#and so many times she will say things that immediately either piss off or confuse the very lgbtqia+ alphabet mafia crowd in the class

[menlove]

every time i am around older queer people the more i am convinced i was meant to be an older queer person. not bc i have this fantasy of living in decades past that were much worse but bc i get along with and agree w them so much better. so much of modern queer discourse is painfully white, binary, and completely regressive while painting itself as revolutionary and i just want to crack jokes w some cool older butch lesbians every time i encounter discourse that makes me want to bash my head into the wall

[son1c]

y'all don't even know about what happens after fibula encounters femur that first time... because, like, sure, he runs away from her. he flees the graveyard and disappears into the woods because he can't bear to face her.

but he doesn't go back to eggman. he can't. he's panicking too much to think straight. stumbling through the trees, overwhelmed by a cavalcade of emotions brought forth by seeing his sister again. he thought she was dead, but she's not. he thought, if she was alive, that she wouldn't care about him anymore. but she does. clearly--since she was visiting his grave, and leaving him gifts.

fibula is CRASHING through the woods, making so much noise and not caring at all about how many plants he's trampling underfoot. the flickies are pissed. he doesn't care. he doesn't even see them.

all he can see is his sister's face--older. her eyes, confused. because she doesn't recognize him.

and it hits him all at once the situation that he's in. undead. stitched together with chaos energy and mechanical legs. a monster. he never cared before. in fact, he actually thought it was pretty cool to be a monster. but his own sister's failure to recognize him causes his still heart to twist painfully.

is this really right? everything he's done since being revived, all the torment he's caused and ENJOYED causing... he's rethinking it now that he's seen femur again. because even though being a menace has made him happy, what would his sister think? would she be disappointed? or, worse...

would she be afraid of him?

the thought of it causes him choke and stumble, and by this point he's made enough of a ruckus to attract the attention of a certain blue hero... who of course, starts on a quip about how he wasn't planning on kicking any zombie butt today, but...

and then sonic sees The Absolute State(TM) that fibula is in, and whatever he was going to say dies in his throat. cuz he's seen a lot of stuff, but one of his enemies crying their eyes out? gotta say, this would be the first time. meanwhile, fibula is NOT EXCITED about running into sonic, because spilling so many tears--which are actually just liquefied chaos energy, aka the stuff KEEPING HIM ALIVE--has left him exhausted, and he doesn't think he has any energy left to fight.

and he's right! because he collapses shortly after sonic steps closer, his ears perking up curiously after fibula chokes out something about his sister... and when he wakes up some time later, he finds himself strapped to another metal table (different from the one eggman revived him on).

as it turns out, fibula's little "face down in the dirt" stunt from earlier made sonic think he was dead. like DEAD dead, for real this time. so, our favorite blue hero dragged fibula back to tails' lab to see if he could fix it. (tails, of course, was baffled by the situation, but a chance to examine eggman's handiwork up close could be useful regardless of the fact fibula is less tech and more flesh than most things the doctor works on.)

immediately, fibula tries to break free, but tails has that shit locked down, so the restraints don't budge. then, fibula remembers seeing femur earlier, and resigns himself to laying on the table. it's not that he's given up, it's just... this might be the worst day of his life (and the competition is pretty steep, so that's really saying something).

meanwhile, tails isn't sure what to do. by this point, he's noticed that fibula is awake, but sonic isn't around--he ran off once it was clear that tails had the situation under control--so he doesn't have his big brother to guide him. and he doesn't even really know fibula. since this is the first time they're directly interacting (before this, all tails would've heard was wild tales from sonic, amounting to nothing more than spotty secondhand knowledge).

and the thing is, fibula has no idea who tails is either. all he can see is that he's a kid. and fibula has a very strict rule against hurting kids (because they remind him of his sister. who is apparently still alive. and doesn't recognize him. oh, man--)

fibula forces himself to say something. "you don't look like you work for eggman," probably. with his typical snark, but it lacks its usual bite.

tails would scoff. an astute observation from the guy who was clinically dead a few minutes ago, he thinks. then, he tells fibula that he doesn't work for eggman, because he's on the opposite team.

that makes fibula grimace. great. so, he's strapped to an ENEMY'S table. and then he remembers running into sonic after having his little freakout in the graveyard, and everything starts to make a little more sense.

and of course THAT is when sonic saunters back in, probably with a snack in hand like, "how's it goin' in here, tails?" all casual-like. but he Knows. and fibula knows that he knows. and fibula is DETERMINED to act like nothing happened and sonic didn't see ANYTHING and nothing is wrong. so he instantly snaps back, because now he can focus on being a jerk again instead of whatever awful feelings have been brewing in his gut since last night...

and tails watches. he watches as fibula and sonic bicker and comments on fibula's strange state of not-life, not-death but fibula ignores him on purpose... until tails gets fed up and states bluntly that maybe he shouldn't've revived him, even though sonic asked, cuz he's so mean.

and there's half a second where fibula has nothing to say. SONIC helped him? even though they're enemies? but then fibula sneers at sonic and says "your mistake."

and sonic has that fucking look in his eye... you know... the one where he thinks he knows everything. the "we'll see about that"-type look. and fibula hates it so much because it just adds to his Inner Turmoil(TM). like, he's evil now! he's evil! and bad! and a no-good, rotten hedgehog!

and he's also strapped to a table. and owes his not-life to a tiny little fox, apparently.

and for the first time since sonic showed up, fibula looks at tails. he looks him right in the face with his unsettling orange eyes that shouldn't be. and he says, "your big bro thinks he's got it all figured out. but you're the smart one, i can tell. so i'll take your word over his."

and tails kinda like... falters. cuz he wasn't expecting that? and fibula doesn't realize it, but what he said reveals a lot of his inner conflict to tails. cuz he's right... tails IS the smart one. and when tails eventually lets fibula go, and fibula scampers back to the empire, tails is left wondering about fibula and his cracked facade

[thezombieprostitute]

Changing Minds - Part 4

Summary: Your long time work acquaintance Nick Fowler offers to take you to a fancy fundraiser as a way of cheering you up. He insists it's only as friends but when he sees you falling into the grasp of someone he knows is no good, he might change his mind on that.

Word Count: ~2.4k (definitely a big'un for my standards!)

Warnings: Implied violence and attempted murder. Please let me know if I missed any.

A/N: Reader is an older female (late 30's +). This is part of the Garbage Men AU.

Part 3 -- Part 5

Series Masterlist

Nick’s been making sure to keep texting you. Nothing too romantic, too revealing, but still keeping in touch, keeping up the appearance of interest. He’s gotten his hands on a tennis bracelet with your favorite color gemstones. Jake was able to find a small enough tracker that could be hidden behind one of the stones. He figured it should be easy enough to offer it to you while you were at work.

But as he pulls into the parking lot he’s thrown into a mild panic at the sight of so many police vehicles and ambulances. He gets out of the car and walks as close as he can before he’s stopped by an officer.

“What’s going on,” he asks, worry etched into his face.

“There’s a bomb,” the officer responds. “We’ve got almost everyone safely out. Bomb squad is in there now.”

“What about Y/N? She’s a friend of mine who works here.”

The officer shrugs, “everyone who’s gotten out of the building is over in that section.” He points to a small group near the ambulances. Nick immediately walks over but he doesn’t see you. He recognizes one of the people who works for you, Nikki? Nicole? He can’t remember but he gets their attention.

“Where is Y/N? Why isn’t she with you?”

“The bomb was at her desk,” the young lady whispers. “It…it was activated when she sat down on her chair or something.”

For a moment, Nick can’t think. Any second now you could be dead, likely all because of him. He sees the police lights flashing and pulls out his phone, dialing Sheriff Bodecker. 

He answers after three rings, “this had better be damn important, Fowler.”

“The City Clerk office–”

“Yeah, we got our best people helpin’ out that little lady. What about it?”

“I need access.”

“No can do, Fowler. That’s a city-owned building with city employees at risk. Can’t be havin’ a civilian helpin’ on the investigation. This stays in house.”

“Bullshit,” Nick growls into the phone. “She’s my friend! She’s in danger and I need to know who the hell placed that damn thing!”

“You’ll get access to the reports the same time as every other citizen,” Lee states. “You know where my loyalties lie, Nick, but when it comes to city stuff, I got alotta protocol to follow if I want to keep my job.”

Nick angrily hangs up the phone. He knows Bodecker is right but he’s still pissed off about it. He calls up Jake to ask him to hack the security cameras but Jensen says it’s a no-go. The security cameras are all self-contained. He’d have to be in the building itself to mess with them. Nick hangs up, frustrated.

He’s trying to think of other options when his eyes spot Clark Kent near the building, talking to the police. Confused and enraged Nick stalks over to him, trying to pick up as much of the conversation as he can. He hears snippets of “oh that poor lady,” and “any resources I can offer” before Kent spots him.

“Mr. Fowler,” he greets. “I’m not surprised to see you here. Your poor friend must be a mess!”

“What are you doing here,” Nick seethed.

“I was hoping to pay the lovely Lady a visit,” he calmly answers. “I had such a lovely time talking with her and I was hoping to talk to her some more. But then this!” Kent gestures at the building, “who would do such a thing? Why would they do such a thing?”

Nick sees through the mask of concern Kent has set up. They both know the value of the records in that building and several reasons why someone would want them destroyed. But if either of them admits to it, it would only be used against them. As much as Nick wants to punch him, he knows it would only make everything worse. 

Fortunately the tension is cut with a small cheer from your coworkers. Both men look and see you being walked outside. Nick’s never seen you so scared and he tries to run to you but is stopped by the officer.

“Please,” Nick insists, “she’s my friend. Please let me go help her.”

“It’s okay, Officer,” Kent adds. “I can confirm their friendship. Please let him go to her?” The officer looks at both men and lets Nick pass, letting the officer escorting you know what’s going on. When you see Nick you reach out to him and take his hand. 

“W’ere taking her to the ambulance,” the officer tells him. “Gonna get her vitals checked. Likely in a state of shock.” Nick nods and walks with you, his hand never leaving yours. 

You find yourself leaning into him as you get to the ambulance. Your coworkers try to get closer but Nick gestures at them to stay back saying, correctly, you need air. The EMT gets to work checking everything she can. She confirms that you’re suffering from shock and either need a hospital stay overnight or to have a friend keep an eye on you at your home. You don’t argue when Nick says he’ll take care of you. You just nod.

Your coworkers give you space as Nick walks you to his car, all of them giving you well wishes. You nod and quietly thank each of them as you walk. You definitely didn’t expect to see Mr. Kent walking up to you, steel blue eyes full of concern.

“My dear Lady,” he starts, taking your free hand in both of his, “I do hope you will recover quickly.” You can’t bring yourself to say anything so you just nod and keep walking.

Nick helps you into your apartment and let yourself slump into your favorite chair. Every time Nick has tried to speak you put up a hand to stop him. You need this. The familiarity of home and comfort before you can bring yourself to have the conversation you know you need to have with him. 

Nick has respected your request for silence but, in his need to do something, he asks, “can I get you some tea or something? If I can find the stuff.” You take a deep breath to steady yourself. Nick notices your nostrils flaring in agitation and wishes he’d kept his mouth shut.

“What I need,” you huff, “is for you to tell me what the hell is going on?” You glare at Nick and he’s taken aback at the ferocity in your eyes. 

“I don’t know anything about the bomb, I swear to you.”

“Of course it isn’t you, Nick,” you scold, your voice getting louder with each word. “We’ve been acquaintances for years with no problem. Then I’m introduced to Mr. Kent, hear your background with him, and suddenly I’m given police reports meant to make you look dangerous and have a bomb placed at my desk! He even showed up to the scene of the damn crime! It doesn’t take a genius to figure this shit out!” 

Nick finds himself stumbling over his words. He’s never seen you like this before and he’s not sure what he can do or say to help.

“Don’t you dare tell me you don’t know anything,” you scold him. “You got me into this damn mess, you’re going to either get me out of it or keep me safe!”

“Yes, ma’am,” Nick whispers in awe of your anger. He’s very glad he didn’t get you that cup of tea as he’s pretty sure he’d be covered in burn marks from you throwing it in his face. 

“And you’re going to call whatever people you’re associated with and get me some more secure locks on my door and maybe even a fucking panic button I can press if I need help. Hell, maybe even a tracker in case I get kidnapped!” Nick ducks his head in shame at that one. “You actually have something already, don’t you,” you chide. “Well, let’s see it!”

Nick pulls out the jewelry box with the tennis bracelet and hands it to you. Your eyes widen in surprise at how pretty it is. “So this is why you wanted to know things like my favorite color?” He nods. “Alright, show me where the tracker is so that I can make sure it doesn’t get damaged or something.” He quietly shows you everything and you put on the necklace. He shows you the locator app on his phone and you feel a little relief. At least now there’s a chance someone would find your body.

While his phone is out he calls someone named “Barnes”. He tries to walk to another room to have a quiet conversation but you refuse to let him leave you alone. If he says anything that downplays his role in your current situation you will make sure this Barnes fellow hears your counter argument. 

The entire conversation he feels the burn of your glare on him. He had no idea you could possess such rage. He wonders if this is how people feel when he’s angry at them. He feels like he needs to confess every bad thing he’s ever done just to get you to stop looking at him like that. 

He hangs up the phone and tells you a couple of people will be there to beef up your security around the apartment and talk to you about other security options.

After a couple of hours Nick tells you the “guests” are here and there’s a knock at the door right after. He checks the peephole and opens the door. Inside walks a tall, broad man with a dark beard, blue eyes, wearing a beanie and carrying a toolbag. With him is a curvy woman who approaches you with a gentle smile and says, “you can call me Teach. This is Curtis, he’s going to make sure your apartment door and windows are all reinforced with stronger locks.” Curtis grunts acknowledgement as the door closes and he immediately gets to work.

Nick tries to approach and stand next to you as you start talking with Teach but you give him a glare and he ends up sitting at the far end of your couch. You’d laugh at how much he looks like a petulant child if you weren’t still angry at him. Teach definitely picks up on your animosity and asks “would you like someone else on your security detail?”

“I’m not sure,” you quietly admit. 

“If it helps at all he is one of the best three in terms of personal security.”

You nod, “but will having him around just make it worse for me?”

“Quite possibly,” Teach admits. “It feels like the closer you and Nick appear to be, the worse it’ll be for you. On the other hand, if he’s not around, it leaves you open and vulnerable. We just don’t know enough to know if Kent’s people will leave you alone if the two of you have a falling out or if he’ll try something anyways just to further hurt Nick. Considering the options, it’s likely safer for you to keep him around.”

Sighing, you concede to her logic, “I suppose we can keep up the friendship and fake dating thing until we know how Kent will react to a breakup.”

“Oh good,” Teach says. “Nick did tell you it was a platonic date.”

“No he didn’t,” you shake your head and her eyes widen. “He didn’t need to,” you scoff. “Nick isn’t as good at hiding his feelings as he likes to think.”

Teach seems to consider your words, “or you’re just that good at reading him. He’s a regular winner at the monthly poker games.” She shakes her head, “but that’s neither here nor there. He’ll be assigned to your security under the premise of dating. We’ll make sure to get you some additional coverage in the form of surveillance. We’ve got eyes on nearby security cameras for your apartment and your office. I’ll give you my contact information so that, if you think of other security measures you’d like, you can ask me.”

“Thank you, Teach, sincerely. How can I repay you?”

She gets a sly smile, “make sure Nick doesn’t get off easy? He fucked up big time and you’re paying the price.”

“He only took me to that event to try to cheer me up.”

“And yet,” she whispers, “from what I’ve heard, he didn’t even try to play it cool in separating you from Kent. If he’d been more casual, let you spend the evening with Kent, maybe there wouldn’t be such a big target on your back. Seriously, for as good as Nick can be about hiding his feelings, he seems to be unable to mask up around you.” 

You ponder on that while Curtis finishes up the reinforcement measures for your apartment. He and Teach head out and move to stand in front of Nick, who hasn’t moved from his spot on the couch.

Clearing your throat to get his attention your heart softens when you see the pain in his eyes. “We need to discuss the rules and get our story straight,” you tell him. He nods and you continue, “we can actually use the emotional trauma of the bomb and say that was the catalyst that moved us from friends to dating.” Again, a silent nod from him. “Every time you’re at my apartment you will sleep on the couch. Every time you see me you will bring me a flower or some other small gift. Every time we go out, we will keep PDA to a minimum.” For each requirement you bring up he silently nods.

“Do you have anything to say,” you chide.

“I’m…I’m sorry,” he starts. “I…I shouldn’t have…I’m just...so sorry.” Your feel deflated as the last of your anger dissipates at his sincere apology.

Sighing, you tell him, “I need to get some sleep. Feel free to familiarize yourself with the kitchen. You are allowed to roam my apartment but not my bedroom.” You start walking towards your bed and mutter under your breath, “that’s reserved for people actually interested in me.”

Part 3 -- Part 5

Series Masterlist

Tags:

@alicedopey

@jaqui-has-a-conspiracy-theory

@rebekahdawkins

@texmexdarling

If you'd like to be tagged, please let me know.

[westeroswisdom]

Matt Smith spoke with the Los Angeles Times about Daemon Targaryen. He's particularly insightful on the way Daemon and brother Viserys relate to each other.

“There’s a lot going on with his brother that he’s coming to terms with,” says Smith, who noted that scenes with Considine really helped him define the character. “Viserys ostensibly brought him up, and for Daemon it’s either try to piss him off or impress him.” So it’s more Freudian than just plain pervy when Daemon corrupts, and almost seduces, underage Rhaenyra? Or is he truly in love with her, as it often seems? After all, Daemon even marries Rhaenyra years later (when she’s played by Emma D’Arcy); typically, he murders at least one of his other wives in the interim. “Well, in the land of the Targaryens, it’s more commonplace to be with your immediate family,” Smith explains with a slightly nervous laugh. “I think he’s quite a solitary creature, really. But he’s also quite a political one. There’s a sense that his brother and Rhaenyra particularly, are the two people he would go to war for. It’s like he’s got this very weird sense of loyalty. To him, sometimes he’s doing the right thing even when he’s really doing the wrong thing.”

Matt had to get lessons on how to be a proper Targaryen.

Much more than locating the man inside the monster went into creating Daemon. It takes the better part of each morning to get the Targaryen clan’s identifying silvery-blond, chest-length wigs on just so. There were lessons in horsemanship and broadsword handling. Smith also learned multiple dialects of Valyrian, the Latin-like language Westeros nobles use among themselves, which he often employed to bring out Daemon’s more thoughtful dimensions. And of course, there was dragon riding. Daemon has his own flying fire-breather: Caraxes the Blood Wyrm. “They built this huge plinth that you have to get up on, then they move you around by remote control,” Smith says of the dragon rig. “Last year, they did it on a volume stage, which is like a reality stage [it surrounds actors with immersive sky visuals as opposed to blank bluescreens]. It’s quite high in the air and it’s like a bucking bronco, essentially. You’re sitting on what looks like a massive motorcycle, a low-slung Harley-Davidson.”

Like many GoT and HotD characters, Daemon is complex. A word Matt Smith often associates with Daemon is chaos.

“Daemon sort of thrives on chaos. There’s an element of him that’s walking on a tightrope made of glass, and he loves that he could fall off at any time. He operates on his own sort of strange and often violent plane. But to him, the violence is not gratuitous. He’s not doing it clumsily, he’s doing it with purpose and precision. Now, whether that’s right or wrong is for other people to debate.”

[givemea-dam-break]

Hey hope your having a lovely day or night I was wondering if you would write something for Lucy as I haven't seen alot for her as the other boys.

Maybe when Lucy first arrives instead of the article room being just hers she as to share it with the reader who's been friends with the boys for a while and Lucy is shocked that the reader works withe the boys or something and their is that immediate spark between them.

Anyway even if it's just a Lucy idea you have had that would be amazing as well and if u don't mind tagging me that would be amazing <33

a/n: i would be more than happy to write this! i adore lucy and she holds a special place in my heart (partly because my dad is northern English too and i love their accents) so i hope you enjoy! I'm sorry this has taken so long to come out, i just kept getting stuck in places about what to write haha

warnings: mild language female reader (few pronouns used)

"I'm sorry about the boys. Their test was genuine, but they're like schoolboys and like poking fun."

"It's fine," Lucy Carlyle, Lockwood and Co's new hire, says, but her tone indicates that she's still a little pissed off about it. You can't blame her, you'd been pissed when they did it, too. "How can you work with them? Are they always like that?"

You shrug, fluffing the freshly changed pillows on Lucy's bed. "I've known George since we were kids - don't mistake that for friends, we only knew of each other - and Lockwood... well, he's Lockwood, and you just learn to expect the wildest things from him. I've kind of just learned to either drown out the stupid things they're saying, or I have to be the one to knock some sense into them, especially Lockwood. You'll get used to them."

Lucy places her bags down, brushing her hands over her coat in a nervous gesture. "How long have you been working with them?"

