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snelbz · 3 years

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Tempting the Fates {Chapter 1}

Summary: It’s the final semester of Aelin Galathynius’ collegiate career and she is so beyond ready to be done. Her schedule is packed full of nursing classes and labs designed to test her knowledge and hone her skills for the real world and her “big girl” job. However, she needs one last elective to graduate, so she decides to study a subject she’s always been fascinated by: Mythology. Who would have thought that a class about gods and goddesses living complicated lives would end up complicating her own in such an unexpected way?

A/N: Fun fact about this one, y’all. I wrote the first chapter over 3 years ago and it was for a completely different story. This one has evolved on it's own and Tara and I are so excited to finally share it with you.

Word Count: 3493

Chapters will be posted every Wednesday.

Tempting the Fates Masterlist

Shelby’s Masterlist

Tara’s Masterlist

Zeus

– King of the gods and ruler of Mount Olympus; god of the sky, lightning, thunder and law.

The waves lapped against the sand as Aelin sighed. Strong hands rubbed the muscles in her back and worked out the kinks in her neck as the warm sun heated her body. The smell of the salt water filled her senses and she settled into the cushioned chaise. Another set of hands set a fruity looking drink with a little pink umbrella on the table next to her head. She smiled at it.

“Can we get you anything else, miss?”

Aelin opened her mouth to tell them exactly what they could do to her.

Beep! Beep! Beep!

Aelin’s eyes snapped open and she glared at her phone, chiming at her to get up.

She groaned, reaching for the offending device and silenced it, pulling her pillow over her head. She began to doze back off when her bedroom door flew open, smacking into the dresser on the wall behind it. She sat bolt upright and found her roommate leaning against the doorframe, a bowl of cereal in her hands and a gleam of mischief in her emerald eyes.

“Rise and shine, princess,” Lysandra drawled. Aelin just continued to scowl at her roommate. The bright warmth of the sun in her dream faded away as she looked out the window. Ice coated it and she could see a fresh layer of snow coated everything. “Aedion is about to be up, too. If you’d like any chance of taking a warm shower before class today, I’d suggest-.”

She was up and in the hallway before Lysandra could even finish her sentence.

Thirty minutes later, she sat on the kitchen counter, hair wrapped up in a towel, eating an apple and going over her schedule for the thousandth time. Her four classes were split into two days each, mercifully giving her Friday off.

Her cousin, long golden hair tied into a ponytail at the nape of his neck, came into the kitchen, pulling the jug of milk out of the fridge. He leaned on the counter across from her and drank straight from the plastic bottle, glaring daggers at her.

“Can I help you with something,” she asked him sweetly.

“You used the last of the hot water,” Aedion sulked, taking another swig.

She looked over, blowing him a quick kiss. “Maybe you should have gotten up earlier.”

He rolled his eyes, identical to her own, and came over to look at her computer screen. “What classes do you have this semester?”

She scrolled down the list, reading them off. “Pathophysiology, Caring for the Childbearing Family, Health and Gerontology, a few labs, and Mythology.”

Aedion’s eyebrows pulled together as she read the last one. “That doesn’t seem like it will be very helpful to a nurse.”

She shrugged, closing the laptop and sliding off the counter. “I needed one last elective. I’ve always been interested in Greek and Roman mythology and it’s a freshman level class. I figured why not study something for fun for once?”

He couldn’t fault her logic and began pulling ingredients out of the fridge to cook breakfast as Aelin headed back towards her bedroom. “Whatever you’re cooking, make two,” she called over her shoulder. She didn’t even need to look back to know the obscene gesture being flicked in her direction.

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Aelin was regretting studying something fun for once as she looked at the map of her classes.

All of her classes, save for one, were in the nursing building. Of course, that one other class was all the way across campus, in one of the general education buildings. At least walking there would take her right past her favorite coffee shop on campus and with an eight am every Tuesday and Thursday morning, she knew she’d take full advantage of that.

Thankfully today was a Monday, so she’d be spending the entirety of her day in the nursing building. But first, she had to have coffee. The first day of the semester required coffee.

Aelin parked in one of the student lots close to the nursing building. Throwing her leather bag over her shoulder, she slammed her car door. It was absolutely freezing and she suppressed a growl as she saw soft white flakes drifting toward the ground.

What a great way to start off the semester, she thought.

She made her way across campus, hands deep in her pockets and face buried in her scarf. As she crossed the quad, she pulled her phone out to check the time. She still had about twenty minutes to get coffee and get to class. Snow crunched under her boots as she picked up the pace, wanting to be sure she made it on time. Aelin was big on first impressions.

As she approached the door of the café, she reached for the handle, but the door swung open suddenly, slamming into her and knocking her off her feet.

The young girl, eyes wide, apologized profusely but said that she had to get to class and ran off. Aelin was mumbling something about where the freshman could go, when she heard a deep chuckle and a tan, tattooed hand appeared in front of her face. She glanced up and the air was pulled from her lungs.

The owner of the hand was a handsome man in his mid-twenties, with hair the color of the snow swirling around his head and green eyes. Not emerald like Lysandra’s, but deep and rich like a pine tree. A tattoo, similar to the one on his hand, snaked up his neck and onto his face. She’d be willing to bet it ran down the whole length of his arm. She’d love to find out for herself. He smiled at her, a wicked, beautiful smile. She could only stare at the gorgeous stranger as she gripped her hand in his. He lifted her to her feet.

“You okay?” He asked. Aelin nodded, pulling her hand out of his. He opened the door and motioned for her to go ahead of him. She stepped into the delicious warmth and immediately got her wits back.

“I’m Aelin,” she said, giving him a man eater’s smile.

“Rowan,” he said, a slight incline of his head in acknowledgment.

“Thank you, Rowan,” she said, letting his name slip out of her lips like a purr, as she’d heard Lysandra do it to her cousin many times. She knew it drove Aedion crazy and for some reason, that’s exactly what she wanted to do to this man. She walked to the line. He got in line behind her and she pulled out her phone, figuring that would be that. A bit of shameless flirting with a stranger was never a bad thing. She ordered her coffee and was surprised when the barista handed her the paper cup, a phone number written on the side. She quirked an eyebrow at the girl, who gave Aelin a knowing glance and looked over her shoulder. Aelin turned around, meeting a pine green gaze, and smiled at him. She headed back out into the frost and snow, pulling her phone out to snap a picture of the cup to send to Lysandra, knowing her best friend would love this.

Finding the classroom in the nursing building where she’d spent the bulk of the past two years was a breeze and she made it into the classroom with seven minutes to spare. She enjoyed her time with Professor Hafiza in the fall and anticipated she’d like her this semester again, too. Nonetheless, she settled in about three-quarters of the way up and looked at the coffee cup again.

Feeling bold, she entered the number into her phone and sent a quick text.

Any chance you want to sweep me off of my feet again and grab drinks later? I’m free anytime after 5:00. – Aelin.

Her phone buzzed almost immediately.

My last class lets out at 6:00 and I have to go to the gym afterward. How does 8:00 sound?

She typed a quick reply and placed her phone back on her desk.

Sounds like a date. The Beer Cellar, on Church Street.

She smirked to herself and glanced down at her watch. 9:58. Not even 10:00 am and the semester was off to a great start.

She unlocked her phone, shooting a quick text to Lysandra, letting her know about her new plans for the evening when she heard the door open and students started to hush.

It wasn’t the most exciting class, Aelin had to admit, but she supposed the information was necessary. Hopefully it wasn’t an indication of how the rest of her semester would go. She needed a little excitement in her schedule, that was for sure.

Aelin liked to be kept on her toes.

After two classes and a crappy salad for lunch from the school cafeteria, Aelin was hurrying across campus and down the street, toward her apartment. Lysandra was nowhere to be found, which meant she was either snuggled up with Aedion somewhere or still in class. Aelin’s bet was on the former.

After organizing her deskspace, Aelin went to her closet, and attempted to pick out what she should wear for the night. It was her first date of the semester, which either meant that it could be a complete win or a complete fail.

She ultimately decided that the sluttier the better.

Laying the gold dress out on her bed, she let herself into the Lysandra’s room, borrowing a pair of strappy black heels she knew her roommate would absolutely approve of and was back out the door, ready to suffer through her first lab of the semester. Three hours was going to drag by, but thankfully, it was only once a week.

And drag by it did, but Aelin wasn’t sure if it was thanks to the monotonous recap of her previous semester’s information or thinking about seeing Rowan again. She usually wasn’t so forward, even though Rowan had clearly been the one to start it all, giving her his number. But still, she typically would have at least waited a day or two before texting him.

But there was just something about him that she couldn’t get out of her head.

She grabbed her gym bag out of the car, thankful she had a bit of time to get a work out in before she went out. Thanks to tonight, Aelin was a pent up ball of energy and needed to get it out someway. After a solid forty-five minutes on the treadmill and nearly thirty on the free weights, Aelin was heading for the locker room when she noticed a silver head of hair across the gym.

She watched him as he pulled himself up on the bar, his chin going over the piece of metal each time. He wasn’t wearing a shirt, sweat poured down his chest as his arms swelled. Aelin had been right.

That tattoo went across his chest, and all the way down his arm. He did the pull-ups so effortlessly, and Aelin’s mind began to wander to unholy places.

It wasn’t until his feet hit the mat beneath him that she was brought back to reality and hurried into the locker room. If he was here, that meant their date was approaching, and she had to get ready. She checked her phone. It was nearly seven.

Aelin hurried back home and showered. She had once vowed, during her freshman year, that she would avoid the gym showers at all costs and only used them under emergency circumstances. Luckily, her and Lysandra’s apartment was only five minutes from the gym.

After a shower and a full-body shaving session, Aelin was brushing out her long, golden hair and blow drying it until it was flowing freely down her back. She kept her makeup decently simple - at least, that’s how she made it look, and straightened the slight waves out of her hair before putting on her little, golden dress.

Once she had slipped on Lysandra’s heels, she was looking at herself in the mirror and even she had to admit that she was looking hot.

After grabbing her clutch, she hurried down the hallway and into the living room, where she found Lysandra and Aedion snuggled together on the couch, watching a movie.

“Going out with a stranger?” Lysandra asked, brow raised. “I'm so proud of you.”

“Yeah, just keep it in your pants,” Aedion mumbled.

“I thought I’d bring him back here,” she said, winking at Lysandra. “You don’t want to have breakfast together tomorrow?”

“Absolutely not,” Aedion mumbled and Lysandra chuckled, leaning into his embrace.

“Have fun, call me if you need me,” Lysandra called as Aelin blew them a kiss and headed for the door.

Her Uber was waiting when she walked out front and before she knew it, she was walking down the stairs into her favorite bar. Glancing around, she didn’t see Rowan sitting at the bar or any of the booths around the room.

So she bought herself a drink and claimed one of the pool tables, setting her coat and clutch on a bar stool nearby. Over halfway through the game, she felt eyes on her and glanced up to find Rowan standing at the other end of the table. Giving him a smirk, she knocked the cue ball into the yellow-striped 9 ball. It sank into the pocket.

“Playing with yourself?” Rowan asked, and Aelin caught a slight accent that she had missed earlier.

Aelin’s grin widened. “Well, if I’m left hanging, a girls gotta do what a girls gotta do.”

Rowan breathed a laugh. “Fair enough. And if I asked to join?”

“You sure you don’t just want to watch?” she asked, leaning on the table, making sure her cleavage was perfectly visible.

Rowan’s tongue shot out and subtly licked his bottom lip. “Tempting.”

Aelin pushed herself back and grabbed the rack, starting to collect the balls. “Buy me a drink and then we’ll talk.”

Rowan bit his lip to hide his spreading grin. “Fair enough. I’ll be back.”

Aelin watched as he left, watched as he went to the bar and bought her another drink, alongside one for himself. He came back with two glasses. One was the color of the sunrise, the other a caramelly brown.

“Sex on the Beach?” Aelin asked, brow raised.

He shrugged and handed her the glass. “Sounded promising.”

“So… Rowan,” she said, letting his name drag out as she said it. He was dressed in a pair of dark jeans and the black Henley he wore made his hair seem even brighter in the dim light of the bar.

“Aelin,” he purred right back, pulling a pool stick from the wall behind her, nearly boxing her in. She realized then how much larger than her he was.

She loved it.

“I hope your coffee helped you get through the rest of your day,” she said, resetting the game and racking the balls. She glanced at him over her shoulder as she reached into the middle of the table, and he was watching her, staring at her ass.

Slutty was definitely the right option tonight.

“It certainly did, especially considering how boring it was,” he replied, reaching around her for the chalk that rested on the edge of the table. “But when I got your text, it gave me something to look forward to. Even if it made the day last twice as long.”

“Happy I could help.” She picked her drink up and stirred it, before taking a long sip through the straw.

“Would you like to break, or should I?” He asked, nodding to the pool table.

“Let’s see what you can do.”

He grunted as he stepped forward, lined up his stick, and knocked the cue ball into the others. They broke apart, but none of them fell into the pockets. Rowan stood there for a moment, his lips pursed. Meanwhile, Aelin tossed her head back and burst into laughter.

“Alright, alright,” Rowan said, straightening up and turning to face her. “So pool isn’t my thing.”

Aelin stepped up next to him and aimed her stick, leaning over the table, her ass nearly rubbed up against Rowan’s front. “Hopefully you’re better at other things.”

Rowan’s hand brushed along Aelin’s hip, just as she got ready to shoot, causing her shot to go haywire. She spun around, eyes narrowed. “That’s foul play.”

“No one said we were playing fair,” he countered.

“What about playing for drinks?” She asked, raising an eyebrow.

He lifted his own eyebrows and he said, “I’ve got an eight am…”

Shrugging, she said, “So do I.” Then she leaned in close, thankful for the three-inch heels she’d pilfered from Lysandra’s closet and breathed into his ear, “Don’t worry, I’ll make sure you’re up in time.”

“So sure of how this night is going to go,” he said quietly, just loud enough for her to hear him, and she felt his hand skimming over the curve of her ass. “Fine. We’ll play for drinks.”

It turned out Rowan hadn’t been lying about pool not being his thing. They played three games back to back, and he lost them all, but every time he returned with a drink for Aelin, he had one for himself as well. By the time she dragged him towards the small dance floor in the center of the bar, they were both stumbling and his lips found her neck before his hands even gripped her hips.

His lips were soft, gentle, nothing like she had expected. Maybe it was the alcohol, maybe he was just getting tired, perhaps he was usually rough.

But, when his hands found Aelin’s hips and he brought her back into him, she felt that roughness. It seemed Rowan was the best of both worlds. Gentle when prompted, rough beneath the surface.

Aelin turned to him and slung her arms around his neck, bringing his lips to hers. Their mouths crashed into one another, and their bodies slowed until it felt like they were the only two on the dancefloor.

Rowan pulled away, just a little bit, and breathed, his eyes wild, “Aelin-.”

“Take me to your place,” she said, her mouth finding his, once again.

Before she knew what was happening, they were in the backseat of an Uber, unable to keep their hands off of one another. Thanks to it being a college town, the driver didn’t say a word, just dropped them in front of an upscale building, just off the east side of campus.

She noticed how nice it was on the short elevator ride up, but was much more preoccupied by the way his hips pressed into hers. He dragged her along the hall, his lips never leaving hers, until her back was pressed against a cool door and he was fumbling to get it unlocked. It swung wide and she gripped his collar, pulling him inside.

Throwing her clutch and coat by the door, Aelin let her hands dive into his cropped silver hair and he responded by cupping her ass and lifting her up. Her legs were around his waist and he carried her through the apartment and into his bedroom. Neither of them had any delusions about how and where this would end and Aelin felt like she was going to combust as he dropped her on the bed and gazed down at her.

His eyes were full of lust, full of hunger, a wild animal with his eye on his prey. He wasted no time stripping Aelin down and admiring her body with his hands, his tongue, his lips. Rowan may not have been good at pool, but he was right when he said he was far better at other things.

He worshipped her, and Aelin knew it wasn’t the alcohol when she was sent into utter bliss.

When he rolled off of her, breath still uneven, Aelin watched as he dealt with the condom and fell back into the bed beside her.

She cleared her throat. “I can go…if you want me to.”

Rowan turned to look at her, and she could tell he was still just as drunk as she was. “What? No, of course not. You said you’ve got an eight am, too, right?” She nodded and he tugged on her hand, pulling her closer to him. They were both still gloriously naked and she could feel the heat radiating off of his body. “Then we can both make sure the other is up so we aren’t late. Or too hungover.”

Aelin snorted softly, resting her head on his chest. “I think that particular ship has sailed.”

“You’re probably right,” he mumbled and she could tell he was already starting to doze. She was on the brink of sleep herself.

Aelin decided then, as her eyes closed, that she didn’t care if she was hungover in the morning, or if she was late to her eight am. A night being praised by Rowan had been perfectly worth it.

#tempting the fates #snacmc ttf #snacmc collab #rowaelin ttf #throne of glass #rowan whitethorn #aelin galythinius

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liaarchived · 3 years

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Heather

Inspiration: The song Heather by Conan Gray

Pairing: Kuroo x Reader, Kenma x Reader

Warnings: Angst, Insecurity, Toxicity, my shit writing😀

Word count: 4.8k

A/N: Hiya!! Honestly not sure how I really feel about this one. It was definitely self indulgent bc I’ve been OBSSESSED with this song lately. The ending went a little different than I intended. I hope you all enjoy <33

P.S ~ I tried really hard to make this gender neutral so if I missed anything or slipped up somewhere please lmk and I’ll fix it right away!!

You still remember that night like it was yesterday. It was the 3rd of December. You were in your first year of college, Kuroo in his last. Kenma was there too. But he was being his usual quiet self and even left early that night.

You all had gotten into The University of Tokyo coming out of Nekoma. During your first year at Nekoma High, you were asked to be the manager of the boys VBC. Having played Volleyball in middle school but suffered from a knee injury your doctor advised a break from any sports, you quickly accepted, still wanting to be involved with the sport one way or another. That’s where you met the odd pair. It took you by surprise that the intimidating looking VBC captain was actually a big ol’ softy and that his best friend was none other than the quiet and antisocial setter, Kenma Kozume.

