chair next to Charly. She looked back almost thinking hard about it before repeating it back to Natalie. So cute. Before I could get a chance to answer calls for mom rang from the other room. So Natalie, Sophia, and myself all went to investigate. "What is it guys?" I asked peeking my head through the doorway. "We're all done can we go out back to shoot the ball?" Cole asked. They all awaited the verdict. The moms all looked at one another practically thinking the same thing. "Alright but clear up here first. Then thank grandma and grandpa for dinner, and properly." I hate to say it but I sound more and more like my mom every day. It's such a cliche that you grow into your parents but it's true. In a line they brought their plates to the sink and washed them before giving the grandparents hugs and thank yous. Afterwards it was a dead sprint to the backyard to play. "Only for a little while guys we still gotta go home to do homework." Collective groans came in response. My mom looked proud at me as I took my seat. As soon as I took my seat it hit me. I turned to Charly who as always flashed this sheepish grin. Both Sam and I winced at the smell before laughing. "Charly! Oh my god did you just-" "Augh Charly we’re eating!" Sam got up to get her. "I'll take care of this babe. Does she still have stuff upstairs mom?" Sam asked, holding Charly a bit away from her body. Mom nodded before Sam proceeded upstairs. Lexi followed Charly's example so both Wes and Natalie looked at one another. Natalie leaned her head against Wes as if to say PLEAAASE. To no avail, Wes just smirked and shook his head. "No way it's your turn after what I dealt with this morning." Natalie let out a groan. "FINE! C'mere smelly..I mean Lexi. Haha just kidding mommys just being silly." Nathan and Sophia looked at one another giggling. "See aren't you glad we're past all that with our one?" Sophia smiled. "I still think you guys should have another one." Mom shrugged her shoulders. "Aha maybe mom we'll see. For now we're happy with just Daisy." When Sam returned with Charly I checked the clock. We let the kids play out a little more while we continued talking with everyone. When it came to be about seven we called them all inside. "We gotta get going the boys still got homework. C'mon Cole! AJ!" The two boys hustled inside. I said bye to my parents along with my siblings. "Hey say bye to everyone okay?" Cole and AJ made their rounds to everyone as I watched content at my beautifully behaved children. Well they’re beautifully behaved most of the time. We all have our moments. When we got home Charly was in the process of passing out, and I took the liberty of putting her to bed while Sam made sure homework was done for the boys. "C'mere sweet girl." She curled up to me as soon as she left the car seat. As I brought her up to her room she slowly woke back up but still laid her head over my shoulder clinging like a baby koala. "Let's change into some jammies." I undid the bazillion snaps from her regular clothes to put her into cozy fleece pajamas. Still awake I sat with her in the rocking chair in her room, and I did what never seemed to fail to put any of my children to sleep. I started singing, Slowly as her eyes closed my singing just turned to humming. Cole stood at the doorway of Charly's room just watching us. "Hey sweetie." I said softly smiling at him. "You finish all your stuff?" He nodded as he continued to lean against the door frame. "C'mere." I scooched over a little to make room on the rocker. Hesistant Cole slowly sat down with us. I put my arm around him and continued humming while running my fingers through his hair. "Can you give Charly kiss goodnight Cole?" He leaned in slowly and pecked her chubby cheek. "Aw thank you." I could feel Cole's body slowly succumbing to the rocking as well as his eyes batting to stay awake. I got up slowly and put Charly into her crib. Cole and I crept out so we could go to bed as well. "Good night cole lights out twenty minutes." He nodded slowly closing his door behind him. Sam was in AJ's room reading him to sleep. She tucked him in and we both kissed him good night. Sam and I slipped into bed pulling the covers over ourselves. I yawned slowly curling up to Sam as she put her arm over me. We kissed good night. "Love you.." I said slowly while my eyes began to close. "Love you too Sel.." Sam replied letting out a yawn of her own. Before I knew it we were both falling asleep. I looked over at the clock on my night stand and it said ten thirty.  Not exactly the times I was sleeping in my prime but hey I've got three kids. Before falling asleep completely I made sure to turn on the monitor. It's the life I always thought I'd have when I was younger, okay sure I thought I'd be married to a man..but things change! Here I am living the dream. -2 am- *CRY What was that about living the dream again?

[abigailpoe]

Mirror, Mirror (Chris x MC)

Summary: This is a little something that came into my head. This is loosely based off of the movie Mirror, Mirror, in which Snow White puts strawberries on her lips before she has to break the spell.

Summary: Raven (MC) comes home from Gabriela's housed after babysitting Rico for her. She comes home to find Chis and AJ watching Mirror, Mirror.

Rating: PG

Raven stood outside here apartment, fiddling with the keys and trying to get inside. She dropped her keys, and they hit the floor. As she bend to pick them down, the door opened. Raven looked up and saw AJ standing over her.