"Only as long as it's been registered, so three months," you say. "George found me just after Lockwood started the company, something about needing someone with good Touch, so you're the perfect fit for the last Talent. And, god, it'll be good to finally have another girl in the house." You walk over to the wardrobe, flinging the doors open. "Okay, so this half of the wardrobe is mine, and this half is yours. I did ask Lockwood if we'd be able to get another, but he's stingy. Luckily for you, most of my clothes stay folded on the floor by my bed, so feel free to use as many hangers as you want -"

"What's in that room downstairs?" Lucy asks, looking over at the bedroom door. "The one on the landing?"

You hesitate. "I don't know. Neither does George. We just know that it's off-limits, and Lockwood gets antsy when the topic even gets brought up. If I were you, I'd steer clear of that conversation for now."

"Right." Lucy sits on her bed, expression tired and confused. "Sorry, this is all just a lot to take in..."

"That's alright. Want me to give you some space for a while? I've got to make a start on dinner soon, anyways. It's my day to cook."

Lucy looks up at you, and something in her eyes pins you to the spot. They're a light brown, glimmering golden in the lamplight of the room, and her hair curls loosely around her face, barely sweeping her shoulders. But those eyes...

"Could you stay?" she asks softly. "Maybe, um, maybe we could get to know each other?"

Grinning, you sit on the bed beside her, giving her enough space to make sure she's comfortable. "Well, it would be a good start if we're going to be sharing a room for the foreseeable future. What do you want to know?"

She eases up a little, relaxing. "Did you say your Talent was Touch? Lockwood never mentioned in the interview."

"Yeah," you say. "I know your Touch helps you hear things, but it helps me see, I suppose you could say. Takes me back to the time of death, or whatever it's linked to. My Listening is alright, and my Sight is a little better."

"I've never really heard of that before. That sounds... cool."

You shrug. "I suppose, unless I'm watching someone being murdered, or something. Usually, it isn't too bad. Lately, my Sight has been needed more than anything."

"Have you got any cases coming up?" Lucy's voice sounds a little more confident now. "With the tests, you guys are well aware that I'm good enough to work here, but I've never seen you guys in action, or heard about it."

"We do, actually," you say. "Tomorrow. Some old lady's husband died not long ago, took a tumble down the stairs, and now is possibly haunting her house. We're going to go and check it out, hopefully find the source and get out unharmed. I'm sure Lockwood will let you tag along. It seems like a simple enough job."

--

Funny. It is not a simple job.

It goes terribly wrong from the get-go, actually.

First problem: George is late, and nothing you can say to Lockwood convinces him to hold off a little bit to give George time to get there. So, essentially, you're going in blind.

Second problem: judging from the fact that Mrs Hope, the owner of the house, says that she's the only one with a key to the house, the human-like shape you saw moving inside is most certainly a ghost. At not even six o'clock, no ghost should really be active.

Third problem: well, to put it simply, Mr Hope is not the ghost haunting the house. No, that would be too easy, right?

Standing on the landing of the second floor, rapier drawn, you stare up at the ghost of a young woman. Faintly, you can hear her voice shouting out to you, but Listening isn't your strength. She's a creepy one, you'll give her that, just hovering in the air a few feet away, dress and hair blowing as if she's caught in a breeze.

"Luce," you say. "What's she saying?"

Lucy watches the ghost cautiously. "Let me go. But... Something feels different. It's like I can feel what she feels."

"She's a ghost," Lockwood says. "She can't feel anything."

"This is different. This -"

With a horrible screech, the ghost launches herself at Lucy, who stumbles backwards into the stair bannister. In unison, you and Lockwood slash through the Visitor with your rapiers, holding her back as a loud crack! sounds behind you.

"(name)!" Lucy cries. "Help!"

Glancing behind you, your heart almost stops. Lucy has broken through the bannister, and the only reason she hasn't fallen and broken all of her bones is that her boot is stuck in one of the gaps, and she's grasped onto a painting on the wall. Even within a second, her grip is slipping.

Lockwood throws a salt bomb, drawing the ghost away as your reach over, careful not to fall down the gap yourself, and grab Lucy's hand, pulling her back up.

"You okay?" you ask, still holding onto her. "No ghost touch?"

She shakes her head, mumbling, "No. I'm okay."

Something in your chest eases at that. The case is nowhere near over, but she's okay for now, and you find that's all that matters to you.

[firstelevens]

33 for Tyrone/Tandy from the new TS prompts list, please ⚜️

33. they'll judge it like they know about me and you

this is a Ty/Tandy entry from the Formula One AU, set around chapter 4 of the fic because I'm a sucker who can't walk away from things I love

“Tyrone fucking Johnson, do you even know how to answer a text message?!”

Ty startles, his head immediately whipping around towards the doors, where his very pissed off best-friend-and-maybe-more stands glaring at him.

He winces, scrambling to his feet as she stalks over. He vaguely notices Bucky’s surprise at Tandy’s entrance, but he’s too busy explaining himself to her to bother addressing Bucky’s confusion.

She looks furious, but by now Ty is fluent in the many moods of Tandy Bowen, and he can tell the difference between anger over something stupid he did and anger because she was worried about him. He still lets out a soft ‘oof’ when she throws her arms around him, but that’s more for show than anything else.

“I’m sorry,” he mumbles into her hair, squeezing her as tightly as she’s holding him. “The stupid charger didn’t work last night and my battery died in medical and I didn’t know how to tell Chase to tell you without making it obvious that…”

He feels her nod into his chest and makes the decision to ignore the slight tremble in her shoulders for now.

There’s a loud scrape of a chair against stone, and Ty is suddenly reminded that they have an audience as Bucky stands to leave. 

He spares half a thought for how his and Tandy’s plan to keep their friendship under wraps is probably shot, but he can’t bring himself to care all that much right now. There had been a second today when his car was spinning out of control where all Ty had wanted to do was radio in a message to Tandy, just in case he wouldn’t be able to later. Then his car had smashed nose first into a barrier and fried his communications and it had gone from a practical concern to a hypothetical one.

It doesn’t change that he knew exactly what he would say to her if he had the chance. He just has to hope that she doesn’t bolt when he finally gets the words out of his mouth.

He’d had a hunch, but it becomes clear just how worried Tandy was when she pulls back to look at him with tears still in her eyes, huffing as she swipes them away. “They checked you over properly?” she asks, sniffling and looking annoyed about it. “No shortcuts so Victor could get around to lecturing you about wrecking the car?”

“No shortcuts,” says Ty. “And no lectures, either.”

She frowns. “Whatever. He’s still a dick.”

“You’re right,” he says with a laugh, “but I’m fine, T. I promise.”

He’s not surprised that this doesn’t seem to convince Tandy, who takes half a step back—Ty’s arms are still around her waist—and holds up a hand.

“How many fingers am I holding up?”

“Three,” says Ty. “The helmet did its job.”

Tandy is still frowning. “If you say so.”

“I do,” he says, “and so did the medics, and so did the doctor who came through after the medics, and so did Chase’s mom, who’s literally a neurologist.”

Tandy makes a face, but the corner of her mouth lifts a little. “Three opinions is definitely overkill, even for an overachiever like you.”

Ty smiles. “I had to be sure; I knew there was someone in my life who was going to want to triple check.”

“Well, whoever that is, they sound silly,” Tandy says, more to Ty’s shirt than to his face.

“Don’t call my best friend silly,” he says. “She beats up people who are mean to me.”

Tandy snorts, but she still hasn’t moved out of the circle of Ty’s arms, her hands resting flat against his chest.

When she’s quiet for a few long moments, Ty tells himself that it’s time to get what he wants to say off his chest. “Tandy,” he starts to say, “I wanted to–”

“I didn’t like it,” she says abruptly, cutting him off. Ty furrows his eyebrows, but she’s explaining herself before he can ask. “Seeing your car spin out like that. I didn’t– it felt like I couldn’t breathe, watching it happen. Like I couldn’t remember how.”

He finally moves his hands away from her waist, covering her hands with his where they rest over his heart. He wants to reassure her, but he also knows that if he starts talking, he’s as likely to spook her as anything else, and he really wants to know what she has to say.

“It was the worst,” she says, “and I’ve seen some pretty shitty things. I don’t know how people do it, all these spouses who come down to watch the races. I don’t get how you can watch that happen to someone and not hate every second that it could happen to the person you care about. I don’t think it would even be humanly possible if you had to watch something like that from the pit and not the stands.”

There’s a sinking feeling in Ty’s chest, but he tries to ignore it and hear the rest of what Tandy is saying. She’s his best friend before she’s anything else, and he owes her that.

Tandy takes a long, slow breath like she’s trying to steel herself for something. Ty doesn’t know what else to do, so he gives her hands a gentle squeeze of encouragement.

By some miracle, it works. She tilts her head up again so she’s looking him in the eye, and her voice shakes a little as she speaks.

“I was so sure that our plan was going to work out perfectly. That– that you could bide your time at Leone and then you could come to Scuda and it would all work out, but I can’t do it, Ty,” she says, and his heart cracks a little bit.

“It’s okay, Tandy,” he murmurs. “We’re okay. You’re my best friend and I’m the luckiest man in the world for that. You don’t have to worry about anything else.”

As facial expressions go, Ty is expecting to see sadness or acceptance or maybe irritation.

What he’s not expecting is to see Tandy’s big sad eyes go from tearful to completely baffled.

“Wait,” she says. “Wait, wait, wait. What?”

Ty furrows his eyebrows. “What, what? I just mean it’s okay, T. We’re friends and that’s plenty.”

She chooses this moment to finally step away from him, looking incredulous now. “Of course it is!” she says. “But I thought we were–”

“So did I!” says Ty, now just as confused as Tandy looks. “But then you said that you couldn’t do it, and I wanted to respect that.”

“Ty, oh my God, you have got to stop being so accommodating.”

“I know that’s not the lesson you want me to take away from a moment where I was trying to respect your wishes about something.”

Tandy crosses her arms. “Did you wait to hear my wishes before respecting them, or did you just jump right to being self-sacrificing?”

Ty presses his mouth shut. She may have a point, he realizes, and it’s also just unfair how cute she looks when she’s telling him how stupid he’s being.

She huffs. “I have to do everything myself around here, huh?”

“You do kind of have authority issues, so I’m not sure how well you’d take to someone else doing things for you.”

After a moment of pretending to think it over, she nods. “You might have a point.”

Ty shakes his head. “Tandy Bowen tells me I’m right and I don’t even have a working phone to record it.”

“I’ll buy you a tape recorder for your next birthday,” she says. He hasn’t missed the fact that she’s moved closer to him now, almost as near as she was when her hands were pressed over his heart.

“Tandy,” says Ty, because the suspense is ging to kill him. “What were you trying to say earlier?”

“When you and your hero complex were busy jumping to conclusions? That ‘earlier’?”

Ty narrows his eyes at her, but then a smile breaks across her face and he can’t help but give her one in response. “Yeah, that ‘earlier.’”

She takes another steadying breath before looking up to meet his eyes again. “What I was saying was that I don’t think I can do what we planned,” she says. “I don’t think I can be your engineer like we thought I could.”

It’s not what Ty expected to hear, but it still hurts. The entire time he’d been working towards a spot in Formula One, it had been his goal to drive on the track with Tandy in his ear. They would be unstoppable together; he was certain of that. He still is.

“I’m not trying to change your mind,” he says slowly, “but could you tell me why?”

At which point Ty is the recipient of one of the most classic faces that Tandy makes, lesson one in the textbook of the many moods of Tandy Bowen: she looks at him like he’s just asked a question with the most obvious answer in the world, and Ty has no idea what that’s supposed to be.

“Humor me, T.”

“Ty,” she says, and this time it’s Tandy putting her hands in his, “I can’t be your engineer because I’d be fucking terrible at it. Because every time I would tell any other driver to push through and overtake or speed up or drive on bald tires, I would tell you to make the safe choice. I can’t be your engineer because if it had to be a choice between you winning and me knowing that you weren’t going to get hurt, you’d never win a single race.”

Ty’s heart is hammering against his chest and making it very difficult for him to keep all of that banked up hope at bay. “Why?” he manages to ask.

“Because I might be reckless about everything else,” she says softly, “but I– I don’t want to be reckless with you.”

Her hands are shaking a little bit, but she doesn’t look away from him, and all Ty can think of is the hundred ways the world has broken both their hearts, and the fact that they’re still willing to risk that again for each other, and he just can’t be cautious anymore.

Ty pulls Tandy closer by their joined hands, tipping her chin up just a little. Tandy sees where he’s going like she always does and gets there first just because she can, dropping Ty’s hands so she can brace a hand against his jaw, pulling him down towards her. Like most places Tandy has drawn him to, he goes willingly.

Her lips curve up in a smile against his own, and when they break apart, they can’t stop laughing, something giddy filling the air between them.

“So it looks like we’re doing a really good job of keeping our friendship under wraps, huh?”

“We’re basically spies at this point,” says Ty. “The best way to avoid people accusing you and your best friend of a conflict of interest is to kiss them in a public place.”

Tandy looks back over her shoulder at the still-empty patio. “If they see us, they see us,” she says, with a decisive nod. “People talk anyway. Might as well give them something to talk about.”

“What happened to not being reckless?” laughs Ty.

“Some things are worth the risk,” Tandy says primly. Before Ty can feel too flattered about it, she adds, “And by ‘some things’, here I obviously mean ‘the chance to get into the WAGs group chat.’ They know everything.”

And Ty means to give her a flat look in response, he really does, but then he sees the pure delight in her face as she teases him, and he’s not sure how he’s supposed to do anything except smile back at her when she looks at him like this.

[neon-lights-and-glitter]

Complicated - Part 4

Fezco X Reader Series - Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4

Summary - Faye moves in, and the reader starts to get suspicious of what Fezco and Ashtray are hiding from her.

Song - Outnumbered by Dermot Kennedy

Word Count- 1.9k

Warnings- Euphoria topics, mentions of murder.

A/N - Sorry this took so long to get out, hopefully the next one doesn't take as long, but I said that last time too, so no promises. Also how many people listen to the song I put for each part? Im struggling to find songs now that there is more Euphoria events in the series, so I'm just curious if I should still add them. This part isn't the best, but I'm sick again and I needed this to happen for what I have planned.

The first time Fezco let you out of his sight after New Year’s eve was almost a week later, to take Ashtray bowling. Ashtray had been wanted to go and both you and Fezco liked to give Ashtray as much time to actually be a kid as possible. Bowling wasn’t exactly Fezco’s thing, so he decided to stay home. 

While you and Ashtray were out Fezco got a call from Custer about Faye needing to be picked up immediately and that she would need to stay with you guys. Since it had to be immediately Fezco couldn’t wait until you got home to let you know, and because of what Custer had on Fezco and Ashtray with the killing of Mouse, Fezco couldn’t really say no.

It was a couple hours later when you and Ashtray came home, walking towards the living room together.

“Hey Fez, we’re back” You called out, before you and Ashtray walked around the corner into the living room. Ashtray noticed Faye sitting at the dining room table before you did. As soon as you walked in all your attention went to Fezco, like always, who was sitting on the opposite side of the room on the couch. Ashtray stopped walking as soon as he saw Faye which made you stop and look over at him confused. Ashtray nudged your arm gently, nodding his head over to Faye who was looking over at you two. 

You looked over at her for a second, before looking back at Ashtray who looked just as confused as you did. You remembered Faye from that night as Laurie’s, but she seemed to be in a similar situation as you were, just on a lot more drugs. She was the girlfriend of a drug dealer who got drug into a situation that wasn’t expected. You couldn’t think of a reason why she was now sitting in the dining room, without her boyfriend. If Custer was there, it would have made sense.

“Fez, what’s-“ “Let me-“ You and Fezco started to talk at the same time, before you both paused.

“You go first.” You said, Fezco sighed and nodded, you walked over to the couch, sitting down across from Fezco. Ashtray crossed his arms, staying in the doorway until you motioned for him to sit next to you, and he did after slight hesitation. Fezco looked over at Ashtray before he started talking.

As Fezco explained the situation you noticed the looks Fezco and Ashtray were sharing. Clearly Ashtray was pissed off, and Fezco felt guilty for having to make the decision without telling you both first, but you could tell there was something else that you were missing. 

As soon as Fezco was done explaining Ashtray stormed off to his room. Fezco sighed, running his hands over his head. 

“Can we talk? In the other room?” You asked Fezco, and he nodded. You stood up, smiling softly at Faye before you walked into the bedroom. You didn’t want Faye to think you were annoyed at her, she didn’t seem like someone you would normally hang out with, but she seemed nice enough, and it didn’t exactly seem like she wanted to be there either. You were sure that this was even more awkward for her then it was you, to see you all arguing over her being there. Though she may have been too high to care at the moment.

You sat down on the bed while Fezco closed the door before sitting down next to you.

“Are you mad at me?” Fezco asked you and you thought for a moment before shaking your head, which surprised him.

“I’m not mad at you, just annoyed at the situation, I guess. Wasn’t expecting to come home to another girl living with us.” You paused “I just feel like there’s something you’re not telling me.” You told him, Fezco bit his lip and looked away from you for a second because you were right, he was just hoping that you didn’t notice. He shook his head and looked back at you.

“It’s nothing, just business stuff I don’t want you involved in.” Fezco told you. “So, you’re really not mad at me?” He asked, changing the subject as quick as he could. You shook your head again.

“No, Ash on the other hand, seems pissed.” You said.

“Yeah, expected that, expected you to be too, but I’ll take it. Don’t think I could handle you pissed off at me.” 

“I don’t think I could ever be truly angry at you.” You told him, leaning back on the bed, and reaching over for Fezco’s hand. “You know me, I don’t get angry often. But if she starts flirting with you, that’s a different story.” Fezco laughed softly.

“Is someone jealous?” Fezco teased, laying back on the bed with you.

“No, not right now at least.” You rolled over to your side so you could face him.

“Well, even if she does try to hit on me, I only want you.” Fezco told you, making you smile softly. “Only you” He repeated as he leaned over to kiss your forehead before he sighed. “I should probably go talk to Ash.” He said, starting to stand up when you grabbed his arm gently, pulling him back to the bed.

“No, you should give him space for the night, don’t push anything. I’ll go check on him if you want me too though.” You told him, both of you knew Ashtray would respond better to you then Fezco at the moment. Fezco nodded.

“Please?” He asked, you nodded and stood up. “I love you.” Fezco reminded you.

“I love you too.” You said, a little louder then you normally did, but not too loud that it was weird. Fezco laughed softly, maybe you were a little jealous. 

You walked towards Ashtray’s room, while Fezco walked back out to the living room to show Faye where everything was. You knocked on Ashtray’s door, getting no response. 

“Ash, it’s me.” You called out, finally getting a response from him telling you to come in and you did, closing the door behind you before walking over to him.

“If you’re here to tell me something that Fezco wants you to, you can leave.” Ashtray said and you shook your head immediately.

“No, I’m not, just wanted to see if you were okay. Well, I guess Fezco did too, but I told him I would, I know you probably don’t want to talk to him right now.” You said and Ashtray rolled his eyes, leaning back in his chair.

“I’m fine, but your right, I don’t.” Ashtray said

“Do you want to talk to me about it? I know I don’t know everything, and Fez won’t tell me, but if you want to just talk about this situation, or anything else, you know I’ll listen to you rant anytime.” You told him.

“What am I supposed to say? Plus, you’ll just go tell Fez anything I say.” Ashtray sighed softly watching your expression as he said that, clearly it hurt you. Sometimes you would go tell Fezco something that Ashtray told you, but you also wanted Ashtray to know that if he really didn’t want you to tell Fezco you wouldn’t.

“You know I won’t tell him if you don’t want me to.” You said quietly, Ashtray usually wasn’t like this towards you, you were one of the only people he’d open up to, so you didn’t exactly know how to deal with it.

“I know that I’m sorry. I’m not mad at you, you have nothing to do with this.” He explained and you nodded.

“If you change your mind, you know where to find me.” You smiled at him softly before walking out of his room. You walked back into your bedroom where Fezco was already starting to get ready for bed. 

As soon as Fezco heard you walked into your room he turned to face you, leaning against the dresser.

“What he’d say?” Fezco asked you.

“He said he doesn’t want to talk to you, or me” You told Fezco, “he’ll be fine, he’ll get over it.” You reassured him, and he nodded, holding his arms out for you, wrapping them around after you walked towards him, wrapping your arms around him. You both stayed like that for a couple minutes before you pulled away gently. 

“All I’m going to say, is that I don’t want to hear it next time I say I want to get a dog and you tell me no” You teased Fezco, making him laugh and roll his eyes. You were referencing all the times you had begged Fezco to get a dog, even once convincing him to go look at dogs with him, until he had to practically drag you out before he gave in and you two came home with a dog.

“One day you can have as many dogs as you want, promise.” Fezco kissed the top of your head.

The next couple days went the same, Ashtray continuing to mostly ignore everyone in the house, especially Fezco. 

