#anyways. maybe one day i'll actually gif the main couple from this show

[chinzhilla]

We're like a family here.

[stray-kids-react]

They try to teach you how to dance

Masterlist

Some are crack some are fluff.

...

Bang Chan

° You were very clumsy, but still determined to look just as amazing as Chan did during the last performance they did on Kingdom. Specifically at the beginning when he is held upside down and made his way to the floor smoothly.

° You kept falling flat on your stomach each time Chan tried to lower you down, you'd get scared at the feeling of no control and end up kicking Chan which led to him losing grip on you. He'd get worried after your third fall, and somewhat beg you to stop.

° You were determined to look as badass as he did, and even convinced Felix to help you out since Chan was too scared of hurting you. Your boyfriend watched as you and Felix both managed to fall to the floor while creating a hole in the practice room wall.

"I think I'll take a break for now."

"I'm sure you'll get it love, we'll just get some safety mats next time."

Lee Know

° Minho is very sweet towards you, he'll still tease you but over all everyone can tell how much of an effect you put on him. Being the main dancer though, it was intimidating dancing next to your very talented boyfriend. And he notices your stiffness.

° That is why he was showing you the Miroh dance step by step, insisting that he'll teach you. Minho didn't want you to become awkward around him at any point, and so when he saw you begin to stiffen whenever you danced. He stepped in immediately.

° You thought it would be sweaty and frustrating, but it ended up being very fun and sweet. Whenever you got a move right he'd reward you with a kiss, and he'd be close behind you throughout it all. Guiding your movements with his hands as he reassured you in a soft voice.

"Good work bun bun. Do you need a break?"

"Can I still get more kisses on break?"

Changbin

° You were an upcoming model in Korea, constantly praised for your look but some critiquing you after a viral video of you. The video was of you at an award show dancing, you looked like a dying chicken when you attempted to dance and everyone knew it.

° You wanted to be taken more seriously, and decided to ask your boyfriend to teach you Get Cool. Changbin knew why you asked him to do this, and didn't hesitate since he's seen companies decline you after the video went viral all over social media.

° You were still slightly wobbly and stiff, but you were able to get the basics down. Once you were confident enough, you went live on Instagram to show your hard work. Changbin reading the comments out loud from behind the camera.

"Wow the chicken has turned into a Phoenix."

"*Laughs* stop, I'm gonna lose my rhythm."

Hyunjin

° You were out partying with Hyunjin, Jisung and Jisung's Girlfriend. The spotlight seemed to focus on you as your tipsy induced brain convinced you to dance your heart out. The crowd around you beginning to cheer you on.

° Hyunjin recorded you as you began to recreate double knot, missing a few steps but still looking amazing nonetheless. He was enjoying the show you were putting on, until a random man tried to dance up behind you. Attempting to grind against you.

° Without a second thought, he pulled you out from the spotlight and tucked you infront of him. Shielding you away from anyone interested, it was getting late anyways and he would've pulled you away a couple minutes later if it weren't for the man.

"Did I do good Jinnie? ~"

"You are always fantastic angel."

Han

° You were rehearsing your stage before the main event, the weather was drizzling which led to a slippery stage. You thought it wouldn't effect you much, that is until you hit the dance break. Where shaking your hips turned into falling on them.

° Jisung felt bad he truly did, but your frustrated sighs and curses always amused him. Especially when you were wearing a mic where everyone could hear you, he'd laugh but always help you back onto the stage nonetheless.

° Jisung went through the steps with you. Making sure the rain wasn't the only problem, afterwards you soon realized you were taking to many large steps which led to the slipping. You were thankful he helped you go through the steps, even if you still fell.

"Why are you laughing ~"

"Because everyone can hear you swearing."

Felix

° You wanted to learn back door and surprise your boyfriend with your new talent, the only problem was... You couldn't get the steps right. This frustrated you immensely, wanting to impress Felix just as much as he always impresses you with his talent.

° Felix got you some cinnamon rolls from your favorite bakery, he walked by the store and decided why not. That's when he noticed you looking sulky on your couch, he sat next to you gently. Waving the scent of your favorite treat near your face.

° Felix asked what was wrong, and tried his absolute hardest not to show off the brightest grin when you admitted to wanting to impress him. You always impressed him and he found it adorable how determined you were to learn the dance.

"C'mere lovely, I'm going to show you the dance."

"Can I finish my cinnamon roll first Lixie?"

Seungmin

° You had a crazy side to you, a side only few got to see and this people who saw it were only the ones closest to you. Seungmin had the pleasure of seeing this wonderful side of you, watching you make a fool out of yourself for his entertainment alone.

° Seungmin came home from a hard day of rehearsal, JYP critiquing the group rather harshly even though he couldn't do half the stuff they could (all tea all shade☕) he felt his spirit crack a bit from the hurtful words. Wanting nothing more than your company.

° You found out the song was All In, the one JYP had somewhat of a say on what happens in the song. You decided to recreate JYP's dances in front of Seungmin to cheer him up, purposely making them look more sloppy than they actually were.

"Join me Seungmin!"

"No *gasping for breath* you're too much sometimes. Laughs"

Jeongin

° You out the Self in self-conscious, meaning you were a very introverted and anxious person naturally. It took over a year for you to warm up to your boyfriend Jeongin, but he was patient with you and got the best reward by having you by his side.

° This is why he was so shocked when you asked him to show you the side effects dance, since you've never really mentioned an interest of any type of dancing. Not even dancing at a party or simply bopping out in the car. But he wasn't going to waste the rare opportunity.

° Before you could second guess yourself, he pulled you to the dance studio. Hooking the song in the speakers, he stepped in front of you so you couldn't see the mirror. Knowing you would want to back out once you saw yourself. He wanted to make you feel safe.

"Maybe I should try this another time."

"But I want to hold you for a bit longer."

[saidrolav]

We know.

Sam Wilson x gn!reader

(bit of Steve Rogers x gn!reader (platonic))

Summary: You're in a secret relationship with Sam and things go out of control when Bucky and Steve find out about it.

Warnings: none! purely fluff! :))

A/n: Hiii everyone! I'm participating at the writing challenge of @sweeterthanthis with my babe Sam, been dying to write for him lately!! Congratulations on your 6K followers!!! Hope you enjoy! #quotemeonit6kchallenge

Prompts: “They don’t know that we know they know we know.” - Friends

not my gif!

Bucky threw his bag across his appartment that he shared with Steve and made this one jump when he heard the door slam. The blonde frowned and looked at Bucky with concern but before he could say something the brunette spoke first.

"You'll never guess who i saw at the coffee shop." A wide smile took place on Bucky's face which made Steve smile too.

"I don't know, who-" "I SAW Y/N !" Steve frowned with confusion but Bucky once again said something before he could answer. "That's the thing! They told us they were going to the library." "Hum, yeah, but they could've stopped by the coffee shop you know.."

Bucky jumped next to Steve on the couch where he was sitting and his smile was growing wider and wider as much as Stevie was talking. "They weren't alone !" "What ?" "They were with Sam !" Steve's eyes widened before smiling too, realization starting to hit him and Buck only got more excited at the reaction of his friend.

"You think they're dating ?" "Definitly." The brunette looked absolutely confident about what he was saying. "They saw you ?" "No." "How do you know ?" "I know when i'm being watched-Okay anyway, it's the perfect time for pranks !" Buck always liked to make fun of Sam and if Steve could be a part of a prank, he will.

Steve got up from the couch and started walking, with his head in his hands, searching ideas of pranks to do on you and Sam. Pranks sounded appealing, he didn't thought of a second choice, why would he ? Suddenly something popped in his head and he turned around to face Buck with a huge grin plastered on his features.

"So, they don't know that we know ?"

You and Sam weren't dating for so long, maybe 2 or 3 months but it was love at first sight. When Steve had introduced the two of you Sam was speechless by your beauty and it was the first time he didn't know what to say to a charming person to make them blush. Steve and Bucky didn't noticed the chemistry between the two of you but both, you and Sam knew there was something going on inside your stomachs when you were close, and it was intoxicating.

When you were around each other your whole skin felt like burning and your mouth was going dry. Him, he was lost in his thoughts while looking at you and was somehow shy to say dumb things, he didn't wanted to look like an idiot in front of you. His heart was shattering everytime you would laugh and even more if he was the reason of your laugh, he felt like you weren't thinking he was stupid and, it was a relief for him.

So, as soon as the two of you started dating the first thing you started to do was hiding your relationship to everyone. You didn't want anyone to interfere with your relation because it was just, too perfect. You were scared that any little thing would break everything and it was way too soon to tell everyone that the both of you were dating.

The lies started soon towards your two bestfriends Bucky and Steve, and today was like any other day. You said to them that you were going to the library only to met Sam at the coffeeshop and as always he would take your breath away. Even if you were dating for 2 months he was always stunning to you, he greeted you with a hug and a huge smile which you fastly returned.

Your date was going abdolutely perfect like you had imagined. You and Sam talked about everything and he was really funny, as always, he was making you laugh like no-one ever did. It was amazing. After a good thirty minutes and a cup of coffee you frowned a bit when you saw Steve's number appearing on your phone. You apologized to Sam quickly before answering, taking a last sip of your cup.

"Hey y/n! Are you busy right now ?" You frowned even more and gave a quick glance at Sam before answering quickly.

"No, no i'm not, why ?" You waited slowly for the blonde answer while biting your lip, afraid something happened to him.

"Oh cool! Huh," you heard him clear his throat trough the phone, "I was thinking maybe we could go on a date somewhere.. Just the two of us." Your eyes widened suddenly and Sam choked on his coffee. Wow. You clearly weren't expecting that, like, at all, especially in front of Sam. Steve was asking you on a date ? He was like a brother to you, like Bucky, and all of this seemed so weird to you.

"Hum.. Steve i like you a lot but, not in that way, you know.." Your eyes were scanning Sam's face for help but he clearly was under the shock himself and you could see a bit of jealousy in his features.

"Oh! Huh, that's okay, see ya!" Before you could say something else he had already hang up, leaving you alone with Sam and the silence between the two of you. After a couple of minutes in a huge akward silence, Sam talked.

"They know." You furrowed your eyebrows and tilted your head on the side, waiting for him to explain what he meant. "I mean, they know about us! And they're messing with us. Bucky or Steve must have seen us together. Steve wouldn't do that to you, i mean, i hope." A bright smile took place on his lips and soon on yours too, it all made sense.

"So, now that they know we can tell them about us!" You took his hands with excitation but he cocked an eyebrow at you while a mischievous smirk replaced the smile on his lips. "But, they don't know that we know that they know." You frowned even more and at this point your head started to hurt of too much thinking but after you had figured it out, it was your turn to cock an eyebrow at Sam.

"What do you offer ?"

"The messers become the messees !"

On the other side of town, Bucky and Steve were way too happy about their joke that they had ordered pizzas to their victory.

Little did they know that on your side, you and Sam were preparing your revenge. Soon, the laughs of the super soldiers were cut by a phone that was ringing and Steve realized it was his. He took it in his hand and cocked an eyebrow, showing the screen to Bucky and he read quickly your name on it.

Steve answered to your call while frowning. "Y/N is everything okay ?" He took a slice of pizza and shoved it in his mouth fastly.

"Yeah Steve! I kinda changed my mind, i'm fine with going on a date with you!" Steve's eyes widened and he opened his mouth but no sound came out and he went back to reality when Bucky slapped his arm. "O-Oh really ?" "Yeah! I'll pick you up at the appartment in ten minutes be ready!"

Bucky eyes widened and got up from the couch suddenly making movements to tell Steve to stay at the appartment so he could hear how the fake date would go. "Yeah huh, actually, don't pick me up, let's just stay at my place!" He cringed at himself for saying this to you because he clearly had only platonic feelings around you. "Fine! See ya later!" He said a quick goodbye and got up from the couch too looking at Bucky with horror.

"I can't believe Y/N would do that to Sam!" Bucky frowned and Steve too, realization hitting them. "Okay, they know. They're pranking us too. They're not backing down! What do we do ? You're gonna have a date! But... They don’t know that we know they know we know." Bucky cringed too and run his fingers trough his hair while searching for an option. "I don't have time Buck they're coming here in like, 10 minutes!" "Okay i'll be in the bathroom, get ready, if it's getting out of control come to see me." Steve nodded quickly, hating the idea of having to fake a date with you when he clearly didn't want too. In what did he had gotten into ?

You couldn't believe what you were doing, you were on your way to have a date with your bestfriend and your boyfriend was going to listen to the two of you at the door. In what world were you living in ? You were stressed as ever and squeezing Sam's hand harder than you ever did. He was whispering you calming words while playing with your hair all the way to the super soldiers's appartment. When you got here he gave you a quick kiss that gave you butterflies and made your cheeks turn a deep shade of red.

"Hey, i'll be there okay, you're gonna do great, show these grandpas who is the boss." He chuckled and you joined in before knocking to the door, Sam hiding in the staircase quickly after you did so.

The door opened and you were met by the tall blonde you always knew and the weirdness was soon here. You wondered for a brief moment where Bucky was but the silence was soon your main priority. Steve took your coat in full silence and you couldn't imagine how much Sam was going to make fun of you after this fake date. Long minutes passed by and you only made small talk with Steve you guys ate pizzas in silence and everything that was going on was way too weird. How you ended up in this situation ? You had to do something, the silence filling the room was too much, it was overwhelming!

You took a deep breathe and putted down your drink and looked Steve in the eyes. "Steve, the silence is too much. I know you know i date Sam. I don't know how but i know you do so please. Can we just stop that and have a real conversation ? The date, the pranks and all it's all just too strange to me." You chuckled and he let out a loud sigh of satisfaction while a smile took place on his features.

"Oh my god! Thank you, it was Bucky's idea and it felt terrible doing that to you." He rubbed your back while giving you a gentle smirk.

"It felt terrible for me too, i mean for Sam, i've never felt so much love for someone and i was scared of everything that could've happened if i told you and Bucky and... i love him. I couldn't ever do that to him, he's my whole world." You returned his smile and you heard a door opening. You turned your gaze towards the sound and saw Sam standing in the entrance with the biggest grin on his face that you ever seen, you thought on the moment he could cry. He ran towards you and squeezed you harder than ever while you laughed like crazy, Steve joining your laugh fastly.

"I love you so much too! You don't know how good it feels to hear it from the person i love the most in the world and that is even here in my dreams." He winked at you before the two of you laughed. "I mean: I love you cutie." He took your chin between his thumb and index and kissed you like his life depended on it. You slowly closed your eyes and so did he. Butterflies errupted in both of your stomach and your lungs were out of air, you were reciprocally taking both of your breaths away. He putted his arms around your hips and you putted yours on his neck. You could feel him grin in the kiss and you guys kept kissing even when you heard another door opening.

"STEVE YOU MESSED UP OUR WHOLE PRANK !"

[har-rison-s]

your good will: 35

the big wait

a/n: what's up guys. I'm stressed and exhausted out of my mind rn from school and work, even though so little is left of both. I've come so far and yet these last few stretches are the very hardest. I just want to lay in my bed all day and write this series or watch shows and movies…. I'm so exhausted from life. Anyways, here comes the liveaid chapter. Maybe i'll split it into two, i'll see how long it'll turn out to be. I'm so excited about this chapter, it's nearly the same excitement as if i was going to a concert or going to actual liveaid (god knows i want nothing more than that. Where's my time machine??). So i hope i write it good, i hope i justify my hopes for writing liveaid with the party and steve and such. Happy reading :) let us have a quick wait for volume 2. enjoy!

masterlist

series masterlist

stranger things masterlist

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word count: 5.4k

warnings: none !

gif credit goes to owner!

The rest of Steve's Thursday the 11th of July is as busy as he expected it to be. He goes round to Dustin's, where he meets not only Dustin himself, his make-shift little brother, but also Mike and Lucas. Steve tells them about LiveAid, realizing only then that he already threw the idea at Dustin before, but he's glad the rest of the guys get to hear the invitation vocally, too.

He's glad to see the kids sort-of back in their usual moods and spirits. They're hanging out again, though now without Will, and they seem cheerful and annoying (as teenagers are) as they usually are. Steve soon feels out of place because he doesn't play DnD and only knows so little of all the guys' mythology–within the came and beyond its borders. So after he has lunch that Dustin's mom made and insisted Steve to stay for, just a little longer–one meal won't hurt the boy who's protected her son, right?–Steve drives away from Dustin's and instead heads towards Robin's house.