“AJ!” Raven said, scooping her up into a hug and pushing her way into her apartment.

AJ pulled back from the hug. “Hey, Raven! I was missing Chris, so I came down to visit, if you don’t mind.”

“No, not at all. I love when you come and visit.” Raven exclaimed, smiling at AJ. “It means we get to team up and tease Chris.” AJ laughed and nodded in agreement. AJ went and sat down in a chair in the living room, curling up under a few blankets to stay warm.

Chris looked back from the couch at Raven. “Hey now, that’s not fair.”

Raven walked over to the couch and kissed Chris on the forehead. “I love bonding time with your sister.” She ran her thumb along his cheek, both of them smiling. “So what were you two doing before I got home?”

“We’re watching Mirror, Mirror!” AJ exclaimed.

Raven raised an eyebrow at AJ. “So no superhero movies tonight? you didn’t want to go and see Black Panther?”

“My Mom already took me two times in Maine, and I wasn’t feeling so great earlier.” AJ explained.

Raven put down her purse on the kitchen counter and went back into the living room and sat down by Chris on the couch. He wrapped an arm around her shoulder, running his thumb in circles, pulling her close. He kissed the top of her head.

Chris glanced down at Raven as she snuggled against his chest to watch the rest of the movie. He liked to watch her, as her always had. He liked to watch her fight for what she cared about, and he loved to watch her become a published author.

About twenty minutes into the movie, AJ began to snore. Raven sat up and paused the movie. “She should probably go to bed.”

Chris smiled at Raven. “You really care about my sister, don’t you?”

“Of course I do. I love you, so of course I’m going to care about your family.” Raven smiled. She sat up farther and kissed Chris, wrapping her arms around the back of his neck and slidding onto his lap. Cris began to deepen his kiss, wrapping his arms around Raven’s waist tighter.

While the two had been dating for over a year, the two had never lost the lust for each other during their time together. Both of them loved each other more than they ever had anyone else. However, little did Raven know that AJ was visiting to help Chris come up with a plan to propose to Raven.

A loud snore came from underneath the pile of blankets, causing the couple to jump away from their kiss.

“We should probably hold off on that until later.” Chris smiled.

Raven kissed Chris’s forehead and she pulled back with a smirk. “If you can wait that long.”

“I mean, I can try.” He smirked back. Chris stood up and went over to his sister, her snoring getting a little louder. He scooped him up in his arms, along with all of the blankets.

Raven watched Chris as he carried his sister into the guest bedroom. She liked seeing him care for his family, and others. That’s part of why she fell in love with him. She saw how much he cared about football, student council, and her throughout their time together. Even though it started out as no promises their freshman year, it turned into a lot more than that.

Chris came out of the bedroom and shut the door quietly behind him. He smiled at Raven. “Do you want to finish the movie?” he asked, actually wanting to do something else, in their room, on the other side of the apartment, her.

“Can we, please?” she asked. “I’ve never seen it, and I’m really liking it so far.”

Chris plopped down on the couch beside her, kissing her forehead. “As you wish.”

Raven stood up really quick. “I’m going to change into my pajamas really quick. I want to get these work clothes off.” She quickly shuffled across the apartment and into their room.

As Chris waited for her to return, he thought about how to propose. He had been planning on doing it for months, but he could never find the best time to do it. Chris felt as though she was going to say no, that they were to young. They had been together for about two and a half years, and she was his first love. He knew no matter what happened in his life, she was going to be there. He remembered their walk on the beach in California.

“All I want is to be with you. Whether we’ re in a mansion or in a shack, all I care about is that I’m with you.”  She joked, her smiling making Chris light up.

“ Phew. I’m really glad you said that, because I got a great deal on an awesome shack.”

“I can’t wait to see it.”

A small smile began to creep across his face. They didn’t need anything fancy, just each other and they’d be set. Memories of her came flooding into his mind, drowning him with joy and happiness, such as their one year together at the mini golf course.   

“What are you, truants? High school hasn’t let out for the day!” the lady yelled at Raven.

“Excuse me. Mt husband and I are very important adults in this city.”

Chris remembered that day like it was yesterday. He remembered the word husband rolling of her tongue like she had practiced it a hundred times in the mirror. He liked the sound of it, even if it was their made up relationship status. All though, he wasn’t to fond of naming their fake daughter Echidna.

“I can’t believe you named our son Echidna.”

"No, I named our daughter Echidna." Chris responded. “Kinda makes you wonder about the future, huh?

“What, you mean our kids names are gonna get weirder and weirder?”

“I just mean... Where do you see yourself. What you want."

"Well, it’d be nice if you were a part of whatever I'll be doing down the line. I hope this anniversary is the first of many.”

Chris smiled to himself, remembering how she threw he arms around him, crying out about how much she loved him. She didn’t care that people were around, and that some even watched her do this, she just cared about him in that moment.

