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juniperskye · 10 months

Text

Expectations

Summary: Reader has no place to go, so she and her son, James, move in with her aunt Claudia and cousin Dustin. She gets a job at a record store and befriends a girl named, Robin. After a few too many drinks at some dingy bar, Robin introduces reader to none other than Eddie Munson. After a lust fueled evening, the reader finds herself in the same position she was in just 4 years prior…would things be different this time, or would Eddie let her down too? (Kids name is James – I didn’t want it to be filled with y/k/n and James is the name of the vocalist/guitarist from Metallica *this comes up in the fic* and ex’s name is Ryan…just popped in my head, sorry!) The events of season 4 did not happen, Argyle and Chrissy are in the friend group, honestly the upside-down isn't mentioned at all!

(mechanic) Eddie Munson x (single mom) Henderson Reader

Angst/Fluff

Word count: 11,685 (I am so sorry)

Warnings: No use of y/n, anxiety, mentions of past abusive relationship, mentions of having cut off toxic familial relationships, mention of pregnancy and birth, allusion to sex (NO smut), PTSD, language, drinking, mention of menstruation, panic attack, hospitals, let me know if I missed any!

Not edited - please be kind.

I do not consent to having my work translated or reposted to any other site. That being said I do not own the characters portrayed in this story.

*Phone rings*

“Who the hell is calling at this hour? *Picks up the phone* Hello?”

“Aunt Claudia, I’m sorry for calling so late, I-I just…I didn’t know who else to call.” You rushed out.

“Honey what’s wrong? Is it James?” Claudia questioned; voice laced with concern.

“James is okay, I um, I…we need a place to stay.”

“I’ll get the guest room set up for you, do you need me to come and get you? Where’s Ryan?” Just her saying his name had you flinching.

“I um, I’m leaving Ryan. Aunt Claudia h-he…” Your voice trailed off. “I have my car though.”

“It’s okay honey, just get here safe.”

You appreciated the fact that Claudia didn’t push you for more information. You had a feeling she knew what you were going through…no one in your family ever explicitly said what happened to your uncle, just that he “wasn’t around” anymore. You had always been close to your aunt Claudia despite not being blood, but after her divorce from your uncle and your parents cutting off all contact with you when you got pregnant, Claudia and Dustin were all you had left.

You made quick work of packing up your car and getting James situated in his car seat. You got in, started the car and began backing out of the driveway. You gasped as you caught a glimpse of your reflection in the mirror. You had a split lip, a gnarly bruise forming on your right cheekbone, dried blood coming from a cut in your hairline (when did that even happen?). You took a shaky breath, hissing from the pain you felt in your ribs. Looking back up, you see Ryan emerging from the house, running toward the car.

“You stupid bitch! You think you can just leave me? Nobody is gonna take care of you and that boy like I do.” He screamed.

You hit the gas and took off down the road. James was crying in the back seat, and you tried to comfort him as you drove. You hadn’t expected Ryan to be up. After he “disciplined” you, as he called it, he got wasted and passed out on the couch, you had grabbed a bag for you and James, got them packed up and called your Aunt Claudia. He had put his hands on you before; grabbing your arm or wrist a bit too tight, roughly turning your chin towards him if you looked away during an argument, but never like tonight. Tonight, he had hit you, kicked you, shoved you into the edge of the counter. But the worst part is, he had done it in front of James and when you didn’t take it silently like he’d demanded, he’d threatened to “discipline” James next. You’d taken the remainder of his beating silently as hot tears burned their way down your cheeks; you’d rather be dead than have Ryan put his hands on James.

The drive to Hawkins was only about two hours. Most of it was spent in silence, James had fallen asleep, and you didn’t want to risk playing any music and disturbing him. You felt relief as the “Welcome to Hawkins” sign came into view, only a few more minutes and you’d be safe.

“Dustin, go outside and help her with the bags. Don’t make any comments about how she might look.”

“Mom! I shouldn’t even be awake right now…what even happened?” Dustin grumbled.

“Don’t ask questions and just go!” Claudia scolded.

“Alright! This is such bullshit…she’s an adult, she can carry this stuff herself – HOLY SHIT YOUR FACE!” Dustin shouted in surprise.

“Shhhh! James is sleeping!” You waved your hands at Dustin frantically.

“Dustin what did I just say?!” Claudia said as she slapped the back of Dustin’s head.

“Ow! Sorry.” Dustin said as he rubbed his head.

“Oh dear, let’s get you inside and clean you up.” Claudia said as she inspected your face further.

You grabbed James from the backseat as Dustin and Claudia grabbed your bags from the trunk, they’d placed them all in what was now your room. You gently laid James down on the bed and went back to the kitchen. Claudia was waiting there with a first aid kit. She patched you up without a word. You could tell she knew, and if she didn’t, she didn’t ask. She told you that you and James were welcome to stay with them as long as you needed and that she would take you to get some groceries and other necessities tomorrow. You told her that you were going to get a job and that way you wouldn’t have to be there for long and she waved you off, assuring you that you were more than welcome there.

*One Week Later*

You had gotten a job at a record store, thankfully the owner had just lost an employee as they went off to college. Their loss was your gain. They had flexible hours, and you had a love for music, it had really all worked out. It had been a while since you worked, Ryan having kept you isolated from everything the last year of your life. The mundane tasks this job had to offer put your mind at ease.

“Welcome in!” You shouted as the bell above the door alerted you to a customer entering.

“Hi there! Are you new around here?” A lanky girl with short dirty blonde hair questioned.

“Oh um, yeah I guess, I’ve visited Hawkins a bunch, but I only just recently moved here.” You explained.

“Cool! I’m Robin. I’m looking for the new Metallica record.”

You told her your name and turned to grab one of the new records from the stack on the back counter.

“You listen to Metallica?” You asked her, giving her a quick once over, you were sure she had never willingly listened to metal music.

“Oh! No, not really. I am picking it up for a friend of mine, he has to work and so he asked if I could pick it up since I have the day off.” She told you.

“That’s nice of you! Your total is $8.98.” You rang up Robin’s purchase.

You were silently hoping that this interaction would continue or that maybe she’d ask you to hang out sometime. You desperately needed adult friends seeing as the only person your age you’d been around as of late what Ryan. Robin had seemed pretty cool, she obviously had cool friends since she was buying the Metallica record for one of them, and who knows, maybe Robin would invite you to her friends and you would be able to rejoin society.

“So, I know we only just met, but your new to town and I would love to take you out…not like on a date or anything! I just mean like as friends, if you’d want. If not, that’s okay too, I’d understand since we’re strangers and all, but I just thought…”

“Yes! I would love to hangout.” You cut Robin off – God this girl could talk.

“You would? Awesome! Sorry I ramble, pretty much all the time. A friend of mine, he plays in a band at this dingy bar called The Hideout…a group of us were going to see them play tonight, you in?” Robin asked.

“That sounds awesome, should I meet you guys there?” You answered without thinking.

“Um, what time are you off? Maybe Steve and I could come pick you up on our way over there.” Robin glanced at her watch.

“I get off around seven thirty.” You replied.

“Okay, perfect! Steve and I will meet you out front then! See you later.” Robin skipped off.

“See you then!” You called after her.

“Shit.” You muttered to yourself.

You’d have to call and beg Aunt Claudia to watch James tonight. There was absolutely no way you were going to miss out on a night with people your age, drinks and live music.

Apparently, you didn’t need to beg because Claudia had been more than willing to look after James for the evening, claiming she needed time with her “grandson”. You supposed that Claudia was the closest thing you’d have to a mom and James would have to a grandma given the current situation. You were so grateful for how accepting she had been of you and James.

Checking the clock, you realize that it is almost time for you to head out. You decided to run to the restroom to refresh your makeup prior to meeting Robin and Steve outside.

Once you were happy with your look, you walked through the shop, bid the closer goodnight and headed out the front door. Glancing around you saw Robin with her head stuck out of the passenger side of a burgundy BMW.

“Hey girl!” Robin shouted as the BMW rolled to a stop.

“Hey Robin, thanks again for inviting me.” You said as you climbed into the back seat of the sedan.

“Absolutely! This is Steve, by the way.” Robin gestured towards the brunette in the driver’s seat.

He turned and offered you a small wave and a half smile. He was good-looking, there was no denying that, but he was the traditional type of good-looking. Like, everyone knows he’s hot, including him. This guy was definitely the prom king, captain of every sports team, voted best hair, blah blah blah…at his high school. And again, while you can’t deny that he was handsome…but he was most definitely not your type.

“Hey, thanks for driving tonight! It has been a while since I have hung out with people my age.” You mumbled out.

“Yeah, it’s no problem. Robin said you’re new to town?” Steve questioned.

“Oh, um, yeah, I guess. I have family here, so I used to visit a lot in the summers. But I only just moved out here last week.” You told him.

“You look really familiar…Like I’ve seen you before. Who’s your family?” Steve asked.

“Oh! I’m not sure you’d know them; my cousin is quite a bit younger than us.” You started…

“Don’t be so quick to shut it down, Steve here plays mom to like 50 of Hawkins adolescents.” Robin laughed.

“His name is Dustin, Dustin Henderson.”

“WHAT? Henderson is your cousin! No wonder you look so familiar, I bet I’ve seen your photo hundreds of times. The one of your high school graduation hanging in the living room. And there’s one of you and a little boy, is that your brother or something?” Steve surprised you.

“No, that’s um, that’s my son. Sorry I didn’t say anything earlier Robin, it’s just that I really wanted to spend some time with people my age. People are usually quick to write me off once they find out I am a single mom.” You said, your gaze falling to your lap.

“Hey, first of all, it’s badass that you’re a single mom. Second of all, that doesn’t change the fact that you seem super cool, and we want to hang out with you!” Robin reassured you as Steve nodded in agreement.

“Thanks guys.” You smiled shyly.

You tried your hardest not to tear up at Robin’s words. It seemed silly to be so emotional about something so simple…but Ryan had really made you believe that people would want nothing to do with some young single mom who had a child with no dad. Ryan claimed that him taking you and James in, a little over a year ago, was the best thing that would ever happen to you. For a while you thought he was right, that there was nothing better for you out there, but then the abuse started, and you knew you needed to get out of there.

“So how old is he?” Steve asked.

“James is three. He already acts like a teenager though I swear!” You laughed.

The ride had continued on like this, Robin, Steve and you asking one another questions to get to know each other.

*At The Hideout*

Robin had been generous, calling this place dingy. This bar was filled with smoke and old men, clearly the establishment’s regular cliental. There was a small group of people who looked to be about ten years your senior, they looked like teachers or something and another group was huddled over by the makeshift stage to the far right in the back of the bar.

A small brunette girl smiled at Steve and Robin and waved us over. As we made our way to them Robin pointed out the different people and gave me their names, Jonathan, Nancy, Argyle, and Chrissy. She had explained that the friend that you were all there to see was Eddie.

You had all made small talk while you waited for the band to come out. You were thankful that Robin and Steve hadn’t brought James up to the rest of the group. They were giving you the chance to tell everyone when you were ready and that meant a lot to you.

After about 15 minutes of chit-chat, the band made their way out. There were cheers throughout the bar, mainly from the group you were with. That is when you saw him…Eddie, as Robin had kindly pointed out. Now he was your type. Untraditionally hot, he’s the type of guy with tattoos and piercings, long hair and dresses in all black, he doesn’t outwardly admit that he’s drop dead gorgeous, hell he might even deny it…but you know he is.

You had to inwardly scold yourself for staring the way you were and thankfully, after a quick glance around the group, nobody seemed to notice other than Steve. He smirked and gently bumped his shoulder with yours, leaning over to tell you something.

“He’s single, and you’re totally his type.” Steve whispered in your ear.

“No way. Single mom to a three your old definitely doesn’t seem like his type.”

“Hey, give it a chance. He might surprise you.” Steve encouraged you.

You blushed and looked back to the stage, it hadn’t been long, but you could tell that these people were going to be good friends of yours. Already so kind, accepting, encouraging. It had been a complete 180 from the last few years of your life. Losing your parents all because they couldn’t handle having a “whore” daughter, friends walking away because “every time we hang out you have your kid with you”, and then there was Ryan, the man who broke you down to nothing and gaslit you into believing you deserved nothing more. In just an hour you’d already felt the warmth and love you had been missing out on and desperately seeking.

Lost in thought you felt a nudge to your rib, pain seared through you as you fought to hold in a cry. A concerned look flashed across Robin’s face as she noticed your discomfort.

“Sorry, I was trying to get your attention and you looked totally spaced. Are you okay?” Robin questioned.

“No, Sorry I’m good. I just uh, I have an injury from before I moved here.” You explained.

“Oh shit, glad you’re good though! I was trying to get your attention because Eddie is totally checking you out!” She squealed.

“What, stop. No, he’s not.” You blushed profusely.

Sure enough, he was indeed checking you out. Normally you would have shied away, unable to hold his gaze, but he was so captivating, you never wanted to look away from him.

The band played a total of seven songs, and you were pleasantly surprised at how talented they were. They had been covers of songs by different metal bands like Metallica, Dio and Iron Maiden. Metal was one of your favorite genres, so you had really enjoyed yourself, the handsome front man definitely made that easy.

With the band’s set being done, the guys made their way over to your group. Robin pointed out the rest of the guys, Gareth, Craig and Liam. They were nice, but not enough to draw your attention away from Eddie.

The two of you played this game of cat and mouse throughout the first round of drinks, shared glances, smirks, a wink here and there from Eddie. Steve was definitely catching on, he cleared his throat and suggested that he and Robin fetch another round for the table, thus vacating the seat next to you. Eddie was quick to move into Steve’s seat, he threw his arm up and around you on the booth and he leaned in close to your ear.

“Steve tells me your new to town, if you want, maybe I could show you around some time.” Eddie’s breath was hot on your neck as he spoke lowly into your ear.

Robin and Steve returned with more drinks and the night went on. Eddie continued whispering into your ear with his arm thrown over your shoulders. He’d ask you questions about your favorite genre of music, if you’d like the band’s set, but he’d also throw in flirty comments like that he thought you were pretty, and your skirt looked nice or that your hair smelled good. He was doing a good job of keeping a blush on your cheeks. You continued on like this for the third, fourth, and fifth round of drinks before you started feeling extra bold.

“Hey, about that tour, I’d think I might take you up on that sometime.” You tried to keep your face straight as Robin and Steve not-so-subtly gestured towards you and giggled.

“I know a great place we could start…you wanna get out of here?” Eddie offered.

Your eyes shot to his, surprised by how forward he was being…you weren’t sure if a one-time thing was what you were wanting, but you also were nowhere near ready for anything serious. You slowly nodded at him; you didn’t want to live with the regret that would surely follow declining his offer.

Eddie got up, grabbing your hand and dragging you behind him. Looking over, you see Steve and Robin nodding at you in approval. Eddie said something to his bandmates before dragging you out of the bar and over to his beat-up van. The two of you drove around in Eddie’s van for a bit while he pointed out a few spots around town. You made some casual small talk until the van came to a stop near a small lake.

“You know, I don’t really do this. Hooking up with girls I’ve just met I mean.” Eddie said nervously.

“I don’t either, honestly, I shocked myself when I agreed to leave the bar with you. Not because you’re not attractive, you totally are, just because I don’t do this sort of thing.” You cringed at how ridiculous you sounded.

Eddie looked over to you and broke out into a grin, before you both started laughing. The two of you sat and talked for a bit, you mentioned that your past hadn’t been the best and that you came to Hawkins to be close to your family. Eddie had told you that he also had a tough past and that for a long time he had yearned to get out of Hawkins, but now he didn’t mind it, he had his uncle and friends and now he had…his voice had trailed off. He knew it wouldn’t be appropriate to say he had you, you had only just met, but he was really enjoying your company and he felt a spark there. Judging by the way you were looking at him, you were feeling it too.

He slowly started to lean in, meeting your lips in a gentle kiss.

“Just take a right here.” You gestured.

“Okay. I hope you know I had a lot of fun tonight. Do you think maybe we could go get something to eat sometime?” Eddie asked.

“It’s that house there on the left. And yeah, I’d really like that.” You blushed as you looked down to your lap.

“Wait, this house here? This is Henderson’s house.” Eddie gave you a questioning look.