It's around the same area in Hawkins as Max's house, though the two girls are far from being neighbors. Steve drives up around to the back of the house, where Robin's window faces outwards, and he honks a couple times in hopes of making Robin appear in the window that way. And after a few more honks, she does. She looks asleep and messy as anyone, as she did all those mornings Steve would pick her up before work at Scoops, and he laughs at that. Two pm during the day and she was still–or already–asleep as a log.

Steve sits in the car, waiting for Robin, and lets his favorite radio station play as he does so. His thoughts drift away much like the leaves blowing on the grass and pavement due to the soft summer breeze. They drift away towards the past–the good and the bad–, and the future–also the good and the bad. He thinks of Maggie, as he always eventually does. He thinks of her past, he thinks of their shared past together. These seven months… He couldn't imagine them without her.

And he thinks of her future. And of their future, which hers undoubtedly impacts. Her moving away with her family to Maine… Her leaving Hawkins. Her home, her boyfriend, her friends, her life. The thought of her not being here, not being around, of her not being a drive away from him, suddenly hits his heart very painfully. And it nearly drives him to tears. His breath stops and he just rests his face hard in his hand as he looks out at the empty road ahead. She's gonna be far, far away from him.

Can he survive it?

“What is it now, Dingus?” The smash of his car door closing and Robin's raspy voice disrupts Steve's painful train of thought, and he gasps in slight fear. He turns in his seat immediately to her and rests a hand over his chest once he realizes it's just Robin. “Oh, no, did I interrupt something really… emotional?” She asks in an inquiring and nervous voice.

Steve has to take one or two moments to collect himself, his eyelids flutter and he tries to find words to say. Then somehow everything clicks into place and he revs his car engine again. “N-No, not at all,” he says dismissively, “sorry. And hey,” he shoots Robin a quick smile as he adjusts the window cleaners on the front panel, “hope I didn't steal your beauty sleep. Oh, wait… you don't have any of that left.” Steve teases with a deadpan face.

Robin gives him a sarcastic, fake smile and shakes her head. “Nice to see you, too,” she says, “so. What's the occasion? You taking me to daydrink with you?”

Steve scoffs, “of course.” He responds and makes a turn onto one of the main streets in town. Robin's curiously glancing around herself, alert. “I… am going to make us rich. For a while, at least.”

“Oh?” Robin raises her eyebrows. “How so? You find a green leprechaun and his golden bucket?”

“Yeah, on my Lucky Charms cardboard box,” Steve says, “a really smart woman I know told me we can get some money from our… higher-ups at Scoops because we lost our jobs to a third-party, and nearly lost our lives, as well. It's actually crucial that we include that.”

“A really smart woman–who? Your mother?” Robin chuckles and Steve gives her a certain look with those brown eyes. It hits Robin. “Oh, the other smart woman you know.”

“Are you keeping count?” Steve asks. Robin shrugs her shoulders, a faint smile on her dark lips.

“Just to remind you how lucky you are to have them in your life.” She says. Steve makes a sonder smile at that, a nostalgic expression crossing his face as he looks out onto the road. He is lucky to have Maggie, and Robin, and Nancy, and his mom in his life, he is, that's true. Robin notices, and she's alert again. He hasn't looked quite… present these three minutes that he's driven her and himself to the town center. “What are you thinking in that big-nested head of yours?” Robin asks, curious about his slightly sour mood, and she even pokes Steve's shoulder with her finger.

He gives her a momentary glance, but his eyes are back on the road soon enough again. “Just the, uh, women I'm lucky to have in my life,” Steve answers truthfully, breathing out a heavy huff with his words. They and the thoughts behind them feel heavy on his chest, almost straining his lungs. As if he subconsciously doesn't want to tell Robin how he feels. She blinks as she keeps watching him, waiting for his response, “one of them will be leaving soon.”

“Your mom got a better job somewhere?” Asks clueless Robin. Steve laughs at that proposition, since that'd be quite the delight. Maybe he could move away with mom to some other town… Sounds like quite the piece of cake.

“Yeah, I wish,” he says quietly and now pulls his car to a stop in front of a corporate building, killing the engine. A place he and Robin both remember–it was where their job interview for Scoops Ahoy was held. Steve looks down at his hands in his lap, the car keys jangling quietly between them, “for clarification, I'm sure she would have told you this herself, but since you asked, and since I don't think it's any easier for her to tell you than it was to tell me, I'm just… gonna say it.” Wow, that's a lot of words, and a complicated sentence structure. Steve's really bummed out about this, whatever it is. Robin watches him breathe a heavy huff through his bird-like nose, and waits for Steve to say more. “Maggie's… gonna be moving away from Hawkins. With her whole family.” Steve finally says in a quiet, hurt voice, and gives Robin a glance to just register her reaction. See what this news means to her.

“Ohhh,” she simply says. She slowly takes in what that type of circumstance means to Steve. She's known Maggie and Steve were a thing since their very beginning, practically. Maggie's in one year at school with Robin, they share some classes together, and occasionally talked while at school. Robin would like to say they've gotten closer since this whole… interdimensional monster ordeal, closer than they were before. She likes Maggie, and she's seen how happy she is with Steve. And not only at school. Steve's actually much more bearable since he's been with Maggie, to Robin, at least. Her moving away is going to be hard, “do you know when?” Robin can't think of anything else to ask.

Steve shakes his head, his lips pursed. When doesn't really matter when just the fact of leaving is strict and certain. “She doesn't like it either, and, uh…” Steve sighs deeply, “that birthday party of mine you'll be planning together is gonna be the first and last for quite some while,” he breathes a lifeless chuckle. Robin can see clearly how upset Steve is with this news. “Because I don't know when she'll be leaving–and she doesn't, either–I just want to spend as much time with her as possible. But also… with everything that's happened, I don't want to keep her all to myself, either, you know?” Steve shakes his head. “I'm probably not making any sense.”

“No, no, I can understand,” Robin denies with sure nods of her head. Steve gives her a look of slight and humored disbelief, “you wanna savor all of her up until she leaves, so it wouldn't be… as hurtful and… lonely, too?” She guesses.

Steve makes a funny face at her assumption. “Okay, the way you worded that is… a little uncomfortable,” he says, “but for the most part, you're right, yeah.” He assures Robin, and she nods with a smile on her face now. He sighs. “It's probably selfish, but what do I know?” He chuckles airily once again. “But uh…” Steve starts to say, and clears his throat so he'd be or at least seem a little sobered-up, “I don't know, maybe don't… tell anyone now? Her brothers don't even know yet.” Steve requests, his eyes looking into Robin's wishfully. “Can you keep that secret?” He asks, just for confirmation.

Robin's face breaks out into a wide grin. “What do you think?” She teases, her eyes looking into Steve's. She sort-of searches them for connection, for realization of what she means. And after a few seconds of looking back into her eyes, he does. He cracks into a real chuckle at his own forgetting their faithful conversation in the cinema toilets that one night, and he shakes his head.

“Sorry,” he says after chuckling. Robin's cheeks rise as she grins wider.

“Wasn't sure you could keep my secret, but here you go forgetting it,” she says with a shake of her head, “you're unbelievable, Harrington. And you're gonna be even more unbearable once Maggie leaves.” Robin remembers the time before Steve was with Maggie. It's like he was a completely different person.

Steve's head raises quizzically at that statement. “Thanks?” He says and makes an amused scoff afterwards, at least that's what the sound is closest to. Robin fails to read the subtle expression of hurt on Steve's face as she watches him turn away and then open the car door. The conversation has clearly been put to an end. “Let's go get our money.” Steve simply says before he exits the car, leaving Robin in it for the next few seconds. She contemplates what she said and suddenly feels like it was the wrong thing to say. Was it? Did she sound mean or hurtful to him?

She has the rest of their money-acquiring ordeal to think that over thoroughly. But Steve doesn't seem to linger on it as much as she is. Maybe she's just over-thinking too much and reading his expressions wrong again. He's not as talkative as before, that's for sure–and maybe it's a sign–but maybe the news of Maggie leaving has really hurt him, and that's why he's not talking as much and as lively as usual. Robin can't decide, but her mind also can't rest.

Maggie's Thursday and Friday go by pleasantly, not too slowly, not too quickly. She's pretty excited for Saturday and LiveAid and seeing everyone in a much more relaxed and every-day setting. She also spends Friday evening baking the kitchen full of things to eat, both for her family and for the kids and Robin tomorrow. She's made a brownie, a cheesecake and lasagna. The lasagna she purposefully made more than Joyce usually would, so that it would last at least a week in the house with everyone taking a bite once in a while. But now she turns out to have made much more than she anticipated. Kids will be happy, though. Will loves her lasagna, and so does mom–they've told her multiple times already.

And when Eleven comes into the kitchen in her pajamas already and looks at the sight of Maggie rushing about, a smile creeps onto her soft face. El just inspects her make-shift older sister before she makes her way over to where she stands. Pots and pans and bowls everywhere–empty as well as filled and dirtied–music playing from the small radio apparatus on the window sill, the kitchen filled with light smoke and the smell of multiple meals. Maggie has on a baseball shirt that looks a little bigger than her own size–probably Steve's, and she's wearing shorts. Atop all that she has an apron on, the strings tied around her waist and on the back of her neck. Her hair is falling here and there from the up-do she put it in, it's defying her wishes of being tamed very much.

Eleven slowly comes up to Maggie and leans in close to what she's working on, her face close to hers. It nearly spooks Maggie, but she notices Eleven before that can happen, and only smiles in relief at the girl. “Hey,” she greets her as she continues her finishing touches on the lasagna.

“What are you making?” Eleven asks, and leans against the kitchen counter to face Maggie and also see what she's doing at the same time. It's something so distinctly hers about the way she always has to see the face of the person she's talking to. Maggie wonders what's behind that.

“Lasagna,” Maggie answers, going over the last layer of noodles with her tomato sauce spoon, “made much more than I'd planned to, actually,” she admits with a chuckle, “have you ever tried it before?” She gives El a side glance. Eleven shakes her head. She's seeing this wonderful meal that looks very yummy for the first time in her life, and her eyes are widening with every second that she takes the sight of it in. “Let me put this in the oven and I'll give you a piece of one of the finished ones, okay?”

Eleven nods at her question as she looks into Maggie's eyes. She watches the older girl smear tomato sauce, beef on the lighter-colored layer, and then sprinkle the very top with short cheese strands.

“I'm not surprised you haven't had lasagna before,” Maggie admits, “Hopper never was good at lasagnas or similar meals.” She then states, and it takes El's mind away from the kitchen filled with dirty dishes and half-empty bowls of all different kinds of things. “He was always better at deserts.” Maggie chuckles and makes a sigh of effort as she slides the lasagna tray into the oven and closes it. She presses the right buttons and stands up straight again. El sees her apron for how it is – totally dirty and probably ruined. There's chocolate, cream and tomato sauce all over it. She chuckles as her eyes meet Maggie's. Eleven knows about how Maggie knew Hopper so well, they both have told her a lot of stories over these last nearly two years. Yet there's still gaps left to fill. “You probably know the Eggo Extravaganza very well, that he made.” Maggie says with a smile. Eleven nods. “Yeah, well, I didn't.” She sighs out and leans her body against the counter as the oven begins working again, baking the third lasagna now. “We made plans so he'd teach me how to make it, but…” Maggie shakes her head with an empty look in her eyes. Eleven doesn't need to hear the rest of the sentence, because she knows what's there to say. Something neither of them want to really open up about, even though they trust each other a lot. It's a wound they'd rather let heal than rip open again and again all the time.

“I can… show you,” Eleven proposes. That suggestion makes Maggie turn her head to look at El, “it's not… complicated. If I can do it, so can you.” The younger girl says, a nice little smile etching into her lips. Maggie smiles wide and brushes El's cheek momentarily with her thumb, like El has seen mothers do to daughters on TV, and in real life. That gesture makes her smile.

“Sure thing,” Maggie says, “we can do it sometime next week. Now, about that lasagna…” Maggie looks over the mess that is the kitchen counter, and then the continuous mess that is the kitchen table. El follows her eyes, and now nearly feels out of place for seeing all this. She feels strange because she feels Maggie doesn't want her to see the kitchen this way, especially if it's her doing to make it so messy. Maybe El shouldn't have come in at all.

But another thought crosses her mind. “I can… help you. Clean up,” Eleven suggests, which again makes Maggie look into her eyes.

“That's nice of you,” she says, “Will or Jonathan never want to, and mom would just tell me to clean up the mess I've made myself, so okay.”

Eleven smiles. “You can tell me what to do.” She says, and Maggie nods. It starts out a little awkward, like most things that you do for the first time in your life start out, but the girls workshop around it pretty well. Maggie teaches El how to do the dishes, how to properly dry all the cutlery and ceramics, and where they store each category in the Byers house. Eleven seems willing to learn, and she does learn very well, pretty fast. It might sound silly, but Maggie's proud of her for that.

Maggie doesn't know what the exact plan of either of their lives is, even for the next year, so she doesn't know what might come in handy for El. Learning everyday things like the dishes, making food, cleaning the house can never hurt, though, so it's good practice that Maggie helps her learn everything now. With El's powers gone and all of them moving away from Hawkins, who knows what's in store now?

The dishes and cutlery sit clean in their assigned places, and Maggie and El finally sit down at the kitchen table to try that lasagna she promised. “Here you go,” Maggie hands El a plate, a small cube of lasagna on it, and a fork at the side. She glances at the one in the oven, and deems it's not ready yet. Eleven looks over the piece and feels her stomach grumbling. Because Maggie's and her eyes connect, she realizes Maggie heard her tummy, too. And both the girls have a warm laugh over it, “you ate lunch! What's the matter?”

El shakes her head and delves into the lasagna piece. She chews and swallows the first bite before she speaks, “I think… I'm more hungry because… I lost my powers.” She admits, and shoots Maggie a troubled look. The older girl nods.

“Maybe,” she says, “I don't know what it's like for you, but… that could be an explanation.” She nods again. “But hey, maybe they're not completely gone.” Maggie suggests with a shrug. “Maybe you can get them back. Somehow.”

Eleven's eyes fall to her hands. “Something's… wrong. I can't… feel them anymore.” She says. “I tried.” She looks at Maggie again. She nods again, understanding the girl's peril.

“Well, even if they are gone forever,” she starts to say, “there's more to you than your powers.” Maggie gives El a smile, and lays a kind hand on her shoulder. El nods with a shy smile, her mouth full of delicious lasagna.

“Max said… there's more to life than stupid boys,” El says as she remembers it. Maggie makes a whole-hearted laugh at that, and the expression and genuinity of her laugh make El smile wider, lasagna nearly spills past her lips at that.

“That's also true,” Maggie confirms. Her thoughts tilt towards where that could have come from. Mike and El broke up, and Max was there to comfort her and teach her a few things. Maggie gives El a side-eye while a smile sits on her lips, “you think you'll be coming tomorrow? To watch the concert?”

Eleven shrugs. “Sounds fun,” she admits and pushes her plate a bit forward, signaling that she's done. She ate the piece and feels pretty well. Though she could eat more, she feels that, “will Mike… be there?”

Maggie gives her a nod in confirmation. El grows visibly anxious, even if just a little bit. “But you don't have to talk to him, or… or sit with him. You can… sit next to me.” She suggests with another shrug. Eleven looks at Maggie, a slight smile on her features.

“You'll be with Steve,” she says to Maggie, her voice sounding like there's no other way around this.

“Yeah, but… all of us are gonna be there. I won't be only with him. You're all my friends, too,” Maggie gives El a playful smile. Eleven nods, “it's a party, so I'm gonna be with everybody. So what do you say?” She pauses. “We're gonna have to wake up early, but it'll be okay. There will be some slower songs playing on the stage, so we'll be able to sleep later if we'll have to.” Maggie shrugs.

Eleven looks at Maggie as she contemplates the choice. She doesn't want to see Mike because of everything that happened. But she also misses him, and she misses all her friends. And she wants to spend time with Maggie, because she's very kind, and she feels like a sister to her, almost. Someone very protective and loving, and she understands a lot of things that others don't. She might not be able to understand El completely and utterly in all aspects, because it's hard to.