Raven came back and flopped on the couch next to Chris. She was wearing a black, silk shirt with matching shorts, which were some of Chris’s favorites. She snuggled against him as they watched the movie.

Eventually, he movie came to the part where Snow had to break the spell on the prince by kissing him. She and the dwarfs mashed up some berries, and she used that as lipstick.

Raven sat up. “Okay, timeout. Would that even work in real life. There’s no way her lips tasted that great.”

Chris smirked at her. “Well, we could test it. There’s some strawberries in the fridge.”

Raven stood up, a look of determination strung across her face to prove the movie wrong. “We’re going to do just that.”

Raven disappeared into the kitchen to fetch the fruit. Chris quickly got up and sat on one of the stools at the island in the kitchen. He watched as Raven carefully cut and smashed the fruit. She turned it into a paste, carefully putting it onto her lips over the kitchen sink, trying to not get any onto her clothes.

She sauntered over to Chris. “You’re going to need a shorter chair.” He complied, pulling a chair from under the kitchen table, sitting down in it.

Raven went and sat on his lap, brushing some of his hair behind his ear. Raven bent down and softly pressed her lip against his. He playfully bit her lip, them tasting like strawberries. Chris wrapped her arms around her waist, pulling her  close to him as possible. Her finger ran along the back of his neck, her fingers lacing together around the back of his neck. The kiss finally broke when the two run out of breath.

Chris stared up at Raven, their foreheads pressed against each other. In this moment, neither had to say a word to each other, but Chris’s words pierced the silence.

“Marry me.”

[sunsetstvdios]

mathias self para 001

his outfit

word count: 2,290

Mathias' stomach turned as he sat in the passenger seat next to Orion. He must have noticed Mathias' nervousness because he turned his head and looked at him with a comforting smile. The nerves must have been rolling off of him in waves.

"You okay?" he asked, raising his brows a bit.

"Yeah... No... I will be?" Mathias huffed, embarrassed about how he was so jittery about meeting Orion's friends. This would also be the first time he'd be going into a situation where he and Orion would be recognized as a couple. They'd been in public together, obviously, otherwise they wouldn't be where they are currently, but it was different walking around with strangers around them in the big city that Orion lives in. This time they'd be making an announcement of some sort, telling people they were together. He knew that it was a completely different kind of crowd than what Mathias knew, but the knowledge didn't stifle the fears that were burned into his mind.

Making a good impression on them brought up a whole different set of fears, however. He was afraid that he'd embarrass Orion, or he wouldn't be good enough for them. They're actual stars, for Pete's sake. Not forgetting the fact that Mathias had had approximately 1% the amount of human interaction outside of The Church compared to anyone who'd be there. He wore what he thought was the most socially appropriate based off of what he'd seen when he was out with Orion. He only had a few items in his closet that would work so it didn't take long to find them, even though he spent hours debating on whether it was good enough.

He currently wore a blue sweater that was Mormon approved, khaki's and boots that were also Mormon approved; however, he didn't leave the house in them. As far as his parents knew, he was missioning in a neighboring city with his friend Lana who had agreed to help Mathias out with this if he helped her out in return with her own little trips into the city, an aspiring musician. He ended up having to change after Lana had dropped him off at he and Orion's meeting point. The line right where Mathias' small town met Orion's big city of glamour, Mathias changed out of his slacks and dress shoes and into the rest of his clothing items in the backseat on their way into the city before he climbed up front.

"We're almost there. You'll be fine, and you'll blow them away, just like you did, me. Got it?"

Mathias exhaled loudly, nodding. As they pulled up to the building, his heart thudded in his chest too annoyingly to be ignored. It was... huge... Possibly the biggest building he'd ever seen, with smaller surrounding buildings all around it. "This is it? All of this?"

"All of it." Orion nodded and grinned, admiring his place of work. 

"Don't you get lost?" Mathias questioned, a small smile starting to appear on his face. 

"Nah," he started, then began explaining his routes and how he learned to get around -- then made a joke about getting around. The chat was helping soothe Mathias' brain as Orion parked the car and came around to open Mathias' before he could open his own, getting stuck staring out at the scene in front of him.

"I can get my own door." 

"I know you can." Orion smirked at Mathias and locked the car after he got out. "Come on," he insisted, reaching a hand out for Mathias. He grabbed it quickly, needing the comfort of his hand in his own. As they began to reach the entrance, Mathias gripped his hand tighter. Orion turned to him before they entered and wrapped his free hand around the back of Mathias' neck. "You're amazing, okay? You're gonna be just fine, and they're all gonna be incredibly jealous of me, alright?" He chuckled as Mathias nodded at his words, though his eyes were still flooded with fear. Orion pressed slow and reassuring kiss to his lips, then pulled away to admire Mathias' flustered face afterward. Orion always made Mathias melt, and his reactions to Orion's actions were always something to witness. "Okay, ready?"

