#Teagan Harcroft

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Quote Edit: Julian and Teagan

You may be as different As the the sun and the moon But the same blood runs through both your hearts You need her and she needs you

Inspiration

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Teagan had been so tempted to ignore the call. The smiling face of her brother that filled the screen felt a million miles away from the truth she could no longer run from. She blinked, and blood flashed across his face; the splatter that hadn’t even bothered him.

‘Teagan, you need to come home,’ he said in lieu of a greeting. His voice was taut, desperate. It was unlike anything she’d heard from him before, and that only scared her more.

‘I can’t,’ she said, shaking her head ever so slightly as tears burnt up her throat. ‘You know that.’

‘Please, Tealeaf. These people are dangerous. The family can protect you. I can protect you,’ he said, emotion lacing his words. Desperation an undertone she hadn’t expected.

‘I’m better away from it,’ she reminded him, their father’s words had never made more sense to her.

‘Not now,’ he snapped, his frustration made her wince. He took a breath, though she doubted it had helped to calm him all that much. ‘They know who you are. They won’t stop.’

‘If they can’t find me –’

‘They will, Teagan,’ he cut across her. ‘These people have means.’

‘But so do we.’

She could practically see him chewing his finger nail, an old habit he never fully quit despite what he might have said to the contrary.

‘If I send you information, will you use it?’

‘Jules –’

‘I won’t trace you,’ he vowed through gritted teeth. ‘None of us will. Just… Please, Tealeaf.’

Teagan knew she should trust him, knew that he really did have her best interests at heart. And yet there was that doubt clawing at her, refusing to be ignored.

‘OK,’ she said, not quite sure if it was the truth or her first lie as part of the family proper.

[justmoreocs-writing]

I actually changed this story from a Spiderman fanfiction, but I’m still going to answer this like they were still in that universe.

I 100% think that Wendy and Teagan would get along. The two of them would love teasing Peter, and when they realise there’s something up with him they’d figure it out together. Teagan would be so heartbroken when she realises she’s keeping her own secrets from Wendy, but in all honesty she’d think it was for the best.

On the other hand, I think that the rest of the Harcrofts really wouldn’t have much to do with her. Jules isn’t nice in general, so I could see him not liking the girl – she’s too much for him most of the time – but their parents? I don’t think they’d really think either way of her. They’d still be charming and kind to her, but mostly because she’s a friend of Teagan’s.

As for Peyton, I think that Teagan would see her as an older sister type figure. They’d probably have some issues – Teagan was never great at school, and I think that while she can deal with Peter being smart, she’d always be worried about Peyton just because that’s the kind of person she is.

I think Jules might actually have had a crush on Peyton at one point. I don’t think he’d be that much older than her – if at all – and I think it would be one of the things that almost kept him back from the path he took. That being said, his parents never liked her. There was something almost too good about her. I feel as though she might have asked a couple too many questions at least once about them, and they wouldn’t like that.

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Random Dialogue Prompts: Criminal Gang Story

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OC Halloween Challenge 2023

Day One: Life In Plastic

It’s fantastic! Is your OC more of a Barbie or a Bratz? Maybe they go to Monster High, or they’re an American Girl Doll with an inspiring story? Perhaps you want to make a Funko version of your OC? To put it simply, this day is about dolls as an ode to the best movie of 2023; Barbie.

Julian Harcroft and Teagan Harcroft (Criminal Gang Story)

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Who is the one person that your current muse trusts without question? Why do they trust them so much, and what would it take for that trust to be broken?

The person Teagan trusts without question is her best friend Piotr. He’s been there forever pretty much, and she hopes that he feels the same way. The only real thing that would make her not trust him is if he betrayed her at any point – a change in morals would be a big one for that feeling in her eyes, and that’s part of what causes some tension on her side of the relationship during her story. 

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‘The pranks and funny ones. Who’d watch anything else? OK, so I know Piotr likes all those science ones but…’ Tea shrugged, a smirk lighting her face the whole time though. ‘Though, fandom things are fun. Like, fanmade musicals and things like that are a lot of fun as well.’

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‘Piotr, seriously, no!’ Teagan squeaked, hurrying away from her best friend. It had been easier when they were younger; she was quicker and taller and he hated anything even resembling exercise. But things had changed, and long limbs had given him a distinct advantage.

‘It’s just a pool,’ he sang, dodging around a large potted plant to catch her; his arms wound around her waist. ‘It’ll be fun, Tea.’

Teagan squirmed, but Piotr’s arms were wrapped tightly around her, he could have lifted her if he wanted to, but he half lead, half carried her to the paddling pool, a grin on his face the whole time.