El is just too different for anyone to understand her to the deepest parts, but there are people who have come close enough. Maggie. Hopper. Even Mike. And Will. And they each understand different parts of her, which kind of makes her feel like the people closest to her make her whole. And that's not particularly a bad deduction to come to.

“Yes,” Eleven finally says, “I'll come, too.” She says with a nod, and Maggie smiles wide. “Will Steve… come to get us?”

Maggie makes a dismissive motion with her hand. “Eh, no,” she says, “we'll just walk, and take all of this food with us.” Eleven gives her a certain look. Can we take all of this? “It's not that heavy. And Will's coming, too.”

El raises her eyebrows, pleasantly surprised, and nods. Will's sort-of growing to be her brother now. He's taught her D&D, he talks to her more than before, even if he's still kind-of distant. El likes Will, and she hopes they can be better friends, and actual sister and brother with each other. Maybe it's weird to hope that, but she can't help that silent hope. Maggie and her entire family have been so kind to El, and she thinks they're all very cool in each their own ways.

That's why next morning Eleven is not at all irritated to have to wake up early and go over to Steve's house. Maggie helps her pick out some clothes she could wear for LiveAid the night before, and so El happily wears them. Even though Maggie is older than Eleven by a couple years, their sizes are surprisingly pretty similar, and so Maggie's shirt fits El quite nicely. It's a shirt with a psychedelic Lord of the Rings design, one of Maggie's favorites.

And it earns Eleven a compliment from Will when they start their morning walk towards Steve's house, which makes Eleven smile. She didn't know Will liked the book series Maggie told her about, too. She has yet to read the books herself, though, and because they sound very interesting, she kind of can't wait to read them. She's not the best at reading by herself quite yet, so she also hopes that Maggie can read the books to her at the beginning, at least.

All three of them, the Byers siblings you might say, love how quiet and deserted Hawkins is on this Saturday morning. Barely any people in their path, except for the rare dog-walker and morning runner, and Earl, who's always up at whatever hour of the night or morning to water his garden out front. He gives the kids a wave, who wave back, and then he furrows his eyebrows at what they could be doing this early in the day together. With wrapped packages in their hands, too. He swears no kid is up to any good nowadays.

Though they may be sweating, Maggie, Will and Eleven finally reach their destination in one piece and happy. Two thirds of them are very excited for today, and so that keeps them happy enough. And, of course, it's Steve who opens the door to his house, to which Maggie smiles wide. It's hardly been two days, and yet she's still grown to miss him all the same. Steve cracks into a wide smile and invites all of them in. He pulls Maggie to his side for just a quick second, kissing her lips briefly as a greeting.

She smiles against his lips. “Hey,” she greets him properly and pulls away. She knows how awkward Will feels around her and Steve, and how El probably isn't feeling the least awkward, either.

“Hey,” Steve tells Maggie quietly, privately, and then looks to her siblings, “hey, guys.” Will and El mutter their own hellos at him. “Whatchu got there?” Steve points at the wrapped… things–they look like large plates?–in their hands.

Eleven makes a smile. “Maggie made lasagna,” she says and pulls back part of the cloth covering the lasagna dish in her hands. Steve's face lights up happily.

“And a cheesecake, and a brownie, too,” Maggie adds.

“She was in the kitchen all afternoon,” Will says with a grin and shake of his head, to which Maggie just gives him a look and chuckles. Steve's excited face doesn't drop.

“You are the best,” Steve gives her head another affectionate kiss and then rushes deeper into his house–for whatever reason… “you guys, Maggie made lasagna!” The three of them her Steve announcing to someone then, and they follow him quickly into his house. They stop beside him in a doorway, which reveals the Harrington house lounge area, where there's more guests. Lucas, Max, Mike, Dustin and Robin! Are all seated on and around the couch comfortably, their faces looking fresh as cherries. It is the morning, after all.

Maggie cracks into a wide smile at them all, and how they wave at the new arrivals with wide smiles and excited faces. She waves back. “Uh-oh, the final babysitter has arrived,” Mike jokes, and everyone laughs at that. It's funny, and it's true.

“How nice to see you all here,” Maggie says as she sets her bag down in the corner, still holding the other lasagna and the cheesecake in her hands. She glances at the TV in front of the kids and Robin, and sees a white stage and a sea of people in front of it, some band already performing for them.

“I already put the show on,” Steve tells her, “we've got about… thirty minutes until our one and only step onto the stage, so…” He looks hopefully at Maggie.

“Help me out in the kitchen?” She offers, a grin on her lips, and Steve nods. He's up for anything that isn't baby-sitting, because it's tiring work, honestly. But he never needs an excuse to spend time with his favorite person of all time, Maggie. So she tells Will and El to give Steve the rest of the dishes, and for them two to join their friends in the lounge while she and Steve gather everything up. “The party can start.” Maggie says to Steve as they both make their way back to the kitchen.

Steve laughs. “Well, it just about started when Dustin burst through my door singing We Are The Champions, but you always bring the party around, baby,” he tells Maggie. She chuckles.

“He did that?” She asks. “That kid,” she shakes her head as she sets the two dishes down on the island. And she notices everything else already on the table, “oh wow, you really did go shopping.” She says and traces her hand over the salad and vegetable packages. Of course, there's Cheetos and Lay's, too. Maggie shakes her head.

“Told you I would,” Steve says, “plus, I got the money from mom and also–me and Robin went to the office and got our… third-party-caused-loss-of-work compensation money.” He says as he starts opening all the packages. Maggie laughs at the naming of the money.

“Wow, you're a rich man now, Steve,” Maggie jokes, and that makes Steve laugh again. His cheeks blush up, too, so much so that she can't look away from him for a while. But she gets to unwrapping her dishes in a sec, “come to think of it, you and me haven't been to a party together. Ever.” She realizes. Steve raises his head out of what he's doing and looks at Maggie with furrowed eyebrows. They can both hear occasional laughter from the lounge, and they're glad the kids are getting along like they always have, at least.

“Really, we haven't? But–” he thinks back on these seven months with her.

“The roller rink doesn't count,” Maggie says, “and all those times we've danced to the radio don't count, either. I'm talking real parties, like the one, uh, whoever was hosting last Halloween.”

Hell, Steve remembers that party. He remembers it with a heavy heart, and would actually rather forget it. That was a real party, true. But he didn't attend it with Maggie. “Oh yeah…” he nods along and gets back to making himself busy with all the snacks. Partly to get something done together with Maggie, cause they know there's lots of mouths to feed, and partly to avoid thinking about that sad night, “so my birthday party's gonna be the first that we attend together… Although we're not really attending, we're hosting it, right?” Maggie nods. “Well, anyways. Our first real party together.” He says, a warmer expression on his face, and Maggie nods again. “Why haven't we gone to one before?”

She shrugs. “Dunno,” she slices a knife through the lasagna, “well, okay. I was kind of scared to go to one, and I was helping you study, anyway, this last semester.”

“Oh, right,” Steve nods and scratches behind his ear, “why were you scared? You never told me that.”

Maggie shakes her head softly and breathes a quiet sigh. She has the words she wants to say, but somehow they make her windpipe tighten up suddenly, as if they're hard to say. “I didn't want you to, like, think I was a goody-two shoes, that's why I never said anything. But you know… teenagers drunk at parties can be quite… dangerous and scary. And though I like the loud music, and I'm not afraid to drink, they've just always seemed so… dull.” She shrugs and places slice after slice of lasagna on plates. “Maybe this one will be better.”

“Because it'll be planned by you and Robin?” Steve suggests, a sneaky grin on his face. Maggie chuckles, but gives him a nod. That's exactly why. “Yeah, I think hardly any of those parties you and me were invited to had actual schedules or whatever,” he admits, “so this will be the best one.”

“Because I'm planning it?” Maggie looks up at Steve as he's now come up close to her, and he nods at her with a dopey smile on his face. She breaks into a blush, bowing her head down, and Steve takes that opportunity to pull her close again and lay a kiss on her head.

“You're the best, Mags,” he tells her, “I'll keep telling you that until… I don't know, it's not true anymore, but that could be about… Never.” Maggie laughs again. “Love you.” He lays another kiss on her head.

“Love you, too,” she says, “but we have about twenty minutes until REO now, so let's hurry up with the snacks.” Maggie pulls him down to reality, leveling him down from their wonderful moment together. Steve follows her suggestion, though he does it distractingly for Maggie and himself. He's just head-over-heels, neither of them can expect anything more.

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[itsadamcole]

heaven knows

fem!reader x finn balor

(requested by anonymous) “Reader and Finn have been best friends ever since they were at NXT.  Reader have a crush on Finn but never express their feelings because she feels Finn only thinks of her as a friend.  Until finally the reader dating Dolph and Finn began to realize his feelings. Reader first moved to RAW and started dating Dolph, 3 months later Finn also got a shake up to RAW.  Dolph had to move to Smack Down and the reader and Dolph relationship ended because of that.”

word count: 4.1k+

warnings: smutty (that’s about it for warnings ig)

— thank you to anonymous for this request. i had a lot of fun writing it ... this imagine is based on the song “Lost in You” by Westlife —

masterlist || request an imagine here

~ 18+ content below - read at your own risk ~

*** 3 months ago ***

“Finny!” you shout, running up to your best friend. Finn Balor turns around and looks at you.

He smiles and says, “Hey. What’s up? How’d the meeting go?”

You basically shout, “I’m moving to the Raw roster!”

Finn’s smile drops a bit but you don’t notice it. “Raw?” he asks. “I thought ya like it here on NXT.”

You look up at Finn and say, “Ya know that I’ve wanted to go to Raw for a while.”

“I know,” he says. “Ya haven’t been on NXT for that long and I thought ya liked it here.”

You say, “I can talk to Regal and to Vince to get ya moved to Raw with me.”

Finn shakes his head and says, “I’m staying here for a while. I had my time on Raw and they never used me right.”

You pout and say, “I’ll still come visit when I’m home. I’ll be home all the time, I promise.”

He smiles at you and says, “I’m proud of ya for being moved to Raw. Ya will be the best damn announcer that the red brand has ever seen.”

“And I better be the first person ya call after ya win the NXT title,” you say.”

You smile at your best friend and he says, “Of course. Ya will be the first person I call after I win the title.”

“I better be,” you say. “Maybe I’ll come back to NXT eventually but I’ll make sure to watch every week.”

You smile and hug Finn.

When you were told that you were being promoted to Raw, it was a bittersweet moment. You love NXT and you love the roster. Not to mention you don’t want to leave Finn, your best friend and crush since day one in NXT. You’re both from Ireland and have always stuck together. It’s how you became such close friends.

Now you’re leaving and you hate that you are.

***

*** present day - november 2019 ***

You sit in your dressing room, brushing out your long brunette hair. You hum quietly to yourself as you brush your hair.

There’s a soft knock on your door so you get up to answer it. You open the door, revealing your boyfriend Dolph Ziggler. “Hey,” you say, smiling. “I was just about to come see you.”

You have Dolph have been together since you moved to Raw three weeks ago. He asked you out the day you arrived and have been together since.

He kisses your cheek before walking into your dressing room. Dolph says, “The shake up is today and I was just told that I’m moving to the Smackdown roster.”

You look at Dolph and say, “I thought ya told them that ya wanted to stay on Raw.”

“I did tell them but they’re moving Bobby and I to Smackdown,” he says as you approach him. He looks down at you. “We’re going to be on different brands, Y/N.”

You hug him and say, “We’ll make it work, Dolph. We have to.”

He runs his fingers through your hair and say, “I would love to make it work, Y/N. I would love to, but you know what it’s like when couples work on different brands. It rarely ever works out.”

You look up at Dolph and ask, “What are ya saying, Dolph?”

Dolph says, “You know how much I like you and how much I like being with you, but we can’t be together if we’re on different brands. It never works out in the long run.”

“So you’re saying we should break up?” you ask.

He nods in response. “Maybe one day we can reconnect but right now, we can’t be together,” Dolph says.

For some reason, you’re not disappointed by this news. You like Dolph but you’ve always thought that there was someone better for you out there.

Someone like Finn Balor.

You miss Finn. You haven’t spoken in a month because of your schedules. He's been busy defending his title on NXT and you've been busy with being an announcer. You've tried to find time to talk to Finn but either he's busy or you're busy.

Dolph says, "I'll, uh, see you around, Y/N."

"Ya too, Dolph," you say. Dolph leaves your dressing room and you sigh. You go grab your phone and try calling Finn.

Finn doesn't answer, leaving you upset.

There's another knock on your door and you answer it. Triple H stands at your door. "Hi," you say, surprised. "Can I help ya with something?"

Triple H says, "Just coming by to drop off the card for tonight. Pierce is sick."

That's when it hits you. Triple H usually runs things surrounding the NXT brand. You ask, "Is NXT involved in something tonight?"

"Possibly," he says. "If I can get Vince's approval. This is the card with the matches on with that NXT is involved in."

You nod and take the card, reading over it.

Adam Cole versus Drew McIntyre. Lana and Dana Brooke versus Nia Jax and Shayna Baszler. Seth Rollins versus a mystery opponent is slated to be the main event tonight. "Who's Seth's opponent?" you ask.

Triple H says, "I don't know. He's issuing an open challenge tonight. That's all I know."

You nod and say, "Well, thank you for the card." He gives you a kind smile before walking off. You close the door and sigh.

NXT is getting involved and you can't help but wonder if one Irishman is going to be making an appearance.

To distract yourself, you get into the attire that was left in here for you. A lacey black dress that sparkles. Your shoulders and arms are the only parts of your body that can be seen under the dress because the lace is sheer. The dress falls to just above your knees.

A third person knocks on your door as you're about to do your makeup. You answer it, revealing your best friend, Becky Lynch. She smiles and says, "Look at ya. Looking all snazzy. I like the dress."

You smile and let her in. "Thank you," you say. "But I have no control over my wardrobe. The dress is kinda cute though."

Becky kind of laughs and sits down. You do your makeup as Becky says, "I heard Dolph's moving to Smackdown."

"Yeah, he is," you say. "He came in here and said that relationships don't really last when the couple is on two different rosters. Well, he said that it usually doesn't work out, so he ended it." You shrug.

Your best friend squints her eyes at you and says, "Ya don't seem that upset about it."

You do your eyeshadow and say, "I liked Dolph, but I always thought that there could be someone out there that's better for me."

As you speak, your mind wanders to Finn. You wonder how he's doing. You hope that maybe you'll catch a glimpse of him tonight. Maybe he'll be Seth's mystery opponent. You don't know.

Becky says, "Someone like Finn Balor? Because he's calling ya."

Quickly, you grab your phone that you threw on the couch and you answer the phone. "Finn?" you say as soon as you answer it."

"Hey," he says. "There's my favorite announcer. How ya doing?"

You smile and say, "Fine. I'm doing okay. How are ya doing?"

Finn says, "I've been better. I saw ya called and I wanted to see if something was wrong."

Becky points at you and mouths, "I knew it." You wave her off and say into the phone, "Nothing's wrong. I was just thinking about ya earlier so I thought I'd ring ya to see if ya were busy."

He says, "I'm a little busy but I have a second to talk."

"I was just getting ready for Raw but I can stop for a second," you say.

Finn laughs softly and says, "So, tell me about Dolph. Everything okay there? Ya seemed happy the last time we talked."

You say, "I, um, we kinda broke up. He's being moved to Smackdown because of the shakeup tonight."

He's quiet before he says, "Oh, that's terrible. I'm sorry."

You shrug and say, "It's fine. I know there's someone better for me out there." You glance at the time. "I have to go now but can I call ya later?"

"Yeah," he says. "Call me after Raw is over and we'll actually talk for more than a few minutes."

You smile and say, "Okay. I'll talk to ya later then."

You both say your goodbyes and you hang up the phone.

Becky says, "Tell me how long ya have had a thing for Finn Balor. I don't blame ya, by the way. That man is very attractive. Maybe not as attractive as Seth but still attractive."

You laugh and say, "I've had a thing for him since our NXT days. Basically since day one." You rub the back of your neck. "I'm sure he doesn't feel the same way about me though so I never said anything to him about it."

She laughs and says, "Tell him. You're single now and ya said that there was someone better than Dolph Ziggler out there for ya. What if that person is Finn?"

"He's not on this brand either," you say. "He's NXT champion so he wouldn't have time for me anyway."

Becky says, "Well, that's not true. When Seth was Universal Champion, he still had time for me."

You blink at her and say, "You and Seth were champions at the same time, Becky. You traveled together for press and everything."