You and Fezco were both asleep when you woke up to the sound of a crash, Fezco instantly getting out of bed.

“Stay here.” He told you and you nodded, listening as he walked carefully around the house.

“Its just Faye” Fez called out, you sighed, getting out of bed, walking towards where you heard Fezco’s voice come from, seeing him helping Faye off the ground. 

“Let me help you.” You told Fezco and he nodded, you both brought her back to the couch.

“We can’t have you overdosing here.” Fezco told Faye and she nodded, but who knows if she was listening.

“Is it true you killed Mouse?” Faye asked Fezco, you looked over at him.

“No.” Fezco told her, “You can go back to bed, I got it from here.” Fezco told you, and you nodded walking back to the bedroom. Fezco just wanted you out of the room, not knowing how much Faye knew, or what she was going to say next.

“Faye, go back to sleep.” Fezco told her, handing her the blanket that she had been using before. She nodded, laying back down on the couch.

“Cause that’s what Custer told me. That you killed Mouse, and then something about cops, I don’t remember.” Faye continued making Fezco stop for a second.

“What about cops?” He asked, though he didn’t want you hearing any new information coming out of her mouth right now, he certainly was going to use it to his advantage.

“Something about talking to them, but I don’t know what it was about.” Faye explained, and Fezco nodded.

“Go to sleep.” Fezco told her once again before walking back to the bedroom, laying back down next to you. “Sorry about that.” He sighed, wrapping his arms around you.

“It’s okay” You laid your head back on his chest. “Is that why Mouse doesn’t come around anymore? Someone killed him?” You asked.

“Yeah” Fezco sighed softly, “Don’t worry about it though baby.” Fezco told you, kissing the top of your head. 

“Do you know who did it?” You asked even though he told you not to worry, you were still going to.

“No.” Fezco said, a little quicker than he normally would. “I don’t.” You nodded.

“I love you” You smiled softly, leaning up to kiss him softly.

“I love you too” Fezco pulled you closer to him, so you were practically on top of him. Fezco ran his fingers through your hair until you fell back asleep.

Series Tags - @purplebtsmagic

[a-reader-and-a-writer-for-all]

Let Me Teach You

Fandom: DC, Suicide Squad, Rick Flag, gn!reader

Summary: When Rick finds out he has to go to a big military ball, he is horrified. Dancing is definitely not one of his many skills. So, you offer to teach him.

Word Count: 1081

Rick stormed into your shared office and threw a pile of paperwork angrily on his desk. You startled awake from where you had been dozing off in your chair in the corner. He shot you a quick apologetic glance before shifting back into full pissed off mode. You yawned and stretched before asking, “So what’s got you in such a bad mood?”

“Waller just told me I have to go to this banquet for some of the top military bigwigs up in DC.” He crossed his arms across his broad chest and pouted slightly.

You smirked at his expression as you leaned back in your chair. “So? She’s always showing you off at these sorts of events as the commander of Task Force X. What’s new?”

He shifted uncomfortably. “This one is more formal than usual. It’s less of a banquet and more of a….. ball.”

“Oh.” You understood his concern immediately. You had seen Rick try to dance before and if it was anything more than gently swaying to the music, he was completely hopeless. The man could sneak silently through any terrain imaginable but place him on the dance floor, and he became an uncoordinated idiot. To say he had two left feet would be a compliment.

“I don’t know what to do!” he said frustratedly as rubbing his hand over his face.

You shrugged nonchalantly. “Let me teach you.”

His head shot up. “What?”

“I’ve offered before. Maybe now this will be enough of a motivation to actually let me show you a thing or two.”

“I don’t need you to teach me-”

“Yes, you do.” He looked miserably down at the floor as you cut him off. “Listen, it doesn’t have to be anything fancy. Just a simple slow dance. I’m sure you can pick that up in no time!”

He hesitated then mumbled, “When would we do this?”

“How about now?” you said. “It’s either this or I go back to my nap.”

“But we don’t have any music.”

You chuckled as you stood up from your chair. “One step at a time, Colonel. Let’s just see what I’m working with.”

You grabbed his hands and placed one on your hip. Rick immediately slid it up so it rested on your waist, but you rolled your eyes at him before repositioning it back at your hip. Then you placed one hand on his shoulder and linked your other hand with his.

For the next hour, you did your best to teach Rick the most basic of moves, but it was pretty much a disaster. Whether you had him try leading or you lead, he was constantly stomping on your toes. He refused to look at you, instead leaving his eyes glued to the floor. And the one time you attempted a dip, you ended up flat on your back.

Groaning, you took his hand as he sheepishly offered it to you and pulled you back to your feet. “Stop getting in your head, Flag! You are so focused on what you are supposed to be doing, you overthink it and screw everything up. I’ve seen you dodge bullets, dive for cover, and move as lightly and gracefully on your feet as any dancer. You can do this!” He blushed deep red as you thought for a second. Finally, you came up with a different approach.

“Close your eyes.” Rick started to protest but you glared at him so fiercely, he shut up and did what he was told. You returned to your starting position before saying, “Now, I’m going to lead. While I do, I want you to mentally take apart your gun and reassemble it as quickly as you can.”

He opened his eyes to stare at you in confusion. “What?”

You slapped his shoulder roughly. “Just do what I say!”

Reluctantly, he closed his eyes. As soon as you saw his brow start to furrow as he began thinking about his assigned task, you started moving. Gracefully and elegantly, you lead him all around the small office. Without Rick being in his head and worrying he was going to mess up, he followed your lead perfectly. And just as you saw his face start to relax and his eyes begin to open, you leaned back into a low dip so the perfectly executed move was the first thing he saw.

As you straightened up, you pulled him into a tight hug. “That was great! I knew you could do it! You just need to stop focusing so much and just go with the flow of things!”

Rick chuckled as he returned your embrace. “I don’t know if I can spend all night at the event with my eyes closed, thinking about disassembling my gun, but I get your point. Thank you. I… I do strangely feel better about this.”

You both stood in each other’s arms for a moment before Rick pulled away and glanced at his watch. “Well, that killed the rest of the day. Looks like it’s time to head home.” You both started to gather your belongings but just as you were headed to the door of the office, Rick called after you. “Hey, do you want to get a drink? I’ll buy. It’ll be my way of saying thank you for today.”

You smiled at him. “Thanks, but I’ve already got a date with Emilia tonight.”

Rick groaned. “I still don’t know what you see in her. Harcourt’s a bitch.”

“And maybe that’s my type.” You teased playfully. “Besides, I could be saying the same thing about you and June.”

“Hey! She’s not that bad!” Rick countered. “You’ve never really given her a chance after the whole Enchantress thing.”

“Yeah, well, that tends to happen when someone tries to kill you, possessed or not.”

“So, agree to disagree. Neither of us can stand each other’s girlfriend, but we’re both happy. Right?” He asked.

“Right.” You nudged him as he joined you at the door. “And that’s all I want for you. So, if that means you’re going to keep dating that witch, fine by me.”

“And if you’re happy dating that bitch, then I’m happy for you.” Rick nudged you back.

The two of you laughed and continued playfully shoving each other as you walked down the hall, reveling in the fact that at the end of the day, no matter who you were dating, at least you each had a best friend who would always have your back.

[the-graves-family]

29. Betrayal (Alternative)

Noah’s silence is a thousand times sharper than any knife Aaron has.

The man, his man, his boyfriend, is sitting at the kitchen table, arms crossed, glaring at him. Kind, gentle, sweet Noah. Glaring daggers that could rip him apart in an instant.

Aaron immediately knows Lillian is somehow involved. Bitch.

“Care to explain yourself?”

A thousand lies and excuses flash in his mind, all he has to do is pick one. It’s his first and only instinct. Why put himself at risk by telling the truth? The truth isn’t anything Noah wants to hear, either. But as Aaron opens his mouth, Noah holds up a hand, a sneer on his face.

Noah’s face is too pretty to sneer.

“Actually don’t. I can’t trust a single word you say.”

That’s true, but for some reason, it still stings. To his own surprise, Aaron closes his mouth and stays silent. There has to be a way out of this. He sees Noah rub the back of his neck, face twisted into an angry frown.

“Get out.”

What?

“What— no? Why?”

Aaron’s mouth moves faster than his brain. It’s one of his best and worst qualities. And clearly, Noah isn’t amused by it this time. 

“Why?” Noah is raising his voice, and that automatically makes Aaron’s hackles rise. He hates being yelled at, which makes him irrationally angry. He wants to yell right back. “You lied to me. You’ve been lying to me this whole time!”

“No I haven’t,” Aaron spits out, crossing his arms over his chest and tipping his chin up.

“Aaron, you hurt my sister and got with me to get back at her. I thought you had your issues, but I didn’t think you were a bloody psycho!”

Noah’s words hurt. It’s weird. Aaron’s never experienced it. It’s like he’s angry, but also sad, and some other things welling up in his chest he doesn’t recognize. He doesn’t like it. Snarling, he huffs and looks away. His first response to yelling is violence. Always has been. But with his fingers digging into his arms instead of Noah’s throat, he realises he doesn’t want to hurt the older man.

Fucking what?

Since when?

All this stress is not good for his heart, the doctor had said something or other about that, but he’s not about to show weakness in front of a very pissed off Noah.

“She’s just a lying bitch, whatever she’s told you isn’t—”

“Don’t talk about her like that!” Noah interrupts him, properly yelling now. He’s gotten up, slamming his hands on the table and leaning on them. Aaron doesn’t know why that scares him so much.  “What the hell is wrong with you?!”

It’s a breaking point. They’re both too angry and Noah is screaming, and Aaron has had it. He’d gone on that stupid trip only because his boyfriend had told him to, and now he had the fucking gall to yell at him?

Faster than he can stop himself, Aaron jerks forward and grabs Noah by the front of his shirt, eyes wide and wild.

Fist raised.

For once in his life, the fear that he sees in someone else’s eyes doesn’t make him excited, don’t get his heart pumping with adrenaline. It stops him in his tracks, like someone’s pressed pause on the universe.

He can’t do it.

There has to be a reason. He’s never felt anything for anyone, so why—?

Hands against his shoulders and he’s being pushed away. Noah is heavier than him, and Aaron hadn’t expected it at all, so he stumbles back and almost falls on his ass, letting his boyfriend go and just staring at him in shock.

Noah looks fucking furious. There’s still fear there, some panic, betrayal. But anger is what dominates his face and eyes. No trace of the warmth and love Aaron was used to. He didn’t even know he could miss something like that.

“Get the fuck out.”

He doesn’t want to. Noah is his, and the life they built together is his, and he doesn’t— doesn’t—

“I never want to see your face again. Get out!”

Something snaps and Aaron bursts into motion, turning around and fleeing. His heart is pounding in his chest, anger and confusion and so many other things he can’t quite name racing through his mind. He leaves everything behind. The meds, the dogs, all of his shit. He’s not thinking. He doesn’t understand how everything has come crumbling down. Can’t process it at all.

Stuff’s broken, he thinks. He doesn’t know what, but something in his head has broken. That’s the only explanation for all the shit he’s feeling.

Fuck, is he…? He’s crying. Why?

[engrm]

❛  what has happened in your life that made you like this?  ❜

🐝  *  ―  𝑭𝑶𝑹𝑻𝒀 𝑹𝑨𝑵𝑫𝑶𝑴 𝑸𝑼𝑬𝑺𝑻𝑰𝑶𝑵𝑺. ( ACCEPTING.)

he   stands   there   like   an   ill-put   piece   of   furniture   that's   out   of   place   no   matter   how   many   times   you   move   it   around,   hip   cocked   and   head   slightly   tilting   to   the   side   like   a   confused   german   shepherd   before   something   registers   (   familiarity   and   disdain   )   and   he   scoffs   mostly   at   himself   for   it   slipping   his   mind.   the   circumstance   between   him   and   brianne   was   complicated   --   a   horrifying   realization   that   she   could   somehow   see   him   as   plainly   as   v   could.   the   trio   never   upped   their   investigation   and   silverhand,   being   freaked   out   and   pissed   about   it,   rarely   ever   showed   himself   in   her   presence   because   of   it.   he   wanted   to   find   out   how,   why,   and   not   being   able   to   do   a   damn   thing   about   it   always   irked   him.   however,   tonight   ended   up   different   so   to   speak   and   his   haunting   figure   had   drawn   the   woman   away   from   v,   who   was   still   mulling   over   datashards,   and   next   to   his   side.

       something   about   her   question   makes   his   arms   immediately   fold   across   his   chest   and   he   lifts   his   head,   a   scowl   forming   in   the   process.   while   the   question   was   harmless   and   he   knows   she   means   little   harm   ---   curiosity   kills   the   cat,   though.   from   behind   hell-tinted   shades,   he   studies   her,   gives   her   the   chance   to   either   walk   away   or   add   to   the   question   that   makes   his   blood   boil.   when   she   doesn't,   he   lets   out   a   loud   sigh   and   leans   his   head   back   against   the   wall.   "   take   a   wild   fucking   guess."   johnny   mutters,   face   still   unpleasant   as   the   moments   tick   and   the   question   hits   home.   it's   not   often   people   can   make   him   do   some   self-reflection   shit,   but   he   has   to   really   consider   what   she   said.

       how   could   he   explain   the   trauma   and   ptsd   that   was   buried   within   the   husk   of   a   man   long   dead   and   tarnished?   how   the   world   turned   its   back   against   him   and   countless   others,   despite   their   sacrifices?   and   the  ��fact   that   death   has   been   chasing,   hounding   him   relentlessly   since   he   was   a   damn   child?   none   of   what   turned   him   into   the   egotistical   terror   really   matters   anymore   since   the   damage   had   been   done   and   all   that   remained   was   the   carnage   he   laid   down   afterwards.   there's   a   lot   johnny   could   say   in   this   moment,   if   he   cared   enough   to   open   up   fully.

       but   he   doesn't,   never   really   have.   instead,   silverhand   pushes   himself   off   the   wall   and   flickers   from   brianne's   gaze   before   materializing   closer   to   her,   damn   near   looming   as   he   shoves   both   hands   into   his   pockets.   "   i   will   say   this   though...   i   wouldn't   take   back   a   single   thing   i've   done   to   get   where   the   fuck   i   am   now.   well,   maybe   i   would   spruce   up   a   couple   of   shitty   ass   plans,   but   you   get   my   point."   or   at   least   he   assumes   she   does   and   really   doesn't   care   if   she   doesn't.   as   she   opens   her   mouth   to   respond,   silverhand   is   quick   to   add   a   question   of   his   own.   "   what   has   happened   in   your   life   that   made   you   into   who   you   are   now?"   they   stare   at   each   other   silently   for   a   couple   of   seconds   and   johhny   feels   satisfied   with   the   shift   in   topic,   the   ball   suddenly   rolling   into   his   court   ---   and   he   refuses   to   play.   the   moment   brianne   breaks   eye   contact   to   look   away   momentarily   and   then   back   again   to   give   an   answer,   silverhand   is   gone.

[love-is-thereason]

After the headache-inducing shitshow last night, I had some time to think about what might be happening next for our girls and a few theories popped up in my head…

Theory #1 - Liv goes bat shit crazy after the betrayal and turns heel. And I mean like Harley Quinn feral crazy (to be honest, when Rhea did that creepy smile yesterday after beating up Liv, all I could think of is that she looks like a Joker with that wide-ass smile). And their relationship from now on would be that toxic love-hate, obsessed kind of relationship. 

Theory #2 - Speaking of obsessed. I saw somewhere someone saying that since last night, Rhea acts just like an obsessed ex-lover on social media (trying to mention Liv in her caption e.g LIVing brutality, Liv.Laugh.Love, liking Beth Pheonix's tweet about being heartbroken for Liv, etc.) So, Liv could now start distancing herself from Rhea, but Rhea deep down missing her and not standing not being around her at all times, and going into stalker/obsession mode. 

This ties in a little bit into Theory #3 - Liv being completely heartbroken over the betrayal and needing a friend to confide in. Cue, Sonya Deville. Sonya seeing how Rhea treated Liv and how she is so hurt by it, becomes a shoulder to lean on for Liv. They become closer each day and Sonya possibly develops a crush on Liv (which could fulfill Sonya’s old storyline idea she had for herself and Mandy - aka falling in love with her best friend). Rhea notices this and seeing Liv slowly become herself again becomes jealous and after realizing she fucked up, becomes obsessed with getting Sonya away and getting back with Liv. This, in turn, will provide the Rhea/Sonya feud storyline as well as the LBGTQ+ representation/storyline we have been deprived of.

And lastly Theory #4 - Liv is hurt by the betrayal and wants revenge. And instead of Rhea joining Edge’s stable, Edge and Damian after seeing what Rhea did to Liv and seeing how angry she is, reach out to her offering her help with the revenge and she'll turn heel (she did seem pretty pissed off at some point during the whole heel turn, that made me think for a moment that she might attack Rhea back). 

But knowing how WWE creatives work (and how LAZY AND UNCREATIVE they are), we will probably get the same fight each week (such as Rhea/Nikki feud where each week it was the same fight, the same plot, the same everything). Of course, with Rhea winning each time, because God forbid, you need to be crazy to give Liv any opportunities at anything. And then the storyline will probably get either slowly dropped, where you are confused if the feud is still a thing or not. Or they abruptly drop the storyline without any warning and immediately move to a new one.

WWE I'm begging at this point, please give our girls and us an exciting and creative storyline where they can shine and showcase their talents and get amazing opportunities (and this goes to all women on the roster, not just L4B). They deserve better than whatever the fuck you have been coming up for the past, God knows how many years.

[itsamejin]

easy || jungkook angst/fluff

Summary: Date you, win a bet, get his rent paid off. Sounds promising enough, right? Jungkook should’ve known that his ambitions would end in disaster, but even if he did, that still wouldn’t have stopped him from pursuing you.

Warning: cursing, crude humor, fuckboy talk

Genre: college!au, fuckboy!au, bet!trope, angst, fluff

Pairing: Jungkook x female!reader

Premise: In which Jungkook accepts a bet from Taehyung to date the first girl that walks into the lecture hall and realizes that he bit off more than he could chew when starts to catch feelings. Now, he has to suffer the consequences of being an idiot.

Commission Request: @altus-gens​

Word Count: 9,203 words

—

It's not like Jungkook planned to be one of the most sought after person in Yonsei University, but it somehow turned out to be that way. Truthfully, he basks in it, loves that so many people idolize him for doing the bare minimum. He was handsome after all and had a level of charm that surpassed the need to have a good personality. 

He got into such a prestigious school through an athletic scholarship for Taekwondo, managed to convince his professors to pass him when he put in minimal effort, and there was no shortage of girls to call when he was feeling lonely for a night. He was the stereotypical 'it' boy on campus and maybe if he was a little bit smarter, he'd have a better choice of friends than the six idiots he always hangs around with.

"How about this," Taehyung starts, gum in his mouth, "the first girl who walks in, you have to successfully get in her pants."

Jungkook rolls his eyes. They were in a damn lecture hall and yet Taehyung had no shame bringing up sex. Typical.

“This again, bro?” Hoseok sighed. “Aren’t you sick of bribing us to do weird shit for you?”

Taehyung smirked.

“Not at all, actually.”

"For how much?" Namjoon cut in, probably curious for the price point Taehyung would arrange this time. He was fired from his job just a week ago and could really use the money. "I'll do it if it’s enough to pay for my rent this month."

Taehyung scoffs, although knowing full well he could pay for all of the boys’ tuitions combined if he wanted to. He was the resident rich bachelor on campus after all.

"I'll pay it for a full year and your utility bills too if you're really down," Taehyung flaunts. "You just gotta have proof you actually managed to do it."

"Dude that's gross," Seokjin chimes in, "No one wants to send you proof of us doing it with a random girl."

Taehyung shakes his head.

"No, no, no," he says, clicking his tongue. "I phrased it incorrectly. I’m not a fucking pervert."

“You got us fooled,” Jimin mutters. 

Taehyung leans in closer to the six boys and even Jungkook finds himself getting intrigued. Admittedly, he was a little curious considering he hasn't had a proper meal in weeks. He could really use having some extra cash for food without worrying about rent.

"You have to date the girl for like three months," Taehyung says seriously, "and I'll consider that as enough proof that you managed to actually do it since I know you guys are too horny to wait any longer than that to fuck."

They all look at Taehyung in disgust, Jimin even opting to hit him in the back of the head for being so vulgar. To be fair, they were all thinking of accepting Taehyung's bet regardless. It's not like they were new to leading girls on anyway.

"You gotta pay me more than that to fuck just any girl," Yoongi says, yawning in the process. He seemed the least likely to take up Taehyung's offer, but he was still game depending on the person.

"Then how would you feel," Taehyung starts, "if I told you guys that I could get you priority registration for next quarter."

The boys, even the ones who weren't interested, were now listening to Taehyung's every word.

"You mean," Hoseok gulps, "I could finally get that fucking Organic Chemistry class I need to get out of this hell hole?!"