“Oh, you know Dustin too? He’s my cousin.” You explained.

“Fuck. Henderson is gonna be pissed.” Eddie muttered.

“What are you talking about? Dustin’s just a kid, his opinion of who I spend time with is not his business.” You said, letting out a frustrated breath.

“No! I didn’t mean it like that, I just, I don’t know. He’s a buddy of mine you know, and now I’ve slept with his cousin. I just don’t want it to be weird.” Eddie tried to clear things up.

“What’s weird is one, your friends with a fifteen-year-old and two, you’re implying that you are going to tell him we slept together.” You scoffed.

“Okay hold on, he joined my D&D club at school and I kind of took him under my wing. And I most definitely will not be telling him about tonight.” Eddie looked at you, hoping not to have ruined the entire evening.

“Okay, that’s actually pretty sweet that you looked out for him, he’s a total dork and definitely needed someone to keep an eye out for him. Also, that’s cool that you have a D&D club, I remember when I first introduced Dustin to it, he was so into it!”

“Wait, you are the one who got Dustin into D&D? That’s freaking awesome!” Eddie exclaimed.

“Yeah, we can talk about it more over dinner! I should probably head inside though.” You sighed.

“Okay, I’ll call you!” Eddie said as he leaned in and kissed you once more.

*Two Months Later*

Eddie and you had never gotten that dinner. You were disappointed to say the least, Robin and Steve had made it seem like Eddie was this great guy who was totally interested in you, and for one night, you had believed it. Part of you was convinced it was because you were related to Dustin, another part of you wondered if he had somehow found out about James. But the worst part of you, one that you so desperately wanted to push out, told you that you just weren’t good enough.

Despite the supposed lack of connection between Eddie and yourself, you’d grown very close with Robin and Steve. You had shared with them the horrors you had endured that ultimately led to you moving to Hawkins. They expressed their care for you and held you as you cried through it. They truly had become some of the best friends you were sure you’d ever have. The three of you got together frequently for movie nights, swimming at Steve’s house, dinner at your aunt’s, you were finally starting to feel like an actual person again. Unfortunately, things couldn’t stay this good forever right…

You had been avoiding your friends for the last week or so. You hadn’t felt amazing and in hopes of saving them from whatever illness you were clearly coming down with, you told them to keep their distance.

Robin, however, she didn’t care that you might be sick.

“Hey! Dustin let me in on his way out!” Robin called as she made her way down the hall.

“Hey, what are you doing here? I told you I was sick!” You tried to keep your distance.

“Girl, I am not even worried about it. What I am worried about though is how badly I need to pee!” You could hear Robin’s giggles as she made her way to the bathroom down the hall.

“Ughhhh Shit! Hey, do you have a tampon?” Robin yelled through the door.

“Yeah, they’re under the sink…” Your voice trailed off; you were trying to do the mental math as to when you’d had your last period. Your thoughts were buzzing through your mind, missed period, nausea, fatigue, tender breasts…

“Oh, fuck!” You said as Robin walked back into your room.

“What, what’s wrong?” Robin Asked.

“Mommy. Mommy!” James came running into the room and slammed into your legs.

“Hey baby, how was lunch with nana?” You asked as you scooped him up into your arms.

“It was fun! We had ice cream!” He told you, as if the sticky chocolate residue caked on his cheeks wasn’t a dead giveaway.

Robin smiled at your interaction with your son. Over the last two months she and Steve had spent quite a bit of time around him. She looked at you, and then at your son. She thought about your odd comment and all at once, she put the pieces together. You saw the lightbulb appear above her head.

“Robin don’t!”

“You’re pregnant!”

“We need to get to the pharmacy.” You said, while grabbing your keys.

You, Robin and James made your way to the car, you got James all strapped into his car seat and began driving over to the pharmacy. Robin told you to run and grab the test while she got a drink for you and to meet her in the bathroom.

You rushed through the pharmacy, gathering everything you needed before checking out and making a beeline to the bathroom. While you took the test, Robin sat with James, as you exited the stall you saw them playing patty cake and you couldn’t help but smile.

“How much longer?” Robin asked impatiently.

“Um, one minute and thirty seconds. Shouldn’t I be the one freaking out?” You asked.

“I know sorry! I’m friends with a lot of guys okay, this doesn’t happen often.” Robin chewed at her nails.

“It’s time…” You glanced over to the test.

Two lines. Positive. Pregnant. You were fucked, what would Claudia think? Oh shit…Eddie was going to flip.

As you drove home with James and Robin, you talked about breaking the news to Claudia. You knew that you’d have to tell her now. She knew you too well and you owed her complete honesty seeing as she took you in. Robin suggested that you go in and talk to her while she took James to your room to play with his toys and with a deep breath you agreed.

“Aunt Claudia?” You called out.

“In the Kitchen!” She returned.

You made your way into the kitchen as Robin led James back to the room as you’d discussed. You looked at your aunt and felt the tears stinging in your eyes. You weren’t sure what you’d do if she kicked you out. She and Dustin truly were the only people you had, other than Steve and Robin now.

“Sweetie what’s wrong?” Claudia questioned.

“I messed up, real bad aunt Claudia.” You cried.

“Oh, honey it can’t be that bad, just talk to me, tell me what happened.” She said as she pulled you into a hug.

“I-I. I’m p-pregnant.” You sobbed.

You could feel Claudia sigh, definitely displeased with the situation, but what shocked you was when she hugged you tighter, pressed a kiss to your temple and reassured you everything was going to be okay. She asked you a few questions like if you knew the guy, how you’d found out, if you’d called a doctor yet. She helped you schedule an appointment and made a few other calls. She did give you a lecture on the importance of safe sex and she threw in something about you going on the pill once this baby arrived. But ultimately she had your back and you let out a sigh of relief, grateful to have someone who actually cared about you as your “guardian” for all intents and purposes.

*Later that night*

“So, don’t hate me, but I called Steve.” You could see Robin cringe as she told you, fully expecting your wrath.

“Robin! What the hell? I don’t want everyone to know about this. I am so screwed; Claudia is going to kick us out and I’m going to have to figure out how to tell Eddie that I have a son and that I am pregnant now and ugh!!! I was just starting to feel like things were good and settled.” You ran your hands over your face, sighing.

“Holy shit you’re pregnant?” Steve huffed in disbelief.

“How did you get in here?!” You shouted.

“The door was open, but hey Robin said you were having a hard time, so I brought all the good stuff, cheese pizza, chocolate, potato chips and coke!” Steve rubbed the back of his neck bashfully.

“Well then, I guess you can stay. Thanks Steve.” You smiled at him.

The three of you sat in the living room watching movies while you pigged out on all the food Steve had brought. James had long been asleep laying next to you on the blankets you’d laid out on the floor. Robin had just dozed off, her quiet snores only just disturbing the quiet.

“You know, if Eddie doesn’t want to help you out with the baby, you have us. We will always be here for you. And I don’t know, I care about you and James is a really good kid and I, well, ugh. What I am trying to say is, I would step up and be there for you if he didn’t, that is, if you’d want that.”

“Steve you are the sweetest, I really appreciate you and if it comes to it, I might just take you up on that offer.” You couldn’t help but smile at his little outburst.

Somewhere within the next thirty minutes, you and Steve had both succumbed to your exhaustion. What inevitably woke you was an impatient knock on your door. You got up quietly and walked over, opening the door to expose Eddie.

“Oh shit, hey. I uh-I was looking for Dustin.” Eddie said looking anywhere but your eyes.

“Oh, uh hey Eddie, I don’t think he’s here. I think he stayed over at Mike’s.” You tried to push the door closed as much as you could to hide the sleeping figures in the living room.

“Look, about that night, I’m sorry. I know I should’ve called but I just got in my head about you being Henderson’s cousin and all and how much I liked you. I don’t know it just all happened so fast. I’ve wanted to talk to you for a while now, and I kinda thought I would be able to today since I had to come get Dustin…but then I saw Harrington’s car in the driveway.” He sounded disappointed.

“Yeah, um Robin and Steve came over and brought dinner and a movie for us to watch, we ended up falling asleep. We didn’t have plans they just sort of showed up, I hadn’t been feeling well so they were trying to help.” You were quick to explain.

“Oh okay, well can I come in?” He asked.

“I’m not sure it’s really the best time…” You looked over your shoulder briefly.

“Mommy, mommy!!” James came walking over to you, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.

You bent over to pick James up and propped him on your hip. You looked over to Eddie and you could almost see the gears turning in his head as he processed James calling you mommy, the fact that you looked nearly identical and that you were here now standing in front of him with a child in your arms.

“You uh, you have a son?” His eyes scanned James’ face.

“Eddie, does it really matter? Now really isn’t a good time.” You tried to brush it off.

“You lied to me?” He looked for any sort of expression in your eyes.

“Look Eddie, I didn’t lie, it just wasn’t something I was going to blurt out that first night. Maybe if you had called like you said you were going to, I would’ve told you at dinner, but that never happened. So, if you would excuse me.” You tried to shut the door, but Eddie blocked it with his boot clad foot.

“Hey, wait, can we please just talk. I know I messed this all up, but I want to make up for it. I’ve been stupid throughout this whole thing, and I just want to start over.” Eddie pleaded.

“Eddie we are way past starting over.” You huffed.

“Please.” Eddie was relentless.

“Fine. Let’s go to the patio.” You urged Eddie to follow you.

Eddie took note of Steve and Robin each asleep on their respective couches as well as the blanket bed laid out on the floor, presumably where you had slept last night. The thought of you and Steve having grown so close left a sick feeling in his stomach.

You closed the sliding glass door quietly and set James down, prompting him to go play in the yard. As he waddled off, you sat in one of the plastic lawn chairs, gesturing for Eddie to do the same. As you watched Eddie sit, you tried to get your thoughts organized. Maybe you should just tell him now, just rip off the band-aid and get over it, at least this was Robin and Steve would be here to support you if Eddie had just walked out.

“Look Eddie, before you say anything there’s something I should tell you.” You started.

“Go ahead…” Eddie waited.

“A lot happened that night, you and I-we talked about so much. I told you about all that stuff that happened with Ryan, why I moved here. I hadn’t felt that comfortable with another person in a long time. And then you just didn’t call and look I can handle it if all you wanted was a hookup, but you had me believing that you cared and that you really wanted to go out again. Anyway, if you want nothing to do with me after this that’s fine, I have no expectations for you, but I-I…shit. I’m…” Your head snapped over in the direction of James, he had fallen and scraped his knee and was now crying as he called to you.

You got up and rushed over to him, pulling him into your arms so you could inspect the injury. All the commotion had woken up Steve and had him rushing outside to you. As he passed the threshold he scanned the backyard, taking note of Eddie awkwardly standing clearly unsure of how to help and then over to you sitting on the ground in your pajamas with your son sitting across your lap as you rocked him comfortingly.

“What happened, are you okay bud?” Steve said, kneeling by your side.

“I fell, my knee is bleeding!” James cried.

“Shhh, baby it’s okay, we will go inside and get you all cleaned up okay! I can get you a band-aid with the trucks on it, the ones you picked out with nana.” You cooed at him.

“You know what might help James, we could get a popsicle! The cold might feel good on your knee there.” Steve suggested.

“Okay! Can I eat the popsicle mommy?” James looked at you with bright eyes.

“Of course, bub.” You pressed a kiss to his hairline.

“Here, I got him. Let’s go get you all cleaned up!” Steve said as he picked James up.

“Thank you.” You said quietly as you glanced over to Eddie.

Steve and James made their way inside and you could hear Robin questioning what happened as the door slid shut. You made your way back over to the chair you’d previously occupied and slumped into it. Dragging your hands down your face.

“Sorry about that.” You apologized.

“Don’t be. I’m sorry, that should be me! I should be the one that is here and knows you and James like that. God I really fucked this whole thing up and I feel like such an idiot. Would you please consider giving me another chance?” Eddie looked at you with sad eyes.

“Even after all that, you still want to try this with me? Even though I have a kid…Eddie I need someone who is going to stick around. I can’t just have someone in mine and James’ lives if there not going to be there for good.” You explained.

“I want to be here. I talked with Dustin, and I told him that we had met and that I had feelings for you, and he was thrilled! I didn’t share any of the details, but I knew that part of me would never be able to do this if I hadn’t talked to him first. And I know he’s just a kid, but he’s my friend and I couldn’t just go behind his back. After I explained everything to him he smacked me in the head and told me I needed to pull my head out of my ass and make it up to you. Which is what I intend to do, so please, would you give me another chance?” Eddie looked at you with those big brown eyes…you had to tell him.

“Before I answer that, there’s something you need to know.” You hesitated.

“What is it? Don’t tell me your dating Harrington!” Eddie sounded slightly accusatory.

“What no! I’m not dating Steve; he and I are friends! But Eddie, I am pregnant.” You couldn’t bear to look at him.

“What? You-you’re pregnant. And that would mean, it’s mine?” He looked to you for confirmation.

“Yes.” You nodded slowly. Lifting your gaze to him, you were finding it hard to gauge what he was thinking.

Something flashed in his eyes, it looked like fear, then maybe hope, but they landed on what looked to be rage and you could feel yourself beginning to panic. Eddie stood up out of his seat and turned away from you, placing one hand on his hip and the other over his mouth.

“Fuck!” He shouted as he kicked over the plastic lawn chair, turning back towards you.

That’s when he saw it, your breathing had sped up significantly, a sweat had broken out across your skin, you had lost all color and when he reached towards you, you flinched away from him. He was mentally cursing himself for scaring you. He knelt down beside you and spoke softly:

“Hey, it’s okay, I’m sorry I didn’t mean to startle you. Can you take some deep breaths for me?” He was sure to keep an appropriate distance as to not spook you even further.

You nodded at him quickly, trying to control your breathing.

“Good, you’re doing such a good job sweetheart. Can I touch you, is that okay?” His voice was warm and soothing.

Once again you nodded, you hand slowly reaching for his. He grabbed your hand, bringing it to his heart and nodding at you. With his other hand he rubbed small circles onto your back, modeling the deep breaths he wanted you to replicate. And as you returned to equilibrium, he sang more praises into your ear.

“That’s it, good girl. You did so good sweetheart. It’s okay.” He gently pulled you into his arms and you hugged him back fiercely.

“I’m really sorry I scared you. I want you to know that I would never hurt you, I know that trust is a hard thing to give, but I will work for it everyday if you’ll let me.” Eddie spoke into your hair.

Pulling back slightly to catch his gaze you wondered aloud:

“You still want this? Eddie, I’m a mess – if anything, this just proves that. I have a three-year-old and a baby on the way, are you sure?” You looked into his eyes questioningly.

“Look I am beyond terrified here, and I am pretty sure my uncle is gonna smack me senseless when I tell him, but I have known from the moment I laid eyes on you, that you were different, and I needed to be with you.” He smiled, pulling back so he could see more of you.

You smiled back at him, and he gently wiped the tears from your cheeks. You leaned into his touch, and he leaned in for a sweet kiss. Maybe things would be okay after all.

*Three Months Later*

Things were not okay. Wayne had a conniption when Eddie told him you were pregnant, even more so when he found out that Eddie had practically ditched you for nearly two months after the conception. You and Eddie were constantly bickering, trying to figure out how to do this right.

You had gotten into a pretty big argument when he had suggested you get married. It had gone back and forth, him saying it was the right thing to do and you coming back with the fact that you two really didn’t know one another.

You had ultimately worked things out, but the current topic up for debate was where you were going to live. Claudia wanted you to stay with her, her reason being that she could help you and it’s good to be close to family. Wayne had suggested that you get your own place, informing you that there were some nice, affordable apartments that he passes on his way to work each day, he even offered to go with you to look at them. You and Eddie had talked about it and could quite come to a decision. It was too soon for the two of you to move in together, but it would be really nice to have a mutual space to raise your child together, especially if you were going to build a relationship with one another.

You had been lost in thought thinking about what you were going to do, where you were going to live and how things would affect James when a knock on the door pulled you from your thoughts.

“Honey, Eddie is here!” Claudia called you.

“Okay, be right there.” You shouted back to here, pulling a sweater over your head you made your way to the door.

“Drive safe you guys, and I can’t wait to hear about the scan when you guys get back for dinner!” Claudia hugged you.