"As I'll ever be." He really hated himself for making this seem like it's such a big deal, but for him, it really was. It must be annoying for Orion to have everything he and Mathias did be a big deal for Mathias. Sometimes he wondered why he was with Mathias at all. However, he had to push his self deprecating thoughts away as he heard a shriek coming their way. They'd entered what looked like a lounge, and there was a brunette girl charging toward the two of them. 

"Oh my God!" she shouted, "He is way cuter in person than in the pictures you showed me!" She jumped at Orion, wrapping her arms around him. 

"Yes, hello, AJ," Orion laughed, pulling back from the hug to look at a very surprised Mathias. "This is my best friend AJ, Mathias." 

"Hi," he said shyly, hoping his cheeks weren't changing any different shade. "I've heard things about you." He kicked himself. Hard. That sounded so awkward. That was really awkward.

"Things?" Autumn said with a certain sass in  her voice, looking pointedly at Orion. She was only joking, but Mathias was oblivious. 

"I meant good things, sorry." Here comes the flushing of his cheek color. He was pale, already screwing it up.

"I'm kidding, you cutie!" She leaned up to hug him and kissed his cheek, squeezing him. 

"Oh," he choked out, shocked at her... entirely. The hug, the kiss, her demeanor.

He smiled a bit awkwardly as she let go of him. "C'mon, you gotta meet everyone else. We love our Orion -- well, your Orion now," she winked at him, "and we're dying to meet his new boy candy." 

Mathias looked at Orion almost incredulously, "Boy..."

"Never mind," he interjected, a laugh hanging at the edge of his lips. 

Apparently the lounge was more than just that one room, but a few different rooms combined. They walked into one that had food everywhere. Everywhere. He hadn't ever seen so much food in his life, not even at holidays and wakes.

"Wow."

"You can have anything you want." He squeezed his hand as he spoke and smiled over at Mathias.

"I think I'm still a little too..." His voice was quiet, not wanting anyone to hear how embarrassingly anxious he was.

"Okay," Orion nodded reassuringly. Pulling Mathias with him in the direction of more people sitting in a large -- very large -- purple booth around a table full of drinks and plates. "These are some cast members and behind the scenes folks for the show I work on, along with some from other shows," he said quietly to Mathias before they reached the table.

"Hey, guys," he directed at them all. In return, there was a loud and drawn out group hello. Suddenly there were voices from all over, including at tables next to this one and from people standing around the room.

"Is this your new boyfriend?" "Of course it is, stupid, they're holding hands!" "How long have you been together now?" "Where did you meet this kid?" "Ooh, Orion, best keep a leash on this one!" "Oh my God, you lucky fucker."

Everything was catching him off guard, some things shocking him, some making him uncomfortable, but at the same time it was exciting and he liked it. He suddenly felt Orion's arm making its way around Mathias' waist and he was flooded with a new feeling of comfort he hadn't had before. It was really nice. Orion rolled his eyes at some comments, dodging others, and answering just a few of them. After some of them were satisfied, they got up, and Mathias and Orion slid into the inside. He smiled at the girl he sat next to, leaning as close to Orion as he could without being obvious about it.

People slid in and out of the booth for the next 20 minutes, and the two of them remained stationary in the very middle of it. Mathias stayed quiet much of the time, Orion discussing various things, mostly things regarding the two of them. Mid-sentence, Mathias' stomach interrupted Orion as it growled. Loudly. He froze, disbelieving that that happened.

"Hungry?" Orion laughed, pressing his finger against his stomach playfully. Mathias smiled small, shrugging. "I'll go get us something, be right back." He gave him a reassuring squeeze on his knee and gave him a chaste kiss before having two people on his side move so he could get out.

Mathias' face turned very red, everyone staring at him after 'aw'ing in unison. Someone commented on his red face and he turned even redder somehow. He cleared his throat and looked down, not wanting to meet their gazes. He thought about the first time he and Orion kissed. It wasn't just their first kiss, it was Mathias' first kiss ever. Besides when he'd kissed a girl named Candace when he was in 6th grade. It was just a peck, but he felt so guilty about it that he told his parents and had to confess his sins. Good God, the repentance they'd require if they knew of the sins he'd committed since he met Orion. Wearing the leather belt he had on, for starters. He didn't even want to think about their reaction to him kissing period, yet alone a boy, and even better, a non-white.