You were like their baby sibling. Always needing their protection whether you wanted it or not. Nothing much changed when the oldest graduated. He would always meet up with the 2 of you after classes, often walking you home. When it was just you left at Nekoma it was still the same thing. The two boys would meet you at the gates of school and walk you home before heading back to the campus dorms.

The day you graduated the 3 of you celebrated with a trip to Miyagi to visit your friends from Karasuno and party. A few of them had gotten into The University of Tokyo themselves and would soon become your classmates instead of rivals.

Fast forward back to December 3rd of your first semester of college. It was Thursday night. Tradition stood that you, Kenma and Kuroo always spent the afternoon/evening after a long week of classes together. You were all fortunate enough to be supported by your parents so you didn’t have to worry about part time jobs.

It was a chilly night, more so than you expected it to be. Kenma had just left, mumbling something about needing to edit and post a video to his YT channel. You and Kuroo bid the gamer a goodnight but stay out. Neither one of you were quite ready to call it a night just yet. Spending time alone with just Kuroo had always made you a bit nervous. You didn’t know why, you had known the man for almost four years now. It’s not like his company is a foreign concept to you, it was just usually accompanied by Kenma. In all honesty you really knew what it was but you never let yourself entertain the idea.

But that night was different. The moment Kenma left the whole vibe changed. The aura went from light to tension filled. You immediately began to wring your hands together as the two of you sat on a bench at the park closest to the dorms and Kuroo’s apartment. There was supposed to be a meteor shower that night. You had seen a handful of shooting stars but nothing tremendous yet. You were starting to feel disappointed after looking forward to this all month and still not getting the shower you imagined. I mean you’re an astronomy major for God’s sake. You get extra credit in 2 of your classes if you come into class next week with proof you watched the meteor shower.

You huff as another wave of shivering wracks through your body. Your shivering doesn’t go unnoticed. Kuroo has always had a sharp sense for little details and your shivering was no exception. He took a glance at you from the corner of his eye, trying to be as subtle as possible. You’re wearing a long sleeve thermal and a thin jacket.

“Baka, why didn’t you wear more layers?” Lucky for you, Kuroo, under his hoodie and thicker jacket, was wearing a thermal under a long sleeve. So he didn’t mind shedding a layer to share it with you.

You pout at the rooster haired man with a red nose and chattering teeth. “I- d-didn’t realize it w-was gonna be thi-s cold-d.”

Kuroo pulls off his old VBC hoodie that has the word “captain” and “Kuroo” right underneath written in small lettering on the breast and hands it to you. You stare at it for a moment too long. “C’mon. Take it. You need it way more than I do right now.”

You huff but take the sweater anyway. Kuroo chuckles.

“Thanks.” You mumble while taking off your jacket and pull the sweater on. It’s warm from Kuroo’s body heat and it smells of cinnamon, like him. You sigh in satisfaction as you put your jacket back on. “Thanks, Tetsu.”

“You already said that. Plus, it looks better on you than it does on me anyways.” He shrugs but the blush that creeps onto his cheeks doesn't go unnoticed by you. You’re a little stunned by his words. Sure, Kuroo has complimented you before but never on your appearance. That always seemed to be something that he steered clear of and now you know why. Your heart skips a beat before quickening from his simple yet loaded words.

You look at the large man with shining eyes and mouth slightly agape. When he looks back at you he swears the whole earth stops turning for a moment. He could cry from how adorable you look in his sweater. Practically swimming in the large piece of fabric. He doesn't know what it is about you lately, but he’s been noticing that ever since you graduated, maybe even a little before that, there was something about you that made you a constant thought in his mind. He finds himself thinking, more often than not, about how soft your lips look or how you would feel in his arms.

Those very thoughts were flooding Kuroo’s mind at that very moment in time and he realized a little too late that he had been leaning in closer to you while thoughts of you ran rampant in his distracted mind. You had noticed it. His slow descent to close the space between the two of you. The way his head dipped so that you two were eye level, the slightly glazed over look in his hazel orbs meaning he was overthinking something.

You let your voice squeak out in the form of a question. “Uh… Kuroo? What’s wrong?”

The large man snaps out of his reverie and stares shocked at just how close you are. He licks his lips, mouth suddenly feeling very dry. Then he makes a split second decision, he’s going to indulge himself and his thoughts for once. He’s going to be impulsive, not think about the possible consequences of his actions.

“Can I try something?” Kuroo’s deep voice comes out low and breathy.

Your heartbeat quickens for the second time tonight and you can’t seem to find your voice, so you simply nod your head. At your silent permission, Kuroo cradles your jaw into his large calloused hand. His face moving further to close most of the space left between your lips. You can feel his warm breath fan over your features. A nervous knot forms in your stomach but your chest is bursting with excitement.

“ ‘M gonna kiss you. That okay?” Hazel meets e/c. He patiently waits for your permission once again. You nod but the cat-like man shakes his head.”I need to hear you say that it’s okay. Please.”

You swallow the lump that’s formed in your throat and clear it away. “Yeah. I- I think I would like that, Testu.”

Kuroo didn’t need any other confirmation. He leaned in the rest of the way and your lips met. The kiss was sweet. It wasn’t long or particularly passionate. But… it was nice. His lips were slightly chapped from the cold weather but still soft and warm. He knew how to apply the right amount of pressure too, just enough to let you know his actions were meant. When it’s over you barely separate from each other. Surrounded by a cloud of your warm breath, Kuroo Chuckles.

You hum dazed, waiting for him to say something. “Didn’t realize I wanted to do that so bad. I hope that was okay?”

You steal a glance into Kuroo’s eyes. His gaze is steady and earnest. But still, somehow, something feels slightly off. “Neither did I.” You mumble in response.

The rest of that night was spent in each other’s arm stealing kisses and glances from one another. It was almost perfect.

Almost.

After that night, the two of you spent more time together alone. Kuroo would casually kiss you on the lips or even makeout with you here and there when you two were in situations where Kenma wasn’t there,when you were alone. But if Kenma was there he would keep his distance. This went on for the rest of your first year.

You let the seed of hope that was planted that first night you kissed, grow into a certain type of adoration that was held only for romantic partners. You cared for Kuroo in a much deeper way now than you had before. You had always found the large man attractive sure, but you found your other best friend, Kenma, attractive as well. You were never directly attracted to them. Until now. It felt like your attraction to Kuroo coursed through your veins and traveled throughout your entire being. Each day you spent alone with him brought you closer to thinking the two of you could be more than friends.

Second year of college was when everything changed. You and Kenma had a computer science class together. You were minoring in it. You wanted to create programs that tracked the stars and planets and you knew that if Astronomy didn’t work out, as it often didn’t, computer programming was an easy career to get into and something you actually quite enjoyed.

Lucky enough Kuroo had a class next door to yours at around the same time as you two so you all decided that you would walk to and from that last class of the day together. It was the end of the first day of classes that you saw the shift. You and Kenma were let out of class early for the first day and sat directly outside, waiting for Kuroo. His class was let out early as well so you didn’t have to wait long. You watch the students all shuffle out, eagerly awaiting the presence of your point of attraction. When his tall frame finally appears in the doorway it was accompanied by a much smaller one.

She’s smiling at Kuroo with brilliantly white and straight teeth. Her lips are full and naturally pink. Her stunning smile reaches her large blue eyes, which are sparkling with genuine interest. Her cheeks are dusted with a rosy tone, letting you know that she’s interested in Kuroo. Then you notice Kuroo. His smile is wide and there’s this look in his eyes that you’ve never quite seen before. The two stand off to the side, not even noticing the pair waiting for the dark haired student. You observe them as the girl laughs at something Kuroo said and her whole being lights up brighter than the blue sky. Your stomach drops when her hand lightly falls onto Kuroo’s shoulder and a blush creeps onto his features.

You feel sick to your stomach. How could you compete with someone like that. She was stunning, gorgeous, beyond pretty. How were you supposed to compare to someone like that? You couldn’t. There was no competition in your mind, she was miles above you and no amount of time would ever allow you to be on the same level as her.

Kenma was doing some observing of his own. He had been for the last 6 plus months. Kenma isn’t stupid and his time playing volleyball as a setter proved that he was actually very sharp and extremely observant. Kenma had seen the way you had started acting around Kuroo and it pissed him off because it was obvious that whatever was going on between the two of you, was one sided. Kuroo had no intention of taking things further with you, at least not anytime soon. But still, the large man was spending a lot more alone time with you than he had previously in your 4 year long friendship.

Kenma watched with his blood boiling as your heart began to crack and it made him want to punch Kuroo right in his face. The idiot still hadn’t noticed the two of you. He was in his own little world with this strange girl. He was totally oblivious to the shattering of one of his best friend’s hearts.

Having had enough, Kenma calls out to the rooster idiot. “Kuroo. We’re leaving. You can come if you want but I’m sick of waiting.”

Kuroo gave you two a look of shock, it was clear that he was just noticing you two for the first time since walking out of his classroom. “Ah. Uh- yeah. Just give me one sec, yeah?”

Kenma crosses his arms over his chest in annoyance but doesn’t move. You both watch as numbers are exchanged between the two classmates. Then the girl turns to the both of you. “Sorry for stealing your friend from you. I didn’t realize you were waiting for him. If I had, I would’ve cut the conversation short. Thanks for being so patient. Bye Kuroo. I’ll talk to ya later. Bye Kuroo’s friends.” With another heart stopping smile and wiggle of her fingers the stunning girl walks off.

Kuroo watches her form disappear before granting you his attention. He didn’t even have the decency to look embarrassed. He smiled widely but you noticed very quickly that he wouldn’t meet your gaze. For the rest of the day Kuroo spoke about his new friend and didn’t once look you in the eye.

Over the next few weeks Kuroo found every excuse to either bring Kenma along to hangout with the two of you or to not hangout at all. He wouldn’t shut up about the girl in his class. You had learned that her name was Heather. She was studying abroad from America but her father was born in Tokyo, Japan and lived here until he was 18 years old. So she spoke fluent Japanese with little to no accent. She was also very sweet and as much as you wanted to, you just couldn’t bring yourself to hate her.

Heather became a constant after that. She was now a friend too. Kenma got along with her but he was still reserved around her for your sake. In all honesty Kenma didn’t care for her. But he knew that she had to be special to Kuroo if he was willing to do whatever it is he did to you for this Heather girl. So, Kenma forces himself to play nice. The gamer has always had an extremely soft spot for you. He couldn’t quite explain it, he’s never been very good with emotions but he did know that you were extremely special to him.

Everything came to an all time low a few months after adjusting to life with Heather in it. You were all meeting up at Kuroo’s for a movie night. You decided to go a little early to get some things off your chest with Kuroo. You missed the friendship you had with him before everything and wanted to at least clear the air so he could stop avoiding you. You knocked on the door softly and waited a few minutes before knocking again, a bit louder this time. You heard a noise come from inside. Worried for your friend you fish out the spare key he gave you for emergencies and enter his apartment.

A big mistake. The second you enter, the whole apartment is filled with the sound of skin slapping on skin and strangled moans of Kuroo’s name falling from a familiar silky voice. Heather. They were here, in Kuroo’s apartment, having sex right before movie night. You’re frozen in place with your hand still stuck on the door handle. You’re slow to process what’s happening but the second it all settles in you feel the familiar sting of tears welling up in your eyes. You refuse to let them fall until you get the hell out of here. Quietly leaving the way you came in, you cross the threshold of Kuroo’s apartment leading to the hallway of the building. It takes everything in you not to slam the door shut. You don’t want to alert the couple that someone had heard what they were doing.

The moment you have the door shut you run. You almost make it to the entrance without encountering anyone but then you run into someone, causing you to lose your footing and fall on your ass.

“Y/N?” Kenma’s soft voice breaks through the fog of your brain.

You look up at faux blonde as you finally let the tears stream down your cheeks and neck. “Kenma-”

You sob. Unable to get any other words out you reach out to him like he’s your lifeline and he takes you in his arms. “Let’s go.” It’s all he needs to say. He leads you to his car, knowing full well that you walked here from the dorms less than a mile away. Trusting Kenma 100%, you stay silent and let him take you to wherever it is he’s going, assuming his apartment.

Your assumption is right as you pull into the familiar parking garage. You pull out your phone which has been buzzing with messages in your pocket. You check and see it’s Kuroo, Heather and Kenma in the groupchat.

You hadn’t realized while reading, Kenma had gotten out and went around the car to open your door for you. The second he sees your screen he sighs. Gently, he takes your phone from out of your grasp and tucks it into his pocket. “You don’t need to read that right now.”

He’s right of course. You’re still a mess. You have tears streaming down your face, your nose is red and runny, and your eyes are puffy and red. Your sweater sleeves are wet from rubbing away your tears. You can’t even imagine what other people would think of you if they saw you right now. Crying over a guy that was never really yours? How pathetic. You think to yourself.

Kenma tugs you out of your seat and shuts the car door behind you. The gamer doesn’t let go of your hand until you get into his apartment. Even then, he only lets go of your hand to hold you in his arms on his bed while he lets you stain his sweater with fresh tears. You’re not sure how long you stay like that but it’s dark out by the time you calm down.

Kenma was furious. At one point he began to cry himself. Words could not describe what Kenma wants to do to Kuroo for causing this. The two of them were supposed to protect you from heartbreak like this. Yet here you were sobbing, pouring your broken heart and soul out in the form of tears, because Kuroo had strung you along and tossed you aside when he’d found something he liked better.

You whimper a few times before going silent. Your face is buried in Kenma’s now very wet chest while you fist his sweater pocket. You let yourself just breathe a few times before forming coherent thoughts. The first words to stumble out of your mouth are raspy and barely audible. But Kenma hears them nonetheless.

“ ‘M sorry.” It’s slurred and you hiccup immediately afterward, drunk from the dehydration caused by your prolonged crying.

Kenma’s grip on you tightens. “You have nothing to be sorry about.”

You whimper in response. He’s right of course. Logically, you shouldn’t be the one apologizing. But in your mind it was your fault for letting yourself fall for one of your best friends in the first place, when you felt- knew- nothing would come of it.

Kenma sighs sadly. “ You need to eat something. I’ll order a pizza while you take a bath. It’ll help. You can borrow one of my hoodies and a pair of underwear. I’ll wash what you’re wearing so you can put it back on in the morning. You know where everything is.”

You nod your head and slowly make your way to the bathroom. Kenma was right, funny enough, a bath is exactly what you needed in that very moment. You wash away the now crusted over salty tear stains from your eyes and cheeks and mucus stains from under your nose. Your eyes are tired and still pink rimmed and puffy but other than that, you look much better than you did when you first entered the bath. You take a moment to just relax in the steaming hot water before getting out and towel dry yourself. You wrap the towel around your body to keep your modesty and exit the bathroom. You can hear Kenma ordering food in the living room. You're thankful that he was giving you your privacy. Not even chancing the sight of you in a towel.

Luck for you, Kenma has a surplus of oversized clothes. He’s always expressed how oversized hoodies and shirts just make him feel more comfortable in his skin. You pull on a pair of Kenma’s boxer briefs and let yourself get swallowed by what you thought was a plain black hoodie. At second glance you notice the white B on the left sleeve cuff and the hood. You smile to yourself. Grateful that your longtime best friend has been so successful in life. This hoodie being a reminder of that very success.

You keep the hood up and trudge over to the living room where you find Kenma quietly sitting on the couch, hands clapped together with his cell in between them. Kenma is slouched over with his elbows resting on his knees and chin resting on his fingertips, he seems to be in deep thought. You clear your throat and Kenma’s eyes immediately shoot up to you.

“Sorry. Was just thinking ‘bout something. Pizza should be here soon. How was the bath? Made you feel better?” Kenma still seems distracted but his attention is on you.

“Yeah. The bath was nice. Thanks for letting me borrow some clothes. What were you thinking ‘bout?”

“What happened with Kuroo?” Kenma takes a deep breath almost as if he’s calming himself down. “And I don’t just mean today. I mean what’s been going on the 6 months before Heather that led to what happened today.”

You sigh. You let a few moments pass to gather your thoughts before spilling everything to Kenma. You tell him about the first night, after he had left. Then what had been happening the 6 months after. Kenma listens intently. He feels himself becoming increasingly angry with himself and with Kuroo. They both let this happen. Kuroo directly and Kenma indirectly by not saying anything.

“I thought we… I thought there was something there and then Heather just wedged her way in. I-I can’t even bring myself to hate her, Kenma.” You send the faux blonde a sad smile while smoothing your hand over your head and let it rest at the back of your head. “She’s just so sweet and perfect. She’s such an angel. But then again, kinda wish she were dead. And that makes me feel like shit. I’m such a terrible person for feeling like that. The worst part is she hasn’t even done anything to me. It’s not her. I should be mad at Kuroo. I should hate Kuroo. But I jus-”

You breathe in a shaky and shallow breath before continuing. “I can’t. He’s one of my best friends but I feel like I'm losing him even as a friend. I get it. I get that we weren’t meant to be. I’m fine with that. The thing is he’s been acting so cold towards me ever since she came into the picture. I don’t know what to do! He won’t even let me talk to him! I went over early today because I wanted- needed to talk to him! I needed to clear the air between us! But instead I walked into his apartment and heard him having sex with Heather!” You wipe at your eyes with the sleeves of the sweater Kenma has loaned you. You become increasingly irritated with yourself. Why did this have you so worked up? You weren’t even that broken about it anymore. You truly thought you were moved on from this. But the thought of Kuroo being intimate with someone else without so much as just talking with you snapped something inside of you.

“I thought… I thought he respected me more than that. I get that I’m not even half as pretty as her. I get that I’m not as good of a match for him. I get that he’ll never be in love with me. But before whatever the fuck we had going on started, we were friends. As his friend I deserve to be respected. Right, Kenma? Am I wrong?” You feel desperation rising up from your chest like bile. Your word-vomit spewing out without reason. You’re not even paying attention to what you’re saying. But Kenma is. He’s holding on to every word like his life depends on it.