She thinks for a second and says, "Yeah. That's very true. Okay, anyway. I have a match tonight against Asuka so Imma go get ready for that. I'll see ya out there."

You nod and finish getting ready for the show tonight.

***

There are five matches on the card tonight, plus the main event. The first match was Dana Brooke and Lana versus Shayna Baszler and Nia Jax. Shayna and Nia won.

The next match was Becky versus Asuka for the title. Asuka retained, which left Becky mad.

The third match was a six-man tag match, with three teams of two. Xavier Woods and Kofi Kingston are a team against the teams of my now ex-boyfriend Dolph Ziggler and Robert Roode and two members of the Undisputed Era, Kyle O'Reilly and Roderick Strong. It's basically a mini Survivor Series match, minus the eliminations. The stipulation is if the Undisputed Era loses, they stay on NXT. If they win, they get moved up to Raw.

The Undisputed Era wins the match and all four of them are now members of the Raw roster.

The fourth match is Keith Lee versus Braun Strowman. Keith wins.

The fifth match is Drew McIntyre versus Adam Cole. Randy Orton interferes and costs Drew the match.

It's main event time. Seth's music hits and you say into your microphone, "Making his way down to the ring, he is the Monday Night Messiah, Seth Rollins."

Seth gets into the ring. He doesn't have his disciple, Murphy, with him as he's handed a microphone. "So, as you can see, my disciple Murphy isn't here with me tonight. That's because he's a traitor and left me. So, I'm issuing an open challenge for anyone to come out here and prove to me that they have what it takes to be my disciple. Come on, anyone. From Raw or Smackdown, or even NXT. Come on out."

Everyone looks at the stage to wait and see who comes out. Everyone in the arena waits.

And that's when Finn Balor's music hits. Your jaw almost drops, happy and excited to see Finn with his title. The crowd jumps up and cheers. You smile in the timekeeper's area as Finn makes his way down to the ring. He's handed a mic on the way down.

Seth has a smile on his lips as he looks at that title around Finn's waist, who's dressed and ready for a match in his white ring gear and a matching white leather jacket. This is the gear he wore in his last main roster match at Summerslam in 2019 before he went back to NXT in October. The NXT title is now over his shoulder as he steps into the ring.

Finn is looking at Seth. His music fades and he says, "Hi, Seth. So, I heard ya are looking for a match tonight. How's this? Ya and I in the ring right now. If ya win, then ya get my title and I'll be your new whatever ya call it. If I win, I keep my title and ya never can challenge for this title, or any title that I hold, whether it's the WWE Championship or the United States Champion. I think ya get the point."

You look over at Seth and he says, "You're on Balor. Let's get a referee out here and get this started."

The crowd cheers and you're handed a card with something to read on it. You nod and as the guys get ready in the ring. You look up and say, "This match has just been made official by WWE officials. The following match is scheduled for one fall and is for the NXT Championship. Introducing first the challenger, weighing in at 217 pounds, from Davenport, Iowa. He is the Monday Night Messiah, Seth Rollins."

You listen as the crowd boos Seth. You forgot how much the WWE Universe loves Finn Balor.

Once the crowd dies down, you talk into the microphone again. "Weighing in at 190 pounds, from Bray, County Wicklow, Ireland, he is NXT Champion. Finn Balor," you say, smiling as the name Finn Balor leaves your lips. The crowd cheers. Finn looks at you and points at you, making your face heat up.

The ref takes the belt and holds it above his head. Someone runs over and grabs it, bringing the belt back to the little area. You look at the gold belt. It looks so pretty with Finn's side plates on it.

The bell rings and the match is underway. Your eyes are on Finn the whole time.

It takes 20 minutes but Finn hits the Coup de Grace and pins Seth, retaining his title. You take the belt and run to the ring, not being able to hold in your excitement. You bring your microphone with you because you have one more thing left to say.

Once you're in the ring, you almost tackle Finn with a hug. He hugs you back and you hand him his title.

"And still NXT Champion, Finn Balor," you say as Finn's music blares in the arena.

He looks down at you and takes your microphone. You stare up at him as he says, "I, uh, I need to say something really quick."

The crowd dies down and you stare up at your best friend. He looks at his title and he says, "This title isn't mine anymore. This title isn't mine anymore because as of this moment, I am on the Raw roster. As a full-time Raw superstar, I cannot hold the NXT title." He puts the title down on the ground before looking at you. "But as a full-time Raw superstar, I can spend all the time in the world with ya. Travel with ya, talk to ya whenever I want. And most importantly, take ya on a date or two whenever we want."

Your eyes widen as you stare up at Finn, realizing that he has feelings for you too.

"If ya would like, of course," Finn finishes with. The crowd collectively gasps as they wait for your answers.

Finn's arm is still around your waist and you're still standing close to him. So, you give your answer in the one way you've been wanting to. You put your hands on Finn's face and pull his face down to yours. Your lips crash to his and immediately begin moving against them.

He smiles into the kiss and drops the microphone, wrapping both your arms around his neck as his arms wrap around your waist.

The crowd cheers loudly as you kiss Finn in the ring.

***

Eventually, you and Finn make your way back to your hotel room. He tells you about what he had to do to get to Raw.

Since NXT was part of the shakeup this year, there was a chance that he could get sent to Raw. It was small because he held the NXT title. So after some negotiations with William Regal, Triple H, and Vince McMahon, he would voluntarily relinquish his title after a match tonight. So that's what he did. He voluntarily relinquished his title and is now apart of the Raw roster.

He also told Vince that he wants a run or two at the WWE Championship, which is held by Drew McIntyre. Vince agreed because he knows the fans love Finn versus Drew. Add a title in there and it makes for a few good championship matches.

Once back at the hotel room, Finn says, "I need to shower really quick then we can watch movies or something for a bit."

You nod and watch as Finn disappears into the bathroom, closing the door behind him. The water starts and you sigh.

It would be really bad if you just walked into the bathroom and told him everything that you've been feeling, especially tonight.

When Finn walked out in the white gear, a little ache formed in your core and you tried what you could to stop it.

Your feet are carrying you to the bathroom before you can do anything. You shed the dress and your shoes before walking into the bathroom.

The shower in the bathroom is a glass stand up shower. Most of the glass is distorted but the top maybe 16 inches aren't so you can see from Finn's chest up. His eyes are closed as he rinses his hair.

Quickly, you take off the bra and panties you're wearing before you open the door to the shower. Finn looks down at you and asks, "Y/N, what are ya doing?"

"Saving water," you say. "Kinda."

He smiles down at you as you close the glass door. You stare up at him and he asks, "Now what are ya really doing?"

You say, "Seeing ya in the white gear tonight made me feel things, Finn. I know I shouldn't just get in the shower with ya, but-" You're interrupted by Finn's lips coming down to yours. You gasp, surprised by the kiss.

His lips move against yours before he pulls back and says, "Ya are telling me ya want me to, what?"

You stare up at him and say, "Whatever ya want, Finn. I just need ya to do something to me."

Finn smirks a bit and his hands come down to your waist. He guides you so your back is against the wall. You stare up at Finn and he says, "Is this what ya really want? I want to make sure it's what ya want one hundred percent."

Your hands rest on his chest and you nod. "It's what I want, Finn," you say. "I've wanted this for a while."

He smiles and kisses you. The kiss is rougher than the kiss in the ring and his hands start to roam. Soft sighs leave your lips. As the two of you share the kiss, Finn moves and presses you against the cold wall of the shower. Your hands are on Finn's cheeks, slipping your tongue into his mouth. Finn smirks against your lips.

The kiss continues for a second before Finn leans down and picks you up by your thighs. You wrap your legs around his waist as Finn pulls back from your lips and he starts to kiss your neck.

A soft moan escapes your lips as your hands slide into Finn's short wet hair. You smile and say, "This has gotten longer since we last saw each other."

Finn smirks and looks up at you, detaching his lips from your neck. He says, "I'm guessing ya like it."

You giggle and nod, saying, "It gives me something to hold onto." He laughs and kisses you again.

He reaches to the side and turns the water off. Carefully and slowly, Finn leaves the shower with you wrapped around him. He's careful not to slip on the tile floor of the bathroom as he leaves the room.

Finn walks out to one of the beds, laying you on your back. The kiss breaks as he looks down at you, eyes wandering all over your body.

"I've imagined how ya looked for weeks and this exceeded all of my expectations," he says, smiling down at you.

You giggle and stare up at him, saying, "I could say the exact same thing." You glance down at his semi-erect member that's poking at your thigh.

He starts to kiss your jaw and he says, "You're so beautiful. I can't believe that maybe you'll be mine after this."

Sighing, you say, "I've been yours this entire time, Finn."

Finn smirks against your neck. You slide your hands down his sides and use one of your hands to stroke Finn's member. He gasps a bit against the skin against your neck. You feel him begin to harden as you stroke him.

"Keep going like that and I won't last as long as ya probably want me to," he gasps.

You leave kisses to his head and say, "We have all night, Finn. And all day tomorrow."

He looks up at you and says, "Good, because I won't be able to stop once I've started."

You reach up, pecking his lips before you say, "Then start."

Finn smirks a bit before he kisses you harder than he ever has before. You sigh softly against his lips as he runs his tip through your already soaked folds. "Finn," you mumble against his lips. "Please. Tease me another time. I need ya right now."

Slowly, Finn begins to push himself into you. You gasp into the passionate kiss.

You're not a virgin but you're not really that experienced in bed. Finn knows this so he's making sure he's careful with you. On the other hand, you know how experienced Finn is in bed. He's never had to tell you. You used to travel with him when you worked for the NXT brand and stayed in the hotel room next to him sometimes. He's not really that quiet, and neither is whoever he's with.

He moves slowly and shallowly at first, making sure that he's not hurting you. The little bit of pain that you feel slowly melts away to pleasure, and you're a little bit of a moaning mess underneath Finn's body. You drag your fingers down Finn's back as he moves.

Every few minutes, Finn picks up speed and thrusts deeper into you. You wrap your legs around Finn's waist again. Your back arches off the bed ooccationally and chase Finn's hips. He slips deeper into you, making you moan and gasp under Finn.

A wave of confidence overtakes you a couple minutes later. You roll so you're straddling Finn's waist with him still inside you.

Finn stares up at you as you begin to move your hips, riding him. Finn intertwines his fingers with yours and helps hold you up. You throw your head back as you bounce up and down on Finn's now rock hard member. Moans escape your lips and Finn grunts and growns beneath you.

Your walls begin to clench around Finn and you moan, "Finn, baby. I'm about to come."

"Come, princess," he gasps, thrusting up into you as you move your hips.

Your eyes are squeezed shut and you release around Finn as he quickly pulls out of you and comes all over your stomach. You collapse onto Finn, your sweaty chests sticking together as you come down off your high.

Finn wraps his arms around your shoulders and you sigh, your ear pressed against his chest. His heart is beating quickly. You feel him leave kisses on your forehead. You smile and look up at him, resting your chin on his chest. Finn smiles down at you.

"So what do ya say?" he asks. "Will ya officially be mine?"

You giggle and nod, leaning up and pecking his lips. "Yes."

[criminalminds4days]

Family Matters |  Chapter 4: Saying Sorry is a Virtue

Hello my beautiful souls!!

I hope this of you who celebrate Christmas had and amazing time, and those if you who don't had a great Friday!

I had a really chill holiday, and although I was supposed to be home and that didn't happen, I'm still glad I had a good time. I got a watch for Christmas and I'm obsessed!!

Anyway, I also wanted to let you guys know I'll be posting the story on Wattpad, and thanks to @meowiemari I also have a cover. I have attached it below! My wattpad user is @criminalminds4days so feel free to follow and read along!

Anyway, I hope you like this chapter. It's one of my favorites. 💙💙

Warnings: Swearing, sexual references, violence and murder references, public embarrassment, and very bad jokes!

Word Count: 3.6k

Previous Chapter | Next Chapter

Tag list: @mcntsee @lets-be-gay-for-the-angel @evelyncade @haylaansmi @paulaern @myfandomlife-blog

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(This gif is not mine)

Chapter 4: Saying Sorry is a Virtue

It had been a little over three months since her absolute wrecking of the family retreat. She had managed to get her mom to get past it, and though she had promised to apologize to the rest of her aunts and uncles, she had not gotten around (well, more like she didn't think it was necessary, they probably had already forgotten, and she did actually mean every word she said).

Her team and she had evaded more danger than possible in the last couple of weeks, and she had a feeling today she would not be returning to her bed to sleep. She also had to figure out what she wanted to get Spencer for his birthday. She was so excited to celebrate with him that she wanted to spill her idea of a surprise birthday party to him, but she needed to remain strong. She just hoped he would like it, and that she could find something to give him. She knew him so much better now and had so many things that he would like, but she wanted this gift to be unique, something that reminded him of her. Not that she wanted him thinking about her all the time because that would be weird, but maybe once in a while?

A knock on her door made her get out of her head. She walked to see Tyler Hemingway standing on the other side.

"Can I come in?"

"Why?"

"I just-" He looked at the floor, nervous. "I was just hoping we could talk."

"We can talk right here, what do you want?"

"I just wanted to say I am sorry, for what happened."

"What exactly? That you humiliated me in front of my family, or that your wife called me and my boyfriend liars."

"All of it, I should have known better."

"Yes, you should have." She debated whether to say something else but decided against it. "I honestly don't understand where this is coming from, it was two years ago."

"I know, and I am also sorry it has taken me so long to say anything. I just didn't know how to approach the situation, and what we had was so special, I wish I hadn't ruined it."

She had waited to hear those words for so long that how wrong what she did, didn't occur to her until the damage had been done. Even if her feelings for the man in front of her were not the same as they were two years ago, those words were enough to make her become less hostile towards him. She let Tyler in, forgetting Spencer was waiting for her to pick him up in about twenty minutes.

"Spencer? Why are you late?"

"Because she didn't pick me up like she was supposed to. I assumed she may be running a little late, so I waited and then I called her, but it went straight to voicemail." He responded to Emily.

"That is so not like her, should we be worried?"

"I don't know, but I already am, maybe we should go see if she's home or something."

The elevator doors opened once again as Spencer and Emily were preparing themselves to raid her house in order to find her. She stepped out, a look of immense guilt present as her eyes landed on the brunette. He did not seem upset, more like relieved she was there. Emily dropped her jacket and embraced her, a huge weight lifting off her shoulders after seeing her. When she was released from the woman's hug, she directed her eyes back to him.

"I am so sorry; I was on my way-" before she could explain Aaron Hotchner told them to join the rest of the team at the round table to discuss the next case.

"This one is a bad one," JJ said as she read through the file. "These people are killing families. Not even the children are spared."

"Yeah, and it's only getting worse." Said Penelope as she shared the pictures of the crime scenes. She wished she could concentrate but Spencer kept glancing at her with worry. He knew something wasn't right, but she didn't know how to explain it without sounding like she was digging herself in a bigger hole.

She avoided him on the jet, as she pretended to be asleep and then engaged in a very interesting conversation with JJ about diapers and toddlers. As much as she loved the blonde, she sometimes didn't appreciate learning all these baby facts, it took the wishes to have children away faster than anything else.

She was now in a black SUV, with Spencer in the back seat and Emily driving. She sat in the front seat as they drove towards the hospital. One of the girls had been spared and they were hoping to talk to her about the unsubs.

"So, why were you late this morning?" Emily questioned, "You left Cinderella over there without his carriage."

"Yeah, I know. I am so sorry Spencer."

"It's okay, I just got worried."

"I know, and I am so sorry." She took a deep breath, preparing to explain to them why she had been delayed. "I just got some unexpected company this morning."

"Was it Anna?"

"No, she has been radio silent for these past couple of months, I'm assuming she is building a bulletproof alibi for when she decides to murder me."

"Is there something I should know about?" Emily asked as she stole glances at her.

"Spencer and I went to my family retreat a couple of months ago and when we were there I may or may not have basically told my aunts and uncles to go fuck themselves."

"You explicitly told them to do so." Spencer clarified.

"Why did you do that?"

"Because they all sucked. Emily if you would have been there, you would have done the same." Spencer responded. "But going back to the main topic, who came to your apartment today? Was it your mom?"

"We need to have a conversation about this whole family retreat thing!" The woman behind the steering wheel complained.

