#black pants and my will wood sweater

[dehydrated-turtle]

//warnings// 16+, mdni

//contents// Jason Todd x Transmasc Reader, Blowjob, blood, stitches

//synopsis// Jason Todd comes home from a particularly bad patrol, bleeding onto your apartment floor. You have to stitch him up because he never listens to you but well, you love him what can you say? - wc: 1.2k

//on ao3//

Blood, blood, blood, and more blood. It's dripping slowly onto the wood panels of your bedroom floor from the clearly open wound on Jason’s side. The viscous and extremely pigmented liquid rolls down his abdomen, blending in with the blacks and dark reds of his suit but still visible, and the huge gash, exposing his skin to the cool wind coming in from the window he left open in your apartment. 

“Hey…” he says weakly before collapsing onto the floor. 

“Oh Jesus Christ, Jason.” You say, annoyed because he never listens to you. You told him last time he passed out on your floor, he has to protect himself better and stop being so reckless while on patrol or he’s going to get himself killed. You roll him over and pry off his jacket and kevlar before peeling off his under armour shirt that's been coated in blood. You struggle to pull his arms out while he’s unconscious due to how heavy they are but you do nonetheless.

Once you throw his blood ridden suit into a pile on the floor, you get out the first aid kit and some damp towels from the bathroom to clean him up. As you are gently dabbing the skin around the wound clean, Jason regains consciousness with a groggy groan rumbling in his throat. 

“Shhh, stay down, I’m cleaning you up.” you say, pushing his shoulder back down to the floor, his head landed with a soft thud and another croak of pain. “Ok, I’ve got to put some peroxide on it now, stay still.” 

“I can handle it, I’m fINE–” he grips your free arm then repositions to your hand. He squeezes hard as he hisses at the sharp sting. You clean the wound efficiently so he doesn’t have to be in pain for so long before taking out the stitch kit from the bin full of first aid. “Do I really need the stitches?” Jason said with obvious worry in his voice, he’s never liked getting stitches, being afraid of needles and all. 

“Yes, Jay, this is really bad… I’m sorry.” 

“No, no it’s ok, you gotta do what you gotta do.” he looks up at the ceiling and takes a deep breath before nodding, signalling to go on with it. “Just get it over with.” 

After thoroughly sterilizing, you take the curved needle and the thick thread and start to sew his flesh together, guiding him through it while he whimpers on the ground. Something so special about him being so vulnerable with you like this, it makes your heart swell. As soon as you tie off the last stitch, you pat it again with the peroxide just to get rid of any excess blood and bacteria then put a bandage over top. 

“There, that should do it, just be careful not to pop a stitch. Do I need to get out the tiger balm or are you good?” You say helping Jason off the floor and onto the bed. 

“Oh that would be great, I think I pulled my everything.” He chuckled, then instantly regretting it, gripping his side and keeling over in pain followed by some soft profanities. 

“I’ll get you some water too while I’m at it, don’t wanna get dehydrated.” You remark before leaving the room then quickly coming back with a cold water bottle and a pot of tiger balm. You walk over to the dresser and pull out a pair of PJ pants and a sweater, you put all the items on the bedside table then start to help Jason take his pants off, something you have done many a time before, you are no stranger to the Red Hood’s belt buckle but this time was less heated, you just wanted to get him comfortable. 

“Boxers on or no?” 

“Uhh, nah take ‘em off, don’t want my balls being strangled all night.” He gave you a soft smile with those kind eyes that only a select few saw, so thankful that you were one of them. So you hooked your fingers underneath his pants’ and boxer’s waistband and shuffled them down his thighs, soft dick resting between them. You sneak a peek at it before making eye contact with Jason and give him a smile. He smiles back with his eyes wide and innocent, all the while he’s growing slowly against the skin of his legs. You can hear his breath quicken while you spread his ankles apart and see that his cock jumped while still growing steadily. You make your way up the bed to sit yourself in between his legs, taking his mostly hard cock in your hand and pumping it slowly while massaging his thighs and hips lightly with your free hand. He lets out a soft moan, closing his eyes briefly and laying his head back on the headboard. 

You lean forward to place a light kiss on his head before licking a purposeful stripe up the length of his cock before taking his head all the way into your mouth, swirling your tongue. Your cunt clenched as he whimpered ever so slightly but just enough for you to hear. One of his large calloused hands reaches down to move your hair out of your face, his lazy eyes meet yours, looking so innocent for such a crude act, he loves it. His hand made its way to the back of your neck, making his cock go deeper into your throat which almost made you gag but you successfully kept it in. 

Jason never took his eyes off of you, saliva leaking around your lips and onto his balls, he couldn’t peel his eyes away from that sight, it’s almost physically impossible. “Fuck, honey… I’m gonna cum.” he whispers, thinking you’re going to pull off so he can wait until he’s buried in your heat, but you don’t, you just keep going, sucking him down and looking him in the eye, almost begging for him to cum in your mouth with just a glance. His breath hitched as his cock twitched against the roof of your mouth before a string of profanities pour out of his mouth and white rivers pour out of his tip. Your mouth slowly filled with his semen, hot, sticky and just the perfect amount of salty. Jason whimpers as you pull off his cock with a pop and a smile on your face as you swallow all he spilled into your mouth. 

“Feeling any better?” you ask with a cheeky tone. 

“Mm, so much better, thank you my beautiful boy. I almost forgot about the ginormous gash on my abdomen.” You lean down to kiss his happy trail all the way up to his sternum before resting your head on his chest with a heaving sigh,wrapping your arms gently around his torso, being careful of said gash. “Don’t get too comfortable, honey, I’ve gotta put my pants on still.” 

“Oh, I forgot about that, oops.” You say, getting up off of him and taking the PJ pants you got out for him before. “Here, put 'em on.” You throw them onto his chest with a chuckle while he got up. You jump onto the bed where he was while he puts on his pants then snuggles into you, crawling back onto the bed. 

“I love you, my prince.” He whispered into your collarbone while leaving peppered bruises along it. 

“I love you too, Jay. Now get some rest, it’s the only way you’re going to heal properly.” 

“Jeez, you sound like alfred.” 

“Goodnight.” 

“G’night, honey.”

[taeswolfie]

𝑱𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒂 𝑭𝒆𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒈 : 𝑪𝒉𝒂𝒑𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝑶𝒏𝒆

☽︎𝑾𝒐𝒍𝒇 𝑴𝒐𝒐𝒏☾︎

Ch.2

Series Masterlist

Pairing: Stiles Stilinski x fem!Reader

Word count: 9.3k

a/n: I started writing this in November of 2020 on Wattpad and finished a few years later, and although it's kind of old now it's still one of my favorite things I have written so far. I wanted to give it a bit of new life here on Tumblr. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I had writing it. There were about 90 chapters so wish me luck on this massive, and probably slow, migration 😅

A teenage girl sits cross legged in the middle of her bed dressed in pajamas. A book is held up in front of her. The cover of black leather has no title but the Triple Moon is embossed vertically in the middle, a moonstone sewn into the middle moon. Her head moves slightly as she reads and she mutters the words under her breath. She suddenly looks towards her window, a flash of purple is reflected when her eyes meet themselves in the glass before she blinks and they're back to their original color. She tilts her head a bit as if listening for something and squints her eyes before she gets up. The book closes and plops down onto the covers in front of her as she gets up, her hands unfolding from their place in her lap.

She pauses a few steps from her window with a sigh and a roll of her eyes. She takes the last few steps and quickly pulls open the window, sticking her head out and startling the brunette boy currently scaling the trellis on the side of the house. "What are you doing, Stiles?" She asked once he regained his hold on the structure.

"God! Y/n! You nearly scared me to death! How did you know I was here?" He asked, slightly out of breath from the combination of climbing the side of her house and getting a scare.

She shrugged a shoulder. "I heard you."

"How?! I was super careful not to make a sound. Also why weren't you answering your phone?"

"Not careful enough, apparently. And I was busy reading. I didn't want to be disturbed. Now, again, what are you doing, Stiles?"

"I saw my dad leave like 40 minutes ago. Dispatch called, everyone from the Beacon Department and even State Police were called in because two joggers found a body in the woods."

"No."

"No? What do you mean no?"

"I mean no. School starts tomorrow and I don't want to spend my last night of summer traipsing through the woods looking for a body."

"Half body." He corrected.

"Let me rephrase. I don't want to spend my last night of summer traipsing through the woods looking for a half body. Go drag Scott out of bed and make him go with you."

"Uh, he already did." Scott's voice drifted up to the two and Y/n looked past Stiles to see Scott giving her a sheepish grin.

She gave him an unimpressed look before leveling it on Stiles. "There's no way I'm gonna get you to leave me alone tonight, is there?"

"Nope." He grinned at her when she rolled her eyes and sighed.

"Fine." She pulled her head back in her room and stalked over to her closet.

"What are you doing?" She glanced behind her to see Stiles now haphazardly hanging onto her window sill.

"What does it look like I'm doing? I'm putting on some clothes. I don't want to go out, but I don't want to go without proper clothing more. Now, you can either watch me change or get off my window, but choose wisely."

He flushed a bit as he started to stammer. "Uh-um- I'm uh- I'm gonna go. Down there. With Scott."

"Good choice." She squinted her eyes at him with a sarcastic smile. Once he was out of sight and on the ground with a quiet 'thump' she shook her head and rolled her eyes. "Idiot." She mumbled under her breath but still couldn't help the small smile that crept onto her lips. She hurried and got dressed in a sweater and some pants before climbing onto her window sill and down the trellis, leaving her window ajar for when she came back. When she was on solid ground she made her way to the blue Jeep that she has come to associate as purely Stiles.

Stiles comes to a stop in front of a sign labeled Beacon Hills Preserve No Entry After Dark. All three teens hop out of the Jeep, Stiles holds a flashlight. "We're seriously doing this?" Scott asked with worry in his tone.

"You're the one who's always bitching that nothing ever happens in this town." Stiles shot back with a pat on Scott's shoulder when he passed. Y/n comes up next to Scott with a sigh.

"He's kinda got you there, Scotty." She also pats his shoulder before reluctantly following behind the overly excited boy.

"I was trying to get a good night's sleep before practice tomorrow." Scott also reluctantly followed.

"Right, 'cause sitting on the bench is such a grueling effort." Stiles retorted from five steps ahead of them.

"Hey, be nice Stilinski. Scott's trying to play this year."

"I will play this year." Scott corrected. "In fact, I'm making first line."

"Hey, that's the spirit." Y/n smiled at Scott with a nudge that he returned with a smile of his own.

"Everyone should have a dream, even a pathetically unrealistic one." Stiles said.

"Like chasing after Lydia Martin." Y/n mumbled under her breath.

"What was that?" Stiles couldn't hear her over the crunching of leaves and Scott's scoff.

"I said 'how much can these woods darken?'' Stiles threw a questioning glance over his shoulder at Y/n's innocent expression. He then looked at Scott, but the shaggy haired boy just shrugged. Stiles shook his head and continued looking forward as Y/n smirked to herself.

"Just out of curiosity, which half of the body are we looking for?" Scott asked.

Stiles slowed in his walking for a moment. "Huh! I didn't even think about that." He chuckled.

"I've got a question too." Y/n said with a finger raised slightly in the air. "What if whoever killed this person is still out here?"

"Also something I didn't think about."

"Of course you didn't." Y/n shook her head.

"It's... comforting to know you've planned this out with your usual attention to detail." Scott joked as they climbed up a steep incline making him start to breathe a bit harder.

"I know."

"Maybe the severe asthmatic should be the one holding the flashlight, huh?" Scott leaned against a tree and pulled out his inhaler. Y/n stopped with him as Stiles kept going.

"You good, Scott?" She asked, concerned.

He simply nodded as he shook the inhaler and waved her on. She took a few steps still looking at him before facing forward as he continued to walk with her. Stiles stumbles to the ground to lay on his stomach, Y/n following more gracefully with Scott falling beside her like Stiles had. Scott wheezes as they watch several flashlight beams scan the area, the figures holding them looking for any sign of the other half of the body.

"Okay, come on!" Stiles suddenly jumps up and runs in the direction of the other people.

"Stiles!" Scott calls but he doesn't answer.

Y/n groans. "I'll go after him." Y/n also jumps up and starts running after him.

Scott takes a puff of his inhaler before he also follows. "Wait up!" The three run through the woods, Y/n whisper yelling at Stiles at how much of an idiot he's being. "Stiles!" Scott also tries to whisper yell at the boy.

"Stiles, stop!" Y/n's forceful tone finally gets him to slow to a walk, looking behind him for his friends. Y/n catches up just as a dog barks at him, scaring him into falling back, which happened to be right into Y/n, sending both teens to the ground.

"Hold it right there!" An officer yells, the dog still barking as lights are shined on the two.

"Hang on, hang on!" Another voice calls over the ruckus. "This little delinquent belongs to me."

"Get off me, you oaf! You're crushing my ribs." Y/n groans with effort as she pushes Stiles off while he tries desperately to get up.

"Dad, how are you doing?" Stiles greets his father once he manages to stop crushing his friend.

"Y/n." Noah Stilinski greets.

"Hello Sheriff." She gives an innocent smile as she stands.

"Does he know you're out here?" Y/n didn't need him to name anyone to know who he was talking about.

"Would you believe me if I said yes?" He just looked at her and she looked away. "Yeah, thought not."

"So, do you, uh, listen in to all of my phone calls?" He then asks Stiles.

"No, heh." Stiles tries to deny, but then, "Well, not the boring ones." Y/n shakes her head.

"Now, where's your usual partner in crime?"

"Who, Scott?"