Orion took Mathias to a carnival, knowing he'd never been on a ride before and he'd previously shared how he'd always wanted to try going on a ferris wheel. He'd made that dream, which probably seemed small to many but significant to him, come true. They were only friends, but Mathias was lying to himself if he said he didn't feel more. They went up, and Mathias was downright terrified. He'd never been more scared in his life, every time it slowed down to add a new passenger, his heart skipped a beat. As they reached the top of the wheel, Mathias looked down to the ground, the people looking small, one of the most beautiful scenes he'd ever seen. With a big smile on his face, he looked to Orion, who'd surprised him by immediately placing his hands against Mathias' cheeks and pressing his lips against Mathias' before he could give it a second thought. His heart stopped but felt like it was beating out of his chest at the same time. It was magical, for all of the two seconds it lasted before Mathias pulled away, his face looking like he'd just been given the most puzzling riddle of his life. He took back his thoughts about fear. He'd never been more scared in his life than he was now.

Scared because, well, he was however high in the air for starters. Two, he was here with a beautiful boy that made him question everything he thought he knew about... everything. Three, he liked it. He liked the feeling of his lips against his, however short the kiss was. He liked being next to Orion, and spending time with him. That scared him. He'd never felt anything like this, and what was worse was that Orion was the exact opposite of every single thing that his family and his religion told him he was supposed to be with. Staring into Orion's eyes though, he didn't care. With wild eyes, Mathias looked into Orion's, soft and caring, waiting for Mathias to process what had just happened. Mathias relaxed, his heart slowing into an excited sort of beating rather than terrified. Seeing this, Orion smiled and pulled Mathias' face back toward his at the same time the ferris wheel finally began to move into a constant motion. Butterflies began to flit around Mathias' entire torso, and he felt lighter than air as Orion slowly moved his lips against his.

They stayed on the ferris wheel for another few rides after that, in which Orion also held his hand for the first time. That whole day, he couldn't pinpoint a "most anything". Orion was the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen, kissing him and holding his hand and being with him was the most beautiful feeling he'd ever felt. He was happier than he'd ever been, more scared, more everything than he'd ever anything. It was like the first day of his life. His new life, and he never wanted to go back. Being with Orion was... surreal. Except, it was real. It was the realest, and purest thing in his life. At this point, going back home was the surreal thing.

Someone broke his thoughts and he looked to her, sitting on his right. He hadn't even noticed that a few new people had replaced the previous ones while he was lost in thought. "Will you be around here often, now?" she asked.

"Uh, I dunno," he said with a shrug.

"Everyone's gonna want you as their new GBF, unless I claim you first. Do you wanna?"

"What?" he asked, furrowing his brows, entirely confused. He had no clue what a 'GBF' was, but he was 99.999% sure he didn't want to be it.

"Ignore Katy," Orion said as he approached the table, Autumn at his side. "She's stupid." This girl whom he assumed was Katy rolled her eyes and got up.

Orion grinned at Mathias and held his hand out. "I changed my mind. You met the important people, and everyone else got to see you and be jealous, so I'm ready to leave. Let's eat out." Mathias looked up at him with a happy smile, nodding.

He'd go anywhere Orion went.

[rockrevoltmagazine]

EXCLUSIVE: Lyric Video "No Forgiveness" and Interview w/ Sam Sky

If you’ve never heard of Allentown, Pennsylvania-based rockers, Vicious., you’d better get on the bus, friends. Fronted by former I Am King vocalist, Sam Sky, Vicious. takes the gritty, raw, emotional power of post-hardcore and combines it with the lyrical clarity and catchy hooks of solid alternative rock, catapulting their sound to a whole new level with their new single, “No Forgiveness.” And we here at RockRevolt are thrilled to be the ones to bring it to you first!

Check out the lyric video for “No Forgiveness,” and then keep scrolling for our chat with Sky. Touching on everything from their Pennsylvania roots to the new sound and direction he sees Vicious. heading in, it is apparent that this band is going places – fast! You are going to want to be able to say that you knew them when, so punch your ticket for the Vicious. Express! All aboard, folks. This baby is taking off!!

But first, the world premiere of “No Forgiveness.”

  Hey, thanks for letting us be the first to showcase the awesome video for “No Forgiveness!” I’m looking forward to talking with you! First of all, I am a punctuation and grammar nut, so the fact that you have a period in your name intrigues me and excites me more than it likely should. Where did the name come from, and why the punctuation?

Let me just say I can already tell this interview is going to be a lot of fun! (laughs) I’m so stoked to be doing this!! The name is just something that has been in my head since day one. Never even researched to see if the name was taken or not; I didn’t care. I wanted that name. And besides, it’s not about who does it first, it’s about who does it better, am I right? Also, Vicious certainly has correlation to Sid Vicious, big Sex Pistols fan. Lastly, it’s also the name of a character from Cowboy Bebop, one of my all-time favorite animes.

As far as the period goes, it’s because there is a rapper named Vicious from the 90’s, and our music was ending up on his profile. So, I just stole a play from my former band mate Andrew Wetzel’s play book; only instead of an exclamation point, I liked the period more. It just strikes me as an even more adamant statement as a brand on paper for some reason. 