"I will tell you all about it tonight." She assured her. "And no, Spence, it wasn't my mom, it was someone a little closer to Anna."

"Her mom?"

"No, Tyler."

There was no response to that, Spencer looked like he didn't know exactly what he was feeling, while Emily seemed like she had returned to watch her favorite show only to find out she missed a whole season, and she had no idea what happened to the storyline she was following.

"Who's Tyler?"

"Anna's husband." She clarified, "he came to apologize for everything, and to say that he didn't think what Anna did was okay."

Reid scoffed, "and you believe him?"

"He seemed very genuine about it."

"Unbelievable."

"I am so lost right now."

"Spencer, are you upset about this?"

"Me? Why should I? It's not like I pretended to be your boyfriend to prevent him from making you feel any worse than he had already, and you ended up right back at where you started."

"Are you implying I slept with him?"

"I never said that."

"Well then what are you saying? Because need I remind you, he is a married man. I would never do something like that." She crossed her arms, becoming defensive of the situation. "He simply wanted to talk, so I listened. It was a conversation, and it's just going to be a dinner. Nothing more."

"Oh, so you're going on a date with him too?"

"It's not a date! Did I not mention he was married?! To another woman!"

"Being with someone else has never stopped him before."

"What is happening right now?" Emily asked, to no one in particular.

"Seriously Spencer?"

"Did I lie?"

"Why are you so worked up about this? It doesn't even concern you."

"I am upset, because even after he told you in front of all your family that he was in love with your cousin and married her, breaking your heart, he says, 'I'm sorry' and suddenly he's back on the top of your priority list." He spits out, his emotions running high.

"This man did what now?" Both looked at Prentiss as if remembering she was there all along.

"I can't believe you just said that! I confided in you."

"And I trusted you."

"It was one day! I forgot to pick you up one day and suddenly I am the worst person on this planet, really?"

"Are you seriously so oblivious to think this is about some stupid ride?"

"Guys,"

"No? Then what is this about? Is this about me making you look bad or something?"

"No, it's about the fact that after all we've been through and the fact that I have done all I can to help you and be there for you I am still less important than Tyler fucking Hemingway."

"Guys,"

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"Guys,"

"It doesn't even matter anymore, enjoy your dinner." He undid his seat belt. "Why didn't you tell me we were here Emily?"

"I have been trying."

"Let's go then." He said as he exited the SUV marching up to the hospital entrance.

"What is his problem?" She asked Emily, still heated by the discussion.

"Well,-"

Before Prentiss could respond she was cut off. "I mean, yes, this guy broke my heart but that doesn't mean I have to hold a grudge forever, right? I might as well move past it, don't you think?"

"If you ask me-"

"And it was one conversation, and we're going out to dinner to finish it, there is nothing wrong with that. I don't know why he got so worked up about it, do you?"

"Yeah-"

"You know what, screw Spencer, if he wants to be a jerk for no fucking reason, let him do it. I am not going to lose sleep over it, nor am I gonna give him explanations. Who the hell does he think he is?"

"I think-"

"Yeah, you're right Emily, when Reid decides to get his shit together he can talk to me, in the meantime, we need to find out who these unsubs are before they hurt anyone else." She undid her seatbelt and opened the door, Emily still sitting there, trying to figure out what the heck had just happened. "Aren't you coming?"

"Yeah, sure." She followed suit and they both entered the hospital. Spencer was speaking to the girl's nurse as they approached, he didn't make any comments, but he also didn't acknowledge her, nor invite her into the conversation as he did to Emily. He was acting professional and doing his job, but his stance and emotions were very clear by the lack of interactions between them unless it was absolutely necessary.

As soon as Emily entered the room to interview the victim, the silence that engulfed them made her heart tighten. Spencer and she had gone past this already, they were friends, there was never a silent moment between them, and now all of that seemed to vanish in the air, all because of her decision to let Tyler Hemingway apologize.

She chose to ignore the situation until further notice. Emily was right, Spencer was being a dramatic prick and she was just gonna give him the time to realize that he was wrong. So when she got to bed, grateful for a bit of peace knowing one of the killers had been identified and was going to be caught soon, the last thing she wanted to do was have a conversation with Emily about the topic this same one had told her to not think about.

"I didn't say to just ignore it. As a matter of fact, I didn't get one sentence out during the whole drive to the hospital."

"That can't be true."

"Oh, but it was. Now I know how Reid felt when Gideon left." She fixed her shirt and continued, "well, regardless, what happened between you and Tyler, and what exactly does Dr. Genius know?"

"Spence knows pretty much everything, it kind of came with the territory." She recounted the story and this time she didn't leave any detail out, well, almost didn't leave any detail out.

Emily learned about Anna and their rivalry, Tyler and him choosing her cousin over her, the only thing she never even brought up was her dad. Only Spencer knew about it and she wanted to keep it that way. She finally landed on the weekend in question and the words she had shared with her cousin. Though that wasn't exactly what Prentiss found worrisome.

"You and Reid kissed?! Like on the lips?!" She screamed.

"Yeah, it was just so they would stop bugging us. It's not even the first time we kissed, so why is it a big deal?"

"Wait, you've kissed him before that day?"

"Yeah, at my cousin's wedding."

"Holy shit! I was not expecting that. My OTP is getting all these moments that will eventually lead to the ship sailing and I didn't even know about them!"

"Have you started talking another language by accident or something? I don't understand anything of what you just said."

"Don't worry about it. On a scale of one to ten, how good of a kisser is he?"

"Eleven." She responded immediately, "but that has nothing to do with this whole situation."

"It definitely does! Now it makes sense, Reid thinks you still have feelings for your ex, and he's jealous. He probably doesn't even know it, and he's probably trying to understand why he is so upset with you. Oh my god, he's jealous!"

"Emily, he's not jealous. Spence and I are not dating, we pretended to be a couple." She explained, thinking the woman hadn't understood her.

"Yeah, I know that, but I also know that any fake dating movie or book has always reached a point where the two main characters become unconsciously aware of their feelings. This is it! THIS IS IT!" She shook her and laughed, then suddenly came to a stop. "Oh my god, I am the best friend. I am definitely the friend that gives some wise advice that makes it click in your brain, let me think," she looked around the room as if inspiration would pop out of the bed. "I got it: get your shit together and marry Spencer." She stood and walked out the door, before fully closing it she spoke again, "Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go talk some sense into our little genius. Love you, hope I am invited to the wedding!"

Though after the break in the case they had found themselves relieved and on their way back, the nagging feeling she called Emily Prentiss kept insisting that both doctors were actually in love and that all they needed to do was kiss and become a couple. It was so constant that even when she wasn't around she could hear her echo. Like right then when she was trying to brush her hair and mentally prepare herself for whatever this dinner with Tyler was going to bring. Though she and Spencer had not yelled or continued to argue, there was nothing else left of their friendship, at least that's what it seemed like. It was as if the past months were a dream and they were just back to being coworkers, and that feeling was burning her up inside. She did not realize how important he had become in her life until he wasn't a part of it anymore.

"You look great," Tyler said as she entered the restaurant.

"Thanks, Spence helped me pick out this shirt when we went to the mall a couple of weeks ago. He said blue always looked good on me."

"That's great." The man responded, clearly uncomfortable. "So, I know you had to leave for work the other day, but I was hoping now we could talk more about what happened between us."

"Yes, of course."

She didn't really understand how she had gotten to the point of having an actual conversation with the man sitting across from her, because she had been angry at him for so long, that it never occurred to her as a possibility. He had once again apologized and given her a tale of how he had let his emotions guide him without realizing he could hurt others, and while that didn't excuse his actions, she still accepted his apology, choosing instead to move on from their current limbo. They had quickly changed the conversation, like if two old friends had reconnected after so long. Tyler was a great friend when he wanted to be, he was pleasant company, to say the least.

"And the other day, Spence was trying to learn to play the piano, and I told him there was no way he could learn in a week. So what did he do? He-"

"Stop, just stop!" He interrupted her, and she furrowed her eyebrows confused. "I have been sitting here for an hour listening to you talk about your stupid boyfriend and his IQ of 187." He rubbed his hands through his face and tried to calm down. "Was this the plan all along? You heard me tell you that I wished I hadn't ruined our relationship and decided playing with me was perfect revenge? Accepting dinner only to humiliate me by ignoring me and choosing to talk about that Spencer guy? Is he in on it or something?"

Oh. My. God.

Reid was right, this man was not looking to mend old friendships or start a new chapter, he was looking for a mistress. 

"You, are the worst type of jerk I have ever met. I actually believed you wanted to be friends, to turn the page but all you wanted was to get in my pants." She stood, grabbing her drink and spilling it over him. "I hope I never see you again. Go fuck yourself Tyler." She walked, but before she exited the restaurant she returned and gave him a fake smile, "and also, Thank you for humiliating me in front of my family, you showed me how little you were and that I could do so much better. Say, an FBI agent with an IQ of 187." Once again she turned and this time she didn't even bother looking back.

The drive to her apartment was long, mostly because she didn't drive there, but to Spencer Reid's home. She felt her palms sweat, she hated admitting she was wrong, but she hated not having Spencer around much more than a bruised ego. She knocked on the door and Spencer opened, he looked confused, but as soon as he registered her in he simply raised an eyebrow and changed his confused demeanor to a completely neutral.

"I came to tell you that you were right. He just wanted to get in pants." There was no response, and she fiddled with her hands. "I actually thought he wanted to apologize, and I think part of me just wanted to believe that for the first time I was not being used, that people actually cared about what I felt."

"There are people that care about you, they are just not the wants you wanted to."

"No, they are! I thought I needed the people who wronged me to fix it, to show me that I was worth the trouble when in reality all I needed was for me to understand that I was. And I just needed a reminder that the people that care about me are the ones that should matter the most." A trace of a smile formed on his lips. "I am so sorry about how I acted, and I am sorry I left you here waiting for me. Spencer Reid, you are my best friend and you come before any other jerk out there. I need you to know that this time in which I didn't have you with me was miserable. I missed you so much I spent the whole dinner with Tyler talking about you."

"You did?" He seemed genuinely surprised.

"Yeah, I did. I missed you, and I hope we never fight again, I don't know what I would do without your friendship."

"I missed you too." She bit her lip, and he smiled. "Wanna come in and watch TV?"

"I would love that."

"That's good to hear, I am trying to get Spence here to watch Dance Moms with me but he refuses, maybe if there is two of us, he'll change his mind." A voice inside his apartment spoke. He opened the door to reveal Emily Prentiss wearing Pjs with The Hunger Games symbols on them. "May I say, you look hot. Blue suits you."

"So I've been told."

"Are you sure you can handle being in that close all night though? Maybe Spencer can lend you one of his shirts." She said, winking at them.

"Has she been drinking?"

"It's her third bottle of wine."

"We need to cut her off."

"Yeah, we do." He smiled at her, "She's right though, if you want to borrow something more comfortable let me know."

"Careful Spencer Reid, I might take you up on that."

"Awwww, YOU TWO ARE ADORABLE!" The woman screamed. "Just get married already!"

The pair laughed and made their way to the sofa, she closed the door behind her and sat down, feeling whole for the first time this week. Emily and Spencer were the best friends a girl could ask for, and she couldn't think of a better way to spend the rest of her night than watching trash TV with the two of them as they laughed and joked.

It was home. 

[echo-three-one]

Chapter 38

THE ROAD SO FAR

The EIGHT-Thirty Appointment

John 'Soap' MacTavish

London, UK

Following the events of Shepherd's surrender to authorities, the members of Task Force 141 who went rogue in pursuit of him had been exonerated from treason. This meant that from then on, life would be a little more 'normal'. No more hiding in public, no more lack of equipment, no more secret hiding areas.

This prompted Laswell to recreate the task force she once poured her heart on, with a few changes to its jurisdiction. With Ghost, Roach and Alexandra still recovering, the remaining members were invited to celebrate their success.

"So John, now that 141 is back your main focus will be Nero. Do you want the reassigned members back?" Laswell asked Price while they exited the building. Soap overheard this because he thought he was the John being called.

"If it's still okay and not much of a hassle, then yes." Price replied.

"What about Kyle?" Laswell added.

"No. Not yet. Just keep an eye on him." Price mused and turned to Soap, who quickly turned to focus back on Alex as he pushed his wheelchair.

"Excuse me, Captain Price. Can we talk for a moment?" Samantha interrupted as they stopped on their tracks. Alex turned out of curiosity, wondering what matter they were discussing.

"Hey hey hey. What was that about?" Alex asked Soap and France, who continued walking. Laswell turned to the next right as she already finished her conversation with Price, waving at Alex and the rest of the 141.

Soap chuckled at the CIA. This was about Samantha's surprise for him and he shouldn't spoil it.

"Well, with 141 back maybe she just wanted to know where she will be now. Nero no longer needs the IP Address and she's been through a lot." France reasoned, making Alex frown.

"You know… I want her safe and all but I also want her within my reach. I've lost her far too many times already. I'm not going to lose her again." Alex grumbled making Soap and France look at each other, their faces were worried at their sorry excuse.

"I think Samantha feels the same way too. Maybe she's bargaining for staying at 141." Soap lied, making France question him quietly.

"You know what, Alex? Don't overthink this." Soap tapped his shoulders reassuringly.

"Overthink what?" Samantha inserted. They fell quiet and Samantha slowly asked Soap to let her push Alex as they moved forward, Samantha being excited of what's next.

"Well, we did a great job. I guess." Soap quietly commented sarcastically, earning a soft elbow from France.

"Ow!" he exaggerated and turned to France, his face looked bewildered.

"Way to go, John." She sneered and followed the two on their way to their appointment, riding Soap's trusty jeep.

The drive to the surprise area consisted of mostly Soap and Francine acting like couples while they drove. Soap could see the two murmuring at each other whenever Soap would argue with France on whatever's going on in the road.

"I always wanted to try out some London restaurants." she mused, looking at the place they just passed by.

"Yeah? I could see you as the fancy kind." he chuckled at his guess.

"What does that mean?" France gave him a suspicious glare. Soap looked at her, feigning surrender.

"I just said it as is. You're the kind of person who would want fancy stuff." He explained, focusing back on the road.

"I-"

"Come on. You don't have to read everything I say between the lines. Sometimes, I'm just a simple man" he whined and Alex and Samantha burst out laughing, causing the two to be quiet.

"Are you sure there's nothing going on with you two?" Samantha asked, making the silence a little bit more awkward.

Soap carefully rolled his eyes toward Francine, who was actually looking down and blushing. He really had no definitive stance on whatever's going on between them, and if you ask him, he'd love to assume that they're already together. But he remembered that he told her that he'll be patient, and that's the only thing that's hindering him from taking her to the next level.

"Well…" Francine croaked, her voice was shaky and Soap was actually worried that she was already under pressure.

"We're here." Soap interrupted, wishing he did the right thing. Alex quickly looked outside to see where they actually were.

"What is this place, Soap? Where did you bring us?" Alex asked and Soap just nodded.

"I'll let your girl fill in everything for you. This was her idea after all and we're here to help her out." Soap replied as he assisted him to his wheelchair and watched the two enter the establishment.

He then knocked on Samantha's door as she was still out of focus.

"There's a coffee shop across the street, we could wait there until they finish." He invited her for another coffee date. Hopefully this time, there would be no more emp phone wielding persons to interrupt it.

"About Samantha's question…" She muttered.

"Don't pressure yourself about it. You actually owe me for saving you, by the way." He chuckled, already opening her door.

France slowly stepped down the vehicle and turned to Soap, her head looked up to his face.

"Look John. There's no other reason I can think of that would make you wait anymore. I really enjoy your company, your personality, and I'm curious about everything else about you. So, if you've been waiting all this time ever since that night, my answer is that I'm ready." She smiled, and John's eyes widened at the sight of her. The message made him hug her tight, lift her up and spin her around briefly while she giggled at the feeling.

"Wow. You don't know how much you made my day, France!" he sighed as he slowly set her down and closed the door and made their way to the coffee shop.

"I missed these so much!" France happily chewed on a slice of blueberry cheesecake, with a few crumbs stuck on the edge of her mouth. Soap smiled as she watched her enjoy the simple things in life, a thing he was always looking for in women.

Most of his dating life were his parents setting him up on business dates and most women there were far too serious. They looked like they haven't enjoyed anything in years. Some of them admittedly loved to have fun, but their idea of fun was far too complicated. Like expensive travels and luxurious shopping sprees, none of them piqued Soap's interest.