Taehyung shrugs, an ominous smile on his face.

"Just the perk of having parents who have connections," Taehyung replies. “I’ll only accept one of you guys to do it though. I don’t wanna have you all fucking the same girl- that’d be weird.”

Hoseok rolls his eyes.

“Yeah, that’s what’s weird about this,” he grumbles.

“So are you guys in or not?” Taehyung asks, his patience growing thin.

He lays back on his chair, a smoldering look on his face when they all nod. They were desperate for money after all.

"The next girl that walks in will be the subject of this bet and whoever calls dibs on her first will be the one to woo her,” he says with a stretch of his arms. “Good luck boys.”

They all turned to look at the door and Jungkook watches silently as guy after guy walks into the lecture hall. No girl yet. 

Jungkook was hoping, from the bottom of his heart, that no familiar faces would walk in. If he had to deal with a past fling, he’d have to back out immediately. He never dealt with exes very well.

The guys are at the edge of their seats, praying for a cute girl to walk through that didn’t already know about their horrible reputation. They were looking for an easy target, someone that could fall for their charms almost immediately.

And then, you walk in. You were clad in sweats with earphones on, rushing toward the front row seats of the lecture hall. You were chatting with your friends, yawning several times throughout your conversation with them. Jungkook couldn’t help but smirk. There was nothing special about you to point out, in fact, you were just like everyone else. Strangely enough, he found that the most intriguing part about you.

"Nope, nope, nope," Jimin shakes his head repeatedly. "Can't, won't, never will. Sorry, Tae."

They all stare at him in confusion.

"What the fuck, what's wrong with her?" Yoongi asks, crossing his arms over his chest. Jimin faces away from you, not wanting to look at you any longer.

"No, nothing," there seems to be a blush forming on his face. He was hiding something.

“Bullshit,” Taehyung furrows his brows. “Bro, if she’s crazy and one of us gets our dick bitten off, we’re all blaming you, so spit it out.”

Jimin just sighs.

"She's been giving me Professor Kwon’s notes for the past few weeks,” he starts, much to the confusion of his friends. “Her name is [Y/N]. It'll be really mean if I go after her, especially since she and I are kind of friends. Plus, I really need to pass this class. I failed last quarter..."

The boys groan. Jimin was no fun.

"She's not my type so I don't think I could really get into it either," Seokjin states, no longer interested in the prize after Jimin’s confession. He’s been banking off of your notes from him too. 

"Aren’t we all old enough to know not to mess with people’s feelings?" Hoseok sighs.

They roll their eyes at Hoseok’s statement. Who was he trying to fool with the nice guy act? He probably fooled around with girls just as much as the other guys did.

"Yeah, I’m backing out," Yoongi agrees, "and she hates me so there's that."

They all look at him questioningly and he puts his hands up in the air from their gazes.

"What? I just realized who she’s talking to down there.”

He pointed at a girl discreetly, but no one seemed to recognize her.

“Her friend and I dated,” Yoongi continues, “and I broke up with her over text and blocked her without letting her respond. That whole friend group is pretty much pissed at me. I'd rather not have to deal with them again."

The guys look disapprovingly at him. Breaking up over text was harsh, but probably not the worst thing Yoongi has done to his exes.

"You're actually a piece of shit," Namjoon sighs. "I really do need my rent paid though..."

Jungkook nods in agreement. It's been almost impossible to balance Taekwondo practices, college papers, and working a part-time job all at once. If he could somehow find a way to quit his job for a while and get priority registration for classes, then he doesn't mind getting his hands a little dirty in the process. Plus, you were cute enough and he's sure you weren't too difficult to befriend as long as he doesn't mention Yoongi in any conversations.

"I'm in," Jungkook chides, finally saying something after such a long period of silence.

They all look at him with disbelief in their eyes. Jungkook was never the one to partake in Taehyung's bets. In fact, he was the one usually ridiculing them for participating. He must have been really desperate if he was willing to do it.

"I mean, it's all yours if you want," Namjoon replies, "I don't wanna turn it into a competition.”

“Don’t worry dude,” Jungkook fist bumps Namjoon, “I’ll quit my job and refer you for it.”

They nod at each other as if they were on the same wavelength. 

“I knew I could rely on you,” Namjoon says, faking tears from his eyes. The boys groan in response.

“Alright,” Taehyung claps his hands. “In exchange for providing me some mindless entertainment and going out with [Y/N], you will get your rent paid for the rest of the year and get early registration for next quarter. Sounds like a pretty sweet deal to me.”

Jimin shakes his head.

“I don’t know about this, guys...”

Jungkook doesn’t hear him and instead takes one last look at you. You catch him in the corner of your eye and you can’t help but feel flustered at his serious expression. 

“Should be easy enough,” he mutters to himself and turns his gaze back onto his friend.

“So we have a deal?” Taehyung asks.

He smirks, shaking the outreached hand Taehyung held out for him. He steals another glance at you and he finds you staring right back. He gives you a wink.

“Deal.”

—

Jungkook slid into the seat next to yours in the campus canteen, his eyes filled with determination. His posture was laid-back, but it was a little too obvious that he was trying to act like he didn’t care.

“Hi,” he greets you in a breathy tone- girls loved it when he spoke with his breathy tone.

“Hi?”

You’d been sensing that someone was staring at you during the lecture, but you thought that was just the paranoia that came from being near such an intimidating group of guys. Turns out, you should always trust your instincts.

Jungkook had a boyish grin on his face that made you want to smile back but also stare at him in disgust.

“I heard you help Jimin with Professor Kwon’s notes,” he whispers mischievously. “I’m struggling myself, actually...”

Not really, but you know. This was the easiest tactic to approach you- tackle your similarities. You nod understandingly at his words, not quite getting that he was flirting with you.

“Yeah I can send you the Google Drive folder,” you comply, taking your phone out. “But you can’t let Professor Kwon know or else he’ll flip out. He doesn’t want people to have the notes for some odd reason...”

You trail off but Jungkook just scoffs. You seemed clueless.

“That’s not what I necessarily meant,” he says, a little shy this time. “I need a tutor.”

You furrow your brows at him.

“Yeah, you’re gonna have to pay me for that,” you say seriously. The last time you offered to tutor someone for free, they ended up blaming you for their failing grade and screaming about it all over social media. You needed money to compensate for that emotional trauma. “Microeconomics is hard to teach.”

“Well thankfully I’m a good student,” Jungkook teases. You stare at him with a deadpan face.

“You wouldn’t need my help if you were a good student,” you say blankly, standing up from your seat. “My hourly rate is 20,000 Won. Take it or leave it.”

Jungkook’s eye twitched. He had to spend his money to get Taehyung’s money? Well, the payout would be worth it in the end anyway. He reaches out a hand to you.

“If you’d have me,” he says cheekily, looking up at you. You take his hand in yours and maybe for a second you felt your heart skip a beat, but that was soon over when you let go of him.

“You have sweaty hands,” you say straightforwardly. You wipe your hand on your shirt and he coughs awkwardly at how unresponsive you truly were. Didn’t Jimin say you were a nice person? 

You take your barely-touched lunch tray and walk away from his pensive figure.

“Wait, can I get your number?” he yells. You don’t look back.

“Alright, whatever,” he mumbles to himself. “I’ll just ask Jimin, I guess.”

Without even a second glance, you disappear from his sight. He sits back on his chair, heaving out a deep sigh. Sure, this wasn’t the first girl that didn’t care much for his advances, but you didn’t even crack a smile or anything. This is going to be harder than he thought...

—

“She hates me,” Jungkook whines to Seokjin as they walked down the university halls to their next shared class. “Yesterday, I went up to her to get her number and I left with a fucking debt. Does that make any sense?”

“Well, maybe you shouldn’t have taken on the bet,” Seokjin yawned. “Namjoon would have wooed her with his poetry by now or some shit.”

Jungkook rolls his eyes.

“Yeah, I’m sure she’s interested in a dude who can’t even put on a hat without causing an earthquake.”

Seokjin smacked him on the back.

“At least he’d have the guts to say no to having a fucking tutor,” Seokjin replies. “You dug your own grave, man. Now roll around in it.”

“Do you want me to succeed or not?” 

“I want you to not be a fucking dumbass, Jungkook,” Seokjin sighs. “Do you really wanna make your reputation worse than it already is?”

Just as Jungkook was about to reply, he catches a glimpse of you walking farther ahead in the university courtyard. You were a bit far but he’s sure he could make it if he hurries. He smacks the binder he held in his right hand onto Seokjin’s chest.

“Yo, can you cover for me,” he asks hastily and Seokjin stares at him with a concerned gaze. He watches as Jungkook takes off his backpack and leaves it on the ground. Jungkook looked about ready to break out in a sprint.

“What the fuck, why?” Seokjin questions.

“Just tell the TA I’m out for a bit,” he says in response, already running ahead to catch up to you. “I’m winning this fucking bet or I’ll die trying.”

Jin stands still, mouth agape. Jungkook really left him with his backpack and binder just to talk to you. He shakes his head. ‘I need to make new friends,’ he thought to himself, picking up the discarded backpack and walking in the direction of the class Jungkook was planning to be late to.

You were walking with your earphones on, not noticing someone sprinting at you in record speed. You only turn your music off when Jungkook stops in front of you, his hands on his knees. He was panting heavily.

“Hey,” he says through deep breaths. You nod at him awkwardly.

“Why are you running?”

“I wanted to... catch up to you... and I thought... you were closer... but the run here... took... fucking... forever,” he says breathlessly. “Water. I need water.”

You take out a bottle from your tote bag hastily, handing it to him. He took it into his hands, grazing your fingers a bit. As he was about to start chugging it, you halted him.

“Waterfall,” you say curtly- you were still planning to drink out of it later after all. 

He nods in response, a drop of sweat cascading the side of his neck. After he was done, there was practically no water left anyway. ‘I’m gonna have to refill it myself,’ you thought begrudgingly. You stuff it back into your bag and wait until his breaths become more even.

“A bit out of shape, huh?”

He scoffs and gives you a glare, clearly offended.

“I actually have a Taekwondo scholarship, you know that? I just wasn’t warmed up and I’m naturally sweaty so it’s not like-”

You laugh a little.

“I’m joking,” you say, a smile adorning your face. He feels his face turn red and he can’t help but purse his lips out of embarrassment. Jeon Jungkook couldn’t take a fucking joke.

“O-oh,” he says shyly, avoiding your gaze. Why was he acting more like an idiot than usual? You hear the chiming bells of the university tower and stare at your phone to check the time.

“Don’t you have a class?” you ask him. His eyes widen and soon he was dashing off again. He turns around mid-run, jogging backward to face you.

“My number is 06-1313-9197,” he yells, loud enough for the other late students in the courtyard to hear. Most of them roll their eyes, knowing that Jungkook was flirting with another girl yet again. You’re embarrassed by the amount of attention he’s getting, but punch his number on your phone anyway.

“Text me,” he shouts. “I’ll always respond to you.”

Now it was your turn to be flustered.

—

"That’s wrong,” you say, reaching over to Jungkook’s notebook and marking a large ‘X’ on his paper. “You’re not supposed to apply that function for this problem...”

Jungkook stared at you with a tired face. He didn’t think he was too bad at the mathematical aspect of Microeconomics, but it seemed like it was your life’s mission to make him look like an idiot. Of course, you caught every mistake that he made- even the ones he made on purpose just to see if you were really paying attention to his work and not bamboozling him.

“My bad,” he mutters, copying down the same problem on a different sheet of paper. He didn’t even get a chance to make a move on you today- not like he could make any big developments in the campus library anyway.

“Is it like this?” he asks, tilting his notebook to face you. You take a hard look at it and nod.

“Yeah, just make sure you know the difference between these two formulas, or else you’ll mess up on the midterm,” you say thoughtfully.

This was your fourth or fifth tutoring session by now? Truth be told he wasn’t really counting. Each moment he spent with you kind of blended together and he didn’t quite know if that was a bad thing or not.

“You know you’re not even struggling,” you say, your nose buried deep in your textbook. “It’s not like you’re completely clueless like Jimin. It seems like you’re wasting money on stuff you already know.”

Jungkook laughs heartily, getting shushed by the people around him. He really was stupid, wasn’t he?

“Yeah, well, it was just an excuse to hang out with the pretty girl in class, you know?” he says as nonchalantly as he could. You stare at him for a second and he swears he feels his body freeze over. If looks could kill...

You just shook your head with a click of your tongue and got back to reading.

“The pretty girl in class is most definitely not me,” you grumble. “If you wanted, I could’ve given you Soobin’s number without all the added hassle of you trying to come talk to me-”

“Woah, woah, woah,” Jungkook stops you from saying anything else. He looked worriedly at your face. “I don’t even know who the hell Soobin is, why would I want her number?”

You look at him and finally, you chuckle. ‘She really does have a nice smile,’ Jungkook thought to himself. It would be nice if he could make you laugh more often and not just on rare occasions like this.

“You’re saying you don’t know Yoongi’s ex?” you tease slightly. You were finally letting your guard down with him and Jungkook smirked. One wall down, another million more to go.

“Bold of you to assume that I know any of Yoongi’s exes,” he says and you scoff. “He’s an asshole when it comes to dating.”

You roll your eyes.

“Isn’t that your whole friend group?”

He pouts. You knew of his reputation after all. Jungkook thought he could get away playing a nice boy act, but it didn't seem possible considering your knowledge of him. A little white lie couldn’t hurt in the end.

“Not me,” he replies. “I choose my relationships pretty carefully.”

You take a glance at him before jotting down a few more words in your notebook.

“Well,” you start off, a little shy to admit what you were about to say, “I guess we both have that in common.”

He tilts his head rather cutely out of confusion.

“What do you mean?”

You cough awkwardly, adjusting yourself on one of the library’s notoriously squeaky seats.

“I’ve never really had a boyfriend before,” you say quietly. His eyes bulge out from their sockets.

“You’re lying.”

“No, I’m not,” you say, a hint of amusement in your voice.

“Like, you’ve never been on a date or what?”

“I have,” you say hesitantly. “I’ve been on a few but they just never led into anything serious. I was pretty focused on studying in high school so there weren’t really any opportunities to get involved with someone. Plus, the guys who pursued me weren’t very... attractive.”

Jungkook laughs loudly again, much to the dismay of the other students in the library. He liked that you didn’t beat around the bush- it was easier to talk to you that way.

“And me?” he asks teasingly, laying his head on his arm that was atop the desk. He looks up at you with that boyish grin of his that gave you small butterflies in your stomach. You stare back at him, but only for a second. You ignore his watchful gaze and continue to flip through your textbook, trying to find the passage you last read. He keeps his eyes locked on you and you just couldn’t resist.

“What about you?” you ask, feigning ignorance.

“Am I attractive?” he replies as bluntly as he could. You stop your movements and he chuckles.

“You’re... cute,” you settle on that word. Cute. It was safe enough to not be misinterpreted too much. He sits up straight with a satisfied smirk. He takes his pen and draws a heart on the side of your notebook. He winks at you when you stare back at him, puzzled by his actions.

“You are too.”

—

“Tell me you’re lying,” Soobin whines disappointingly, shaking your shoulders. You were trying to eat lunch undisturbed in one of the campus cafes but your two friends seem hell-bent on making you suffer. “There’s no way you’re friends with Jungkook.”

You sigh, attempting to rid yourself of Soobin’s grasp but to no avail.

“He’s an asshole, [Y/N],” Gaeun sighs disappointingly. “I thought you were a feminist, why the fuck do you even tolerate him?”

You glare at her for a split second before going back to prying Soobin off you.

“Jungkook has no respect for women or himself. It shows in how many shitty friends he has,” Soobin chants, still clearly bitter that Yoongi dumped her.

You shake your head, rolling your shoulders back when she finally lets go of you.

“Jungkook’s not even as bad as you guys describe him,” you reply. “He’s actually been really sweet.”

The girls take a glance at each other and burst in a fit of laughter.

“You must be out of your damn mind,” Gaeun cries. You cower slightly at their words. It’s not like you said anything that controversial, did you?

Soobin slaps Gaeun on the shoulder when she realizes how your face had soured. It wasn’t right to judge you for your choice of friends so harshly, no matter how horrid said person was.

“As long as it doesn’t go past friends,” she says soothingly, but that only made you feel worse.

“Why?” you ask a little hesitantly. “Does Jungkook sleep around?”

Gaeun nods, a worrying glimpse in her eyes.

“He's not exactly the type to kiss and stay...”

You nod understandingly. You weren’t too clueless to believe Jungkook when he said he was “careful” on who he dated. As long as you knew the boundaries that came with being his tutor, everything should be fine... right?

“Don’t worry guys,” you say with determination. “I’m not the type to get played-”

“Of course you are!” Gaeun sighed. “Guys gravitate towards girls like you who lack experience. Jungkook’s a fucking weirdo, of course, he’s gonna try and-”

“[Y/N]!” a shout from across the cafe screams. That distracted you from the various insults Gaeun was spewing from her mouth. You get that she was being critical of Jungkook, but did she have to speak ill of you too?

You look around and catch Jungkook waving frantically at you. He stops at your table and takes a mere glance at your friends before setting his focus on you. 

“Do you have time to help me out today? One of the papers for my writing class-”

“You tutor him in writing now, too?!” Soobin exclaimed, mouth agape. “[Y/N], what the fuck.”

You try to ignore your friend’s overreaction, a little disheartened when Jungkook looked hurt at their words. He had started to shy away from them as if he didn’t feel welcomed.

“Nevermind, I’ll just ask you later-”

“Actually,” you say standing up. “I’m free now.”

The two girls look back and forth between you and Jungkook, noticing the stars in your eyes when you looked at him. They did not like the thought of you two together at all.

“But [Y/N]-” 

You ignored their words and start to walk away, hoping Jungkook would come catch up to you. You didn’t quite know why their insistence on him being a bad person had made your blood boil. It wasn’t like you weren’t aware of his flirtatious tendencies, but hearing from your friends that you shouldn’t pursue a guy that you liked-

You stopped in your tracks and feel heat climb up your face. Like.

No way you admitted that just now. There’s no possible way you actually like-

“Hey, wait up,” Jungkook pants, his hand touching your shoulder. “Why do you walk so fast for-”

He sees your shocked face and turns you towards him, his hands on your shoulder similar to how Soobin had shaken you just earlier. Except this time, it felt comforting. It made your whole body feel warm as if you were coated with a weighted blanket. Was he always this gorgeous?

“What’s wrong?” he asks, inspecting your face closely. “You look like you just saw a ghost.”

“N-nothing,” you swipe his hands away and rush out the door of the cafe. He smirks at how flustered you look, maybe he did have an effect on you after all.

Jungkook takes a last glimpse at the two girls who sat in their seats, staring at him disapprovingly. He raised an eyebrow at them and shoved his hands in the pocket of his jeans, following after you. ‘They’ll try to get in the way,’ Jungkook thought to himself, ‘but they’re already too late.’

The girls clenched their fist out of annoyance. He was definitely trying to get on their nerves.

“There’s something strange about what’s happening,” Gaeun mutters.

“They’re up to something,” Soobin agrees. “I don’t trust him at all.”

—

It’s been a week since you last spoke to your friends, not really wanting to read the messages they bombarded you with about how you should stay for away from Jungkook. It was hard to take any of their advice seriously when they were just badmouthing him without reason. They based all their opinions on him from rumors around the school and Soobin always felt the need to compare him to Yoongi even though they both had very different personalities. Well, at least to you they seemed very different.

Frankly, you were sick of their nagging and just turned off notifications from that group chat altogether. Instead of sitting next to them during Microeconomics, you opted to sit with Jungkook in the back of the lecture hall instead of at the front with them. Jungkook had abandoned his own rowdy friend group to sit with you and flashed them quick smirks and winks whenever they’d stare at him. 

Slowly, Jungkook had started to become a constant in your day to day life. You walked to class with him, ate with him, played video games with him. It was sort of strange how used to you were of his presence, like you had known him your whole life. Jungkook snaps you out of your thoughts when he starts humming a little tune.

He draws a heart in the corner of your notes- which you find he has a habit of doing whenever he wanted to say something stupid.

“I don’t get what he’s saying,” he pouts cutely. “It’s like he’s speaking a foreign language.”

You shake your head, not paying him any mind.

“Well maybe if you actually paid attention,” you mutter softly. He scoots closer to you and you feel yourself stiffen.

“But you’re tutoring me later on anyway,” he says teasingly. “I get more bang for my buck if I know less.”

“Bang for my buck,” you scoff. “Who even says that anymore?”

He points at himself nonchalantly and you can’t help but crack a smile as you continue to focus on the professor’s words. You don’t even cower under his gaze like you usually do when he stares at you with those puppy dog eyes.

“What do you want?” you ask, finally caving when Professor Kwon adjusted something in his PowerPoint slides. He smiles.