“Thanks aunt Claudia, we will see you tonight.” With that you made your exit.

Eddie was taking you to your appointment, you had held off on finding out the sex of the baby because nobody could agree. Robin and Steve thought you should wait and let it be a surprise, Claudia and Wayne thought you should find out to be able to plan more effectively, Dustin and all the teens thought you should have a party and tell everyone together. So, to try and appease everyone you were going to have a dinner party at Claudia’s house and announce the sex to everyone.

As you climbed into Eddie’s van, you could practically feel him buzzing beside you. His van was another topic that would need to be discussed – definitely not safe for car seats or children.

“What are you so excited about? You’re also super early Eds, the appointment isn’t until one.” Pointing to the clock on the dash that currently posted 11:30 am.

“I know, but I think I found us a place!” He flashed you his signature Eddie grin.

“Really? Where?” You were skeptical.

“Forrest hills, and before you say no, just come and see it with me first!” Eddie knew you too well at this point.

“Okay, I will check it out with you…is that where we’re going now?”

“Yes! I scheduled an appointment, I figured we could go see the place, grab a quick bite, then go to the doctor…is that okay?” Eddie looked nervous.

“Eddie, that’s great. Thank you.” You grabbed his hand to hold the remainder of the ride.

As you pulled up to the trailer park and around to the necessary lot, you were at a loss for words, it didn’t even look like a trailer home, the place was beautiful. Eddie brought the van to a halt and looked over to you, he was pretty pleased with your reaction so far. You would’ve never guessed what was to come next. Eddie reached over, grabbed your left hand and slipped one of his rings onto your ring finger.

“Wha-What are you doing?” You tried to pull your hand away from Eddie.

“Don’t worry, this isn’t another half-assed ploy to get you to marry me, I just read that couples tend to get a better deal on homes. I figured us pretending couldn’t hurt. We should’ve brought James though, really seal the deal.” Eddie explained.

“First of all, I can’t believe you did so much research on all this. Second of all, we will not exploit my son Eddie!” You fell into a fit of laughter at how ridiculous this all was.

The trailer had everything you wanted and more, it had three bedrooms, which meant James and his sibling could each have their own while Eddie and you shared. It felt crazy to think about the two of you sharing a room and living together. The kitchen was spacious, which excited you, you loved to cook! The living room had just enough space that you could comfortably host your friends. You were feeling really optimistic.

“Oh my gosh, Eddie, this place is so beautiful, and it would be perfect for us, but can we really afford it?” You looked at Eddie only to see him wearing a shit eating grin.

“Perfect for us?” He nudged your arm gently.

“Stop it, yes for us! Now back to my question.” You rolled your eyes.

“Well, I think we can afford the monthly rent, we just might need some help for the deposit.” He explained.

“I have some savings, but maybe we could sit down with Claudia and Wayne and talk about it. I think it is a really good option for us.”

“Alright guys, how are you doing? Any pain, discomfort, changes since I last saw you?” The doctor asked.

“We’re good, no pain or discomfort, everything is pretty much the same.” You replied.

“What about the pain you were feeling the other day?” Eddie chimed in.

“That was just an ache, I brought it up at the last appointment, it’s just my body making more room for the baby.” You informed him.

“Ah yes, that is very normal. Back pain and achiness in your abdominal area are common as your body makes accommodations for the baby. Speaking of which, are we ready to find out the sex?” The doctor looked between you and Eddie.

“Yes, we are ready.” You smiled up at Eddie.

“Alright, well let’s start with the heartbeat. It’s strong and steady, just as we would expect. And as for development, we appear to be right on track.” She went through the different points of the appointment.

Eddie and you shared a look with misty eyes, just happy to have such a healthy baby.

“And here we are, okay, alright you are having a – “

*At the Dinner Party*

You couldn’t stop smiling. Everyone had dressed up for the occasion, well, at your request anyway. You had wanted this to be a formal dinner party, good food, nice plates, candles, and a more formal dress code.

Eddie looked over at you from his spot on the couch, he had insisted that you were glowing, coming up on your sixth month of pregnancy. You personally felt that you looked huge, everything was swollen, your hands, feet, stomach, hell even your face looked swollen. You shook your head from the thought and began looking around at all your loved ones.

Dustin, Will, Mike and Lucas were sprawled out over the love seat, talking about Eddie’s latest campaign while Max and El were sitting on the floor below them laughing. Nancy and Johnathan were sitting outside with Argyle. Steve and Chrissy were looking pretty cozy together sitting across from Robin and Vicky on the chairs in the living room. Claudia was cooking dinner in the kitchen and Wayne and Eddie were sitting on the main couch with James. Your heart had never felt as full as it did in this moment.

“Alright everyone, dinner is ready!” Claudia called out.

The dining room table certainly wasn’t big enough for all the people who had gathered with you guys tonight, so Wayne had been kind enough to bring in a folding table and some chairs to expand the seating. As you all found your seats, Eddie placed his hand on the small of your back, his way of letting you know that he’s there with you. Claudia had placed the last dish on the table and gestured for everyone to be seated. Eddie and you had remained standing at the head of the table, ready to announce the gender. Eddie got everyone’s attention by clinking his knife against his glass, gazes quickly shifted towards you.

“I’d like to start by thanking everyone for being here today, knowing that you all care about us and this little bean means the absolute world to us. It hasn’t been long since I have been here in Hawkins, but in that time, my family has grown, new friends have been made and I just, I feel so incredibly lucky that this little girl is going to have so many aunts and uncles to spoil her rotten.” You looked up into Eddie’s eyes.

The group collectively cheered hearing it was a girl, Eddie walked over to James, picking him up and bringing him back over to you. You pressed a big smooch onto James’ left cheek while Eddie pressed one onto his right cheek. The two had bonded so much in the last three months and it was the sweetest thing you’d ever seen.

“Hey bubba, you’re gonna have a little sister soon.” You told him.

“A sister! When is she coming?” James said moving one of his little hands to your stomach.

“Well bud she should be here in a little more than three months.” Eddie said.

“Is she my birthday present?” James asked and the group erupted with laughter.

“No baby, you will get a whole birthday party with presents all for yourself before she gets here, okay?” You brushed his hair back.

“Okay!” He smiled and leaned his head onto Eddie’s chest.

“Let’s eat!”

Throughout dinner, multiple topics were brought up, the name of your little girl, when the baby shower would be held and where, who the godparents would be as well as where you would be living. Eddie and you shared a look at that question, making a silent note to talk to Claudia and Wayne about that after dinner. Everyone helped clean up afterwards and goodbyes were shared as people began making their exit.

“Ms. Henderson, Wayne, could we talk to you guys about something?” Eddie got their attention.

“Oh, of course.” Claudia said, ushering you all to the living room.

“So, before the doctor’s office today, we had another appointment to go to.” Eddie started.

“Did you guys go to the courthouse?” Wayne accused.

“Oh God, no, we will definitely inform all of you prior to any sort of nuptials.” You clarified.

“We um, we went and saw a place today. It is in Forrest Hills, and I know that you both mentioned wanting something better for us, but it’s brand new, has three rooms, and it would be close to both of you, so we wouldn’t have to worry about not seeing either of you often. And the best part, we’re pretty sure between both of our jobs, we can afford it. We would just need some help until she can get back to work.” Eddie gave them all the information you had put together prior to this conversation.

“It sounds like you guys have really thought this out.” Wayne muttered.

Claudia wore an expression that you couldn’t quite read. It almost looked like she was fighting an internal battle, unsure of how to proceed with whatever she was inevitably about to share.

“Sweetie, I have something I need to tell you. Your dad called me a while back.” Claudia looked incredibly guilty.

“What? I mean, what did he want?” You reached for Eddie to ground yourself.

“Honey, he misses you. He wanted to know how you were and I told him you were doing good, that you were thriving here. I um, I may have mentioned that you were expecting again, and well, he started sending letters.” You couldn’t believe the words coming out of her mouth.

“Letters? Aunt Claudia, why didn’t you tell me? What did the letters say?” you were in disbelief.

“Well, the letters were him explaining himself, apologizing, wishing you well, but that’s not all, I guess he had an account set aside for you, from when you were a child, that he has continued to put money into, and he sent over all the information for you to access it. He has also set up a college fund for James and he’s gone ahead and set one up for the baby as well.” Claudia reached for your hand.

You were in shock; you hadn’t heard from your dad in about 3 years and 5 months. It had been that long since he and your mother had kicked you out after you’d informed them of your pregnancy. You glanced up at Claudia and you could tell she had only kept it from you to protect you. She cared like that.

“Sweetie, the reason I am telling you all of this is that he has enough money set aside for you that you guys should be able to move into this place with no worry, and plenty of money left over to continue saving.” She explained to you.

Eddie and you couldn’t believe it, you guys would be able to move in together and you’d still be close to everyone you care about.

*One Month Later*

You were officially six and a half months along in your pregnancy and boy were you feeling it. You were exhausted all the time, and your back and feet were pretty much always killing you.

On a lighter note, you had officially begun moving into your place with Eddie. Wayne and Claudia had helped immensely, Wayne managed to get Eddie a new more family friendly van and Claudia had gotten you a bunch of furniture for the house. People who were close to you had donated old furniture to you guys too. Nancy’s mom gave you guys her couches since she had gotten new ones, Joyce gave you a bed for James – Will had grown out of it. Hopper had given you pretty much everything you could need for a kitchen since he and El moved in with Joyce and they didn’t need two of everything.

Things had been moving far faster than you would’ve liked, you felt like you couldn’t catch your breath, but just a few more months and things would settle. Eddie had stepped into his new role as a significant other and parental figure beautifully. He truly had been so amazing with James, part of you thinks that he really grew close with James after you’d informed him that his namesake is derived from none other than the lead vocalist to Metallica. But seriously, Eddie had grown fond of James, and he knew just how to be there for him. It made the image of your future much clearer, you, him and the kids in your perfect home.

You guys had talked about names for the baby and had finally settled on something, which was exciting. Eddie had suggested announcing the name at the baby shower that Robin was throwing for you next month, but you insisted on waiting until she was here to tell anyone, explaining that when you see her, your minds might change as yours had with James. He admitted to not having even thought about that and eventually agreed to wait.

*Three Weeks Later*

Eddie had been instructed to keep you out of your house until 2:30 pm. Robin had told you she wanted to hold the baby shower at your house for two reasons, one being that you wouldn’t have to drag all the gifts home and two being that it could double as a housewarming.

Given that instruction, Eddie made sure to take you and James out for a late breakfast, then to a few shops. He wanted to take you to the bookstore so you could pick up the novel you’ve had on hold. He also wanted to stop by the only baby store in town to pick up the car seat and the crib. His last thing on the list was to take James to the toy store, wanting to make sure he has a special part of this day too.

After making all those stops you turned to make your way to the car before Eddie grabbed your hand.

“Hold on just a second, there’s one more place I would like to go.” He stated.

“Okay.” You looked at him questioningly.

Eddie picked James up, putting him on his shoulders and you linked your arm through his. He led you down the street a little further and then turned into this little park. The flowers were all in bloom and the sight was truly breathtaking. Different shades of green, white, pink and yellow strewn through a small garden area within the park. Beyond the trees lining the entrance way there was a white garden bench. Eddie motioned for you to sit as he took James off his shoulders, returning him to the ground. James climbed up on the bench to sit next to you and Eddie took his place on the other side of him.

“So, I know things for us didn’t exactly start off great, but I am really happy with where we are now. I just, things with you have proven to be everything I have ever wanted. I have always questioned whether or not I would be a good dad, since my old man was a deadbeat, but you have convinced me that I am not him and that I am capable of this. Now, sweetheart I have messed this up twice already and I won’t do it again. Will you marry me?” Eddie asked as he pulled the small velvet box from his pocket.

Tears were already falling as you nodded year head yes and broke out into the biggest smile. James was clapping, he leaned over and hugged you and then looked at Eddie.

“Mommy, is Eddie daddy now?” James asked.

Eddie had just slid the ring onto your finger. Your eyes shot up to his in surprise and you gave him a look, silently asking if it was okay for James to call him that. Eddie gave a subtle nod and so you replied to James.

“Yeah baby, Eddie is daddy now.” You kissed the top of his head.

Eddie checked his watch and cursed under his breath.

“We gotta get back babe, Robin is gonna be pissed.” Eddie told you.

“Language Eds!” You hissed.

You guys rushed back to the car, each of you holding one of James’ hands getting him settled in and driving back home. You could hardly park there were so many cars outside. You could hear the chatter as you walked up the few steps to your door.

Eddie pushed open the door and a chorus of surprise rang out. The decorations were a combination of engagement party and baby shower things, ring and baby bottle balloons. A simple “congratulations” banner, pink cups and gold forks. It was truly wonderful. You guys played silly baby shower games, ate some food and opened a bunch of gifts, after things had died down a bit, the boys carried in the crib and Wayne helped Eddie install the car seat.

*One Month Later*

Eight months. You were eight months along and it was killing you. You wanted this pregnancy to be over, it wasn’t that you’d had particularly bad symptoms or anything like that. This pregnancy had really just been killing your feet and back and despite what the doctor tells you, you were convinced that your little girl was going to be 15 pounds.

You were heading to work; this was your last week before you took leave. Your boss had been pretty cool, allowing you to sit on a stool behind the counter during your shift, he made the mid shift employees do the majority of the restocking and he’d fought the owner to allow you a lengthy maternity leave despite you only being employed there eight months.

Eddie had left for work before you, he had been taking on extra shifts at the garage trying to save up a little extra and get the last few cars he’s been working on done before he takes a short leave from work. After he left, Claudia arrived to pick up James, she had been watching him from time to time, and when she couldn’t Steve, Robin, Chrissy, Dustin, Max and El all took turns watching him. Thankfully he will be four soon and come September you’ll be able to get him enrolled in preschool. Your mind was all over the place this morning.

You were going through one of the new releases boxes when you felt it. The unmistakable pain of a contraction. You checked the clock so you could keep an eye on the timing of them. About an hour later your boss noticed how you pressed your hand into your side and the audible hissing sounds you were making.

“Hey, that is the third time in the last fifteen minutes that you’ve made that sound. Are you good?” He questioned.

“Um, yeah. I’m good, it’s probably just false labor. That can happen when you get towards the end of your pregnancy.” You told him, ending with a gasp as your water breaks.

“Oh, shit dude. Who can I call for you? 911?” He looks more panicked than you feel.

“No, can you call the garage, Eddie is working. If he doesn’t answer, call my aunt Claudia.” You instruct him.

The guys at the garage informed you that Eddie had stepped away for lunch, and Claudia hadn’t answered the home phone, which had you assuming she had taken James out somewhere. You thought about who you could call, and you realized that your friends would either be working or be in school. There was one person who you knew would be home and available to take you.

“Could you call Wayne Munson?”

About six minutes later, Wayne’s truck sped through the parking lot of the record store and came to a screeching halt. He came into the store frantically and searched for you.

“Over here Mr. Munson.” You called him over.

“Oh kid, how many times do I have to tell you to call me Wayne. Now, how you doin’? Let’s get you to the hospital okay?” Wayne said as he helped you up and out to the car.

Wayne got you to the hospital pretty quickly, he continuously reassured you that everything would be okay, telling you that he would call everyone as soon as you got settled. He even checked you in once you’d gotten up to the desk. A nurse came over and took you to a room, giving you a gown to change into and getting all your paperwork filled out and wires hooked up. While this was all happening, Wayne had taken leave and went to the payphones to call Eddie and Claudia first and foremost.

Eddie had never run so fast in his life; he was rushing through the halls trying to get to you in time. He had been moving so quickly that he missed the crowd of his friends and family sitting in the waiting room.

“Jesus son, slow down! She’s in room 206.” Wayne called out to Eddie.

Eddie could only nod, he couldn’t believe that this was happening, tonight you would bring your daughter into the world, and he couldn’t wait. It was James who snapped Eddie out of his haze. James had wandered over and wrapped his tiny arms around Eddie’s legs. Eddie bent over and picked James up, he could tell that James was tired by the way he tucked his face into Eddie’s neck.

“Where’s mommy?” James mumbled.

“Oh, buddy I’m gonna go see mommy okay. She’s gonna bring us your little sister tonight.” Eddie patted James’ back softly.