"No, the Gingerbread Man. Yes, he means Scott!" Y/n sasses before she gives the Sheriff a polite smile. "Scott's not with us, right now. He said he wanted to get a good night's rest for tomorrow's practice and he didn't want to come." What she said wasn't a lie, Scott wasn't with them because he trailed behind and he had said those words earlier.

Stiles nodded in agreement with what she had said. "It's just us. In the woods. Alone."

She gave him a short jab in the side with her elbow and a look that said shut up. Noah raises his flashlight and scans the surrounding trees. "Scott, you out there? Scott?" He calls but gets no answer. He sighs and lowers the light. "Well, young man, I'm gonna walk you back to your car. And you and I are gonna have a conversation about something called invasion of privacy." He grabs the scruff of Stiles' clothes and pulls him along, glancing back at Y/n. "And you, missy, I'm gonna give you a ride back home."

"Yes, sir. That sounds great actually." She takes one more look out at the trees with a small frown before following the Stilinski's.

After Noah made sure Stiles got in his car and drove away, he led Y/n to his car where she got in the front seat. Thunder crashes in the distance as she stares out of the front window, a worried look on her face. Rain gently patters against the road. She fidgets in her seat, an uneasy feeling in her gut. Her head whips towards the passenger window as she faintly hears a distant howl, the feeling getting just a bit worse.

When Noah pulls in front of Y/n's home she winces at the sight of Alan Deaton on the porch and sighs. "Thanks for the ride, Sheriff." Y/n glumly says as she unbuckles.

"No problem." He waves goodbye when she gets out and she watches him leave, prolonging the time before she has to face her guardian.

"Y/n." He says in his normal cool tone.

She slowly turns to look at him. "Yes, Alan?"

"Why did I get a call saying that you were wandering around in the woods in the middle of the night?"

"Because I was." She responded plainly.

"Why?"

"Stiles, being Stiles, listened in on the Sheriff's phone call and he heard about a dead body being found, but it was only half, and there was a search party for the other half and Stiles wanted to be the one to find it. He dragged Scott out too, and what kind of a best friend would I be if I had let them go by themselves? But now what kind of best friend am I that I left one of them in the woods after we were caught." She frowned.

"Who?"

"Scott. The Sheriff didn't see him because he hid behind a tree."

"And you know that how?"

"I heard him."

"I see." He nods in understanding. "I'm sure he'll be fine. Scott's a strong boy, he'll be okay. Come on, let's get inside. School starts tomorrow."

"Yeah." She mumbled. He held his arms out and she obliged by hugging him. He pulls away but still keeps an arm over her shoulder. Just before she steps inside she looks over her shoulder, back to the woods.

"What's wrong?"

She shakes her head a bit, a frown still tugging at her lips. "I don't know. Just a feeling." She sighs as she turns away and follows him into the house.

…

Y/n rides into the parking lot of Beacon Hills High School on her bike. She balances on one foot as she smoothly glides up to the bike rack, using her other foot as a brake once she's close enough. She notices Scott's bike and Jackson's Porsche as she's fixing up her bike lock. "Oh, yay, I'm parked next to him." She mutters sarcastically. She turns to face the school, fixing her bag on her shoulder, and takes a deep breath. "First day back to school. What a joy." With one more breath she makes her way to the front doors. She scans the crowd and spots Scott and Stiles, the former holding up his shirt to expose his side. Y/n squints and catches a red splotch on the gauze he has taped there before he puts it down and the two continue walking. She picks up her pace and jogs to the two, catching up when they stop again and she can clearly hear what they're saying.

"All right, well, if you don't believe me about the wolf, then you're definitely not gonna believe me about when I tell you I found the body." Scott's tone lowered with the last few words he spoke.

"What's this about a wolf?" Y/n asked once she stood next to the two, her curiosity piqued.

"Did you not just hear him about the body? Are you kidding me?" Stiles directed the last at Scott.

"No, I wish. I'm gonna have nightmares for a month."

"Oh, God, that is freakin' awesome."

"Yeah, awesome. You saw a wolf?" Y/n looked at Scott in question.

"No, but I heard one howling."

Y/n's brow furrowed a bit in worry but her thoughts are cut off by Stiles groaning out a sigh. "I already said that that was impossible. There are no wolves in California."

"You'd be surprised." She pointed out.

"Look, enough about the wolves. How are you focusing on that more than Scott found the body? I mean, this is seriously gonna be the best thing that's happened to this town since..." He trailed off as he spotted a particular strawberry blonde head. "Since the birth of Lydia Martin. Hey, Lydia... You look..." Lydia passes without a glance at Stiles but a small wave in greeting towards Y/n who returns the gesture. "Like you're gonna ignore me." Stiles sighs and looks at Scott. "You're the cause of this, you know?"

"Uh-huh." Scott 'agrees' with a smile.

"Draggin' me down to your nerd depths."

"Uh-huh." The three continue walking as the bell rings.

"I'm a nerd by association. I've been Scarlet Nerded by you. At least you haven't tarnished Y/n with your nerdy influence. How are you friends with Lydia, by the way? How did you get in there?" He rounds on Y/n.

She scoffs. "There's no 'in' to get to. We just so happen to be very best friends."

"I thought we were your best friends?" Scott points between himself and Stiles.

"You are, Scotty, don't worry." She pats his shoulder. "You're my guy best friends and she's my girl best friend."

"You think you could put in a good word for me so I can be her guy best friend?" Stiles asks with a hopeful tone.

"No." She shoots down immediately, giving a playful coo when he pouts and she lightly pinches his cheek. He bats her hand away with a laugh and the trio continue down the halls.

...

"As you all know, there indeed was a body found in the woods last night." Mr. Curtis informs as he writes on the white board. Scott shares a knowing smile with Y/n and Stiles, the h/c in the seat next to him with Stiles right behind her. "And I am sure your eager little minds are coming up with various macabre scenarios as to what happened. But I am here to tell you that the police have a suspect in custody," Mr. Curtiss turns to face the class, Scott throws a questioning look at Stiles who shrugs, "which means you can give your undivided attention to the syllabus which is on your desk outlining this semester."

Y/n picks up the paper to skim it over, barely glancing out the window when she heard the cell ringing outside. She sees a pretty brunette girl on the bench outside that she doesn't recognize yet doesn't really give it another thought. She looks back to her paper, but her eyes are drawn to movement beside her. She glances over and sees Scott looking around before rubbing his ear in confusion. She narrows her eyes at his actions and keeps watching him as his focus is drawn out the window and his eyes slowly sweep across the room until they stop at the door. A moment later the Vice Principal walks in with the brunette girl behind him.

"Class, this is our new student, Allison Argent. Please do your best to make her feel welcome." The VP leaves and the girl, Allison, moves to sit in the empty seat behind Scott. Y/n watches as Scott grabs one of his pens and turns to give it to Allison.

A confused look flashes across her face before it lights up with a smile. "Thanks."

"We'll begin with Kafka's Metamorphosis, on page 133." The teacher started speaking again as they looked at each other for a minute before Scott turned around. Y/n raised a brow at the exchange and caught Allison's confused look return. With one more glance at Scott Y/n turns back to her own papers, noting to herself to watch Scott a bit more closely.

...

The bell rings and students flood the halls. Scott fiddles with his locker's lock and glances down the hall spotting Allison. She looks over at him and smiles. He just blinks at her in a slight daze as Y/n comes up behind him. "Hey, Scott."

He turns to her. "Oh, hey, Y/n."

"I was meaning to ask, I saw you had a bandage on your side as I was catching up to you guys? What happened? Are you okay?" She asked in concern and he gave her an easy going smile.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Stiles doesn't believe me but I think a wolf bit me. It was dark and I couldn't see well but I heard a wolf howl."

"You're sure?"

"Pretty sure."

"Can I see? The bite I mean?"

"Yeah, sure." He glanced around before he lifted his shirt enough for her to see. She carefully pulled the top part of the bandage away and he winced. Quickly, but carefully, she put the bandage back and he let his shirt fall.

"Yeah, that's uh... That's some bite." Stiles came around to Scott's other side at that point and she tuned out their conversation as her mind swam with the new information and worry. She only snapped out of her head when Lydia called her name from down the hall. She was standing next to Allison and waving Y/n over. "I'll see you guys later." She said to the boys before she made her way over to Lydia and the new girl.

"Allison, this is my best friend, Y/n. Y/n, this is Allison." Lydia introduced. 

"Nice to meet you." Y/n held her hand out which Allison took.

"You, too." Allison gives her a kind smile.

Jackson sidles up beside Lydia with an arm thrown around her. "Hey." She greets and gives him a kiss. Jackson spots Y/n and rolls his eyes.

"Y/n." He says in obligatory greeting.

"Jackson." She says boredly. The two proceed to ignore each other as they talk to Allison.

Across the hall Scott and Stiles watch the exchange as another girl stops beside them at the sight of the four. "Can someone tell me how new girl is here all of five minutes, and she's already hanging out with Lydia's clique?" The girl questions the two boys.

"Because she's hot." Stiles answers.

"Does that mean you think Y/n's hot?" Scott smirks at him.

"What?" Stiles looks at him almost offended. "I'm just saying beautiful people herd together."

"You just called Y/n beautiful." Scott's smile got wider as Stiles glared at him.

"Your point is?"

Scott shook his head. "Nothing. Nothing."

"I'm just stating facts. Y/n is obviously pretty hence why she's with Lydia and the new girl."

"I'm not saying anything." Stiles rolled his eyes as Scott just smiled at him and turned to the girl they were talking to. Scott's smile slowly fell as he looked back over at the four. His ears were able to pick up the conversation taking place across the hall.

"So, this weekend, there's a party." Lydia hints to Allison.

"A party?" The brunette questions.

"Yeah, Friday night." Jackson informs. "You should come."

"Uh, I can't. It's Family Night this Friday. Thanks for asking."

"You sure? I mean, everyone's going after the scrimmage. Even Hermit over there is going." Jackson gestured towards Y/n and she gave him a sarcastic laugh with squinted eyes.

"You mean like football?"

"Football's a joke in Beacon."

"The sport here is lacrosse." Y/n informed. "It's like... A big thing."

"We've won the State Championship for the past three years."

"Because of a certain Team Captain." Lydia smiled up at Jackson and fixed a piece of his hair.

"Well, we have practice in a few minutes. That is, if you don't have anywhere else-"

"Well, I was going to-"

"Perfect." Lydia cut Allison off. "You're coming." Lydia grabbed Allison's wrist with one hand and Y/n's with the other and started to pull them both along.

"Is she always like this?" Allison whispered to Y/n.

"You get used to it." Y/n shrugged with an unbothered expression.

...

Lydia leads the trio as they make their way to the stands and sit. Y/n spots Scott and Stiles already geared up and on the field. She gives them a wave when they look over although Y/n notices Scott wasn't looking at her but at the brunette next to her making her smirk to herself. Coach Finstock talks to Scott and Y/n sees him hand Scott the gear for goalie. Oof. That's gonna be rough. She thought as Scott takes position in front of the goal.

"Who is that?" Allison asks.

"On goal?" Y/n clarifies and when Allison nods she smiles. "That's Scott. He's one of my best friends." Y/n looked back at Scott to see him already looking in their direction with a tilted head and her smile dissolved into a slight frown. Coach blows the whistle and Scott grips at his head as if someone was shouting at him, Y/n's frown goes a little deeper. Another player throws the ball and it goes right into Scott's mask making him fall flat on his back. Stiles grimaces and Scott gets back up. He braces himself as another player throws the ball again, but this time he caught it.

He looks at it surprised and smiles. The lined up players all look around each other to see what McCall had done. Stiles sits up and yells, "Yeah!" Scott catches ball after ball and Stiles whoops. Y/n watches with raised brows and a disbelieving scoff.

"He seems like he's pretty good." Allison comments.

"Yeah, very good." Lydia agrees.

"Uh oh." Y/n mutters when she sees Jackson skip the line to take his shot at Scott. The air is tense as everyone watches Jackson run up and hurl the ball at Scott. But to everyone's surprise he swiftly catches it. Stiles jumps up, hooting in joy. Y/n stands with Lydia as the strawberry blonde cheers and Y/n cups her hands over her mouth. "GO SCOTT!"

"THAT'S MY FRIEND!" Stiles yells making Y/n laugh. Lydia screams some more cheers and Jackson glares over at her. When he catches her eye she just gives him a what? look and sits back down.

...

"I don't know what it was." Scott leads the way through the woods and across a small stream as his two friends follow him. "It was like I had all the time in the world to catch the ball. And it's not the only weird thing. I can... hear stuff I shouldn't be able to hear. Smell things."

"Smell things? Like what?" Stiles questions from behind Scott.

"Like Mint Mojito gum in your pocket. And Y/n smells like flowers."

"I do?" The girl muttered as she pinched her shirt and sniffed it, only smelling her laundry soap and a bit of animal from her time at the Animal Clinic. She then held her wrist up to her nose, focusing on her sense of smell, and there it was. A faint scent of flowers that clung to her skin like a mist. Something she had almost forgotten about because there wasn't anyone who would notice it like her.

The three pause as Stiles rummages through his jacket pockets. "I don't even have any Mint Mojito-" He cuts himself off as he pulls a slightly opened piece of gum from his pocket. Y/n raises a brow as Stiles looks up at Scott who gives him a see? gesture. They continue walking and Stiles shoves the gum back in his pocket. "So all this started with a bite."

"What if it's like an infection, like my body's flooding with adrenaline before I go into shock or something?"

"You know what? I actually think I've heard of this- it's a specific kind of infection."

"Are you serious?" They all stop again, Y/n looking between the two, nervousness flashing through her system as she realizes what Stiles is getting at, albeit jokingly, but this was anything but a joke to her.

"Yeah." Stiles puts his hands on his hips in seriousness. "Yeah, I think it's called Lycanthropy."