Despite her protests, Teagan was glad that he was there. That even when things felt like they were fracturing around her, he was a solid reminder that things would be all right.

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‘Tea, I wanna start by saying I’m so freaking sorry,’ Piotr said in lieu of a greeting. He dumped his bag on the counter and Teagan was glad that her father wasn’t around to complain that there were customers in the place that might just need her.

‘What’ve you done this time, Nicoli?’ she asked, tilting her head a little to the side. His face was ever so slightly flushed, his hair a little dishevelled and he was slightly out of breath. She guessed that he’d run to get there, but that was very unlike Piotr and she quickly dismissed it. Instead, she blamed the cold for the current state of him.

‘Now, just remember that things have been super busy with the internship and –’

‘Quit stalling,’ she said, rolling her eyes as she pushed his bag off the counter. He caught it quickly, a slight frown furrowing his brow. But the gesture alleviated the tension in shoulders, and she felt herself giving a sigh of relief.

‘I haven’t got you anything for Christmas,’ he admitted, not quite meeting her eye. Instead, he seemed completely focused on the buckle of his bag, on making sure that it was completely straight on the strap.

‘That’s fine,’ she assured him, picking up the piece of scrap paper she’d been doodling on and throwing it gently at his chest. He looked up at her sharply, and she smiled at him. ‘Christmas isn’t just about the presents.’

‘I know,’ he admitted, and she could hear the beginning of a rambling apology behind those two simple words.

‘Nope,’ she said quickly, holding up a hand as if it might just prevent the tirade of words tumbling from his lips. ‘It really isn’t about the gifts, Piotr. I don’t get you things because I want anything, I get you things because I want to. If you haven’t got me anything, it really doesn’t matter. But, I am keeping your present until you get me something.’

Piotr scoffed, and she saw the flash of relief that passed across his face. He lent forward on the counter and placed a quick kiss on her cheek. ‘I’ll see you soon, Tea.’

‘Wait, you’re leaving?!’ she asked as he turned and hurried back towards the door. She was glad that he couldn’t see the heat she knew was rushing up her cheeks.

‘Got things to do,’ he called over his shoulder before he disappeared out the door, followed by the gentle tinkle of the bookshop bell.

Teagan heaved a deep sigh but couldn’t fight back the smile that was pulling at her lips.

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Teagan couldn’t take her eyes off the body, off the figure on the floor and the growing pool of blood around them. She wanted to, wanted desperately to run from the room and never look back. Wanted to wake up from this horrific nightmare because it couldn’t really be happening. It just couldn’t.

‘Teagan,’ came Tom’s voice, his face filled her field of view in an instant. Hands placed firmly on her shoulders, grounding her in the moment even if something in the back of her mind wondered if this wasn’t some horrific nightmare. ‘You need to get out of here.’

‘Jules…’ Her attention shifted to the stairs, to the pathway that would take her to her brother. But he was standing there, a smoking gun still held tightly in his steady hand. She’d never seen his eyes look so cold, his expression so focused. ‘Julian?’

He blinked once, and she thought it might be as though he was waking from a dream himself. But there was nothing like that. The chilling look merely moved from the body on the floor to Uncle Tom.

‘No,’ she said, but the word caught in her throat as Uncle Tom forced her towards the back entrance of the shop.  

‘You need to get out of here,’ Tom said, hands still gripping her shoulders.

‘He’s my brother,’ she told him, hearing the pleading note behind her own voice. It should have shocked her, how calm Uncle Tom was, but her brain couldn’t fully hold onto that. All she could think about was the ease with which Julian had simply pulled the trigger. She couldn’t accept that it was her brother at all, not really. He would never do something like this. Never.

‘Julian, what’s going on?’ their mother’s voice asked, even and far more detached than Teagan was used to hearing. She swore. ‘You killed him?’

‘That doesn’t matter,’ Julian said, a floorboard creaked and Teagan gave a nervous squeak.

‘Where’s your sister?’

Whatever Julian said next, Teagan missed it. Uncle Tom was already ushering her out of the back exit, placing himself as a shield between herself and the horrors that had suddenly made themselves a home in the place she’d felt safest.

As soon as they were out in the mid-afternoon sunlight, he pushed her towards the street, barely pushing the door closed behind them.

‘It’s OK,’ Tom said softly as they reached the alleyway entrance, ‘we’ll sort this.’

‘How?’ she asked in a hollow voice, turning to look at her uncle. There was panic behind his eyes, but something told her it wasn’t for the situation. It was a concern for her that pinched his brow. Julian’s actions hadn’t shocked him in the slightest.