“But it’s not my birthday yet!” James whined.

“I know bub, but your sister wanted to be here for your party, so she decided to come a little early.” Eddie tried to reason with the three-year-old.

“Okay daddy.” James seemed content and Eddie passed him back to Claudia.

He looked around at everyone, smiled and then ran to your hospital room. He arrived just as another contraction ripped through you. As the door flew open, you looked over and saw Eddie standing there, a mess in his work coveralls.

“Oh, thank God you are here!” You seethed through gritted teeth.

“That’s right, I am here sweetheart, I wouldn’t miss this for the world.” He made his way to you.

Before he could make any sort of contact with you and nurse stopped him, prompting him to go clean himself up, while handing him a set of scrubs and a bar of soap. She shooed him away and towards the bathroom. He made quick work of changing and used the bar or soap to scrub up to his elbows. He used the hair tie on his wrist to pull his hair up into a bun and made his way out to you. It was perfect timing as the hospital staff had gotten you all set to be moved to the delivery room.

“Are you ready Eds? This is it.” You looked at him, doubt flashing in your eyes.

“I am so ready sweetheart, let’s go meet our daughter.” He spoke as he grabbed your hand.

Thirty minutes later, your baby girl was placed into your arms. Eddie and you had both cried. Eddie cut the umbilical cord, the nurses took her to clean her off and take her feet and handprints, as well as her measurements. You were cleaned up as well and they took you back to your room.

“So how do you feel about the name we picked…still like it?” You asked looking over to Eddie who was sitting holding your newborn against his bare chest.

“I think it is perfect.” He replied.

You pressed the call button for the nurse and when she arrived you let her know you were ready to fill out the birth certificate. She brought in the necessary paperwork and allowed you guys to fill it out. Before the ink was even dry, Eddie was placing your daughter back in your arms, throwing the scrub top back on and heading to the waiting room, he let them know that they would all be allowed in soon, but that James needed to meet his little sister first. James walked in at Eddie’s side and when he saw you he hurried over to your bedside wanting to be lifted up. Eddie lifted him and placed him in the middle of the bed, just to the side of your legs. James’ eyes glistened with what could only be described as love. He looked up to you and smiled.

“Mommy, she’s so pretty. Thank you for my sister.” James whispered to you.

This had you and Eddie both smiling. You reached over and caressed James’ cheek. Looking at Eddie, you nodded signaling him to invite everyone in. Eddie went back to the waiting room to tell everyone to come into your room. They all filed in, some even dragging in chairs from the hallway. There were oohs and ahhs from everyone in the room, they were fighting over who got to hold her first. You called Wayne over.

“Wayne, would you like to meet your granddaughter?” You looked to him for an answer.

He sniffed and wiped his eyes before making his way to you. Gently taking her from your arms and stepping back towards Claudia.

“Sorry aunt Claudia, you can hold her next. Wayne drove me here and has been waiting out there the longest, so I thought it was only fair.” You tried to justify your decision.

“Sweetie it’s okay! But yes I do definitely get her next!” She said.

She was passed around from person to person, the room was comfortably quiet as everyone took in her beauty. Once she had finally made her way back to Eddie and you, you looked around. Once again, you were so incredibly thankful for all of the wonderful people you had in your life. You felt so lucky.

“Alright, is everybody ready?” Eddie posed the question to the room, and after a collective nod, he continued. “I would like to formally introduce you to Stevie Elena Munson.”

If Wayne hadn’t been crying before, he definitely was now. He walked over to Eddie and clapped his hand down on his shoulder and reached to give your hand a squeeze.

“That’s a nice thing you’ve done there. Ed, your momma would be so happy that you’re using her name.” Wayne wiped his face once again.

“We wanted to honor her, plus it was easy given that Elena is such a beautiful name.” You informed him.

“So where did you get Stevie then?” Steve asked, a shit-eating grin plastered on his face.

“Oh no, not from you dude. Sorry. We got it from Stevie Nicks. We wanted to keep the music theme going.” Eddie broke the news to Steve.

Steve’s face fell, but only for a moment.

“Steve don’t worry, we have good news for you too. Could you and Robin come over here please?” You motioned to your bedside. Once they made there way over you continued; “We would like the two of you to be the godparents for Stevie.”

The pair of them were elated, thanking you for your trust and mentioning their plans to spoil her. Robin included a few panicked questions along the way. Conversation continues amongst everyone and the warmth within you only continues to grow, knowing that you are surrounded by people who you love and that give you love in return. They had all certainly raised your expectations for the love you feel you deserve.

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gloomysoup · 6 months

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when the world stops turning (my heart stops beating) - pt. 4

hello yes i know it's been a while. this part has been a pain in my ass for months. i needed to get it just right and rewrote this thing so many times it's not even funny. and now, after editing it five times over the last two days, i'm just posting it. what's done is done. if i came back to it again i would have rewritten and i don't wanna do that. so here it is at least. there is also going to be at least one more part. i'm shooting for two more hopefully but i make no promises. the next part could very well be the last. i hope you enjoy :)

ao3 pt 1 pt 2 pt 3 pt 4

cw: hospitals, dissociation, mentions of overdose, addiction, sobriety, and relapse

Eddie couldn’t move. His body was fighting against every instinct he should have in the moment. Someone could throw something directly at his head, and he wouldn’t react. The buzzing voices around him faded in and out as he stared at a chip in the wood of the table in front of him.

One of Steve’s doctors had finally come to speak with them. They couldn’t say anything for certain at the moment, but he was alive, and that’s all Eddie heard before his head went fuzzy again. His mind was still reeling, caught on the fact that he should have seen this. He should have noticed. He should have been able to help Steve. He failed the only person who’d ever loved him like that, the only one who ever would love Eddie like that. Because Steve was it for him. He’d always known that. No one else would even come close. No one could ever compare to Steve Harrington.

Not only had he failed Steve, but he’d failed Robin too. He was supposed to keep Steve safe. Robin couldn’t lose her best friend; Eddie knew that. He’d promised to take care of him. He couldn’t even do that one thing right. God, what was he going to tell Robin?

They didn’t want Steve to have visitors yet. Eddie managed to gather that much at least. It was still touch and go. He wasn’t awake. They weren’t sure if he ever would be. They’re flushing his system, but it’s really just a game of wait and see. They might be able to see him in the morning, but the doctor wasn’t making any promises. It all depended on how the rest of the night went. If he made it through. They couldn’t say anything else for certain. There had been a lot of drugs in his system. He’d been deprived of oxygen for a long time. There was no way to be sure what would happen next. That was all up to Steve now.

Eddie sat there in that uncomfortable waiting room chair for hours. He didn’t move. He didn’t eat or drink. He didn’t even get up to go to the bathroom. He just sat there, staring at the same chip in the wooden table. His friends all tried their best to get through to him. They tried to coax him into eating or drinking something, but their efforts were unsuccessful. No one could get through to him, and he preferred it that way. He deserved to sit in his own silence, letting his brain run reckless and spiral to the depths of his fears and anxiety. He had failed.

He noticed that the more time seemed to pass, the antsier his bandmates got. Though, he couldn’t be exactly sure that’s what was happening. Time escaped him.

Time was such a funny thing, wasn’t it? It can feel like it speeds up, slows down, or stops entirely, but it never changes. It’s always the same. It’s all in the imagination. Eddie was never that good at telling time as a child. Even as he grew older, he found it difficult to keep track. As he sat in that hospital, his entire life on the brink of falling apart at the seams, time was nowhere to be found. Nothing made sense. He just sat silently, staring. People moved around him, time passed, but Eddie didn’t move. He was trapped. His body was at the hospital, but his mind kept bouncing around. From his mom, to Wayne, to Steve on the bathroom floor. An endless cycle. Eddie was hanging on by a single thread: the only thread of life left in Steve.

Eddie would never survive if Steve didn’t make it out alive.

Eddie was aware that a long time had passed only by the ache in his joints and the dryness of his mouth. He also sort of needed to pee, but that wasn’t important. At least, not important enough to warrant getting up. He couldn't move. He needed to stay right in that spot. Nothing was more important than that.

“Come on, Ed,” Wayne’s gruff voice said from somewhere behind him. Eddie stayed rooted to the spot. “It’s time to go, kid. We’ve gotta get to the reception.”

Eddie stood silently, staring straight ahead at the marble headstone. His mother’s name was engraved with curly letters. Eddie hadn’t known that was possible. There were piles of flowers that he knew wouldn’t be there next week. He didn’t speak. His feet were glued to the soft ground beneath him. His suit was itchy and his worn dress shoes were a size too small. The tie around his neck was suffocating. He couldn’t breathe.

He broke down right there, tears rolling down his cheeks and gasping sobs bursting from his chest. He sank down to the ground at the foot of his mother’s fresh grave, clawing at the stupid red tie that his mother had bought him two years prior and the collar of his white dress shirt. Wayne sighed softly and sat down beside him, gently pulling his hands away and shushing Eddie as he loosened the tie. He let him collapse against his chest, tie almost completely off and the first two buttons of his shirt undone. Wayne held him through each wracking sob and stuttering breath, murmuring comfort until he’d gotten it all out.

“I couldn’t do it, Uncle Wayne,” Eddie whispered hoarsely. “Why couldn’t I do it?”

“Do what, Ed?”

“Save her.”

Why couldn't he do it?

“Eddie, seriously, you need to eat something,” Jeff said, holding out a bag of chips from the vending machine. Eddie stared blankly at the bag, seeing but not really. He heard the words coming from Jeff’s mouth, but his body refused to respond. He couldn’t quite fully process what he was saying. It slipped out of his head before he got the chance, replaced with his mother’s voice, or Steve promising he was fine. He was fine. There was nothing wrong. It was just weed. Nothing more. He was fine.

He lied.

What else had Steve lied about? What else was he keeping from Eddie? Every time Steve came home late, claiming some generic excuse about work or traffic or whatever else it may have been, how often had those been lies? What had he been doing instead? Getting high? Shooting up in a parking garage somewhere? Was he ever with someone else? Someone who wasn’t Eddie?

Steve would never cheat. Eddie had to remind himself of that over and over again. Repeat it on a loop in his head. Anything to get it to stay there.

He would not cheat. He would not cheat. He would not cheat.

But he would lie.

Eddie has never been insecure about their relationship before. He loved Steve more than anything. He always knew Steve felt the same. Steve loved him. No questions asked. Eddie knew. He didn't need to be told that Steve loved him. It was just obvious. Now, though, Eddie was second guessing everything. Why would he lie? If Steve could lie so easily about something like this, what else had he lied about? Had their whole relationship been a lie? Has Steve ever told him the truth about anything?

His brain swirled with more thoughts, more insecurities. He stared at the chip in the table as he spiraled. His fingers and toes were tingling. This couldn’t be real. It had to be a dream, a nightmare. Any minute now, he was going to wake up. Everything would be fine. It was just one big nightmare. He would be laying in bed next to Steve, who would be snoring softly. He would roll over and tuck his arms around his boyfriend’s waist. He could hold him tight, bury his nose in the back of Steve’s neck and breathe in the scent of his shampoo. He could fall back into a peaceful sleep with Steve in his arms, safe and sound.

Except he wasn't waking up. No matter how much he tried, no matter how hard he willed his eyes to open, it didn't happen. He was trapped. There was no escape. Steve wasn't there. He may never be there again. This was all Eddie’s fault. If only he’d noticed. If only he cared enough. None of it was enough. Eddie wasn’t enough. He never should have expected to be enough for Steve. Steve deserved better.

Eddie never should have asked him to come on tour with them.

If Eddie hadn’t asked him to go, this never would have happened. Steve would be at home, in their apartment with Robin, probably sleeping in her room every night. He hated sleeping alone. He’d be sitting on the couch, wrapped up in one of Eddie’s hoodies and the threadbare blue blanket they took from the trailer when they moved, watching movies with Robin and a bowl of popcorn. He wouldn’t be dying in a hospital in New York. He’d be happy and safe. Eddie would miss him like hell, but at least he would be safe.

The sun was shining, blindingly bright, through the tall windows on the far wall of the waiting room when the doctor finally came back. Eddie’s knee had taken to bouncing anxiously a while ago, maybe an hour, maybe more. He can’t be sure. His brain had mostly come back online, but he still felt a little foggy. Untethered. His world was unbalanced. His ears were still ringing even as the doctor started talking. He barely heard a single word. Snippets of information filtered through the fog. Stable. Made it through the night. Up to Steve now. ICU. Visitors. The next thing he knows, Jeff is leading him through the halls with the doctor. It’s just the three of them. Other doctors and nurses bustled around them.

They finally crossed the double doors into the ICU. Eddie’s heart pounded as the doctor led them over to one of the sliding doors. She opened it, and Eddie couldn't move. He could hear the machines inside, see the edge of the hospital bed. If he turned his head a little, he knew he would see Steve. The doctor walked in and picked up the chart at the foot of the bed. She flipped it open and clicked her pen, writing things down and glancing at monitors.

“Eddie, why don't we go inside?” Jeff suggested softly, his hand on Eddie’s arm. “Steve needs you right now.”

Eddie's feet moved of their own accord, taking slow steps into the room. Jeff followed behind him, closing the door once they were both in the room. He carefully led Eddie over to the chair, giving him a light push on the shoulder to sit him down. As soon as he was close enough, Eddie grabbed Steve’s hand. An instinct he would probably always have. It didn't matter what was going on in his brain. If Steve’s hand was there, Eddie was holding it.

“Is he okay?” the doctor asked gently, nodding to Eddie.

Jeff sighed. “I hope so. This is all really hard on him.”

“How long have they been together?”

Jeff looked up, a little startled. It may have been New York, and queer relationships were a little more accepted than they were just a few years ago, but Steve and Eddie had always been careful. Cautious. They all had. But she was quick to respond before Jeff could even think to redirect.

“It’s okay, really. I know what love looks like. I would look at my partner the same way if something like this ever happened to her.”

“Oh.” Jeff glanced at Eddie, who had his eyes glued to Steve’s hand in his. “Um… it’s been almost eight years now. They’ve been through a lot together.”

She closed the chart and put it back at the end of the bed. She nodded a few times, watching the machines that beeped rhythmically. “I’m going to hold on to hope,” she said softly. “For them. For everyone like us. I can’t say anything for certain; this is all up to Steve. We’re doing everything we can. But I’m holding on to hope.”

“I guess that’s all any of us can do now, isn’t it?”

“I think so.” She cleared her throat and took a step back from the bed, turning to Jeff. “I have other patients to round on, but I’ll be back to check up on everything in a couple of hours. If you guys need anything, just let one of the nurses know.”

“Thank you.”

Silence fell through the room as the doctor left. Jeff took the chair in the corner, letting Eddie have whatever time he needed. He was mostly there for Eddie’s sake; someone had to make sure he would be okay until Wayne got there. Truthfully, they were all out of their depths here. No one really understood what was happening in Eddie’s brain. Not even close to the way Wayne would.

They sat there in total silence for a long time. It's unclear to Eddie just how long, but long enough that Jeff had gotten up four times. Once to get food, once for the bathroom, and twice to hit vending machines and coffee. Not that Eddie accepted anything Jeff offered him. His body still felt wildly disconnected from his brain. His limbs were heavy. He also knows it's been long enough that nurses have come in to check on Steve eight times, and his doctor has been back once. It seems the only thing Eddie’s mind can keep track of is how many times someone has entered or exited Steve’s room in the ICU.

Jeff gets up for a fifth time. Another bathroom break, from the few words Eddie managed to retain. The door slid shut behind him, and Eddie was alone again. He squeezed Steve’s hand three times, desperate for any sign that he's still there. That he's fighting for Eddie. Nothing happens. The machines beep. His chest rises and falls rhythmically with the calculated breaths of the ventilator. Steve’s eyes shift beneath his eyelids, but they don't open. They won't open. The door slid open again, and Eddie assumed Jeff was back, though it seemed like he wasn't gone very long. And then he hears it.

“Oh, God.”

Eddie’s head shot up at the sound of Robin’s shaky voice behind him. She looked wrecked. Her face was blotchy, her eyes puffy and red. There were tear tracks down her cheeks. Wayne was standing beside her, looking somber. He watched her take a rattled breath, crossing the room slowly. Her eyes don't leave Steve. Wayne followed a few moments later, coming to stand behind Eddie and put a hand on his shoulder. Eddie wanted to break. As if he hadn't been slowly breaking this whole time.