"What's that? Is it bad?" Scott worries.

Y/n folded her arms. "He's talking about Werewolfism."

"Yeah! You know, the full moon and the awrooo." Stiles howls. Scott lightly pushes him away and continues walking as Stiles laughs. "Hey, man..." He follows, an unusually quiet Y/n following. "Hey, you're the one who heard a wolf howling."

"Hey, there could be something seriously wrong with me." Scott frets.

"I know! You're a werewolf! Ow!" He rubs his arm from Y/n's sudden attempt to make him shut up. He looks at her in question and she glares at him.

"Don't joke around like that, Stiles." She catches up with Scott. "Ignore him. I'm sure that it's nothing too bad, okay?"

Scott just sighs and Stiles speaks up. "Okay, obviously I'm kidding. But if you see me in shop class trying to melt all the silver I can find, It's 'cause Friday's a full moon." While Scott ignores Stiles, Y/n bites her lip in worry. If it was just a random ordinary wolf, Scott should be fine. But if it wasn't... If it really was what she thinks it was, then things were going to get very complicated very soon.

Scott looks around on the ground but doesn't see anything. "No, I- I could have sworn this was it. I saw the body, the deer came running. I dropped my inhaler." Scott crouches to look through the leaves.

"Maybe the killer moved the body?" Y/n suggests.

"If he did, I hope he left my inhaler. Those things are like 80 bucks." Y/n chuckles a bit but when she feels another presence her head shoots up and she spots a broody looking man with dark hair and a black leather jacket. Stiles notices the man a second later and pats Scott to get his attention. Scott looks back and stands up to face the man.

The man starts walking closer to them at a brisk pace making Y/n take a few steps of her own to where she now stood in front of the boys. Used to her protectiveness neither of them give the action a second thought. "What are you doing here? Huh?" The man asks quickly. "This is private property."

"Sorry, we didn't know." Y/n speaks up for them. "We were just looking for something. You wouldn't have happened to see an inhaler around, would you?" Without another word the man pulls something from his pocket and tosses it towards Scott, but Y/n catches it from the air without looking away from him. She tossed the object back to Scott which he sees as his inhaler. After another moment of Y/n and the stranger staring each other down he turned and walked away. Once she was sure he wasn't coming back she turned to see Stiles gaping towards where he left and Scott frowning.

"All right, well, I've gotta get to work." Scott went to leave only to be stopped by Stiles.

"Guys, that was Derek Hale."

"Hale?" Y/n questioned, the name sounding vaguely familiar to her.

"You remember, right?" He asked Scott. "He's only a few years older than us. This was, like, a few years before you moved here, Y/n. His family burned to death in a fire, like, ten years ago."

"That's awful." Y/n frowned.

"I wonder what he's doing back?" Scott mused.

Stiles scoffs and shrugs his shoulders. "Come on." He started to walk away, Y/n and Scott following after one more look towards where Derek Hale disappeared to.

...

Y/n sat at home that night, curled up in the corner of the couch and worrying at her bottom lip. She stared into space as her mind swirled in a mixed mess. It was only the first day back at school and things are already kind of stressful. She didn't notice the other person in the room until the couch sagged next to her. She turned her head to see Alan giving her a concerned look. "Are you alright?"

"I don't know." She said honestly.

"Well, I don't think the wall will be alright if you keep burning a hole through it." She gave him a weak chuckle as she looked at the wall again. "What's bothering you?"

She sighed and shook her head a bit. "It's hard to explain."

"Do your best."

She was quiet while she tried to get her thoughts in order. "The other night, I heard a howl. It was distant but I know what I heard. And now I find out today, Scott heard it too and he swears a wolf bit him." She looked at him again, concern, worry, and a slight bit of fear written on her face. "He's been acting strange too. He's hearing things only I would normally hear, and he's smelling things like my natural scent of flowers. I think that... I'm scared that..." She sighed in frustration. "My thoughts are so jumbled."

He put a comforting hand on her knee. "Tell me what you feel, then, instead of what you think."

She closes her eyes for a moment and when they open, they glow a slight purple before dimming back to e/c. "I feel like he's been bit by an Alpha. He's turning."

Alan's face turns serious. "Well, if your feeling is correct, and I've never known it to be otherwise, then Scott's going to have a tough time ahead of him."

"Tell me about it." She huffed. "What do I do?"

He was quiet for a moment as he thought of what best to advise. "Just be there for him and help him. If he's really been bitten, he's going to need his friends more than ever."

"What if he or Stiles starts asking questions about what I know? I can't tell them about me." She frowned at the thought. She's never had a reason to reveal what she was and when they learn about the supernatural she'd be lying about it.

"They'll be too preoccupied with Scott's new transformation to wonder about it much. For now, at least, don't worry about it."

"I'll try. Thanks... For helping me." She gave him a small smile and hugged him which he returned. "It's what I'm here for." He patted her back and pulled away. He got up and left her to her thoughts again, but this time they weren't as stormy.

...

"Y/n! Y/n!" The girl looked to the spastic boy who was yelling her name across the lacrosse field as she sat on the stands. She squinted her eyes in confusion watching Stiles run like a bat out of hell and got off the stands so that he wouldn't pile-drive people just to get to her.

"Whoa, whoa!" She cried out when he nearly rammed into her and held tightly to her shoulders. "Calm down there, Speedy. What's wrong?"

"Scott was right." He blurted.

"What? Right about what?"

"Scott was right! About a wolf! There was animal hairs on the body, wolf hairs!"

She opened her mouth to speak, but he rushed off as he spotted Scott, which was probably a good thing because she wasn't even sure what she would say. Her feeling is turning out to be more and more correct as the seconds ticked by. As the game started Y/n could only watch in concern and a slight bit of awe as Scott easily skirted around other players and flipped over three other guys blocking his path to take a quick shot. The team gathered around Scott, praising his score and patting him on the shoulders. Coach called Scott over and she listened in, smiling a bit when he put Scott on first line. Maybe being a werewolf wouldn't be the worst thing in the world for him. Maybe it'll actually be good. Maybe.

But the pit in her stomach told her that maybe it won't be as good as she hopes. She looked over to Stiles to see him with a worried expression. She went over to him and sat next to him. "What's on your mind?" She nudged his shoulder lightly.

"I think- and I know this sounds crazy- but I think I might have been right. That joke I made the other day. I don't think it's much of a joke anymore. I think Scott is actually a werewolf." He looked at her in worry and all she could do was put a comforting arm around his shoulders.

"Whatever is happening here, we'll get through it. I know it." Stiles didn't answer. Just continued watching Scott in worry.

Later that day Y/n pedaled to a stop in front of Stiles' house, Scott doing the same a minute later. "Hey." She greeted.

"Hey. Do you know what Stiles called us for?" He quizzed.

"Nope." She shook her head. Well, she had a pretty good idea what it was. They both made their way into the house and up to Stiles' room where Scott knocked loudly.

The excitable boy opened the door and sighed in relief when he saw it was his friends who smiled at him. "Get in. You gotta see this thing." Stiles closed the door. "I've been up all night reading- websites, books. All this information."

"How much Adderall have you had today?" Scott asked.

"A lot." Y/n and Scott shared a smile at that. "Doesn't matter. Okay, just listen." Stiles urged.

"Oh, is this about the body? Did they find out who did it?" Scott sat his bag on the bed and sat himself down on the edge, Y/n placing herself next to him.

"No, they're still questioning people, even Derek Hale."

"Oh, the guy in the woods that we saw the other day." Scott realized.

"Yeah! Yes. But that's not it, okay?"

"What, then?"

"Remember the joke from the other day?" Stiles scoffed. "Not a joke anymore." When Scott didn't catch on to what he was saying he elaborated. "The wolf. The bite in the woods. I started doing all this reading. Do you even know why a wolf howls?"

"Should I?"

"It's like a signal." Y/n finally spoke up, both boys turning to face her. "A wolf howls to tell its pack where it is." When they both just stared at her she raised her brows at them. "What? I live with a vet and I like animals."

"Right." Stiles agreed. "So if you heard a wolf howling, that means others could have been nearby. Maybe even a whole pack of 'em."

"A whole pack of wolves?" Scott wondered.

"No... Werewolves." Y/n frowned. This had been exactly what she thought this was about. But, while she was nervous, Scott was unbelieving.

"Are you seriously wasting my time with this?" Scott got up and started to grab his bag. "You know I'm picking up Allison in an hour."

"Scott, maybe you should listen to him."

"Not you, too." Scott looked at Y/n, slightly aggravated.

"He's got a point. I mean, Scott, we saw you on the field today. What you did wasn't just amazing, it was practically miraculous."

"Exactly!" Stiles pointed at her excitedly.

"Yeah, so I made a good shot." Scott brushed it off.

"No, you made an incredible shot, I mean..." Stiles grabbed Scott's bag and put it back on the bed. "The way you moved, your speed, your reflexes. People can't just suddenly do that overnight. And- and there's the vision and the senses, and don't even think I don't notice that you don't need your inhaler anymore."

"Okay!" Scott interrupted. "Dude, I can't think about this now. We'll talk tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?! What? No! The full moon's tonight. Don't you get it?"

"What are you trying to do?" The tension in the room rises and Y/n stands, feeling the spiking emotions. The first moon is sometimes the worst for newer wolves. "I-I just made first line. I got a date with a girl who I can't believe wants to go out with me, and everything in my life is somehow perfect. Why are you trying to ruin it?"

"He's not trying to ruin anything, Scott. He's trying to help you."

"You're cursed, Scott. You know, and it's not just the moon that will cause you to physically change. It also just so happens to be when your bloodlust will be at its peak."

"Bloodlust?"

"It's like an uncontrollable urge to maim and kill." Y/n provided the info again.

"I'm already starting to feel an urge to kill, Y/n." Scott said irritably.

"I'm sure you are." Y/n muttered under her breath.

"You gotta hear this." Stiles continued to rant. He grabbed a book and searched for what he wanted from it. "'The change can be caused by anger or anything that raises your pulse.' All right? I haven't seen anyone raise your pulse like Allison does. You gotta cancel this date. I'm calling her right now." He moved around Scott to his bag and rummaged around for Scott's phone.

"Wait, Stiles. You shouldn't-" Y/n tried to warn but she was cut off by Scott.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm canceling the date." Stiles had finally retrieved the device.

"No, give it to me!" Y/n felt heat flush her body as she felt Scott's anger reach a crescendo making him grab Stiles and shove him against the wall, fist raised and ready to strike.

"Scott, stop!" Y/n yelled forcefully. Scott's fist shook and he yelled as he swiped at Stiles' desk chair making it clatter to the floor.

Scott panted heavily as he looked between Y/n and Stiles. The air was thick as Scott realized what he was going to do. "I'm sorry." No one spoke. "I-I gotta go get ready for that party." He, more calmly, got his bag from the bed and went to the door, pausing to look at his friends again. "I'm sorry." And then he left, closing the door behind him.

Y/n let out a breath to calm herself as Stiles leaned his head back onto the wall and she looked over at him. "Are you okay?" She asked. He didn't answer but nodded his head a bit. Even with his assurance she wanted to assure herself so she went over to him and pulled him into a hug, which he gladly reciprocated. The two teens stood in silence for a moment before he pulled away with a sigh. She raised her brows in question and he nodded at her again.

"I'm good. Thanks." He gave her a small, appreciative smile.

"Anytime." He looked at his fallen chair and went over to it. He crouched down and picked it up, sitting it back on its wheels, but paused in his movements. He looked over his shoulder at Y/n with furrowed brows and moved for her to see. She frowned when she saw the three slash marks that scarred the chair from Scott's hit.

...

Y/n sat in her room and bounced her leg anxiously. The party was soon and she didn't want to go, she wasn't much of a party person unless she was in the mood for it, but tonight was the full moon and so she had to. She had to watch out for Scott. The first change is often the hardest and it'll be no different for him.

She jumped slightly when she heard a honk from outside. She looked out her window and smiled when she spotted the blue Jeep, giving Stiles a wave when he spotted her. She took one more glance in the mirror and flattened out any wrinkles in her clothes before she went downstairs. She spotted Alan on her way and stopped in front of him. "How do I look?" She asked.

He twirled a finger and she obliged by turning for him. When she faced him again he smiled. "Stunning as always." He finally said.

She rolled her eyes but still smiled. "You always say that."

"Because it's always true." He was silent for a moment, a tender look in his eyes. She felt a nostalgic feeling from him as he looked at her but also at something else, something not quite in the same space as them. "You look just like her."

A sad smile graced her features as she looked down and remembered her face. It's been a long time since she last saw her mother in person. Yeah, she has pictures, but it's not quite the same. The camera doesn't quite catch the proud gleam in M/n's eyes when Y/n showed off her growing skills. All she has is the memory that she desperately holds onto. And that's enough for now until she can see her again, one day in the future.

She looked back up at Alan and gave him a sudden hug. He huffed a laugh in amusement but hugged her back. "Thank you." Her voice was soft but he still heard her. He just squeezed her a bit tighter before they both pulled away. "Okay. I should go now. Stiles is waiting."

"Have fun. And be careful." He warned gently.

"I will." She gave him one more smile before she turned and rushed out the door and hopped into the Jeep. "Thanks for giving me a ride."

"No problem. You look really good, by the way." Stiles complimented.

"You don't look so bad yourself." They smiled and he started to drive to the party.

Music pounded through the house as teens danced together, several of them holding red or blue cups. Stiles and Y/n stood in the middle of moving bodies and looked around. "I don't see Scott." Stiles yelled over the noise and looked at her.

She took one more glance around. "He's probably not here yet. Stay in here. I'll keep an eye out for him outside."