You’re ready to continue but Kenma can’t bear the thought of you voicing any more doubtful thoughts you have of yourself, so he faces you completely and carefully but authoritatively holds your face in his hands. “Ken-”

“Stop. I- just stop. Kuroo is a dumbass. We’ve known that for years. But this a new level of idiocy. And you. Stop that, stop putting yourself down. You’re the most beautiful human being I have ever laid eyes on and Kuroo is intelligently inept if he can’t fucking see that. She is not prettier than you, she is not smarter than you- Hell she’s not even as good of company as you are.” Kenma didn’t expect to be this affected by your words, but he was. He couldn’t stand the fact that you thought you were inferior to anyone because that’s not at all how he sees you.

“Kenma…” You whisper. You had never in your 4 years of knowing him hear him speak this way. He was always reserved, calm and quiet but right now he was the stark opposite. He was tugging on his hair, voice raised, and eyes wild with desperation.

“I’m so sorry, I’m sorry I didn’t say anything. Didn’t do anything about you and Kuroo. I just let it happen. I should’ve done something or at the very least been there to support you. And god I wish I was better with words, I wish I could tell you- show you how I see you because in my eyes you’re the one that makes everyone else look inferior. You’re the one that has the brightest smile and eyes. The one that has a personality to rival.The one that I… I adore.”

Suddenly it hit you. You knew what Kenma was trying to tell you but didn’t know how to quite express it. How did you not see it? Kenma was always so kind to you and treated you with the utmost respect. To you that was just Kenma, that was who he was, but it really wasn’t. Kenma is blunt and won’t tell you what you want to hear but what you need to hear. Kenma doesn’t like people but he likes you. He frequently bashes Kuroo but frequently compliments you. All the little things he does for you suddenly feel huge coming from Kenma because.... He doesn’t do that for anyone else.

You stare incredulously at your successful friend. He’s blushing and won’t meet your eyes. “Kenma- I never realized…” You laugh nervously and that catches Kenma’s attention. “ I guess I shouldn’t have been so focused on Kuroo this whole time. Am I too late? Did I mess it up?”

Kenma chuckles softly and takes your face into his hold once again, this time a lot softer. “No. You didn’t mess anything up.”

You smile genuinely for the first time in months. “Good. I might need a little more time and to speak with Kuroo, for closure, but if you're willing…” You gaze up at Kenma through your lashes silently pleading with him.

“I’ve waited for you this long, What’s a little more time?”

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steveeatsbats · 2 years

Text

𝚏𝚕𝚊𝚜𝚑, 𝚋𝚊𝚗𝚐 - 𝚌𝚜 - 𝟼

Sarah made some choices. Sometimes, choices have bad outcomes. Steve saves the day.

word count; 2000

warnings; domestic abuse, gun violence

masterlist

July came and went, and Sarah hadn’t uttered a word to Steve. He didn’t know what to do with himself without his partner in crime. He spent most of the summer moping around in his room. Tommy and Carol had abandoned him last November, and he usually spent the entire summer causing mayhem with those two. But he honestly didn’t miss them.

August passed by quickly. Steve's dad forced him to work at his office, doing paperwork mostly. It wasn’t a permanent job, he was just filling in for someone who had retired until they got a new hire. Still, there had been no contact from Sarah. He hadn’t even seen her around town. He was contemplating checking the motel. What if she skipped town and he didn’t even know?

Steve was way too busy to care about Sarah the first week of September. His senior year started, and he was hurrying to finish his college essays for early admission. Tyler graduated last June, and Sarah was usually with him, so Steve had no clue where to look for her. He just wanted to check in on her. He didn’t care if she didn’t want to be his friend, he wanted to make sure she was okay.

The second week of school hit him like a bus. Sports tryouts started, and Steve had even less time off than before. Every night, as soon as he got home, he completely crashed, passing out as soon as his head hit the pillow.

Thursday night, Steve woke up to the ringing of his landline, the sound making him jump awake. He glanced at the digital clock next to his phone, squinting to see the green numbers. 3:42. Who the hell was calling him at 3:42 in the morning? He answered the phone, holding it up to his ear as he laid back down. “Hello?”

“Steve?” Sarah’s voice rang through the other end, she was terrified, her voice shaking.

“Sarah!?” Steve shot back up in bed, shocked to his core.

“You- You need to get here. Fast. I-I’m scared.” There was a loud banging in the background, like someone was trying to break down a door.

“What’s going on Sarah? Where are you?” Steve was already out of bed, trying to put his jeans on while holding the phone between his ear and his shoulder.

“I’m at the motel. I-AH!” There was a loud bang, and then the line went dead.

Steve dropped the phone, not bothering to put it back on the hook. He stopped, staring at the bat, adorned with nails, that he kept in his closet since last November. He sighed, grabbing the bat and running out of his house.

Steve pulled up to the motel minutes later. The lights were on in the lobby. He could see the broken door frame behind the front desk. He gritted his teeth, grabbed the bat from the passenger seat, and booked it inside.

He approached the door, hiding behind the wall next to it. He didn’t know what was in there. What if it was the Demogorgon? Or something else from the Upside-Down? What if it had already gotten to Sarah? Steve gulped, pushing down his fears and running into the room and past the door that was laying on the ground.

He didn’t know what he was seeing. Tyler was standing by the couch, the skin on his knuckles was broken. Steve could even see the splinters in his hands. Tyler stood there, frozen. He was angry, scared, terrified.

And then he saw Sarah. A bruise marred her cheek, accompanying a bleeding cut. The blood trickled down her face and into her hair. She looked like she had just rolled out of bed. But what made him stop in his tracks was the gun she was pointing in Tyler’s direction. “What the fuck is going on here?” Steve loosened the grip on his bat.

Once Steve had announced his presence, the gun was pointed towards him. He saw how frightened Sarah was. Her hands were shaking, but she kept her grip strong. “I- He- I couldn’t-” She wasn’t making any sense.

“Sarah. Put the gun down. Please.” Steve dropped the bat by his feet, raising his hands slowly in surrender.

Sarah realized who she was pointing a gun at, her adrenaline dictating her actions. She knew Steve wasn’t a threat, but her thoughts still weren’t clear, and she pointed the gun back at Tyler.

As much as Steve hated the guy, he wasn’t gonna let his best friend murder someone in cold blood. So, while Sarah’s focus was on Tyler, Steve approached her slowly. He grabbed the gun. It was still tight in her grip. Sarah looked at Steve, tears streaming down her face.

“You’re okay. You’re safe. You don’t need to do this.” Steve spoke softly. He knew Sarah wasn’t thinking clearly. He knew she was scared to death. And he knew Tyler was a fucking asshole. But he wasn’t going to let her do this, no matter how hard she tried.

Sarah let go of the gun, collapsing into Steve’s chest as she sobbed. He switched the safety on, tucking the gun into the back of his jeans before making sure Sarah was alright. He helped her steady herself. He made sure she was stable on her feet before making his way towards Tyler.

“If you even think of getting anywhere near Sarah ever again, I will personally make sure your life is a living hell.” Steve punctuated his sentence with a punch right to Tyler’s nose.

Tyler doubled over in pain, blood pouring from his nostrils, “What the hell man?”

Steve grabbed the collar of Tyler’s shirt, making sure he was looking at him. “Leave. And don’t ever come back.” He let go of him roughly, pushing him towards the door. And then he ran off, like a fucking coward.

As soon as Steve knew Tyler was out of sight, he hurried back over to Sarah. “Hey, are you okay?” He asked, trying to keep his distance even though all he wanted to do was give her a hug. After everything in November, with that goddamn monster, Steve was very jumpy when it came to people unexpectedly touching him. He thought the same would apply here.

Sarah gave a timid nod, trying to wipe her tears, but wincing when she came in contact with her wound.

“Let’s get you cleaned up, alright?” Steve led Sarah towards her bathroom. He helped her up onto the countertop, and reached behind her to look through the medicine cabinet. He pulled out the first-aid kit, laying it out next to where Sarah sat. He grabbed the antiseptic wipes. “Do you want to tell me what happened?”

Sarah nodded.

Sarah heard incessant knocking come from the front door. She groaned, looking towards the clock that sat on her dresser. She couldn’t see the placement of the hands, but she knew it was an ungodly time to be knocking at someone’s door. Her dad was out of town for the week, having visited his brother. Sarah got up from her bed, and left the safety of her room.

When she left her room, she could hear the yelling.

“I know you’re in there, baby! Open up!”

Sarah froze. She thought she was in the clear. She’d broken up with him days ago. She thought he would’ve done something by now. She didn’t know what to do now. She was alone, with no way to defend herself. She looked around the room hastily, eyeing the landline on the coffee table. She dialed the number she had memorized months ago.

“Hello?” A gruff voice answered, like he had just woken up.

“Steve?” Sarah questioned timidly. She hated how her voice shook.

“Sarah!?” Steve was shocked out of his tired state.

“You- you need to get here. Fast. I-I’m scared.” Sarah stuttered, watching as the door started to break off it’s frame.

“What’s going on Sarah? Where are you?” There was rustling on the other end of the line, like Steve was rushing to get out of his house.

“I’m at the motel. I- AH!” The sound of a bullet rang through the room, going straight through the doorknob and hitting the landline, shattering the glass coffee table in the process. Sarah dropped the phone on the floor immediately. The door started to fall, landing flat on the ground.

Tyler was standing in the doorway, pointing a pistol at where the doorknob would have been. “Hi, babe.”

“Stay- Stay away from me.” Sarah was terror-struck. Her feet were glued to the spot she stood.

“You thought you could leave me? That’s cute.” Tyler walked into the house, stepping over the broken pieces of the door. Sarah couldn’t move. She was frozen, even as Tyler put the gun right against her forehead.

“You can’t leave me. Don’t you understand that? So, this way, we’ll be together forever.” Tyler turned the safety off.

Sarah’s eyes went wide at those connotations. He was going to kill her, and then himself. “No, no. Please. I-I’ll start dating you again. Just- Just don’t-” Sarah was whipped across the face with the pistol, her skin splitting from the impact.

“No! That won’t work! You’re gonna try and leave again!.” Tyler was pissed, waving the gun around in the air. Sarah took the chance, adrenaline pumping through her. She took the gun from his grasp, stepping away quickly and aiming it right between his eyes.

Tyler was the one paralyzed with fear now. He was trembling. Sarah got to make him feel what she felt every day of that relationship. Was she really gonna kill him? She could claim self-defense. Her dad’s friends with the sheriff. She could get off scot-free.

Sarah had too many conflicting thoughts. She didn’t even notice Steve walking into the house. “What the fuck is going on here?”

Steve just stood there, a little shell shocked. “I’m so- I’m so sorry this happened. I should’ve been watching out for you.”

“Steve,” Sarah made sure he was looking her in the eye, “I was the one who walked away. I knew you still wanted to be friends, but I was too caught up in this relationship to give a fuck. You’re my best friend. I shouldn’t have betrayed you like that.”

Steve sighed, “I just- I have a question.”

Sarah nodded, “What is it?”

“Has he… done this before?” He gestured to the cut he had already bandaged up.

Sarah shook her head, and Steve let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding.

There was a moment of silence, before Sarah spoke up. “I feel so conflicted.”

Steve furrowed his brow, “About what?”

“Tyler. He was so sweet sometimes. It was a great relationship. We had so many good moments. But then he’d- sometimes he’d just snap. I felt like he was a genuinely nice person. He just- couldn’t control his temper.” Sarah explained.

Steve gritted his teeth, a habit he’d grown into. “Tyler was a manipulative bastard. I get that you may have had nice moments, but I feel like him pointing a gun at your head trumps all of that.”

Sarah sniffled, “But-”

“No. I’m not letting you do this to yourself. The Sarah I remember would’ve kicked Tyler to the curb the second things got out of hand.”

Sarah gulped, “I feel like- I feel like I’m a completely different person from when we started dating. And it's scary. It’s terrifying. I- I don’t know who I am anymore.” That’s when the tears started again.

Steve embraced her, letting her sob into his chest. She held onto him so tight, like it was the only thing keeping her together. “Well, I know who you are. You’re my best friend, you’re the most badass bitch on the planet,” Steve chuckled. He held onto Sarah’s shoulders, making sure she was looking him in the eye. “I know you. And eventually, you’ll get back to knowing yourself.”

#stranger things imagine #stranger things #steve harrington #joe keery

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astormyjet · 3 years

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Winter of 2018 - Summer of 2021 TIME FILES WHEN YOU’RE IN YOUR 20s!!!!

OH BOY. It’s been three years (or more) since I updated this. “Time is a weird soup!” to quote a fave. I guess I quit tumblr around the time there was a purge of content and creators and a smack down on a lot of the fandom communities. Tumblr has always been something of a crapshow though so I’ve been more productive with my time than I was in some ways, but I’ve also found other ways to waste my time. *cough twitter/netflix/youtube/MTGArena cough*.

General Life Achievements since 2018 -JLPT N3 GET in 2019! -Blackbelt GET in 2018! -TESOL 120 Hour and BE 50 Hour Cert from online provider GET in 2021 -STUDENT LOAN BANISHED (Thank you grandparents) -Survived Apartment flooding in early 2020. -Mystery anxiety related illness and chronic pain in my left leg from early 2020 - Present. -A mythical 6th and 7th year on the JET Programme. -Started posting on Instagram a lot more about my wanderings around Matsuyama/Uwajima. Mainly old buildings and stray cats. @astormyknight -Surviving so far in Japan with old rona-chan.

2018 was rough. I was given an additional school in the first semester (March to July) as we had someone find a better job. I enjoyed it, but it was a bit of a rough go especially when I was transferred that August after three fantastic years at Tsubaki JHS and ES and only a semester there. I legit went through the five stages of grief - which I think is another reason I stopped blogging. I was given my current base school along with four other schools. Going from 2(3) to 5 schools was a bit of an adjustment. I still feel a bit spread out.

That said, I keep running into teachers and students who were at the Tsubaki’s. The teachers shuffle around every April, so it's always a lottery with which new faces are going to be old friends (or enemies…). A couple of kids moved and transferred into my current schools from Tsubaki too. So I have one kid I can say I've been teaching for 6 out of the 7 years I've been here!

One of the kids who was in JHS 3rd grade when I first got here (in 2015!) hangs out around one of my favorite cafes, so I got chatting with him recently. He's in his second year of nursing school - his class nearly broke me in the first year, it was really a trial by fire with those kids. I was 22 then, and he’s 20 now, so it was interesting chatting to him about that first year of teaching. His younger sister was one of my favorite students too, she was in the group of kids that graduated in the March of 2018, the year group that went through Tsubaki JHS with me - they’re newly minted University students now!

This Thursday morning when I was cycling in to work, a kid who was 2nd year JHS when I left (so 2nd or 3rd year JHS now) pulled up with their Mum in a van and got their mamachari out of the back to bike to school. The franticness of it all was hilarious. Their Mum legit sat on the horn until I pulled over. I was so happy to run into this kid, even at social distance and both of us late to work/school - because we both remembered each other and as they were going around the corners they were yelling each time they turned and humming the old elementary school directions chant and pelting me with questions about what I’ve been up to.

I've had so many students and schools now, that everything is kind of running into a blur. I remember flashes of kids faces and voices, random memories of in class or out of class shenanigans out of the blue. Also, I now, more than ever, have issues remembering kids' names, but I still know their faces (even with their masks), whose homeroom class they were in, who their friends were and which club they were in. I get random flashbacks to past conversations with them when I see them on the street or we run into each other. I feel bad because the first thing former students ask is ‘Do you remember my name?’ and I always have to be like, ‘Honestly, no, but I remember you did this on x day, x month in x classroom’.

Socially in 2018 -2019 - a few of our friends went home and things shook up a little. Our DnD group changed a bit - one of our players stepped into the role forever DM (THANK YOU RALPH). From memory the newbies were great - some of them just went home at the start of last month and it’s weird not seeing them around (JESS DO YOUR BEST!). I think we only have one or two people left from that rotation. There’s no 6th year ALTs, and only two 5th years.

Aug 2018 - Aug 2019 was the year of Hiura - my mountain school. Dang man, they were so cool. The students of the JHS and the ES combined barely hit 30, so each class was between 3-10 students depending on the grade. It was easier to get to know the kids, their abilities and their goals than it has been for me at other schools. I miss it so bad, being in nature once a week did my country-kid heart so good! The bugs! The frogs! The river! The mountain! The monkeys! The lizards! The dilapidated houses and hidden shrines!!!! The random crabs in the English room...I forgot that there was such a thing as freshwater crabs, and being right next to a river, the invasion wasn’t as out of place as I first thought...

The area is so picturesque and calming. Every week up there was a small adventure (after getting over my motion sickness from the bus ride up). The kids were constantly pranking either myself or the main English teacher. There was always some new weird bug or lizard in a tank to be educated about. There were chickens on the way to the JHS that used to escape from their cardboard box prisons to run riot on the gardens. There were old people to freak out with my youth and foreignness! The kids also got to do a lot of extra classes, sumiyakai (making charcoal the traditional way), planting and maintaining rice paddies, setting up vegetable gardens, raising fireflies, conserving a special breed of fire lily (only found in this particular mountain valley) and another rare flower, wilderness training ect.

I wish I could have stayed there a lot longer but SOMEONE (read...the BoE) decided that schools had to be shuffled again(thank goodness the dude who has it now was able to keep it from the 2021 shuffle, he's the best fit for the school). I had so many good memories from there, I wish I had been more consistent in writing it down. I do have a bunch of photos and videos from there though, so that's nice. The only thing I don’t miss is the bus trip up and down - not only was it motion sickness, there was a healthy dose of fear each ride as the driver brought us perilously close to the edge of the mountain drop…

2019 - 2020 was interesting. With the school I got given instead of the Hirua’s I was roped into more demonstration lessons which was a lot of pressure because I was also involved quite heavily with the JHS observation and training lessons too. They were somewhat rewarding, the third graders are now super smart 5th graders, but the teachers who need to embrace the new curriculum and ways of teaching really haven’t taken on anything from the lessons....