He pulled her in for a tight hug, one that she wanted to pull away from and yet traitorously her heart needed. She found herself hugging him back, holding onto him as if he were an anchor in the sudden upheaval.

‘That doesn’t matter,’ he whispered against her head. ‘But you don’t need to worry about it.’

Teagan nodded, despite knowing that there was no way she could ignore what she’d just seen. No way she could simply not worry about whatever came next.

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Teagan looked at Jules and blinked slowly. She was no longer looking at her brother but a complete stranger. There seemed to be nothing human behind his eyes as he carefully wiped away some blood from his face.

‘Who are you?’ she found herself asking, the disgust obvious.

Julian’s movements didn’t falter. Teagan was half tempted to demand he explain, that he tell her it was all fake, to deny the accusations the man now out of her eye line had hurled his way. But she didn’t dare. Not just because of the blood, because of what she’d seen him do, but it was the blankness behind his eyes that stilled her tongue.

‘You know who I am, Teagan,’ he said coolly, attention slowly raising to her. ‘I’m your brother.’

‘No,’ she snapped, irritation flaring and scaring her for the intensity of it. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath. ‘My brother wouldn’t do something like that.’

‘But I did,’ he said, and Teagan opened her eyes quickly. There was a clarity behind his eyes she’d never seen before, a determination. ‘Tea –’

‘Don’t,’ she whined, hating the sound of the familiar nickname.

‘– this is who we are,’ he continued, ignoring her interruption. ‘Who you are.’

‘I’m not,’ she said, hating the waver of uncertainty behind her voice. ‘I won’t be.’

Jules carefully rested the knife on the table beside him, his eyes never once leaving her face. Part of her wondered if he wouldn’t kill her next, just to prove a point. ‘You always have been, Teagan,’ he said, voice a dangerous whisper as he stalked towards her. ‘You’re a Harcroft, it’s in your blood.’

Tears prickled behind her eyes, but Teagan took a step away from him. Jules stilled. ‘I’m not going to be like you,’ she spat, before turning on her heel and fleeing the small room. She barrelled out into the bookshop, the truth of her family rather than whatever Jules had told her. She refused to believe he was telling her the truth, and yet part of her couldn’t ignore how easily he’d dealt with the man threatening them.

She didn’t stop running until she was in the park, until she could feel her breaths coming out raggedly. She needed Piotr, and yet she couldn’t burden him with this.

With a deep breath she dropped onto one of the benches, desperately trying to figure out what exactly she could do.

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For once, Julian could feel the tension around the dining room table. He’d only just returned from Paris, trying to secure some of the historical books his father had decided would be a perfect addition to the collection. It was all part of the charade, a part that he hated despite understanding the necessity of it. The cover was what kept them safe, what allowed them a certain amount of protection. They were part of the community, and if something happened people would talk. And if there was one thing criminals hated in his experience, it was gossip that made their jobs difficult.

Still, the argument about Teagan finally joining the fold had come back in full force. Before they’d settled, he had been trying to convince his mother that letting her join was a good idea. It was an old argument, a point she refuted almost as adamantly as his father and uncle. But his mother was beginning to crack. The sharks were circling and if Teagan didn’t know what to look out for, they were in danger of her being a victim of circumstance more than anything.

‘Tea should join,’ he said, carefully putting his knife and fork on the table. All attention snapped to him, and he could see the fear behind Teagan’s eyes. When she was younger, the idea of joining the book trips was something she always wanted to do but had been denied, mostly. The fact her reaction had shifted only made him more certain that she knew something. Somehow they hadn’t been as clandestine as they’d hoped about everything.

‘Absolutely not,’ their father said, shooting a small, apologetic smile her way. ‘You’ve got exams coming up, right?’

‘Oh, um, yeah,’ she said, pushing peas around on her plate and resolutely not looking away from them.

Julian’s brow furrowed ever so slightly. ‘Exam season isn’t for another month or two.’

‘Revision,’ Teagan said in a small voice.

‘Maybe the next one,’ their mother suggested, sending an icy look Julian’s way.

He ignored the warning. ‘I really think –’

‘That’s enough, Julian,’ his father said, finally deigning Julian with a stern look. It was the type of look that had other people squirming in their seats, mumbling their apologies because they didn’t mean to go against him like that. But it was a look that Julian knew all too well.

‘Maybe the next one, hey Tea?’ he asked softly.