“I want to hold your hand,” Jungkook replies and you could feel your palms clam up. His flirtatious comments increased as time passed and you didn’t really quite know whether he was just teasing you or if he was genuinely interested in you. You weren’t very good at taking a hint.

“I’m writing right now...” you reply, slightly skipping a beat in your note-taking. He really was the ultimate distraction, wasn’t he?

Jungkook pouts sadly, but you can tell an idea pops up in his mind when his eyes start to glimmer. He sits his hand on your thigh and you jolt back from the touch of his hand on the material of your jeans. He pulls away slightly, scared that he had made you uncomfortable.

“I just want to put my arm around you,” he asks innocently. “Are you okay with that?”

You calm yourself down and nod. For goodness sake, you weren’t a child- why did a hand on your thigh make you so nervous for?!

“Yeah,” you say, a little more confident despite your nerves. “Go ahead.”

He smiles softly at you and connects his hand to your waist, pulling you a little closer to him. It was comforting, not at all meant to be more than just a public display of affection. He finds himself getting lost in the lecture along with you, his hand playing with a loose thread on your shirt through it all. He didn’t even look at his friends who were teasing him on the other side of the class or your own friends shooting daggers into his being.

At that moment, it was you, him, and Professor Kwon giving out a lecture that had half of the students already asleep. He smiled at how diligently you worked and how your breath would quicken when Professor Kwon switched the slides without a warning. It was the little idiosyncrasies like this that caught his attention, the kind of things that made him wonder where you’d been all his life.

The smile on Jungkook’s face disappeared when he came to that realization.

Fuck.

—

Jungkook rolls around the grass while you sit on the picnic blanket you two had set up. Midterms were over and grades would soon be announced. He wanted a much-needed distraction from the monotony of constant studying and you had suggested a small picnic in a nearby park. Of course, he agreed. 

“We’re free,” he groans. “Finally free.”

Jungkook stares hungrily at the assortment of food you had laid out for the two of you. He tries to reach a hand out to grab a bottle of lemonade but ultimately fails in the end. You giggle at his silliness, popping a grape in your mouth.

“You’re welcome by the way,” you say jokingly. “Don’t think you could’ve done it without me.”

He sits up to face you, bowing deeply as if you were a traditional empress.

“Thank you,” he says, imitating a Joseon accent. He was watching far too many historical dramas recently.

“You’re embarrassing me,” you say, attempting to straighten him out. “Sit up.”

He complies, only after a few pulls from you, with a toothy grin on his face.

“Seriously, I don’t think I could have gone through the first few weeks of Professor Kwon’s class without your notes,” he sighs, opening his mouth to signal that he wanted to be fed. You roll your eyes but placed a grape between his teeth anyway.

“You have hands, you should know how to use them,” you mumble shyly.

You move to take another grape for yourself, but he grabs your wrist before you could. He intertwines his fingers into yours.

“Why should I when my hands are holding yours~,” he says in a sing-song voice. It made you want to throw up at how cheesy he was, but you couldn’t help but laugh along as he cringed at his own words. When was it so normal for him to hold your hands like this?

“You can’t go one sentence without flirting, can you?” you sigh, feigning annoyance.

“Not when it comes to you,” he replies, but you could feel sincerity laced between his laughter. “I can’t resist flirting when it makes you all giggly like this.”

You purse your lips to prevent yourself from smiling too brightly. Jungkook and you were somewhat past the point of being just friends by now, but you were too much of a coward to label what you had with him. What if there was a chance that he was just leading you on?

Jungkook saw your furrowed brows. He rubbed circles on your hands with his thumbs to ease you.

“Am I making you uncomfortable?” he asks softly, about to let go.

“No-” you say a little too quickly, clasping him closer to you. Your faces were inches apart now, much nearer than they were before.

“D-don’t,” you attempt to say but you’re tongue tangled as you looked at his lips. He certainly does have nice lips...

“Don’t what?” he asks in a lowly voice. You start to look around you- anywhere that wasn’t him. The park was relatively empty but it still felt embarrassing to say anything too loud.

“D-don’t let me go,” you say, your eyes on the picnic blanket rather than on him. His gaze was too intense to look at. Jungkook feels his heart clench. You were cute, too cute. 

He shouldn’t be feeling this attached to you, but he couldn’t help it. Everything you did, every word that came out of your mouth- it had him wanting more from you than he could possibly handle. It was dangerous to feel this way.

“Why don’t you want me to let you go?” he asks nervously. He too was anxious for the answer. If you were to confess to Jungkook right now, he’d get the first part of the bet done, but there’d be no turning back after your confession. He would have to lie to you from now on. 

Jungkook closed his eyes, chanting to himself that it’s okay to like you for a little while, just as long as he doesn’t get too attached in the end. He needed the money, he really did.

“Because,” you start off with a sigh, staring at him now with glossy eyes. “I like you.”

Jungkook feels like he could do ten backflips in one go and it wouldn’t even drain him of energy. The smile on his face was huge, his eyes curling into that half-moon shape that made you swoon. 

Jungkook was relieved and if the boys asked, it was because he’d only have to date you for three months. He’d die before he’d admit to them that he caught feelings because Taehyung, as generous as he was with his bets, would never give Jungkook the money unless he cleanly broke up with you. It was one of his unspoken rules.

“I like you too.”

You smile at him and he can’t help but pull you close, his lips hovering over yours.

“Can I?”

You nod.

His lips graze yours slightly but he pushes a bit closer when he feels you lean into his touch. He kisses you again, and again, and again, but you pull away when his tongue had started to prod at your lips. Your face was flushed,  embarrassed to be doing this in such a public place.

“Maybe later?” you say, panting slightly. He gives you a cheeky grin and nods.

“At my place?” he asks with a wink.

You hesitate, letting go of his arms, twiddling with your fingers. You wanted to set clear labels on what your relationship was. You didn't want to accidentally get caught up in a friends-with-benefits situation and be all shocked when Jungkook ends up breaking your heart.

“So we’re dating now, right?” you ask cautiously, looking at him with a worried glint in your eyes. 

Jungkook’s mouth opens to speak but no words come out. He thinks a little harder about the whole situation... He was getting good grades, spending some quality time with a girl he’s clearly attracted to, and having his rent paid off all in one? He was killing three birds with one stone. It shouldn’t be too big of a problem to catch feelings for now, right? It’s not like any of his relationships lasted longer than a couple of months anyway.

He nods, cupping your face lightly.

“Yeah,” he hesitates. “We’re dating.”

Jungkook wasn’t aware, as he gives you another light peck, that it wasn’t possible to have his cake and eat it too.

—

It happens naturally. You coming in and out of his apartment that he shared with his friends, you tangling your legs with his underneath the sheets of his bed. It was hard to imagine a life where you didn’t wake up with him by your side. You were so wrapped up in his touch, so wrapped up in the sweet words he would whisper into your ears, that you spent most of your time with him. 

You weren’t really up to date with your friends anymore and he didn’t really hang out with his either. Jungkook shared an apartment with Seokjin and Hoseok, and so the only contact he had with the other boys was when they visited those two. He should’ve known to take you back home when all the boys bombarded into his living room, where you sat with him watching TV. 

“The lovebirds are at it again,” Taehyung coos, a mysterious glint in his eyes. “The honeymoon stage hasn’t passed quite yet, has it?”

Jungkook chucks one of the sofa’s throw pillows at his friend, obviously annoyed. What the fuck did Taehyung think he was doing?

“Quit it,” he mutters. You were sitting next to Jungkook, his arm around your shoulder protectively

“Why?” Yoongi yawns. “Anyone can see how incredibly in love you two are.”

You didn’t quite like the smirk he gave the two of you. This didn’t feel like regular teasing... it felt like he knew something that you weren't aware of. It made you curl your toes out of fear.

“Guys,” Jimin says calmly. “Stop it.”

The boys shrug their shoulders as if they said nothing wrong.

“We’re just pointing out how cute they are together,” Taehyung noted, “It’s not like we’re lying to her or anything-”

“Yeah, or leading her on or anything like that-”

“I think I should go,” you say hurriedly, uncomfortable at how tense the atmosphere was. Jungkook was clenching his fists, about ready to start a fight any second. Knowing his strength, you didn’t want anyone to walk around with a bruised eye because you couldn’t handle a few jokes- if that’s what Taehyung and Yoongi think they’re making. Harmless jokes.

“I’ll take you home,” Jungkook announces, standing up with you. Namjoon pulls him down back on the couch.

“Let someone else take her,” he says sternly. “We need to talk.”

Jungkook was about to protest until you spoke up.

“I can get home by myself just fine.”

“Hoseok and I can take you,” Seokjin insists, pulling the unassuming man up with him. “We don’t mind.”

Hoseok gives you a lopsided smile and you return an equally awkward one.

“Okay, that’s settled,” you say, clapping your hands. You walk over to Jungkook. “I’ll text you later okay?”

He nods, grabbing your hand and kissing it lightly. Yoongi scoffs and Taehyung glares at Jungkook. The dirty glances they were giving each other... You didn’t like it at all.

“Let me know when you get home, okay?”

“Okay.”

—

The walk to your apartment was unnecessarily awkward, Hoseok and Seokjin were talking too much and you talked too little. You tried to respond to their every quip, but you weren’t in the mood for chatting after that whole mess.

“You okay, [Y/N]?” Hoseok asks worriedly. “Don’t think too much about what those idiots said back there, they’re like that all the time.”

You nod, keeping your eyes on the ground. There was something chipping away at the back of your mind, something you wanted to get out of your chest.

“Would you say Jungkook and Yoongi act similarly?” you hesitate to say, “like with relationships?”

The two boys exchanged nervous glances at each other.

“Well, it depends,” Seokjin starts, choosing his words specifically. “What about relationships specifically?”

“Does he...,” you start off, not knowing the right phrase without sounding too harsh, “play around with girls? Like how Yoongi played around with Soobin?”

Hoseok looked at you with a raised brow.

“Who’s Soobin?” he asks before getting punched in the arm by Seokjin. “What the fuck bro!”

Seokjin clears his throat.

“What Hoseok meant to say,” he starts, glaring at his friend a little too harshly, “is that Yoongi never really introduces us to his girlfriends. You, on the other hand, are one of the few girls Jungkook actually took the time to invite over.”

“Yeah,” Hoseok chimes in. “He’s not exactly the most chivalrous, but he wouldn’t ghost someone like Yoongi did.”

Somehow their words weren’t enough to satisfy you. There was still something off in the conversation that transpired between the three boys- as if they were all keeping something from you. You stopped abruptly in front of your apartment complex, finally making eye-contact with the two boys.

“Do you think...” you start, a slight quiver in your voice, “that Jungkook is cheating on me?”

The two boys let out a deep breath that you didn’t even notice they were holding and laughed joyously together. They cackled as if what you said was the funniest thing they had ever heard in their life. Seokjin wipes a stray tear from his eye.

“Y-you think Jungkook’s cheating on you?!”

You nod, a little embarrassed at their reaction. Hoseok shakes his head, sighing out of his laughter.

“Trust me,” Hoseok starts, his breath evening out. “Jungkook would never cheat on you.”

You start to giggle along with them until a serious look suddenly takes over Seokjin’s features. He faces you fully.

“But listen [Y/N],” he starts. “If Jungkook hurts you, just know that he does love you. Like, undeniably. He does.”

“And we’re not just saying that as his friends either,” Hoseok continues. “We know how he’s like and we can tell that he really does like you.”

You smile at the two, feeling a small sense of comfort at their words.

“Thank you, guys. I mean it.”

They pat you on the back.

“Anything for Jungkook’s girlfriend.”

—

You walk through the campus cafeteria, eyes searching for a free table that you can sit alone in. Jungkook had Taekwondo practice so there would be no lovey-dovey feeding time with him. 

He’s been a lot tenser since the living room incident (which was already a week ago) and it seemed like he got more agitated as the days passed. Not towards you directly, but he’d always mutter slight insults whenever Yoongi or Taehyung passed by. It made you worried that you had done something to possibly drive a wrench into their relationship without even knowing it.

‘Whatever,’ you thought, ‘I’ll talk about it with him when he comes over later.’

You aren’t able to find a seat, though, when you feel dainty fingers wrap around  your elbow to pull you back lightly.

“[Y/N],” Gaeun says in a low voice. “We need to talk.”

It wasn’t like you had been ignoring them deliberately, though that was definitely the case at the start. You just couldn’t find the time to really hang out with them as much as you used to since you were with Jungkook most of the time. It was like that too when Gaeun and Soobin were in relationships, so you never really felt bad about doing it yourself.

“Yeah sure. I miss you guys,” you smile at her, but she doesn’t return it back.

“Come with me.”

Gaeun leads you to a table near the back of the room, where Soobin was sat up against the wall with her own tray of food. You sit down in front of her and Gaeun takes the seat next to Soobin.

“Good, you’re here,” Soobin says, apprehension laced in her voice. “We need to talk about Jungkook.”

You roll your eyes.

“Not this again-”

“[Y/N],” Gaeun warns. “Listen.”

You keep quiet, a little intimidated of how scary their expressions were.

“It’s all a bet,” Soobin says sternly.

You furrow your brows at her. She tends to speak vaguely when you needed her to be specific the most.

“What?”

“It’s a bet, [Y/N],” Gaeun repeats for her. “Jungkook’s only dating you because Taehyung said he’d pay his rent off if he did.”

You clench your fist on the table. How could they sit there and spew lies so easily?

“What are you guys-”

“Those dicks do this all the time,” Soobin rambles. “They play stupid games with girls just to fucking break their hearts later on and-”

“I don’t believe you,” you say confidently. “Jungkook would never do that to me. Besides-”

Gaeun didn’t even wait until you stopped talking to play a recording on her phone. The voices were familiar enough to recognize.

“So you’re telling me that Jungkook’s just fucking around with [Y/N] because he wants priority registration? You have to be fucking joking...”

You could tell from the sound of the person’s voice that it was Soobin. It sounded like she was putting on her clothes.

“Of course not. He’s doing it for priority registration and his rent getting paid for the rest of the year. I’m not joking when I say Tae goes big with his bets. He likes to flex his money on us like that.”

Your jaw drops at the sound of the man’s voice. It was Yoongi. You were sure of it.

“And you guys don’t feel bad? Like at all?”

“Why should we? Jungkook’s planning to break up with her next week anyway so she doesn’t catch feelings for too long. It’s not like they were gonna last past the three-month deal...”

Gaeun paused the recording when she sees you bite your lip so harshly that blood starts to surface. This didn’t feel right. It didn’t feel real.

“I hooked up with him last weekend,” Soobin admits, shame written all over her face. “He was spewing stuff about Jungkook spending all his time with you and not really hanging out with the boys like he used to.”

“You still hook up with Yoongi? After all he did to you?” you ask, not meaning to come off aggressive but undoubtedly did.

“Look,” Gauen starts, taking the heat off of Soobin. “She was just drunk and looking to have fun. I was with her that night and I was talking to Namjoon. He...”

Gaeun trailed off, but you were sick of it. Sick of being kept in the dark from something you should’ve known all along.

“What?”

“H-he told me that all the boys were getting tired of him playing around with you,” she says, twiddling with her fingers. “He’s supposed to break up with you today. Some of the guys think he’s just prolonging it to fuck with you and they’re getting really annoyed-”

You bite back the tears threatening to spill over any minute now.

“Hoseok and Seokjin told me to trust Jungkook. They said he wouldn’t hurt me-”

“Did they also tell you that their rent gets paid too if Jungkook pulled through with the bet?” Soobin replies angrily. “Because they live together, don’t they?”

You open your mouth but no sound comes out- just a small whimper. Your lips start to quiver and you bite your lip again to calm yourself down. When you had collected your thoughts, you glared up at the two girls.

“And you didn’t tell me this earlier?”

Soobin scoffed.

“You were fucking ignoring us too, how were we supposed to tell you?”

“Still it wouldn’t have killed you to-”

“Don’t take your anger out on us,” Gaeun warns, her finger pointing at you. “Jungkook is the one to blame. We told you from the start that he was bad news.”

You pursed your lips and Gaeun put her finger down, feeling guilty that she lashed out on you when obviously you were just processing the information.

“Hey, I’m sorry-”

“Why me?” you ask with teary eyes. “What did I even do to them to deserve this?” 

They glance over at each other for a long while before Soobin breaks the silence. You had the right to know, but at the same time, they knew it would break you.

“It’s a sick game that they play where they just choose someone randomly...” Soobin starts off gently handing off the next few words to Gaeun, “and you were just the first girl to walk into Professor Kwon’s lecture hall. He thought you’d be...”

“Easy,” Soobin finished.

Just as they predicted, you had burst out in tears.

—

Jungkook opens the door to your apartment, using the spare key you had given him a month earlier since he tended to visit often. It was more convenient that way. 

He was freshly out of his Taekwondo garb, still sweaty, but otherwise clean from taking a shower at the campus gym. He found it strange at how dark the room was, but he knew you were on the couch from the noticeable lump of a blanket on it.

All Jungkook wanted was to cuddle with you and fall asleep in your arms after such a harrowing day. Lord knows he needs your warmth right now.

He smiled as he made his way towards you, but stops in his tracks when you sit up from where you laid. He couldn’t quite see you in the darkness so he walked to the light switch to turn the lights on. His heart broke at the sight of you.

Tears stained your cheeks, your eyes red and puffy from all the crying. You looked a mess and his blood boiled at the thought of someone hurting you. 

“What happened?” he asked, rushing over to you and cupping your face in his hands. You push him away.

“You don’t have to act anymore,” you say softly. “I can handle it.”

He looks at you with furrowed brows.

“What are you talking about-”

“I get that you really need the money,” you say through bated breaths, “I get that financially, it would have really helped, but did you really have to hurt me to do that?”

Jungkook’s breathing stopped. Everything was happening too quickly, his world crashing down when you uttered those words. He knew what this meant, knew that now you would see past his lies. Jungkook couldn’t have you finding out this way. 

He kneeled in front of you, attempting to wipe away the tears from your eyes but you push him off.

“[Y/N] no-”

“It could’ve been anyone,” you whimper, trying to look up at the ceiling to prevent any more tears from falling down. “Anyone could’ve walked through that door and you would’ve been okay with it.”

“That’s not true-” he interjects but you stop him.

“A-and you flirted with me all the time ‘cause you knew that I wasn’t used to it,” you say, your voice quivering. “You took advantage of me.”

Jungkook shakes his head rapidly, eyes pleading for you to let him speak. It hurt seeing you refuse to even look at him, to have your eyes so filled with sadness because of what he did to you. He fucked up, he fucked up so bad.

“No, you have to listen-”

“They told me not to trust you,” you whimper somberly. “They told me and I didn’t believe them because I... I was delusional or something. I thought that someone like you could actually like someone like me-”

His heart broke. It wasn’t you that didn’t deserve him. It was him. All him.

“Please don’t say that-”

“Did you come here to seal the deal? To finally break up with me?” you ask sadly. “Are you happy you’ll get the classes you want next quarter, Jungkook?”

He clenches his teeth. Jungkook knows you’re mad, knows you have a right to be, but it feels like he’s being cornered by you. Why won’t you give him the chance to speak?

“[Y/N], no,” he says sternly, “You have to trust me when I say that it went past just a bet. I like you. Genuinely, I like you.”

There was no point in lying any longer. You deserved to know the truth, but he needed you to know all of it- not just the information your friends cherry-picked to fit their narrative. He tried to speak again, but you wouldn’t let him.

“How could you,” you whimper. “How could someone be so cruel?”

Jungkook’s heart breaks at the words. He should’ve seen this coming. How could he delude himself into thinking he’d be okay if you find out- that he’d be fine seeing you heartbroken? He was disgusted with himself.

“I’m sorry [Y/N],” he whispers. “I’m so sorry.”

You shake your head, your vision getting blurry from the tears. He clasps your hands in his, knowing that it used to soothe you whenever you felt worried over something, but you just wailed harder at his touch. He didn’t know what to do, he didn't even know where to start.

“Stop pretending like you care,” you cry. “Please. It hurts.”

“It was a bet,” he admits and he breaths through the words to prevent himself from getting too emotional, “but I promise that my feelings are genuine. You have to trust me.”

“Trust you?” you ask crudely.

You stare at him, slowing your breaths to ease the crying. There was a certain emptiness in your gaze and it scared him. It was awfully frightening having you looking at him with a certain animosity that was not there before. Like he was a stranger.

“I can’t do that anymore, Jungkook,” you say softly, “because I hate you.”

—

A/N: Gasp A double update?! Say it isn’t so... I had so much fun writing this!!! Probably one of my favorite fics I’ve written in a while because I love this trope. How do y’all feel about Jungkook? Forgive or forget? Let me know!! Thank you @altus-gens​ for requesting this story, I hope you like it :)

Please leave any comment, critiques, or just random thoughts about my story! I’m planning my murder mystery series rn and I’m so excited (I might... do an album giveaway along with it...) I really love the direction I’m taking this blog in and I hope you guys are excited for the stories to come~~ 

buy me a coffee?