Outside of work as well, I was given the chance, thanks to an ALT buddy of mine, to join in with the local festival. It's been one of the biggest highlights of my time here, and I am gutted it’s been cancelled for the last two years, but I understand the reason…. I was able to travel to Okinawa too during that summer for an international Karate seminar with the Dojo I train with. I met the head of the style I currently practice and a bunch of people from around the world. I also got to see Shuri castle before it burned down. So that was a stroke of luck. One of the places I want to go when/if we get out of this pandemic is Okinawa. I want to see more of those Islands so bad. Just before the whole pandemic thing too - I managed to see the Rugby World Cup, a Canada vs NZ match, I even ran into Tana Umanga in Oita city!!!

2019 - 2020 was supposed to be my last year on JET, so I was frantically Job hunting. I went to the Career Fair in Osaka in early Feb/Late January 2020. I applied and got interviewed for a position in Sendai in early Jan 2020. In the end though - the Rona hit. We started hearing whispers of it around the end of 2019, then the cruise boats happened, and then Japan refused to cancel the Olympics...every holiday season there is a new wave of infections, my nurse friends in Tokyo are struggling....my teacher friends in more populous areas of Japan are struggling…

JET couldn't get new ALTs for 2020-2021, I took the extra year when it was eventually offered, as the one job I had managed to get a serious offer for was hesitating because with the rona setting in, things were uncertain. There was a lot of time spent adjusting to the new rules surrounding what we could do in class with the kids as well as textbook change. Schools shut on and off during the spring months.

I also got a reminder of my mortality mid May with an unrelated illness which is still smacking me around a bit - stress/age, it does things to the human body it has no right to. It's only been in the last three months I’ve been able to exercise like I used to, I’ve put on a bunch of weight I can't shrug off (one part medication, another part diet) My relationship with food needs to change, and I really need a kitchen that allows me for more than one pan meals. I also need to figure out what to do with a left leg that is in constant pain from the knee down and a heart that misses beats when stressed out (mentally and physically…).

My apartment also got flooded by the guy upstairs at one point, I spent most of late February/early March living in a hotel while my walls and floor got redone - I think this was one of the things that really stressed me out and kicked my anxiety right up a notch, it was right when things were getting REALLY bad with rona-chan in Hokkaido and schools were shutting down here as it was filtering into the prefecture and so Japan closed schools for the first time…

Classes in covid times have been weird. We’ve been wearing facemasks full time since the early stages of the pandemic (March 2020) - so I admit that I get a bit pissed off seeing both Americans and New Zealanders back home bitching about just having to start wearing them full time in public. I have asthma and have been suffering with the things on during the 30*C plus with high 90s humidity summers. Teachers were offered vaccines late July 2021, just days before the Olympics were open - and I finished my two shots in the middle of August. But the overall distribution and take up of the jab has been slow. As mentioned above, we can't play a lot of the games we used to play with kids in classes anymore, and a lot of the activities outlined in the textbook curriculum need to be adjusted too, so we’ve had to be creative. We use hand sanitizer a lot more too. One of the things I miss the most though, is eating lunch with the kids.

Socially from summer 2020 - now 2021 we played a lot of DnD and board games, both online and in person when we could. There were no new ALTs again for the 2021-2022 JET year, and those of us who were in 6th year were offered a 7th. Four out of six of us took it. As a whole we’re down from a peak of 38 ALTs for Junior High and Elementary school to 22 for now. We hopefully will get a new person at the end of September, and 4 more in November. Which will bring us to 27. This has led to ANOTHER round of school shuffles.

Summer vacation has been weird the last two years. With rona-chan, we haven’t really been able to travel. All the summer festivals (all the Autumn and Winter ones too!) have been cancelled, so the changing of seasons just feels, wrong. I dunno. There is so much we all miss from pre-rona-chan, and so much that doesn’t happen that makes this just feel like one long long unending year of sadness, coldness, raininess, unbearable heat and repeat. I’m tired. Time is going so fast, but so.dang.slow.

I lost my favorite school (AGAIN GDI!!!) and gained the school I taught a semester at in 2019....I had my first day there on Wednesday. Schools actually started back on September 1st so there was some drama as the BoE didn’t communicate fast enough about our school changes. We legit got told on the 27th of August (on a Friday) our schools were changing effective September 1st, but somehow some of our schools found out on the Monday 30th August. In July we were told we would be changing schools at the end of September, so.a lot of ALTs and schools were left short changed, not having opportunities to say goodbye to co-workers or students/having their planning for the semester more or less thrown out the window too. I love my job. I really dislike the way the BoE treats us, the Japanese assistant language teachers and our schools.

The new school I have is used to having an ALT there twice a week, who plans all the lessons and executes them. I’m at three elementary schools. I'm only at each once a week, I want to plan, but being that I miss an entire lesson in between visits, it's going to be difficult to do so. Not impossible, but being that I'm already doing it for two other schools, who are at two different places in the textbook ah…….. From what I have talked to my new supervisor about though, it sounds like the teachers have taken on more of the lesson planning and I'll be able to contribute ideas when I'm there. I just want to and wish I could do more without being confused all the time. (This is all usually done in my second language too, not in English so extra levels of confusion and miscommunication abound).

I feel like this at my JHS too a lot of the time. I want to contribute more, but even with constant communication with my main in school supervisor (who is a badass and pretty much on the same page about everything with me) I still feel about as useful as tits on a bull. Especially now that classes have been cancelled and or shortened, there's less time to do stuff. Any game or activity I plan is usually cut in favor of making up time in the textbook. When I'm in class, I'm back to being a tape recorder, the fun police and general nuisance.　

Also in the last week...my two of my schools were shut due to students testing positive for the rona. This is the second time my schools have had a scare in the last 8 months. And by shut, I mean the students were all at home, but the teachers all had to come into the office. Because why not I guess….. I mean, the cases increasing is really not unexpected with the amount of people who were travelling over obon and the increase of cases due to the Olympics/Japan being slow on vaccinating/delta being the dominant strain/Japan's leaders doing relatively little except asking shops and restaurants to limit people coming in at one time and closing before 8pm. I know my schools weren't the only one shut either - but still High Schools were having their sports days this week. I kept on seeing groups of kids hanging in the park after, so that was a little bit nerve wracking.

It's just frustrating - we’ve been on half days to “minimize the risk of infection” for kids and teachers, as if only being at school from 8am through to 1pm is going to reduce the risk. My schools have only just started testing out Microsoft teams and Zoom lesson equipment. Thankfully our school’s run in this time was contained real quick, the family was super good about informing us when they got their results back, and the fact they needed to be tested. The homeroom teacher and the students from the same class were the only ones tested, and they all came back clear, which was nice. But the information came back so SLOW.

I’m a little irritated because I found out on Wednesday night what was going on, and even if I am vaccinated, I am super worried that I will end up being the covid monkey due to being at different schools three days out of five. I think other than being worried that I will catch it myself and get real sick, my biggest fear is that I will be protected from bad symptoms from the vaccine, but still be able to pass it onto some of my more vulnerable friends and students. The whole thing is a mess.

Other than Covid and BoE drama, life is good. I’ve had a couple of other big changes - both fantastic and not so great, but yeah. I have my health (and health insurance!) for now. I have a job, for now. I have a sense of existential dread for the next 12 months, but we’ll see where we end up. Life post JET is going to be way less cushy and I am TERRIFIED. I mean, I have a BA in Eng/Ling and no idea what to do with it…..because I am NOT suited for academia.

TLDR: Love my job. Don’t like the system. What is life? Future scary.

#life on JET #blog post #life in Japan #jet programme #jet program

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lastxviolet · 3 years

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The Assistant - Ch. 3

Description: Summary - Her sixth year at Hogwarts was supposed to be relatively peaceful but after an incident on the Hogwarts express, Violet Wilkes finds herself the newest target of the Weasley twins. This, combined with a dark family secret, and the Triwizard tournament, makes her first few months back more exciting and stressful than every year before.

pairing: George Weasley x Original Female Character

warnings: pg-13. slow burn, eventual smut hehe

https://archiveofourown.org/works/28218804/chapters/69148695

They'd arrived on a Thursday night so Violet spent the long weekend finalizing her class schedule, helping the occasional lost first year, and being restless for Monday morning.

She'd met with Snape on Saturday to go over her O.W.L scores from last year's test and create her schedule. Their meeting was a pleasant one even though she became quite flustered when he'd asked for her after graduation plans. Truthfully, she wouldn't mind taking over for Snape one day but didn't feel confident in telling him. She also felt a longing to become a potioneer and perhaps create her own recipes at an apothecary someday. None of which she shared because there was nothing worse than being less than certain in Snape's presence.

He took her flimsy answer without protest and congratulated her on receiving almost all Outstanding scores, expressing as much happiness as his stoic disposition would allow about having her in advanced potions this year.

"You'll be requiring the use of my classroom for after-hour practice, I presume," her mentor said with a meaningful look.

He was a master at Occlumens but it always seemed as though he could read minds without it.

"That would be very much appreciated Professor," she confessed. "I wasn't able to practice much over the summer. Muggles don't usually have valerian root or infusion of wormwood lying around."

The side of his mouth twitched. "How do they survive? Draught of the Living Dead is most ambitious," he replied, referring to her aforementioned ingredients.

It was, but so was she. She was hoping to be able to create the entire Advanced Potions textbook from memory by the end of the year. Class stopped challenging her during her fourth year so after-hours practice was her only opportunity to flex her knowledge in any way. She'd tried hard for the past five years to become an expert simply because potions fascinated her. There was no rhyme or reason other than being captivated by the things that harmless ingredients could do when stirred together correctly.

They'd only decided on six classes this year, after all, she'd scored out of many courses being offered and didn't want to waste her time. She glanced down at the scribbled schedule Snape had made for her. Potions on Mondays and Wednesdays, followed by Ancient Runes and Defense Against the Dark Arts, respectively. Herbology on Tuesdays, Charms, and Care of Magical Creatures on Thursdays. Friday was completely free, as were almost all of her afternoons. Years of packing her schedule and studying deep into the night seemed to have paid off. It was a relief to finally have some free time, even though most of it would be spent studying for the NEWT exams at the end of the year.

She waited for Snape to give her the key to the classroom and raced back to the common room to compare schedules with Sadie.

"You're joking," she exclaimed, throwing her arms up in the air. "Only one class together? What am I going to do in Transfiguration with a bunch of Ravenclaws, without you?"

"Maybe you can transform yourself into a kind and patient person," Violet joked, masking her disappointment and dodging her friend's elbow again.

Dark, hooded figures surrounded her, making escape impossible. She pleaded, screamed, begged them to hurt her instead. They laughed before turning their wands on Olivia, who was too far out of reach.

Her nightmare jolted her awake before her alarm could. Cruico, rang in her mind even after her eyes fluttered open. She stared at the wall, getting her bearings straight, listening carefully, ensuring that it was just a dream, and wiped the cold sweat from her forehead before getting dressed for the first day of classes.

The nightmare faded from her mind with each step she and Sadie took on the way up to breakfast. She crossed the floor of the much calmer Great Hall, listening to Sadie rant about whether or not she would have any Durmstrang boys in her class and fiddling with her tie. It was ridiculous to have to wear it, especially now that they could all see the much better uniform alternatives from other schools.

"All I'm saying is that I have had to put up with barely there pretty boys like Malfoy for five years," she huffed. "And I feel as though this school owes me a chance at a great love affair with a real man."

A real man. Yeah right, she thought. Judging by the leers and comments erupting from the Durmstrang table as they walked by, these were just slightly older-looking, rude horny gits.

She grabbed a copy of the Daily Prophet off of the Slytherin table and skimmed the Triwizard tournament article on the front page.

How this a school AND government-sanctioned event, she did not know. Muggle schools, as she remembered, called off outdoor sporting events if even one person in the stands saw lightning. Hogwarts, however, participated in an event for seven centuries that had resulted in countless deaths and injuries.

Figures.

"Merlin, people have died?" She muttered.

Sadie shrugged and nodded before recommitting her attention to her oatmeal, and one of the Bulgarian's still looking towards her from across the aisle.

At 8:45, Sadie bid her a dramatic goodbye, blowing her kisses and pretending to cry, the entire walk back out of the Great Hall and into the main hallway. If it had been her first year at Hogwarts, she would've about crumbled at the strange looks from her peers but by now she'd gotten used to it. Sadie was not one for blending into the scenery and although that was what Violet preferred, she let her drag her into the spotlight now and then, like exposure therapy.

She gladly descended back into the dungeons, past her common room door, letting the stone hall guide her to the potions classroom at the end of the corridor. She knew the walk like the back of her hand and could've done it walking backward, with her eyes closed.

The muggy, dimly lit classroom was a welcome sight. Cauldrons, strange beakers, and scattered ingredients had never looked so inviting. The second table to the back had been her seat last year, so she flitted through the familiar room and claimed it again.

As she'd suspected, mostly green and blue ties trickled into the classroom. She didn't mind the company of Ravenclaws in the slightest. Generally speaking, they were able to take things seriously and didn't seem to anger Snape as much as yellow or red ties did. Potions was an incredibly disciplined subject with little instant gratification or convenient use, as their professor liked to remind them, so there was no room for impulse, bravery, or even passion; only precision and memorization.

The second chair at her table squeaked over the stone floor, its shrill noise breaking her away from her internal musings.

Adrian Pucey, a tall dark-haired Slytherin boy, dropped into it and nodded her a polite hello. All things considered, when it came to Slytherin boys, his company wouldn't be particularly minded either. He could be a prick when he was with the rest of their house Quidditch team but alone, he was quiet and harmless. Besides, she knew he'd let her take the lead on all their projects.

Thank god, she thought, there was nothing worse than being stuck with a talkative git for a partner.

Loud laughs from the hallway cut through the comfortable silence. The almost full class let out a low murmur, annoyed at the ruckus. She whipped around and squinted, ready to shoot a death glare at its source. There was a very well-known dungeon etiquette of silence and although she wasn't a fan of most traditions, that one was respectable.

A red and gold tie snapped her out of her hateful trance.

Its owner met her eyes.

George Weasley tugged fellow Gryffindor, Lee Jordan, through the door. Her glare turned into a look of surprise. Surely they were in the wrong classroom. He stopped walking and squinted at her slightly. It took him a few seconds to recognize her face in the dim room and she watched him register her presence. His eyebrows raised in equal parts shock and something that looked like distress. Their eyes lingered until he opened his mouth like he was about to say something and she dug her nails into her palm and spun back around in the hopes that he wouldn't yell across the room.

Four times in one week? She could feel her intestines winding together, twisting her already anxious torso into a bout of nerves. This must be a mistake, she told herself. Snape will come and sort it out, ending whatever scheme they're attempting.

Taking calming breaths, she turned to her table partner, desperate for some way out of the embarrassing scenarios she'd begun spinning in her head.

"How was your summer, Adrian?"

"Oh, it was fine thanks. Actually I —"

The classroom door slammed shut. Professor Snape burst through the room, drawing his wand to shut the curtains and light several candles and a fireplace.

Thank god. She really didn't want to hear about whatever weird, rich, hunting trip Adrian took with his pure-blood family.

Everyone watched as Snape swept aggressively into the room but she could feel Georges's eyes on the back of her head. How was he here? And why was he looking at her?

"Do you two need assistance finding your seats," Snape sneered at the Gryffindors standing awkwardly in the aisle. She glanced over Adrian's ear and watched them rush forward to the table directly across the aisle.

"Not there Mr. Jordan," Snape hissed, looming from his podium with a furious look on his face. "Something tells me you will be incapable of restraining yourself from vexing the rest of us if seated next to Mr. Weasley. Switch with Mr. Pucey."

Violet watched Adrian grimace and collect his things. If he was the least worst Slytherin boy to be stuck with, then she guessed that Lee Jordan was the least worst Gryffindor boy. Especially when considering her other option. Despite never speaking before, she knew he willingly hung out with the twins, almost as much as they hung out with each other. That alone was cause for an evaluation of his mental state, regardless of how harmless he seemed.

She greeted Lee with a smile and a nod. Of course, he returned the small act of congeniality with an otherworldly grin and a friendly nudge to her bicep. She tensed slightly and tried not to grimace. Classic Gryffindor, she thought, give them an inch and they'll take a mile.

Snape, satisfied with the new arrangement, opened his mouth to begin class. She braced herself for his wrath now that he was more tense than normal but his first word was cut off by a loud screech of wood scooting across the stone. She turned to find the culprit and watched George stifle a giggle with his hand, now a good two inches closer to a murderous-looking Adrain. Snape remained silent and glanced back down at his book with an even more sour look on his face.

"In this class," he began. "You will learn skills beyond reading directly from your textbook. Some of you are here because of talent… while others, by dumb luck." He eyed George with disdain.

"To separate the two, we will begin today's lesson by brewing the last potion you learned last year…from memory," he said with a measured, cold voice.

The potion ran through her head as soon as he finished his sentence. She knew it. Of course, she knew it. She watched her classmates look around nervously, and tried not to smile and out herself as a know-it-all. It was always a balancing act. Staying in the good graces of such a harsh man like Snape and keeping up appearances around her fellow students.

"You have an hour — present the potion to me when you have finished," he concluded, taking a seat at his desk.

Lee's stared at her wide-eyed with his mouth hanging open. As she had suspected, this was not his best subject. She turned and glared at him, suspending him in panic for one more second before smiling. She thought about winking but didn't want to give him any reason to think that they were friends. Lee squinted at her in a mixture of confusion and realization.

"Bloody hell," he breathed. "You know it, don't you."

His expression relaxed significantly, and he looked as if he'd just won the lottery. She didn't acknowledge him further and calmly reached underneath the table and pulled out a bottle of standard potion water, pouring it into their pewter cauldron with the burner set to low. It would be boiling by the time they got the ingredients so she quickly scribbled them on a piece of parchment and motioned for Lee to follow her. He did so wordlessly, and with more pep in his step than she'd ever seen a person muster.

"Alright Jordan, if you want to help, you can carry these," she said.

Lee gladly carried the powdered moonstone, syrup of hellebore, powdered porcupine quills, and powdered unicorn horn from the shelves back to their table, blocking the labels as he passed Adrian and George bickering behind their cauldron.

"Sorry Georgie, no cheating," Lee whispered across the aisle, with a smug smile.

If he wasn't best friends with the Weasley's then it might have been an ok setup. Clearly, he had no clue what he was doing, meaning he would stay out of her way, but also seemed rather eager to follow instructions. Regardless, she was sure he'd find a way to annoy her before the term was up.