"Sounds good." With that Y/n made her way to the backyard where more people were having a good time together. She looked around for her friend, but spotted someone unexpected. Her eyes narrowed as she made her way to the mysterious Hale, his eyes already watching her cautiously.

"I know what you are." She said as soon as she was close enough and folded her arms. "All I wanna know is, are you an Alpha?"

"No, I'm not."

"Show me." He rolled his eyes before they flashed a brilliant blue. She frowned at the color but decided to ignore it for now. "Okay. Then what do you want with Scott?"

"I'm just looking out for him. There are Hunters here."

A rush of fear coursed through her and she nearly stopped breathing. "What?" It came out a little more breathless than she intended, but wouldn't you be breathless too if you were presented with one of your biggest fears?

He didn't say anything else as his eyes were drawn behind her. She looked over her shoulder to see Scott had arrived with Allison. Scott spotted them, looking between his friend and the stranger as a dog started barking. Derek looked behind him at the dog and then back at Scott, Y/n giving the canine creature a glance. Scott kept staring until Allison had gotten his attention. Derek took this chance to leave. Y/n gave the moon a nervous glance before returning to the party. She wandered aimlessly until a pair of familiar hands grabbed her and she found she was inside the house again. She looked up to see Stiles giving her a worried look.

"Are you okay?" He asked.

She opened her mouth to say something, but slowly shut it realizing she didn't really have anything to say. So she just settled with, "Yeah, I'm fine." A sudden pull in her gut told her that something was happening and that that something was Scott. "But I don't think Scott is." Not even a moment after she said that Scott had started to practically stumble into the house, sweat on his brow and breathing heavily.

"Yo, Scott, you good?" Stiles asked as he got closer.

"Are you okay?" Another girl asked yet he just bypassed everyone and made his way to his car, speeding off as fast as he could. He was gone by the time Y/n and Stiles made it outside and they just barely caught Allison getting into Derek's car and driving off.

Y/n huffed in frustration and grabbed Stiles' wrist. "Come on." She dragged him to his Jeep and he drove them to Scott's house. Melissa wasn't home as the two bounded up the steps and to Scott's door. That was probably for the best. She tried to open the door and found it was locked so she pounded on it instead.

"Go away." She heard his meak reply.

"Scott, it's us." Movement from the other side and the door opened just a crack. They tried to open it further but Scott wouldn't let them. "Let us in, Scott. We can help."

"No! Listen, you gotta find Allison."

"She's fine, all right?" Stiles assured. "We saw her get a ride from the party. She's- she's totally fine."

"No, I think I know who it is."

"You just let us in. We can try-"

"It's Derek. Derek Hale is the werewolf. He's the one that bit me. He's the one that killed the girl in the woods."

"Wait, no." Y/n tried to correct. "No, Scott, he didn't-" She was cut off.

"Scott.. Derek's the one who drove Allison from the party."

"Oh, shit." Y/n felt Scott's mood shift a second before the door slammed on them and was locked again.

Stiles banged on the door. "Scott!" Stiles kept trying the door as Y/n heard a thump. Her breath hitched when she heard a roar and she pushed Stiles from the door and out of the house. "It's too late. Just check on Allison. I'll try and follow Scott."

"Wait, what?! You can't go out there by yourself! You could get hurt! Whoa!" He nearly fell as Y/n practically shoved him into the Jeep.

"Don't worry, I can handle myself. Just go." She didn't give him anymore time to argue as she started sprinting towards the woods. There wasn't time to track him so she just went in the general direction she had heard him run for a bit before she resorted to getting some help. She stopped for a minute and closed her eyes. When she opened them they blazed with a violet glow and she looked around at the few people now standing around there. "Have you seen a boy run through here?" She got a few nods. "Please, show me which way he went." One by one the figures pointed and she continued running, now following the dead's guidance.

She felt them before she saw them, the wolves and the Hunters. Her eyes returned to e/c as she saw a flash of light and heard Scott's scream of pain. She stopped dead in her tracks when she saw three Hunters there. Like a truck hitting her, memories flashed through her head. Running through the woods. She was crying and she heard her mother scream. "Y/n! Run, just run!"

She was snapped out of her flashback when she heard, who she assumed, the lead Hunter speak. "Take him." That's when she spotted Scott, shifted and pinned to a tree by an arrow through his forearm. Suddenly one of the other Hunters was yanked back and she caught a glimpse of Derek. A rush of adrenaline urged her forward and to Scott where she broke the arrow and pulled him away as Derek threw the second Hunter before following them.

The three ran through the woods until Scott collapsed to the ground against a tree, panting. When he turned around and sat with his back on the tree he was back to normal. Y/n dropped to her knees taking deep breaths, her hands gripping onto any fabric they could find to stop from shaking. Derek looked around to make sure they got away for now. "Who were they?" Scott asked.

"Hunters." Derek answered. "The kind that have been hunting us for centuries."

"Us? You mean you! You did this to me!" Scott jumped up from the ground and shouted angrily.

"Is it really so bad, Scott? That you can see better... Hear more clearly, move faster than any human could ever hope? You've been given something most people would kill for. The Bite is a gift."

"He should have had the choice to receive it." Y/n spoke up, finally finding her voice again. She shakily stood up, clenching her hands to stand stronger. "It should have been his decision."

"There's nothing to be done about that now. He has it."

"I don't want it." Scott said.

"You will. And you're gonna need me if you want to learn how to control it." Derek bent over and placed his hand on Scott's shoulder. "So you and me, Scott... We're brothers now." Derek walked away, leaving the teens by themselves. Scott gripped his injured arm and leaned his head back.

Y/n looked at him and his arm. She carefully made her way to his right so she could see it better. "Can I see?" She asked. He looked up at her like he was just realizing she was there but nodded and moved his hand. She gently took his arm and inspected the wound. It wasn't too bad, she could easily heal it. But the problem was healing it would raise more questions than she was willing to answer so soon. So instead she tore off a strip of her clothes, not really minding since she could always fix it later. She tied the fabric around his arm and he hissed at the contact. "Sorry." She pulled her hands away when she was done and looked up at him. "That should do for now. It might take a while, but you'll heal."

"Thank you." She gave him a small smile and a nod. She looked around with a sigh and stood up, holding a hand out to him.

"Come on. It's a ways before we get back home. Better start walking now." He took her hand, she helped him stand and they both started to trek through the woods.

...

By the time the sun was up Y/n and Scott were going down the side of the road, Scott still babying his injured arm. The sound of a car coming drew her attention and she looked over her shoulder, smiling in relief when she saw the most beautiful blue Jeep she had ever seen. She tugged on Scott's good arm to get him to turn as Stiles pulled to a stop next to them. Scott got into the front and Y/n happily hopped in the back, tossing a spare blanket at Scott before curling herself up in one and sprawling in the back.

"You know what actually worries me the most?" Scott asked after a while.

"If you say Allison, I'm gonna punch you in the head." Stiles responded.

"Leave the boy alone, Stilinski." Y/n mumbled tiredly from the back.

"She probably hates me now." Scott practically lamented.

"Ugh." Stiles sighed. "I doubt that. But you might want to come up with a pretty amazing apology. Or, you know, you could just... Tell her the truth and... Revel in the awesomeness of the fact that you're a frickin' werewolf." Scott gave him a look and Stiles backpedaled. "Okay, bad idea. Hey, we'll get through this." Stiles patted his arm. "Come on, if I have to, I'll chain you up myself on full moon nights and feed you live mice. I had a boa once. I could do it."

"I'm pretty sure l could get some puppy chow from the Clinic." Y/n offered with a sleepy smile. Scott scoffed at them with a smile and they continued their drive in silence.

After Stiles dropped Y/n off at home a few hours before school she closed the door behind her and just stood there for what felt like hours but was only a few minutes. Her eyes were glued to the floor, her mind filled with white noise. Alan had been waiting for her to get home and when she didn't come through the living room a bit after the door closed he decided to go to her. When he spotted her her expression looked almost exactly like it had years ago when she was a terrified little girl in front of his door, eyes watery with shadows of the past flickering in the e/c depths. This worried him because she wasn't one to be scared so easily. Something had to have happened that truly shook her.

She didn't seem to notice his presence, even when he was stood right in front of her. He gently placed his hands on her shoulders as if he was handling a scared animal, and by all rights, he was. Her eyes flicked up to his and she just stared at him for a moment. Then it seemed like the night's events finally caught up to her as her breath hitched and tears spilled down her cheeks.

She practically fell into him and he held her up, not asking any questions because right now, all she needed was to be comforted. He would get answers later when she calmed down and was finally able to tell him what happened without choking up. It was moments like those she was thankful that she had found Alan and had been taken in by him and she would always be grateful for it.

Ch.2

[weemssapphic]

Lipstick Stains - Pt. 5

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Larissa Weems x fem!reader

summary: the one where reader takes Larissa on a stargazing date.

words: ~3.1k | ao3 link in title

chapter-specific warnings: none / fluff

A/N: chapter 11 of 'in my head' will be out in the next two days - in the meantime, enjoy this humble offering <3

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

“Are you free this weekend?” you asked. You were splayed across your bed, cell phone pressed to your ear. It was a Tuesday evening and you’d been over the moon when Larissa had called you out of the blue, claiming to simply want to hear your voice.

“What did you have in mind?” Larissa’s voice was sultry and suggestive, and a heat began to pool in your belly.

“I mean… I was thinking maybe we could go stargazing or something?” You held your breath as you waited for a response that didn’t come - the silence that came from the other end of the line was deafening.

“Okay, nevermind, that was a cheesy idea, forget it. What about-”

“Darling,” Larissa cut you off. “It was a wonderful idea. It’s just…”

“If you don’t want to, we don’t have to, it’s okay!”

“It’s not that. I would love to. But perhaps somewhere closer to Burlington?” Larissa sounded nervous and you furrowed your brow.

“Yeah, sure. There should be some good spots near Shelburne or something?”

You heard Larissa let out a shaky breath. “Yes, we can do that.”

“Are you sure? Is everything alright?”

“Yes, love, everything is fine.” Larissa paused, and for a moment you thought she was done speaking. “I’m sure you’ve heard of the… incidents that have occurred here in Jericho recently.”

“That bear that’s been mauling hikers?”

There was a beat of silence.

“Yes. That one. I wouldn’t want to put you in harm’s way by going out into Jericho’s woods at night.”

“Don’t worry, Larissa, we can go here. It’ll be fine.” You tried to sound reassuring, and you weren’t sure you were entirely successful, but then you thought you heard a hint of a smile in her voice when she next spoke and it made you grin.

“Quite the little romantic I’ve found myself here.” You could picture the way Larissa’s eyes would close slightly as she spoke, the way her nose would crinkle and her cheeks would turn rosy. 

“Don’t act like you don’t think it’s a cute date idea.” Larissa could hear the scowl in your tone and she laughed, her voice filling the phone like a melody.

“I do, darling. I wouldn’t have agreed to it otherwise.”

“Good. I can pick you up Friday at 10?”

“You want to drive me?” There was surprise lacing Larissa’s voice, but she didn’t sound displeased.

“Is that okay?”

“Yes, of course it is. I’m just pleasantly surprised.”

“You know, you don’t have to take charge all the time. You can give up the reins for a bit.”

The silence that stretched between the two of you was so long that it had you wondering if Larissa had hung up.

“Larissa?”

“Thank you.” There was an emotion in her voice that you couldn’t quite place. Before you could probe her further, she changed the subject to some prank that her students had pulled that day, and the subject was quickly forgotten.