“They- they said it was an overdose?” Robin asked softly, her voice cracking at the end. Eddie merely nodded, still trying to find his voice. “What- what happened, Eddie? Was it- was he drugged? How- how did this- did he relapse?”

“Relapse?” Eddie croaked, his voice hoarse from disuse. That didn't make any sense. For Steve to relapse, he would have to be…. “He- he was clean?”

Robin frowned, and her gaze finally found Eddie. “What do you mean he was clean? He's been clean since ‘85, Eddie. I- I helped him, after Starcourt.”

All the air left Eddie’s lungs in an instant. This was all his fault. Steve was- he was clean. Sober. And Eddie ruined that. He gave Steve weed. He brought him on tour. He took him to parties full of temptation. He killed Steve.

“This is all my fault,” he whispered.

“Eddie, you have to tell me what's going on,” Robin begged. “When did he relapse? Why didn't he call me? He promised he would talk to me if he wanted to get high again.”

“I- Oh, God. I didn't know. He- he didn't tell me.” Eddie couldn't breathe. His heart squeezed in his chest, and his lungs pushed the air from his body until there was nothing left. No matter how much he tried, he couldn't get it back. He was already hyperventilating. “This is all my fault. Oh my god, it's all my fault.” He was distantly aware of the tears rolling down his cheeks again.

Wayne stepped between Eddie and Robin, crouching down to look up into his nephew's face. His hands were solid against Eddie’s skin, just like they always were. “Ed, you need to talk to me. Take a breath, kid. I'm right here, but you have to tell me what's going on.”

Eddie’s breath stuttered halfway through his chest. “I didn't know, Wayne.”

“What didn't you know, Eddie?”

“I didn't- I didn't know he was sober. I- I thought I- I was just trying to help. I- I gave him weed. I did this.”

Robin’s expression hardened. “You did this to him?”

“I'm so sorry,” Eddie choked out between sobs. “I didn't- I didn't know. I was just trying to help. And- and then he- I knew he wasn't telling me something, but- but he promised it was just weed.”

“Get out.” Robin’s voice was firm, but he could hear the trembling fear behind it.

“What? I-”

“Get out. Get out, right now. You did this, Eddie. He was doing so good until he met you! And now he's dying! So get the hell out, before I make you!"

It was at this moment that the door opened for Jeff’s return. He paused just inside the doorway. Wayne stood up, facing Robin.

“Now, Robin, I think-”

“I don't care!” Robin’s hands were shaking. “This is his fault! I want him out, right now! Or I swear to God, Wayne, I'm going to kill him.”

Wayne glanced back at Jeff, who was the perfect picture of confusion. “Jeff, take Eddie into the hall.”

“What-”

“Don't ask questions right now,” Wayne said sternly with a shake of his head. “Just take him to the hall. I'll be out in a moment.”

As soon as the door shut behind them, and Jeff had led Eddie a little ways from the room, he finally snapped. His knees gave out from underneath him, and Jeff was the only thing holding him up as he sobbed.

This was all his fault. He killed Steve.

First his mom, now the love of his life. It was all his fault.

-----

taglist: @mugloversonly @djohawke @acowardinmordor @hallucinatedjosten @geekyfifi @slowandsteddie @estrellami-1 @cinnamon-mushroomabomination @canmargesimpson @captainoliimar @ilikeititspretty

#gloomysoup #gloomysoup writes #gloomysoup ao3 #stranger things #steddie #steve harrington #eddie munson #steve x eddie #steddie fic #stranger things fic #steddie angst #steve stranger things #eddie stranger things #steve harrington angst #rockstar!eddie munson #tw: drug abuse #tw: overdose

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kuichihimei · 1 year

Text

“Valentine's Day

We decided we would do the whole damn thing

But I played to an empty gym in Iowa State

I guess I owe you that too...”

0:41───•─────── 04:46

↻ ◁ II ▷ ↺

Looking back, freshman year was one hell of a ride, considering the frequent monster attacks and killer robots that terrorize Norrisville High.

Sophomore year is no different.

Killer robots still attack the school like, every other week, compared to every other day, and while yes, Randy DID get rid of the Sorcerer for good, there's still the Sorceress running about wreaking havoc around Norrisville.

The Sorcereress, better known for her human disguise as Amanda Levay, still manages to blend in with the crowd, despite almost every student in Norrisville High knowing who she truly is and what she's done.

We don't know much about her just yet, but based on the monsters Randy had to fight these past few weeks, she primarily targets female victims.

There's also been a spike in the amount of stanked kids during the weeks leading to February 14, and when Feb 14 rolled around, multiple people were getting stanked left and right, which lasted all morning long.

The teachers had to cancel our morning classes and made us evacuate the school so the Ninja could fight the monsters properly and we wouldn't get hurt.

Then, during the afternoon, when it all quieted down, Randy was nowhere to be found.

I tried asking Howard, and he said something along the lines of how the Ninja found the Sorcereress' lair, it was underneath the school in the old abandoned gym, and that he might not be able to make it in time for Valentine's Day since he had to destroy the Sorcereress for good while she was still close by, and that he'll make it up to me next year, along with a bunch of apologies that were conveniently recorded inside a tape recorder so Howard didn't have to recite it all.

After receiving the news, I thanked Howard and walked myself to Mr. Bannister's class, hoping that I could bury my disappointment in schoolwork.

It didn't help that the seatwork he made us do was write an essay about someone/something we love and why we love them so much.

I spent the rest of the afternoon watching couples in our school being all lovey-dovey with each other. Heck, you could even say I got jealous of Mrs. Driscoll, atleast she had her husband's skeleton to accompany her on Valentine's Day.

By the time the last bell rang and school was over I was all alone... I couldn't even have a Galentine's with Heidi or Debbie! Heidi had a date and Debbie was busy hosting a couple's event for Valentine's Day for the NHGTTWDPC online edition.

It's safe to say I was quite disappointed... And I felt really pathetic too, since I had a boyfriend, but was celebrating Feb 14 all alone...

I felt like I was on the verge of getting stanked myself, maybe then I could spend time with Randy... Sighing, I sat down on the very same I spot that I sat on during New Year's Eve.

Of all the days the Ninja could've had a fully-booked schedule, it just had to be on Valentines Day... Not to mention this was also supposed to be our very FIRST Valentine's Day together as a couple...

Don't get me wrong, I find it a HUGE honor that I am dating the Ninja, and an even bigger honor that he trusts me enough to reveal his secret identity to me. I just feel a little dejected whenever he misses out on a major event that we should be experiencing together during the course of our budding relationship.

The time was 4:53 in the afternoon, everyone (atleast those who had a date), already left the school about half an hour ago. If Randy didn't show up within the next 15 minutes, I was going home.

5 Minutes Pass... No signs of Randy...

‘I'm sure he'll show up soon...’

10 Minutes Pass... Still no signs of Randy.

‘Maybe I should wait a little longer, he's probably wrapping up the fight right now.’

25 MINUTES PASS! AND THERE IS NOT A SINGLE SIGN OF RANDALL HONKING CUNNINGHAM OR THE NINJA ANYWHERE!!!

THE SUN IS ABOUT TO FRIGGIN' SET AND HE'S NOWHERE TO BE FOUND! THAT'S IT I AM GOING HOME! Standing up, I marched towards the nearest bus stop.

Fortunately for me, there was already a bus nearby so I immediately got a ride home.

When I got to my house, I locked myself in my room, bawled my eyes out and went to bed, even though it was only 6:03 in the afternoon. I just wanted Valentine's Day to end at this point, I'm just done with everything today.

Meanwhile somewhere else in Norrisville:

“What do you mean you're all out⁈” An exasperated Randy yells.

“Sorry kid, but I can't help you. All of my flowers have been sold out this morning, it's Valentine's Day after all...”

“It's fine sir, thanks anyways...” The younger boy turns, walking away, feeling defeated.

All of the sudden a young girl who looks about six approaches him.

“Did you find anything?”

“Nothing... Chocolates, flowers, not even a honkin' stuffed animal, it's all sold out...”

“Well, we can still steal some Tulips from the park if you're that desperate...”

“Aira, I won't steal Tulips from the park, and neither of our parents taught us to steal— Who taught you that?”

“Well, you want to make it up to Ate 'Reese right? And she also likes Tulips right?”

“But still— Oh who am I kidding, let's go.”

“Ha—”

“But stealing is still wrong, don't get used to it. You can't always steal the things that you want, ok?”

“Ok Kuya!”

Fast forward almost 5 hours later, the time was 10:13 at night and the ninja could be seen outside the Fowler household watching from a tree.

Everyone in the neighborhood was fast asleep, which meant Randy couldn't call Theresa from her front yard, since he might wake up the whole household if he did so, he couldn't call her from the backyard either since... That's where they kept their chicken coops...

He was pinned between two bad options:

Wait it out 'til tomorrow so he could give her the flowers, but miss Valentine's Day and face a disappointed Theresa, or try entering her room through the window as the Ninja, so he could give her the flowers and she could be happy and have a gift for Valentine's Day, but face the consequences of being seen as a creep since y'know, he's breaking into her room through the honkin' window!

‘Was this what the Nomicon meant about choosing between the greater good and the lesser evil?’

After some careful consideration, he chooses the latter of the two options, which was to break in. He didn't want to disappoint Theresa more than he already did today, this was his chance to try and make it up to her.

This was one of those go big or go home moments. One slip-up, and it might be over for the both of them.

The plan was simple: try to enter the window that was facing the tree in her backyard, fiddle with the lock, place the flowers on her nightstand and leave, simple right?

‘What could possibly go wrong?’

Everything. Everything went wrong from the get-go. The moment he lost his footing on the ledge of her window and fell into one of her family's chicken coops, was the moment he knew, he was done for.

Theresa was woken up by a loud thud, she immediately went to open her window to see what was going on. She was quite shocked to see her boyfriend all suited-up and highkey panicking at all the chickens that were waking up and surrounding him.

“Randy! What the juice are you doing here⁈” Theresa whisper-yelled from the second floor.

“H-hey Theresa! Nothing, just passing by!” Randy replies, trying to play it cool, even though he was about to pass out from all the chickens that were surrounding him.

“It looks like you can't move, did you hurt yourself?”

“No, I didn't!”

“Wait— Are you afraid of the chickens?”

“Wh-what?”

“I said, are you afraid of the chickens? Because Aira told me you had a fear of them when I babysat her last week.”

“Well that little—”

“Hang in there, I'll come and get you!”

Theresa went downstairs and came into the backyard, she threw some corn kernels to divert the chickens away from her boyfriend, who was shaking like a pair of maracas.

“Thanks for saving me 'Reese, I owe you big time, again...”

“Why are you here Randall?” Theresa asked, helping him up.

“I uh— I wanted to—”

“Actually, save it for later, come inside, you must be exhausted. Don't worry, Howard told me everything.”

“Uh, won't your parents/brothers mind?”

“Well you can stay in my room, we just have to be sneaky about iiiiiiiiii—” Theresa's mind went blank for a second.‘Oh shoot— Guy, guy in my room. I AM LITERALY INVITING A GUY INTO MY ROOM!’

‘Girl, room, sneak— A GIRL WANTS TO SNEAK ME INTO HER ROOM?! IS THIS REALLY HAPPENING I—’

Cue internal screaming from the both of them.

After that predicament was quickly settled, Theresa led a now de-suited Randy upstairs to her room and gave him a bowl of instant noodles and a spork.

“Look, I know it ain't much, but I have a feeling you've most likely never ate anything since this morning. I didn't even see you during lunch.”

“Thanks for the noodles 'Reese, I really appreciate it.” Randy said, before slurping the noodles.

“Why did you come here this late? It's like, 10:54 at night!”

“Wait, hold on—” Swallowing the noodles, before answering. “I wanted to give you this.” As Randy presents a small bouquet of pink and yellow Tulips, handing it to Theresa.

“I know, it's not much either, you won't believe how we got that bouquet.” Taking another gulp of broth. “Aira suggested we should steal it at first and I was like— bla blah bla blah...” Randy continues to blabber on and on, while Theresa spaces out after receiving the gift.

‘He didn't forget about you. He even got you the same flowers he used to de-stank you back in freshman year, how sweet...’

“Theresa? You okay?”

“Yeah... I'm great. Thanks for the gift Randy...”

“Well I'm glad you like it 'Reese! Happy Valentine's Day!” Randy said with a smile on his face.

“Happy Valentine's Day too, Randy...” Theresa smiles back.

“Where's your kitchen by the way? So I can wash the bowl and spork in the sink.”

“No need for any of that, you can just leave it here!”

“Really? Here? It's kinda rude if I leave the bowl lying around. Are you sure? It's just one bowl, I can wash it.”

“It's ok, you can leave it here, and like you've said it's just one bowl...”

“Okay then... Well, I've gotta go now! It's getting late and we have school tomorrow.” Randy said, placing the bowl on the nightstand and heading towards the window.

“Wait— Before you go, did you manage catch the Sorceress?”

He comes to a halt. “No, I didn't catch her. She wasn't even in the old abandoned gym... I got baited...”

“Oh...”

“Yeah, I'm sorry Theresa, I missed Valentine's Day and didn't even catch the Sorceress...”

“It's ok Randy, I understand, but you didn't miss Valentine's Day! Atleast you still tried to make it, most guys just give up at this point!”

“But still, I feel really stupid for not choosing to spend time with you today. I'm really sorry for that, I'll make it up to you next year, I promise.” He was startled when Theresa hugged him all of the sudden.

“Like I said, it's OK. I understand.”

“I'm still very new to this whole boyfriend thing... I'm sorry if I'm doing anything wrong...” Hugging her back.

“It's ok, you're doing your best and that's enough... I'm pretty new to this girlfriend ordeal as well.”

They were hugging for like, 2 minutes until Theresa lets go.

“It's really late, you should get going.”

“Oh yeah, What time is it by the way?”

“11:23 p.m.”

“Yup, I am definitely gonna sleep through first period tomorrow, I've gotta go!”

“Ok Randy, take care!”

“See ya at school tomorrow 'Reese! Goodnight, I love you!” Bidding his girlfriend goodbye while jumping out of the window mid-transformation.

“I love you too Randy, Goodnight!”

What a nice evening... If only Randy knew the Sorceress was under his nose the whole time...

❈ Sidenote: Ate and Kuya are used by younger children to refer to someone who's older than them in the Philippines. ‘Ate’ is the term for older sister, while ‘Kuya’ is the term for older brother.

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#fowlham #christmas in june #randy cunningham #theresa fowler #rc9gn

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cybernecromancer365 · 1 year

Text

A/O Hospital Headcanon--Part 2

Part 1 here

A.N. A little more to add. Another quick write, not edited.

(Nurse walks in on Alex and Olivia hugging. Alex is sitting on the bed with Olivia practically in her arms)

"Doing good detective?" The nurse picked up the chart at the foot of the bed and jotted down hourly vital readings as Alex and Olivia split. "Yeah, thanks." Olivia answered. Nurse looked to Alex. "I just need a signature on some papers. Are you her next of kin?”

Alex and Olivia's eyes widened. They stayed quiet, until Olivia turned to Alex with a smirk. "What's taking you so long to answer?" Alex glanced to her and stumbled. "W-We're...fri-Coworkers. We're coworkers." The nurse looked between them blankly. "Oh, wow...the whole staff thought you were her spouse." A tight smile stretched across Alex's face. She hung her head and put a hand over her eyes to hide the warmth creeping to her cheeks, and Olivia's hand on her thigh didn't help. Reassuring or not, Olivia's squeeze only made her heart thump faster. "Well then, we'll need to talk to whoever she's going home with." The nurse turned to Olivia whose smile weakened as the moment passed. "Is there anyone you want to request detective?" "I'm good." With a scoff Alex stood, taking the clipboard from the nurse to both women's surprise. "Where do I need to sign—" "Alex it's fine—" "Don't listen to her. She's delusional if she thinks she'll be walking out of here on her own in a few days." Alex kept her eyes on the paper, scanning the legal agreements, then signing where the nurse pointed. The nurse looked to the detective. "She is right." "Of course I am." Alex scribbled her signature. "Due to her obvious lack of judgment…" Olivia scoffed under her breath and looked away. "…I am acting within the scope of the law by making the decision for her." Alex handed back the clipboard and the nurse looked to the frowning detective with a soft smile.