She watched George stop fussing and stare daggers into his friend.

"Shove off," he hissed, bristling with agitation.

He'd always been so easygoing in herbology but she guessed that she'd never looked hard enough to see the anger, frustration, and competitiveness bursting within. Probably what happens when you have seven siblings, she thought. Thank god she only had Olivia.

His eyes met hers for a brief moment with the same look he'd had on his face when she'd shrunk her tongue on the train. Evidently, she was in fact, not the only one with whom he had quite a temper.

Lee burst into a fit of laugher and she dropped her eyes back onto the task at hand.

"Quiet," Snape snapped.

She focused back on stirring the first round of powdered moonstone in a clockwise pattern, waiting for the mixture to turn blue and let the repetitive motion ease her mind.

Of course, Snape would choose Draught of Peace to do from memory, she thought, silently giggling to herself. Not only was it complicated, but it required precise stirring patterns for a particular amount of time. Also, its deceptive name wouldn't make anyone suspect that if it was brewed incorrectly, it quite literally turned into an elixir of death. He probably didn't mean it as one, but she appreciated the morbid joke.

"Pass me the hellebore," she whispered to her table partner.

Lee looked a little shocked that she was speaking to him but reached into the pile regardless. He looked around the room and stealthily handed her the small vial. "Ah, yes, the goats spell," he said a little too loudly.

A few of their peers stood up to go to the ingredient cabinet and she bit back a giggle, not wanting to egg her partner on.

She usually wouldn't call herself amused during potions class but Lee looked like he was having the time of his life and it was nearly impossible not to feel somewhat entertained. He exaggerated every movement when she asked him for an ingredient or stirring spoon, and acted accusatory towards anyone who glanced over for too long. He was a lot less intrusive than the twins but his energy level was the same, along with the way that he had to turn every single moment into a joke or a laugh. It looked exhausting but he seemed to be having fun.

After nearly an hour, she added the final ingredients and stirred the solution in a clockwise motion, watching the potion turn turquoise, purple, red, and a myriad of other colors before finally turning a glowing white with the addition of powdered porcupine quills. The potion illuminated the room with shimmering white light for a few seconds before she took it off the burner.

"Merlin's beard," Lee exclaimed under his breath.

Suddenly very aware of the silence in the room, she tried not to think about all the eyes on her, especially the ones she knew were focused on her in contempt.

"Go put those back," she hissed at Lee.

He jumped from his chair, scooped up the ingredients, and skipped down the aisle with probably the biggest shit-eating grin Hogwarts had ever seen, on his face.

While all attention was on him, she quietly ladled the concoction into a vial and scurried up to Snape's desk. He took one glance at the now light turquoise potion and pocketed the bottle seemingly unsurprised to see her although his face had been hidden underneath a book for the entirety of the class.

"Miss Wilkes, can you please tell your peers what potion they should have attempted to make?"

Her stomach sank. The rest of her classmates had stopped fiddling with their cauldrons and were staring at her with annoyed expressions. It was to be expected but that didn't make it hurt any less. Except for Lee, who was exuberantly giving her a thumbs up, and George, who just looked dumbfounded and a little pissed off. Maybe he'd thought she was kidding about potions.

"Draught of Peace," she announced to the cold room.

"Which does what, exactly," Snape said, questioning her further.

She knew he was just trying to make a point but hated being used as the one to make it. The label of know-it-all was no longer a worry, now they would just skip straight to teacher's pet.

"It relieves anxiety and agitation," she said, avoiding eye contact.

"I am sure you will all want a dose before our next lesson," Snape said in a scolding tone. "Please come to class on Wednesday prepared, or your grade and house points will suffer…tremendously," he hesitated and turned towards her. "50 points to you Miss Wilkes for Slytherin —class dismissed."

She squeaked out a quick goodbye to her mentor, before rushing back to her desk. His praise meant the world to her but it also put a target on her back. In past years, it at least took a few periods for the class to realize she was on good terms with him. Now, it just looked like they'd colluded to make everyone else feel stupid.

She jumped a little as Lee cut her off before she could make it past his chair, trapping her in the aisle.

"That was totally brilliant!"

Not in the mood, she thought. His praise meant nothing. He was just thankful to not receive failing marks for the day.

"Move," she hissed, keeping her eyes on the ground.

He stumbled back against the table a bit but turned to let her through before continuing.

"How on earth did you do that…I heard if you get Draught of Peace even the slightest bit wrong, you could kill somebody!"

She shoved her books back into her bag, frantic to leave without further incident but wasn't fast enough as Adrian and George appeared in the aisle.

"Then it's a shame you didn't drink ours," Adrian snarled at her table partner.

Great. Now they could all fight like snakes and lions were meant to. She just wanted to leave and be done with this nightmare class.

"Awh Pucey, you didn't enjoy our romantic time in your dungeon together," George said, swinging an arm around his partner's shoulder.

"Don't touch me," Adrian shoved him off like his touch was poison, making the Gryffindors chuckle.

"Thanks a lot, Wilkes," Lee said, dawning the same smile he'd given her at the beginning of class. At least it was a little more warranted now.

She eyed him suspiciously but nodded in acceptance.

"So you really do know your potions," George mused, still looking at her, his eyes gleaming competitively. "I'm surprised."

The look told her straight away that her plan had backfired. Entertaining the twins on the train had not in fact made her immune to interacting with either of them for the rest of the year. She would just have to try something else.

"That makes one of us. You're just as daft as I suspected."

She ignored Lee's cackling and stared at the redhead. She could've just left, or let Adrian deal with him but something flared inside her at the chance to challenge such a smug man. It felt good. It wasn't often she felt equally matched, even now she suspected that George was quite a bit beneath her but the opportunity was too enticing. His anger, although she'd only been privy to it once, was addictive.

It must have felt equally as strong for George because his face got darker again and he leaned closer, ready to retort. His eyes searched hers and she could tell that he was going to make it personal, perhaps even try to be hurtful but Adrian cut him off before he could say anything.

"Shove off Weasley."

Something seemed to snap and George's face switched back to a jovial smile and mischievous eyes.

She stared at him in shock. What was his problem? Adrian was much more infuriating than she was but he barely even seemed to register his words.

"Until next time my love," he cooed at Adrian whilst he and Lee fell into a fit of giggles and pulled each other out of the door.

She and Adrian followed silently after them, walking together out of courtesy, rather than friendship. One of the perks of such a historic house with noble bloodlines was the occasional show of chivalry

They walked down the corridor and back up into the main hall. "Thanks for the 50 points Wilkes," he said, turning to part ways. "Can't believe I'm stuck with a bloody Weasley."

He flashed her a smile which she returned with a polite nod before making her way to her next class, trying to ignore the hustle and bustle of the students around her.

She plopped down in Ancient Runes a few minutes later, still annoyed about the less than peaceful potions class.

Professor Babbling said something about Ancient Runes, best-serving students, as an independent study but she couldn't focus on her open book and unfinished translation. The class was always appreciated seeing as quiet moments throughout the day were rather rare outside of the library. The opportunity to spend several hours with just her thoughts and meaningless translations was a much-needed break from the day-to-day busyness.

George's comment rang in her head. What was his problem? He exuded arrogance without reason. She'd outsmarted him on the train and although she'd technically outsmarted him in potions, it was entirely out of her hands and not meant as an insult to him in any way. Maybe his ego was bruised, even though the only witness on the train was his brother, who she seriously doubted cared about intelligence. Either way, he seemed to be taking their encounters entirely personal.

Whatever it was, he needed to get over it, and quick. Usually, potions class was the only hour and a half in her day where she got to gather her thoughts and methodically apply her knowledge with little disturbance. She would rather deal with the consequences of forcing him to leave her alone, than sacrifice it.

Even after an entire afternoon and evening in the library, George's smug face still taunted her as she went to sleep.

#george weasley #george weasley fanfic #george weasley x original female character #george weasley fanfiction #george weasley smut #dating george weasley #george weasley fic #george weasley imagine

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cafedanslanuit · 4 years

Text

Just a little bit of your heart || Bakugou Katsuki x Reader

I don't ever tell you how I really feel / 'Cause I can't find the words to say what I mean / (...) I know I'm not your only / But I'll still be a fool 'cause I'm a fool for you

a/n: I wasn’t thinking on writing a second part but since you asked so nicely, I came up with two extra chapters! Hope you like this one <3 I will be posting the final chapter in the next few days. tagging the ones who asked for part 2 ~ @loeybk @animemelanie360

Part One || Part Two || Part Three

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Kirishima had tried his best not to let Bakugou know but news travelled fast, faster than he had anticipated. Whispers about you dating a girl from the Support Class quickly got to Bakugou. He didn’t comment on it, but Kirishima noticed how much rougher he got on training that day, and how his hands would let out tiny clouds of smoke out of the blue, making him think that all those comments were still around Bakugou’s head.

Bakugou hadn’t tried talking to you again and you hadn’t either. Deciding it was a deserving end for such an unfulfilling love story, you had decided to move on and finally accepted a proposal from a girl that you had met through Yaoyorozu during lunch time. She was kind and sweet, a harsh change from the last relationship you had been it. She had invited you to the cinema and then to a tiny coffee shop where you discussed the movie. You found yourself laughing easily at her jokes and once the date ended, you could see yourself seeing that girl again.

Weeks went by where you tried your best to focus all your energy on her rather than your ex. If you were damned to see each other other until you graduated, you had to start working on making his presence not mean a thing. You hadn’t found much success in the last three weeks, but you knew it had to happen someday.

It was a Thursday morning during Aizawa’s class when you felt your phone vibrating in your jacket pocket. You ignored it, but a minute after, you felt it again. Making sure Aizawa wasn’t looking at you, you took it out and put it under your desk.

‘hey, how’s your day going?’

‘right sorry you should be in class. i’m too, but i’m bored and i thought of u<3’

You couldn’t help but smile at the cute texts she had sent you. You replied to her and didn’t have to wait long for another reply. It went by for few minutes until you saw your sensei’s binding cloth snatching the phone away from your hands. You watched in horror as it flew straight to Aizawa’s hands, where he took a look at the screen.

“If you rather chat with your girlfriend than be in my class, don’t waste my time” he said. You felt your face turning red and wished your classmates weren’t looking at you as they were doing at the moment. “In fact, why don’t you text her again. Tell her you can’t make it today since you have to clean Gym Gamma all by yourself. No quirks” Aizawa added with a sick smile. You nodded, embarrassed and put your phone in your backpack. You couldn't believe you were going to be grounded for something as stupid as texting during classes. The worst part was Aizawa was right. You really had set yourself up for this.

Just as you thought the class could continue and your nightmare was over, Aizawa turned again to look at you, a chill running across your spine.

“My bad, not alone. Bakugou has to stay too because he doesn’t seem to understand what the difference between training and attempted murder is yet” he shot an angry glare at the named student, who just looked down to his notebook. You remembered noticing Bakugou being extra rough in training the last few days, but tried not to give it much thought.

You sighed and started taking notes again.

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

Right after training, everyone started leaving the gym. Midoriya gave you an apologetic smile as he tried to help you a bit with cleaning, quickly being discouraged by Aizawa’s scary look. You assured him you would be fine and watched him leave. Jirou and Momo asked you if they should wait for you outside U.A. but you told them there was no need. You would see each other the next day in class, and you probably would just want to take a shower and go back home once you were done.

You took a broom and started sweeping the floor in silence, looking at Bakugou as he did the same. The two didn’t talk to each other as you did so. Time seemed to have stopped, in the worst way possible. As you kept doing your chore, you thought about how you could be in a cute date instead of sweeping your classmate’s sweat if you had ignored the messages and waited until lunch to talk to her. You mentally cursed yourself for your actions. If there was anything worse about being stuck with that chore, was being stuck with him.

Once you were done, you both went to the storage room, were you started arranging the items that had been used in class, putting the items back in the shelves. You saw Bakugou grabbing his backpack and walking towards the door.

“Hey, we’re not done” you warned him. He stopped and turned to look at you, disgust written on his features.

“I cleaned the gym. I’m done”

“This counts as cleaning the gym, you think I’m doing this because I like to?” you replied, your hands on your hips.

“You’d be stupid like that” he said, before rolling his eyes and resuming his pace.

“What the fuck is your problem? Be a man and accept I dumped you”. Bakugou stopped again and turned around, laughing. His laugh was cold, much colder than anytime you’ve heard him.

“I have. And without the need to hold onto a fucking extra like you did”.

“It’s rich for you to mocking the fact I’m dating again instead of asking yourself why I left you in the first place. Work on your fucking feelings, Bakugou, it seems you can’t even do training well. Isn’t that why you’re here?” you challenged him. Bakugou dropped his backpack to the ground and walked towards you.

“Wanna say that again?” he threatened.

“I’m saying you’re so emotionally stupid you couldn’t keep your girlfriend” you countered, not backing down.

“Why do you even think you were worth keeping around?” Bakugou snarled. Your fierce facade fell apart, his words hitting you deep.

“You’re an asshole” you muttered, grabbing back one of the training items and putting it back to its place. You tried your best to focus on organizing, you weren’t going to let him get away with hurting you again.

“Well, that says more about you than me” he scoffed.

“You know? It does” you agreed. “I spent so much time with someone who didn’t love me, surely that says something about how low I was willing to fall for some dick”

Bakugou’s hand grabbed your elbow, forcing you to turn around and face him. Beneath his anger, you could see a glimpse of hurt. You let that thought go. No, Bakugou wasn’t the type to get hurt by words, much less your own.

“Well, you sure don’t seem to settle for dick anymore”

“Is it so hard to believe a girl can be healthier for me than you?” you raised your eyebrow at him.

“What it’s hard to believe it’s someone can actually stand you” Bakugou smirked. You wanted to get back at him, but knew it would be repeating the cycle of hurt you had already established since you had split up. He would say something hurtful, you would try to hurt him back and he retaliated. It was tiring and you were done with it.

“Let me go, I’ll finish this by myself” you muttered, jerking your arm away from Bakugou. Instead of releasing you, his grip only grew harsher. “I said let go”. He looked at your for a few moments and then he finally let go.

“Fine. Have fun playing with your new toy. See how long this one lasts” he scoffed.

Bakugou didn’t expect to slapped.

“What the fuck!?” he yelled, his hand going to his cheek. “I let you go!”

“You don’t get to say I’m playing around. If you were too incapable of saying you loved me, fine! But I don’t play around with people and I certainly didn’t play around with you, dumbass. You’re impossible, fuck!” you breathed heavily. Bakugou just looked at you in silence. You had tried to stop a confrontation from happening, but now you were way past your earlier intentions. “All I wanted was for you to say you loved me. That was it. But you didn’t want to, or you couldn’t and now we’re here. I’ve accepted I couldn’t change that about you, but don’t talk like I’m the broken one out of us both”.

You felt tears streaming down your face, both anger and sadness drowning you. Bakugou stayed silent, his refusal to say something back doing nothing more than filling your body with rage. You punched Bakugou’s chest, his body not even moving at how little impact it made. Frustrated, you went again. And again. And again.

“Why couldn’t you say it?!” you cried. “Why the fuck can’t you tell me how you feel!? Tell me you hate me, I don’t even care. Just speak”.

Bakugou just looked down, taking every hit you were giving. You tried pushing him back, taking a few steps back yourself as you failed.

“Just tell me what you feel!” you pleaded. His eyes were still glued to the floor, his mouth twisted in a snarl.

“Why the fuck can’t you say something!? Say something, goddammit! Speak, Katsuki!” you yelled, marking each sentence with another punch on his chest.

“I don’t know how!” Bakugou finally growled, grabbing you by your wrists. You wrestled against him for a few moments but then desisted, knowing he had more raw physical strength than you.

“Think again, that’s a lame excuse and you know it” you spat, feeling his hold on your wrists tightening. Bakugou showed his teeth, his anger getting the best of him.

“You make me feel like a fucking moron!” he screamed against your face. “That’s how I fucking feel! I don’t feel composed, I don’t feel like a winner, I feel like a fucking extra whenever you walk by and don’t look my way”

You stared at him, your eyes filling with tears again. Anger was still flooding your veins, pushing you to activate your quirk and start an actual fight with your past lover.

“You wanted the truth!?” he continued. “Here it is: I never told you how I felt because I can’t fucking understand it. All I know is I’m a cunt who would do anything you asked me to".

“Except telling me you loved me” you grunted. He harshly let go of your arms, pushing them away from him.

“What the fuck does that even mean!? Tell me, what’s the point of saying I love you if I don’t understand what that means. You wanted me so bad to say it, like it meant anything. What does me saying ‘I love you’ guarantees you, huh?” he asked, taking steps forward as you walked backwards. You back finally hit the wall, your expression turning into a confused one. “If I don’t understand what I’m saying, it means shit! But hey, wanna know how loving you feels like? What it really feels like? It’s fucking hell! I can’t control it, I can’t make it go away and I fucking wish I could!”

Before he could continue, you grabbed the back of his neck and pulled him close, crashing your lips against his. Bakugou kissed you back, pushing his tongue against your mouth, his hands grabbing each side of your face as he did. You bit his lower lips until he growled, letting him do the same, secretly loving the way your swollen lips felt once he was done. His hands never left your cheeks, not even when his whole body pressed against you as his mouth kept moving against yours. Your ran your fingers through his hair, intoxicating yourself with the feeling as you yanked him even closer.

After a few moments, Bakugou finally pulled away, resting his forearms on the wall above your shoulders. He panted against your face, your hands settling on his shoulders. You pressed his lips against his again, but this time for a much softer kiss. Bakugou broke the kiss again, closing his eyes.

“Are you with her? Like… a couple” Bakugou whispered, his breath hitting your face. You shook your head with a whimper.

“We’re just going out on dates” you sighed, your eyes searching for his. When he finally set his vermillion eyes on you, you felt a lump on your throat. “I love you, Katsuki”

“Why?”

