#b. re-read through the textbook and took notes. yes even if you took notes on them during actual lecture. the idea is to write them down-

[purplefinatic]

you listen to me now boy. fuck midterms. fuck finals. what you do is grind out homework assignments and mini quizzes and projects and you get those minty fresh and you show up to class as often as possible and take notes even if you can't bring yourself to look at them later it'll help you to remember shit more if you write it down. unless you're in a Weirdo Class that only has a midterm and a final or if that shit's like 80% of your grade or whatever you can almost certainly be sure you can pass with a low grade and still have a b in the class these websites (2 of them) are your best friend when it comes to trying to figure how hard you have to study for finals and chances are you've been tryharding finals that you only needed like a 61% on

[embrassemoi]

Surrounded by the Moon and Stars ✷ 27

Pairings: Sirius B, Remus L, [F]Reader   CW: Spoilers for HP OOTP, blood/injury, bullying, fighting, sexism A/N: There's a scene in here that references Chap 28: Snape's Worst Memory. If you want, go back and read the flashback scene. Everything that happens in the flashback stays the same aside from the addition of the reader.

【 Masterlist: Previous Chapter | Next Chapter 】

Chapter 27: OWLs

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The last month was spent with lessons being devoted to review as the OWLs drew near. McGonagall had given them their examination schedules and went over the procedure for the following weeks during their Transfiguration lessons. She’d gone over the rules; mentioned the ban of Auto-Answer Quills, Remembralls, Self-Correcting Ink and others of the same likes.

Nobody spoke a word to each other. Everyone was rushing to do any sort of last-minute studying. Emmeline kept quizzing James with cue cards but was interrupted as Marlene became too agitated, threatening to throw a shoe, politely, at the couple.

Nobody spoke a word to each other. Everyone was rushing to do any sort of last-minute studying. Emmeline kept quizzing James with cue cards but was interrupted as Marlene became too agitated, threatening to throw a shoe, politely, at the couple.

Their first exam, Theory of Charms, was scheduled bright and early for Monday morning and they were all forced to study into the late hours of the night. There was a manic gleam in Lily’s eyes as she re-read sections of her textbook, Remus flicked through The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 5; Sirius and Mary were surprisingly calm as they practiced locomotion charms, Peter was so nervous that he kept dropping his wand. Dorcas had to be given Draught of Peace while Y/N was left practicing incantations under her breath, charming nearly every object in sight for practice. After all, Charms never was her strong suit.

“Fuck it,” Marlene announced, standing up to grab a bottle from their secret stash of Firewhiskey.

“You sure you want to drink that now?”

“I’m not getting pissed, it’s one drink.” Before Marlene had the chance, Remus grabbed the bottle from her hands and took a swig. “That’s against the rules, McKinnon, and you’re underage.”

“Remus John fucking Lupin! Stop abusing your prefect powers!”

But she and Sirius, of course, had their ways of coping with the stress.

“Do you — mmm — think it will be that hard?” Y/N said in between kisses. Sirius was the one to approach her.

Y/N had been doubtful about their situation, considering Sirius was flirting with other girls but they weren’t together. She knew that — she had no claim and besides, she trusted Sirius enough to not lie and deceive her had he been with anyone else.

Sirius’s hands flew down to unbutton her blouse and shrugged off his shirt. “Dunno. I’spouse I’ll get all Exceeds Expectations or Outstandings anyway. Don’t need — ah — to worry.”

Y/N tilted her head away from Sirius who pouted and quickly pressed another kiss. “Maybe you’re the arrogant toe-rag.”

“You’re too mean to me,” sighed Sirius, wearing a bemused smirk. “Watch your mouth. D’you know how many women — nicer women — want my attention but you get it?”

Inwardly, Y/N felt her heart soar. He’d just eased her speculations. “Me? Watch it?”

“Don’t act like you don’t like it.”

“Fine,” Y/N then peeled herself off of him, buttoning her clothes neatly. Her lips twitched up in a knowing smirk. “Be like that then.” And then she walked out the door, leaving Sirius to whine and chase after her.

“Wait — I didn’t mean that — wait! L/N! Come back, please?”

She was growing really fond of Sirius. Even hearing his name made her heart flutter.

When Y/N finally went to bed, she remembered about the career consultation she had with McGonagall and her persistence in helping her become a Healer. It left her wide awake.

That morning was deathly quiet as Professor McGonagall stood in front of them in the Great Hall as desks were lined in neat rows. Her eyes scanned every student before her hand went to grab the large hourglass sitting on the desk beside her along with any spare quills, parchment, ink bottles.

“You may begin.” McGonagall turned over the hourglass and Y/N heard the flipping of papers. Her heart thumped in her chest as she took one last glance up and then lowered her eyes on the paper and began to read…

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June 8th, 1976

Maybe it was the combination of the sun beating down on their backs or the tension from the recent surge of Death Eater attacks or stress levels rising from OWLs and future NEWTs, but everyone was on edge that day.

Y/N was hiding in her little nook under the tapestry, watching the sun reflect on the water, glistening and calm before she rolled over, deciding to slip out. Yes, while it may be for her safety, being stuck with a partner to go everywhere was annoying and began to grind on her teeth. There was never a moment to be alone anymore, especially not with the stalking map.

They'd just completed their Defense Against the Dark Arts exam. So far, Y/N thought Potions was by far the easiest examination, aside from Herbology. She wasn’t looking forward to Transfigurations…

But as she roamed the halls, fanning herself with her review notes and debating if she should go find Regulus, a few students ran in the opposite direction. Their faces were filled with curiosity and surprise. Some giggled, others gossiped and a few gave Y/N questioning looks.

In fact, so many students were following the rest. A student, most likely a third year, came running past Y/N before she stopped them. “Excuse me, is there something going on today?”

“Oh!” A look of recognition crossed the student. “You’re Lupin’s girlfriend, right?”

“Sure... Why?” “Something’s going on by the lake with the Marauders.”

Y/N navigated her way through the crowd and out to the courtyard. Under a beech tree near the edge of the Black Lake where she and Regulus had spent their day trying to swim, stood a group of students. All wore different coloured robes, huddling together in a large circle. Distantly, she could hear a faint buzzing and caughten a glimpse of gold. A golden Snitch.

She pushed her way through the students. Amid the circle, there was a flash of familiar dark red hair and Lily’s voice. “You make me SICK.”

Lily stepped out of the circle and the only thing Y/N heard was James’ bombing voice shouting after her. “Hey, EVANS!”

Angry tears threatened to spill down as Lily ran away. From the corner of her eye, she watched as Emmeline stormed out quietly, but unlike Lily, tears were freely streaming down. Y/N could hardly see over the bodies and faces of the crowd as they pushed and bumped into each other.

She was about to chase after Lily until the bright flashing of lights caught her attention. A gasp went around and there in the air was Snape, hanging upside down with only gray underpants waist down. Pink soup buds were all over his face and mouth and Sirius could be heard saying something.

“Who wants to see me take off Snivelly’s pants?” James taunts, talking to the crowd. A large gash was on his cheek, blood cascading down and droplets sprayed on his robes. A loud round of cheers went round.

Remus finally stepped in hesitantly, whispering into James’ ear as his hand clutched his forearm, lowering his wand. Whatever he must’ve said to James finally kicked in as Snape thudded to the ground. She caught Sirius’gaze who went to open his mouth but it was too late as she turned around.

They hadn’t listened to her. They went looking for revenge.

There will be another time to be cross. Her priority was to find Lily.

She ran through the corridors and passed by an elf going to start preparing for dinner before stopping them. She had an idea.

“Please, is there any way you can get Jelly slugs in the next couple of minutes and bring them to Gryffindor's common room?” The elf gave a curt nod.

Y/N bolted up to her dorm and there, a bag filled with Jelly slugs was left on a nearby table as she snatched it. She knocked a few times on the door, hearing Lily’s sniffling. “Can I come in?” There was a faint yes.

As she opened the door and closed it, Lily didn’t face her, but instead let out a bitter, “Are you going to say ‘I told you so?’ ” Y/N cautioned. This was already the most either had spoken to each other in a month.

“Do you want me to?”

Lily let out a weak laugh. Y/N rounded on her, coming to sit on the edge of her bed. It stayed quiet until Lily spoke again.

“I’d known that our... friendship was falling apart. But I thought — I thought maybe… he would change? I thought… he cared about me.” Lily finally broke as tears came cascading down her face.

Her heart ached at the scene and opened her arms wide to let Lily hug her. Her head fell into the crook of Y/N’s neck as she wept and she was there to hold her until she stopped crying. In a muffled voice and through thick tears, Lily explained what had happened and Y/N swelled with ferocity.

“I’m sorry…” She muffled into her.

Y/N’s lips pulled into a tight, uncomfortable smile. She only wished Lily didn’t have to go through that to realize Snape wasn’t good. “I’m sorry too.”

Lily pulled away, still leaning on her as Y/N floated a box of tissues their way.

“I brought you something. It’s silly but…”

She took out the Jelly Slugs. Lily wiped her tears away and took the bag, studying it for a while. Lily gave a half cry, half laugh and went to hug her again. They stayed like that for a while.

Nightfall came and Lily refused to leave the common room, wanting to avoid the Marauders and the other students there at the lake. Marlene and Dorcas stopped by with food for them but kept their distance, knowing that Lily wanted to be alone.

There was a soft knocking on the door, Y/N got up to answer it. Mary was there. She looked tired, but that's all Mary had been looking like these days.

“Mary?” Lily asked, “What is it?”

“It's… Snape. He’s been sitting outside Gryffindor’s portrait for hours now.”

There was a shift in Lily who immediately got up, pushed past them without a word and marched down the stairs; gripping her wand with full force. Both students gulped, knowing not to get in her way.

Mary then turned to her, “Potter asked to speak with you. He’s asking to meet at his dorm.”

And that’s exactly what she did. Y/N stomped up to his dorm. Waves of rage followed off of her as she swung the door open.