[pretoriafics]

Teenage Dream

I think this one is the most fun thing I'd ever written. Maybe it can be a new series, I don't know. What do you think?

You were just reading smut fanfics about Derek Hale before sleep. When you woke up, you find that someway, you got into the Teen Wolf universe. Word count: 1.890 Pairings: Different Dimension!Reader x Derek; Different Dimension!Reader x Platonic!Scott; Different Dimension!Reader x Platonic!Stiles Contain: It's pretty fun; You dying of shame; AU Warnings: English is not my main language <3; Inappropriate language PART 2 ALTERNATIVE VERSION TEEN WOLF MASTERLIST

It was a calm night. You were lying on your bed with your bedroom in darkness. In your hand, you were with your cell phone. You had just read on Tumblr brand new smut fanfic with Derek Hale, one of your most-loved fictional characters. You found another one with Stiles - a platonic fluff fic this time -, and you will read it when you woke up. You were almost sleeping, and you are not capable of reading it now. You just have to sleep.

You put your cell phone on your bedside table and fell asleep quickly. But when you woke up, you found yourself in a different and familiar bedroom. You sit on the waitress and look around.

It was a sunny morning outside, and you were still in your cheesy kitten print pajamas. The bed, the walls... Everything sounds familiar to you: It was Scott McCall's bedroom. At first sight, you thought it was such a real dream. However, when you stood up from the waitress, you hit your little finger on the bed.

"Fuuuck!"

You sat on the waitress, holding your foot. Damn! That pain's too real for all of that to be a dream. While you grab your foot, you look around again. You could smell cologne and some low noises from outside the house. A little bit more confused right now, you stood up and walks around the bedroom. Getting close to the window, you could see a familiar jeep.

No, no, no. It was impossible. All of this is just a hyper-realistic dream.

You walk in wide steps to the bathroom and look at you through the mirror. Well, you are the one reflected there. What the hell? Should you go downstairs? Should you stay right here, waiting for something happens?

Hell no.

You take a deep breath and open the bedroom door, walking downstairs on tiptoes. Then, you heard two familiar voices.

"I don't know, Stiles! She just appeared in my bedroom!"

"How she is? Does she have scales? Fangs?"

"She's just a normal girl. We have to do something! If she is a psychopath creature?"

"Scott, I'm serious. We need to call Derek."

"No! We don't need another sociopath near us. We need to take care of it all by ourselves."

You heard Stiles let out a long sigh.

"You even know how to control yourself yet, Scott. Derek is used to dealing with strange things like this. We have to call him."

"Shh! She woke up!"

Well, you were exposed.

You finish getting downstairs and walk close to the living room frame. Scott and Stiles were in the middle of the room, and they look at you scared. Your eyes got widen, and the room dives into a weird silence for a few seconds. Yeah, you aren't crazy: Somehow, you got into the Teen Wolf series.

And when you realize it...

"Oh my gosh." You put your hands on your head, in shock and so excited at the same time. "Oh my gosh, Oh my gosh!"

Scott and Stiles look at each other with a 'what the hell?' in the eyes. You turn yourself to look around. Yeah, it was Scott's house! Your inner teenager was freaking out.

"Scott..." Stiles looks at his friend "Calls Derek."

Scott already was with his cell phone in his hands.

"I'm already calling."

Man, how did you get there?! Excited, you open the door and runs outside without care about being in pajamas in the middle of the street. Derek finally answers Scott's call.

"Derek?! Oh, thank god!"

Scott almost could hear Derek's muscles get tense.

"...What happened?"

"There's a girl who suddenly appeared on my bed, and she's freaking out!"

"What do you mean with 'suddenly appeared'?"

"Suddenly, Derek! She wasn't there in a second, and then she just was!"

And then, you saw Stiles' jeep. Oh, man, you loved that jeep so much!! Excited and freaking out, you ran to the jeep. Stiles almost had a heart attack.

"No, no, don't touch my jeep!!"

But it was too late.

"Oh my gosh!!" You touch Stiles' jeep just as if it was of gold.

Stiles run to you, and Derek starts to understand that something pretty wrong was happening.

"Scott, who's yelling? You know what? Forget it. I'm coming. Took this girl in your bedroom, don't let her escape."

Derek turns the call off, and Scott puts his cell phone in his pocket. Scott approaches you, and Stiles hasn't the courage to approach you yet. So, he was just staring at you, praying that you don't do anything with his precious jeep.

"Hey!" Scott calls you, and you look at him. His voice was hesitant, but he was trying to control things "I think you should get into the house. I mean, right now."

You blink your eyes repeatedly at Scott, frozen in your place. Yeah, you were inside your favorite series when you were a teenager, with all your favorite characters... But, you know about Beacon Hills. The city was full of secrets and dangers. Until yesterday, you could see Scott and his friends escaping from death numerous times. This time, you will be the one who does it.

And this is not good.

"...Oh my gosh."

This time, your words were not from excitement but fear. Man, you're so fucked up.

You swallowed hard and got into Scott's house. The boy looks at Stiles, confused.

"I thought that took the girl inside my house would be harder."

They got into the house, looking at your shape sit on the couch. Now, you look terrified.

"Uhh..." Stiles looks at you, trying to find out something "How did you-"

"You guys need to send me home! Something went wrong, and I came here."

Scott and Stiles look at each other. It was Scott's turn to say something to you.

"What exactly went wrong?"

"I don't know! Look, I was just trying to sleep on my bed, and when I woke up, I was here."

"What are you?"

"Nothing, I'm just human. Do you guys did something that could have brought me here?"

They denied with his heads, so confused as you. Scott and Stiles were relatively new to the supernatural world. So, they are completely lost. You bit your inner lip, thoughtful.

"Something big made it. I mean, I'm definitely not from here."

Scott and Stiles stare at you with a scared gaze. Then, you all hear a car noise: It was Derek's Camaro. He was parking in front of Scott's house. Your eyes got widened when you saw it. Oh, man, you absolutely haven't the maturity to deal with Derek. Well, first of all: You were reading smut fanfic about him last night. Worse: It was an imagine! And you even want to remember the fact that, when the show got to its end, you and your best friend made tattoos. She tattoed the McCall Pack symbol on her arm, and, well, you tattooed a small triskelion between your boobs.

Man, you were dying of shame. It is such an odd situation. Anyone would never know about your tattoo or the fanfics.

Derek got into the house, and his eyes run to you immediately, and then he looks at Scott and Stiles. You felt your cheeks burning. Such an odd situation!!

"What the hell did you do?"

"Nothing!" Scott said, too nervous "She just came out of nowhere."

Derek narrowed his green eyes to Scott and Stiles, and then he looks at you. You already knew what he could ask you, so you started to talk.

"Either do I! Look" You took a deep breath, trying to contain all that mess of feelings inside of you "I was in my bedroom sleeping, and then I woke up here. But there something pretty important you guys should know about me: I am definitely not from here. When I came from, anyone of you exists. You all are fictional characters from a tv series."

The room dives into a weird silence. Scott looks at Stiles.

"Uh... Stiles... She's not lying."

"Oh, man, I was born in the wrong dimension. Hey," Stiles looks at you "What the girls think about me? Do they like me? Do I have many fans?"

Stiles began to approach you, but Derek grabs him by his shirt, avoiding an approximation.

"We don't know about her yet, so stay right there."

"Oh, c'mon" Siles looks at him and gives a few steps close to Scott when Derek unleashes him "I'm pretty sure you're curious as well."

"I'm not. I just want to know what the hell is going on."

You narrowed your eyes to Derek. You know why he wasn't interested to know about him. So, you started to talk.

"Are you sure? I mean, everyone thinks you are the most wronged of all."

Derek stares at you, unmoved by your words. You should know he would be suspicious about you. He stares at Scott and Stiles.

"She will stay with me until we know she is not a problem. I'll investigate to know how she came here."

What?! No, no, you have no maturity for that. You felt your cheeks burning again. Man, it was just like on fanfics!

You objected.

"Hell no! I'll stay here."

Without a drop of patience and calm, Derek rolled his eyes.

"You'll stay here? With Scott and his mom? So what do you will tell her about your presence at her house?"

Okay. Your plan was stupid. Also, it was funnier when Derek was rude to Stiles. With you, it was just annoying. You cross your arms in front of your chest, not so sure about what to say. He let out a long sigh of annoyance and took your arm. You widen your eyes standing up from the couch. You look at his hand on you, and then you look at him.

"Hey!"

Derek drags you in the door's direction and looks at Scott.

"Something went too wrong for this girl to be here. Tell me if you find something else."

"Wait!" Scott gives a step forward into you and Derek's direction "She can't stay a little more? We need to, uh... Investigate."

"Let your stupid curiosity for another time, Scott."

You whine in annoyance while Derek drags you in his car's direction. A few minutes ago, you would be freaking out of getting into Derek's Camaro. Now, you are just too pissed off to care.

"Let me go! I know how to walk!"

He opened the passenger's seat door and released you. Derek didn't talk anything, just stares at you in a silent order. Pissed off, you cross your arms in front of your chest, stubborn.

"I'll not come in!"

Derek gets closer to you, giving you a deadly glare.

"Get in the car. Now."

You swallowed hard. Oh man, this part wasn't like the fanfics. It was not sexy at all. Actually, it's a bit scary.

Pissed off, you get in the car, and Derek closes the door, getting into the driver's seat. You look at Scott e Stiles through the window, thinking that maybe it would be better if you stay with them. However, you haven't a choice. All you have to do now is try not to be killed by the first supernatural threat that appears in Beacon Hills.

[sunfish-studies]

Moonrise

✄・・・ Feathery Ink [Karasuno Manager Series]

➜ Pairing: Karasuno x Manager! Reader

➜ Warning: none

➜ Notes: This is a separate series from Crisp Leaves. Similar to Crisp Leaves, manager in this story will be portrayed as a girl. She will be tall. This is just my appreciation towards tall girls, you guys are amazing.

Previous:  ‹ Greed › | Next:  ‹ Illusionary Hero ›

↷ SUMMARY ↶

It’s finally summer vacation training camp!

After the fight, Hinata and Kageyama weren’t really talking to each other–Coach Ukai even separated them during practice, Hinata in team B while Kageyama in the other. When practice was over, Kageyama was working on his tosses with Yachi’s help while Hinata drive elsewhere with his bike to practice on his own.

“Ah, he’s with my grandpa.” You asked where on earth did Hinata go, and that’s your answer from Coach Ukai. Apparently, Hinata was training with the previous Coach Ukai at their home. That left you with managerial duties and some extras like buying supplies for the training camp.

The injury you received of course was noticeable by the team–it almost send both Tanaka and Nishinoya into rampage, but you quickly said it’s not a problem and it would heal in no time. While you could make up some excuse for Daichi, Sugawara, and Ennoshita, you couldn’t with Shimizu. With a stern look from, you finally spilled the beans and she promised not to tell anyone.

While Kageyama wasn’t talking to Hinata, he’s definitely talking to you more now–along with walking you home if you chose to stay at practice longer. With that, you learn more about him and how he’s undoubtedly a volley ball dork through and through.

The time you had to depart from school to Tokyo for the training camp at night, he offered to picked up from your house so you could walk together to school.

“C-can I sit next to you…?” the raven-haired boy asked. Of course, you agreed wholeheartedly since Yachi will be sitting next to Shimizu and sitting alone didn’t seem to be fun. At first, you talked about some mundane things and watched a few videos saved in your phone before falling asleep leaning to each other.

“KAGEYAMA!!”

“HOW DARE YOU STEAL A HEADSTART!”

And it incurred the wrath of both Tanaka and Nishinoya when they realized. Thankfully, Ennoshita was quick to shut them up by slapping them on the head and Daichi glared at them menacingly for causing a ruckus.

.

.

“Well, the grand guest finally arrived,” when you carried the big bag filled with your essentials outside the bus, it was immediately gone from your hands. Kuroo plucked it from your grip so he could carry it instead, sending you a small smile.

“Kuroo-san, it’s been a while.” Greeting the older boy, you stepped to the ground.

“It’s nice knowing you stick to your promise,”

“Well, it’s impossible for me to not join the training camp. And,” you looked up to the building upon the stairs. When it was in Nekoma High School before, this time training camp was held at different area–however, you didn’t complain because even during summer, the place was cool with many trees surrounding and breeze swept by. “Why are we in a different place? I thought it’s being held only in one place.”

Kuroo hummed. “It’s a tradition for training camp during summer vacation happened in Shinzen. This place is cool, so it’s great. Why? You wanted to be cooked under the sun instead?”

“I’d rather not.”

“Hinata! Did you grow any taller!? Oh! Otohaku-chan!! You’re looking pretty as always!!”

“Lev, shut up.” Kenma scolded.

.

.

“[NAME]-CHAN!! Make sure to cheer for me, alright!!”

“She won’t, Bokuto-san. And please don’t call her by her first name when she didn’t mention you could.”

Thank goodness, Akaashi had a say because you didn’t know how to reply that without wanting to upset Bokuto in the process. The first match was Karasuno against Fukurodani and it didn’t go well–your team splendidly didn’t sync because everyone went to try the new moves their practicing, resulting they had to take a new kind of penalty.

Along with Yachi, you watch as everyone sprinting uphill. And it didn’t happen only one time, every time they lost a match, they had to do one before walking down and downing their drinks. It went until the last practice–which they splendidly managed to lost.

“Hitoka-chan, could you look over Kageyama-kun and Hinata-kun in my place,” you whispered to your best friend, referring to the duo who’s clearly itching for practice but couldn’t exactly say it clearly as they still in bad terms with each other.

“Yeah! I was thinking about that too!” the two of you nodded in determination.

“Uhm, [Name]-san,” Yamaguchi called out to you, rubbing his nape sheepishly. “I want to practice serve, could you watch over?”

Smiling you nodded, “Sure Yamaguchi-kun! Let me get my notes first, okay?”

The taller boy blinked in confusion. “Eh? Notes? What for?”

“To look over your progress overall,” you kneeled down to put on your outdoor shoes. “I’ll be back as soon as possible.”

“O-oh, okay.” Yamaguchi could only reply that as he didn’t know how exactly–he knew he shouldn’t be flustered or feeling special, but he couldn’t help to feel warmth bloom in his chest. He knew you were an attentive person, and it’s nice to know that applied to everyone on the team even though you’re mostly stick with Kageyama, Hinata, or Yachi.

Jogging towards the sleeping quarters, you could’ve arrived faster to pick up your notebook if Bokuto’s call didn’t halt you from doing so.

“OOH!! [NAME]-CHAN!!” he called out from the third gym. You noticed that he wasn’t alone, Kuroo and Akaashi’s also there and surprisingly Tsukishima. From that, you concluded that Kuroo must have something to do with it–probably taunting the blonde into joining. “Could you throw us some balls!?”

“Eh?” you blinked. “But, I have to get some notes for practice-“

“Just a few, come on!” Bokuto didn’t even give you a chance to explain–instead, he dragged you by the wrist.

So here you were, arranging an apology speech for Yamaguchi while throwing some balls for Akaashi to set. That and giving Lev some glances to check if he’s still alive or not on the floor. The setter already apologized to you in Bokuto’s place, but you immediately dismissed it since you didn’t mind either.

“Geh!? Otohaku-chan!?” Lev must be exhausted seeing as he barely noticed you’re in the same area.

It amazed you on how Bokuto still managed to kill the spikes viciously after series of practice match all day–his stamina is top-notch, nothing less from one of the best players in the country. Watching Bokuto’s spikes meaning also watching Tsukishima tried to block them.

Not once did he managed to successfully shut one out, but with Kuroo’s finally joining the cross was killed almost in an instant. While Bokuto is a formidable opponent in attacking, then Kuroo would be terrifying in defense. No wonder Coach Ukai was making him a great example for a solid blocker.

Tsukishima is indeed smart and calm as he read the opponent’s movement, but,

“Your blocks are pretty weak.” You flinched as Bokuto blurted out what you had in mind regarding Tsukishima’s block–and it sure pissed the taller blonde off. “Your arms are so frail that I’m scared I’m gonna break them. You need to stop the ball like you mean it!”

“I’m still a growing boy!” Tsukishima replied, clearly trying to hide his annoyance. “I’ve just started gaining muscles and getting taller!”

“Talk like that, and the little shrimp is gonna hog all the glory.” Kuroo remarked. “You guys play the same position, right?”

Ouch, you couldn’t help but thought. That hits the sore spot.

“I don’t think it can be helped,” Tsukishima said with a smile after a few seconds of silence. “The difference in natural talent between me and Hinata is too great.”

Before Kuroo could argue, the players of Nekoma began piling into the gym and Tsukishima finally managed to excuse himself successfully this time.

“Looks like you stepped on a mine, Kuroo-san,” Akaashi commented.

“You pissed him off,” Bokuto dragged. “At long last, Kuroo-kun, the master of provocation, has failed.”

“Well, I wouldn’t have thought that.” The black-haired captain sighed.

“Thought what?” Bokuto questioned.

“Karasuno’s shrimp is definitely strange and a threat, but in terms of technique and experience he’s like a baby bird. Plus, he’s really short. I never would’ve thought guy with glasses, who’s far taller and much smarter, wouldn’t only think they’re not equal but actually think the shrimp is above his level.”

Sighing for the second time, he rubbed the back of his head before giving you an apologetic look. “Sorry, I pissed off your middle blocker.”

“I don’t think you pissed him off,” you couldn’t exactly say that it’s fine because it’s not your place to do so. “But you did hit a sore spot, Kuroo-san.”

“Otohaku-san, shouldn’t you get going? We’ve hold you long enough from you whatever you want to do.” Akaashi reminded.

“That’s right, then I’ll excuse myself.” You bowed down and walked towards the exit–you immediately retrieve your note before finally helping Yamaguchi with his serves after being held for some time.

.

.

The next day, you’re helping Eri, Kaori, and Yukie cutting watermelons given by the parents from Shinzen High School. Surely, on this hot summer, sweet and cool watermelons would make anyone’s mouth began watering. It was also a great short break for the boys as they enjoy the watermelon while sitting on the grassy hill beside the gym.

“Do you want extras, senpai?” and just like other managers, you distributed the watermelons while asking if the boys wanted seconds or not. This time, you’re offering a few that’s still on your tray to Tanaka, Daichi, and Asahi.

“Ooh, don’t mind if I do, [Name]-chan!” Tanaka reached out for another slice.

“Me too,” after him, Daichi also took a slice from your tray.

“I’m okay with mine for now,” Asahi politely rejected your offer. “How about you eat some too? It’s quite a hot day.”

“I’ll go it after everyone’s seconds are done,” you remarked, intending to circle around the separate crowds for the nth time but Tanaka quickly interrupted.

“Everybody has their share already! I’m sure they don’t mind.” Your upperclassman commented. “Besides, our beautiful manager deserves to have rest!”

“Somehow, it doesn’t correlate…” Asahi muttered, smiling nervously.

At the end, you ended up sitting down beside Asahi and munching on a slice of watermelon. Your upperclassman was right for one thing–enjoying the fruit in a hot summer day was a great way to cool down, you instantly felt refreshed.

“Sorry, by the way.” The four of you looked up to the call, seeing Kuroo approaching and out of blue apologizing. Surely, your upperclassmen were confused with this except you.

“About what?” Daichi questioned.

“I think I might have pissed off your glasses guy yesterday.”

“What?”

To make it clearer, the cat captain sat down with his back towards you and began explaining the situation occurred the other day–you admired how both parties didn’t once interrupt nor getting things heated up, they knew this wasn’t something big and could be resolved by just a simple apology.

“Wow… Tsukishima actually helped out with free practice even if you cornered him into it,” Daichi hummed in understanding.

“Your manager too, but that’s Bokuto’s idea,” you didn’t know why on earth Kuroo decided to brough it up but seeing your upperclassmen were nonchalant about it (except maybe Tanaka, though he was quickly being shut up by Daichi) it’s also not a big deal.

“So, what did you say?”

“I provoked him and said he was going to lose to your shrimp over there.”

“I’ve definitely noticed that Tsukishima seems to feel inferior to Hinata somehow.” Asahi remarked, probably remembering a few words Tsukishima said to him.

“I’m not sure if this is relevant, but my sister mentioned someone tall named Tsukishima also joined the volleyball team during the Little Giant times.” Tanaka mentioned, surely this is new to all of you because Tsukishima wasn’t the type of person who talks about himself much.

Daichi’s head perked up. “Tsukishima has an older brother?”

“Oh, I’m not sure.” Tanaka quickly replied. “They could’ve just had the same last name and not be related. Do you know anything about this, [Name]-chan?”

“I don’t, but if I know, I think it’s not my place to tell since Tsukishima-kun would undoubtedly be annoyed because of it,” you answered, which made Tanaka hummed in agreement.

“Hey, we’re about to start!” Sugawara called out.

You didn’t know about Tsukishima having a sibling or not, however,

“This is just a club. Why do you put so much into it? It’s because you put so much into it that you suffer later.”