“Why?” you repeated, confused. Bakugou broke eye contact for a moment, looking down and then set his eyes on you again. You let out a dry laugh, feeling the pressure increase around your throat. “Because I don’t believe in unconditional love. I believe loving someone is not accepting their changes but encouraging them. And you… you make me want to be better. A better hero. You’re always pushing me to train harder, to endure the pain, to keep going. You challenge me, Katsuki. I love that. It’s like… you believe in me or something.”

“Why is it so easy for you to say that?” Bakugou asked, a pained look on his face.

“It’s not” you shook your head. Your eyes filled with tears again, you felt them running down your cheek as you chose your next words. “But I didn’t come up with them in one day. I thought about loving you and why I did that for quite some time. I want that for you too. You… need to understand what you feel for me, besides frustration. And when you do… you let me know, okay? But I can’t--” your voice broke a little and you sniffed, trying to get yourself together, even if tears were falling again. “It feels wrong for me to be with you when you’re still trying to figure out what love means to you”.

You both fell silent again. As you tried to regulate your breathing to stop crying, you felt Bakugou’s thumb wiping your tears away. You stayed like that for a couple of minutes, drowning in the presence of each other, wanting things to be different, easier, simpler.

“Okay” he exhaled. “Just…” his thumb set on your chin softly. “Give me a minute. Right now… I’d rather have this than nothing at all” he whispered. You pretended not to notice how his voice broke at the end of the sentence as he fell onto your lips again. Maybe he was right. Maybe a little love was better than none.

#bakugou katsuki #bakugo katsuki #bakugou katsuki x reader #bakugou x reader #bakugo x reader #bakugo katsuki x reader #mha x reader #bnha x reader #mha #bnha #bnha imagines #bnha scenarios #bnha fanfiction

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lynelovespopculture · 4 years

Text

THE CHILLING ADVENTURES OF ZELDA CHAPTER 14-A SPELLMAN FAMILY SOLSTICE

Faustus and Zelda had a long recovery in front of them. Faustus had only awakened 1 hour before his wife so they were healing at the same time. They both were assigned to complete bed rest for the next 3 weeks. In that time, they rested, snuggled together, and watched the defeat of Blackwood video numerous times. They both agreed that there was no foolproof way to get rid of Blackwood forever; they had to just keep their guard up and hope for the best. Zelda also told Faustus how Lilith had reclaimed hell for herself and found happiness with a new Adam. After the 3 weeks of bed rest, Faustus and Zelda were up and around and just in time to help celebrate Sabrina’s 18th birthday. (Since this was Sabrina’s last year at home before college, new rules were set. Thursday nights were family dinner night, absolutely no excuses for not attending, and Sunday was family movie night.)

Later that week, Faustus and Zelda managed to find some time to sit down with just the twins to have a serious talk about the adoption. Zelda explained that this adoption was less about guardianship, as the twins were almost 17, but more of a show of commitment to be their mother. Zelda nodded with understanding when they told her that they wanted time to think about it. Yet, there was 1 issue that the male twin didn’t need to think about at all. Just like his sister, Judas wanted to forget about his life with Blackwood. Soon enough, he confessed that he hated the name of Judas, so with his parents’ full support, changed his name to Jacob. It wasn’t long at all until he was used to the family calling him Jake. 3 days later, Faustus took Zelda for a romantic dinner in the fanciest restaurant in town. As they clinked their wine glasses together, Faustus explained that it was the 1st anniversary of him being free from the curse. Hearing this, Zelda re-clinked the glasses.

“To the first of many, many years,” She smiled.

They went home, and make wild, passionate love before drifting off in each other’s arms. Late that night, Zelda turned around and found herself alone in bed. She caught Faustus at the entrance of the attic, which Ambrose and Jake now shared.

“I still can’t believe we’re all home now,” Faustus whispered as his wife linked her arm with his. With a kiss, Zelda led him back to their room, where they made love for the 2nd time that night.

Their 1st solstice all together as a family was a very special one. LJ and Jake were both all smiles as together, they handed Zelda a gift. After wrapping it, Zelda gasped, for the box was filled with papers, but not just any papers. On top were the half-filled adoption papers and beneath that, were papers for legal name changes. The twins explained that not only did they want to be adopted but they were also ready to become Spellmans. All the family couldn’t agree fast enough. Zelda did a pretty good job of blinking back her tears of joy, or she did, right up until the twins called her ‘mom’ for the very 1st time. This happened right after Zelda gave LJ and Jake their Yule present. A thick photo album filled with pictures of their birth mother, Constance, at every stage of life so the twins could look at it whenever they wished.

In the new year, after Hilda and Dr. C celebrated their 1st anniversary and Zelda filed the paperwork for the twins’ adoption and name changes, plans went full steam ahead for LJ and Jake’s joint dark baptism. Jake kept it simple, by picking Jacob Faustus for his baptismal name. LJ’s was longer. LJ explained that her name was to be Letitia Judith Constance Zelda.

“To honor both my mothers.” LJ smiled and Zelda kissed the girl on the head, blinking back happy tears once more.

The baptism, attended by family and coven alike, went off without a hitch. For the next few months, the Spellmans’ lives were blissfully quiet and uneventful. Their lives revolved around work, school, and most importantly, each other. On April 2nd, the whole family gathered to celebrate Cordelia’s first birthday. They threw a party, of course, with cake and gifts but it was Faustus and Zelda who got the best present that day. It was later that night after they readied Cordelia for bed, they sat Cordelia down in front of her crib as they did for the last 3 weeks. It was normal when Cordelia pulled herself up to the crib with her tiny hands but then something new happened. Cordelia took her hands off the crib and took her 1st few unsteady steps towards Zelda. She playfully touched her mother’s cheek before saying her 1st word loud and clear. “Mommy!” After kissing her daughter silly, Zelda turned Cordelia around so she could walk to Faustus. The baby took 3 steps before she stumbled on the 4th and would have fallen but Faustus managed to catch her. He was rewarded with a giant smile. “Daddy!”

Spring and summer flew by and before anyone knew it, it was September again. Everyone came out to see Sabrina and LJ, who graduated a year early, off to college. Days turned to weeks, weeks to months, and months to years. When she was 3 and big enough for a big girl bed, Cordelia was given Sabrina’s room by her still at college cousin. The following year, Hilda, Faustus, and Sabrina convinced an uneasy Zelda to allow Cordelia to attend mortal kindergarten, just like Sabrina before her. Cordelia’s parents sat her down and explained to her not to talk about witches or use magic at school. They also kept their promise to the witch’s council, to keep them updated on Cordelia’s magical development. Yet, there was little to report. The baby who cried the devil out of the house was growing up as normally as any other little witch, except for a slammed door or a few floating items. Her powers were at their strongest when her emotions were at their peak. One afternoon, Cordelia wanted to play outside but Hilda explained she couldn’t because it was raining, hard.

“I don’t want it to rain!” As soon as Cordelia stamped her foot, the sun came out. Hilda stared wordlessly, yet Cordelia didn’t even seem to notice. It was on the 1st day of school that Cordelia met Erin, Emily, and Erica Warner, mortal triplet girls who quickly became her BFFs. Meanwhile, with his youngest now in school, Faustus was feeling a little lost. Ambrose and Jake formed the perfect team to run the funeral home together and the rest of the family were busy with their own thing. 1 night, Zelda suggested her husband should return to teaching. Zelda knew she got through to him and was waiting for Faustus to ask her to return to the academy. So, she was shocked when he told her he gotten a job at Greendale middle school, teaching 7th grade. Theo Putnam was also a new teacher.

It was a cold night in the late December of Cordelia’s sixth year that the child awoke with a start.

“Who’s there?” She demanded with the greatest demand she could mutter as she sat up and looked around the darkened room. She looked around and saw nothing, yet she felt someone was nearby. Cordelia sighed, this wasn’t a new feeling. She pulled back her blankets and got up. Might as well go to the bathroom while I’m awake. She thought.

“Hey, Salem.” Cordelia petted Sabrina’s familiar on her way back to bed. Then she picked up her favorite doll, tucked it under her arm, sighed as she laid down, and closed her eyes.

The next thing she knew, sunlight tickled at Cordelia’s eyelids. 1 quick look at the clock and she jolted out of bed and down the hallway. Her own school had let out for Christmas yesterday, but the academy was a year-round boarding school that demanded much of its headmistress. Cordelia felt that she spent less than 10 minutes with her mother all week. Maybe it was still early enough to catch her. She stopped short in her parents’ doorway. Not only was no one in here, but the bed was made and everything was neat, suggesting that both her parents left long ago.

“It's not even 9 yet! Well, so much for that idea.” Cordelia muttered as she headed for the steps. Downstairs, Cordelia found her brother fluttering back and forth before the front door as if he was preparing to go out. “Where’re you going, Jake?” she asked from the stairway.

Jake looked up, pausing as he put on his coat. “Good morning, Cordy. Mom just called, she needs someone to fill in for her with the choir ASAP.”

“Mom’s already at the school?”

Unfortunately, Jake was too busy to notice the sadness in his sister’s tone. “Yeah. Bye.”

Cordelia was left to frown at the closed door when the wonderful smells finally reached her nose. Those smells only appeared when someone special visited. Now wearing a tiny smile, the 6-year-old ran into the kitchen and hugged the visitor from behind. “Hi, auntie H!”

Hilda, who was baking, half-turned and gave her niece a 1 arm hug. “Hello, darling.”

From his stool 3 feet away, Ambrose waved. “Hello, cousin.”

“Hello, another Spellman who no longer lives here.” Cordelia teased good-naturedly and Ambrose laughed. He and Prudence had only moved into a small apartment together downtown 3 months ago.

Meanwhile, Hilda wiped her hands on a towel. “It’s cereal alright for breakfast?”

Cordelia smiled and nodded. “Yes, please.”

“So, Cordy, how did you sleep?” Asked Ambrose.

“Good! For the most part.”

Ambrose and Hilda exchanged a look. “For the most part?” repeated her aunt.

“Ghostbusting again, cuz?”

Cordelia gave Ambrose an annoyed sideways glance. “No, Ambrose. Ghostbusting would imply that I actually see the spirit.”

Ambrose was now confused. “Wait, you don’t see the ghosts? Ever? But you had this problem for a while.”

“Since before feasts of feasts as I recall,” Hilda added.

“I don’t understand. If you can’t see them, how do you know they’re ghosts?”

Cordelia shrugged. “I don’t know. I just know, it’s just a feeling. Most girls my age are scared of ghosts; I just want them to make up their minds! They should show themselves, tell me what the problem is so I can help or just let me be so I can sleep at night.”

Hilda and Ambrose both had nothing to say so they just stared at the girl. Cordelia sighed, what was needed now was a change of subject and she found it on the serving tray. “Who pops popcorn this early in the morning?”

Ambrose sprang to life. “Oh, I almost forgot! I was supposed to bring out the cranberries and popcorn to Dr. C and Uncle Faustus. They finally setting up the Yule tree!” Ambrose grabbed the tray and rushed out of the kitchen.

“Well, I got to go too,” Cordelia announced.

“Why?” Asked Hilda.

“Because my bowl of cereal was on that tray!”

Hilda laughed, shook her head, and returned to her baking.

“I swear, we get this tree up later and later every year.” Faustus sighed.

“Well, we’re busy men,” Dr. C assured him. “Me at my bookstore, you at the middle school. Here comes Ambrose, at last.”

Faustus smiled as the younger warlock rushed in. “We were beginning to think you’d forgotten us.”

“I’m so sorry that it took me so long,” Ambrose said. “Aunt Hilda and I got to talking and then Cordelia walked in.”

“Oh? Cordy’s up?”

“I sure am!” The child was right on Ambrose’s heels. She was closer to Dr. C so she greeted him first. “Hi, Uncle C” She hugged him and then went over to her father. “Hi, Daddy” she giggled when Faustus kissed the cheek of his youngest child. The 2 men went back to trying to steady the tree, as Ambrose found a chair and began to thread the popcorn and cranberry strings together. After reclaiming her breakfast, at last, Cordelia sat on the sofa and asked about the only thing on her mind.

“How long ago did Mom leave for the academy this morning?”

“About an hour and a half to 2 hours ago” Faustus answered casually. “Why? Do you need her?”

Cordelia frowned. “No, I don’t need her per say, but I do miss her. It’s like I barely have seen her this week.”

“Don’t worry, baby,” Faustus soothed his daughter. “While it’s true that Solstice demands more of the high priestess’s time than normal, all she has to do is get through today and perform tomorrow’s midnight mass then Zelda will be free to spend the rest of the holidays with us.”

“Don’t forget when we go get the girls tomorrow.” Dr. C added. “Zelda would never miss that.”

Although both LJ and Sabrina left for college 6 years ago, the girls were still away for their education but for different reasons. Unlike Jake, who left a year after his sister and cousin and return 2 years later, business degree in hand. Poor Sabrina was having a tough time, having changed her major 3 times. On the flip side, LJ had not only completed university in record time but was enrolled in 2 different medical schools. When done, LJ would not only be 1 of the few female witch doctors, she would also be the 1st witch doctor trained in mortal medicine. With a sister on her way to glory and her mother already in the history books as the 1st high priestess, Cordelia was extremely proud of her family and sometimes wondered if greatness lay in her future as well. Having finished her breakfast, Cordelia now lay the now-empty bowl on the coffee table and went to the old cardboard box that held the tree decorations. After a few seconds of digging around, Cordelia was able to her favorite one. It was a diamond full moon on 1 side and the other side was a picture frame. The picture itself was taken on her 1st solstice. It was of Zelda, Faustus, and Cordelia herself, when she was still just a baby. While Cordelia stood admiring the photo, Dr. C lost his balance on the step stool and bump into the girl, causing her to lose her grip on the glass moon and it smashed on the floor.

Dr. C rushed to the child’s side. “Oh Cordelia, I’m so sorry!” He hugged her.

Cordelia put on a brave face. “It’s okay, uncle C. We have lots of others.”

As they spoke, the fragments of the glass moon float up in the air and magically fixed itself.

“But this 1 is your favorite,” Faustus held it in the palm of his hand. “I know because it’s my favorite too.”

Cordelia smiled. “Thanks, Dad.”

Putting up the tree nearly took all day. Cordelia was excused because right after lunch, the Warner triplets called their friend to come with them to go to the mall to see Santa. Cordelia was gone all afternoon and returned just in time for dinner yet her mood seemed to change. She was quiet and seemed angry. At first, Hilda thought her niece was annoyed because Zelda called to say that she was too busy to come home for dinner. Then, in the middle of supper, Jake knocked over a glass of water. On the other side of the table, his baby sister jumped up in horror.

“You should be more careful!” She shouted before she ran out of the room. Faustus and Hilda found Cordelia in her room pacing back and forth before her bed. “Don’t cry, don’t cry, don’t cry!” She muttered to herself.

“Cordy? What’s wrong?” Faustus asked.

His daughter looked up, frowning. “You should have told me. Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Tell you what?”

“THAT OUR KIND CAN MELT!!” Cordelia shouted.

Faustus and Hilda exchanged a confused look. “Cordelia, love,” Hilda said gently, “what exactly did you and your friends do this afternoon?”

Cordelia sighed. “After the trip to the mall to see Santa, Mr. Warner invited me back to their house for hot chocolate and it was there that Erin, Emily, Erica, and I watched a movie.”

“What movie?” Her father asked.

“The Wizard of Oz.”

Both Faustus and Hilda felt instant relief. Hilda left to go inside the bathroom while Faustus took his daughter by the hand, guided her to the bed, so they could both sit down.

“Darling, while it’s true the mortals have short lives, while we witches can live for centuries and centuries. Surely, we can’t live that long if we are in danger of something as common as water.”

“But in the movie-“

“The movie is not real. It’s pretend, make-believe. You remember when you, Mommy, and I had our talk about make-believe?”

Cordelia nodded. “I remember, but it’s so confusing! After all, mortal parents tell their children that witches are make-believe.”

Faustus nodded. “That’s true but I can prove I’m right! Think back to every mass you attended, all the times Zelda took you with her to the academy, have you ever, after all that time with the coven, even seen a green witch?”

“No. Hey, wait a second, I didn’t tell you that the witch was green! How did you know?”

Faustus laughed. “The Wizard of Oz is a very famous movie and you’re not the 1st witch to get spooked by water after seeing it. I guess you could call it a witch childhood rite of passage by now.”

“Your father’s right,” said Hilda, coming toward the bed, glass in 1 hand. “When your cousin Sabrina saw that movie, she reacted the exact same way you did. That’s when Zelds and I came up with the test.”

“Test? What kind of test?”

“Come here and I’ll show you.” When Cordelia didn’t move and kept staring at the glass, Hilda tried again. “What’s wrong? Don’t you trust me?”

This softened Cordelia immediately. “Of course I do, Auntie H.” The child got off the bed and came forward and Hilda knelt down to look her niece in the eye. “Now just give me 1 of your fingers.” Cordelia offered up a finger. Hilda took it and put the tip of the finger just under. “Now, how does that feel?”

“Wet.” Was the child’s only reply.

Hilda laughed. “Yes, it’s wet, but what else? Does your finger feel like it is going to fall off or melt?”

Cordelia smiled and shook her head. Hilda smiled. “Good, the test has worked in our favor yet again.”

“Thank Hecate!” Faustus added. “Can you imagine how foul our world would be if none of us would be allowed to bathe?”

Cordelia laughed at her father’s funny face as Hilda kissed her brow.

A few hours later, Faustus turned down the bed as Cordelia got ready in the bathroom.

“Cordy, have you brushed your teeth yet?”

“Doing it right now, Dad.”

Faustus couldn’t resist. “With water?”

First, there was silence then came a low moan. Faustus smiled to himself.

Cordelia switched off the bathroom light and walked more into her bedroom. “Hecate, I’m dumb,” She muttered.

When she was close enough, Faustus put his arm around his daughter. “You are not dumb. You, my girl, are 6. Considering how you speak and behave most of the time, it’s easy to forget how young you are.”

Cordelia gave a half-smile. “Still young enough to be read to?”

“Not very subtle, miss Spellman.”