“Lupin, Pettigrew, you should leave.” Her voice was void of emotions, empty, like a machine, as she stared down at Sirius and James. From what Lily said and the little she saw, she wasn’t mad at them.

Not only had James and Sirius broken their promise, their cruelty reached a new high, causing the mess that they were all currently in, but Sirius had also broken the little trust she’d given him. Admittedly though, a part of her anger stemmed more from Lily’s behalf.

Snape, by every means, deserved payback. But the way it was handled… James and Sirius might as well be the same as Snape. A prank, a hex, a couple of jinxes were great, but had James gone further like he said…

“What the fuck did I tell you.” At her tone, they both seemed to flinch.

“He deserved it!” Sirius said, standing up.

Y/N ignored him, continuing to stare at James. It only then occurred to him that she wanted an answer. She expected more from him than she did Sirius.

“He called you and Evans a you-know-what. Then physically harmed you and Moony — and then everything else. Why are you angry? He’s a daft —”

“Daft?” Y/N mocked, “I gave you one job —”

Sirius laughed in blatant disbelief, “He’s right!”

“Silencio.” Sirius went mute and she turned back to James. “What were you trying to do?”

He scoffed, “I was trying to get him back. He doesn’t get to treat you like that and not get any sort of repercussion.” James folded his arms. “You seemed fine with the pranks, what’s your problem now?”

“I’m fine with pranks because typically you and your boy-band prank a group for laughs. Even if he deserved it, you already crossed a line by pulling his pants down! Had you pulled off another layer —” “I wasn’t really going to do that!”

“How would I know that?” Then she whipped around to Sirius. “And you! I trusted you not to go do something stupid!”

James looked at them confused. She unmuted him. Sirius was not having it.

“You’re up yourself. Get off your high horse — white knight shit!” “Do you want me to mute you again?”

Y/N sighed, walking to sit on Remus’ bed while both Sirius and James defended their actions. She wanted to throttle them.

“Pureblood snobs,” she said out loud. “You do realize that if anything, you just fueled Snape even more? I don’t doubt that now we all have targets on our backs because of your little stunt.” The idea of what Snape was willing to do now after severing ties from Lily only scared her. She was reminded that yes, Snape was a highly skilled wizard, known for his hexes, fondness of dark magic, lingering with wannabe death eaters…

They both gaped. “We didn’t think of it like that —” “Because you don’t have to think about it! You made it worse!”

It was silent after that, as the implication of what she said sunk in.

“I —” Sirius sputtered.

James sighed, going to sit on Peter’s bed across. “I’ll make it right.” He wore a large white bandage, sliced open from Snape. Man, fuck Snape.

“Fucking idiots,” she breathed out. She tried to ease the anger from her system entirely. Instead of fighting, she left the room wordlessly and went back to her dorm.

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June 12th, 1976

They’d just finished their Astronomy examinations which were held at night. The moon light was faint, ready to reach its peak in a few hours.

After Snape’s incident, Lily had given James the brunt of her anger. She gave him detention for the rest of the year with Professor Binns. Sirius had been given a good earful while she left Peter alone. Even Remus got a scolding for not stepping in and using his prefect influence.

Y/N had taken some time away from the Marauders, mostly out of respect for Lily who rightfully was upset about the entire ordeal. But with how the sections of the exam were taken, they were split into different towers; the girls in one tower, Y/N and the Marauders in another. She was forced to walk with them, because of their wonderful agreement: partners.

James was remorseful, along with Sirius who pulled her into a broom closet multiple times to apologize.

James, overall, was fairly beat up. After their squabble, the Snape incident, he and Emmeline had broken up. It had shocked her, confused as to why they broke up until Marlene chimed in; he’d asked Lily on a date during the Snape incident.

If it could get any worse…

Y/N decided to stay by Remus and Peter as they walked back to the common room.

Remus clenched his eyes shut every so often. He appeared to be in pain. His complexion was so pale she swore she could see the veins flowing with blood. It was as if his skin was not quite opaque but stretched thinly just enough to cover him. The muted light from the moon shone on his skin as a vein strained against his neck; waterline rimmed red, lips parted to suck in air like it was a struggle. She would’ve been worried, standing so close to Remus as his chest heaved, had he not looked like he commanded every inch of his body.

Remus was… alluring in the lighting. But his breathing hitched and everyone’s head rotated towards him.

“Are you —” She started.

“I’m fine,” he lashed. His tongue poked out to swipe across his teeth, gazing up to a nearby window. Alway the moon’s most watchful admirer.

The Marauders looked at each other.

“Alright,” Peter chimed, breaking the tension. “Moony’s been feeling down today. I’m going to take him to the hospital wing.”

James nodded, speaking cautiously. “Whiskers, let’s go?”

She shook her head. “I’ll walk back — go with him.” Remus needed their assistance more. There was this gaze in his eyes, golden and gleamed in the low light. It was like he was looking straight past them.

James shook his head. “No, we all stay in groups. It’s safer — for all of us.”

No, it’s safer for me. James and Sirius were fine, it was just her that needed the protection and the very thought made her sick.

They walked with her, stopping at the edge of the hall leading to the common room; both in a rush and Y/N didn’t want to hold them back anymore from Remus. They bid their goodbyes and James walked in front, leaving Sirius behind who gave a small smile and left.

She turned and walked to the portrait and there, sitting on the ground for the fifth time since that day; Snape.

“Get lost,” she snapped. “Lily doesn’t want to talk to you — let alone see you.”

As she was about to step into the portrait, Snape muttered, “Stupid Muggle.”

“Maybe if you washed your fucking hair for once, Lily would’ve returned your feelings. Go fuck yourself.” She hurled, wheeling around. Waves of rage flowed throughout her body as the boy stared at her, flooding with wrath.

The remark was his breaking point as he slipped his wand from his sleeves, his face pulled downwards in a sneer as he walked towards her. Before she could retaliate or register what he was doing, Snape already cast a spell. The look in his eyes told her to be scared.

Y/N flew backwards, thrown against the stone wall behind her as she fell onto the corridor floor. Her head slammed against the wall, hard. The impact was so great that the stone was covered in her blood, some of her hair caught onto the jagged edges. It was dizzying and she couldn’t properly think straight. She went to reach for her wand but saw it rolled a few feet away.

“Filthy Mudblood. I always wondered why a bunch of Purebloods would cling to you. Do they feel pity? Or are the rumours true and you’re their toy?”

Snape had bent down, wand digging sharply into Y/N’s neck. She mustered all the strength she had, yelling, “JAMES!”

“Pathetic,” he spits, “Can’t handle poor ickle Snivellus Snape?”

There was a loud ringing in her ears and her vision seemed to blur. She tried to push Snape away but instead, he pushed her against the wall roughly, her head slamming yet again. She cried out, tears now pouring from the hot white pain that shot right through her skull.

“James! J-James — Sirius…”

She could faintly hear the Fat Lady yell in the background, yelling at Snape to stop but. But he raised his wand, incantations ready to spill from his tongue as a bright red beam shot out from the darkness.

“Stupefy!” Instead of James, Sirius stood tall as he held Snape’s wand.

“Ah, the boyfriend — I mean, the other boyfriend. Well, Black, you need to start keeping her on a leash.”

Y/N was too disorientated to even understand what Snape was saying. Her head bled as she fought the urge to close her eyes. Sirius’ eyes were wide with terror as he stared down at Y/N as he digested Snape’s words.

Strangely, Sirius was quiet as he glared at Snape; chest heaving as if he was holding back.

“I’m surprised, really…” He flashed his menacing sharp teeth. “I thought it was a full moon tonight.” He grinned ear to ear, thrilled that had the upper hand now. All the colour from Sirius’ face drained in a second, completely caught off guard as the greasy-hair boy used this to his advantage. Using wandless magic, Snape pried his wand back from Sirius’ grip and quickly rose to his feet; wand pointed as he rounded him.

Snape continued, “Is that why your mates aren’t here? Helping that mutt of yours? Tell me, is he an experiment? Keepin’ him around for when you get bored.

“I bet you get bored often. What’s it like, having no family to return to?”

She didn't have time to even blink as two bolts of red came spurting out of each wizard's wand. Flashes of light illuminated each boy as sparks crashed together. The sound had Y/N scrambling towards her wand which landed a few meters away. Finally grasping her wand, she points it directly at Snape.

"Expelliarmus!" The last bit of energy she had was released, dropping her wand by her side as Snape's wand flew behind him. Sirius had walked up to him as he delivered a sharp punch to his nose and shoved him against the wall behind.

“Petrificus Totalus!” Sirius shouted. Snape became still, rigid in his hold.

"Why don't you take a trip down to the Whomping Willow tonight." Sirius muttered a counterspell as Snape picked his wand up and ran. “Deactivate the tree.”

As the echo of footsteps hushed, Sirius walks toward Y/N, taking her wand and his before shoving them into his pocket as he proceeds to lift her bridal style from the ground. She could feel the wandless magic he was using to help lift her, to avoid hurting her anymore. Before she could say anything, the pain in her nerves intensified. She felt like she was on fire. Sounds of whines and high moans left her mouth as Sirius began to panic, his feet surging forward as he ran towards the hospital wing. 

“Hey, you’re okay,” Sirius whispered, but it was directed more to himself rather than Y/N. She scarcely noticed him squeezing her hand gently. “You’re okay darling.”

Her arms felt heavy and darkness rushed over her like a thick blindfold as the last thing she saw were tears blurring Sirius’ vision, his body shivering in adrenaline.

[kayr0ss]

Butterflies

By: @shmehua1 & kayr0ss | AO3 Link

[Collab! LWA, Diakko, drabble, CollegeAU one-shot, drunk authors]

Summary: When a college jock and a nerdy librarian’s assistant gets a little more than they bargained for.

Akko steadied the paper folded ‘football’ with her finger and aimed it between Amanda’s finger goal across from her on the table. This was it. The winning shot. There’s the goal. Steady and straight, all she had to do ‘kick’ and she was a hero. She’d be the conference champ of the study hall paper football league—a league created by student athletes, who didn't need to be in study hall, but still had obligatory time requirements. They were students like Akko, who actually had good grades and really didn’t want to sit in the library for 12 hours a week.