When you hung up nearly an hour later, you were tired but your heart was full.

~~~

Larissa wasn’t able to call you every day, but the texts she would send you sporadically throughout the day more than made up for that fact. They ranged from a simple “I do so wish you were here right now” to a picture of her hot chocolate one afternoon at the Weathervane, and they made your heart flutter gently against your ribcage each time her name graced the screen of your phone.

Friday night finally rolled around and you left for your date in black pants and a thick sweater - it had been a surprisingly warm day for this time of year, and you were sure it couldn’t get much colder.

You pulled up Nevermore’s winding drive just as the clock in your car changed to 10 pm. As your headlights illuminated the castle-like building, Larissa stepped out of the shadows, and you found yourself suppressing a giggle at her choice of clothing - a sleek gray dress and matching wool coat, complete with black gloves and black kitten heels.

“Do you always dress like you’re attending fashion week when you go stargazing?” You jogged around the car to open the passenger side door for her and Larissa snorted.

“Only when I’m trying to impress a beautiful woman,” she retorted, matching your teasing tone.

“You don’t have to impress me, Larissa,” you said pointedly, raising an eyebrow at the older woman as she ducked her head to get into your car. 

Larissa smiled gratefully up at you. “I always dress like this, I feel quite comfortable.”

“I can’t fathom how.” Laughing, you made your way back to the driver’s seat. 

“Aren’t you going to be cold in just a sweater?”

“I’ll be fine.”

Larissa raised an eyebrow. “If you’re certain…” She leaned over the center console, taking your chin between her fingers and holding you firmly in place. Her mouth was mere inches away from yours, her breath warm on your lips, and her eyes glittered like sapphires even in the darkness that had enveloped the car.

“Kiss me,” you whispered, and Larissa closed the gap, still holding you firmly as her lips moved against yours.

The drive to Shelburne was a quiet one - Larissa’s hand rested on your thigh the entire time, her fingers drawing little patterns on the fabric of your pants. Occasionally you looked over, each time finding Larissa looking back at you, lips curled up into a blissful smile.

Pulling into the parking lot at Shelburne Pond, you were delighted to find you’d be alone tonight, as not a single other car was parked in the lot. You opened Larissa’s door for her again, then busied yourself by opening the trunk to grab the bags that you’d brought. As you fumbled with the clasp of one of the bags, you felt Larissa’s warm body press into your back, her arms snaking around your torso to tug you closer as her chin came to rest on your head. 

A contented hum vibrated throughout Larissa’s chest - you could feel it against your back and on your head, and your entire body began to tingle. 

“What did you bring?” Larissa’s voice was low, thick like honey, curious - this woman was going to be the death of you.

“Wouldn’t you like to know,” you teased, hefting the bags out of the trunk and taking a step back. Larissa moved in tandem with you, not once loosening her grip on your body as you slammed the trunk closed. You turned in her arms.

“Do you want to find a spot or do you just want to stand in the parking lot the whole night?”

Larissa grinned down at you, baring pearly white teeth. She stepped back then with a nod, allowing you to lead the way to a small clearing at the edge of the pond and pull a large picnic blanket out of your bag. Larissa watched as you set up the space with a fuzzy blanket and a few throw pillows that you’d convinced Cassandra to let you borrow. 

You turned then as you plopped down on the blanket, craning your head back to look up at Larissa and reaching out a hand for her to take. The blinding smile that you were rewarded with as she gingerly kicked off her heels and placed a gloved hand into your own made your heart do a somersault against your ribcage. She lowered herself carefully next to you, tucking her legs underneath her and looking fondly down at the arrangement of blankets and pillows.

“You put a lot of thought into this.” She stated it as a fact and you nodded, sucking your bottom lip between your teeth.

“Is it okay?”

“Oh, darling, it’s perfect.”

Your heart swelled as Larissa lifted your hand to her mouth, placing soft, warm kisses to your knuckles. Flipping your hand over, she kissed your palm - you giggled, and you could feel her smile coyly against your skin, her eyes darting up to meet yours. She kissed her way up to your wrist, pushing the sleeve of your sweater up your arm as far as she could to chase the exposed skin with her lips, never breaking eye contact as she did so.

You could feel the heat in your cheeks, which were certainly scarlet by now - you were sure Larissa noticed this as well, even with the moon as your only source of light, because she leaned in and kissed you, smiling so brightly that you mostly ended up kissing her teeth.

“I brought something else,” you whispered as you pulled back from the kiss.

“Oh?” Larissa watched you curiously as you reached into one of the bags and pulled out a large thermos, unscrewing it carefully and holding it out for Larissa to take. 

“It’s not as good as the Weathervane’s but I hope you like it anyway.”

Larissa sniffed the beverage cautiously - her lips curled into a grateful smile as realization dawned on her. She looked so radiant in that moment, moonlight kissing her cheekbone and the tip of her nose (her perfect, kissable nose), casting a silvery glow over her blonde locks, making her teeth sparkle as she grinned at you.

She took a careful sip of the hot chocolate, eyes fluttering shut as the sweet taste exploded on her tongue, a hum of delight reverberating in the quiet space.

You leaned back on the picnic blanket, finding a comfortable position against the pillows to look up at the stars. Larissa gingerly screwed the thermos shut and set it aside, laying down next to you on her side and propping her head up on her hand. Her other hand cupped your cheek, long fingers gently pressing into your face and turning your head to face her.

“Thank you,” she said quietly, sincerely. Then she leaned down to kiss you, chastely, softly, before settling on her back, scooting close until her arm was pressed against yours and lacing your fingers between her own.

You broke the silence. “I’ve always been shit at identifying constellations, by the way.” 

Larissa laughed, squeezing your hand. “Don’t worry, darling, I’m not here for an astronomy lesson.”

“Oh, thank God,” you joked, unable to stop the wide grin that had broken out across your face at the sound of Larissa’s laughter - you would do anything to hear her laugh more often.

The view was nothing short of breathtaking. It was a clear night, the stars twinkled brightly like jewels in the inky black sky. The only sounds were the occasional chirping of crickets, the rustling of the wind in the trees, and Larissa’s deep, rhythmic breathing beside you. 

“I wonder if there will be any shooting stars tonight,” Larissa mused. 

You turned your head to face her. The stars were reflected in her eyes as she gazed up at the sky as if hypnotized. “Have you ever wished on a shooting star?”

Larissa’s lips quirked up slightly, her head still turned up to the sky. “I have, a long time ago.”

“What did you wish for?” you breathed.

Larissa chuckled, her eyes fluttering shut briefly. “I wished for the girl I liked to like me back.”

“And? Did she?”

Her eyes opened, searching the night sky as if it held the answers to all the questions in the universe.

“No. Not that girl, not then, anyway.”

“Oh. She missed out, then,” you whispered, your heart clenching for Larissa - how could anyone not like her back? You couldn’t fathom it, not when you liked her so much you’d give her all the stars in the sky if she only asked.

Larissa turned her head to the side, tearing her eyes away from the stars and searching your face, a wistful smile painted on her lips. 

“What would you wish for now? If we saw a shooting star?” you asked. You held your breath as Larissa contemplated.

“I would wish for tonight to never end, I think.”

It was your turn to smile. “I would wish the same, I think.”

You turned your head back to the sky, feeling Larissa’s gaze boring a hole into the side of your head.

“The stars are very beautiful tonight,” you murmured.

“So are you.” Larissa’s voice was soft, so soft you barely caught what she’d said. You felt your cheeks go pink and turned to face her again. Her painted lips were pulled into a small smile as she regarded you through her lashes, her expression so soft that you felt your heart flutter in your chest - you were falling harder and harder every time you looked at her, that much was certain.

Larissa adjusted herself on the picnic blanket and opened her arms to you. You scooted closer until you felt her arms wind around you, pulling you snugly against her and tucking your head under her chin. She was warm and soft - she made you feel safe as she held you tightly, absentmindedly stroking your arm as the two of you looked into the night sky.

A gust of wind rustled in the trees, washing over you and causing you to shiver - okay, so maybe it was a little colder than you’d anticipated, as the temperatures dropped with each passing hour.

“Oh, darling, are you cold?” Larissa’s worried voice vibrated against your cheek where it rested against her sternum.

“It’s fine, Riss,” you murmured, but then you shivered again and Larissa chuckled.

“I won’t say I told you so,” she teased, letting go of you for a moment and propping herself up.

“What are you- no, don��t take off your coat, you’ll freeze!”

Larissa shrugged off her coat and draped it over your shoulders. “Hush.” She pressed a kiss to your lips and pulled you flush against her again, taking care to ensure the large coat was wrapped fully around your body. “I’ll be fine, I promise.”

You snuggled into Larissa’s chest again.

“I’m buying you a proper coat.”

“But-”

“No buts,” Larissa chuckled. “You’re never properly dressed and it will only get colder.”

“I have a coat,” you grumbled, though the thought of going shopping with Larissa had piqued your interest. You could feel Larissa’s smile against your hair, though she said nothing further.

Minutes felt like hours as the two of you held each other, occasionally pointing out certain bright, twinkling stars or little (mostly made-up) constellations and patterns. You’d never felt such peace before as when you felt Larissa’s warm, soft body against yours, as when you could hear her steady breathing and smell the familiar scent of her perfume all around you. Her presence grounded you like no other, and you could only hope to provide her the same comfort. It was only when you yawned against Larissa’s chest that she brought a hand to your cheek, tilting your head up to look her in the eyes.

“Tired?” she teased.

“Maybe a little…” You reached for your phone and checked the time - 2:47 am. You glanced sheepishly at Larissa, turning your phone screen towards her. She squinted against the bright light, then covered her mouth with a gloved hand.

“Oh, dear… I can’t ask you to drive me back to Nevermore this late, I’ll just-”

“You could stay with me?” The words left your mouth before you could stop them. Larissa looked a bit hesitant, so you hastily continued. “Only if you want to of course - my roommates shouldn’t be home, Robin and Christin are out of town for the week and Cass is out, she’s gonna crash somewhere else. But if you don’t feel comfortable I compl-”

Larissa shut you up with a firm kiss. “I will stay with you. I have to say it’s not often that I spend the night away from Nevermore but… I do want to, and I would hate for you to drive back through Jericho alone at this time of night.”

You were reluctant to entangle yourself from Larissa, but you were certain that you’d fall asleep if you stayed there another minute. You packed up the pillows and the picnic blanket and Larissa helped you carry the bags back to the car. The drive back to your apartment was short without traffic and you were grateful for it - you could feel your eyes threatening to shut as you drove and you so wanted to get back to cuddling the older woman as fast as possible.

A proper tour of the apartment would have to wait until morning, you reasoned, though you showed Larissa where the bathroom and kitchen and, of course, your bedroom were.

The two of you got ready for bed as quickly as possible. You didn’t really have any clothes that you thought might fit Larissa, not without looking a bit ridiculous, so you offered her her own Nevermore shirt.

“I’ve been sleeping in it every night,” you admitted, cheeks tinged pink.

Larissa looked at you with so much affection you thought your heart may burst.

“It’s alright, I can shift my clothes,” she said, thrusting the shirt back towards you. “You wear it.”

In an instant she had shifted on a pair of lavender silk pajamas. 

“Way to be all fancy,” you grumbled, pulling your own sweater over your head and unclipping your bra. Larissa watched you with parted lips as you shimmied into the Nevermore shirt, then shed your pants to pull on a pair of shorts.

You slipped into bed and patted the space next to you, smirking at the blonde. “Well? I know it’s not as big as yours but it’s pretty comfortable.”

Larissa joined you - she seemed both out of place in the small bedroom and as if she belonged there and had never belonged anywhere else. A divine being, sent directly from heaven just for you, somehow simultaneously too good for you and exactly the sort of person you’d spend an eternity with.

You leaned back against the pillows and opened your arms to Larissa, who snuggled against you immediately with a gentle sigh and propped her chin on your chest. She slipped a hand underneath your shirt, her skin warm against yours. Her fingers flexed against your abdomen, brushing against the waistband of your shorts and causing your breathing to stutter.

“Riss,” you mumbled sleepily, looking down at Larissa who was watching you with a devilish smirk.

“I’m sorry, darling,” she cooed, sliding her hand away from your shorts and resting it on your belly.

“In the morning?” You could barely keep your eyes open, your eyelids shutting of their own accord as sleep fought to welcome you into its embrace.

“In the morning,” Larissa said softly, an inexplicable warmth settling in her chest as she watched you drift off.

x

taglist: @rainbow-hedgehog @enchantressb @alder-saan @eveymay @amateurwritescm @brienneswife @principal-weems09 @messynessi @larissaoftarthweems @anti-bright-places @lvinhs @catechristiesstuff @ladyzmilf002 @milfsloverblog @opheliauniverse @orangeisnttheonlyfruit @im-a-carnivorous-plant @alexusonfire @bigolgay @kimiinou @oceansblooming

let me know if you want to be tagged in the next part or want me to remove the tags ✨

[toxicanonymity]

BuzzFeed Quiz: Which joelkémon are you most compatible with?

🚨 OMG @missannwinchester made a BuzzFeed quiz in collaboration with @not-a-unique-snowflake-blog to find out which of my Joels you're most compatible with and it's amazing and beautiful 🥹🥹🥹🥹🥹🥹🥹 blog FAQ. Text version below the cut.

I got Night Walks, hell yeah 💚. but I'm gonna take it more times bc as usual I had some indecision and it has six Joels, five of whom I want 😅😅 The six results:

Night walks

Raider Joel

Left in Lincoln

Stepdad

Thighs Out

Vampire

Text descriptions of options:

(reading the blocks left to right). If you want to send your answers I can take the quiz for you.

Color: red, white, green, Black, yellow, or blue

Perfect date: movie, a meal at a restaurant by the ocean, opera/theater, cozy night in with fireplace, a jetski, a picnic

Your Perfect weather: sunny no clouds, cloudy, thunderstorm, rainy, sunny with some light clouds, one backlit cloud in a very blue sky

Holiday destination: a camper in the desert, a palm tree in the ocean, a woodsy cottage, Paris (Eiffel tower), a pool at night, a castle

Favorite food: Pizza, casserole, soup, Steak, tacos, poultry

Place to live: rocky coast, very modern house with big windows, a modern house more warmly lit with big windows and a tree, a white house with a dark roof taking up much of the pic,  white house with red door and shutters, a rustic looking cabin by a lake and mountains but no woods 

Outfit: closeup of a blue bikini or bra, long white floral dress in a field, red floral minidress, jeans and a sweater, bikini with a surfboard, yoga pants and sports bra