"See you in an hour detective." Olivia didn't acknowledge the nurse as she left but Alex exited the room and caught up to her. "Excuse me." Alex called, stopping the woman in the hall. "Yes." "Do you know exactly when she'll be released?" "We have her on track for the end of next week. Provided her pain is in a manageable state without the morphine. But her wounds will still need to be re-dressed every 4 hours." Alex nodded. "Thank you." Alex headed back into the room; Olivia's eyes closed as the detective rested with slow easy breaths. "Hey." She tried to rouse her with a soft tone. If Olivia didn't respond she'd try again tomorrow. The detective’s eyes cracked open and Alex slipped her fingers gingerly under Olivia's good hand, loosely entwining a couple of their fingers. Hopefully Olivia wouldn't remember this in the morning. "So...How would you like to come home with me? Not that you have much of a choice." "Asking a little after the fact, huh?" Olivia closed her eyes and barely smiled. "You didn't have to." "I'd rather get you out of here before this place takes away that wonderful sense of humor you seem to have adopted." "Maybe they shocked me too much when they brought me back, rewired some areas of my brain." Alex had to chuckle. "Or...it's constant drip of morphine." "I would’ve been fine Alex." "You were shot 3 times. You're not fine." Alex looked at the morphine drip. It was only a matter of time before Olivia had to deal with the pain. "Having an extra set of eyes on you is a good thing." Olivia chuckled gently at that. "Piercing blue eyes watching my every move, how comforting. "

"Is that your way of complimenting me?" Olivia gruffed. "Compliment accepted, detective." The room quieted as the look on Olivia’s face turned stern. Olivia didn’t walk around with her nose stuck in the air, but she was a proud person, and one who’d now come to terms with her loss of freedom. "It's not easy to take care of me Alex." "I don't plan on it being easy." Alex paused. "You're stubborn, sometimes grouchy--" "I'm grouchy--" "And I can only imagine you're worse when you're in pain." A tired smile stretched across Olivia face as much as she let it. "I'll see you tomorrow." Alex leaned in, placing a hand on Olivia's shoulder, wanting to kiss Olivia on the head but shutting down those thoughts when she realized what she was thinking. "Get some rest."

#cabenson #olivia benson #law and order svu #alexandra cabot #svu #my dumb headcanons

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wifebread · 2 years

Text

Obsessed | Pt.10

Pairing: Stalker!Min Yoongi x Original female character

Tags: Forced relationships, Hurt/Comfort, Manipulations, Mentions of cruelty, Mentions of deaths, Mentions of drugs, Murders, Original female character, Out of character, Stalking, Unhealthy relationships, Violence.

Summary: She wasn't afraid of this man, didn't take threats seriously, blaming everything on the fact that it was just to attract attention. However, she did’t know what he was capable of.

word count: 755

I do not condone the actions described in the story, this is all fiction and does not relate to the real members of the BTS in any way. If you are uncomfortable with tags, please do not read!! Or read at your own risk.

a/n: This chapter came out small, but as the author says, she has big plans for the next.

Thanks to the wonderful author who allowed me to translate this work! Please keep in mind that English is not my native language, so if you notice any mistakes, point them out to me! I can also edit the chapter after I publish it, so don't be surprised if you see some strange moments (it means I haven't corrected them yet). Thank you.

source: https://ficbook.net/readfic/12255891

Chapter 1 , Chapter 2 ,Chapter 3 , Chapter 4 , Chapter 5 , Chapter 6 , Chapter 7 , Chapter 8, Chapter 9 Chapter 10

“What if…”

Yoongi and Taehyung had been in the office for an hour trying to figure out what to do.

“I hate it. She’s so close, but I can't go there.” Yoongi said through his teeth.

"Remind me why we can't get her out of there?" V asked, frowning.

“I remind you for the hundredth time," Yoongi growled, which made Taehyung twitch. "We can't go in there because it's Namjoon's territory.”

Taehyung mentally slapped his forehead.

“And if this serpent finds out that you are somehow connected with her, she’ll...” V stopped, because Yoongi looked at him with a murderous look. “Well, it's clear what will happen.” V finished his thought.

“Let’s hope she doesn’t blab that we’re in a relationship.”

Taehyung looked at his friend questioningly but Yoongi turned his gaze to the window.

"Are they in a relationship? Does she know about this?" V grinned mentally.

“So what do you want to do?” Taehyung asked after a short silence.

“It’s a delicate matter,” Yoongi is obviously very angry that the girl is on enemy territory.

They tried to come up with plans with different outcomes, but always ended up at a deadlock. Either the loss of people, or the girl. Either a round sum, or the girl.

And suddenly Taehyung froze. A thought crept into his head, which frightened him a lot.

“Why are you pale?” Suga asked lazily.

“Yoongi," V began almost inaudibly. “What if…”

***

Only a couple of hours have passed since the arrival to the grandmother, and there are already new people in the house, guests.

An elderly couple came to look at the granddaughter of their friend, but in the end they got too carried away with gossip and conversations.

"I'm going to the store," Percy said, picking up her backpack and leaving the house.

She had no particular purpose to buy something. The girl was walking by herself and thinking about different things.

“How easy it is to breathe when no one is watching and wiretapping you.” she said softly, continuing her walk.

Fortunately, no one was on the road and not a single soul heard it.

The store was quite meager and expensive, so she took a can of cola and yogurt and headed back.

Percy tried to walk slowly and hoped that there would be no guests by the time of her return.

However, it was a bummer. When Percy entered the house and began to take off her shoes, grandma came out with unfamiliar people.

“Hello,” the girl froze, without taking off her second shoe.

“Oh, look at her, look, what a beauty!” clapping her hands, the guest began.

"Come on, I just put on makeup today," Percy replied with a grin, finally taking off her shoe.

“Our grandson is such a handsome young man too.” taking Percy by the arm, the woman began. “Quite a catch.”

Directing to the kitchen, Percy looked at her grandma with a resigned look, and grandma followed with a pleading one.

“Tell me, how old are you?” propping her face on her palm, the woman began. “Are you studying or working? Do you have a groom?”

So many personal questions made her fell out of reality for a moment.

"I'm 17,” Percy began slowly. “I'm at school so far. The groom... no. But I have a boyfriend. Deep inside, the girl hoped that the woman would calm down and leave her alone, but no.

“Oh dear, don't lie to the seniors.” the woman said, smiling and nudging the girl.

“No, I'm serious.” she confidently declared.

“Whoever your boyfriend is, our granddaughter will still eclipse him.”

"He'll kill him in no time," the girl chuckled in her thoughts.

“He’ll be here soon, you’ll get to know him.”

"I think I'll go into the room for now," Percy said, lightly slapping her palm on the table. “It was a pleasure to meet you, but now I want to sleep. I hope you don't mind.”

“No, no," the woman began. “We live next door, so he’ll come to you tomorrow.”

“What’s his name?” Percy asked, grinning.

“Namjoon, my sunshine.”

“Tell him I’ll see him at 3:00.”

“I’ll make sure to do so.”

The girl disappeared into her room and hoped that she would be able to get enough sleep. And so it happened. As soon as Percy lay down on the bed, sleep took her in its firm embrace.

She doesn’t even know what’s ahead of her. That one acquaintance can change her life. Or rather, make her life hang by a thread.

to be continued...

#yandere bts #yandere youngi #yoongi x reader #yandere x reader #bts x reader #stalker yoongi #yandere kpop #bts yandere #btsyandere #yandere bangtan #kpop yandere #yandere #yandere au #bts #bts fanfic

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chaoticrobotics · 1 year

Note

Please don't rush your comics take it slow and steady I know many people are eager to see more from your comics but please don't forget your human you need to take breaks from time to time art burnout isn't a joke I myself was once a artist and i quit that because it didn't bring me much joy anymore because of excessive burnout so please from one artist to another Take a breather maybe plan what your gonna do for the story going forward maybe take some inspiration from the game or something though whatever the outcome I will honor it.

Oh don't worry about the story itself. I have it all planned out and am absolutely not changing it (other than possible dialogue changes, I have the major plot points all set though). So that's not the issue.

It was the actual art itself. You are right, art burnout isn't a joke, and honestly I'm pretty sure I've never been closer to quitting art than when I was making Security Alert. The only difference with me is, art is one of the very few things that bring me any sense of joy. It's literally either a select few video games, or making art/stories, and at the time of making Security Alert I was in a video game burnout too and struggling through college.

All of that built up to make me miserable to draw and probably super depressed looking back at it (though I wouldn't hit a true low until my last semester, if I was still trying to do the comic then I don't think I would have made it).

Anyway, thank you for your words. I do appreciate them! I am going to take my time with this comic. Maybe even try out a different format or something. Smaller parts or less detail in the art. I just want to get the story out, and since I am not a writer, I have to draw it. But I'll definitely be taking my time when drawing it.

I'll be honest, I don't know how many people might have realized it, but I am a serial procrastinator that needs deadlines to get shit done, and I get stuff done all in one go or not at all. So all those big parts I posted? Those were all done in basically one sitting. Some of them were done in 3 days with me getting a total of like 3-4 hours of sleep on the weekend, not even counting the editing I did for videos. So you can probably see why I started to resent the comic and start to burn out from it.

I'm literally just rambling now, but I wanted people to know a little bit about what I went through since I know not everyone will be as understanding as you or other people who have sent in kind words to me in the past. I've learned my lesson then, and since I am not in college anymore, I won't feel rushed to get things out before the weekend is done or be rushing myself to make people happy.

It honestly all really sucks because I was always so happy to post the comic/tiktok and pass out finally, then to wake up to a flood of nice messages. But it would all too soon go away because only a day (sometimes not even) after posting people would be demanding the next part. It just sucks since I did have fun a lot, but also had that fun drained away just as quickly.

I don't even know what I am trying to say anymore. Thank you for the nice words. I will keep to my word about not rushing myself or pushing myself too much. I do feel like I am, at some point, going to try doing what I did before and pull all nighters and fuck up my sleep schedule drastically, but I'm hoping I will recognize the signs this time and take a step back once I possibly start doing that.

So don't be upset (saying this to the general audience/whoever reading this, not specifically you) if at some point in the future, if the comic does continue, that there might be another hiatus. Will definitely try not to go on a basically year long hiatus like I did last time, but depending on how my mental state is, it might be a pretty long one.

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pellaaearien · 1 year

Text

20 Questions for fic writers

@five-and-dimes, @signiorbenedickofpadua, AND @cuubism all tagged me in this, and when three of your favourite writers ask you to do a thing, you do it. SO! Here goes.

How many works do you have on Ao3?

A nice round 25 😊

2. What's your total Ao3 word count?

540, 538. I should update my portfolio.

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Sandman, right now. Technically I still write for Doctor Who and maybe Lucifer but frankly it's all I can do to manage one fic right now, so.

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

They're mostly Lucifer fics, I'm surprised. I thought AWFA would have passed them by now. The Devil You Know (1955), 100 Ways (1696), What Dreams May Come (1626), White Days (1533) and rounding it out with Doctor Who, Fool Me Once (1474). I'm kinda proud of that last one.

5. Do you respond to comments?

Usually, yes. I try to.

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

I don't really write angsty endings tbh. Not my jam. Probably a toss up between the ending of The World is Unraveling, because it ends on a cliffhanger, and maybe Out of the Cold, because it ends ambiguously, but nothing I'd characterize as angsty.

7. What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

I mean, the rest are all definitely happy, enough that I have trouble picking just one. The first one I thought of, though, is To Hell and Back, because it ends with a wedding.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

Thankfully not. The worst I get are vague comments about "I wish you hadn't written it like this" which are hurtful, but I ignore.

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

The ace kind. In that, I've been told that my smut reads like it was written by an ace person (it was a compliment).

10. Do you write crossovers? What's the craziest one you've written?

I write crossovers very rarely, because I find they tend to stray crackier than I intend. However, I am pretty proud of the Doctor Who/Lucifer crossover I wrote based on the Impossible Planet episode. (Mistaken Identity)

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

I don't think so. I've had people write their own version of my fic? Which was flattering, but also made me feel kind of odd.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Not that I'm aware of. That would be really cool.

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Not really, no, unless bouncing ideas off a discord counts.

14. What's your all-time favourite ship?

I don't have one. I get REALLY into one ship in the moment, and then I move on to the next, which doesn't mean that I love the previous ships any less, or that I love the current ship more, it's just what happens to be bouncing around my brain at any given time.

15. What's a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

Can I answer 'all of them'? Truthfully I think Locum Tenens has to take that spot, I started posting it with the notion that getting traction on it would make me want to continue, but the idea of writing what I have planned for it is SUCH a daunting prospect. I never say never but that fic will be a LOT of work.

16. What are your writing strengths?

Character. I'm good at keeping voice consistent, at getting into a character's head and really understanding how and why they would react a certain way. I'm also really good at making connections, at drawing on things from canon to use in a new light.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

I am SLOW. I only put something down if it's what I really want to say, and I edit as I go, so my pace usually hovers around the hundreds of words per hour. I also think I'm bad at writing emotional scenes, but in this I compare myself to others, and I know that's a false dichotomy, because obviously my writing isn't going to affect me emotionally the same as someone else's. I just feel like I consistently fall short of the ideal in my head, but I guess that's common to all writers for the most part.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

Awkward, generally. As a linguist, I couldn't live with myself if I didn't get everything absolutely perfect, and it's hard for me to justify including whole lines in a different language in a fic written in English. That's not to say I've never done it, but most of the time if I want to use other languages I'll just pepper in a few words here and there.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

I'm going to draw a distinction here. The first fandom I wrote for, where I was on tumblr and engaged in actual fandom stuff, was Doctor Who. My first published fic on Ao3 was for Dragon Age (Skyhold Slept), and my first fic I ever wrote (published nowhere, I was twelve) was for LotR, but I did not, and still don't, consider myself a part of their respective fandoms. Maybe that's a silly distinction, but I consider immersing myself in and engaging with other fans and content an integral part of how I write now, when it hasn't been, historically.

20. Favourite fic you've written?

That's like asking me to choose between my children. I'm going to cop out and say every fic is my favourite while I'm writing it, so it's Another Word For Ache. Sorry I don't have a more interesting answer to round this off.

Aaaaand I feel like a lot of people have been tagged, so how about @themirokai, @delta-pavonis, @thewollfgang, @moorishflower, @eidetictelekinetic and anyone else who wants to play!

#pella answers #tag games #talking about my writing #thanks for asking!

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not-alien-girl-v · 2 years

Text

Angel (lrh) Chap. 2

warning: language

note: not edited but i dont care. i said next fic would be a george daniel fic. i lied. deal with it

12 hours ago, Luke had been dumped onto his front porch like a bag of trash, and at the moment, he didn’t feel that different from one.

Luke had tried almost everything he knew to solve a hangover: exercise, hydration, even some weird concoction Ashton whipped up for him in the morning that sent a weird tingle through his veins for just a moment, but the throbbing of his head and sickness in his stomach made him wince at every sudden move surrounding him.

At precisely 3 o’clock in the afternoon, Luke downed half a pot of coffee, and by 3:23, he got into his car and drove to the local strip club, Les Belles Femmes, to right a wrong.

The wrong, in this instance, would be referring to the beautiful woman he thoroughly annoyed last night. Maybe he wanted an excuse to go back to the strip club, maybe he wanted an excuse to see her again, that eye-catching individual he felt a strong sense of guilt for burdening last night.

His car comes to a rolling stop, well, Michael’s car, in the trashed parking lot of the club. This place looks a lot different in the day time, the sign not so glowy, the building not so alluring, or maybe he’s just sober this time. Michael didn’t know that Luke took his new car out, and Luke had no intention of telling him. After the stupid fistfight Michael got into last night at the party, he had been passed out his bedroom with the lights out for hours. Ashton checked in on him a few times, checking for a pulse, and Michael simply swatted him away like an angsty teen.

Luke’s hand slides onto the metal handle of the door and he exits the vehicle, approaching the club, coming face to face with the bouncer.