On the other side of the table, Amanda stuck her tongue out in order to distract her, but Akko had nerves of steel. Being the star soccer player at Luna Nova University, Akko could shoot goals all day, and could never be phased.

Akko took a deep breath and tucked her index finger against her thumb. She didn’t need too much power. It was all about finesse. And Akko was the epitome of finesse.

“You suck,” Amanda whispered on the other end.

Pathetic attempt… Akko thought.

In one swift motion, Akko pushed down on her thumb with her index finger and dragged it up to the tip of her thumb before flicking the tiny paper.

Oh!

She held her breath as it glided through the air.

It’s good! It’s gonna be good!

Akko could already foretell the trajectory. She could already taste the bragging rights of being study hall champ. She could already see the fear in Amanda’s eyes as the paper football made its descent. Akko was just about to jump up from her chair and silently cheer when a voice stopped her.

“Miss Kagari!” It might have been a whisper, but the conviction in the tone could silence a damn concert. Instantly, an offending hand snatched the paper football out of the air before it could make those points.

“Gah!” Akko hopped out of her seat and flailed her hands, whispering incoherent words that could have been in several different languages. Amanda covered her face with her hands and wheezed. She sounded more like a seal with her muffled laughter and high-pitched pants. Akko was about to give a piece of her mind to whoever interfered with her game-winning play, but all words were stopped cold when she saw a pair of icy blue eyes glaring at her.

Aw crap… Akko thought as she slumped back into her chair. God damn, Diana Cavendish…

“I understand that you don’t have to be here, but can you at least behave for another hour? Some of your athletic friends actually need to be here,” Diana scolded.

“B-but! I was gonna win!” Akko tried to defend herself. She looked over at Amanda next to her. “I demand a re-kick!”

“Nah, dude. I know when to quit when I’m ahead,” Amanda chuckled and stood from her chair. The redhead collected her things and began making her way to the exit of the library. But before leaving completely, Amanda looked over her shoulder. “Thanks, Cavendish, for letting me keep my title.”

“B-but!” Akko turned back to Diana to plead her case only to be met with a book tapping gently on top of her head.

“Akko, please just read a book,” Diana sighed out in exhaustion. Akko looked up to see slight bags beneath the blonde’s eyes. She didn’t know too much about Diana, just that they were in the same year and she worked as the athlete study hall supervisor. “You’re almost done with your requirement for the week. Just get through one more hour, please?”

Akko could feel the guilt bubbling inside of her for causing so much trouble. She was known to be a little inconsiderate, but it wasn’t on purpose—she could just be a little ditzy at times.

“Yeah…” Akko grabbed the once abandoned textbook beside her and opened it up to a page she had been reading. “Sorry, Dia.”

Diana sighed, her shoulders visibly dropping. “It’s alright, Akko. Just one more hour, ok?”

“Ok…” She watched as Diana turned around and walked back to her deck, which overlooked their section of the library.

However, Akko couldn’t do it. Not out of lack of interest, in fact, Akko was very interested... just not in how the body creates muscular energy when exercising. She couldn’t stop her eyes from lingering to the blonde across the way. They focused in on the way Diana’s eyes moved seamlessly from left to right across each page, deliberately and methodically, as if she was taking in every single word and digesting it entirely. Akko couldn’t stop herself from watching Diana tuck her wavy blonde hair behind her ears. She couldn’t even stop herself from wondering how that hair would feel against her own finger tips. Would it be as soft and thick as it looked from afar? 

Akko had always thought that Diana was beautiful. Her eyes were the prettiest blue, even prettier than the ocean on a beautiful summer day. Her hair was peculiar with its blonde and teal colors. Oftentimes, her teammates, like Amanda and Sucy, would make fun of the highlights, saying that she had ‘cabbage hair’. Sure, it was a clever joke, but it was far from the truth to Akko. Teal and blonde? Akko never thought those two colors could meld so perfectly, and create its own unique colors. Her skin was flawless, not one scratch or blemish, unlike Akko’s skin—which was riddled with scars and cuts from years of training and sports, and being a klutz. 

Beauty was one thing, Akko couldn’t deny the physical attraction, but Diana was brilliant too. It never failed to amaze her how completely focused a person could be on work. Specifically, if said person was so entrapped by something that others might not have any interest in. Akko watched as Diana’s eyes sped through sentences in her textbook. She stared at Diana’s hand, which automatically took notes without requiring a single glance at the paper. It was commendable at the very least. Akko could see that Diana truly focused on whatever she was studying. Academics aside, she could also dish out some smartass comments that never failed to make Akko laugh. Yes, Diana was absolutely beautiful, but nothing, absolutely nothing was more attractive to Akko than someone answering her sarcasm with better sarcasm.

Akko would never be accused of being a star student, but she wasn’t a complete idiot. She wasn’t so oblivious that she couldn’t tell the difference between mere interest and a raging, gay crush. It might’ve been selfish, but Akko wanted Diana to look at her the same way she looked at Diana when she wasn’t looking. Akko often invited Diana to her soccer games, but had never seen her sitting in the stands. Akko could imagine that she probably had better things to do, but that didn’t make her feel any better.

Time passed, and before she even knew it, Akko was the only one at study hall aside from Diana, who was starting to pack up. Upon seeing this, Akko quickly gathered her things and made her way to the desk.

Diana didn’t seem to notice, even when Akko was standing right in front of her. The brunette swayed back and forth on her feet. She felt bad about earlier. Diana was actually really nice, and sometimes, Akko would catch her smiling at her, even when she was misbehaving. Maybe, today… Diana needed a break.

“Uhm… Hey.” 

Good one, Akko. Such eloquence. Much smooth…

“Did you need something, Akko?” Diana slung her bag around her shoulder and smiled. But Akko could tell, that smile was forced. The happiness and energy didn’t quite meet her beautiful, blue eyes.

“You really like what you do, huh?” Akko stated; it was more of a fact than a question.

Almost as if Diana was caught doing unspeakable things, the blonde was quick to pop attention to Akko’s voice. “What I do…”

“I mean when you study.” Akko grinned happily. “Like, you’re so focused. I’ve never seen anyone so fixated on one thing before. It’s kinda more engaging to watch you study more than actually studying myself.”

Diana looked down at her feet and once again, tucked her hair behind her ear. Akko was a bit surprised to see her become so sheepish. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you. I just think it’s cool that you’re doing something that you actually love, ya know?”

Diana paused for a moment, and looked into her eyes. “Really? Do you mean that?”

“Of course. Why would I make fun of something that’s clearly important to you?” Akko giggled. But, enough playing around. There was a reason why she was here. “Hey, listen, I’m sorry for dicking around earlier. You know… I just get bored, and I’m kinda stupid…”

“You’re not stupid, Akko,” Diana quickly interrupted, but smiled, “But I accept your apology.”

Akko felt her face heat up once she saw that pair of flawless, blue eyes again—the kind of eyes that could see right through Akko, the kind she could get hopelessly lost in and never, ever want to be found. 

“Th-thanks…” Akko had to blink a couple times to bring herself back to reality. “I… ummm… I know it’s kinda late now, but…” She swallowed the lump in her throat. “There’s this coffee shop by the field where we practice, and they make a great pecan pie… Can I buy you a piece?”

There it was. 

It was all in kami-sama’s hands now. 

Diana fiddled with her backpack strap for a while, causing Akko’s smile to immediately drop. She mentally regretted choosing now as a time to request the other girl’s time. Diana appeared exhausted, so she probably was legitimately tired and needed to go to bed, not go out with some troublemaking jock. 

“O-or, we can try some other time?” She tried to save the situation from her stupid, reckless mouth, but Diana quickly moved closer. In response, Akko cut her train of thought.

“Yes, I would love to.” 

The corners of Akko’s lips pulled up into a stupid, lopsided smile. “Perfect…”

---

She didn’t even like pecan pie.

But here she was, sitting in a cafe at eight in the evening and ignoring every responsibility she’d thrown herself for that night. In about two minutes, Akko would return from the counter bearing a tray full of coffee and pie, the latter of which she really, really, didn’t like but was willing to tolerate if it meant spending an hour or two with a… a--

--a crush.

Yes. A crush.

Unfortunately for the young Cavendish, the processing and subsequent expression of emotions was not a topic widely discussed within her field of study—if it was even discussed at all. She’d never admit it, but she did, in fact, watch the entire exchange between Akko and O’Neill. She even hoped, with bated breath, that she’d make that goal—that she’d be fortunate enough to witness the inevitable smile and fist-pump of victory that Akko had often made when scoring historical goals on the field in Luna Nova’s favor.

But the need to be near the brunette had masked itself as a sense of duty to uphold proper decorum within the confines of the library, and she found herself catching the very goal she had inwardly hoped that Akko would make.

Besides, seeing O’Neill squirm under her authority was more than a little satisfying.

Needless to say, it seemed to have led to the fortunate situation of getting to share some coffee and pie—that she didn’t like, but nevermind that—with her ‘crush.’ Her annoyingly jockish, bubbly, and childlike crush, who seemed to be made of sunshine and summer days, and wow, she really needed to take it easy on the romance novels, but—

“Do you ever stop thinking?” Akko’s easy-going voice pulled her out of her thoughts. Diana smiled softly as an apology. As predicted, she’d arrived with her suggested orders in tow, and the blonde noted with a bout of affection that Akko remembered she preferred tea—horrible pie choice aside. 

“Rarely,” she admitted, tuning back into the conversation. About you, at least.

Akko sighed dramatically, throwing her hands behind her head while she fell into her seat, “That is just so unsurprising!”

“Is it?”

“Do you even see yourself when you’re studying? Okay—” Akko ran her hand through her hair, and Diana might have even thought there was a blush on her face, “—obviously you probably haven’t, but you have this, like, laser-beam focus where your eyes just go left-to-right real fast and—”

Diana watched, entranced, as Akko flew into a detailed description of her studying habits. She appreciated that the latter apparently bothered to stare long enough to notice her focus, but not long enough to realize that she’d been spending more and more time reading the exact same sentence whenever Akko was around. 