You couldn’t help but think it’s somehow related to what he muttered the night before.

.

.

Yet again when the sky softly bathed in orange glow, Karasuno had to pay their losing with penalty–you along with Yachi and Shimizu also Takeda-sensei and Coach Ukai watched as the boys bolted uphill accompanied by yelling (well, this was mostly Hinata, Kageyama, Tanaka, and Nishinoya).

“Here,” you offered a water bottle for Kageyama. He couldn’t even reply a ‘thank you’ from how harshly he was panting and you could only sympathize with him–more than five matches in a day plus penalties were rough.

“Thanks,” the raven-haired boy finally rasped after downing probably a half of the water from the bottle. You also handed him a towel so he could wipe away the sweat dripping down from his temple.

“So, how’s training going?” you finally asked, which triggered a sighed from him.

“No progress.” The frustration was getting to him definitely–while you were only watching for some time since Yachi’s already there to help him, you understood that Kageyama failed more than he succeeded. He knew he was getting nowhere and time was short, if he’s not geared up it will be a problem.

“I can’t give you any helpful advice but I think you should practice under Coach Ukai’s watch,” you mentioned, and Kageyama listened carefully. “He probably has ways that could help you. You couldn’t do this on your own Kageyama-kun, you need guidance.”

Nodding firmly, he replied. “Yeah.”

“I can’t wait to see your toss,” you then added, giving him a smile. “It’s going to be amazing for sure. You did pinpoint toss to Hinata all this time.”

The boy fell silent for a while, and you almost regretted saying those words–did you somehow step on a landmine? Did you piss him off? Did you touch the nerve-

“I promise to get done and you’ll see it.” The negative thoughts were gone from your mind as you stare at those blue eyes filled with determination. You found yourself smiling at his promise.

“I will be waiting then.”

.

.

“Sensei, what do you think of Tsukishima?” Coach Ukai asked your advisor while the five of you were watching the match between Karasuno and Ubugawa.

“I think he’s taking this seriously,” Takeda-sensei answered, although rather confused from the question.

“How about you, Otohaku?” and you didn’t expect to be involve in the conversation also.

“Uhm… he’s doing his work, but lack of effort? I think he’s not giving his all.” you replied but somehow became an unsure question in the end.

“You’re right,” Coach Ukai remarked. “I feel like Tsukishima gets a passing grade but never tries for 100%. I’m not asking for him to become more passionate, but if he’s not going to give his all, I’m gonna have to change regulars. I need players who can win a match on the court. He’s the tallest and essential to the team. If Tsukishima could become a strong blocker, our defense level would go up a lot.”

“I see,” Takeda-sensei nodded in understanding.

Not long into the game after Tsukishima served, there’s a collision between Daichi and Nishinoya for the ball–at first, it was nerve-wracking because if one of them was hurt it could be bad. However, seeing that the two dismissed it as if it was nothing was relieving.

“Everyone’s so motivated.” Yachi commented.

“Everyone’s more motivated now than I’ve ever seen them before,” Shimizu frowned in worry. “But sometimes it’s almost scary. Collisions like the other day can definitely lead to major injuries.”

Another spike went through but received perfectly by Kageyama, the ball bounced to the air and Tanaka was the second one to get it, passing it immediately to Asahi.

“It’s a little short,” you muttered, noticing the ball was hovering near the net–exactly to where Hinata was. From how he’s staring at it, he’s most likely to steal it–but then he tensed up, snapped his head to the side to give Asahi a stare and stayed in his place in the end.

“Let him know the ball is yours.”

You stared as Asahi successfully killed the ball even with three blockers–grinning from how he stole a score and holding them team together so it wouldn’t become lawless. The attempt was enough for you to let your shoulders relaxed.

“Maybe I didn’t need to worry after all.” Shimizu sighed in relief.

Asahi turned to face you, giving you a smile and an outstretched fist–you immediately returned it with the exact same gesture.

[yoonpobs]

bad boy good thing xiii.

pairing: jeon jungkook x oc

genre: angst, smut, fluff, miscommunication (we hate her lol), pining

warnings: smut, jungkook is really an asshole, the angst hurts a lot tbh, unhealthy relationships (?)

words: 5, 635

summary: a series of drabbles where you're confused and jungkook's confusing

a/n:

hello friends!!! here is the next update :D i hope you enjoy the read! it's been a v long week for me so it's nice to just unwind hehe. thank you for the support & love you all!!!!

“Are you going to just … stare at me?” Jungkook clears his throat as his eyes dart anywhere but forward. It was less uncomfortable that way.

The two people in front of him don’t flatter him with an immediate response, instead; they stare him down harder until Jungkook can quite literally feel the stare of their eyes burning a hole into his forehead. He nearly shrinks into his seat, but he manages to pull a somewhat neutral expression even if he was on the verge of a meltdown.

“Maybe.” Jimin retorts snappishly.

Jungkook knew Jimin would be the pettier one between the two, but again; it’s not unwarranted. So he sucks it up like a big boy and nods his head slowly in understanding.

However, Taehyung was a different situation. His blank face was already intimidating as it is and Jungkook’s known him ever since the two of them were in middle school. More often than not people mistook him for cold and disinterested, whereas he usually just got lost in his thoughts.

But it’s obvious when Taehyung doesn’t like someone. He doesn’t put up a front to pretend that things are dandy and that he vibes with you. No, Taehyung’s blank face returns and it’s tenfold. But Jungkook knew it wasn’t just that, that resulted in the permanent vacant expression etched onto his expression—it’s paired with the fact that Jungkook’s an idiot and this is his punishment.

Jungkook knows better that Taehyung isn’t the type to take things head-on (like Jimin), but rather allow people to ruminate in their thoughts as he stares you down with a gaze so intense that it feels like he’s unpacking every single stray thought that passes by your mind. Jungkook is aware, but he’s never had to be on the receiving end of it.

“Are we going to, uh, order?” Jungkook asks, hands gripping the menu tightly.

Taehyung still stares, and Jimin narrows his eyes at the younger boy.

“You know ____ hasn’t arrived yet, right?” His tone is accusatory and Jungkook feels himself pale.

“I didn’t mean—okay,” He sighs in defeat, “We’ll wait.”

Jimin eyes him carefully before opting to skim through the menu. Jungkook knows it’s a front to not have to engage with him since they’ve frequented the same diner more than enough times for the waiters and waitresses to know their orders by heart. It’s been a while since they came here, and Jungkook knows that he’s partly to blame.

It sucks, sitting here in silence when he remembers that the three of them, you aside—used to engage in stupid banter and talked about the most random things like college boys do. They were his best friends, Jungkook grew up with them and he distinctly remembers always getting into trouble with the two boys until their parents only sighed every time they saw them returning home with guilty expressions ridden on their faces.

Now the banter is replaced with tense silence, but it doesn’t feel like it’s over. Jungkook hopes, at least.

Before Jungkook can say something else, he feels someone slip into the empty seat next to him.

“Hey guys, sorry I’m late.” Your voice is sweet and cheerful, and it’s nice to hear you like this again.

Jungkook looks up and sees you smiling at everyone, oblivious to the strained mood of the table before you came.

“Don’t apologise,” Taehyung says for the first time, offering you a small smile, “We were waiting for you, weren’t we?”

Jungkook stiffens, fully aware that it was directed to him. He wanted to lamely interject and say that it wasn’t what he meant, but he knew that Jimi would give him more shit for that anyway.

“You didn’t have to!” You exclaim.

Jungkook feels somewhat satisfied at the scowl that plagues Jimin’s expression, but it’s quickly covered with a beaming smile in your direction as he calls over a waiter.

“We know our orders, right?” Jimin asks.

You nod, smiling brightly; clearly excited to be here again.

And Jungkook feels nice, too. It’s nice being here, with the three of you—even if Jimin and Taehyung were still giving him the cold shoulder it was much better than pretending like everything was okay when it clearly wasn’t.

“It’s nice to be back,” You smile to yourself after the four of you order, and Jungkook can only agree.

.

Maybe it wasn’t so nice, after all.

Because the entire time, Jimin and Taehyung were dead-set on making Jungkook feel the guilt of his actions tenfold when they pick apart at every word he offers into the conversation.

“Have we not been here for that long? Even the interiors changed a little.”

“I don’t know, Jungkook. Who’s fault is that?” Jimin says off-handedly, unbothered to even cast him a glance.

“Wait, really? There’s a forum coming up?”

“Didn’t we all know? _____ is the one who organised it.” Surprisingly, this came from Taehyung.

“I’m stuffed.”

“With bullshit—?”

“THAT’S ENOUGH!”

Your voice is loud enough to silence the entire table and even causes a few other patrons to turn their heads in the direction of your table.

Jimin is blinking at you with wide eyes, as Taehyung only gapes at the decibel of your voice that he’s never heard from you before. Jungkook only presses himself against his seat, and subtly inches away from you.

But you turn your head towards him and shoot him a glare so venomous that he stiffens in position.

“Don’t you dare shift away from me, Jeon.” You warn threateningly.

Jungkook swallows, too stunned to move.

Then, you turn to face the two unblinking men.

“And you two,” You narrow your eyes at them menacingly, “I told you that I’d deal with this on my own so why are you the ones holding grudges?”

Jimin opens his mouth to respond, but Taehyung is nudging him with his elbows to shut up.

“I expected better from you!” You cry, “What are you guys, five? Or is that how many brain cells you have combined?” You scowl. They’re still blinking at you when you continue to fume. “No. I’m pretty sure it’s less than that because at the rate you’re acting I’m beginning to think that this fork better conversational skills than the three of you.” You hold up your utensil for good measure and the boys can only blink at you.

The last part is directed to everyone, and Jungkook can only listen to you rant as he presses himself against his seat.

“I just wanted to hang out like usual.” You flutter your eyes shut in annoyance, “I asked for one day—one day!” You exclaim, “Just to be with you guys because we haven’t done that in forever. And you couldn’t push aside whatever hostility you have towards Jungkook for this?”

You sound so disappointed, and your voice subdues out into a whisper when you glance at the table. Jimin and Taehyung had the decency to look guilty and apologetic when they realise that you were actually serious about it. Because rarely have you ever blown up, if not—ever.

“_____, we’re sorry—” Jimin begins.

“Are you?” You snap irritatedly, “I told you that I didn’t want to make things complicated and here you guys are—doing exactly that. I resolved whatever I had to with Jungkook, and let’s not pretend like he was the only one at fault here. The two of you are opening a closed book and it’s unnecessary. I just wanted to hang out with you guys and laugh about our balding lecturers, is that so much to ask for?”

“I think—” Jungkook begins, feeling slightly more confident to speak up after you’ve somewhat defended him, but the way you snap your head to him to send him a blazing look shut him up immediately.

“And don’t think you’re off the hook either,” You seethe, “Jimin and Taehyung have every right to be mad but they don’t have the right to ruin the atmosphere of our hangout right now. That doesn’t change the fact that you messed up.”

Your words are sharp, and his eyes widen when you scold him. It oddly feels like the three men were being lectured by a parent, and it’s not far off because you’ve always been the level headed one amongst the four of you anyway.

“I’m sorry, ____.” Jimin offers apologetically, but your ears are flushed for obvious reasons before you mutter an excuse to head to the bathroom.

When you storm off, the three men stare at each other unblinking for a few seconds before Taehyung breaks the silence.

“Listen,” He sighs, “Clearly, Jimin and I are pissed.”

Jungkook’s eye twitches, that’s an understatement.

“But, we have a right to be—like she said,” Taehyung continues. Jungkook doesn’t argue there, “But we care about her as much as you do, and we don’t want her to feel any more disappointed than what she had to feel for the past month. So we’ll drop it.”

“Why are you speaking on behalf of the both of you because I’m pretty sure hyung is staring at me like I’ve murdered ten kittens,” Jungkook mumbles under his breath, off-put by Jimin’s unwavering glare.

“He’s not far off.” Jimin retorts, then he sighs, relaxing his features ever so slightly to look at Jungkook with an expression much softer than what he’s received so far. “I’m disappointed in you, and I probably will be for a very long time. But … you’re still my best friend, and even if I feel like knocking you into every available surface I’m willing to push that desire aside if it means we can make ____ happy.”

Jungkook blinks.

“I …” He croaks, “I’m sorry, to the both of you. I messed up and … I really regret it.”

Taehyung offers a small smile, “You don’t have to apologise to us. It’s ___—”

“Yeah, I know.” He clears his throat. “But the two of you are my friends too and you’ve done nothing but guide me even if I acted like it annoyed me most of the times; I really appreciated the things you told me, even if I blatantly went against it.”

Jimin purses his lips, staring hard at the boy.

“I want us to be okay too, as much as I patched things up with her; you guys are my best friends as well,” Jungkook says softly.

“If ____ forgives you then …” Jimin mutters, though Jungkook can tell it comes from a good place. “I guess I can work with that.”

It’s something, Jungkook thinks.

But then you’re still not back and the three men look at each other in worry.

“I’ll go get her,” Jungkook declares, but before he can push himself up—Taehyung is stopping him with a hand and a cock of his head.

“I’ll do it.”

And when he leaves to get you, Jungkook and Jimin are left in a mini stare off, the awkward atmosphere still tense enough. Not until Jimin gestures to his face.

“Your cheek …”

Jungkook sighs.

“You know there are people who need to pee too, right?” Taehyung hums outside the cubicle. He’s sure you’re in there because he spots your sneakers through the slit, and he’s lucky enough he can because he wasn’t sure how else he’d explain him leaning outside a stall while he talks to it.

You stay silent, dabbing at your eyes with the tissue you brought in. You feel a little stupid for crying about it but you hated the atmosphere out there. It was weird and awkward and the four of you never had moments like that. You always had things to talk about or even just to laugh at each other. The silence and glares were suffocating, and you couldn’t help but feel like it was all your fault.

“I’m going to piss on the floor if you don’t open the door.” Taehyung threatens in a bored tone.

You sniff, loud enough for him to hear as you roll your eyes at his ultimatum.

“Don’t think I won’t do it, _____.” He warns, and you hear fabric rustling that has your eyes widening.

“Don’t pee on the damn floor!” You hiss.

“Then open the door.” Taehyung retorts smartly.

You scowl, glancing into the mirror one last time to ensure that your eyes weren’t as red as you hoped they to be. It comes to no avail because your eyes are puffy enough to tell him that you’ve been crying, and you knew that you couldn’t lie your way through it.

“I’m giving you five more seconds,” He calls, “Five … four … three … two—I’m about to piss—!”

You unlock the door and pull it open, and greet Taehyung with a vehement glare of your own as he smiles down at you, but only for a bit until he notices the puffiness of your eyes and the pout of your lips.

“You know it’s kind of depressing if you lock yourself up in the cubicle of a diner to cry.” He says softly, arms reaching out to bring you into an embrace.

You don’t fight him, even if you don’t make an effort to hug him back. You were sulking.

“Well that’s what happens when your best friends are acting like assholes.” You snap back in a sniffle.

He sighs, patting your head gently as he forces your arm around his waist; shooting you a stern glare that you roll your eyes at.

“You know we’re looking out for you.” He chides gently, and you feel very much like a petulant child when you huff at his response.

“I just wanted to hang out with you guys without things being weird.” You mumble against his chest.

“I know.” He hums.

“But you had to make it weird.” You complain. “What are you? A social justice warrior? I told you I could deal with it on my own.”

Taehyung chuckles, squeezing you a little tighter as you scowl into his shirt. You knew you were being a little dramatic but you didn’t want the dynamics of the group to shift just because of the situation you got yourself in with Jungkook. Even if you were in love with him and he was … in love with you. Your friendship with the three of them meant the absolute world to you.

“I’m sorry,” He apologises, pulling away slightly to look at you with sincere eyes.

You look away and sulk.

He sighs, knowing that it would be much harder to get you to feel better than just an apology.

“Look, I’ll lay it off and I’ll make sure Jimin doesn’t overstep either. Promise.” He offers with a smile.

You look at him with tentative eyes as you raise a brow at him.

“Isn’t Jimin with Kook right now?”

Taehyung opens his mouths, then closes, before he wraps an arm around your shoulder to tug you closer into his grasp.

“After this. I make no promises that Jimin hasn’t caused bodily harm on Jungkook in the meantime.” He says.

You snort, picturing Jungkook cowering or at least avoiding Jimin’s eyes now that they were alone. You knew that the bruise on Jungkook’s cheek was Jimin’s doing, and while you already talked his ear off for that, you appreciated the gesture. Even if it did look like it hurt like a bitch.

“I just want things to go back to normal.” You mumble, fiddling with your thumbs.

Taehyung nods his head and sighs.

“It will. We’re okay. You’re okay. We’ll be okay.” He comforts you with a soothing tone.

You nibble on your lips, “I guess …”

Taehyung stops in his tracks as he was about to bring you back out when you mumble those words so softly he nearly misses them.

“You guess …? Is there something—?”

“I just,” You sigh, “Jungkook and I spoke and we … cleared things up. But it’s still … it still sucks.” You finish lamely.

Taehyung gives you a sad smile before turning you around so that he can grab onto your shoulders.

“What he said doesn’t define you. And I know for a fact that he’s beating himself up over it. It sucks because he’s your best friend and he was the one that said those things to you. But none of that is true because you’re the most interesting, smart and best girl I know.” He smiles at you, even when you flush and look away.

“Stop …” You whine, avoiding his gaze and you hear him chuckle.

“Jungkook’s dumb. He’s our friend, but he’s dumb.” Taehyung snickers.

You roll your eyes but a smile teases the corner of your lips.

“It’s not just that …” You mumble softly, pink dusting your cheeks. “I told him that I was in love with him.”

At this, Taehyung quite literally chokes on his breath.

“You—what?!”

You scowl, “God, you don’t have to be so loud.” You thwack his chest and even as he winces he still has a stupefied expression on his face.

“You … love … what?” He blinks, “What the hell did I miss? Does anyone else know? When did this happen?”

You huff, “Look, that isn’t … important. Not now, at least. I told him that I needed time to sort things out myself and … yeah.” You murmur softly.

You know Taehyung wants to press further, but he doesn’t do that because your demeanour says to drop it. He sighs, pulling you into his embrace once more before he gives you an easy smile.

“Take all the time you need, okay?” He reassures you softly, and somehow it does feel a little better.

“Were the extra ten laps really necessary?” Jungkook pants, hands falling onto his knees just as he completes the last God forsaken round.

“I don’t know. Were they?” Namjoon hums, opting to skim over Jungkook’s hunched figure with a shrug.

“You’re holding a grudge on me,” Jungkook says in a tone of disbelief.

Namjoon shoots the younger boy an unimpressed look.

“Am I?” He returns, and Jungkook already feels the incoming headache approaching.

“Look, I get Jimin and Tae because the two would literally die for her … but you?” Jungkook exasperates.

Namjoon sighs, clicking the pen in his grasp before shoving it into his back pockets. By no means was Namjoon unnecessarily intimidating, because besides the fact that he towered over most people and frequented the gym as his second home; he was a decent guy and great company.

That, and he never imposed his authority as the captain of the football team onto any of the footballers, or his peers, which made him all the more approachable and likeable. Jungkook had nothing against him, but after finding out that he too had feelings for you; he’s bound to view the older boy differently.

“Jungkook, I already told you—you’re my friend and I like you.” He deadpans, “But you’re also an idiot so you’ll pay for being one. It’s really that simple.”

Jungkook narrows his eyes, “And this has nothing to do with your feelings for her?”

Namjoon snorts, waving him off as the rest of the footballers come pooling out of the changing rooms.

“I think you’re projecting a little,” He snickers and ignores the look of disbelief that covers Jungkook’s face when the footballers start gathering around the two.

“He made you run an extra lap?” Jimin snickers.

Namjoon hears this and smiles, “Ten.” He corrects.

Taehyung lets out a low whistle before patting his sullen-looking younger friend on the back while he scowls. Jungkook couldn’t say anything because he’s aware enough to know that his mouth was the one thing that got him into most of the trouble he’s ever got himself into. So he swallows his pride and wipes his sweat, even pretends to smile tightly at Jeonghan when he asks why.

The practice is brutal, well; for Jungkook at least.

Jungkook knew that Namjoon was a strict but reasonable person by nature; and to a certain extent, petty. The only reason he knew was because of his feelings for you and that irked him. But he didn’t know how far Namjoon was willing to go just to prove a point, to you or to Jungkook; he wasn’t quite sure.

But Jungkook’s pride gets the better of him when he waves off concerned stares from the rest of his members. Even Jimin looked mildly worried when Jungkook was required to do an extra circuit or two just because his form looked ‘off’.

Jungkook’s form hadn’t looked off since high school.

And that’s how you find him, splayed out on the ground as he pants for air and stares up at the sky as if he was waiting for God to pick him up.

“Why are you on the ground?” He hears you before he sees you.

And when he opens his eyes, it’s like he’s seeing an angel. He’s half-convinced that he’s died and gone to heaven because your confused face is peering down at him from above.