I know Allentown, PA, very well. And so, the fact that you come from there is exciting to me. How do your small-town roots play into what you do musically? Have you felt you have had to overcome any unique challenges being from PA instead of, say, New York City or Los Angeles? How do you take that small-town creative aesthetic and spread it with your music? I bet it makes your families super proud!!

Dang. These are very tough questions.

Honestly, we are pretty disconnected from what everyone is doing musically in this area. Vaguely in touch with what’s going on just through the shows we play locally, from what I’ve seen pop punk is on the up and up here.  We are kind of in our own world when it comes to that; and if there is any resemblance in sound to any other bands in the area, it’s purely coincidental.

As far as it being challenging, I’d say it absolutely is. Even from when I left I Am King a few years back, the landscape of the music world has changed sooooo much; it’s crazy. We’ve learned and continue to learn to adapt.

As far as taking that small town, genuine aesthetic, we just stay true to who we are and don’t give a single fuck about who we offend.

Lastly, I’d say some of our parents are prouder than others. My parents despise what I do. (laughs)

I know you had a really strong base with I Am King, and many of the fans seemed to be a bit miffed (for lack of a better word) when you left. How has leaving that experience lent itself to you creating something different, and very likely better, with Vicious.?

In every way me leaving that band, and the events transpiring afterwards absolutely have direct correlation to what Vicious. is and sounds like. When you lose everything, it changes you. You find a whole new strength to survive that’s somehow always been inside you. And Vicious. is that change in not only me, but in my band mates lives, as well.

Who do you turn to musically for influences?

It’s all over the place for me. I’m a weirdo. John Mayer is one of my spirit animals for sure, The Offspring, Nirvana, Slipknot, Linkin Park, The Descendants, Johnny Cash, Social Distortion, Limp Bizkit, aaaaaand I’ll end it with Refused. Just to name a few. (laughs)

What is your writing process like in terms of putting together songs and knowing which songs make the cut and which ones get the cut?

Our process varies a lot. Sometimes it’s all written in my head; sometimes it’s Dan and I writing it out with an acoustic guitar. Other times, it’s a full band thing, and a lot of collaboration happens during the actual recording process for sure. As far as which songs we cut, so far we haven’t cut any. We wrote four songs, tracked them all, and are releasing them all. We aim to have every track be strong enough to stand alone as a single. We write banggeerrrssss.

Vicious.

Your songs speak a lot of pain, and I am wondering if that is something you have made the conscious effort to do or if it just happened organically. It’s said that you guys, “write lyrics that say what everyone is thinking, but either don’t know how to or are too afraid to actually say it.”

I know in these times, having artists speaking about issues that are relatable and honest is something that many listeners tend to turn toward. I, for one, more than appreciate it. So, is that on purpose or just who you tend to be when it comes to creating your sound and content?

I certainly wouldn’t say it was a conscious effort. Life hits hard, and rains on the just and unjust alike. Life will beat you down, eat you up, then spit you back out again. A wise man would roll with the punches and ride the wave; unfortunately, I’ve never been very wise. Pain has been my biggest instructor, so it comes through in my writing. Now as far as our message being honest and relatable, that’s more of a conscience thing. I try to be as transparent in a way that can be felt, for sure.

As a band, do you feel some sort of responsibility with your content and making it something that the fans can relate to? Do you hear from fans that your music has helped them through an ordeal or trying time?

The artistic side of me doesn’t necessarily care about it being relatable; if it is, that only makes it more special. However, the business perspective/ song writer in me tends to even that out and try to make it so that all the dots are connected for anyone listening to make it as relatable as possible. It’s that give and take.

Speaking of fans, do you feel social media is more of a hinderance or a help when it comes to time spent and outreach to the fans? Do you find yourself getting sucked down the infamous black holes of social media?

A few years back, I would tell you it isn’t a hindrance at all. However, these days all these goddamn fucking algorithms make everything you put out almost impossible to be seen or heard. It’s completely fucked. Now I need to pay to let MY OWN fan base, the people who elected to see and hear things from our pages, see and hear what we are up to? Like I said, completely and totally fucked. 

If we can’t find you writing or making music, where can we find you and what are you doing? What else keeps you busy?

On any given day, you can pretty much always find me working for the man. I put in about 60 hours a week. After work, I’ll come home to eat, kiss my daughter goodnight, then head to the studio until 4 or 5 in the morning sometimes, then wake up by 8 am and do it all over again. Also, it should be said that my whole band grinds just as hard. Honored to be working with such dedicated dudes. We take the whole “Find what you love and let it kill you” thing literally.

I actually have a tattoo planned in my head with that exact quote in it!! If I were to take a peek at your most recent playlists, what bands/genres/songs would I see?