“I’ve seen a similar kind of focus somewhere else,” Diana gently interjected, smiling at Akko’s tendency to ramble.

“Oh?”

“During the collegiate semi-finals,” stated matter-of-factly, “with our school going against Winterhold. I believe a certain someone was quite the star player of that football match with her winning goal,” Diana teased.

Akko crossed her arms, aghast, “Soccer, you mean!”

“Football.”

“No, I swear, you English peo—” Akko blinked, still managing to look charming with pie crumbs at the edge of her mouth.. “Wait, you watched that?”

When Diana leaned forward to wipe away the crumbs with a napkin, it felt like the most natural thing in the world. “I watched all of them.”

The brunette blessed her with what looked like a wondrous expression, and Diana felt her stomach tingle a little at the thought that her presence seemed to please Akko so. 

“You always invited me.”

“But I never saw—”

She was looking for her?

“I mean I—” Akko stuttered, blinking. “Really?”

“Yes,” Diana chuckled. “Really.” Why was this so surprising? Akko was notoriously persistent—she should have known that at some point, Diana would cave if she asked. Of course, it was just curiosity at the start (at least she thinks so), but Diana found herself looking forward to each game more than the last. Akko was a klutz everywhere else but the field. There was a fire somewhere in her eyes, a determination that she only ever saw when Akko had her eyes on the goal—and, in some cases, directed towards her in the hours the brunette spent confined to the library. 

But Diana never allowed herself to dwell much on this because assumptions were only just that—assumptions. Although, Akko had just asked her out for some late-night coffee, and she thought maybe…

Just maybe.

“Maybe what?” 

Good lord, Diana inwardly berated herself for her loose tongue, realizing she’d spoken her mind. “Maybe…”

Akko had scooted forward to the edge of her seat.

“Maybe I’ll make it a point to come and find you after your games.”

The grin she received showed it was the right thing to say. “I’ll look forward to that!”

They fell into an easy conversation—mostly from Akko—about anything and everything that came to mind. She was surprised at Akko’s attentiveness, a trait she never thought she’d ascribe to the normally scatter-brained athlete. She… listened. She listened with such depth when Diana spoke about her research, and the blonde found herself amused at how Akko couldn’t sit still to read a single page of an economics textbook, but could stay focused on her ramblings about moderation and analyzing variance. 

“I really appreciated what you said earlier,” Diana said wistfully, noticing that it was nearly nine in the evening. “When you said it was ‘cool’ that I liked what I studied.”

Akko beamed. Diana felt her chest swell. 

“It’s all practically gibberish to me,” the brunette scratched the back of her head, still smiling. Somehow, Diana doubted that all of it was—Akko was smarter than she let on. “But I’m just happy you’re happy about it, I guess.”

With a small smile, Diana realized she was pretty happy about that herself, and laughed at the sour expression Akko had made when she said, “We’ll make a statistician out of you yet.”

Eventually, Diana inquired about Japan, and Akko launched into a quick overview that sounded like it was ripped right out of a tourism infomercial—turns out it was—and Diana, in turn, began to talk about England.

“I’ve been studying here for two whole-ass years,” Akko groaned, “but haven’t had a single chance to go sightseeing!”

Maybe she’ll take a shot. 

“We should go sometime,” Diana offered. 

Maybe... Atsuko Kagari’s adorably nervous invitation to coffee at eight in the evening was a sign that Diana’s crush had some hope of reciprocation.

To her utter elation, Akko beamed, leaning forward and practically slamming her palms onto the table in excitement. “I’d love that!”

“But first,” Diana said pointedly “...would it kill you to behave in the study hall?”

Akko pouted in indignation, “Hey!”

The sight of it actually made Diana laugh.

After another hour into their conversation, Diana had finally decided to try the pie. Akko said something funny just when she’d taken a bite. She hid her laugh behind her hand, but smiled, thinking to herself that: It turns out, pecan pie wasn’t bad at all.

---

Akko grinned happily as she watched a very satisfied Diana munch on pecan pie. She sighed and rested her head in the palm of her hand. If Akko could see Diana this relaxed every single day, then getting scolded in the library was worth it. Every single painful hour waiting in the library for study hall would be absolutely worth it.

The two finished their drinks and their pies, and as much as Akko would’ve loved to spend time more with Diana, they had to go home. She pulled open the door and let her walk out first.

“Oh, I actually live near here,” Diana said as she studied the street signs. “I can walk home from here.”

“Really?” Akko perked up at the idea that maybe, she could squeeze out a few more moments with her. “Can I walk you home?” she offered.

Diana smirked and poked the middle of Akko’s forehead. “Of course.”

She stood there for a moment, completely shocked by the unquestionably, sexy smirk on Diana's face, and the fact she had the privilege to walk her home.

“You coming?” 

Akko awoke from her inner gay crisis, and looked to see Diana looking at her expectantly over her shoulder as she walked down the sidewalk. Chuckling to herself, Akko tried to wipe her stupid, love-struck grin from her face before jogging towards the blonde and beginning their walk .

“Of course!” exclaimed Akko once she was next to Diana. The two began to walk towards her house.

“So…” Diana began, “...did you not think that I would be able to walk home by myself?”

Akko burst into laughter. “Just tryna look out for you.”

“And who’s looking out for you?” Akko could feel the heat of Diana’s arm as it brushed against hers, and she had to do everything she could to not try and grab the other girl’s hand.

“I can run,” Akko cleared her throat, trying to keep her confidence, but their hands kept brushing together. Akko’s hands were beginning to have minds of their own because she found her fingers pulling Diana’s hand close. “I don’t wanna seem like I got an ego or anything, but I’m pretty sure I can outrun anyone.”

“I don’t doubt that…” Diana bumped against Akko, and Akko could have sworn that her fingers attempted to intentionally intertwine with hers. “I’ve seen you do it many times before.”

“I’m… I’m glad I don’t disappoint.”Akko couldn’t handle it anymore, she just wanted to hold hands… anything… Throwing caution to the wind, she tentatively reached. She could feel the electricity vibing at the tips of her fingers. It made her heart race, and goosebumps erupted all over her skin. 

This was better than a paper football game. This was even better than scoring the game-winning goal during overtime over a rival team. She could just barely feel the skin at Diana’s fingertips.

“This is it,” Diana said abruptly.

Wha… what?

Akko glances upwards to see a beautiful, quaint college home standing right before her.

“I had a nice time tonight, Akko.” Diana turned to face her, thereby pulling her hand right out of Akko’s reach. She then walked up the stairs to her front door as Akko just tried her best not to scream at her missed opportunity.

“I-I had a nice time too,” Akko said as she came down from her shock. Though a little disappointed in herself, she wasn’t picky. Overall, this was perfect.

Akko waited at the step directly in front of the door as Diana attempted to fish out her house keys. She wanted to make sure Diana would make it into her home safely before heading back herself. It was unbelievable how lucky she’d gotten tonight. Not only did Akko get to have pecan pie, but she convinced Diana Cavendish that pecan pie was a godsend and the best kind of pie in the world—no one could tell her otherwise. 

However, Diana was taking a long time looking for something that jingles her pocket, especially when she’s wearing skinny jeans that are really hugging her—

“I… don’t think I have my keys.” Diana quickly tossed her bag on the ground and opened every pocket, searching every crevice. She even tossed out her books as she frantically clawed her way through the bag.

“You don’t have your keys?” Akko repeated.

“I forgot that Hannah and Barbara were going out tonight… I was supposed to come straight home when we were done at the library,” Diana groaned, “Before they were going to leave.”

The realization hit Akko, she was the reason why Diana was now locked out of her house. She mentally kicked herself, knowing that Diana could’ve been sleeping and getting much needed rest instead of a mere slice of pecan pie. But Akko wasn’t the type to get down on herself! Her parents taught her better than that. She could make up for this and help Diana. Akko puffed out her chest and stood tall. 

But holy smokes, when she saw the distress in Diana’s eyes, Akko all but deflated. She just felt so bad. “Hey, why don’t you… stay with me tonight?”

Akko hoped to god that she wasn’t crossing a line or being creepy by inviting Diana out a second time tonight. That was the last thing she needed, considering she had just gotten a date with Diana. For Akko, it would go in as the greatest goal she had ever scored in her life.

Diana stopped her mini existential crisis. “Oh, Akko. You don’t have to do that. I can wait, I wouldn’t want to intrude.”

“You wouldn’t be intruding at all!” Akko didn’t want to push too hard, but Hannah and Barbara were known to shut down a club. “If you didn’t go out with me, you would have been in your bed by now… It’s the least I can do, but if you wanna wait, I can wait with you!”

Diana paused for a moment. And Akko was hoping that she’d see some reason behind her offer and not think that things were getting overly weird or anything. But, all negative thoughts were quickly wiped away when Diana gave her a soft smile. 

“Sure.”

---

It was so, so painfully cheesy, but there was something about being lent a football player’s jersey that made Diana’s ears burn a little. For the remainder of the evening, the surname printed on the backside of her shirt was ‘Kagari’, in dark and bold lettering.

The real Kagari had been so kind as to lend her lounge wear while they lazed about in Akko’s dormitory, speaking in hushed voices so as not to wake Lotte or Sucy up. The room was dark, save for the glow of Akko’s laptop, on which they watched a film about some bank along Wall Street that Akko needed to write a paper on—kills two birds with one stone! They had to share a set of earphones, pressing up against each other’s sides so that the flimsy wiring could reach both their ears. 

Diana raised an eyebrow towards a visibly distracted Akko and chuckled, “Watch.”

Akko grinned sheepishly, looking completely unbothered by the fact she’d just been caught staring, and shrugged, “I’ve got you to explain it for me.”

“You’re pushing it.” Diana playfully bumped Akko’s shoulder with her own. She then took the opportunity to summon every drop of courage in her body to urge her hand to move, darn it, move and reach across the three inches that separated her hand from Akko’s.