Cordelia giggled and crawled into bed as Faustus grabbed the book on the nightstand. Some little girls like fairy tales, most, at least, like a story with a plot. But most nights, Cordelia favored spell books, especially the Latin ones, even though Cordelia didn’t speak the language. She said it soothed her faster. Tonight, Faustus only read a page and a half before Cordelia was fast asleep. He tucked her in and tiptoed out of the room. The next thing Cordelia was aware of; someone was arranging her blankets. Her 1st thought was that the troublesome ghost was back but she was instantly awake when she saw who it really was.

“Mommy! I missed you so much today!” Cordelia sat up and threw herself into Zelda’s arms.

Zelda kissed her brow. “I’ve missed you too, little one. I didn’t mean to wake you, but your father told me that you had a scare today.”

“That’s not important,” Cordelia dismissed. “Will you come with us to pick up LJ and Sabrina tomorrow morning?”

Zelda nodded. “I will, but I must get back to the academy by early afternoon at the very latest.”

Cordelia frowned. “But tomorrow is the day before Solstice. You always spend it with us.”

“I know precious but we’re so behind this year. I mean, the church is not yet decorated or prepared for midnight mass yet.”

“How about I go with you? That way you could get your work and we could still be together.”

“We’ll talk about it tomorrow.”

“No! Wait! Don’t go yet.” Cordelia grabbed her book. “Read to me.”

“It’s late, Cordelia.”

“Please, Mom?”

Normally, Zelda would have held firm but she felt massively guilty about barely being home lately. Zelda sighed and took the book. “Move over.”

An hour later, Faustus went to look for his wife and found Zelda and Cordelia snuggled up together, both fast asleep. Faustus went to Zelda to whisper to her. “It’s late, my love. We’re going to have to leave for the airport, well, in just a few hours now.”

“Mmm,” was Zelda’s only reply.

It was only then that he saw the book. “Did Cordy get another story out of you?”

Again, “Mmm.”

“Dearest, are you asleep?”

“Mmm?”

Faustus smiled. “That’s what I thought.” Gently, he put 1 hand under Zelda’s head and the other 1 under her knees. Then he carried Zelda out of Cordelia’s room and back to their own bed.

Even though they had only been home a few weeks before for feats of feasts, Sabrina and LJ’s homecoming was a joyful one. At the airport, there was much hugging and kissing, done by all the family. The morning flew by with all their laughing, talking, and catching up. After lunch, most of the family went to the church with Zelda to help set things up, yet Sabrina went for a different reason. All Sabrina had to do was wait for an opportunity to talk to her aunts alone. She got 2 and chickened out both times. Fed up with her own failure, Sabrina teleported herself back to Spellman’s kitchen and groaned.

“Just tell them, you coward!”

The loud whistle of the kettle startled Sabrina. She turned and saw Faustus at the stove,1 of his eyebrows rose. “Something wrong, Sabrina?”

She could feel her eyes watering. “Yes.”

Faustus said the 1st thing that came to mind. “Are you changing your major again?”

Sabrina shook her head. “No, I’m not changing my major. I’m not going back to school at all!” There, she finally said it.

For his part, Faustus got out 2 cups and saucers, poured the tea, and sat down at the table with Sabrina.

“I can’t seem to bring myself to tell Auntie Hilda and Aunt Z. I wasted 5 years, 3 majors, and all that money. My aunties are going to be so disappointed.”

In an effort to comfort his niece, Faustus took Sabrina’s hand in his. “All your aunts have ever wanted for you is to be happy.”

“I tried, I tried so hard.” Sabrina’s lip quivered.

“I know,” Faustus soothed. “Maybe this could be a blessing in disguise,” he suggested. “Maybe, by taking a semester off will help you relax and figure out for sure what you really want to do.”

“But I was sure all those times I change my majors,” Sabrina stressed.

“You know, 1 of my favourite teachers once told me that the secret to professional success is to pick something that you love and are good at.”

“But I don’t know what I’m good for a job.”

“What about helping people? You’re good at that.”

“But that could any career.” Sabrina pointed out.

“How about a therapist? I would be lost without mine.”

Sabrina smiled. “A therapist? Me? You remember I’m the one who causes most of the problems around here?”

“Oh, that was when you were a teenager,” Faustus dismissed. “You’re grown up a lot since then. Besides, if nothing else, the outlook of a half-mortal, half-fallen angel raised by witches is bound to be interesting.”

Sabrina laughed. “True. You’ve given me a lot to think about. Thanks, Uncle Faustus.”

He was shocked. “You’ve never called me uncle before.”

“I know but it’s high time I did.”

“Dad? I’ve been wondering something for a long time, but I’m not sure how to ask.”

It was late that night and Faustus was readying Cordelia for midnight mass. In his opinion, she looked great. His daughter was wearing a new red dress, her white winter tights, and shiny black Mary Janes. He was now adding the finishing touch of a ribbon in her red hair, exactly like her mother’s. “Cordy, don’t be scared. You know you can ask me anything.”

“Okay, Dad, don’t you believe? I mean, I know that Uncle C isn’t a warlock, so it makes sense that he doesn’t share our faith, but why don’t you believe?”

“But I do believe, sweetheart. I was baptized the night after you were born.”

Cordelia seemed confused. “You were?! Then why don’t you ever attend mass?”

Faustus sighed. “You have to leave in a few minutes and it’s a very long story and I promise that someday we will discuss this in greater detail, but for now all I can tell you that when I was high priest, before you were born, I did things that I am deeply ashamed of. The coven has since forgiven me but I am still weary of being near them. I do attend mass, in fact, I’m there every week, but I don’t sit up front with the rest of the family, I actually like to sit in the very back pew. I also like to be the last one to arrive and the first one to leave. I like it when the coven doesn’t even notice me.”

Cordelia thought for a moment and then said, “Are you sorry about what you did?”

“Oh, Hecate, yes! I’m sorrier than anyone can ever know.”

Cordelia shrugged. “Then the coven has to forgive you. It’s just good manners.”

Faustus hugged his daughter, grateful for her innocent logic.

A little later, Cordelia found herself at the church, sitting in the front pew with Hilda, Sabrina, Ambrose, and the twins while Prudence sang in the choir. Even at 6, Cordelia felt proud that it was her mother who performed the service, glorious in her white and gold robes. During the middle of the service, Cordelia took advantage of her end seat and looked toward the back. Sure enough, she found her father, who waved at her. After mass, Cordelia stayed behind to help clean up and help her mother say goodbye to the coven. When they drove home, there a raven haired woman near the stairs. Cordelia didn’t know who the lady was but, judging the way her mother was gripping the wheel, Cordelia guessed her mother did.

“Is she the one who keeps bothering you?” Zelda asked.

“No, I don’t think so. Mom, who is that?”

“Go inside and get dressed for bed, Cordy. It’s late.”

Cordelia did as she was told but she did pick up some bits of dialogue.

“Bright solstice, Zelda.”

“What are you doing here, Lilith?”

“Come now, surely I’m allowed to check up on my son’s future bride.”

That was all Cordelia heard. 10 minutes later, Zelda came into Cordelia’s room to kiss her daughter goodnight.

“Mom? I heard you and that lady talking. Who’s getting married? Prudence or LJ?”

“No one in this house is getting married!” Zelda declared firmly.

Zelda went to bed mad and woke up even angrier. “I don’t get it, Faustus.” She said to her husband as they went downstairs for breakfast. “We heard or seen nothing of Lilith these past 6 years and the 1st thing she mentions is that stupid marriage contract that I signed in invisible ink and can’t possibly be binding. Lilith knows that! What game is she playing at?”

“I don’t know and I don’t care.” Faustus answered honestly. “Whenever it is, we’ll deal with it together like we always do. Today is solstice. It’s time to celebrate that and the fact that this is your 1st day off in weeks. Then, later on, tonight, I get to show you how terribly I and our bed, have missed you.” He kissed her hard before they walked into the kitchen, hand in hand.

According to tradition, the family waited until sundown to gather round the Yule tree and start exchanging gifts. Half an hour later, the get together was in full swing, with music, talking, and laughing all filling the air. It was about this time that Faustus gave Zelda a small blue ring box. Inside was the 6th annual charm that Faustus gave his wife every Yule to go on the bracelet that he had given her on their 1st Solstice that they spent together as a married couple. However, the meaning of this year’s charm was lost on Zelda.

“A white rose?”

Faustus nodded. “A symbol of eternal love.”

Zelda gave a sly smile. “Yours or mine?”

Faustus laughed and stroked his wife’s cheek as he received Zelda’s thank you kiss. Then Faustus stood up and grabbed a skinny gift from under the tree. He passed it to Cordelia. “Speaking of jewellery, here a little something from your mother and me.” Cordelia smiled as she took the gift and unwrapped it. It turned out be a golden chain with a crescent moon attached, not unlike her own birthmark. She looked up at her parents from her place on the floor.

“I love it! Thank you, Dad. Thank you, Mom.” Cordelia got up and hugged both her parents.

“May Hecate bless and keep you, my Cordelia.” Zelda smiled at her daughter.

“Amen.”

“Oh, it seems we ran out of music and could use a new Christmas CD.” Hilda sighed.

“I’ll go change it since I’m up.” Cordelia offered and journeyed to the stereo but before she got there, she passed a window and froze. She looked very upset.

It was Hilda who first noticed her distress. “Cordy, darling? What’s wrong?”

“It’s her,” Came her niece’s reply. “The ghost that keeps up me at night. She’s right outside.”

“How do you know? You said you never saw her.” Ambrose pointed out.

Cordelia shook her head. “I never did, but I always felt her just as I feel her now and I’m looking straight at her.”

Faustus got up to collect his daughter. “Come sit down, sweetheart. We’ll figure all this out later.” Yet just as he put an arm around Cordelia, he looked out the window and saw the ghost too. “Constance?”

“Faustus, may I see you out in the hall for a minute?” Zelda asked as she rose.

“I think we should let Constance in.”

Faustus couldn’t believe his ears. “What? Zelda dearest, what are you saying?”

“Well, I think it’s perfectly oblivious why she’s here.”

Faustus nodded. “Yes, she’s here to ruin our family solstice.”

“No,” his wife disagreed, “I think she’s here to see her children, the twins, as is her right.”

“I think you’re giving her too much credit. Don’t you remember how she behaved the last time we made contact with her? You had to bar her from the house!”

“That was over 6 years ago. Maybe she changed.”

“Changed?!” Faustus sneered. “Then why has she been bothered Cordy for over a month?”

“Why don’t you go out there and ask her yourself?”

“Fine, I will,” Faustus agreed. “But you’re coming with me.”

A moment later, Zelda and Faustus stepped out onto the frozen porch. Constance was right before them.

“If we allow you into this house, will you abide by its rules and customs?” Faustus asked.

Constance smiled as she nodded. “I will.”

“Come in. You are welcome.” With those simple words, Zelda broke her own spell.

The whole family was shocked when Faustus and Zelda returned with the ghost. Hilda was the 1st to recover.

“Um, Ambrose, Prudence, Sabrina, Cordy, could you come to help me and your uncle C in the kitchen?”

“I think I’ll join you.” Zelda turned to join the family, but Constance called her back. “Please stay, Zelda, there’s something I would like to say to you too.”

“Ok.” Zelda was unsure as she slid into her chair next to Faustus. The twins were sitting on the sofa. Zelda noticed that the twins were holding hands, something they only did when they were really anxious.

“Is it true?” Jake asked. “Are you really our mother?”

“She’s only our birth mother,” his sister answered him, “Zelda is our real mother.”

“LJ, please!” Zelda didn’t mean it, but her mothering tone came through.

Constance didn’t seem to mind as she stared at the twins and smiled. “You are both so beautiful.” She touched LJ’s face. “My daughter on her way to becoming a witch doctor!”

Jake lowered his eyes. “I’m sorry I’m not a genius like LJ.”

“Are you happy, my son?”

“I am.”

Constance smiled. “That’s all that matters.”

“And we’re safe,” LJ added.

“That’s right,” Jake agreed. “Blackwood is no more.”

Constance smiled. “I know; I’ve been watching you. I’ve been watching all of you.” Constance turned. “Which brings me back to you, Zelda Spellman. I have something important to say to you. Thank you. Ever since you dispatched with Blackwood, you have done everything to make sure that my children felt safe and loved. I can never thank you enough for that.”

LJ got up and walked to Zelda’s side. “Why would even doubt her? She cared for us when we were babies. I mean, this is the same woman who whisked me away at birth and loved me when she didn’t have to.”

You must understand,” Constance stressed. “The last time I saw Zelda; she was heavily pregnant. I thought that she would prefer her own child and become a petty and jealous stepmother to the 2 of you. Just” Constance sighed and cast down her eyes in shame. “Just as I did with Prudence. Happily, that didn’t happen. She loves you as if you were her own.”

“I love them because they are my own,” Zelda said gently, “Just as Cordelia and Prudence are. Perhaps you would have learned this if you’ve survived but a mother’s heart can never be too full.”

“Wait,” Jake was confused. “If all you wanted was to have a peaceful heart-to-heart, then why have you been bothering Cordy all this time?”

Constance looked startled. “Have I? I didn’t mean to. Please apologize to her for me.”

LJ leaned in to whisper in Zelda’s ear. “I guess the divine child’s powers can pick up a rogue ghost better than we can.”

Zelda’s focus was elsewhere at the moment. “Constance, you’re glowing. You’ve never looked better.”

The ghost blushed like a schoolgirl. “Am I? Well, I guess being at peace agrees with me then. You see, I recently re-met a friend from childhood on the other side, and he has been helping me to put aside my anger and bitterness. I’m starting to see things differently now. Zelda, I understand that you didn’t set out to break up my marriage, Faustus’s heart was yours long before I came around. It’s perfectly fine that my children have 2 mothers, as long as they are loved and protected.”

Sensing that her time was up, Constance kissed both her children and turned to leave when

“Wait.” It was the 1st time Faustus had spoken since they had all sat down. Now, he stood and when to the ghost. “Constance, I have never seen you speak so tenderly or behave so kindly. I just to say I’m sorry. We never were a love match but I could have been kinder to you during our marriage. Not pressuring you for a son, been more of a comfort during your miscarriages. Enjoy the happiness you have now; you certainly deserve it. Bright Solstice.” He gave her a peck on the cheek. The lights flicked and then the ghost was gone.

It was when Constance was gone that Jake fell on his knees before Zelda. “We love you, bonus mom.”

LJ hugged her. “We sure do.”

Faustus watched this touching scene for a moment and then turned his attention to the hallway. “Okay, guys, you can come out now. Don’t think I don’t see you spying over there!”

The guilty gang filed back into the living room and the Solstice celebrations continued.1 hour later, the room was quiet as Ambrose read Charles Dickins’ A Christmas Carol aloud. Fearing that she would too big to do it next year, Cordelia grabbed her favorite blanket and settled herself on Zelda’s lap. She was going to ask if she was too heavy when her mother held her closer.

“Hecate, bless us, everyone,” Cordelia whispered.

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aliciameade · 4 years

Photo

It’s Nice to Have a Friend (3/7)

Author: aliciameade Rating: T Pairing: Beca/Chloe Summary: Beca still remembers the first time she met Chloe Beale. It was in the office of Eisenhower High School on her first day, not just as a freshman but in the city’s school system. She was the quintessential New Kid In Town and Chloe, the Senior Class President was the new kid's first-day chaperone. Taylor Swift Album Inspiration: Speak Now (2010)

p.s. They are short bites of chapters. It's a mini-anthology. xo

Also on AO3

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Beca had never been on a date before. She didn’t even know that’s what was happening when Chloe had asked her between classes if she’d like to go see Enchanted on Friday until she’d accepted and Chloe had said, “Great! It’s a date!” and kissed her cheek.

She’d spent the entirety of the evening, the following Thursday, and that Friday panicking about what she was supposed to wear, say, or do while also questioning whether Chloe meant it was a date-date or just that they had scheduled something to occur on a specific date.

When Chloe picked her up and actually came to the front door to ring the doorbell instead of texting Beca from her car looking especially pretty, she was pretty sure it was a date-date.

When Chloe bought the tickets and popcorn and then held her hand at the movie, she was even more sure.

And when Chloe kissed her on the lips in front of her house after walking her to the door at the end of the evening, she was no longer uncertain.

It was Beca’s first kiss and she had no idea what she was doing. She just pursed her lips and hoped it was okay. It must have been because Chloe had smiled when she pulled back and told Beca she’d had a really nice evening with her.

Beca experienced a lot of firsts after that night.

Her first heated make-out session on the couch in Chloe’s basement. She’d never felt that way before. Every part of her felt like it was lit up and on fire and then Chloe had asked Beca to be her girlfriend. Beca had never been anyone’s girlfriend. She’d nodded and said she hoped she wouldn’t suck at it and went back to kissing her new girlfriend.

Her first hickey that she tried and failed to hide and ended up having a long and horribly embarrassing conversation with her mother about sex and pregnancy until she blurted out that it was from a girl.

Her first forbidden relationship—not because Chloe was a girl but because Chloe was 17 and her mom said Beca was too young for her. She remembers sneaking out once her mom fell asleep on the couch on an unseasonably warm and humid spring night, creeping through the back yard and its gate to meet up with a giggly Chloe waiting for her. She’d snagged Beca’s hand and they’d run to the park down the street to climb to the top of the slide and sit together.

They’d kissed and talked and Chloe told her she got accepted by a university in Georgia. She’d be moving, in a cruel irony, to Beca’s hometown of Atlanta at the end of summer.

Beca had tried to be happy for her but she knew what it meant. It meant Chloe was leaving. Chloe had clicked into her life like a missing piece so seamlessly she could already feel herself falling apart at the very thought that Chloe would be gone after the summer.

It was fitting that it started to rain as they walked back to Beca’s house. It was well past 2:00 AM when Chloe kissed her on the sidewalk in front of her house in the pouring rain. It had felt a lot like a goodbye.

The real goodbye came in August. They broke up. Beca’s not really sure who did it; it felt mutual, necessary, and inevitable. It was her first relationship, but she knew enough to understand a soon-to-be 16-year-old and a college freshman with hundreds of miles between them wasn’t sustainable.

Chloe had also turned 18. It seemed arbitrary, that one day their relationship was fine and the next, it was illegal.