However, Francine was the first one who begged to differ. It's like every great idea in John's activity book is enjoyable for her. Simple things such as Netflix, Cinemas and even this coffee shop date, made her smile.

"What's funny?" Francine asked as she noticed the odd smile on his face.

"Oh nothing… you just looked cute eating that whole thing. It makes me want to buy a whole cake and watch you smile and eat that all day." he mused, imagining how things would've been if they weren't in public. He could've been tasting that cake from her mouth already.

He quickly grabbed a tissue and wiped off the crumbs as Francine blushed in embarrassment.

"I'm sorry. I didn't notice it was there." she blushed shyly and looked down.

"Nah… why apologize. I was thinking you were hinting at me to kiss you. Like what most movies and cliché shows would mean." He scoffed and sipped on his coffee.

"Ha ha. Well you could try. As if I'd let you." She smiled bravely, but Soap could see her weakness behind that smile. She's raising her guard up again, and it's always like that when people are around.

"Wow. Umm that went differently." Soap commented, attempting to let France open up. This has been a common trend with her lately, toughening up when people are around but when they're alone, she's still strict but less tense.

"I'm sorry. It's just-" She hesitated and turned to the window.

"Say, how long would it take for them to finish?" She asked. Soap also turned to the building and shrugged.

"I don't know. Honestly, I'm excited for him. They make the best prosthetics around here and it'd make Alex's life easier. It'll look and weigh and bend like an actual leg." he said proudly as he turned to France who was looking at him weirdly.

"What?" he asked as he checked his phone which just beeped.

"Actually, they're almost done. And they're asking for an order. I'll just go get some for them, you stay here." He added, holding the thought, wiping his face and proceeded to the counter.

The reformed Task Force 141 would soon be back in business as papers were already approved by the board. They'll be situating themselves on American soil as their previous base was compromised by the traitorous General.

As for their last day on English soil, the rest of the team stayed in a penthouse condominium unit owned by the MacTavishes.

"Wow. This is top class!" Samantha mused as Alex plopped himself on the couch, his new leg quickly rested on the table. He's been in it for only a few hours but he already got the hang of it.

Samantha shot a glare at Alex's actions to which he shrugged on, prompting Soap to reply.

"Don't worry Samantha, make yourselves at home. We don't use this place anyway so help yourselves out. I promise it'll be fine." he eased as Samantha slowly plopped down beside him as Alex's arm rested on her shoulders. Soap actually wondered if he could do that to her too, get comfortable, open up, just normal stuff.

"I'll go get tea." he quickly said to himself as his imagination got the best of him as he walked to the kitchen. France quickly followed him to help out.

"Fancy place you got here, John. I wonder how many girls you've brought in here." She mused standing in front of him, helping with the teacups. Soap eyed her for a second and replied.

"Honestly, I can't count. I used to stay here when I studied and that was years ago." he replied as seriously as possible, looking at the changes on her face. She's actually jealous.

"Yeah. Figures. I saw your photos from earlier years. It was no doubt you'd have a lot of women over." She chuckled, nervously at it. Soap saw through her as she started to get curious about his life. A sign that she's ready to stop lowering her guard. Soap on the other hand, wanted her to feel special. Asking her out as soon as possible would make him come out as a desperate one, so he planned to do it the long traditional way. Which he actually despised, he would want to hug her so tight right now and it was already killing him.

"What about you? How many different rooms did you wake up to already?" he asked, changing the subject as she was already starting to feel bad about her question.

"Me?! Only a few. And most of them were owned by you. I've been very serious about my life choices that I never let myself loose." she sighed as Soap raised an eyebrow.

"Let loose? Like going out to parties?" He added.

"Yes. But broader. Like letting myself loose. I've always followed the path I wanted to be in, not letting any distractions bother me." she explained, blushing at it like it's a secret she was too shy to tell. Soap on the other hand, didn't quite get it.

"So you mean…" He tilted his head.

"Yes. Since birth, I never had a boyfriend." she looked down in embarrassment for the second time today.

Soap gulped. He didn't actually know how to respond to her statement. Sure he wanted to be the first one, but now wasn't the time. It would feel forced. And he wasn't a fan of forced relationships.

The kettle whistled and the two of them quickly responded to it as they both reached out for it, their hands met just by the handle.

"I'll take care of this one." She said as Soap slowly let go of her soft hands and watched her pour it on, carrying it to Samantha and Alex who were already giggling through a romcom.

"Way to go, John." he muttered to himself with a sigh as he ran his hand on his hair.

The day actually felt worse as France continued to remain quiet towards Soap as she invested herself on the television, third wheeling on Alex and Samantha.

Soap pondered about the words he chose to say to her and those he didn't over a steamy shower.

With the place having only two bedrooms, it was inevitable that France would sleep beside him but he also considered sleeping on the couch to respect her privacy or something like that.

As soon as he exited the bathroom, he saw France already tucked on her side of the bed, scrolling through her phone.

"Hey there." he muttered as she rolled her eyes to him and back to her phone.

"Hey." she said nonchalantly, her eyes dead focused on her screen. Soap quickly grabbed his nighttime clothes and slipped them on.

"Are you in any way excited for tomorrow?" he asked, trying to keep her from interacting with him.

"Yeah. A little." she said as she turned to him and smiled.

"Listen, about earlier today, in the kitchen..." he said.

"I'm not mad, John. I just wanted to say it out there so you could understand me."

"Tell me what you feel."

"Embarrassed."

"Why?"

"Because I looked like a fool earlier. When I told you I was ready and now I feel that you're the one who isn't. You told me you would wait but-" Soap placed his hand on her face, gently touching her cheek.

"France. You don't have to worry. You're still the one I'm thinking about every second. I just… wanted to do this the slow and steady way, where I would show off how worthy I am for you. I want you to enjoy the whole John MacTavish Experience." he smiled and she slowly turned her frown upside down.

Soap wanted to take a picture of that smile and plaster it all around the room as his heart started to pound like crazy, his face unknowingly moving closer to hers. They both started to close their eyes as they let their lips do the talking, but in a quiet and intimate way. Soap felt France's greed for his kiss as she slowly learned how to beg for more of him. It was true that she had no experience on these things but something told him that she's starting to learn some tricks herself.

Soap didn't hesitate to retaliate as she released a soft groan, a sign of her being content as her hands slowly grazed his arms, her thumb softly pressed his biceps, digging deeper as their tongues clashed. After a few more seconds, they both broke their kiss as they gasped for air.

"Yeah. Go sleep on the floor before we do something stupid." She giggled and Soap nodded in agreement as they quickly shuffled about, set their beds and called it a night.

Next Chapter - The SEVEN Inch Wound

Notification Squad my Beloved

@samatedeansbroccoli @smokeywhalee @enderio @bumblingbee1 @ricinbach @whimsywispsblog

[tokyoghoose]

am i more than you bargained for?

pairing: tetsuro kuroo x reader

playlist: heather - conan gray*, 4ever - clairo, line without a hook - ricky montgomery, melting - kali uchis, slow dancing in the dark - joji, using you - mars argo, she - ed sheeran, make you feel my love - adele, letter home - childish gambino, she's casual - the hunna, i love you so - the walters, notice me (acoustic) - role model, red dress - postcard boy

warnings: angst and lots of it, mentions of sex, mentions self-shaming of image, very breif mention of anxiety attacks

summary: a romantic comedy without the comedy between friends with benefits

announcements!

kuroo is definitely a little ooc in this lmao buuuut this is my first like fic fic in like two years. Im still trying to get back in the groove of things and finding how to write personality again and not be repetitive with my wording. Feedback is welcome!

requests are open! feel free to send them in! i will write for pretty much any anime ive seen and if i haven't seen it, ill watch it! the only reasons i wouldn't is if im uncomfortable or can't write the character. :)

——————

When did relationships become so difficult? The days of making friends on the playground were over and it seemed to hit everyone at the same age. Life was getting harder and people were getting older, and suddenly everything was difficult. Nothing came easy anymore and everyone had to adjust to that.

But now you were just confused.

Tetsuro kuroo stuck to you like glue since middle school. Where one of you went the other was likely to follow. The righthand man, the double trouble duo, and the bane of kenma's existence. And then things got complicated. Strangers to friends to best friends to lovers— friends with benefits. Who would've thought the boy that you played volleyball with on a whim would've become the man who you grew fond of. Sixth grade you would've kicked yourself for the feelings you're experiencing. Oh how you wished you were back in the park that started it all. You wished you could warn your youngerself what's to come.

The realization hit you like a ton of bricks and it made you want to throw up at the thought.

It started in the first year of highschool when you suddenly noticed the shine in his eyes when he talked passionately about something like volleyball or the way he would furrow his brows when concentrated on his assignments. At first it was endearing, really. But the more you hung around him, the stronger the butterflies felt. It was obvious that he had grown into his lanky body. His legs were proportionate to his torso now and his once scrawny arms didn't hang limply at his sides anymore. He had muscle and height now. Gradually you started to notice little things about him that you would never have seen in other people. Like his lopsidded smile that crinkled the corner of his eyes and brought heat to your cheeks, your stomach launching into your chest when he'd bump shoulders and laugh.

You should've just smacked yourself silly then and there when you started to wonder if he noticed little things about you. Does he think of me like i think of him?

Who knew feelings could be so...perplexing. You moved on, shrugging off the crush in your second year to catch bigger and better fish in the sea. Life moved on and you dated other people, simply remaining friends with kuroo. Little did you know one heartbreak would lead you into his bed, playing in the sheets by the end of the year.

He was just so damn compelling. His laughter and his jokes. You fell for it all over again. Deja vu. Stupid kuroo.

———

The third of highschool had been the breaking point. It was a constant cycle of feeling, fucking, and falling in and out of love with the raven haired boy. It was frustrating, especially when he was so damn oblivious. The only person that seemed to catch on was kenma, but he was very little help when it came to pushing away the domestic thoughts. It would never just work out because you wanted it to because tetsuro was dumb.

It's a chilly day out, the sun nice against your skin but the wind was drastic in comparison. Shivers are sent up and down your spine, you wrap your arms around yourself in a hug. Could this boy take any longer? Foot tapping against the pavement, you heave a sigh, nostils flaring impatiently before you spot the tall athlete. With a girl. A girl?

You'd seen her around before and you vaguely remember thinking she resembled the main love interest in a 90s movie or a bratz doll. She's pretty and has a light, airy laugh. Kuroo must've told her a joke of some kind, but he definitely wasn't funny enough for her to have her hands all over his chest. He's giving her a toothy grin and soft eyes. It makes you want to gag.

Who was she anyway?

Not that it mattered because in that moment the fit of rage your body suddenly flug itself into prevented you from hearing anything. Kuroo's pulling off his pullover and drapping it over the pretty girl's shoulders. You can feel your eye twitch and fibgers tingle. He looks bashful as he waves her goodbye and tragically, you don't feel nearly as pretty as you had been feeling. Now all you wanted to do was sink into the ground below you and possibly into another dimension—or at least the other side of the world.

"She's pretty," is the first thing that comes out of your mouth when he comes over, slouching with his hands in the pockets of his shorts. He had practice this afternoon, you remember. He looks over at you with raised brows, almost like he's surprised yoy said anything or even noticed he was talking to another girl before walking towards the gym with you trailing close behind.

"Yeah she is, I guess."

She's prettier than me.

"You guess? Kuroo, you gave her your sweater."

He shrugs sheepishly, a light pink dusting his cheeks and it makes you mad of uncharacteristic the act is. You resist the urge to roll your eyes.

"It's just polyester. It's not a big deal."

The conversation suddenly drops as you pause, apparently very hurt that he didn't remember it was you who gave him the sweater in the first place. He turns around, a questioning look on his face.

"What? Are you jealous?" He teases.

You're fuming at his attempt to be playful. Maybe you were overreacting, but it pangs your chest to know he can brush it off so easily.

" Kuroo, that was my sweater. "

It's gritted through your teeth, eyes slotted into a glare and his face drops. Oh is all he can think as he stares at you and the hurt expression that quickly turns into that of annoyance and anger. You push past him, ultimately deciding not to walk him to the gym. His arm reaches out to catch you, but it falls short as he calls out in a whine, "I'll get it back for you, okay? Come on, y/n!"

———

You can't focus on the assignments in front of you no matter how hard you try. You are exsausted. Just wanting to crawl under the covers and sleep for maybe a thousand years, you stop tapping your oen against the paper to hyperfocus on the black dots that now littered the page. The music in the background pauses before coming back to life with the hum of a new song shuffling in. It's quiet and yet, it's overwhelming. You wish you weren't home alone now.

Hanging your head low on your desk, the carpet becoming of interest, you groan. The image of kuroo and that girl replaying in your head over and over like an endless movie. You'd have to give it a bad review if it ever ended.

You're focus is mainly on her though. Kuroo could get any girl he wants with his witt and charm. Not to mention he wasn't jusf handsome, but he's beautiful. Model material—movie character love interest type beat. He has the ability to make any heart swoon if he tries hadd enough, and that girl was no exception. She was more than pretty. She was stunning, even. It was like watching human barbie and ken flirt with one another. She seems so nice too and you can vaguely remember her helping you wish a couple answers on homework one morning. She's better than you and better for him. Is he sleeping with her too? Before you can answer your own question the doorbell rings, quickly followed by a knock at your door.

You look down at your pajamas, debating if you should pull on your robe or not, but ultimately deciding against it when the knocks come again.

"Im coming, I'm coming. What do you wan- kuroo?"

When you open the door, you immediately get the urge to shut it right in his perfect little face, and you begin to before his hand slams against it in protest to push it open wider. He juts out his lip into a pout and his eyes soften into ones pleading like a puppy dog. You huff and avoid eye contact, instead taking intrest in the bad he was carrying.

"What's that?"

"Stuff. I'd be happy to show you if you let me in."

"Sorry, tetsuro, no can do. You haven't returned my sweater. "

He scoffs and rolls his eyes before shoving something bulky into your arms. You're not sure if you should be happy he actually got it back or upset that he had to see her again to get it. Finally looking up at him, you move to the side so he can step in.

"You know, you don't have to be jealous that i gave another girl a sweater. You're my number one, y/n." He's teasing, but his words still send the butterflies in your stomach crazy. You can only hope he means it, even if just a little.

"I'm not jealous. You can sleep with whoever you want, kuroo. We're just best friends—if anything im your wingman. "

You want to hit yourself on the head. Why would you say that?

He snickers at the rebuttle, coming to loom over you. Apparently the only thing that can get you out of your head is his cologne because it somehow invaded your senses. He smells expensive, like nice leather and fire wood during the winter. It's very manly, you note. His shadow hovers over yours as he traps you between him and the counter with a playful smirk on his face. How smug could he get. He leans down, bringing your chin up between his thumb and finger. You hadn't realized how close he was until now. Since when did you get so nervous around him? Why did it make you nervous when he kissed you all of a sudden? It's unfair that he holds the advantage. Heat rises to your cheeks and the tips of your ears and you're positive he can hear the beating of your heart, which was currently trying to break out of your chest.

His lips take you to paradise, as always. Their soft against your own, yet firm. They're slightly chapped and they taste like spearmint. It makes your head fuzzy because they feel so right, even when you wish they felt wrong. You want to pull away and kick him out, and end thjs whole arrangement, but you're already very familiar with the fact it's just beginning.

———

The bed is warm. So warm, in fact, it feels like your suffocating. The sheets tangle around your limbs, strangling you as you tangle your limbs around kuroos. You almost want to cry, and if you were anywhere else— with anyone else —you probably would have. The heat is unbearable and the one sided tension makes your stomach churn and your throat tighten up. You were almost positve an anxiety attack was coming on.

Taking a deep breath through your nose, you close your eyes as kuroo's nimble fingers soothe circles into your shoulder blade idly and yet somehow he manages to dodge the purple and red splotches blooming on the flesh. Suddenly you wish you didn't feel so safe and protected in his embrace. The moment almost tempts you to whisper sweet nothings into his ear, but you don't deserve to be the person who does that because you aren't his person. Best friend, maybe (next to Kenma, if anything) but, you aren't his person no matter how you long to be. You're just a friend in his bed having a good time. It isn't as fun anymore.