“You okay?” With that, there was a sudden warmth against Diana’s hand.

“I…” Diana blinked and looked down at their hands, wondering if Akko had somehow sensed her overwhelming need to hold hands and had just gone and done it herself. But then, Diana relaxed, fingers settling down into the spaces in Akko’s hand, and when she did so, she could’ve sworn the brunette had exhaled from holding her breath.

“I was thinking…” Diana decided to finish her train of thought. Screw it, she finally thought for once in her life, bombs away! “...if I could perhaps interest you in going out on a date?”

Akko blinked up at her, red eyes massively confused. “Like… a while ago?”

It was Diana’s turn to be confused. “That was a date?”

It impressed her how, even the dark, Akko could turn so visibly pink. “Well, I—”

“I mean, I wouldn’t mind if it was—”

It was a date. Akko liked her back. Her assumptions had been confirmed, and the way her heart was racing faster than her mind was pushing her into overdrive. Except, Akko seemed to be getting there first. 

“Shit! I didn’t even say anything and I should have made it clear. I, uh, actually thought you understood it! I-like-you-and-that’s-why-I-hang-in-the-library-and-ask-you-to-watch-all-the-time! I even tried to hold your hand while walki—”

“Akko.” She held up a hand, exhausted from trying to keep up with a thousand words per hour. The brunette happily obliged and shut her mouth. When there was silence, Diana immediately chuckled, “Let me rephrase and ask you out for another date, then.”

“So it was a date!” Akko had such a stupidly large grin on, Diana wanted to melt on the spot.

It was a date. It was a date—and she felt fantastic. The butterflies in her stomach threw a lovesick, little party. It was a proper, albeit initially miscommunicated, date, and she wanted to laugh at the serendipitous circumstance of it all.

“So, if that was—or is—a whole, proper, more-than-friends date...” Akko had tentatively begun.

Diana braced herself for mischief, Akko was hardly ever tentative.

“—do I get a whole, proper, more-than-friends-kiss at the end of it?”

-

fin

-

A/N: Hey guys - and HAPPY BIRTHDAY DIANA I LUV YUUUU! I got the chance to work with the amazing @shmehua1 (yeah, the one who totally broke my heart with Broad Shoulders - please check her writing out!), so we decided to just kind of mess around and write a fic under the condition that we had to be drunk. Time zone differences aside, we managed to pull through and put this little piece of work together (There was lot of “WHAT DO WE DO NOW” “I DON’T KNOW!” “DO THEY KISS OR... HOW DOES THIS END?!”). Thank you to our special partners, whiskey and gin.

Big thanks to @koumagda for editing our whack and typo-filled draft because holy shit when I say typo-filled I really mean it cause I deadass wrote ‘smile’ as ‘smielle’ at some point ahahahaah. She did an amazing job and we’re very fortunate she could look over it! Hope ya’ll enjoy and STAY HOOOME

[chayanne-z]

I know it’s wrong, but it’s so hard to stop it alone (I can reach out to someone not like me)

Quirks are a mysterious phenomenon. Sure you could study quirk genetics as you would with any other science, but do not forget that science is just magic that can be explained. Unfortunately for everyone living with quirks, there can be unforeseen consequences. Have you ever thought (and I mean really thought) about how the quirk gene affects the DNA, about how the body compensates for these supernatural abilities? One girl, Momo Yaoyorozu , thinks about this every day. Sure there are quirks that are not compatible with the person's body, such as Yuga Aoyama or Izuku Midoriya, but that is not Momo's problem. No, her problem is that her quirk is too compatible with her body And that is something that is constantly plaguing her mind.

momojiro, as well as Midoriya and Yaoyorozu friendship

read on AO3

Chapter 1:

Mirror mirror on the wall

Tunnel vision on the flaws

In the scale of things it's unimportant

So no talking but it's still an intrusive thought

I'm shivering and shaking, and I tell myself it's fine, but

You can't fool your body, you can only fool your mind

Quirks are a mysterious phenomenon. Sure you could study quirk genetics as you would with any other science, but do not forget that science is just magic that can be explained. Unfortunately for everyone living with quirks, there can be unforeseen consequences. Have you ever thought (and I mean really thought) about how the quirk gene affects the DNA, about how the body compensates for these supernatural abilities? One girl, Momo Yaoyorozu, thinks about this every day. Sure there are quirks that are not compatible with the person's body, such as Yuga Aoyama or Izuku Midoriya, but that is not Momo's problem. No, her problem is that her quirk is too compatible with her body And that is something that is constantly plaguing her mind.

I can reach out

To someone not like me

If you ask for help it doesn't make you´re weak

Being an underground hero meant that being observant was essential for survival, this was undoubtedly something Aizawa knew. As a UA teacher, he had to use his quirk on his students often, in an attempt to prepare them not to rely on their quirk so much. Every time he used his quirk on a certain student, Momo Yaoyorozo, he could see a brief flash of panic run across her eyes, before she regained her composure. He chalked it up to the fact that since her quirk was extremely strong, she was less confident in her abilities outside of it. He earnestly tried gently encouraging her in his own ¨Aizawa¨ way whenever they practice combat without quirks (the ¨encouragement¨ consisted mostly of telling her that she ¨did ok¨ but that was really the most praise you could get out of him.) Shockingly, despite Aizawa´s best efforts Yaoyorozu still always flinched when she felt her quirk depart from her body. This really made Aizawa sad, try as he might to conceal his feelings, he deeply genuinely cared about his students. He didn't have favorites but if he did, Yaoyorozu would be rightfully it (Shinsou doesn't count since he is his son.) Yaoyorozu by heart was a studious young girl; who had ambition, skills, and never goofed off. So why she was so deeply insecure, Aizawa didn't know.

He thinks he started to piece it together when he overheard ¨The 1A Gurlz¨ (as they have affectionately dubbed themselves) discussing the topic of motherhood after class.

¨I don't know if I'll want children, maybe someday, though it's unlikely, kero¨, Tsuyu said.

¨HELL NO, I don't got time for kids when I'm a hero¨ said Mina.

¨Hell yeah, stick it to the patriarchy!¨ Jiro fist-bumped her pink friend's fist.

¨I kinda agree with Mina, I like the idea of children, but heroes are awfully busy. Plus what if it puts the child at risk since villains would target them¨. Uraraka said.

The rest of the girls nodded understandingly but Hagakure sighed, ¨Still I'd love to be a mother one day¨.

Jiro rolled her eyes, ¨you´re such a romantic, Hagakure, no wonder Ojiro is head-over-heels in love with you¨. She tried to give her invisible friend a playful shove, but missed and had to promptly catch herself. Hagakure´s quirk meant that her skin cells refract the light around her making her invisible. Unfortunately, this did not apply to her blood cells; she was blushing beet red. She stammered a lot until Tsuyu interjected with a question she had.

¨Would a Hagakure-Ojiro child be visible but with an invisible tail?¨

¨Or maybe they would be all invisible except for the tail!”, Ururaka exclaimed

¨so you would just see a floating tail?¨ Mina asked. The girls burst out with laughter (even Yaoyorozu, who throughout the conversation has remained stiff and quiet, started to giggle).

¨What about you Momo? You've been awfully quiet ¨ Uraraka turned to Momo. Now all the attention was on Yaoyorozu, and she did her best not to look visibly distressed.

” You ok ‘Mo?” Jiro quietly asked, always showing concern for her girlfriend.

¨I-I I'm fine! Um, I just...¨, Yaoyorozu stammered, ¨I´d sincerely like to be a mother one day...b-but I'd probably have to adopt since...you know...¨ Jiro and Yaoyorozu both blushed and looked elsewhere, ¨also I worry… about...some unintended ramifications of my DNA if their quirk is...Not...” Yaoyorozu trailed off. The lunch bell rang and “The 1A Gurlz” left, Yaoyorozu stayed behind for a second before taking a deep breath and walking out the door. Aizawa was extremely concerned, to say the least, he made a note to keep an eye on Yaoyorozu to make sure she was safe.

Kyoka Jiro was a very insecure girl, sure at first glance, she seemed confident and stand-offish that was not at all how she felt inside. She cringes at the memory of being sad that m*neta wasn’t harassing her but harassing all the other 1A Gurlz. Internalized misogyny was SO not punk rock. Sure she liked being her authentic self but there were times she wished her authentic self was seen as normal. It took her a long time to accept her feelings for Momo, and even longer to actually ask her out. But- it was ‘Mo; beautiful, smart, badass MOMO! How could she deny or hide her feelings for such a wonderful girl? Gradually with the help of her friends, Kyoka started increasing her confidence. Kyoka recognized that Momo was just as insecure as she was, though she could never understand why. Why would someone as competent, skilled, and amazing as Yaoyorozu Momo not be able to recognize how she lights up everybody’s life? Nevertheless, she recognized that ‘Mo was in pain, and she needed to support her. She just wasn’t sure how. At lunch Momo looked down at her food sadly, she still ate, thank goodness, Kyoka thought. Though Momo was always a stickler for portion control, what she ate, and when. Come to think of it , Kyoka pursed her lips, s he’s always been a little obsessive when it comes to food. Make no mistake Momo was not starving herself. She consistently made sure she had enough to eat- her quirk depended on it after all. Knowing ‘Mo it’s probably a system designed specifically for her quirk -that nerd, Kyoka thought to herself with a smile, still she does put an awful lot of planning into what she eats.

After lunch, the young couple headed toYaoyorozu's dorm to study. Jiro was a bit behind so she was grateful for the extra help. Kyoka sat comfortably on Momo's bed, her head resting peacefully on her lap as they head the hero studies textbook together. It was serene and peaceful. Momo cherished these small and intimate moments with her partner. We´ve been through so much lately... it was nice for the biggest problem to be an upcoming exam, she thought with a smile. T hick thighs save lives, Kyoka thought happily as she absentmindedly patted her GF's thigh. She then felt Momo tense up from underneath her when she did that.

¨...’Mo?¨

¨Hm? Yes?¨

¨What's wrong?¨

¨N-nothing! I'm fine!", Momo looked away and clutched her stomach.