I’m sure if you looked at Chris’s (Bassist) playlist, it would be a bunch of trap/heavy rap. AJ’s (Guitarist) listens to a cluster fuck of random shit, but lots of Metallica no doubt (I hate Metallica, yuck.). Dan’s (Guitarist) rocks it to all of My Ticket Home’s latest record. You already know what I’ve been rockinnnnggggg.

Any tour plans in the future? I have GOT to get my ass out to see you perform live!

I don’t know about full tours, but we certainly have every intention on hitting some great 4 or 5 day runs, festivals, and other great one offs. I’m certainly not saying that touring is off the table, but we prefer to work smarter not harder. However, if something irrefutable came up, we wouldn’t miss the opportunity.

Speaking of tour, what would your dream tour look like?

Linkin Park (R.I.P. CB), The Offspring, The Beastie Boys (R.I.P. MCA), John Mayer (because fuck it), Conditions, Nine Shrines, Post Malone, My Ticket Home, and 30 Seconds to Mars. It would obviously be called the “Because Fuck It Tour.”

What can you tell me about “No Forgiveness?” It is a very strong, heavier track, so what influenced it? What can fans expect from it, and where will it lend itself to the narrative you are creating with Vicious.?

I dunno about the narrative, I don’t try to follow a specific direction because I feel like you put yourself in a box. If it vibes the same, rad. If It doesn’t, that’s rad, too. The song itself is about being left for dead by pretty much everyone in the industry and outside after I quit I Am King. Plenty of my “friends” were happy to watch me struggle and fall. This song is a prompt fuck you to those individuals. “I know how to lose everything and pick up where I fell.”

Just want to close out by saying thanks again on a sincere note for reaching out with this interview. Blessed and thankful for every new opportunity, whatever form it may take. Cheers and I hope you have a great Christmas and New Year!

  Connect with Vicious. (click icons):

Interview by Devon Anderson, RockRevolt Magazine Managing Editor

EXCLUSIVE: Lyric Video “No Forgiveness” and Interview w/ Sam Sky was originally published on RockRevolt Mag

[outtsiders-mark]