You swallow a lump in your throat, flattening your hand against his broad chest and willing yourself to lift up out of his grasp, his fingers falling smoothly to stop between your shoulder blades. Looking down at him, he presents you with the soft, goofy look on his face that he always adorns. God, there's nothing you wouldn't give to wake up beside him every morning and kiss that lopsided grin off his face. It hurts to think about, and another wave of tears try to force their way past your lash line. You blink them away and put on a soft, one-sided smile for the man below you, giving him a quick peck where his jaw and neck meet before shrugging his hands off and climbing out of bed.

His eyes track you, lazily hooded and watching, as you take the sheet with you to cover yourself, grabbing your shorts and whatever top you were wearing but a few hours ago before everything was strewn about. You shy away from his gaze, but it's nothing he hasn't seen before. He shifts in the bed to face your back, elbow propped up to lay his head in his hand. With an uncharacteristically soft tone, you almosf don't head him when he speaks. The words that come from him are like honey, yet raw. It's enough to make anyones knees buckle and crawl back into bed.

"Are you okay?"

There's a slight hint of concern there, just hardlg scrapping the surface of the question. You nod with a hum, throwing on the loose shirt before facing him. Kuroo's brow raises like he doesn't quite believe you, but he doesn't take the question further and instead turns to get out of bed. You gnaw at your lip, taking your turn to watch him stretch out. His back has red streaks messily placed down it from his shoulders to the base, his biceps matching. His hair is messy and not like the normal bed head he sports, parts of it are spiked up from fingers constantly pushing through it, while other parts are laid flat from sweat. You can't help the thought that he's sculpted by the gods. They definitely took their time on him. Scoffing at yourself and shaking the thoughts free from your head, you head to the bathroom. As if the bed wasn't suffocating enough, just being the same room was found to be worse when he looks like that. At this point, it was preferred he stayed under the covers.

You feel stupid while looking in the mirror. Your mascara from earlier had smudged beneath your waterline, clumping together in the corner. Your nose curls at the sight, hands splashing cool water at your face, rubbing at your eyes. With a sigh you lean your elbows on the sink, pushing back hair and looking down at the water going into the drain.

This is ridiculous.

How on earth could you do this to yourself and to kuroo?

There's a knock on the bathroom door, it's light and gentle in the typical kuroo fashion because he doesn't want to spook you. You purse your lips, digging the palms of your hands into your eyes and heaving a sigh. As soon as you open the door and switch places, you're up and out of his apartment without saying goodbye.

The cool air of outside hits your face and you hadn't noticed the tears until the damp chill shook you. Brushing them away, you head home. You didn't want to be around him and you certainly didn't want to think about him. On the way back, you finally decided you weren't going to tell him anything. What would dumb tetsuro know about it anyway.

[btsrmono]

Trial & Error | chapter 6

Main Pairing: (jimin): student/idol x (main): foreign student

Side Pairs: main x taehyung,, main x (nct) jaehyun

PART 5

You and Jimin did start hanging out a little more often after that Sunday. Your relationship grew and you could see the way he would attempt to make you a part of his plans every here and there and not to get you wrong, it wasn't much but it was a start. Not to mention an upgrade from how he used to treat you, which wasn't the worst, looking back at it, but for some reason, you just wanted his attention and he never really gave it to you so you guess you could say you grew bitter feelings towards him because of it.

As for Taehyung, you hadn't seen or heard from him in a couple days which made you worry about what happened. You really wished that he wasn't in trouble because of you. Whenever you asked Jimin about him, he would just tell you not stress over it and that he's okay but that was about it. But Taehyung was your best friend, you just needed to see if he was alright for yourself.

So after school on Friday, you decided you should make your way to their dorm. You had never been there before but you knew their address because Jimin gave it to you to come over a day prior.

When you got to the apartment, you almost didn't want to knock so you just stood at the front door, debating like a weirdo when someone suddenly opened the door.

It was Jungkook. You noticed him from school. You two occasionally talked but you knew very little about him. He never really showed up to school and when he did, he didn't necessarily associate with anybody who wasn't already his friend. But around his members, he seemed really outspoken and loud.

"Hyung, I told you it was her!" he shouted over his shoulder, banana milk in his right hand, slightly smirking at you.

You shyly smiled back, hoping he wouldn't see how nervous you were. Jungkook was one of the most popular boys at your school and in BTS in general. You swear, like, everyone had a crush on this man. And you couldn't blame them to be honest. He was hot.

"We have CCTV," he explained. "Saw you on the camera."

You swiftly nodded your head in understanding. "Ohhh, gotcha." You then looked away awkwardly, finding it hard to look him in the eyes with the way he was smiling at you in a cocky manner.

Just then, Jimin came up. "Yah, stop flirting with her like that," he teased Jungkook, making him laugh as he walked away. Jimin turned to you. "Hey, I didn't know you were coming today, come in."

You did as told and as he locked the door behind you, you took a moment to scan their living room. It was quite cramped and messy, which honestly didn't surprise you but still, something needed to be done about it.

"Jimin, this place is a pigsty," you said in disgust.

Jimin put his hands on his hips and stared at you. "Well, maybe if you told someone you were coming over, miss."

You cocked your head, disapprovingly. "So you mean to tell me you only clean up when you have company?"

He laughed. "What? No. Pfftt--"

"Yes he does," a voice spoke. You turned your head to see where it was coming from only to find a semi tall boy with black hair and tan skin, coming out of one of the rooms. He was wearing red boxers and a white T-shirt. "He never cleans. If and only if someone is coming over and he half asses that too," he continued as he walked to the kitchen.

You started laughing. He looked like he was annoyed at just the thought of it. "I believe it," you said back to him.

Jimin sucked his teeth. "Wow, so you guys are just gonna gang up on me, huh? I see how it is."

You and the boy both laughed before he looked at you fully. "I'm Hoseok," he finally introduced himself.

"I'm y/n," you replied, slightly bowing in his direction. "It's nice to meet you."

"Y/n," Hoseok repeated, slowly scanning over Jimin, grinning. "I see, I see." He looked back at you. "Well, it's nice to meet you too." He then turned around and went to the fridge.

Jimin rolled his eyes. "Let's go to my room," he said before grabbing your arm and pulling you into his room with him. It was small with two bunk beds, stuffed animals scattered around on almost every one.

"Well, wait," you spoke, making him turn around and look at you. "I actually came here to check on Taehyung. Do you know if he's around?"

Jimin's eyebrows raised in realization. "Oh... Taehyungie.. I-I told you he's fine, you don't need to worry about him." He shook his head and sat on his bed.

"I know you said that," you replied, sitting down next to him. "I just want him to know that I'm sorry."

"Sorry for what?"

"Getting him in this mess. He'd be okay if it weren't for me."

Jimin sighed. "It's not your fault, y/n. Or his. You guys didn't do anything wrong. It's just some fans... they... I don't know. But you didn't do anything and he's not mad at you."

You thought about it and he was right. You had no reason to feel guilty but for some reason, you did. "I just want to see him," you whispered, looking down.

You could feel Jimin staring at you as you both sat there in silence for a while. It had to be at least a minute or two before he spoke up again. "He's out right now and I don't know when he's coming back but I can tell him to give you a call."

You shook your head, knowing that there really wasn't any other option.

"And it's okay," he reassured. "We're not even that famous, this will die down in a few days," he laughed. "I honestly am surprised there were people that cared in the first place."

Honestly, this made you feel a little better about the situation. "Hey, don't say that," you chuckled. "You guys will be big one day, I just know it."

"Ha, yeah, right," he said, rolling his eyes and laying back comfortably. "Have you even looked us up? Like at all?"

Your eyes widened as you tried not to burst out laughing. You truly hadn't look them up and you never really thought to until he mentioned it. You suddenly felt like a horrible friend and you guess the fact that you, in fact, hadn't was present on your face because Jimin rose back up and got closer to you, examining your face. "Wow," he said. "You haven't looked us up, have you?" he shook his head in disbelief. "You're a fraud."

You felt like sinking. "I'm sorry?" you attempted to apologize. Eyes closed, he shook his head no. You grunted. "I'll do my research when I get home later. I promise!"

He opened his eyes. "And you have to take me out for ice cream. Maybe then I'll accept this apology."

You sighed at the pettiness but agreed anyway.

After leaving, you went straight home, took a shower, ate, studied, then did your research on the boys like you said you would.

If you were being truthful, you never looked them up, not because you weren’t interested but because you wanted to continue looking at the boys as friends rather than K-pop idols. But alas, you knew the day would come where you would have to see their work someday.

You took a look at the only three music videos it appeared they had. You liked them. Honestly. They were so talented, it left you in shock. You saw some dance videos their company uploaded and was even more in awe. How come they never bragged about their talents? And Jimin's doubting that they're gonna be big? Not a chance in this world, not with that kind of talent.

You also decided to take the time out to listen to their albums. You pretty much watched and listened to them all night long, eventually falling asleep to their music. You now saw why the little amount of fans they had went as hard as they did for the boys. Can't say you could blame them. They were different from other groups and it showed. You knew that with time, they could really be something huge.

~~

The next day at school, you excused yourself to use the bathroom and while heading towards your destination, you saw a familiar face walk by, stopping you in your tracks. He glanced black at you but continued to walk away. Did he really just walk pass me? you thought. You scratched your head in confusion.

"Taehyung," you called, turning around.

He stopped walking and just stood for a while, looking down at the ground. You repeated his name. He turned, an extremely annoyed look on his face. "What?" he asked blandly.

You flinched at his tone. It was much different from the one you were used to hearing from him. "Are you mad at me?" You knew Jimin said he wasn't but you just had to ask because with the way he was acting, it sure seemed like he was.

He sighed.

"You haven't been answering your phone or coming to school," you continued. "I tried to talk to you yesterday but you weren't home... Jimin said he'd tell you to call me."

"He did," he said sternly. "What about it?"

You started to feel sad, as if you were about to cry or something. Your eyes were definitely teary, at most. Taehyung was such a good friend to you, you had never seen him be like that before.

"Tae... What's wrong with you? Why are you acting this way?" you sulked, looking down at the floor.

"I'm not acting any way, y/n. Just leave me alone, alright?"

"What?" You looked back up, your heart beating a bit faster than before. What did he mean leave me alone? "Tae, come on. You don't mean that--"

"I do."

You were at a loss for words. This wasn't like Taehyung at all. He would never be so harsh and he was someone that truly valued every single type of relationship he had, no matter who it was with. This was way too out of his character and that's what caused a tear to drop.

You then heard a tsk as he rolled his eyes and looked slightly away from you, clearly feeling a tad bit guilty. 

"Taehyung, I don't want to lose our friendship over something so dumb," you stated. You had no idea how serious this was and some part of you actually did believe that he wasn't mad at you at some point. But you were wrong. He was mad at you, as you thought the first time. Before Jimin made you believe otherwise.

"It's not dumb, Y/n. My career is in jeopardy. And we're still rookies, it's not too late for them to kick me out--Jesus, why am I even explaining to you?" He scrunched his eyebrows before rolling his eyes once again. "It’s not even like you would get it. I'm leaving. And don't even think about contacting me again. It's best that we both keep our distance so that these rumors clear."

He turned and was ready to walk away before he stopped and turned around one last time. "Oh and that also means staying away from Jimin," he added.

You couldn't believe the attitude from him. It was so usual. What got him so upset? You understood about his career but the way he spoke to you was just so uncalled for. Maybe if it came from someone else's mouth you would have been okay but hearing it from Taehyung's was another story. Feeling hurt, you proceeded to head to the ladies room where you locked yourself in a stall and cried it out in private.

It only last about 30 seconds before you got it together and got out the stall to fix your appearance in the mirror. Your eyes were still puffy and red but at this point, you had been out of class long enough to stall any longer so you made your way back. You re-entered the class just as Mrs. Lim was putting in a movie.

Walking back to your seat, you passed Jimin who was leaning on his desk as if he were about to fall sleep. Until he saw you, that is. He peeped his head up, staring and looking back at you as you sat. His assigned seat was two rows up and one seat left of yours.

You looked at him, looking at you. "What's wrong?" he mouthed, seeming concerned.

You shook your head. "Allergies," you lied. You didn't want him to know. Not only was it embarrassing but you didn't want him and Tae to argue. So you decided to keep things quiet.

A few minutes passed. The lights were out and the movie was now on. Out of nowhere, balled up paper landed on your desk. You already knew it was Jimin.

"Pizza after?" it read. You semi smiled, looking up to a cheeky Jimin. You nodded your head as a ‘yes’, then put the note away and focused on your work for the rest of the class, although it was kind of hard to.

You was honestly just worried about how you and Taehyung would end up after this. You didn't want to stop being friends with him or at least make sure that it didn't end of the way that it did. You felt the two of you still needed to talk regardless, you just needed a plan on how.

A/N: Sigh, poor Y/N. that was a different side of taehyung huh. will they makeup though? stay tuned <3

PART 7

[judgement-free-sideblog]

Dancing lessons

Barry Berkman x reader

Summary: Barry is finally cast in a feature, the problem? He said he could dance and now he can either disappoint Sally or found a way to learn some steps.

Warnings: Swearing, blood, violence, guns, cheating, drinking.

Part 1 ● Part 2 ● Part 3 ● Part 4 ● Part 5 ● Part 6 ● Part 7 ● Part 8 ● Epilogue

Part 6

The rumor of sheets moving and the muffled steps on the carpet didn't wake you up, the clock in your nightstand said 02:00 pm and you have been sleeping for about half an hour after your spontaneous marital responsibilities, and you were still tired for the sleepless night; it was the sudden loneliness in the bed that felt wrong enough to make you incorporate in the bed.

"I thought the main purpose of getting married was that the guy will no longer leave in a hurry barely putting on his clothes" you told him and he gave you an strange look that made you feel uncomfortable with your nudity and search for a robe to cover yourself.

"I'm sorry honey, there is already trouble with the merge of the new company" He said putting on his pants and searching for a clean shirt on the closet "I had to head for the office, but I'll be home by 9, and we can have dinner"

"I can cook if you want" you said approaching him and helping him with his tie "Your favorite maybe?" You gave him a sad smile knowing too well what by 9 meant.

"Oh no, you should rest, we can go out or order something" There it was, like always an empty promise to hide the fact that he would stay until 10 or 11 pm at the office, and avoiding trouble at home by not making you put on any effort.

"Sure, there is new place a couple blocks from here I want to try" You said now following the lie "Is an Italian place L'angolo delle delizie maybe you could make reservations" You followed him out of the room and gave him the suitcase he left on the ground.

"Sounds great" He said putting on his jacket, he smiled the way both of you knew it meant we are not doing that "Italian sounds great, specially since you eat a lot of Chinese last night" He add completely innocently, but it light all the alarms in your head and protectively grab your phone, even when he was not looking at it.

"I was just hungry" You lied and he gave you a kiss on the cheek before walking away, the steps down the stairs became distant and one final door closed downstairs and then silence.

And like a stupid little child you started to cry holding yourself, until your legs won't hold you anymore and you feel into the floor, tired and angry at yourself, still holding the phone, you opened to see a text from Barry, one hour after the one you sent.

Sorry, I was filming. Doctor said you can't drink, but I'll bring the money. Meet you at 5.

The fact that he was still concerned about your well being made you smile, and then you were angry for smiling so you throw the phone against the wall and screamed in pain.

It was wrong, you felt guilty without doing anything, and the reason was now completely clear, you wanted to, you wanted for him to make a move on you, since you were too much of a coward to do it yourself.

But he wouldn't, he had a beautiful girlfriend, you saw her face popping up in random tv shows and commercials now an then, and you knew the mere reason you have met was to make her happy. He loved his Sally, with a devotion that was longer lost from you and Alan.

You stand up and picked the phone, then you look at your wedding picture, Juntos para toda la vida Together for life, a nice thing Alan Spanish grandma said on your wedding day, and now it felt more like a sentence.

You repressed the urge to cry again and instead change your clothes for something you could dance with. At least exhausted and covered in sweat you could silence your conscience.

After three hours of miserably following the rythm and two close calls to hit the floor again you lie on the floor completely tired. But maybe a little more peaceful, then Macy's figure came inside and blocked the light before giving you a hand to stan up.

"The four year olds keep giving you a hard time?" She asked once you were on your feet.