¨Momo...¨ Kyoka rolled over and gently took her girlfriend's graceful hands in her own. ¨you're beautiful you know that right?¨

Momo blushed, ¨as are you, Kyoka¨. Kyoka´s placed her hand on Momo's face and slowly bridged the gap, as they shared a tender kiss.

[comradekatara]

What’s the gaang in college like

this is SUCH a good question. thank you!!! i’m going to answer this in terms of what i think they’d be like if they did go to college, even though i’m quite sure not all of them would or should. this is almost 3k words btw because i have a disease :) thanks :)

aang: aang loves school, but he forgets to go? it’s just that he’s always either a) volunteering at the children’s hospital; b) helping a friend with a flat tire; c) taking his dog appa on long runs; d) giving heartfelt advice to a total stranger who looked sad; e) getting stopped on the street by an environmental canvasser when he doesn’t have his wallet on him and then devoting the rest of his afternoon to helping that canvasser get more donations and signatures from people who DO have their wallets, which is, frankly, a little overwhelming for the canvasser; f) happily embarking on an impromptu coffee date with a total stranger because she has multiple peace sign stickers on her backpack; g) defrosting tofu; h) reading exactly two pages of a book sokka recommended to him before getting bored and simply texting sokka for the highlights; i) painting, for fun; j) subbing in for the school mascot at some suspiciously aggressive sporting event, which aang normally wouldn’t advocate for, except someone asked him to do it as a favor and how could he say no; k) trying to start a vegetable co-op on campus and protesting heartily when his proposal is rejected due to lack of space; l) writing polite but firm letters to textbook publishers asking them to extract their biases from the next edition; m) generously attending parties as a “designated pedestrian escort,” since he neither drinks nor drives; n) making jewelry; o) making friends at the farmers’ market; or p) re-shaving his head. so how is he possibly supposed to make time to go to class??? he tries to do some of his assigned readings, and he always has strong opinions on them. but he doesn’t always make it to class and he’s very sorry about that. he still passes every class though. who’s gonna flunk a kid who missed his final exam because he was helping deliver a baby in the parking lot? 

katara: katara is bad at college. she hates her major (because, as sokka wails to everyone who will listen, she chose the wrong major!). she hates her classes and she hates her professors and she hates studying. she hates the library and thinks anyone who goes there for any reason is “pretending to work” despite very compelling evidence to the contrary. she hates that campus buildings are named after dead slave-owners and colonizers, and she consistently gets arrested for trying to vandalize their nameplates. she is always able to find things to occupy her on campus–for instance, underpaid dining hall workers to advocate for, or a new college republicans group to protest, or an updated round of enrollment stats reminding her that higher education remains racist, classist and colonialist and upholds existing biases in society. she is constantly threatening to drop out and start an organization encouraging young activists not to go to college. however, she also finds her ongoing tangles with the dean too invigorating to ever stop: because of her anger and intensity and many unscheduled appearances at his office and sometimes even his houes, the dean is scared of her. katara is having a very traditional college experience in her own way, discovering new causes and coming into her own as an activist. she is just not, unfortunately, passing english 101. 

mai: for mai, the main difference between high school and college is that in college she finds things to care about, and oh does it feel good. a frustrating experience registering for classes winds up being a happy accident when she begrudgingly signs up for a class examining perspective in literature. the class is electrifying. she gets really into creative writing after that, and writes a batch of her own short stories; in all of them, she uses perspective to give interiority to unlikely narrators. when she’s not writing, she spends a lot of time at art museums and foreign film screenings. while strangers might still think she’s aloof, people she’s shared classes with know better. she is passionate, engaged and argumentative. she is the frustratingly cultured friend in the friend group who will matter-of-factly correct someone else’s references without looking up from her phone, when no one even realized she was listening. and the other thing that’s different as compared to high school is that she doesn’t just hang around azula anymore. she has all these pockets of friends who share her interests, art friends and writing friends and film friends and friends from her computer science classes (yeah, she’s a computer science major because she’s just practical; it’s a thing). the gaang isn’t even at the top of her list of the people she’s closest to; in fact, when she leaves for study abroad, she forgets to let them know beforehand. but she does send back half-melted chocolates. 

azula: hot on the heels of being the fastest runner and toughest boxer at her high school gym, azula gets to college and finds herself… no longer the best. the first five months of her freshman year go like this: she is running at the gym one day when she notices another young woman who is noticeably faster than she is and barely breaking a sweat. azula becomes obsessed with her, and starts showing up at the gym at the same time every day just so she can see her again, always claiming the elliptical directly behind this modern marvel just so she can watch her in action. one day, azula catches a glimpse of the woman’s student ID when she swipes in at the front door, and then goes home and creates a facebook account for the very first time just to find her profile and learn more about her. the girl quickly becomes aware she’s being watched (it’s not hard–all she has to do is look at the mirrored wall in order to catch azula creepily staring at her and mouthing aggressive self-motivation. she asks azula what her problem is. azula’s like, “excuse me? how dare you?????” before she finds she has nothing else to say. she storms off back to her dorm and screams at the top of her lungs for a little while. the next day, she goes back to the gym and works out even harder. but she promptly passes out. she has to take a week off to recover. by the time she can go back to the gym, she is too embarrassed to follow this woman around anymore. however, this same pattern repeats itself periodically whenever azula comes into contact with anyone even a little bit better than her. eventually, the stress of competing with every talented person in sight (whether in the realm of athletics, academics, or the board game club that really, really wants to kick her out) starts to take its toll, and azula proceeds to live in the walls for a little while while she thinks things through. while she’s in the walls, she misses her psychology midterm and has to repeat the class.

sokka: sokka loves college. college is almost exactly what sokka wanted it to be, although if he were to name one complaint, it would be that there aren’t enough places to hook up outside. he makes do, though. sokka is one of those brilliantly charming kids who befriend almost everyone, except the douchebags. he gets invited to every house party and every sorority formal and every rich-kid ski trip he couldn’t possibly afford and every late-night philosophical debate in a dorm common room. (he can’t even count the number of times he’s been getting ready for bed at 2am and his phone has buzzed with a text from some acquaintance he took a class with a year ago, asking for him to swing by their apartment and weigh in on a dispute. believe it or not, he usually goes.) sokka takes classes in as many departments as he possibly can: there’s some comp sci and some comp lit, some performance studies and some gender studies, some radio/tv/film, some environmental engineering, a fair amount of electrical engineering, no shortage of poli sci, and intro language courses in as many languages as possible. his adviser is like, “are you even human????” and sokka’s like “wym? i’m on scholarship.” in the end, there isn’t a major that sums up sokka’s focus of study, so he creates one; the unifying thread between all his courses is that he’s studying the future. like, of the world. they let him put the name of his made-up major on his degree, and although it’s in poor taste to frame your undergraduate diploma, he does it anyway, because he likes explaining to people that yes, he made his major up, and yes it was exactly as bullshit as it sounds. he’s very proud.

suki: does suki like college? sure, she likes it fine. she drives for saferide and organizes with campus feminists. she organizes self-defense trainings and also advocates for revising the mandatory new-student training in consent that all students have to take so that it’s oriented towards deterring would-be assailants, rather than putting all the onus on would-be victims. on a lighter note, she also participates in the campus drag show every year, and a number of formerly-straight-identified attendees gush to a reporter for the student paper that they are now questioning their sexuality thanks to “kyoshi’s” performance. also, suki does roller derby, and you would not believe the dyke drama surrounding her and her various exes from the team. it is not to be believed. but as for classes, suki could pretty much take or leave them. she likes art and math. she tries to show up sometimes. often she does not, because she is busy getting high in her truck or having sex outside. sokka doesn’t understand how she doesn’t care about her mediocre grades. suki doesn’t bother trying to explain it.

zuko: naturally, zuko is a literature major. he takes every single shakespeare course the school offers. then he takes a class on milton, a class on dante, a class on female poets of the twenty-first century, and a handful of gender studies classes too; all of these classes change his life. after his first gender studies class, he cuts off his ponytail, determined to unravel the patriarchy in one snip. so it goes without saying that, emboldened by his distance from his father, zuko takes it upon himself to Seize The Day in a way he couldn’t in high school. sure, it’s cliche, but the siren song of that fountain in the quad is impossibly to ignore; he simply must go read poetry under its shadow. he forces himself to go to parties most weekends, always irrationally hoping that this time he might like parties and have a good time, but it takes him until his senior year to realize that he will never like parties. until then, he spends a lot of time mostly hugging the wall for safety and avoiding the eyes of the couples who are making out on the couches. when guys try to flirt with him, he spills his drink on purpose so he has an excuse to flee the scene, and the guys can always tell. he auditions for theater productions and is summarily rejected from almost every acting role; the one role he gets, he butchers, and he can even see on sokka’s face when sokka brings him flowers after the show that sokka knows the flowers were too much. when acting roles don’t pan out, he tries working on a show’s crew, but ultimately it’s not until mai gently suggests he try reviewing the theater productions on campus that he finds his niche. sure, few students read the student newspaper for its theater criticism, but zuko’s reviews are good. they get a prominent place of honor above the fold, and a number of drama professors are willing to admit amongst themselves that they wait for zuko’s reviews before shelling out for tickets. although he does write under a pen name so his father won’t find them. that’s just common sense.

toph: toph is smarter than most of her teachers and knows it, which means she derails class after class with smart questions, counterarguments, and passionate rebuttals. her older friends help her identify classes to take with professors who are welcoming of that sort of thing and willing to have a spirited back-and-forth. that’s how she ends up taking some higher-level philosophy classes as a freshman. (by the way, big mistake, but she gets what she came for.) her class schedule is an eclectic mix of electives cobbled together with little thought for how she’s eventually going to graduate; in the end, it takes her an extra year, and she’s totally fine with that. she has lots of friends and supporters and she also has a lot of enemies; the head of the psychology department memorably calls her a rude little troll girl. she studies abroad more than once, and though she has no reason to work an on-campus job, she has a volunteer gig mentoring high school students. sometimes her fourteen-year-old disciples will follow her around, wide-eyed, from social gathering to social gathering, and they’ll get to fully immerse themselves in toph’s particular college experience. it’s a lot of sniping and also a lot of smoking weed in other people’s apartments. also, she plays football in the park with suki every saturday rain or shine, and though there have been some close calls, neurologically speaking, she has thankfully avoided any concussions. (suki, unfortunately, cannot say the same, and toph is very sorry.)

ty lee: everyone has taken at least one class where ty lee came in late and sat in the back, but no one is clear on her major. what makes matters more confusing is that when people ask her what she’s studying, she’ll say just one of her three majors, which leads people to believe that she is lying. ty lee is studying physics, communications and theology, and while her class attendance is far from spotless, she can always get the notes from one of her admirers. apparently she studies hard, because she’s an honor student in all three departments. outside of class, ty lee is a sorority girl, natch. she freely invites her greek-life-avoidant friends to her fundraisers and formals because she doesn’t understand what they have against the super-fun greek system of which she is proud to be a part! also, she’s not shy about cheerfully reminding her friends that if she doesn’t have enough friends show up, she’ll be fined, with the unspoken reminder that she really can’t afford that shit. this generally motivates people to come through for her. it is anyone’s guess how ty lee manages her active sorority participation, her insane class schedule, athletics (volleyball) and her work-study job (calling alumni for donations–she’s disturbingly good at it, by the way). more than one amazed admirer has posed the theory that she might be a witch. when she hears that, ty lee just giggles and smiles. 