Teagan, somewhat nervously, looked up at him and nodded. The whole thing was far more timid than he’d been expecting, and he wondered how much of the truth she’d really learnt while he was away. How far their parents had let her in and if that was part of why they weren’t simply brushing the argument under the carpet with reminders of respect and hierarchy like normal.

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Teagan watched as her mother put the notes in the till and wondered if it was really that easy to simply act like they were normal. She didn’t look like a woman who knew about the criminal underbelly of the city, nor did she look like she was phased by the arrival of their latest customer even though his glare said he wasn’t there for books.

The man looked like the kind of criminal seen so often in fiction; the thugs that people crossed the street to avoid. He looked so obviously bad that she thought he couldn’t possibly have been, that was just too stereotypical. But one look at her mother and she noticed something had changed. The easy smile she usually wore was replaced with a slight narrowing of the eyes. There was still a smile gracing her lips, but it didn’t seem genuine.

‘How can I help you?’ she asked, taking the lead before Teagan herself could say a word.

‘I’m here to speak with Mr. Harcroft about a book order I placed. The Dead of the Night.’ The man’s voice was as gruff as his outward appearance, and Teagan didn’t know whether to be disappointed or not.

‘Mr. Harcroft,’ her mother said, leaning slightly against the counter, ‘is out of the country on business.’

‘He owes me.’

Her mother laughed softly, mirthlessly. ‘Then perhaps you had better pay your subscription on time next month, Mr. Jackson.’

The man’s hands balled into tight fists by his sides. Teagan glanced worriedly towards the doorway, which he seemed to be blocking.

The creaking of a step pulled Teagan’s attention instantly towards the staircase. She hadn’t seen it, but her mother had pressed the bell that rang in Uncle Tom’s office. Julian, however, was the one standing on the stairs. He looked far more irritated than she’d expected. His arms hung loosely by his sides, shirtsleeves folded neatly to above his elbows.

‘Can I help you, Robert?’ he asked, voice icy.

The man’s expression hardened, but he nodded once. ‘I’ll try again another day.’ He glared towards Dione, tracked the look down to Teagan as well, before he skulked out of the shop.

‘He’ll be back again tomorrow,’ Teagan’s mum said.

‘No, he won’t,’ Julian assured her, before descending the last of the stairs and heading for the back exit.

Teagan’s heart thundered against her ribs. ‘What was that all about?’

‘He’s just a little irritable, that’s all,’ her mother assured her. ‘What else could it be?’

Teagan bit back her own question, knowing that the argument she’d heard between Julian and Uncle Tom probably wasn’t the kind of thing to broach her mother about while they were in the middle of the shop.

Obviously sensing that there was something more, her mother laughed softly. ‘We’re a bookshop, sweetie.’

‘I’m sorry,’ Teagan mumbled. ‘Imagination getting the best of me.’

Her mother placed a gentle kiss on the top of her head. ‘I know. But I promise, he wasn’t going to do anything we can’t handle.’

Teagan hummed her acceptance of the comment; she was beginning to wonder just what exactly her family wouldn’t be able to handle.

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Teagan rubbed at the injury in her hairline and wondered if this was the kind of thing the rest of her family dealt with on a daily basis: blood, pain, cleaning up wounds. The realisation that her family was more than just the owners of a bookshop had been something of a surprise for her, something that shifted her entire world view so she no longer knew what was what. But Piotr was still there, still a stalwart friend.

But would he be if he knew the truth?

‘You can talk to me. About absolutely anything,’ he told her, carefully tucking her hair behind her ear. He’d managed to find some antiseptic, a cotton swab, and even though he was more squeamish than he cared to admit, he was putting on a brave face to help her.

‘I know that, P. But… this changes things,’ she admitted in a small voice, bracing herself for the pain she knew would come. Falling off her bike was one of the clumsiest things she’d done. It was her own fault, really. She shouldn’t have been thinking about the way Julian’s eyes had seemed so empty as he levelled the gun on the man. She shouldn’t have allowed her thoughts to stray back to the moment Uncle Tom had ushered her away, complaining at Julian for being reckless.

That evening, her parents had finally had to tell her the truth. Had allowed her to look behind the curtain and she wasn’t sure she liked what she was seeing.

‘Are you a secret millionaire?’ Piotr asked, ever so gently dabbing at the graze.

‘No,’ she scoffed.

‘An alien?’

‘Of course not,’ she assured him indignantly.

Piotr put the cotton ball in the bin, and stood back in front of her with a tube of antiseptic cream. His eyes skimmed across her face, roving over her expression as if he might be able to read her mind if he looked hard enough.

‘Does it change who you are, Tea?’