Of course, with Luke’s luck, it’s Steve from last night. Steve remembers Luke, Steve doesn’t like Luke, Steve won’t tolerate Luke, not again. “Beat it, mop top.” Steve starts like a bully from a 2000′s movie.

“Please, man, I gotta talk to her,” Luke all but gets on his knees and begs the other man, though not much larger than him vertically, he had much more more on him horizontally. In other words, dude was jacked as hell.

“Who?”

“Angel.”

“You’re here for Angel? Sure. What’s her real name?”

“...Olivia.”

Steve sighs. “Just go home kid. You’re young. You’ve got better things to be doing at 4 o’clock on a Saturday.”

“I really don’t. Can I please just talk to her? Please?” Luke considers poking his bottom lip out in a pout but ultimately decides against it, not wanting to risk it.

Steve sighs like that’s all he knows how to do. This must be an everyday thing for him. “I’ll call her out here. That’s only if she wants to come out, got it? If she’s busy, you’re out of here.” Luke enthusiastically nods, and Steve disappears into the tinted front doors of the club.

His heart is in his chest, thumping and thrashing about and he wonders if he’s too young to be having a heart attack, and the overworked muscle threatens to stop all together when he sees the door open again.

“Oh, it’s you,” she rasps at him, and Steve is following right behind her, keeping a watchful eye over Luke, as if he would get handsy any second now.

She’s not wearing a typical garb of someone in her line of work, she dons some black sweatpants and a black Nirvana T-shirt, much to Luke’s approval, but he keeps that to himself, at least for now. She must have just gotten here, perhaps not even a few minutes ago. Lucky timing.

“It’s me. Can we talk?” Her face is bewildered, she seems mildly annoyed that she’s out here off the clock, but nods.

“So, uh, I kept thinking about you, the random act of kindness you showed me last night when you really didn’t need to, I felt bad about not deserving it. So, if you’d allow it, would you like to have dinner with me?”

“No.” She turns on her heel, ready to bolt back inside to her safe space, but of course, he just won’t have it.

“Wait! Okay, that’s fine, you don’t need to go on a date with me, totally fine, I get it. I’m a creepy guy who shows up at your work to ask you out, not my proudest moment, I’ll admit. Um, I - uh - I’m playing a show tonight! Me and my band. I’ll get you a ticket, two if you want to bring a friend, free of charge.”

“What makes you think I want to see your crappy little garage band?” She counters, contrarily. He cracks a smile, unreciprocated.

“Because your a kind woman?” She scalds him with a stare, “hey, we’re not awful. And it’s free. It will be fun, I promise, I’ll play a great show, just for you.”

She sighs, just like Steve would, and speaking of Steve, he’s been watching in amusement, slightly in disapproval, yet doing his best to hold in a laugh at the patheticness of this young man.

“If I show up,” Luke’s smile doubles, “ if, heavy if, you promise you won’t be weird about it? You won’t make some weird mention of me on stage. No random love confessions?”

“Pinky swear,” he extends his smallest finger to her and she stares again, scalding him again, he puts his hand down.

“Angel? It’s 4:30,” Steve warns from behind, standing guard at the doors.

“Write down the time and place, give it to Steve, if I’m feeling nice, I might come. Don’t get your hopes up, freak.”

He should be mildly offended at the name he was just called but he isn’t, and for some weird reason, he kind of liked it a little bit. He’d have to explore that more later.

“Perfect. Cool. I’ll see you later. Maybe, I guess. Either way though, it’s fine, really.” Luke’s still shouting stupid things as she goes back inside, leaving him alone, with Steve.

“Alright, alright, I’m leaving,” his hands raise in surrender as he walks back to Michael’s car. He can’t wash the smile off his face as he pulls out of the carpark.

⋆*･ﾟ:⋆*･ﾟ:⠀ *⋆.*:･ﾟ .: ⋆*･ﾟ: .⋆

“What’s wrong with you, dude?” Michael appears behind him in the dressing room mirror. He’s got a shiner roughly the size of a young woman’s fist and Luke doesn’t even feel bad about the full body laugh that escapes him. “Yeah, yeah, have your laugh,” he grumbles.

“I’m sorry mate, what were you saying?” Luke fusses a little extra with his hair tonight, experimenting with different strands laying out in variations across his face.

“I was asking what’s wrong with you. Why are you so excited?”

“What? Am I not allowed to be happy anymore?” Luke turns back to look at Michael but Michael deathstares him.

“No.”

“Whatever,” he mumbles as Michael walks away. The band was going on in 10 minutes, and once again, Luke was worrying if he was of age to be having a heart attack with how furiously it assaulted his ribcage in deep, heavy pumps.

Sure, he doesn’t necessarily take care of his body, but he’s only 20, he doesn’t have to, right?

The stage lights are hot, bright, and blindingly white once they shine down on Luke. He feels like he could fall off this stage right now, hoping security could act fast enough to catch him in the front row. Or maybe he’d stagedive. He did say he’d give a good show to Angel. Hey, maybe if she liked it enough, she might even tell him her real name. Maybe agree to the date.

Either way, his ass was on the line with tonight’s performance. Tonight’s venue was only big enough to host 300, maybe 350 people, so he hopes she doesn’t see the small crowd and imagine his band sucks so much that no one even comes to see them live.

Sure, they were no Fifth Harmony, but he could hold a tune pretty well, and as long as he jumped around the stage looking pretty for about 45 minutes, the fans seem content with him.

Needless to say, he had never been so worried about a performance since his very first performance that didn’t include at least 3-10 family members in the audience. The first few shows of the band were mostly family, friends, and anyone else they could beg to come, but eventually people started coming on their own terms, no begging involved. If you squint, this nights was not one of those, as Luke had to do some serious begging to get this girl in the audience.

She probably didn’t know he knew that she was here tonight, as she didn’t dress up in any way, blending in with the crowd, but little did she know that Luke put in a word with the entrance security to alert him when a certain someone with a VIP ticket shows up.

VIP means that she, amongst a few other fangirls, would be coming back to meet the band after the show ends, that is, if she wants to. She could decide the four of them are shit and go home early.

Whatever, whatever, whatever, don’t think, don’t stress, don’t worry, whatever a therapist would say right now.

The setlist consisted mostly of songs off their newest album, Sounds Good Feels Good, along with some classics from their self titled album, and a few sentimental songs, mostly just for the old fans, off the B-Sides album.

The band ended the first portion with the set with Jet Black Heart, coming back for an encore of She Looks So Perfect, then finally exiting the stage for the night, and Luke almost started biting his fingernails even though that’s something he doesn’t do.

He sprawled himself down on a backstage black leather couch, feeling sweaty and overall a little rank, and Michael walked up to him, fake-punching him in the stomach with an explosion sound effect, then continued walking to the entrance that the VIP guests would be entering through in just a few minutes.

“Dude, you coming or not? They’re almost here.” Ashton nudges him with a gentle knee and tiredly, Luke sits up, stretching out his arms loudly, enjoying every snap and crack emitting from his tired joints.

He suddenly hears frantic female chatter and he knows it’s time, so he stands up, turns around, and is face-to-face with her. Angel, the one who he had been waiting for all night. “You’re here,” he pretends to be surprised.

“I am,” she smiles nicely but he can sense there’s something behind it, a heavy ‘but’ lingering in her words. Before she can continue, he starts.

“You look nice, tonight. I like the jeans,” he comments on the ripped black skinny jeans that look like they’d be straight out of his own closet, speaking of which, he is also currently wearing black skinny jeans, the only difference being the lack of a tasteful rip over the left knee.

“I know. So do you. It was a great performance, by the way. Though, I’m getting the feeling the crowds usually aren’t this small, you had some serious die hard fans out there.”

“Yeah, we’re doing some smaller shows before we go on a hiatus for the next album we’re writing. This one tonight, it’s the last one, actually.”

“Oh really? Cool.” He doesn’t know what else to tell her, as there’s no other concert to invite her to again, and he doesn’t want to rush her by asking her out again, he could easily fuck this up and never see her again as easily as he convinced her to come tonight.

“So, I-”

“Listen-”

“Sorry, you go first,” she continues.

“Okay, um. Do you wanna hang out again sometime? Maybe go to a party my mate is having in a few days or something? Or, if you wanna keep it lowkey, that’s cool too, maybe a movie or something?”

“Right, so listen, I don’t usually do this, and I’m starting to realize why. I think driving you home last night was a mistake, I know that now, and I’m sorry if I gave you the wrong idea with this whole thing, but I try my best to keep my private life and my work life separate.”

“What?”

“Hey, don’t take it personally. You’re a great guy, got a lot going for you, you sing, you dance, you’re cute, you’re persistent, girls love that, and I’m sure any day now, you’ll find a good one, but I’m sorry, I just don’t think it’s gonna be me.”

He doesn’t say anything, just hopes nobody is listening to this right now.

“So, I should probably head out now, thanks for the show, and for the ticket. I appreciate it, really. Maybe sometime you can come into my work and I’ll give you a freebie or something,” she’s already at the door with her back turned when she gives it a second thought. “I’m kidding, by the way, don’t do that. I’ll have Steve kick you out again. Bye though!”

He’s just standing there dumbfounded, when a girl with a VIP pass comes up asking for a hug and a picture, and he does as he’s asked with a content smile on his face but his mind is elsewhere from his loving fans.

She called him cute. She called him cute! At least the night wasn’t a total failure. Sure, that’s what he’ll tell himself to avoid hiding in his closet and crying like an insecure teenage boy who just got rejected by his crush.

No, he was a 20 year old boy who got rejected by a stripper, this is different, these are adult problems, not teenage problems.

#luke hemmings #luke hemmings fanfiction #5 seconds of summer #5 seconds of summer fanfiction #5sos #5sosfam #5sos fanfic #luke hemmings x reader #calum hood #michael clifford #ashton irwin #fanfiction #fanfic

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fragileswift1313 · 1 year

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Fallout 4!

Kia ora, friendos!

So I finally finished the main storyline in Persona 3 Portable a few weeks ago, and I just wasn’t quite in the mood to jump right into Persona 4 Golden just yet, so I’ve been kinda just bouncing around between a few different games and trying to find something that would stick while I work up the energy to get into P4G. I’ve played a bunch of stuff, but nothing really clicked… until…

Age of Empires 2: Definitive Edition has been out for a while on PC, but it recently (finally) made it’s way to console and of course, because it’s a Xbox Game Studios game, it arrived day-one on Game Pass. I adored this game when I was a kid, and, don’t tell the cops this but, it was the very first game I ever pirated. I still remember the disc, it was so cool. It was this beautiful gold colour (the images below don’t really do it justice) and it felt really neat to have a game I liked so much on this rad gold CD.

So far I haven’t played a ton of the new remastered version, but I’ve played a few skirmish matches against the AI and it’s still a lot of fun - some of the best matches happen when you make the map as big as it can possibly be, set the population limit to maximum (500 vs the 200 in the original!) and then go off to build your empire, and next thing you know three hours have passed. I haven’t dared to venture into the online multiplayer matchmaking stuff yet, but I was looking at it the other day and I saw that you can play co-op with another human against the AI, and I thought that sounded really cool so I will probably give that a go sometime soon.

So that’s been one of my timesinks lately. Another is Cities: Skylines Remastered! This also recently came to Xbox Game Pass, supercedeing the Xbox One Edition version, which you can still play, but this one just looks and runs a bit better on the Series X|S consoles and on Cloud Gaming. And no, it does not include all of the DLC like the name kind of implies - that stuff is all still locked away in the Xbox Store. I don’t know for sure, but I would bet that it’s the same deal on PC, too.

If you’re into simulation games, I probably don’t need to tell you about this one - it’s basically the answer to the question ‘What if SimCity, but good?’ Cities has taken over that whole genre for me nowadays, I don’t know if I’ve even thought about SimCity at all until writing this and thinking about how to describe Cities. But I digress. This game is great, and it is one of the biggest timesinks out there for me personally, with its never-ending gameplay loop of expand, add infrastructure and zoning, make the people happy (or don’t 🤷🏻‍♀️), rinse, repeat. I can spend many hours in a row playing this game without noticing, pretty much the very definition of a timesink. This past week I turned on a bunch of “cheats” so I could just mess around and not have to worry about money (I do that enough in real-life lol) or space and build whatever I felt like, whenever I felt like. But that’s enough about that.

Now for the big one: about a week and a half ago, I was going through my (ridiculously large) library of digital Xbox games, looking ostensibly for something I had not played yet, but when my eyes tracked across the screen and spotted Fallout 4 my brain said “We haven’t played that (in several years)!” and so I said “Fine.” And the rest was history. I’ve since completed the main story route with the Brotherhood of Steel, blew up the Institute, built a number of small settlements, and killed a lot of raiders, robots, and feral ghouls. At the time of writing, it is currently 3:30am because I stayed up all night playing this game. My cat is now very mad at me and wants me to go to bed.

Fallout is great. But this one is my favourite, because of all the endless opportunities to scavenge in the Commonwealth for resources, and then go back to your bases to use said resources to build buildings or craft weapons, gear, or ammo. I can spend hours not even doing quests at all, just collecting garbage and turning it into something useful and cool. Plus there are so many great little easter eggs you can find around the world, which is why I decided to include two screenshots instead of just one.

If you’ve never played a Fallout game, I think this is probably the best one to start with. A lot of people will argue with me and say that Fallout New Vegas is the better game, but those people are wrong. It’s at its core an immersive sim. Think things like Deus Ex Mankind Divided, or the more classic examples from Arkane; Dishonored and Prey. Except this one is set in a post-apocalypse some 277 years in the future. I really can’t recommend this series enough, and if all you have available to you is 3 or New Vegas, those are still really great entries in this IP.

Okay folks, that’s gonna do it for this week. Thanks, as always, for reading. Y’all are the reason I keep doing this. Stay safe out there, and I’ll talk to you soon. Ka kite anō au i a koe. 💚

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antion-bewitching-bitch · 24 days

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Chapter 1 : The Fool

Descendants x Male OC [Can be read as self-Insert] Masterlist | Previous | Next

An: I FINALY FINISHEDDD IT WHOOOOO!!! I've done my best to proofread and like edit stuff out before uploading this but if you do see some. Either comment about it so I can edit it, or squint and ignore it. Now before any further ado, Enjoy CHAPTER 1!!!!!!!!! To any new comers. Hi! you can read this as a self-insert. With Eli being your like insert character thing, I just decided to make a male oc rather than a male y/n or reader because it just gives more character and personality than a basic empty shell that y/n or reader sometimes need to be TW: None. Word Count: 3.6k

The ride to Auradon was a long one, there were a lot of hurdles surrounding the isle that made sure it was separated and kept under ‘control’. Not only was there a viscous storm that would shroud the isle, with bumpy torn like rocks that were sharp making the ships not be able to cross pass it even after they pass the storm. Finally there was the border surrounding everything, even if one was able to pass through the storm and rocks. This would end the journey out the Isle, nothing can get past it; some even rumored that the fairy godmother used up all her power for the barrier.

“What are these?” Jay and Carlos were about the sugary delights at the limo. “Their candy, and that dark brownish thing is chocolate.” Eli told them, Carlos looked at him and asked “How do you know?”

“My mother. These ‘Candies’ were part of the things she told me she missed. She would go on and on about how there is nothing ‘sweet’ to eat in the Isle.” Eli took a piece of candy. It was a chocolate covered biscuit, he bit into it and he couldn’t help but smile and love this so called ‘sweet’ flavor his mother would always complain to him about.

“I’m gonna be an addict to these” Eli admitted while the other guys started devouring the other delights. “Are you guys not having some?” Eli asked Mal and Evie.

“I’m not in the mood” Mal answered, Evie being curious grabbed one. This was covered in a golden wrapper and had a nutty chocolate cover over a hollowed treat, after a bite she was surprised. This was nothing compared to the food they would eat in the Isle.

They were stuck on the road, the driver told them the journey to Auradon was going to take 4 hours for them to get there. The VKs tried their best to keep themselves entertained. Having been tasked by their parents to set them free, they wanted to talk about it but couldn’t because the driver was present. So they spent most of their time either sleeping, chatting, or eating the snacks.