[chuffyfan87]

Growing Pains. Part 22b

He nodded, “I like the play. I think it helped me answer the question.”

"That does help but you need to put the same level of effort in on things you don't like too." She reminded him gently but firmly.

“I know Miss.”

"Because often you don't." She finished reading his answer. "This is excellent. I just need all your exam answers to be this good."

“I’m really trying Miss.”

"I know you are. Have you considered the idea of speaking to your parents about extra help outside of school?"

“Do you feel it’s necessary?”

"It might give you that extra push. As there's only so much we can do in the time you have at school with you only being part time."

“I’ve spoken with my parents about increasing my hours at school.”

"That will certainly help." She smiled.

A comfortable silence descended on them for a few moments. “What grade would I have achieved with that answer?” Louis asked.

"A high C, maybe even a low B."

He nodded. “And how and where can I improve to get a higher grade?”

"Well your predicted grade is a C so this essay is above that."

He nodded again, “Can I keep the essay?”

"Of course you can."

He took the essay back and put it in his file. “Thanks.”

"Your analysis of each quote is very detailed. Keep it up." She smiled.

“Yes Miss.”

"I'd like you to work through the other two questions at home before our next lesson."

“I will do.” He was about to say something else when the bell rang to signal the end of the lesson.

His teacher smiled as she dismissed him.

He packed away his stuff and said bye. He made his way to his next lesson, keeping his head down. He kept himself to himself at school these days.

As a result he almost jumped out his skin when he felt a hand on his shoulder.

He swallowed, his heart racing as he turned around.

"No need to shit your pants bro!" Tilly giggled.

“Bloody hell Tilly! Please don’t do that again!” He took a deep breath trying to steady his breathing. “You alright, sis?”

"Yeh, not bad." She shrugged. "Got PE next though. You any good at dad's signature?"

“PE ain’t that bad. And no. Can’t you say you’re on your period or something?”

"Used that excuse last week." She sulked. "How about mum's signature?"

“Do you have your PE kit? I could keep it? They can’t make you do PE with no kit.” He smiled, “Or you could just skive?”

She dug into her bag and chucked her kit at him. "You're the best bro!" She grinned.

“You’ll get me shot, you know that?” He put her PE kit into his bag.

"Yeh but I'm your favourite sister so I'm worth it!" She smirked.

“Maybe.” He smirked.

"Well I better go face Madam Hitler's wrath for not having my kit..!" She sniggered.

“Enjoy Tils. See you at home?”

"Yeh, laters."

“Love you sis.” He said quietly as he watched her head off down the corridor towards the gymnasium. He began to make his way towards his Maths classroom.

His maths teacher looked up as Louis walked in. "You're late."

“Sorry Sir. It won’t happen again.” Louis took a seat, opening his bag and taking out his pen and notebook.

"You're right it won't."

Louis sighed. He began to chew the end of his pen.

"Do you have your trigonometry homework?"

“Yes.” Louis opened his notebook and took out his homework. He handed it to his teacher.

"Did you scribble this whilst eating your breakfast with the other hand?"

“No. I tried really hard on it but I didn’t quite understand it. I did my best.”

"Right. Let's go over it again shall we?"

“Please.”

The teacher took out a marker pen and started to write on the board, explaining as he went.

Louis began to take notes.

Once he'd reached the end of the explanation the teacher turned back to Louis. "Is that any clearer now?"

Louis nodded as he looked up from his notebook, “Much clearer, thank you Sir.”

He pulled down a textbook from the shelf. He opened it to a particular page and placed it down in front of Louis. "Now try these questions."

Louis moved the textbook closer and read the questions. He took his time, referring back to his notes but he felt more confident now it had been explained again to him.

Whilst Louis worked through the questions his teacher found some further questions for him to work on at home before their next lesson.

Louis put his hand up.

"Yes?"

“I’ve finished the questions, Sir.”

"Let's have a look?" He held his hand out for the notebook.

Louis handed him the notebook.

He glanced down the page. "Good. That looks a lot more coherent."

“Can I re-attempt the homework?"

"Yes. Plus these questions." He handed Louis a sheet.

Louis took the sheet and put it in his notebook. “Sir?"

"Yes Louis?"

“Could I do a past paper one lesson? Just so I have a rough idea of what to expect during the exam?”

"Yes. This is the last topic area we need to cover so we'll move onto exam prep next."

“Ok. Thank you.”

"But in the mean time work through the two sets of questions I've given you plus the end of book questions in the textbook."

“Can I take the textbook home?”

"Yes."

“Thank you.” He had a while left of his lesson so Louis made a start on his homework, doing one of the sheets of questions.

After he'd finished his maths lesson it was lunchtime - time to brave the school canteen...

His anxiety was practically through the roof. He packed up and left the classroom, heading in the direction of the canteen. He felt like he couldn’t breath.

Up until today he'd always eaten a packed lunch in a classroom to avoid having to be amongst so many other people in the canteen.

He reached the canteen but was unable to go in.

After a few moments of hesitation he felt a firm shove in his back as another pupil tried to barge past him.

Louis stepped aside so the other student could go into the canteen. He needed some air! Things were getting too overwhelming!

He accidentally bumped another student as he stepped back. The lad turned and pushed Louis hard in the chest.

“I didn’t mean to bump into you!” Louis apologised.

"You're Emmy's brother ain't ya?"

“Yeah, why?”

"Do all of you have shit for brains in your family or is it just you two?" The lad asked, eliciting laughter from his friends.

Louis slammed the lad into the wall, “Leave my sister alone!”

"Ooh! What ya gunna do?!" The lad sneered, laughing mockingly.

“You’ll be laughing on the other side of your face when I’m finished with you!"

"You're just druggy scum! I ain't scared of you!"

“And you’re just a pathetic lad that gets his kicks out of bullying kids! We’re both scum!” Louis answered back, still pinning the lad against the wall.

The lad kicked Louis in the shins.

Louis laughed, “Is that all you’ve got?”

The lad gave a wink and Louis suddenly found himself being set on by the other three lads.

Louis’ survival instinct kicked in. He tried to stop himself getting seriously hurt by the four lads. Louis could fight when he needed to but he’d never been so outnumbered.

Some other students witnessed the fight and began to chant “fight, fight, fight.”

This caught the attention of a teacher in a nearby classroom who came running out into the corridor.

Several more teachers managed to break up the fight. Louis was bleeding. He had a nosebleed and a bust lip, he’d also been kicked in the ribs and stomach a few times.

"Urgh don't touch him sir!" One of the lads in the crowd remarked loudly. "He's probably got aids or sommat!"

“Enough! Get to the cooler now!” The teacher yelled, trying to disperse the gathering crowd. “The rest of you, get back to lunch!”

“I’m fucking clean!” Louis yelled as he stumbled to his feet, “Fuck off, prick!”

"Who you calling a prick?"

“You!” Louis stumbled into the wall, he really didn’t feel well.

"Woah, let's get you to first aid." One of the teachers instructed Louis as she took hold of his arm.

“Get off me!” Louis moved his arm away from her. He tried to stumble away but only made it a few steps before he collapsed.

The teacher checked his pulse before she called for assistance.

His eyes had rolled back and he was making choking noises.

The teacher put him onto his side, “It’s ok Louis.” She reassured.

They closed off the corridor and the school nurse came down to examine him. She quickly decided that he needed to go to hospital.

It was on the way to the hospital when Louis began to come round. He was really disoriented.

The school had informed the paramedics that there had been a fight but also insinuated that Louis may have taken something.

Louis was clean. He hadn’t touched anything. “Need to go home.” He said as he tried to get up off the stretcher.

"Nah, you need to go to hospital mate." The young paramedic told him.

“Home! Need to go home!”

"Not til you've been seen by a doctor. That's a nasty bang to the head and the teacher said you was tripping."

“Tripping?” Louis frowned.

"Yeh, it'll help if you tell us what it was you took, save 'em time at the hospital."

“I haven’t fucking took anything!!” Louis replied angrily.

"Yeh I believe you mate." The paramedic winked at him.

“I’m clean.” Louis said sadly and sighed, “I was an addict but I’ve been clean for months.” They soon arrived at the hospital, Louis didn’t want to be there. He knew nobody would believe that he hadn’t touched anything. He was wheeled in on the bed by the paramedics. He didn't recognise the doctor who came to treat him which only increased his anxiety. “Who are you?” He asked.

"I'm Doctor Peters, I'm a locum here today. What's your name?"

“Is there nobody else I can see?” He asked, fiddling with his hands nervously. “Louis.”