"No, I actually cancel class today, I forgot to tell you" You said and pointed at your head "I suffered a minor accident last night"

"And why are you doing this then?" She pointed at your clothes and then the record player "The last time you did that was because you were stressed out about your grandma having her hysterectomy"

You let go a tired sigh and not quite sure why start telling her the whole story, about how things were bad with Alan, about the feelings you had for Barry about how you weren't sure if you were doing something wrong, and she sit there with you listen patiently, maybe because at some point you have done the same for her or maybe just to be a decent human being.

"Berkman huh?" She said finally and then smiled at you "I mean I get it, he can't dance to save his life but he is kinda cute. Remember that rich guy who always sent you flowers after class even when he saw Alan coming home every day? He was hot, you should have chosen him" She said and both of you laughed, somehow talking about it that naturally and without judgment does made you feel better.

"Yeah, I remember, but I was too busy with Alan being promoted and the business here growing I didn't have time to that kind of stuff" you said and she gave you a serious look.

"I don't think you have time now either, but that was 3 year ago and you were deeply in love with him, so no other men seem important, he was as forgetful and workaholic as he is now, you just didn't care, and now Barry Berkman is just a clumsy student who is being polite as midwesterners are" She said, and you appreciate her being direct, but it felt wrong to face the facts like that "And you act like he has shaken your marriage like an earthquake, but the truth is that he hasn't. You have to ask yourself, do you like him or do you simply don't love your husband anymore?"

"I love Alan" You said almost too quickly "But I know what you mean, and you are right maybe Barry is just and excuse to project the little stability my husband and I have, but what can I do?" You ask her and she pointed at the door.

"Thinking quickly because the devil is calling" She said since he was opening the door with a lost look on his eyes and holding another board game under his arm.

***

Y/N I have something to tell you Barry keep rehearsing how to bring up the sensitive information, and yet he was dying to avoid the conversation with her.

"Hey there!" Macy and give her the perfect excuse to not say anything, at least not at the moment.

It all started with Sally's invitation to eat after he finished filming for the day, he pretended Y/N text didn't exist to avoid thinking about her, but he finally give in and spend the rest of the session smiling like a child, thinking about how much he was waiting for 5:00 to meet her again, he even went to a toy store to bought a The office Clue special edition since she had said she love that show, obviously just as a get well present, he said to himself.

He drove to the restaurant, and inside there were already Sally and her friend Monique from the movie she was filming, and he asume her boyfriend, a handsome man in a suit and he looked vaguely familiar but he couldn't place from where.

"Babe you made it!" Sally said happy and gave him a quick kiss making room in the booth for him to sit. "We were about to order without you." She said and then pointed at her friend, "You remember Monique, and this is her boyfriend Alan, he is a commercial lawyer, and works for a big company" She said and the man extended his hand with a incredibly white smile.

And he could see briefly see a discolored line where a wedding band should be, and he remembered that same smile in a wedding picture he had been seeing with guilt that morning.

"Boyfriend? So you are not married?" He said without thinking and the man laughed nervously

"Barry!" Sally said and gave him a playfully look meaning shut up.

"Oh I'm sorry, but you have been talking so much about Monique and how great she is I assume she was already taken" He lied, but the woman felt delighted.

"Oh is too soon to talk about that, we have been dating for, how much sweety? A year? More or less?" She said and Barry smiled trying to pretend he was not hearing any of that.

"Yeah, like a year" He said politely "We should order, I'm starving"

"Oh yeah, honey, he was telling us how he just came back from Dallas, making a big merge with an oil company" Sally said completely unaware of how Barry's fists were clenched on his lap wanting to blow up the smile from that man's face.

The worst part was that he was charming and polite, and a total gentleman with the woman, making the idea of Y/N alone at home waiting for him the more infuriating, after the meal he and Monique left together so Barry had to drive Sally home.

"They were nice right?" She said once they were on the road "I mean she is amazing but they together are really nice people"

"Well..." He started not sure of what he should said "He is fine for her, I mean he was a bit pretentious"

"I mean yeah, but you know he is a very busy and important guy, anyway how was your day? When are you going to let me go with you to one of your classes?" She asked genuinely interested.

"Oh you don't really want to go, I'm still not ready, but it was a good day at the studio, we are almost done" He said and then unable to still silent he ask "Hey if you knew that someone is cheating someone close to you, would you tell them? Or would you prefer to never know?"

"OMG who is cheating?" She asked opening her eyes widely "Jermaine is cheating on Natalie? I knew they wouldn't last" She said putting both of her hands on her face "She is going to be crushed"

"What? No!! I mean I don't know, last time they were fine, is more like an hypothetical question" He said now concerned that maybe Jermaine was in fact cheating on Natalie.

"I don't know, I mean if this person doesn't tell me may be to protect me" She started, after a long pause "But if they are my friends and they didn't tell me I would feel betrayed for them letting me be a fool for so long while someone is making fun of me, on the other hand what if it's a just one time thing and we are having a happy relationship and this only ruined it? I would blame my friends, but how could we be happy if the guy is cheating?? No definitely I would rather know" She said and then gave him a concerned look at Barry "are you sure you are okay?"

"Yeah, totally fine, hey do you wanna go to the movies? I can skip class today" He said with a tight knot on his throat finding a way to avoid Y/N.

"Oh I will love to , but I have a lot of lines to read and prepare for tomorrow" She said and he simply drove her home to later return at the dance studio. Thinking about how will he deliver such terrible news to her friend and that they might not be friends at all after he did.

"Is that The Office special edition of clue?" She asked excited once he was close, getting him out of his thoughts

"Yeah, it is" Barry responded giving her the box "How is your head?"

"Better, I'm just concerned about the hair, are you ready to loose some money?" She smile at him, and he returned the smile, both ignoring Macy rolling her eyes.

"I wanna play too" She said "The more the merrier right? Let's go I wanna take your money"

Things work out better than he expected since Macy's presence was distracting enough so he forgot what he was supposed to tell her, but after a couple hours and a few beers she left, leaving the two of them in an awkward silence.

"How was your day?" She break the silence first picking up the games while he help her clean te table.

"It was fun, after I left I had to make a few errands" He lied "And I was late to shooting, so Andre scream at me, is weird since he is about 1 foot shorter than me, but the movie is going great"

"Maybe he feels threatened by a handsome actor who can dance, and what was the other thing? Speak fluent Italian?" She laughed and he had to stop his mind to fantasize about how this was the perfect domestic life he wanted with her.

"And French" he smirked "I should've put Russian, you could have taught me that two" He said and the smile she gave him completely trusting remind him that he had something else to say. But then a ring went off in the other room and she run to answer.

"No it's okay, yeah I get it, say hi to Tom and Claudia for me ok? We can celebrate tomorrow" She said on the phone and then she hung up violently.

"Everything okay?" He said approaching cautiously.

"Yeah, Alan is working late, and he is going to spend the night with a partner of his firm, apparently they have some issues that were not completely solved in Dallas" She said looking at the floor.

"So he is already in LA?" Barry asked and his curiosity took her by surprise.

"Yeah, he came back in the morning, but he had to leave in a rush in the afternoon" She said and then look at the clock "You know what? Let's go out, let's get drunk, I haven't left the house since last night and honestly I'm perfectly fine"

And before he could argue with her she was already in her room changing to a pair of jeans and a bright blouse, while he keep thinking about the right way to tell her, but apparently that would have to wait, since at the moment she was concerned in putting the most possible amount of alcohol in her system.

"You shouldn't do this" He tried to convince her one last time without success.

"Come on, there is a bar around the corner, I can come back home walking, you either come with me or I'll go alone, what do you say?" She had an special talent to make him say yes and he could only follow her.

"Fine, but just a couple drinks ok?" He said finally walking behind her.

"You wanna do shots?" She said after she have drink three glasses of wine while he was still on the first one.

"Not really" he said.

"Hey gorgeous, 4 shots of my friend Jose" She call the bartender who gave him a judging look at him before serving them. "Ok, let's do this" She said and he look down at the shot glass "No, no, you have to look at me or it doesn't count" she said taking his face on her hand, and that spontaneous touch and intimate look that she gave him was enough for him to loose his mind and drink the burning and delicious liquid without any hesitation.

Two became four and by the sixth round the bartender simply let the bottle and they were more than happy to finish it. He no longer care about what he knew about his moron rich husband, all he care was that she wanted to dance and now he finally feel like he knew how.

They walk together, back to the studio, not caring to walk straight, and with no respect for personal space since they were holding on each other shamelessly.

Once inside she put his rehearsing piece on the record player and before she finish taking of her shoes he took her by the waist, more personal and closer than ever, they move roughly at first but after a few minutes he was following the music perfectly l, with his eyes never leaving hers.

"Well that's the secret" she said once the song was about to end "We should get you drunk before your big scene" The son ended but he did let go of her nor she set his hand free.

"I think is more about the partner" He said pressing her more to his chest.

"Well sadly they want young and beautiful actresses, even they have terrible technique" she said quietly.

"You are young and beautiful" he lowered his face to be a few inches from her mouth.

"I'm also married Barry" She answered, without any will to walk away and move herself closer to him.

"I don't care"

.

Tag list:

@l0ve-0f-my-life

[survivor-ingary]

Episode 9 - "I GOT A SUPER IDOL AKJSDNKSJANDKJ" - Kenneth

At the last tribal, Toph was voted out. During the past round, Keith found an exile ticket in the idol hunt and is in exile this round. The individual immunity this round is a 'chop the rope' style of Touchy Subjects. It will be followed by an instant tribal council.

ANNA OU- the execution of the vote was an absolute mess this is embarrassing y'all... i'm really starting to not trust ellie more and more considering the way this vote went! the way we were originally gonna vote toph but all this mess led to us flipping votes to brayden, which was a fail cuz he played the idol to himself and not toph LOL and not babs giving the idol to ellie cuz she would've gone home tonight!!!!! thank god the end results were still in our favor, getting rid of toph, but raffy is pissed once again lmao. this twist is very interesting, because i knew ahead of time that keith was gonna poof this round but i played dumb and whateva! it's kind of concerning cuz it might actually be a 4-4 split this time which SCARES ME so the extra vote consideration might be even higher. I really wanna win this Touchy Subjects challenge so the votes don't pile onto me (even though I fully believe it'll be either Dennis or Ellie lol)

my bestie toph just went home and im so sad :( he was literally my closest ally in the game and i am literally sooooo sad that he’s gone. but i did use my idol on myself which ended up being good bc if i didnt i would have gone to jury. just like everything is going wrong for me at this point and im on the bottom pretty much with raffy and anastasia. we needed to flip 2 people to have majority, BUT KEITH LEFT TO EXILE ISLAND AND HE WAS THE MAIN OPTION WE WANTED TO FLIP, so now that leaves kenneth and babs and we have to flip both of them or we are out of here. so we have our work cut out for us, but i really think we can flip babs because like they would just get like 6th place without us, and i just gave i think a pretty good pitch to kenneth so i really hope he considers it and doesn't just run and tell his majority alliance like he did with anastasia. anyways the challenge is touchy subjects and im nervous and i kind of am wishing i voted kenneth for biggest goat but i think i put riley and i regret ut. i hope someone says kenneth as biggest goat or something so it opens his eyes and he realizes he is literally number 4 to a solid 3 and should flip and be number 4 in our not at all solid 3. anyways i really hope i live this round

Captain Exile's log, Entry #58. I have been on exile island for an hour. it seems like forever... my mind is slowing turning into mush. I fondly remember the days I would plot Raffy's demise. Those days now seem like a lifetime ago.

I wonder why the 3 time keeping hosts have forsaken to this island, making me a fool by calling it a vacation. I also will never forgive them for not having an exile island hidden immunity idol. I should have asked Jay to send her cat to keep me company. . opportunity missed.

my favorite hobby is writing checks i can't cash

raffy realllllllly seems to trust me

babs realllllllllyyyy trusts me

ellie reallllllllly trusts me

kenneth realllllyyyyyy trusts me

keith reallllllllllllllllllyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy trusts me and i trust him right back

a+b do not trust me so im gonna have fun with this.

i love that idols just naturally attract themselves to ellie.

i love that keith and i are doing an amazing job as undercover kings and it makes me laugh that raffy completely believes that keith is perfectly in his back pocket. king of delusion.

i stirred up a lot of paranoia but its believable that ellie is the one thats mainly on dat.

excited for touchy subjects would love to win

I'm too nice for orgs. I reload video games when I accidentally select the mean dialogue options because I don't want to hurt any character's feewings. Which... is NOT the same as genuinely thinking everyone is a pleasant person.

Well, as the only person playing this live challenge sort of "remotely" ahead of time I feel like I'm in a really weird position. I guess I'll wake up tomorrow to... something? A clusterfuck most likely.

Brayden round 9 is already over but im pretending im writing this while its round nine

hey everybody its round 9. i played my idol to save myself which was so cool but im sad that i had to do it bc now im really vulrunable and have no protection in this world. my only alliance left is anastasia and raffy and i dont even know if i can actually trust raffy bc he just voted toph off, but like i have no other options. also i jut realized i thimk i actually did send a confessional this round but its ok. the challenge is touchy subjects and i know i have pretty much no chance of winning but i hope i get asked whos a goat so i can say kenneth and maybe he’ll flip. the plan is to go for riley this round since they arent a huge player and hopefulyl anyoen who flips would be fine voting them. i really really really hope tonight isnt a hands up tribal bc that would be really bad ;)

GUESS. FUCKING (freaking for the kids). WHAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I GOT A SUPER IDOL AKJSDNKSJANDKJSANDJKNASKJDNAKSJ I HONESTLY ALMOST LOST HOPE ON GETTING SOMETHING FROM THE SHOPS AT THIS POINT... The only other time I got something from the shop was my first ever purchase which led to an extra vote! THIS IS ABSOLUTELY MASSIVE because I feel like I have more options moving forward now, and I can make risky, but game-changing moves!! I will absolutely be saving the super idol as much as I can, hello?!?!?! I wanna make it to FTC so bad and ensure my spot in Final 5, so I just have to hold on until then!!!

soooo who's callin' me the fourth wheel to Ellie, Dennis, and Riley? oh? it's Brayden? okay king, step up then <3

holy fuck I hope I can explain this mess to Brayden kljfjkdlsahjkb WHY AM I LIKE THIS

Who is that girl I see?

Staring straight back at me

When will my reflection show

Who I am inside

I was completely over Toph's vote out. Like, it just is another demonstration of my "allies" not trusting me. They thought that I told Toph all about the plan to vote him instead of Brayden. They think I ratted to Anastasia and Brayden about the whole deal. It was incredibly frustrating to wake up from a nap with my allies not trusting them. And then they wanted me to vote for Brayden which would have landed Ellie in the jury house. Like, the plan was perfect, but Dennis, Babs, and Ellie just talked themselves into a paranoid mess. After the vote, I managed to talk myself into the good graces of Brayden and Anastasia after voting out Toph. What I said was "If y'all still want to work together, I'm down, but I didn't necessarily trust Toph. Additionally, I was approached like last minute to vote him because of Ellie's idol (they told me about it just before the vote). And I didn't want Brayden to go (didn't know about your idol)." They seemed to buy it?

I went on call with Dennis afterwards and basically asked for Riley to get voted out this round because they are Ellie's immoveable ally. They will never want to work with me. That's dangerous. It could give Ellie a lot of power in this game. Dennis seemed to agree. I also realize that Dennis has a crystal clear view of my game. He knows the type of game I am playing. That scares me. I need to play this game with the knowledge he can turn on me at any time.

My current position is in the middle. I am working with the heads of both sides in this game. I am working with Ellie, Dennis, and Babs on one side. And Anastasia and Brayden on the other. Kenneth is on the Ellie side, but I think my avenues with him are currently closed. What's the most frustrating is that Anastasia and Brayden are so misted by Babs that they can't see that they are LYING. Straight to their faces! Talking about wanting to be allies. Like, I need them not to spill to Babs about anything cause then I would be exposed.

Pray for me y'all.

Kenneth uh this tribal was... literally not in our favor at all... riley was gone the whole time and we didn't throw raffy under our bus when we should have... rip well riley wasnt in my end game plan anyways but its still pretty unfortunate to not have them around for the next couple of votes... i wouldve pitched for raffy harder but it didn't even matter because riley already submitted the vote for brayden :/// just a lil' unfair but it's SURVIVOR i guess!

Keith I woke up to a surprise. I was expecting to be another day on this island but it wasnt to be... This was a round came with a surprise tribal after the challenge. So yayyyy me.... bye bye Exile.