゜・。. ♡ ♧ ◇ ♤ .・゜゜・

Eli and Evie then noticed that outside the window, they weren’t on sea anymore, they’re on the land of Auradon itself. It was miles different than from the isle, they could already see the city and castle of Auradon. However the thing which caught their eye the most was the lush green land, clear bright blue skies, and the gorgeous scenery of flower fields and more.

“How pretty…” Evie whispered while she and Eli were basically squishing their faces at the limo’s windows. They were so enamored by the scenery that Mal couldn’t help but wonder what was so great about it. “I think those flowers are..Sun Flowers?.. If I remember my lessons correctly.” Eli shared with Evie.

“Oh how beautiful, I wish things like that would grow in the isle!” Evie pouted

“I vaguely remember my nanny telling me that their flower head would point at wherever the sun was, and when they can’t find it. Some would stare at each other!” Eli was yapping on about his knowledge about Sunflowers

“It seems we are leaving the fields of these stars soon..” Evie was saddened because she saw in her line of sight that they would soon pass these fields.

“What's so great about them? They're just flowers, nothing big.” Mal asked the two, Eli and Evie looked back at her and then each other.

“I pity her.” “So do I.”, Eli and Evie told each other

“Their just fields of flowers? At the Isle there's fields of flowers in the forest, yet you guys don’t seem so enamored by them like you do here.” Mal questioned them again

“Well Mal the difference between the flowers in the Isle and the ones here is simple, they’re not ugly nor do they smell horrific like in the Isle.” Evie answered her

Mal simply rolled her eyes because she simply doesn’t understand where Evie or Eli is coming from. ‘What's the use of beautiful flowers anyway? The one in the Isle can be used for potions!’ was all Mal thought.

゜・。. ♡ ♧ ◇ ♤ .・゜゜・

It took a while for them to reach the school. However they immediately noticed when they were close, for they could hear the loud and synchronous chanting of a marching band.

Auradon! Auradon High! Aurado-

They kept chanting the school’s name and it was becoming louder and louder the closer they got. A bit too loud in Eli’s opinion, the limo stopped and was now presenting the VKs in front of the School’s grounds. The driver went out and opened the door for them.

Carlos was leaning at the car’s door staring out the window, suddenly when it came open he hit the floor face first. Jay who was next to him pushed him aside so he could go out, Carlos who already got hurt was now squirming on the ground.

“YOU COULD HAVE AT LEAST HELP ME GET UP!” He screamed at Jay

“You’re right! I could have!.” Jay answered and continued to laugh as he watched Carlos get up.

Mal and Evie went out one after another and then the three people went in front of them while the marching band finished their chanting.

“Welcome you four, to Auradon Prep!” A high pitched voice came from the crowd, everyone parted to show where it came from. It was a lady in pastel blue.

Eli, who was in the very back of the limo; was the last one to get out. He looked out to see everyone staring at them, not surprising for they were the awaited guests for the day. He just felt like some were staring with malice.

“Oh, there's one more!” She exclaimed seeing Eli emerge from the limo, “Well nonetheless you are all welcome to this magnificent school!”

“Thank you for the wonderful greeting!” Evie smiled back.

“Pleased to finally meet all of you!” A boy spoke out walking towards them to greet them once again. This time, the boy had a girl who was wrapping herself around him. Both look the same age as them.

Jay was already eyeing the girl up and down, he is into brunettes like her. Eli bumped and glared at him, signaling to keep an eye on his mannerisms.

“Before we start the tour, it is only right that I introduce myself! My dearies, I am Fairy God Mother, FGM for short!” She said, she did a little bow and Mal immediately jittered and asked “Like the bippity boppity boo?”

“You’re right! Bippity boppity boo! However, let's not dwell in the past or else we will miss the future.” FGM answered in a high pitched voice with hand gestures. She then gestured toward the two others.

The young man bowed his head “Good day, I am Ben-” “-Prince Ben, his the son of the king beast and queen belle.” The girl next to him interjected.

“Aubrey, daughter of sleeping beauty.” She then introduced herself.

“Mal.” Mal answered back, “Daughter of Maleficent.”.

As Ben was about to shake her hand, Aubrey stopped him.

“Hmm, seems so. You seem a lot like your mother.” Aubrey states back in a mocking way while tilting her head. Ben on the other hand shook her off and was showing signs of irritation on how she was acting.

“Evie! Princess Evie, Daughter of the Queen.” Evie introduced herself with a little spin. She seems like she’s trying to make a good impression after finding out Ben was a prince.

“Oh, yes wel-” Ben was going to shake her hand but was again interjected by Aubrey in a condescending way “The Evil queen doesn't have power over here, sweety. You’re. Not. A. Princess.”

Eli and Mal were getting tired of Aubrey and her bullshit. They didn’t hide it, they just continued glaring at her.

FGM feeling the conflict in the air, tried to mediate. “Now, now. Why don’t we tour the place! You’ll be staying here for a long time, so it's best you get to know the location right!” She was planning to leave it to Ben and Aubrey but seeing the conflict in the air already being so thick, she decided to just do it herself.

“Ben and Aubrey will be going now, for they are very busy so it's best to say regards now. you can introduce yourself later!” FGM stated making a opening for Aubrey and Ben to get away.

“That's right! We have lots to do being royalty.” Aubrey went back and slithered her arms around his again

“Wait n-” Ben was trying to continue greeting everyone but was getting dragged away by Aubrey. However, Eli reached out and grabbed him.

“Why go! Duties can wait. It is his idea to send us here, correct?” He asked loudly, he didn’t let him go which frustrated Aubrey who was already planning to leave all of this behind.

“Right?” Eli continued, everyone else was silent. But Ben shook Aubrey off and continued. “Yes, it was indeed my idea.” he answered with a forced slime.

“As you suggested I can tour you myself! Along the way I hope to make very close acquaintances with you.” and with that sets the VKs being toured all over the campus.

゜・。. ♡ ♧ ◇ ♤ .・゜゜・

The tour started with the Field alongside the Gym. As Ben toured with FGM he noticed the school team practicing and pointed out “In the campus, there are numerous activities us students can enjoy. One of those being sports! Fun fact about me is, I am the captain of the Tourney team, alongside fencing, and swimming!”

“Tourney? What's that?” Evie and Eli being the only ones actually listening, Mal didn’t even bother hiding her displeasure with the tour. Meanwhile Jay and Carlos were frolicing around the field.

“You don’t know what that is? Tourney? Really?” Ben asked them

“Have you forgotten we were from the Isle?” Eli answered him sarcastically.

“Tourney is Auradon’s national sport!” Ben continued, while he tried to move on from that. “It's very competitive and physically demanding. Being the captain, I had to go through vigorous training to be able to maintain the status of being one.”

“Which means buff guys” Eli whispered to Evie while insinuating something to her while bouncing his eyebrows. Which made her giggle.

FGM being with them after Aubrey left, noticed Jay and thought about him possibly joining a sport team with his built stature. Soo she went to Ben and told him while pointing, “Take a look at him, I think your team can make use of him in the future.”.

As the tour continued, Ben still stole glances at Mal but also some at Eli. Whenever he was caught or made eye contact with either he would just smile and continue with his tour.

As Ben opened the large doors to the library, Eli noticed the whispers and gazes that were just out of sight. He knew that those were the other students gawking at them, they all expected this but he felt like something else was festering that wasn’t just their judgemental eyes and mouths.

“Oh my look! There must be thousands of books here!” Evie said in awe, being from the Isle there was only a limited amount of time a kid could read and reread about murder, potion brewing, wicked stories and the likes.

“There are exactly 15,678 books! Well it's just an estimation, every year we hope to make it larger and larger.” Ben stated which made Mal scuff.

“Why would there be a need to get more books?” She asked while she was leaning against a nearby bookshelf.

“Of Course you would think that way! You don’t know how to read!” Carlos jokes. Which ended with Mal hitting him in the chin.

“Books are important, Mal! They’re knowledge written down, passed on and rewritten again. Lots of secrets, recipes, spells, stories and more can be found.” Evie answered Mal’s previous question.

As the others continued to walk around with Mal being dragged by Evie to check the books. Ben and Eli were left alone to themselves so Ben tried to take the initiative and start a conversation with him.

“So um.. Do you like to read Eli?” Ben asked him.

He didn't answer, nor did he even face him. Eli was just standing there and not acknowledging him. So Ben just stared at him hoping for something or anything other than just this awkward silence.

Meanwhile Eli looked out of the large windows in the library and saw how low the sun was setting in the distant horizon, he was still amazed at how different the skies were in Auradon compared to the Isle. Ben then heard him yawn.

“When will the tour be over?” Eli asked him.

“A- What was that?” Ben asked again, surprised by his sudden question.

Eli faced him and sighed, “When will this tour be over?”. Ben didn't answer after a few seconds of silence.

“Are you not enjoying the tour?” “It doesn't matter if I enjoyed it or not, I'm getting too tired to continue.” Eli answered him.

“Fitting! We'll be heading to the Dorms next!” He smiled. Ben stayed smiling and wanting to present himself in a good manner the entire time, even when Eli wasn't responding back.

゜・。. ♡ ♧ ◇ ♤ .・゜゜・

Touring the Dormitories the VKs were split; Mal and Evie being separated from Eli, Jay, and Carlos. For the tour being separated for girls and boys, FGM touring Mal and Evie with Ben touring Eli, Jay, and Carlos.

“Now there are two Dorms, one for the Royals and One for the common..no others.. Wait. Just another one not-for-royals. The ones not-for-royals is where you all will be staying!” Ben walked them through the boy’s wing.

“Why would they divide the girls and boys?” Eli was still annoyed at the fact he had to stay with other boys.

“What's wrong with being stuck with the boys Eli? Don’t you like them~” Jay mocked him playfully, which ended with Eli kicking him in the leg.

“It's to avoid most incidents, and that's all they have for defense! I also think it's stupid, maybe one day i’ll remove it-” Ben answered and mumbled the last part as he walked with them.

“Do you not like being with the boys? If you're afraid of prejudice because of- um- your- ugh. Attraction! I can assure you I will not tolerate that from happening.” He continued trying not to seem offensive or anything that could make Eli uncomfortable, however he did take a mental note that Eli likes boys.

“It's fine.” Eli answered sharply.

“Oh right! Here in Auradon’s Dormitories, we have flatmates! Each person will have a fellow student who you will share a dorm with!” Ben continues the tour, “Here. This will be Jay’s and Carlos’ Room!”

Ben showed a door towards a room at the very end of the hallway. Eli continued to notice the glances and stares that came from the other students trying to be secretive, he noticed eyes hiding themselves from their room’s doors.

“Woah! Look at that!” Carlos screamed while getting in, he pointed at the TV while Jay immediately ran to the beds and collapsed on them.

“Ughhhhhh.... Yeah this is a good bed.” Jay groaned into the bed. He spread his limbs and spread like a starfish. “They're better than the ones from the Isle!”

Eli stared into the room and can see it was truly meant for boys with how bland the room looked. He saw that there were only 2 boys and figured he might get his own room with another roommate and asked Ben

“Where's my room? Also who will my flatmate, or whatever you call a roommate be?”

Ben then looked around the room more carefully and hesitantly answered “I don’t know?… I thought they would have placed you with them…”

“Wait so I don’t have a room?” Eli asks befuddled and surprised.

“We can both go to the Dormatory’s Administration! I promise I can be with you and help you with this issue.” Ben answered him, trying a reassuring smile in the end.

“Ughhhhhhhhhhhhhh.” Eli groaned loudly and leaned against the wall, he was getting more and more tired of Auradon the longer at this point.

゜・。. ♡ ♧ ◇ ♤ .・゜゜・

“Let me get this straight, you invited me to Auradon. But didn’t really account for me coming?!” Eli asked them a rhetorical question.

“I’m afraid we don’t have the room… left for you…” they continued.

“So what. You forced me to leave; and then make me go back to the Isle again?” Eli was clearly getting more pissed since he was starting to become more sarcastic.

The admin nodded slowly. In a cowardly way.

“YOU BITCH.” Eli screamed.

Ben tried to calm him down and covered his hand and asked the admin. “Is there really no other room that we can provide for him?”

“I’m sorry but, the room given out for the other VKs were already the last ones. being added last minute into the curriculum and all…”

“IS THAT MY FAULT?! GET ME A ROOM, I DON’T CARE. JUST DO YOUR FUCKING JOB.” Eli basically shouted at the admin, Ben continued to hold Eli’s hand while holding his head in disappointment. He didn’t want to stop his anger because it was justified, however he also assumed most of the anger was also with how tired Eli is..

The tour reached till the end of the day so it wasn’t that all surprising that Eli was upset. Being presented with the news he didn’t have a room to rest at didn’t make it all that better.

“Can he not be with the other VKs? We can just add another bed there right?”

“He cannot. The Dorms have the strict rule of only having two each dorm.”

“Can we not spare him? His a guest I personally invited. Can he not be given one?” Ben asked again but more irritated. Even he was getting annoyed with these rules.

“Apologies but we trully can’t-”

“SO WHAT AM I SUPPOSED TO DO THEN?” Eli slammed the table. Pushing Ben’s hand off him and sitting up from his seat.

The two remained silent, trying to think of a way.

Eli sat back down devastated while hunching his back and covering his eyes from tearing up from his frustration and sleep deprivation then asked softly “Can you call the car back now the-”

“No. No need for that Eli.” Ben cut him off, as he soothed his back trying to reassure him.

“Let him be with me then! I already have a room, I don’t have a flatmate, and I can just add some furniture and all that to accommodate him.” Ben stated.

“What?” Eli asked. reeling back from his frustration, sleep deprivation, and disappointment.

“It's allowed, right? I’ve thought about the rules and I don't recall any that says I can’t?” Ben asked the admin.

“I don’t think it is?...wait let me recheck…”

The admin then flipped through all the handbooks about the rules and Eli asked Ben.

“Are you sure about this?”

“Why wouldn't I be? I just hope you don’t mind sharing a room with me.” He smiled at him.

“Don’t be an idiot rethin-”

“It's allowed.” the admin cut him off. Both them were shocked.

“Technically speaking the Dorms For Royalty do allow for even non-official royals which includes Eli. Still being related to The White Queen, he is a non-recognized royal. Allowing him into the Dorms For Royalty” The admin stated

“And with Prince Ben himself accepting and stating he wants him as a flatmate, there is no rule or restriction stopping him from doing so! Being both the same sex and both agreeing, there is nothing saying it's invalid.” The admin continued.

“So I’m correct. It is allowed.” Ben said while turning to Eli, he smiled brightly being happy that we found a way to keep Eli from not going back to the Isle.

Now explained as to how Eli became stuck with Ben in the Dormitories for Royals the rest of the academic year.

Reaching Ben’s Room, Eli no longer cared for even removing his leathered straps and just jumped into bed. There was only 1 big one in the middle of the room that was themed with blue and gold, however he didn’t care and just went to bed.

“-I hoped you wouldn’t be too bothered... At least you got your well deserved rest…” Ben mumbled walking near his bed. He will not lie, Mal earlier from the first glance was an apple to the eyes but Eli. he felt something different with him..

“Where will I sleep then?” Ben whispered to himself as he watched Eli fall into a deep slumber. It was already past midnight so he didn’t wish to disturbed him that much but he too was also tired.

So Ben slowly pushed Eli to the side, careful not to disturb him. Then layed next to him in the bed. “This… might be dangerous in the future… I need to get him his own bed first thing in the morning.” he continuously whispered to himself.

Alongside Eli, Ben didn’t bother changing into his clothes. He could change his clothes but didn’t bother because of his tiredness from dealing with Eli’s room situation. So they now both fell asleep next to each other.

However, the other VKs. They weren’t planning to go straight to bed, Mal wanted the wand; and she wanted it now.

An: Was it good enough for the wait? Also look! new boarders and header! I hope yall like this, even if it basically took 3 weeks to finish/do. After this I'll take a short break and come back to make chapter 2. Also if you have read any like inconsistent writing styles or anything like that, please note that I've written this in a span of 3 weeks with long brakes each time. So sometimes I can write differently from break to break. P.S. I think i fucked up with my title choices but I promise I'll make up to it in chapter 2. Edit: I've edited the title and deleted the old header + added a new one, for it to fit the overall plan/lore I've got for this first novel? idk i plan to make this into 3 part series following the original trilogy of descendants

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