What you look for in a partner: loyalty, openness, independence, sensitivity, composure, looks

Lyrics: a. "I think you're sweet like rock candy warm like beaches that leave me sandy why do you leave me with watercolor eyes" b. "You're a careless con and a reckless liar but baby nobody can compare to the way you get down, down, down" c. "I'm smokin while I'm running on my treadmill, but I'm cutting up rkses. Could it be I fell for another loser" d. "It took 13 beaches to find one empty but finally it's mine. with dripping peaches I'm camera ready almost all the time." e. "She wore blue velvet bluer than velvet was the night softer than satin was the light from the stars. F. "But if you send for me you know I'll come and if you call for me you know I'll run to you I'll run to you I'll run run run."

Drink: beer, piña colada, champagne, whiskey, tequila shot, red wine. 

[reidwitchsblog]

My Ticci Toby HC

Warning: 18+ content, mention of dead animals, mention of people’s death, mention of scars, wrong use of punctuation marks.

Author’s note: While I take my sweet time writing the second part of my fict, enjoy this little headcanons that have been on my mind.

Author’s note 2: I created this playlist that basically captures everything you need to know about the way I hc him.

Minors DNI.

PERSONALITY

His personality is, for a lack of better words, eerie. Most of the time he is silent and observant, and due to his past he doesn’t show his true personality often, but rather he morphs into a person that he thinks the others will like, it could be a mature young man, or a sarcastic little shit.

I believe that when he kills, he tortures his victims due to the fact that the concept of pain is foreign to him. He enjoys to try different torture methods

His biggest desire is to have a home. It is something he keeps a secret from others, not really because he is afraid of being made fun of, but rather because he feels that as long as no one knows, the fact that it’s never going to happen will hurt less. So he keeps that deep inside him, in a safe place, like a little photograph that he can take out and look when he is feeling down.

As much as he despises being angry (it reminds him of his dad), he can’t help it, he is his father’s son after all. When he gets mad, his first instinct is to bear his teeth and growl. And if the person he is fighting with doesn’t take the cue, he will attack, aiming for the throat as soon as he has the opportunity.

And talking about dogs, HE LOVES LIKE A HOUND DOG, once that he catch a scent that is appealing to him, there is nothing, and no one, that’s able to stop him. He is going to chase it until he has it in his maw, without very little regard as to whether he is hurting himself.

PHYSICAL

I see many people saying that my man is the shortest one out of all proxies, but, respectfully, I think they are wrong. He just gives me tall man vibes, HOWEVER, I think his poor posture makes him stand at 6’0, when he normally is 6’2, which comes really handy when he wants to scare his victims.

We all agree that he has the most beautiful light brown eyes, they are like pools of honey, warm and inviting, which contrast massively with the scowl he seems to permanently wear.

Although he is more on the skinny side, he has gained some muscles over the years due to all the physical work he does; chopping wood, running around, carrying his victims… sadly he covers them with either flannels or grandpa sweaters.

Still on the topic of grandpa sweaters, he looooves them, mainly because they remind him of his late sister, whose last Christmas present were two brown and green sweaters. His to go outfit is a short sleeved band shirt, a flannel, a pair of dark denim jeans, his old shearling jacket and and a pair of black Converse. When he is alone is his cabin he opts for a wife beater and a pair of flannel pajama pants.

His whole body is covered in scars, most of them being self inflicted, and fewer being the ones made by his bravest victims that naively thought that a knife would’ve stopped Toby from killing them. He doesn’t hate them per say, he even thinks some of them are cool, but in the coldest nights, when he is alone with his thoughts, he can’t help but to despise every single part of his body, including his scars.

RANDOM HC

He has a small collection of various trinkets hidden in a wooden box beneath his bed. Some of them are old photos with his sister, rocks that he thought they were pretty, keychains that he stole from different gas stations, etc. At first glance it would look just like a pile of crap, but I can assure you everything has a reason to be there.

He was born in Germany but moved to South Carolina when he was 5.

He enjoys listening to music, his favorite genre is old rock. The Rolling Stones, Queen, Van Morrison, Fleetwood Mac, Bon Jovi, Blondu… his favorite song is “Brown eyed Girl” and you can’t change my mind.

He is the softest person when it comes to animals, he feels so bad when he finds any dead animal near the road, and he always gives them a proper burial, he even says some words along the lines of “the world was cruel to you when all you wanted was some warmth”. He so cried with the poem about spiders.

⋆｡°✩ — ©️ reidwitchsblog, 2023 - don’t repost, translate, copy, or claim.

[writtenonreceipts]

a/n: Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays @howlingcaptaincommando!  It’s been a delight getting to know you these few weeks, thanks for putting up with my insanity and I hope you enjoy this messy, slightly chaotic thing…I'm sorry you got stuck with me. Considering all the bangers being released already and then there's this...

thank you to @acotargiftexchange for organizing this event again! <3<3<3

Warnings: none (except it’s me so you’ve gotta put up with that) ~10k words

.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

We’re All Waiting On A Dream

Elain Archeron had never done well with winter.

It was an unfortunate truth that no matter what she did—it never changed.

She could fill her house with plants and flowers, she could open all the blinds of the small coffee shop where she worked, she could bake her favorite bread and dessert every day of the week.  But nothing could replace the sunlight of a new spring day or the deep unyielding warmth of the summer sun.

It was only mid-November and she was already craving when the sun would return.  Already, she’d planned just how she would spend those first few warm days of the season and none of them involved being indoors, cold, or sitting around at home.  She was going to travel and make the best of summer.

She just had to wait six months.

The lingering light of afternoon spilled through the front windows of the shop, splashing across the worn hardwood floors.  It was barely four-thirty and already the sun was sneaking lower into the horizon.  In just a few more minutes, it would sink behind the nearest buildings and shadows would replace those gentle strips of light.

It was unavoidable, so Elain made the best of it as she swept around the shop and adjusted the lamps that would soon do a majority of the lighting for the night.  The dark oak flooring was nicked and scuffed from the wear and tear over the years.  If Elain wasn’t mistaken it was the same flooring from when the shop was first built.  One of these days she would try and restore the shabby wood, knowing that with a bit of sanding and new stain, the floors would gleam with new life.  The project, with as much work as it would be, sounded fun.  Another activity to wait to complete though.

For now, she continued her usual tasks as she straightened the small reading couch in one corner and collected a bit of trash that someone left behind.  There usually wasn’t much cleaning to do even as a coffee shop.  They were tucked down a small alleyway on main street, nestled beside the antiques boutique, only the locals ever really knew where to find them.  And on nights like this, things usually remained relaxed and slow.

Really, though—she didn’t mind.  These were the nights she enjoyed most.  The quiet ones.  The easy ones.  The shop had long been her solace, even back in school when she’d just been a patron.  Even when the winter months dragged on and on, she’d found that this place with its shelves of books and the homey atmosphere were welcoming and helped lighten her mind.  It was the kind of the shop where nothing chaotic ever—

The front door jangled open with a frenzy that nearly toppled the bell along the top rail.  A gust of winter air swept through the shop, nibbling at Elain’s exposed ankles.  She spun around just in time to see a tall man dressed in a pair of neat, black pants and deep green sweater enter the shop.  His long red hair hung loose down his shoulders; his warm tanned skin complimented by the colors of his sweater.  He was too handsome for his own good, looking far too confident and sure of himself.  None of which was helped by the smirk that curled his full lips. 

“Elain.” he greeted as soon as he saw her.

Lucien Vanserra.  

Even after all this time of knowing him, she never quite knew what to think of him.  He had a way of taking the peaceable moments and turning them right on their head.  No matter what happened, whenever or wherever Lucien was—there was certainly a bit of mischief to follow.

He was by himself tonight which wasn’t too much of an anomaly.  Often, he was with one of his old college friends, Jurian.  The two of them were well known for rambunctious energy and very little restraint.  Elain had shared several classes with the two of them all through university, ended up in the same study groups, and now was subject to them coming into the shop just about every day.

She supposed she shouldn’t complain too much.  Between college and the two of them were how she met one of her closest friends, Vassa, who was also currently dating Jurian.  Or they were just sleeping together.  Elain wasn’t too sure of the details but knew better than to ask else she face Vassa’s wrath and own probing questions.

Lucien himself was impossible to know, Elain had long ago decided.  He could be an arrogant smartass while all at the same time—an idiot.  The fact that he was the most attractive man Elain had ever seen didn’t help much either. 

“Lucien.”  Much to her chagrin she often was at a loss for words when they came face to face.  She’d always been flustered by him, not that she’d ever admit it.  It was that disarming smile of his she was sure.

Lucien glanced around the empty shop. “Slow night?”

“It was,” Elain said, arching a brow.  Just because he flustered her didn’t mean she had to like him.

Lucien only grinned as he approached the register.  He was too comfortable here, Elain decided.  Especially with that confidence he always seemed to walk with.  She shouldn’t judge him for that.  He was always here at the shop these days, mostly because it was the only quiet space on the downtown strip.  Though, Elain had no idea what he was doing, only that it kept him busy.  He almost always had a computer before him taking care of some sort of work.  If he wasn’t going over documents, he was on the phone in quiet but urgent conversations.  She hadn’t worked up the courage to ask him what it was he did for work, worried that it would open some unknown door that she couldn’t shut if she got in too deep.

She left off cleaning and went behind the counter already putting his usual order in.  He always got the same thing no matter the time of day, no matter the time of year.  She hadn’t meant to memorize it, but when she was always here working and he was always coming in—it was impossible not to do.

“Do you want your usual order?” The words slipped out before she could stop them.  She only realized her mistake upon looking up to find Lucien cocking an eyebrow.

“Keeping tabs on my habits, Elain?” He looked far too pleased at that fact, that smile of his rising just a tick.

“Hard not to when you’re always here,” she said, drily. “Don’t you have anything better to do?”

“Nope.” he replied cheerfully.

Lucien really was a hard person to get to know, to understand, really.  Elain had decided that back at university.  His personality was so charming that he often received more attention than most.  His good looks certainly helped too.  Elain didn’t know if calling him a flirt was right or not, but his silver tongue often made her wonder if she’d ever experienced the real Lucien Vanserra.  Even worse was, she sometimes wanted to know the real him.

He only chuckled at her sardonic look. “The usual is great.  With an extra bagel, if you could?”

Elain took his payment and handed back the thick black credit card. “I’ll bring it out to you in a few.”

As she moved to get started on his drink—an iced vanilla latte with caramel—he remained at the counter, leaning against the solid granite.  He did this every so often, trying to strike up a conversation with her.  It was usually the stuff of nonsense that ranged from what she thought about pineapple on pizza to who keeps breaking into local zoos and releasing animals from their cages in the middle of the night.

He was immediately offended when she told him pineapple was acceptable as a pizza topping.  In fact, she didn’t see him for three days after that confession.  Though she didn’t think it really had anything to do with her and more on the lines of the mysterious work he was always up to.

“You’re always here, Elain,” Lucien said.  “Don’t you ever get a break?”

Elain scoffed at the question. “I can’t afford time off.  I’ve got bills to pay.”

School hadn’t been cheap and she still was not working in her major.  A fact she would rather not think about.

“Jurian and I are going to a basketball game next week,” he said, “you should come.”

It wasn’t the first time he’d endeavored to invite her out.  Just a few weeks ago there’d been a party thrown by Lucien’s older brother.  It was supposedly one of the best parties of the year, including New Years.  

Though, Elain wasn’t sure what counted as best party of the year considering all the times Lucien and Jurian had thrown dorm parties involving ranking Mario Cart avatars and how best to optimize playing the game to goldfish racing.

Elain didn’t bother to learn about the second activity.

“Can’t,” she said.  She pulled two toasted bagels from the toaster and wrapped them up with a tube of cream cheese. “Someone’s gotta run the shop.”

It was true.  Alis had stopped trying to hire anyone new because Elain always insisted on picking up shifts.  Sure there was Nuala or Ceridwen who also rotated on shifts, but Elain preferred to be working.

Lucien frowned, just barely, at her answer before he accepted the bagels and finished drink from her. “Alright, it’s an open invitation though.” 

He continued to eye her curiously for a minute longer before finally turning and heading to his usual table in the back corner of the shop.

Elain couldn't help but watch as he settled into his seat before turning back to her workstation to clean up after herself.  A small pang echoed in her chest but she didn’t quite know how to identify the emotion behind it.

It wasn’t as though she wanted to be a recluse.  Ever since leaving school, things hadn’t gone her way.  Jobs kept turning her down.  Her student loans were piling up.  Most of her friends had moved away.  Not to mention her relationship with her sisters was rocky at best.  Their mother’s death hadn’t helped matters either.  In all honesty, the distraction of always being at work was nice.  She was exhausted by the time she got home and almost always immediately fell asleep and didn’t have to think about anything else other than keeping herself (and plants) alive.

She used to be the going out type.  Used to love the social scene.  It got harder though when dad’s health was declining.  And then the Grayson matter.

Something needed to change.  She knew that.  Just a small little switch to flick and then maybe she’d feel a little bit better about where she was in life.  Every time she thought about what that change could be, however, her mind only let her consider all the disastrous and unfortunate outcomes that would inevitably occur.

Which was why Tinder had long since gone dormant on her phone.

It was with these thoughts in mind that Elain was startled to attention by the door of the shop thudding open again.

“Where on earth have you been!”

Elain froze at the voice.  She’d just settled in to run an inventory of supplies on the computer when her sister chose that moment to enter the shop.