100 Questions? :) I have good numbers! 1-100! I send you smiles!

Oh goodness, haha. Alright! Thank you very much. ^^

1. What’s your middle name, and do you like it?: Sebastian! I’m okay with it!2. are you artistic?: I am! Not incredibly so but I am.3. Have you had your first kiss?: Nope! /w\4. What is your life goal?: I don’t think I have one! Just survive, I guess!5. Do you have any experiences with a famous person?: Nope, not yet!6. Do you play any sports?: Nope, I’m not a sportsy person, haha.7. What’s your worst fear?: Someone close to me dying8. Who’s your biggest inspiration?: I don’t really have one! I just live my life the way I think I should9. Do you have any cool talents?: I’m not great at a lot of things but I’m pretty good at video games? :D10. are you a morning person?: Not at all11. How do you feel about pet names?: Some are okay!12. Do you like to read?: Yes!13. Name a list of shows that have changed your life.: Steven Universe is really the only one that comes to mind! When I was young, maybe Crocodile Hunter though.14. Do you care about your follower count?: Not really, the best thing about it is possibly having more people to talk to!15. What’s the best dream you’ve had?: Dunno! I’ve had a lot of cool dreams.16. Have you ever kissed someone of your same gender?: Nope! Not yet anyways. >//>17. Do you have any pets? I do! 2 dogs (Ace and Copper), 2 cats (Todd and Roxas), and 3 ferrets (Finn, Bella, and Mayhem/Hamilton)18. Are you religious?: I’m not! I don’t mind religion at all I just believe that everything and everyone deserves respect and kindness.19. Are you a people person?: Inwardly yes, outwardly no. I love making friends but I can be easily overwhelmed.20. Are you considered popular?: On some platforms I guess? IRL no, but on dA I know a lot of people.21. What is one of your bad habits?: I bite my lips a lot22. What’s something that makes you feel vulnerable: Being unable to help someone who needs it23. What would you name your children?: I WOULDN’T I HATE KIDS... But I love the names Faolan and Elliot. 24. Who’s your celebrity crush?: I dooon’t really have one! I don’t much care about celebrities. 25. What’s your best subject?: History! 26. Dogs or cats?: Dogs!27. most used social media besides tumblr?: DeviantART if it counts, if not probably facebook simply because I use it at work.28. best friends name: Mary, Rachel (I know two of them, they’re both the best), Aj, Eli!29. who does your main family consist of: My grandfather, my mother, her boyfriend, my uncle, 3 brothers and 3 sisters!30. Chocolate or sugar: Nnnn depends on the type of chocolate31. have you ever been on a date?: Nope WHEE32. Do you like rollercosters?: Nope, I can’t ride them due to head injuries when I was young33. Can you swim?: I can doggy paddle? :D34. What would you do in the event of an apocalypse?: Die, probably, but I have a plan I could try to follow35. Have you struggled with any kind of mental disorder: Absolutely36. Are your parents together?: Nope37. What’s your favourite colour?: Green or purple!38. What country are you from/do you live in?: I’m from the USA! Save me!39. Favourite singer?: Set It Off40. Do you see yourself being famous some day?: Not at all haha41. Do you like dresses?: Nope! Some boys look nice in dresses but I don’t42. Favourite song right now?: Fallout by Marianas Trench43. Does talking about sex make you uncomfortable?: Sometimes. In general no, because I’m a pretty carefree dude, I just don’t like it when it involves me. Being an ace and all.44. How old were you when you first got your period?: I’m a boy so... :D45. Have you ever shot a gun?: I have! Many actually!46. Have you ever done yoga?: I have! It hurts47. Are you a horror girl?: *Boy but yeah if I have someone to watch it with me!48. Are you good at giving advice?: Sometimes! But I usually don’t give advice unless I’m confident in myself, so yes.49. Tell us a story about your childhood.: One time I dropped a TV on my head and fractured my skull in four places and yet I was still telling jokes in the ambulance. I was 4! 50. How are you doing today?: I’m good! A little sore, a little sleepy, but good!51. Were you a cute kid?: NOPE52. Can you dance?: Nope! I know how to waltz though!53. Is there anything you do that you can’t remember ever not doing?: Not really!54. Have you ever dyed your hair?: I have quite a few times!55. What colour are your eyes?: Hazel! They look more blue or green depending on what I’m wearing56. What’s your favourite animal: A fox!57. Have you ever made a huge fool of yourself?: I mean who hasn’t?58. Do you have a good relationship with your parents?: Not really, especially not my father59. Do you have good friends?: I do! I have amazing friends60. Are you close with anyone of the lgbtq+ group?: I think most of my friends fall into that category, so yes!61. What’s your favourite class?: Historyyyyy62. List all the tv shows you are watching.: Steven Universe, Supernatural (kinda), Ghost Adventures when I can catch it63. Are you organized?: Not at all64. What was the last movie you saw? Opinion?: Uhhh... I don’t remember!67. Which tv character do you relate to most?: Peridot from SU. I am also small confused and in love with space68. What are some things that stand between you and complete happiness?: Money, time, energy, not having a car, social anxiety... I could go on69. If you received enough money to never need to work again, what would you spend your time doing?: Gaming and drawing without a doubt- though maybe travel too!70. What would you change about your life if you knew you would never die?: I’d probably worry less71. What would you do differently if you knew that no one was judging you?: Be more of an asshole to people I don’t like probably. I’m really gentle most of the time but sometimes I wish I wasn’t, people are horrible sometimes72. If you could start over, what would you do differently?: I don’t think I would!73. Would you break the law to save a loved one?: Absolutely74. When was the last time you travelled somewhere new?: 3ish years ago I went to New York!75. When you think of your home, what immediately comes to mind?: Kids everywhere76. What have you done to pursue your dreams lately? How about today?: Absolutely nothing! :D77. What did you want to be when you were a kid?: A detective, haha78. If you dropped everything to pursue your dreams, what would you be risking?: Probably everything, I don’t know what I’d be pursuing 79.When did you not speak up, when you know you really should have?: Probably a couple of times80. Describe the next five years of your life, and your plans, in a single sentence: DO SOMETHING!!!81. What would happen if you never wasted another minute of your life, what would that look like?: Chaos82. If you could live forever, how would you spend eternity?: Exploring, seeing things, visiting friends83. How would you spend a billion dollars?: Video Games, an apartment, going to see friends84. If you could time travel, would you go to the past or the future?: Neither! Timelines, man!85. What motivates you to succeed?: Myself? Nothing really pff86. What dream that you’ve had has resonated with you the most?: -shrug!-87. Would you rather live in the city or the woods? Why?: WOODS. Away from people, you have your space, you have your freedom, clean air, quiet, so many reasons.88. Do you believe in life after death: I do!89. What teacher inspired you the most? How did they?: None!90. What’s your fondest childhood memory?: I admittedly don’t remember much of my childhood91. If you could have dinner with any one person, living or dead, who would they be and why?: IIII have no idea? Pff92. What would you have to see to cry tears of joy?: Anything cute, pff93. What is the hardest lesson you had to learn in life?: People suck and no matter how much they say they care they all leave in the end -dabs-94. What do you think happens after we die?: Ghosties!95. What would you do if you would be invisible?: Probably just scare people96. What’s something you can’t do no matter how hard you try?: Life in general97. Would you want to choose the sex and appearance of your offspring?: Nope, I don’t want kids98. How did your first crush develop?: Idk man I don’t even know who my first crush was99. Is there a feeling you are trying to ignore? What is it?: Sure, anxiety all the time forever100. Do you live or do you just exist?: A little of both, mostly just existing though