Not that they were having sex. That was a first that they hadn’t gotten to. Beca wasn’t ready and Chloe had respected that. She’d thought about it, though. She’d even Googled and read about the age of consent and something about a Romeo and Juliet law but its implications weren’t reassuring. She’d Googled a lot about how to have sex with a woman, too. A lot.

“You won’t forget about me?” Beca had asked through her tears.

“How could I?” Chloe had replied through tears of her own and Beca remembers never being held so tightly in her life up to that point.

She couldn’t believe they’d had their last kiss. They hadn’t shared nearly enough of them to never share one again.

Beca didn’t date anyone else in high school. And not for lack of suitors; dating Chloe—the Senior Class President, the varsity football cheerleader, the captain of the fast-pitch softball team—had catapulted her to the top tier popular kids at Eisenhower High. But everyone else in school was boring. Bland. She didn’t see sparks fly when she looked at them the way they flew when she first saw Chloe.

Even when they started to lose touch she didn’t want to date someone new. She missed Chloe and the way she could make Beca feel so happy without even trying. Just a wink or a smile and Beca’s stomach would fill with butterflies. No one else made her feel that way. She hated that they were drifting apart, but Beca had no means to travel to visit Chloe, and Chloe was busy with school and some singing group she’d joined, and when she came home that first summer, things weren’t the same.

They felt off.

Chloe was seeing someone she’d met in Atlanta.

Beca started finding excuses to not spend time with Chloe when she was home visiting her family. It hurt too much to be around her and know she now looked at someone else the way she used to look at Beca.

By the time Beca graduated from Eisenhower, they hadn’t even exchanged texts—other than Chloe wishing Beca a Happy Birthday—since Christmas. It was easier that way. She assumed it was easier for Chloe, too. Better to focus on her third year of college. On the nerdy singing group she was in. On her boyfriend or girlfriend or whoever she was seeing at any given time.

It made it easier to pretend Beca had forgotten about Chloe.

It made it easier to pretend Beca didn’t decide to apply to Barden University in the middle of the night the day before its application deadline despite being offered early admission to Berklee in Boston. It might be the top school in the country for what she wanted to do with her life, but Boston is just so far away from her mom in Florida. Wouldn’t it be better if she stayed closer to home? And her dad having tenure with Barden meant she got a free ride when she was going to come out of Berklee six figures in debt. And all her old friends were there. And Barden has a decent music program, right?

It made it easier to pretend Beca didn’t enroll at Barden University to be closer to Chloe.

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To be continued

#swiftperfect #bechloe #bechloe fic #fanfic #pitch perfect

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adenei · 4 years

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Next Steps - Chapter 3

Woo hoo! Finally had a chance to return and continue this story. Full thing is on ao3

It started as a one-shot for a Platonic Rarry moment where Harry goes with Ron to pick out a ring, and they book a trip to Italy. Chapter two was of Ron asking the Granger’s permission for their daughter’s hand in marriage, and then him telling his own parents of his plan. And now, Harry and Ron reveal the news that they’re taking a holiday to Italy to Hermione and Ginny!

This is probably as some of you would call a filler chapter, but sometimes they’re necessary. Oh, and since I turned this into a multi-chap, I had to find a problem and include some angst somehow. Enjoy :)

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Surprises & Suspicions

Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny flooed back to Grimmauld place after dinner at the Burrow. Harry and Ron were finally going to surprise the girls with the trip. They were all sitting in the living room, when Harry and Ron gave each other a silent nod.

“So,” Ron cleared his throat. “We have a surprise for you.”

Hermione and Ginny both looked up at Ron in confusion. “Oh?” Hermione asked. “What kind of surprise?”

“Well, we’ve never exactly been on a proper holiday together and thought it might be fun to go somewhere,” Harry told them.

“Ginny’ll be in off season soon, and we’ve all got vacation time that needs to be used up before the end of the year, so we booked a trip to Italy!” Ron said, not bothering to hide the grin on his face.

“Really?” Hermione said excitedly. “Oh, I’ve always wanted to go!”

“That’s so cool!” Ginny agreed. “When is it for? My last match is Thursday!”

“Our portkey is scheduled to leave Saturday at 2:00.” Ron told them.

Ginny squealed with excitement, starting to chatter about packing, but Hermione excitement turned into a furrowed brow and she now had a worried look on her face.

“What’s wrong, Hermione?” Harry asked.

“It’s just that, how will I know if I can get the time off? I just started at the Ministry this summer. What if it looks bad that I’m already taking vacation time? I’ve got so many projects going on right now, too.. I don’t know if this is a good idea-”

“Hermione, I went to talk to the head of your department already. I knew that you’d probably feel this way so I cleared it to make sure you’d be set. There’s nothing to worry about,” Ron attempted to reassure her.

“You talked to my department head?” Hermione looked at him scathingly. Apparently that was the wrong thing for him to do.

“Er, Ginny, maybe we should go..” Harry said awkwardly, and they made a quick escape out of the room.

“I was just trying to be helpful, Hermione. I knew you’d be resistant, but you’ll never get the time back after the first of the year, and I knew you wouldn’t willingly take it on your own!”

“But I only just started! I’m still trying to make a name for myself within the department,” she argued.

“Would you be saying the same thing this time next year? Or would you find some other excuse not to go. C’mon Hermione, we haven’t had proper time to be able to relax. Harry and I are mid-way through training, Ginny’s got a break, surely you can take a week off of your job to take a holiday!”

“I’ve got so much work to do though!” she complained.

“You’ve got all week to get ahead! Plus, don’t you have a partner that you work with?” Ron countered.

“Yes, but Steven likes to work on things together! He won’t be happy knowing I’m taking off a whole week.”

A surge of jealousy shot through Ron. “Really? If the tables were turned and he was the one taking off, how would you feel? The same?”

“Well, no, but-”

“Exactly! He’ll get over it. Hermione, I don’t know what you want me to say. I wanted to surprise you, thought you’d be excited. Especially because I thought ahead and tried to make things easier for you. Bring the work for all I care! Unless-”

“Unless what, Ron?” Hermione asked.

“Unless you don’t want to go at all… I should have known,” Ron turned to leave the room. He should have known she wouldn’t want to. He tried to quash the feelings that it was always him or her work, but it was getting harder to ignore.

“Ron! No, wait! I-” Hermione collapsed back onto the couch realizing how much of a mess she’d just made things.

*******************

Hermione stayed in the sitting room for a while, trying to digest all of the thoughts that were flowing through her mind. She wanted to go to Italy, there was no doubt about that. She also couldn’t deny how thoughtful Ron had been to even schedule the trip. But why not wait a month or so? It was only October.

She knew the answer to that, of course. Ginny had two weeks off before she went back to train. They all knew her holiday schedule would be hard to work around, and then once January came, there wouldn’t be a break in her schedule until at least April. Even still, he should have talked to her about it first. Her work was important. She’d only been working for the Department of Magical Law Enforcement since July, and she had been paired with another new colleague, Steven, who was a transfer from a different department. Right now, they had three open cases they were consulting for with the Department of Magical Creatures, and she wasn’t sure if she could step away for a whole week and trust that the work would be done properly.

Steven was nice, and split the workload evenly with Hermione, which was a vast change from always trying to do everything herself, but he always insisted that they work together on everything. They often took working lunches, and he managed to convince her to stay late at the office a couple of times a week. Hermione appreciated the shared drive and commitment they had to the workload, and felt sorry for him since he must not have anyone to go home to at night, since he willingly spent so much time at the office.

He always seemed so disappointed when Hermione would go to lunch with Harry and Ron on certain days, or when she did leave the office on time at the end of each day. She’d tried to invite him to join them for lunch, but he always declined for some reason. She knew how upset he’d be when she said she’d be taking a full week off. I’ll just make sure all of my work is done ahead of time, Hermione resolved.

She had to take this holiday with Ron. No, not had to, she wanted to. Of course she wanted to! Their careers made it lucky if they were to spend regular evenings together, and it was a rare occasion when they had a full weekend together. Hermione had jumped right into her Ministry job only a week after graduating Hogwarts, and Ron was already established with the Aurors, so they didn’t get a relaxing summer.

Hermione got up then and made her way to their bedroom, where she found Ron laying there, despondent. She walked over and sat next to him. “I’m sorry I reacted the way that I did,” she started. “Of course I want to go. You were right, I’ve got all week to get ahead on my cases, and I’ll talk to my department head to make sure I don’t get any new cases assigned before we leave on Saturday.”

“Does that mean you’re going to go, then?” Ron asked her, his voice lacking any emotion.

“Of course it means I’m going to go! You honestly didn’t think I’d choose work over getting to spend a whole week with you?” Hermione asked him.

“Hermione, did you just hear yourself?” Ron gave her a look.

“I’m not the same as I used to be in Hogwarts. I know there are more important things in life than school and work,” she tried to defend. “Most of the time..”

“Exactly. Most of the time,” Ron said. He lifted his arm up, inviting her to lean into him, which she did with much relief. “I knew you’d put up some sort of resistance, you know.”

“I know. It’s hard to imagine just walking away from work for a full week, and not having to worry about anything. I know Steven will be upset, too..” Hermione trailed off.

“Don’t you think it’s a little odd?” Ron asked. He didn’t like to bring up her colleague because he didn’t want to seem jealous. But that didn’t stop the concern he felt whenever she’d send a note to say she was taking a working lunch at Steven’s request, or when she’d tell him that ‘Steven wants to work a little later tonight to finish this report.’

“What’s a little odd?” Hermione looked at him in question.

“That he’d be upset because you’re taking a vacation.”

“Well, we are the youngest in our department. He’s probably just looking out for me,” Hermione reasoned.

“I don’t think it’s that, Hermione,” Ron said seriously. “Are you ever the one to suggest a working lunch or staying late? I know you don’t mind them, I’m not saying that. I’m just curious.”

Hermione scrunched up her face in consideration. “Well, now that you mention it..”

Ron was silent for a moment, choosing his words carefully. “Just be careful, okay? There’s something about him that doesn’t feel right,” he said as he looked at her in concern.

The Hermione from a few years ago would have immediately argued with him that he was being ridiculous, but the Aurors had strengthened his knack to read people, and his senses were incredibly strong in that respect. “I’m always careful,” Hermione said as she snuggled into him. “I love you,” she said to him as she began thinking of what else he might have planned for their trip.

“I love you, too,” Ron said as he kissed her.

#romione #Ron Weasley #Hermione Granger

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shenandoahandback2021 · 3 years

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We got to Missouri and ended up new near Laura Ingall's Wilder house and decided to stop and see it. It was very interesting and she had a very interesting life before she starting writing the books about that life. As luck would have it, there was a campground right across the road from the house. We spent a nice relaxing evening there is there and then headed East on route state 160 which was like a rollercoaster but nice driving and good pavement. Sep 2 We found a campground that was only available for one night on Thursday. It's a campground specifically designed for 4 wheelers to come and ride around in the wilderness. It's near the river and quiet hours don't start until midnight! The owners of the campground ask us to come over after we ate and visit with her friends and family. It was an interesting visit. Her husband and a couple of the other guys are Civil War Re-enactors. They have some interesting stories about incidences happen during some of their maneuvers. In the morning we went over and spent a couple of hours chatting with some other people and had a great time but finally had to leave Sep 3 We were close to Loretta Lynn's home place in Butcher Holler so we decided to go there. Getting there was a hoot and the road turn into a single lane road and there was no place to park for an RV. We drove past the house and turned around on a on a very narrow turnaround place. Wed were able to park parallel to the road. The house was very interesting and had most of the original furniture. Her 2 nieces gave the tours and they knew much more about a her than any person who had been schooled in it. Since it was Friday night of the Labor Day weekend, we could not find a campground so we had to sleep in the Hardee’s parking lot. Sep 4 We drove to the New River gorge National Park. There were no rooms at the end at the 1st two RV parks but we found a nice park across from a National Guard armory and decided to spend 2 nights. In the morning, we went to the New River Gorge National Park. You can walk under the bridge, but there were no openings at the private company that ran the bridge walk. The bridge is the longest single-arch bridge in the Western Hemisphere and the 3rd longest in the world. It was the longest in the world for 26 years when first completed. We drove down to the bottom of the gorge and stopped on the way to look at the bridge construction. We drove over the river to the other side of the bridge and parked to come back and look at it from a different perspective. The signs said the road was not recommended for RVs or trailers, but when we parked on the other side of the river there were school busses and trailers carrying raft equipment for people who raft down the river down the river. We met a group from Raleigh and New Jersey who commented that they were looking at a Leisure Travel Van to purchase so we showed them ours. At 1st we didn't know they were from Raleigh but when we found out I told them I had graduated from NC State. One gentleman, Clive, had graduated from state and the other man was from New Jersey. They had a Chinese grandmother with them along with the Chinese wives from New York City and we had a great conversation. I showed them my lifetime membership to the NC STATE student union. The grandmother said when you come to Raleigh again you must come visit and I said be careful what you ask for. You only have to give me your address. I gave them my card but we haven't heard from them. Next day. We had two things on our minds for the next day and decided to drive down to an old abandoned coal mine. Again it said the road was not suitable for RVs, but I stopped at the last leg of the trip and asked the man living there if our RV could make the trip. He looked it over said, ”Yup” because he drives his oversized pickup truck down there often to the river. It was an interesting drive and we had to blow our horn around a couple of the curves to make sure no one ran into us. Sure enough one curve had someone coming around and she heard our horn and stopped before we smacked into each other. Her little Chevy would have been a hood ornament on the Mercedes. It was a pretty interesting drive all the way and when we were 100' from the parking lot there was a pothole on the left side. I decided to go a little bit right to miss that instead of slowing down too much and there was a rock hidden in the grass and it tore out our steps from the side door. We were able to tie the mangled steps up to the frame to drive back out of the area. I stopped and told the man who said that RV would go there that we lost the steps. He was apologetic but I told him it was not his fault. I asked if he knew someone who had a torch that I could get to cut the mangled steps off so we could continue our trip. He said to pull over front of my white truck there. As I drove over to it, I noticed that he had cutting torches on the back of his truck and he was a welder. How lucky can you be when you are so unlucky to start with. He cut the mangled steps off and we discovered that he had trained to be a tanker at Ft Knox after I had been there. We had a nice talk and he wouldn’t take any pay for the work. We went back to the campground and worked on the minor metal damage under the door. The motor was still working but it had nothing to move. I think I'll leave the body damage alone to remind me of my situation. There was plenty of room to make the drive I just had a 50-50 decision and went right instead of left. At least I can buy a new set of steps on Amazon and put them on when I get home. There are only 4 bolts holding the step mechanism is up to the frame. Next day We drove down to the end of the gorge and turned back up to the Sandstone Falls that are part of the National Park. There is a boardwalk that you can walk out to see them and it's a very interesting area. We met a nice couple from Virginia Beach, Ted and Julinne on the way out there. They have been thinking about buying an RV like ours to start traveling with in a couple of years. They were very interesting couple and had traveled a bit already. We invited them to have a cup of coffee with us because it was coffee time and we ended up spending 2 and a 1/2 hours discussing the RV, traveling what’s to see in Virginia et cetera. We hope we hear from them again and they said they would to ask us more information about the RV. On the way in we had seen an RV park on the river so we went back to that and stopped because it was getting late. We got a spot there for the night and it was very peaceful on the river. Next day We had morning fog below the ridge line call my but it was very nice and we had a relaxing start to the morning. We headed toward the north end of the Shenandoah Valley National Park. We got within 2 hours of my cousins house and her 3 daughters before we stopped for the night. I contacted them by phone and I thought by text but the text didn't work. We spent the night in a Walmart parking lot because there were no openings at the nearby RV parks. Next day We had given up seeing my cousins because I had not heard back from them, but in the morning, they called me and said please come by. We went to Ashburn, Virginia to see them and were able to park in the driveway. We had a good 3 hour or so visit is and they decided to go for a late lunch at one of their favorite restaurants. It was an old barn converted to a restaurant and it added on to it with different venue spaces and had several bars. In one bar they had carriages hanging from the ceiling from different eras. When we got back to the house about 5, I said guess we'll be going now try to get somewhere before it got too late. They said the traffic will be pretty bad and said why don't you spend the night. We said, well if you don't mind we'd love to. They have a 5-bedroom, 5,500 ft² house on 3 levels to the head plenty of room. We stayed up watching the news and then the US Open tennis matches and talking until midnight when I suspect they usually go to bed pretty early. I had not visited with my cousin or her family except for a funeral for her brother and we didn't get to visit very much then. The three sisters have been living together for several years, at least 20, I think. When their dad died a few years ago, my cousin, their mother came to live with them. Everyone has their own bedroom and bath and private space. There is a suite downstairs with a gigantic screen TV with a Projector. We had that suite last night. After a late breakfast and lots more stories, we headed down to the Skyline Drive for the Shenandoah National Park. It was a beautiful drive part way down the Park until we decided to stop at KOA for the night. Next day We arrived at the Luray Caverns and spent most of the day there. We had a very nice visit at Luray caverns, very relaxing. It is an interesting cave, unlike any we have seen. The formations are striking and many stalagmites have come together with the stalactites. It is a very easy walk through the caverns on a paved walkway that is non slippery. They have an antique vehicle museum with all types of vehicles calls from buggies to Rolls Royce’s. They also have a Pioneer replica village set up that has many buildings from the surrounding area that were taken down and completely restored in this village. When we got back to the RV, there was a nice young couple next to us that we struck up a conversation with and ended up talking to them for about an hour. The husband is a pastor at the local Hispanic church and he is also a computer Tech for the IRS for his regular job. His daughter plays the flute and his wife sings and leads the church choir. They are from Puerto Rico and most of the family have come here to be with them. They came here 21 years to go to live 5 years or so and go to school. He was a police officer in Puerto Rico. When we got back to the KOA for the night, a couple we had met our first day stopped to speak to us and we had a drink and talked for an hour or so. They said they were sorry they didn't get to say goodbye to us this morning not knowing we would be back tonight. We didn't know we were going to be back tonight until we got to the caverns and decided we should stay another night to relax. It's lucky that we called as soon as we decided, because the campground is full tonight. We just enjoyed some homemade fudge from a small shop in the Luray Caverns Village.

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wfdwqfw · 3 years

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On what evidence would a man rely to prove

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