The doctor proceeded to order a barrage of tests, most of it going over Louis' head until he heard a familar voice suddenly demand to know what the hell was going on and asking why they hadn't been informed immediately.

“Duffy? Dad?” Louis called from inside the cubicle. He tried getting off the bed.

"Woah! Lie still." Duffy told him gently. "Its ok, your dad will be here in a minute, I've sent someone to get him." She turned to the locum. "I asked what's going on?!" She repeated.

“Don’t feel well...” Louis told her.

“I wasn’t aware this was your son and as he’s over the age of sixteen, I’m not obliged to inform the parents.” The doctor replied, “I’m running a series of tests including blood tests to see if that gives us any indication of what he took. The paramedics said the school are convinced he’s taken something. He also needs a head CT.”

[rainforest-rosegold]

Making the Grade

Prompt found here

Read it on AO3!

“Dude, why did you even sign up for AP Biology in the first place?”

“Because I was a lovesick fool!” Lance moaned melodramatically.

“Wait, wait, back up.”  Hunk looked confused, and Lance realized belatedly that he had never mentioned his real reason for taking the class to his best friend.  “Lovesick?  What does love have to do with biology?”

Lance resisted the urge to make a crude joke, as his plight was serious.  “Never mind that now, I’m barely scraping a D!  Hunk, I need your help!”

Hunk shrugged helplessly.  “You know I’m more of a physics guy.  But seriously, are you in love with some genius?  Is that why you took AP Bio?”

Lance’s lack of a response was apparently telling enough for Hunk.  He let a whoop of delight.  “I knew it!  It’s Allura, isn’t it?  Tell me it’s Allura.”  Allura was Lance’s vice president in the Voltron High School Student Council, and many of their fellow seniors shipped them.

Lance shook his head.  “We’re not having this conversation.  I need to figure out how to get my grade up by the end of the term, which I might remind you is in three days!”

“Well, whichever vice president has captured your heart, maybe ahe’ll be able to help you get that grade up.”  Hunk waggled his eyebrows.

“Hunk, you absolute genius!”  Lance hugged his friend.  “Of course Pidge will be able to help!”

“Pidge?  As in, Pidge Holt?  You mean the super short girl who skipped a grade and never talks to anyone?”

Lance could have kicked himself.  “Nobody was supposed to find out about that.”

“Why not?”  Hunk was laughing now.  “Loverboy Lance, heartthrob of Voltron High, falling in love with the one girl who isn’t falling over her own feet to date him -- it sounds like the plot of a Disney Channel show!”

“Oh, shut up,” Lance grumbled.

To  Katherine Holt Subject  Research project help?

Hey, Pidge. This is Lance McClain, from AP Bio (and, you know, the student council and stuff).  So, I was wondering if you’d maybe possibly be willing to help me with the research project that’s due the day after tomorrow… which I may or may not have procrastinated starting until just now… Thanks, Lance <3

Click.

Message sent.

As soon as he sent the email, Lance was filled with apprehension.  There was no way Pidge wouldn’t judge him -- what a great way to win a girl’s affections, Loverboy, he mocked himself.  He wondered if leaving the heart next to his name had been too much, even though it was sort of his signature thing.

He didn’t have long to overthink things.  Pidge must have been sitting at her computer when the email arrived, because she emailed him back right away.

To  Lance McClain Subject  RE: Research project help?

Meet me in the library tomorrow after school. --Pidge

Lance did a silent victory dance.

Pidge’s gaze flicked between the library door and the clock, pausing every once in a while to glare at the obnoxiously loud sophomore girls occupying the table adjacent her own.  It had been nearly twenty minutes since the end of  school, and she was beginning to wonder if Lance had just been messing with her.

Shouldn’t have gotten your hopes up, she chided herself.  That the ultra-popular student council president everyone seemed in love with would give her the time of day was laughable at best.  More than likely, he was having a good laugh about his clever prank with the idiots on the student council or a bunch of airheaded girls like the ones prattling away near Pidge.

Twenty-five minutes passed.  Then thirty.  The librarian began giving Pidge dirty looks.  The sophomore girls got up and left in a perfume-scented pack.  Pidge had just decided to do the same, minus the perfume and the pack, when the door creaked open, and there he was.

When Lance McClain entered a room, the room knew it.  The door would slam open, and he would positively explode in with no end of pick-up lines, dazzling smiles, saucy winks, and finger guns.  A trumpet fanfare and confetti cannon would not seem out of place.

Which is why the first words out of Pidge’s mouth were “Who are you and what have you done with Lance?”  Though he shared Lance’s features, the impostor seemed nervous and unsure of himself, hastily shutting the door behind himself the moment he was through and approaching Pidge hesitantly.

“Loverboy Lance is unavailable,” said Lance.  “Today you get to deal with failing-bio-Lance.”  Pidge caught a hint of red in his cheeks as he sat down next to her, dragging his textbook and binder out of his bag.

“Why me?”  The question slipped out before she could stop it, and Pidge cursed her lack of a brain-to-mouth filter.

Lance blinked at her.  “I dunno, maybe because you’re hands down the smartest person in our grade?  And there’s also… well, never mind.”

“What?”

“It’s nothing.”

Pidge shrugged.  “If you say so.”  She made a mental note to ask him about it later.  “So, what do you have so far?”

Lance dramatically flipped open his binder.  “Absolutely nothing!”

“So… you’ll need a lot of help, yeah?”

“It could take hours.  Are you sure you’re okay to help me with this?  I mean, I could always--”

“It’s fine,” Pidge hurried to reassure him.

At that point, the librarian approached their table.  “I need to lock up, so you two need to take this somewhere else.”

Pidge gave him a distracted nod and turned back to Lance.  “You’d be welcome to come to my house for a while.”

Lance put up a hand to rub the back of his neck, his face cracking into a smile.  “Sounds great.”

“Down, Rover.”  Pidge stroked her overenthusiastic dog’s ears as he dropped back onto all fours, panting with excitement.  “Lance, this is my dog, Rover.  Rover, meet Lance.”

Lance followed Pidge through her front door and stooped to pet Rover.  “I’ve never actually met a dog named Rover, despite the stereotype.”

“Well, his full name is Moon Rover Alpha-K-9, but we call him Rover for short,” Pidge explained as Moon Rover Alpha-K-9 slobbered all over Lance.

“That you, Pidge?” called Matt from somewhere deep within the house, most likely his room.

“Yep,” Pidge called back.  “And I’m going to be helping a friend with his homework, so stay out of my room for a while.”

With a loud clatter, Matt materialized next to her, slightly out of breath.  “A friend, you say?”  He scrutinized Lance.  “What’s your name?  I’m Matt.”

“Name’s Lance.  Nice to meet you.”  Lance held out a hand to shake.

“Wait, Lance?”  Matt’s eyes widened, and a hard knot of dread coalesced in Pidge’s stomach.  “As in, Lance Lance?  Lance McClain?  I’ve heard a lot about you.”

“Wait, you have?”  Lance glanced between Pidge and Matt.

“No, he hasn’t,” Pidge corrected, glaring daggers at her brother.

Matt cheerfully ignored her.  “Well, I’ll just let the two of you get on with your homework.”  He winked at them before vanishing back into his room.

“What was that all about?” Lance asked as soon as Matt was out of earshot.

Pidge felt as though her face was aflame.  “Nothing.”

Lance stared at the screen of Pidge’s computer.  “I’m never going to finish this,” he lamented.

“Maybe we should take a break,” Pidge suggested gently.

“This paper is due tomorrow!” Lance protested.

“Yes.”  Pidge sounded exasperated.  “But the more you psych yourself out and overwork yourself, the longer this is going to take!”

“Fine.”  Lance stood and stretched until his back popped, then sat down on Pidge’s bed.

She plopped herself down next to him.  “So, um… earlier, you mentioned a reason for wanting my help in particular.”

“Yeah…”  Lance sensed a minefield ahead.  “I already told you, you’re the smartest person in our class.  I think you know that.”

“You mentioned another reason,” Pidge insisted.

“I did, didn’t I?  Heh…”

“So what was it?”

“I… er… mayormaynothaveahugecrushonyou.”  Lance couldn’t meet her eyes.

“Oh.”  Her tone was completely neutral, and when Lance glanced up at her face, it was carefully composed to reveal no emotion.

“So… yeahhh.  That’s a thing.”  This is so awkward.

“Hmm.”  Pidge crossed her arms.  “I have an idea about your research project.”

“What’s that?” Lance leaped at the opportunity to change the subject.

“I’ll give you a kiss if you get an A on it.”

One week later saw the beginning of the second term and the release of students’ report cards.  Lance found that he had managed to scrape a C in AP Biology, but the report card gave only his overall grade.  After class that day, he lingered to talk to Mr. Harris.

“What do you need?” his teacher asked, looking a little annoyed but mostly exhausted.

“What did I get on my research paper?” Lance blurted.

In response, Mr. Harris dug through a pile of papers on his desk.  “Here.  I was going to hand them back tomorrow, but you can have yours now.”

Lance’s eyes immediately flicked to the top of the page.  81% was written in red pen and circled, and his heart sank.  “Mr. Harris, what letter grade is an eighty-one?”

“B minus,” Mr. Harris replied distractedly.  “Why?”

“No reason.”  Lance turned and left the room, only to find Pidge waiting for him outside.

“Did you find out how you did?” she asked eagerly.

Lance nodded listlessly.  “I got a B minus.  I guess that means no kiss?”

“Not for the grade, no,” Pidge agreed, and by her smile, Lance figured she was just as glad he hadn’t gotten an A.

He began to walk away and was startled when she followed him, keeping pace beside him.  “Where are you going?”

“Lunch.”  Lance increased his pace, but Pidge grabbed his arm, forcing him to stop.

“Look at me.”  Reluctantly, he obliged.  She was still smirking at him.  “You didn’t get an A, but that doesn’t mean I don’t still want to kiss you.”

Before Lance knew what was happening, Pidge’s lips were on his, and despite the uninspiring setting and their fellow students catcalling, Lance gave his first kiss an A plus.