‘Yes,’ she said vehemently. Fear clawed up the back of her throat. She felt so certain that it changed everything she thought was intrinsically right with the world that she didn’t know what to expect of anything anymore. 

Piotr merely raised an eyebrow at her as he squeezed cream onto his fingertips.

‘I… No?’ she said. The truth of the matter was, just because her family did something reprehensible, she wouldn’t. She would never join that business because it simply wasn’t the type of thing she could do. She wasn’t capable of threatening anyone, let alone killing them.

‘Exactly,’ Piotr told her softly. ‘You’re still you, Teagan Harcroft. You’re still my best friend and nothing’s going to change that. OK?’

‘OK,’ she said as he gently massaged the cream against her injury. But part of her knew that the truth would shift something between them. How on earth could it not?

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Teagan had never before been properly afraid of Julian. Sure, there was occasionally a harshness about him that always put people on edge, but he was her big brother. She loved him, and she was pretty sure he loved her too he just wasn’t as outwardly obvious with his emotions as most people she knew. But the argument she’d heard between him and Uncle Tom had rattled her. Their voices had carried through the bookshop and she was glad that there was nobody around. It had only been a few seconds before Tom had realised that they were in the wrong place, and gently closed the door. She’d heard them heading up the stairs, but the anger behind Julian’s voice was unlike anything she’d heard before.

‘Morning, Tea,’ Julian said, startling her into the present; her spoon clattered from her hand and onto the table. ‘You OK?’

‘Um, oh, yeah,’ she said, hastily getting to her feet. His attention turned slowly away from the coffee machine and towards her. Had his eyes always looked that empty? That dark? ‘I was, um, I was just leaving.’ She hastily grabbed her bowl and still half-full cup of tea.

‘It’s OK, Tea. Don’t worry,’ he said, looking slightly amused by her reaction. Did he know that she’d heard the mask shatter? That she was scared to be in the same room as him lest she earn that fury without anybody to help her?

‘I really should get ready,’ she said, putting the bowl and cup in the sink. She could feel him following her movements, the attention prickled down the back of her neck.

‘You sure you’re OK?’

‘There’s a – a test today,’ she said quickly, trying to keep her voice light. ‘I didn’t revise.’

‘Too busy reading?’ he teased gently.

‘Yeah, something like that.’ She shot him a small smile, one she knew didn’t reach her eyes but wondered if he would even notice, before scurrying out of the room.

Once she was in the safety of her bedroom she let out a long breath. Maybe it had all been an act. Maybe Julian had been practicing for a play she didn’t know about. But she knew that wasn’t the case. There was part of her brother that she had no idea about, and part of her wanted to learn the truth, but a far larger part of her was terrified about what she might find if she went digging.

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Julian carefully stubbed the cigarette out on the low brick wall in front of him and glanced over his shoulder. Despite the cold, Teagan was only wearing her school shirt and trousers; her feet were bare, toes touching the very edge of the back door. Not quite out in the cold, but enough that she’d feel the chill soon enough.

‘Are you OK, Teagan?’ he asked, not moving from his place against the wall.

‘Yeah,’ she said, though he could hear the uncertainty behind her voice. ‘Why wouldn’t I be?’

‘I don’t know,’ he admitted, pulling his beanie a little more firmly over his ears.

‘I just… I wanted to come say bye,’ she said, sounding almost nervous. It was only then that he realised she hadn’t once looked him in the eye. Her gaze had drifted to his eyebrows, to the cityscape sprawled behind him. But she’d hadn’t actually made eye contact at any point, like she usually did.

‘Bye,’ he said dubiously.

‘Have a good day. Are you – are you going to grab more books?’

Julian’s brows furrowed, and he could have sworn that panic flashed behind her eyes. ‘There’s a shipment in Italy,’ he said, trying to figure out why she was suddenly so jumpy. Nobody had come to the office over the past couple of days, that much he was certain of. The current target had been given to him by their father after a business meeting in some fancy restaurant. He couldn’t think of anything, business related at the very least, that could have made Teagan so skittish. It was all just part of the day-to-day running of the bookshop. Nothing out of the ordinary.

‘Ciao,’ she said, a small smirk forming on her lips. The gesture seemed hollow though, even to Julian.

‘Ciao,’ he replied, watching as she pulled the sliding door closed and headed back into the kitchen. He needed to figure out what she’d inadvertently heard, because he was almost certain that was the reason behind her change, and if it was something they needed to worry about or something that might actually be good for him. But first, he had a job to do that needed his full attention. Concern for Teagan would have to wait.