“I think I’m dead.” He wheezes.

You roll your eyes, immediately squatting next to him before you shuffle through your bag to take something out.

Jungkook can’t even be bothered to ask what it was, but only when you press the object against his forehead and he feels the cool touch of a cold bottle; he ironically melts into the feeling.

“Here.” You thrust the bottle to him.

“God I lo—” Jungkook’s out of it, but not that out of it to let it slip.

You seem to notice, and your ears flush at the near slip-up. Jungkook clears his throat before attempting to sit up, head spinning at the suddenness of his actions.

“Thank you,” He rectifies his mistake immediately, offering you a meek smile.

The sheepish smile you return him with is enough. And he misses you even if you’re right in front of him; because things had been off for so long and having you back … even if you weren’t his, felt better than ever.

But Jungkook’s never pined for anyone else besides you, and it’s tiring. Yet, when you smile at him it feels like it’s worth it.

“Are you checking up on the corpse?” A voice interrupts Jungkook’s dazed expression when he stares at you for a second too long.

He turns his head and sees the cause of the numbness in his legs.

Namjoon is all smiles when he jogs over, Jimin and Taehyung following closely behind as they snicker at the interaction.

“You didn’t have to be so mean.” You pout up at the taller man, standing up as you only reach the height of his shoulders. It would’ve been cute to Jungkook if Namjoon didn’t look so taken with you.

“Someone’s gotta take care of things for you,” He jokes, ruffling your hair.

Things have been going better enough for people to poke fun at Jungkook, and even if he flushes at any mention of what happened—he knows that he’s got to deal with the consequences.

He didn’t know that the extra touchiness from Namjoon’s end was one of them.

“Never thought I’d see the day the great Jeon fall.” Jimin snorts.

You raise an eyebrow.

“What?” He shrugs, “He’s always telling us hyungs that he could one-up all of us with his eyes closed.”

Taehyung nods while Namjoon only chuckles at the statement.

“Not saying that you deserve it but you deserve it, man.” Taehyung laments.

Jungkook scowls from where he sits on the grass, but you’re nice as always when you reach a hand out for him to grab.

He stares at it, struck again by your kindness. And when he looks up the evening sunset flares behind you and you looked like a painting in a museum.

“Wow.” Jungkook blurts.

He didn’t mean to, and everyone caught on his stupefied expression.

“All right,” Namjoon rolls his eyes, tugging Jungkook up himself as the younger boy scowls at the moment being ruined. “Up, loverboy.”

You huff, turning on your heels to hide the way your cheeks had turned red when you noticed Jungkook’s gaze lingering longer than it should.

Taehyung and Jimin shoot each other a look, one that goes missing from you and the two other men. In fact, Jungkook shoots Namjoon a glare that he blissfully ignores in spite of trailing behind you, taking advantage of the fact that Jungkook’s legs are too wobbly to catch up.

“What the—?”

“Hurry up, Jeon. Yena’s waiting and you know how she gets when people are late!” Namjoon calls over his shoulder, before offering you a dimpled grin and grabbing your bag to alleviate the strain on your shoulder.

Jungkook knows that things are better and he’s damn grateful he’s able to be around you without watching over his words anymore. But the childish and immature side of him turns green when he sees the shy smile you return Namjoon.

He knows, that you feel the same way. But somehow his mind overthinks it and asks: what if?

“You look constipated,” Taehyung mumbles off-handedly, clasping a hand to his back when Jungkook stays rooted in position.

“Deserved,” Jimin says.

Jungkook scowls, dejectedly following close by as the five of you walk out of the field.

“That was absolutely uncomfortable.” Yena declares the moment she steps foot into your apartment.

You scowl.

“It wasn’t that bad …” You mumble.

Yena flops herself onto your couch and raises an eyebrow as if to say really.

“Listen I know you and Jeon exchanged vows and a dowry the other day but Namjoon is definitely a close contender. I swear I saw him whipping out a pen mid-meal to write you a love poem.”

You groan, flopping face forward as you stuff your scream into your cushion.

“Why me?” You cry.

You can feel Yena rolling her eyes behind you.

“Oh boo-hoo, your life is so hard. Two hot beefy men are in love with you, wow—things must be so difficult. Would you like a free pass in a therapy session?” She mocks pouts at you when you lift your head to glare up at her.

“They are not …” You remember what Jungkook said and you clear your throat, “… Namjoon isn’t …”

Yena scoffs.

“Well he’s definitely breaking ten different traffic laws to get there.” She retorts.

You slump back into your couch as you stare up at the ceiling.

“I thought things would get better.”

Yena shuffles until she’s settled comfortably next to you, “Are things … not?” She asks carefully.

You sigh, fiddling with the edge of your cushion.

“They are, don’t get me wrong.” You say softly, “It’s just that … I know Joon has feelings for me, and I know … I mean Jungkook is Jungkook,” You explain lamely and Yena awaits your continuation patiently. “I’m not stupid. I’m pretty sure they’re both aware of their feelings, and Jimin and Taehyung are just the bystanders witnessing shit hit the fan. And I’m … well, I’m there.”

“You mean you’re the main character.” She interjects.

You scowl, chucking the cushion at her as she dodges with a cackle.

“Things are better but they’re still weird.” You mumble.

Yena sighs, nodding understandingly as she pats your head softly.

“But you said you needed time, right? To figure things out on your own?” She asks.

You nod your head.

“Yeah,” You breathe, “I do. I mean, I know what I feel and I’ve felt this way for a long time. The only person I’ve ever … loved … is Jungkook. But I don’t know if that’s a byproduct of proximity and familiarity or because he was the only person that I’ve ever … you know.” You gesture your hands ambiguously but Yena gets the point.

“I understand.” She nods, “But things won’t be easy, not at first at least. It’s weird, I know. Going from your best friend to a potential lover, a stranger to a man who’s willing to put his star quarterback on the line and two best friends who are well—they’ve always been overbearing but they’re there.” She ends with a roll of her eyes.

Your face crumbles, “Why are things so complicated?” You cry, leaning onto her shoulder as she sighs and rubs a finger over your shoulder.

“You’ve got all the time in the world. You don’t owe anyone anything, remember that okay?” She hums softly.

“Just because you stare at them long enough doesn’t mean you suddenly get telepathic abilities.” Jimin snorts.

It’s been fifteen minutes since Jungkook’s stepped into the library, courtesy of Jimin who wanted to study for an upcoming test with him. It’s a step towards mending their friendship, and Jungkook is immensely grateful; so he didn’t think twice before responding to Jimin that he’d be their stat.

But he remembers that Jimin is cunning, not maliciously, but very impertinently. He was smart and sly all at once, and while he didn’t explicitly state anything—the timing seemed all too perfect for it to be purely a coincidence.

“Not staring,” Jungkook mutters.

Yet, his eyes remain trained on your figure.

Jungkook’s always had issues with envy, ever since he was younger. If someone made the cut before he did, he’d internally curse them out in his head and work ten times as hard out of spite. It’s somewhat toxic, but it allowed him to outdo himself every single time he felt that familiar green eyes emotion. He’s also no stranger to jealousy, and he’s remembered feeling the very same feeling he’s feeling now multiple times throughout his life, all for similar reasons.

You.

It wasn’t just because you were great at everything you did, excelling in your academics and extra-curricular, making students and superiors around you impressed with your work ethic. You were never ordinary; in fact, all you did in your life was outdo yourself in every single aspect and Jungkook always admired and envied that. It always made him feel like you were in two different worlds, where Jungkook had to work twice as hard compared to anyone else to achieve peak efficiency while you seemed to breeze by the things that you did.

Even when the two of you were in high school, he’d always fantasise what it would be like to be with you, to kiss you and to hold your hand or call you his. But he’s never thought you’d ever see him that way because all you’ve ever alluded to was him being nothing but a friend, a younger boy who had the stars in his eyes. If only you knew that it was a reflection of your face.

And the feeling is all too familiar, even when he first came to college and remembered seeing you interact with different guys that all seemed like they were taken with you. How could they not be? You were soft, sweet, kind and understanding—never the type to impose yourself or make others feel uncomfortable. You were a perfect combination of soft and relentless, the mixture of your best qualities and it seemed like Jungkook wasn’t the only person who saw that.

And he knew, he knew that you’d never lie to him, explicitly at least, or about things that mattered. So he doesn’t count your feelings, but it’s frustrating to have you right there but not at all. Especially when he recognises the look on Namjoon’s face intimately when he looks at you, bodies pressed adjacently in a booth in the library.

“You knew, didn’t you?” Jungkook scowls.

Jimin blinks innocently at his friend before a cheeky smile appears on his face, his hands pausing in between the sheets of his textbook.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” He feigns innocence.

Jungkook rolls his eyes, further slumping in his chair before he forces himself to tear his wandering eyes away from you.

“What a way to rekindle a friendship …” He mutters dryly.

Jimin stares at Jungkook pointedly, “Hey, the library is open to all students. Don’t go pointing fingers at me.”

“Jimin, I literally suggested we head to an overnight cafe and you said if I wanted to fix us then I had to listen to you,” Jungkook says dryly, “And I quote—or else.”

“Okay, maybe I may have been projecting a little—”

“Jimin …” He groans.

“But look, it’s not the end of the world so don’t go ahead and get your panties in a twist, all right?” Jimin snorts, “Just 'cause she’s over there with Mr Beefy doesn’t mean you’re out of the race. Let’s just say you’re sporting a broken foot.”

Jungkook only responds with a bland look.

“That doesn’t—”

“—and a dislocated knee. Maybe a torn hamstring?” Jimin ponders like the details actually mattered. “Yeah, a pulled hamstring. A torn ACL too for a kick. And you know who’s fault all of that was?”

Jungkook sighs, “Yes, Jimin, I know. It’s me—”

“No. It’s me. Because I’m planning on dragging this out as far as I can even if you and she made amends. You fucked with someone I cared about and this is how I hold you accountable. I’m going to draw out every lone interaction she shares with Joon and make you watch it like the porn you consume in an unhealthy amount. I’ll make it so that all you’ll see when you close your eyes is the way hyung looks at her and how you can’t do anything but watch.”

Jimin says all of that in one go and with an unblinking stare. If Jimin was looking for a reaction, he definitely got one because Jungkook is gawking at him with a disturbed expression at how utterly menacing he looks.

“You’re fucking terrifying,” He exhales.

“And you’re a little shit,” Jimin returns with a huff. His eyes dart behind Jungkook for a second before his smile is expression is replaced with an evil grin, “Oh, look at that. He’s brushing her hair back—how cute.” He coos.

Jungkook groans, sinking into his chair when Jimin snickers.

[silverynight]

Praise

Uraraka is right, Izuku thinks as she whispers something about not liking how much Bakugo is constantly insulting him.

"Kacchan is just like that," he says, trying to defend him, as always has. "He looks angry and curses a lot, but he's not bad."

"I don't like how he treats you," Uraraka insists, narrowing her eyes at him.

"I don't like it either," Todoroki cuts in, glaring at the table where Bakugo and his friends are eating at. He's yelling at them about something, but they don't seem to mind.

"You constantly praise him and compliment him and he just calls you 'idiot'," Uraraka mumbles furiously.

Izuku presses his lips together and considers the situation, maybe they have a point; he knows Bakugo likes when people praise him, but he clearly doesn't like it when Izuku does.

Perhaps he should stop at all.

***

He's so exhausted during a training exercise that even Aizawa looks at him and gives him permission to take a break. He sits on the floor next to him and takes the opportunity to take out his notebook.

Biting his bottom lip, Izuku starts writing every single thing he observes about his classmates' quirks.

He smiles to himself when he realizes how much Bakugo has changed; he's getting stronger now and has learned a technique or two in order to make his explosions last longer.

It's amazing; his lips part to say just that (as he always does) but he stops when he remembers the conversation he had with Uraraka earlier. He takes a deep breath and takes more notes instead.

The only good thing is that he doesn't have to stop himself from praising the rest of his classmates.

"That was great, Uraraka!" He says, beaming at the girl as she slowly gets down until she's really close to him. "I can see you can control better your need to puke. Also, I heard you could make a plane float the other day, that's pretty impressive."

Pleased, she smiles back at him before going back to her spot.

Izuku can hear a few explosions in the background.

"Todoroki!" The boy mumbles in awe; this time he's the one to approach since his break officially ended. "That's a whole new level of heat! How many degrees are we talking about?"

"I still don't know," the boy with mismatched hair says, staring back at him with a soft grin. "I'll let you know as soon as I find out."

"Great! Thank you!" Izuku beams, prompting Todoroki to look away as his cheeks turn slightly pink.

He keeps trying to exercise on his own for a couple of minutes before he gets distracted by Kirishima. He gasps when he realizes the boy can last longer with his body completely hard.

He mentions it out loud, as another furious explosion is heard next to them, and Kirishima giggles, rubbing the back of his neck, almost flustered.

"Thank you, Midoriya," he says, clearly pleased.

There's another explosion, this time louder, followed by a very angry scream. Bakugo has just blown up a huge column of cement.

"That's very manly, Bakugo!" Kirishima comments. Kaminari and Ashido praise him as well, although he doesn't seem to be paying too much attention to his friends.

Izuku realizes he's staring right at him with a frown upon his face.

His lips part, ready to tell him how amazing that was, but stops himself quickly, knowing it'll just end up with the other boy insulting him.

Turning around, he gets closer to Todoroki as he hears a growl, followed by another explosion.

"That's quite enough, Bakugo!" Aizawa scolds him.

***

"Alright. We'll start the sparring sessions today," Aizawa informs, as he walks around the room. He looks at the group quickly before pointing at Todoroki. "You're first. Alright, who wants to go against him?"

"ME!" Bakugo snarls, taking a few steps forward. Nobody is surprised, the blond has declared Todoroki his rival a couple of times already.

"Go, Bakugo!" Kaminari smirks.

"You can do it, Todoroki!" Izuku says almost at the same time. The boy looks back at him with a very pleased, but shy smile. He's blushing. "You have become quite stro–"

Before he can finish the sentence, Bakugo bares his teeth and tackles Todoroki to the ground.

Fortunately, Todoroki has had quite experience sparring so he manages to get Bakugo off by kicking him on the chest. However, he looks really pissed now.

They both do.

"No," Aizawa scolds before they can jump at each other's throats again. "I said sparring. Not dogfight."

He orders Bakugo to step back and chooses Ojiro instead.

Todoroki wins the new encounter pretty quickly.

"You both did great!" Izuku says immediately, already walking towards the boy with mismatched hair. "Todoroki, that was really impressive!"

"Do you really think so?"

"Of course! I think you've also become a little taller and stronger as well! You look ama–"

Bakugo tackles Todoroki a second time that day.

"That's enough!" Aizawa snarls, clearly angry. "Bakugo, get out!"

***

"Did you watch me, Deku?" Bakugo mumbles with a satisfied smile on his face. His team defeated class 1b team in five minutes.

It was amazing to watch. Especially considering that was all Bakugo's plan. Izuku can't help but grin when he realizes that he can actually work as a part of a team.

The frown upon Bakugo's face softens when he notices Izuku's smile.

When Ashido makes a comment to Bakugo about the way he used his explosions to fly on the air, Izuku reminds himself that Bakugo doesn't want an opinion or praise from a "nerd" like himself.

"Jiro! The thing you did with–"

Behind him Bakugo growls in frustration. Ashido is the only one that looks amused by his reaction.

"I was the one in charge!" He stomps in his direction until he's a few inches away from him.

"I... know?" Honestly, Izuku has no idea what Bakugo's problem is now. He wasn't even talking to him!

"Everything was my idea!" Bakugo growls.

"I didn't say it wasn't, Kacchan!"

Bakugo keeps glaring at him, it's almost like he's expecting something else from Izuku, but he has no idea what.

"Whatever!" He huffs, irritated, although he looks a little bit disappointed. He storms away quickly.

***

"I see you have... better control of your quirk now. That's... good."

For a moment, Izuku thinks he's dreaming or that Bakugo is being mind controlled. The rest of the class must be thinking something similar because they all look in utter shock.

They're back in the classroom; they had a training session earlier and spent almost an hour trying to come with special attacks.

Bakugo has turned on his seat to face him, even though his eyes are looking down the whole time.

"Uhh..." Izuku is flustered; he's not used to receive compliments from the other boy. "Thank y-you. You did great today."

The blond doesn't look up, but he nods as the ghost of a smile almost curls his lips upwards.

***

It keeps happening. Bakugo starts giving him advice as well; he gets closer to Izuku after each session and actually talks to him (instead of yelling) about his quirk.

Izuku doesn't understand.

He's also working harder than anyone else, to the point where it starts affecting him physically.

Izuku is amazed by his progress and part of him would like to tell the boy how impressed he is (like he used to) but Bakugo seems to be responding better when Izuku's compliments are not... that enthusiastic.

"Bakugo, even though you're doing an excellent job, you have to take it easy," Aizawa tells him, right after watching him blow up another rock that was on his way.

"I'm fine," he growls, prompting Izuku to roll his eyes at him.

He starts getting worried.

"You need to talk to him," Ashido corners him the next day, making Todoroki narrow his eyes at her. "It's getting worse. He's in the living room now, but he's planning to go to the gym."

"I don't think he'll listen to–"

"He will. Come on, Midoriya!"

Nervous, Izuku nods and shakes his head when Todoroki offers to go with him, he knows he has more opportunities if he goes alone.

"Deku," Bakugo turns his head up to look at him; there are shadows under his eyes. However, he doesn't frown at him.

"Kacchan, uhh... Why don't you take a break?" Izuku smiles shyly, rubbing the back of his neck. "You have surpassed all of us already and–"

"It's not enough."

"What?" Izuku can't hide his concern anymore. "What do you mean? You'll only exhaust yourself!"

Bakugo looks away, clenching his teeth.

"I'm not good enough for you..."

The last thing it's said in a furious whisper, but Izuku manages to hear it anyway.

"I never said that!" He's alarmed and confused. Worried about the way his voice gets louder, he looks around, but realizes they're still alone.

"But it's different now! You don't... praise me anymore!"

Izuku blinks as Bakugo finally gets up from the couch to look at him in the eye.

"I thought you didn't like it! At least when I did it!"

"Are you kidding me?" Bakugo hisses. "All my life I've been trying to impress you!"

Feeling his cheeks like they're on fire, Izuku covers his face and groans.

This doesn't seem real, but it must be otherwise his body wouldn't be hurting from the training session.

"You always yelled at me whenever I complimented you so I thought–"

"I'm sorry," Bakugo cuts him off, voice rough. He's staring at his own feet. His eyes are hidden by his own hair, but he sounds like he's desperate. "I did that so you wouldn't notice how much I liked it. It's not an excuse... I just–I'm truly sorry."

Taking Bakugo's face in his hands, Izuku makes him look up.

"I forgive you," he mumbles, cheeks turning red. When he notices that Bakugo seems relieved he keeps going: "I... didn't say anything to you about your progress for the past weeks... But I have a few notes in my journal if you... want me to read them."

"I'd like that," Bakugo says after a couple of seconds. Izuku has never heard his voice sound that soft... ever.

"Great!" Izuku beams, taking out his notebook. Bakugo sits on the couch, trying to fight the smile curling his lips up. "However... You have to promise to go to bed early instead of going to the gym."

"Fine," Bakugo rolls his eyes. He takes Izuku's arm and pulls him closer to him.

"Wait! How do I know you're not lying to me?"

Something changes in those red eyes, something that tells Izuku their relationship will evolve somehow.

He's not sure he's ready for that.

There's a dangerous glimmer in his eyes, but it's completely different from everything Izuku has seen before. It makes him shiver.

"Well... you can always come to my dorm and make sure I stay there the whole night," Bakugo smirks.

Izuku freezes for a moment, feeling as the blush spreads down to his neck. No. Bakugo cannot be flirting with him, because Izuku doesn't know how to deal with that.

He starts missing the insults and the yelling.

"There's n-no need," he stammers. "I believe you."

"Come here, Izuku," Bakugo takes him by the waist and sits him on his lap.

"Kacchan, wait!" Izuku squeaks, knowing he'll die soon if things keep like that.

"Read me your notes," the blond blatantly ignores him, putting his arms around his waist as he settles his chin over his shoulder.

"O-Okay," he mumbles, giving in.

The others find them just like that when they walk back in the living room. Izuku tries to move, but Bakugo's arms are like they're made of steel around him. He cannot move.

Ashido winks at them.

"Glad to see you're in such good terms now," she giggles before joining the other girls.

Oddly enough, after the shock vanishes, the others keep talking to each other as if nothing had changed. Uraraka gives him a reluctant thumbs up while Todoroki narrows his eyes at Bakugo.

"You promised to read to me, Deku," the boy whispers, pulling him closer while Izuku nervously starts looking for Bakugo's page.

He's not sure if he'll ever get used to this (whatever has changed between them) but he must admit he kinda likes it.

***

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