Nesta Archeron entered the shop like a whirlwind.  A chaotic, well put together whirlwind that hardly, if ever, touched down.  She was constantly involved with one event or another, specifically to please her fiancé, or she was trying to keep her own career afloat (made nearly impossible because Thomas was an ass).  There was no easy way to describe Nesta.  Especially not when she hardly offered anything of herself in return.  Elain loved her sister, truly she did, but sometimes the woman could be rather intense.  

Her blonde hair was swept back in half-do, tendrils of hair framing her sharp features and emphasizing the startling silver of her eyes.  The neutral tones of her make-up only emphasized her striking beauty and highlighted the determined way she was looking at Elain.

“I’ve been here,” Elain said, slightly amused as she typed into the computer. “All day.  My job is rather annoying like that.”

Nesta rolled her eyes, unamused and stalked the rest of the way to the register, her high heeled shoes clicked lightly on the floor, her black dress and sleek jacket indicating it had been a please the fiancé sort of day and not one to have to herself.  She set her purse, some designer that Elain didn’t recognize, on the counter and leaned forward with a frown.

“You missed the dress fitting,” Nesta said.

Elain nodded. “Just like I told you I would.  There was no one to take my shift and I wasn’t about to close shop in the middle of the day.”

Elain had tried explaining this to her sister before, but since it was an inconvenience for her, Nesta had forgotten it.  Alright.  That was unfair.  Nesta did have quite a bit of stress as she was trying to plan a wedding with a useless fiancé.  And said useless fiancé was having Nesta take over quite a bit of his own business duties.

Anytime Elain tried talking to her sister about it, Nesta shut down and changed the topic entirely.

“I know,” Nesta sighed, brushing stray strands of hair out of her face.  A look of genuine apology flashed in her eyes.  “I know.  I’m sorry, but it was the only time that worked and you know how important this is for Thomas.  But I really needed you at the fitting, Elain.  Everything has to go perfectly.” 

Flinching inwardly, Elain held back a sigh.  On Saturday, her soon to be brother-in-law was to be honored as the new vice-president of his company…doing something of some import.  All because of the work Nesta herself had done.

In any case, Elain would be expected to attend because the more people there in support of Thomas the better he came off to his boss.  Though, if he were being promoted his boss must already think highly of him.  (It was all very convoluted to Elain.)

Then came the fact that Thomas did not like her.  And she didn’t like him, so really it all worked out that way.  But Elain liked her sister.  She wanted to support her sister.  And now she was roped into a hoity toity gala.  She’d have to shave.  Everywhere.

“Nesta,” Elain said patiently, “I am more than happy to support Thomas,” who knew she was an excellent liar? – “and I will be there.  Buy the dress as is and I can have Vassa alter it for me.  She’s good like that.”

Vassa would laugh her ass off is what she would do, but Elain wouldn’t tell Nesta that.

Nesta blinked, a mild look of panic seizing her face.  “Does Vassa know anything about sewing?”

“Sure,” Elain shrugged. “How hard could it be?”

“Elain.”

“Nesta.” Elain reached out and patted her sister’s hand. “The dress fit perfectly the first time I tried it on, three weeks isn’t going to make much of a difference.” 

“Alright.  You’re right.” Nesta sighed, slouching even further into the counter.  Elain had no doubt her sister was counting down the moment to when she could kick her heels off into a corner and not look at them for at least twenty-four hours.  “I won’t worry about the dress.  But, I do need to know who you’re bringing.”

“Bringing?” Elain repeated. An icy feeling started spreading through her.  Oh no.  Oh no.  She hadn’t prepared for this.

“Yes bringing, you can't come alone Elain,” Nesta said. She gave Elain a look as this was the most obvious thing.  “There will be cameras and Thomas’s boss will be there too.”

Why Elain should care about Thomas’s boss, she had no idea.  Why anyone would care about her being there, she had no idea.  And she said as much.

“Who cares if I have a date?” She demanded. “I am a grown woman. I don't have to bring anyone.  I don’t think anyone will want to stamp my picture on whatever new pamphlet the company puts out next year.”

Nesta’s own panic spread across her face. “Please, Elain.  I know it’s a little ridiculous, but it has to go perfectly. I know someone I can ask for you, Thomas has a friend—”

Elain blanched.

“No, no I have someone.  I have someone…a boy. A boyfriend. I have one.” Elain spoke before she even knew what she was saying. She was digging her own grave but her brain hadn't caught up to that fact.

“You have a boyfriend?” Nesta snapped to attention at the words.  Her blue eyes narrowed in on Elain. “Why haven't I heard about him? What's his name, where did he study? Family?”

She really had to think before she spoke.  This was not going to end well.  Elain gaped at her sister trying hard to think of an answer.  How much could she make up before Nesta caught on?  Could she fabricate the perfect gentleman only to have him break her heart on the night of the event?  Or would that be too dramatic and detract from Thomas?

Elain pulled herself together as best she could. “This is why I didn't say anything because I knew you would do this, Nesta.”

“Honestly Elain, if you’re just going to make up a story--” Nesta was already pulling out her phone and selecting a number in her contacts.

“Lucien.”  Elain blurted out the first name that came to mind. “Lucien Vanserra.  That’s who he is. And he's right here. Lucein!”

At the very direct sound of his name, Lucien looked up from his coffee and laptop with a bite of bagel making its way to his mouth.  It was the first time she had ever seen him caught off guard.  It was rather unfortunate that she didn't have time to appreciate it properly. 

Lucien recovered from whatever shock he was facing or he was just that good at reading a situation because he set down his bagel and in a few loping steps he was back out the counter, his grin back in place.

“Elain.” As always, he appeared perfectly agreeable, his casual business wear only emphasizing how put together he was.  Whether he’d overheard what Elain and her sister had been talking about, she couldn’t tell.  She just hoped he was as good an actor as he always seemed to be.

Especially given the fact that Nesta was scrutinizing him in overtime.

“This is the boyfriend?” Nesta asked, her words slow as if she herself needed to make sense of them too.

Lucien glanced at Elain with a rather bemused expression.  She gave him as pleading a look as she could while Nesta continued her assessment.

When Lucien nodded discreetly at her, Elain felt a small bit of relief.  She wouldn’t trust it for long though.

“Lucien Vanserra,” he said.  He extended a hand to Nesta who paused for a moment before accepting. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.  Elain talks about you all the time.”

Nesta didn’t answer immediately.  As with everything, she took great care in analyzing everything about a situation.

“Vanserra,” Nesta repeated.  She had a thing about names and people and appearances.  Vanserra must have been a decent enough name because Nesta raised her chin slightly, a slow smile working at one corner of her mouth. “She hasn’t mentioned you before.”

Unperturbed, Lucien adopted his casual ease and laughed. “Considering how long it took for her to pay me any attention, I’m not surprised.”

His words sent an unbidden flush over Elain’s skin even as she glared at him.  She didn’t exactly know what to make of his words either.  Either he was very good at lying on the spot (concerning) or there was a pinch of truth to his words (also concerning).

“Well,” Nesta said. She turned back to Elain abruptly.  “Saturday.  The event starts at seven, I expect you to be there at six-thirty.  Six-thirty, Elain.”

“I will be there,” Elain said, Nesta gave her a look. “We will be there.”

The only thing that saved Elain from further humiliation by her own doing was Nesta’s phone buzzing with an incoming call.

Nesta only ignored it long enough to raise a single brow to Lucien. “Black tie.”

It wasn’t until the door of the shop clicked shut that Elain let out a rather unfeminine groan and nearly collapsed across the work counter.  What had she just gotten herself into? 

“So,” Lucien said, his voice growing closer as he filled the space Nesta vacated.  Elain looked up to him leaning across the space to get closer to her. “When did we start dating?”

Elain felt her cheeks flush deeper.  Oh hell, what had she done?

Huffing out a breath she straightened and ran her hands through her hair. She fixed Lucien with as menacing a look as she could while he kept grinning.

“What was I supposed to do?  She was going to set me up with someone from her fiancé’s work.  I’ve seen a majority of those men, no good options.”  Elain knew she was rambling in desperation, but she couldn’t help it.  Thankfully the embarrassment of the past ten minutes hadn’t set in yet.  That was one miracle she’d accept.

“Hm,” Lucien hummed, “I do see your dilemma.  This is a rather interesting choice of action though, all the same.”

Groaning, Elain started pacing behind the counter. “It’s fine.  I can make up a dramatic break-up story within the next three days.  That’ll fix this. Oh, no.  It won’t because she knows your name, she’ll find you.  I could fake an illness?  Except I used that the last time there was one of these events.”

This was turning out to be not very good.  

Elain stopped and looked at him. “I am so sorry. This is going to be a nightmare.”

“Ah, Elain, what you don’t know about me is that I was born for mischief and mayhem.  Just ask my mother, she has an entire photo album dedicated to the destruction I caused as a child.”

“I don’t think this is helping,” she said, slightly horrified.

He flashed her a smile. “Oh but it will help.  I can promise a night full of fun, you’ll hardly even realize you’re at a…where are we going?”

“A work party for her fiancé’s marketing company,” Elain explained, crinkling her nose as she remembered the rather mundane and boring job Thomas had. “He just landed an account for drills and is being promoted.”

“Why the hell would anyone—” Lucien cut himself off with a wave of his hand— “doesn’t matter.  The point still stands that I can guarantee a fun night.”

“Can you hold a conversation about drills?”

“No but I do know magic.”

“Absolutely not.”

The two stared at each other for a long moment.

Lucien spoke first. “It’d be hilarious.  Get you out of any more of these events.”

A startled laugh escaped her.  She couldn’t help it.  There was just something in the way he spoke and the sincerity that he held that just seemed funny.  At her first bubble of laughter, Lucien joined in.  

“C’mon, Elain, consider it a practice run,” he said.

“Practice run?” Elain repeated.

“Sure,” Lucien shrugged. “When you come to the basketball game with Jurian and I.  Vassa can come.”

His eyes sparked with a mix of humor and…hope?

Elain approached the counter again, still not believing that he was agreeing to this.  Even with a little bit of insistence to his own favor.  In all honesty, she wasn’t entirely sure why he was so interested in her.  In school she’d been a bit intense in her studies and hadn’t left much room from friendships or other relationships for that matter.  But he’d always been there on the edge of her sights.  A nuisance sure, but there all the same.  And there weren’t a lot of people she could say the same of.

“You have a suit and tie?” she asked.  He nodded. “You’re okay with pretending to be my boyfriend?” Another nod. “You won’t let this be a thing that you hold over my head?”

“Elain,” Lucien said.  A bit of the humor left his voice and he straightened. “Consider it a favor among friends.  You don’t even have to go watch basketball.  I want to help you out.”

She worried her lip, still not completely convinced.  But she knew what would happen if she showed up alone and knew that Nesta would laud it over her for the rest of their lives.

“Alright,” she agreed. “Lucien Vanserra, would you please be my fake boyfriend?”

His russet eyes sparked.  “Elain Archeron, it would be my pleasure.”

…

On Saturday evening, Elain found herself trying to control her sanity.  It was not going very well.

“Would you hold still?” Vassa muttered for yet another time.  She stabbed Elain’s shoulder with a bobby pin. “We’re almost done.”

Elain squirmed again.  Usually, she didn’t mind sitting still and being pampered.  Hell, she loved it.  Getting dressed up and looking her best was something she missed being able to do.  It had been the one thing she was looking forward to about the night.  After so long of being so shut in, having a night to just be and have fun?  If it weren’t for the mess of dealing with Thomas (and now a forced fake relationship) she wouldn’t have given her sister such a hard time.  

As it was, she was still nervous.  

Maybe it was being out among people again?  No, she’d always loved people and making new friends.  It had to be Lucien.  It had to be the idea of getting closer to him even for a night.  She had no idea why.  It was just Lucien.  

But the closer the clock ticked to six, the more her stomach flopped.

Vassa tugged hard on Elain’s hair.

“Ow!”

“Oops.”

Elain glared through the mirror at her friend who ignored her.  It hadn’t taken very much pleading to enlist her friends help in preparing for this stupid party.  Mostly just a promised girl’s night out. Though, after Elain had explained what had happened and who she would be going with and the entirety of the fake boyfriend situation—Vassa had found no issue in helping Elain out.

Once she’d stopped laughing of course.

“This is going to be a disaster,” Elain muttered.  She wrung her hands together as she stared at their reflections. “I should have just put my foot down and told Nesta no.”

“Since when has telling Nesta no ever worked out, Elain?” Vassa replied.  She shoved another bobby pin into place causing Elain to wince. “Besides, Lucien is fun.  Do you remember in school when he hired a mariachi band to follow the dean around?”

That, admittedly, had been hilarious.  There was also the time Lucien and Jurian had built a giant outdoor water slide on the hottest day of the year.  Complete with a water balloon fight afterwards.  If there was one thing to say about Lucien it was that he enjoyed having a good time.

“And he’s good looking,” Vassa added.

“Vassa,” Elain sighed.

“He comes into your shop a lot too,” Vassa said.  She cocked her head to one side through the mirror, a small smile on her lips.

Elain’s glare went ignored.  Again.

After another few minutes, Vassa hummed happily and patted Elain’s head.

“There,” she said. “I think that looks good.”

It really did.  

While Elain could often manage on her own to make herself look flawless and put together—she’d needed a bit more confidence for that night.  And who else could she ask for help than Vassa?  

Most of her hair still flowed down her back in loose curls, but the rest was pulled up in a twisting braid.  It all came together with the carefully applied make-up Elain had done.  

“Thanks,” Elain said.  She touched a few places in her hair out of habit.  Everything was perfect though.

“You’re gonna look great,” Vassa said.  Her smile was infectious as she leaned in for a quick hug.  “Let's get you in your dress.  He’ll be here any minute.”

Elain’s stomach flopped again.  She really wasn’t going to get out of this was she?  And yet there was a small part of her that asked if she really wanted to.  

It had been ages since she’d had a fun night out.  Even if it was to go to an event for Thomas of all people—Elain was just eager for fun.  And she was going with Lucien.  Lucien who actually made Elain smile.  And he’d never pressured her in all the little flirtations he’d thrown her way.  He’d remained respectful and even kept his distance when she’d silently begged for it.  Not that he’d known what was going in in her life, but her relationship with Grayson had been a joke.  It’s what had led to her slipping away from her usual outgoing self…

Elain banished the thoughts away.  She couldn’t be thinking about this.

She hurried after Vassa and down the hall to her room.

She hadn’t been able to get any help with making extra modifications to the gown, but she wasn’t worried.  She’d never had an issue with finding things that fit easily.  Both Nesta and Feyre hated her for it, but Elain had never been more grateful than she was that night.

Vassa was already pulling the dress from its coverings, revealing the floor length fabric.  If there was one thing Elain could trust Nesta in, it was her fashion sense.

The dress was a pale purple made of a light chiffon fabric.  There was a little bit of rouching at the sides with a draped neckline.  Elian’s favorite part about the dress though were the sheer flutter sleeves.  It might be a little impractical with the chill weather, but she didn’t care.

She couldn’t help the small smile as she examined the dress.  Yes.  She was more than a little excited to wear it.  She hurried and stripped from her leggings and tank top before shimming into the dress.  The other good thing was that she didn’t have to mess with a strapless bra and could get away with what she usually wore.

She waited as Vassa zipped her in and brushed out any wrinkles or funny lines in the fabric.

Vassa hummed in amusement as she circled Elain once. “Your breasts look amazing.”

Hell.

Elain smacked her friend on the arm and turned to the full-length mirror propped up in the corner of her room.  Indeed, her breasts looked amazing.  The dress was of a silky material that clung to Elain’s usually nonexistent curves.  The sweetheart neckline dipped a bit lower than she expected, showing off more of her neck and collarbones.  The soft purple color complimented her lighter complexion and the rich brown undertones of her hair.  She didn’t look washed out or haunted—she looked like herself.  Happy.

“Damn,” Elain sighed. “I was hoping I’d look terrible.  Nesta wouldn’t blame me for not showing up if I looked like a cow.”

Vassa snorted a laugh. “Please, Elain.  You’d look good in anything.”

Elain bit her lip and gave a half spin, watching the fabric twist with her movements. “I don’t know if I have a jacket that will match.  It’s too cold to go without something.”

“I’ve got just the thing,” Vassa said before disappearing to her own room.

As soon as she vanished, there was a knock at the front door and Elain froze.  Hell.  It was already time, wasn’t it?

She took a long breath, flattening her hands over her stomach.  She could do this.  It was going to be fun and easy.  Lucien after all had agreed to no pressure, they were simply friends.  She stared into her own eyes, gave a sharp nod and hurried down the hall to the small entry way of the apartment.  She took one more steadying breath as she pulled the door open.  

There, looking impeccable in a neat, black suit and perfectly knotted tie was Lucien.  His hair was unfortunately pulled back into a low hanging tail, Elain always liked seeing it loose.  The suit fit him well, emphasizing his muscular build well.  He looked good.  He’d always been handsome with his tall figure and strong jaw, but tonight felt different.

Elain knew she was staring, but she couldn’t help it.  The only solace she took in that was the way Lucien was taking her in.  His gaze flicked from her dress to her face and she swore his mouth parted just a bit.  Now he was just putting on a show.

“Lucien,” she said, trying desperately to untangle her tongue. “You clean up well.”

That had to be the stupidest thing she could have said.  Hell in handbasket, what was wrong with her?

Still, that familiar smile of his returned and a glint sparked in his rich russet eyes. “I could say the same about you, Elain.”

The way he said her name sent a shiver racing down her spine.  Another thing she didn’t know how to reconcile.  Because if she were being honest, she was surprised he’d shown up at all.  He easily could have text a brief can’t make it text and really, could she have blamed him?  She cleared her throat, hands wringing together nervously.  She had no idea what was wrong with her—she didn’t get nervous, especially not around Lucien Vanserra of all people.

 “I almost thought you didn’t own a tie,” she added, falling back to what she knew--sarcasm. “You always say they’re too restricting.”

Lucien rolled his eyes.  “Until I started working for my brother.  Apparently, I have to be professional nowadays.” 

“Poor Lucien,” Elain sighed, “has to join the real world with the rest of us.”

“It’s terrible,” he agreed.

Before either of them could say anything else, Vassa gave a shout of triumph from down the hall.

“I found it!” With the rapid pattering of bare feet, Vassa careened from her room and down to the entryway of the apartment.  Her red hair pitched violently to one side from the confines of her bun.  She waved a stylish jacket at Elain as she approached. “It will match perfectly, Nesta won’t have to gouge your eyes out.”

Elain accepted the jacket. “Thanks, Vassa.”

“Of course,” Vassa said.  She then flashed Lucien an appraising look. “Hello Vanserra.”

Lucien accepted Vassa’s scrutiny with grace, only continuing to smile with that charming grin of his. “Vassa, nice to see you again.”

Despite her earlier words of approval of him--Vassa continued to eye him suspiciously.  

“I have a list of rules that should be adhered to,” she began.

“No you do not,” Elain said.  She brushed past Vassa and gave her a quick hug.  “We’re late.  Thank-you for your help.”

She grabbed Lucien’s arm and ushered him out the door as quickly as possible.   

“Don’t do anything illegal, I don’t have bail money!” Vassa shouted after them.  

Elain let the door click shut without calling back a response.  It was easier that way.  Especially when there was no guarantee what Vassa would say next.  Sometimes her filter was a hit and miss.  

“She’s always such a delight,” Lucien commented as they got on the elevator.

Elain snorted a laugh. “Oh, yeah.  She teeters on the edge of unsuspecting sweetheart to raging terror real quick.”

Once you got to know Vassa, to understand her nuances and her habits--she maintained the questionable reputation but with a bit more trust and care on your part.  Truly, Elain didn’t know where she would be without her friend.

“Didn’t she stage a revolution of frogs from the Biology Department on campus?” Lucien asked.

“It was very well organized,” Elain admitted.  She did not, however, remind Lucien that she had been right beside Vassa in running said revolution.

Despite Lucien’s protests, Elain insisted she drive.  Mostly for that semblance of control that she felt was slipping away from her.  She was far too nervous that she needed to be for the night.  Which was ridiculous considering this would turn out to be the most boring night imaginable.  No matter what Nesta insisted.

“Isn’t this the car you had back in school?” Lucien asked as Elain pulled out onto the highway.  “How is it still running?”

True, Elain’s small two-door car had quite a few years on her and the air conditioning didn’t work, but it was a good car.  She said as much.

“She’s reliable and all of her issues are easily fixed,” Elain said. She paused. “Well, that’s mostly because the stereo is really good and the speakers drown out any annoying sound.”

“Right, so what you’re telling me is that I could possibly die tonight?”

“You’re the one who insisted on helping me out,” Elain replied.  She smiled then, allowing the small levity of the moment to potentially ease her nerves.  When she glanced at Lucien, she found him watching her, a look of amusement in his eyes.

She turned back to the road and tried to ignore the way her heart fluttered at just having him here.  It was stupid really.  Just a response to being grateful he’d volunteered to this hairbrained idea.

“So,” Lucien began after a few minutes of silence, “how long have we been dating?”

“Is this really necessary?” she asked, the flutters picking up pace at his words.

“We’ve got to have a background Elain,” Lucien insisted, “can’t have anyone poking holes in this plot.  What would your sister say?”

Elain paused only a beat. “That I could have tried harder.”

“Exactly, now.  How long have we been dating?” he asked.

Elain wondered if she should be concerned by his enthusiasm about this. “Just a few months. Nothing elaborate.” 

“A few months and already willing to send me to the throes of your family?  You must really like me then.”

Elain glared while Lucien laughed.  It continued from there with them establishing details of how best they could pull this off.  Mostly, they leaned on their college days to fill in any details of how they met and things like that.  There wouldn’t be much lying involved since they’d shared so many classes right up until the division into their specific degrees. But Elain couldn’t help but laugh as he insisted it would work out fine.

“Please, Lucien,” she said as she pulled into the event center, where there was a line waiting for the valet. “You hated me back then, how’s anyone going to believe this?” 

“You think I hated you?” Lucien asked, genuine concern flashing in his eyes.

Elain’s lips parted, though she didn’t know how to reply.  She started to speak when a soft knock on her window indicated the valet was ready for them.

Glad for the interruption, she scrambled out of the car.  The young man dressed in a starched red vest was kind enough to help her out of the dinky little car.  And he didn’t even give her a side-eyed glance at the pathetic nature of her car.  That was nice.

She was still smoothing out her dress when Lucien came around the car and offered up his arm for her.

“Thanks,” she murmured, accepting the offer.  If she were being honest, she needed the support of someone beside her for this.  It had been a while since she’d come out to an event like this.  Ever since her messy break-up with Grayson, she just hadn’t been up to going out.  

And she loved parties.  Truly, before Grayson, this would have been the highlight of her night, her week.  But after everything the man had put her through, Elain felt more than a bit of unease run through her.  Insecurities she’s felt throughout her relationship resurfaced.  She needed this night to prove to herself, and Nesta, that she was fine.  She was more than fine.  She was back to her usual self.  She was moving on.  She was—

“Elain,” Lucien said from beside her, his finger squeezing her arm just enough to be reassuring, “I can hear you overthinking this.”

She made a non-committal noise and let Lucien lead them up to the entrance doors behind another couple.

“It’s fine,” she assured him. “Really it is, all Nesta needs is to see me, then we can go find the caterer and beg for free food while hiding in the kitchen.”

“We can do that?” he asked, sounding intrigued by the idea. “I thought you’d jump at the opportunity to be at an event like this.”

“Usually I would,” Elain admitted, she shrugged delicately.  “I just can’t help but think something will go wrong with the night.  Or the dress.  Nesta wanted me to get it professionally altered but I didn’t have time, or money.  But Nesta likes being in control of things like this, I guess.”  She paused.  “I have cash stuffed in my bra; I am not beneath offering bribes.  We could be out of here in five minutes if we wanted.”

“Elain,” Lucien said softly as a woman offered to take their coats, “you’re freaking out.”

“If I were freaking out, you’d know it,” Elain replied. “I am merely over explaining everything to give me less time to worry about everything else.”

They entered the main hall of the center that had been completely transformed from the last time Elain had been here for a coffee expo for work.  Instead of standard tables and plain rugs, there was open space intermixed with tall glass tables and softly glowing lights.  It actually looked like an important event and some hoax.   

“Here she comes,” Elain said, spotting her sister immediately.  

Nesta strode toward them with purposeful steps.  The dress clung to her curves from the chest to her waist before billowing out around her hips.  The dark blue fabric was inlaid with beads that caught in the light, offering a little softness to the otherwise intimidating dress.  Though, there was no one else who could have pulled it off then Nesta.  She’d twisted her hair into a coronet of braids with beaded pins to match the dress. 

Elain couldn’t help but fidget with her dress.  Nesta had always been strikingly beautiful not only with her looks, but she was tall and well portioned in all the right places she should have been.  Elain had never felt the same about herself.  Oh, she’d been called lovely and pretty on many occasions, but here and now she felt like nothing in comparison to her sister.

A hand rested at the small of her back and Lucien leaned in to her side. “You look beautiful, Elain.  And if your sister doesn’t think so, she’s insane.”

The simple words caused heat to rise in Elain’s cheeks and she found herself staring into Lucien’s eyes.  Bright, russet eyes that had flecks of gold spinning amid the darker shades.  The certainty with which he spoke surprised her more than anything.

“Elain!” Nesta called out in a cheery voice that belied how stressed out she actually was.  Nesta was never cheerful.  Elain could swear she could see the whites of her sister’s eyes even from ten feet away. “There you are.”

“Nesta,” Elain greeted as her sister approached. 

Nesta pulled Elain into a tight hug, shocking considering how touch averse the eldest Archeron could be.  Elain accepted it for the good will gesture it was.

When she pulled back, Nesta smiled softly.  “You do look lovely.  The dress turned out perfect.”

“Thank-you,” Elain murmured.

Nesta gave her arm another squeeze before turning to look Lucien over.  She nodded once tightly.  “Well.  I’m glad you’re both here.  It’s going to be a good night.  Thomas’ boss is over there with the red tie, don’t look!  Red tie, silver hair.  Do not talk to him unless you promise to behave.”

“I’m twenty-five, Nesta,” Elain said, “I know how to behave in social situations.”

Nesta fixed her with a signature unamused glare just as Lucien spoke up.

“Does that mean no magic tricks?” He leaned in into Elain. “I practiced and everything.”

“Absolutely not.” Nesta gaped at him.

Elain barely managed to hold back her grin. “Oh, but he’s actually really good, Nesta. Doesn’t even need an assistant or anything.”

That got a warning finger waggled in both of their faces.

“Absolutely no shenanigans,” she said, “do I made myself clear?”

A spare glance at Lucien told Elain he was trying, and failing to appear chastened.

“We’ll go occupy ourselves,” Elain said, “don’t worry so much.”

That was probably the last thing Nesta wanted to hear.  But Elain only smiled brightly and grabbed Lucien’s hand, pulling him with her.

“We’ll be over here!”

“Not doing magic.”

Elain smacked Lucien on the chest.  He didn’t even bother to hide his laugh.

“Behave!” Nesta hissed.  She spun on her heel to return to Thomas’ side where he was regaling his boss with what must have been a truly miserable story about the lint stuck to his tie.

“C’mon,” Elain said, one hand still gripping Lucien’s. “I think there’s an open bar.”

Together, they slipped through the throngs of people that continued to arrive.  Elain recognized a few from various parties she’d been forced to attend on other occasions.  How she’d gained such notoriety for herself was a bit concerning.  Both for her sake and Nesta’s, seeing as how Nesta would insist on determining a contingency plan to explain Elain’s antics to whoever may listen.

 The plan would have to explain away Lucien now too as Elain was forced to introduce her boyfriend over and over.  

After nearly fifteen minutes of socializing with people Elain barely even knew--they managed to break free to the tables standing at the ready for a casual setting of drinks and hor-d'oeuvres brought around by waitstaff in black and white uniforms.

“Why don’t you get a table,” Lucien suggested, “I’ll get us some drinks.”

“Sure,” Elain agreed.

She watched him as he disappeared into the small crowd near the bar.  It was strange being here with him.  Having him as her date and acting like this was the most normal thing to occur.  She didn’t really understand why he’d agreed to this plan—helping her.  Well, if only to swindle another date out of her.  But this certainly was an elaborate way to get what he wanted.

She managed to find a few open chairs at a back table, not that she minded.  To have a little bit of isolation away from the awkward small talk of Thomas’ company was preferable.

Though, just as she moved to go claim the seats, a hand grabbed her elbow.  Elain spun around to come face to face with the one person she’d been hoping to avoid.

“Grayson,” Elain said, trying her best not to appear utterly taken aback by his appearance.  She’d known he was going to be here.  Had planned for it really, she’d just hoped he wouldn’t have actually tried to talk to her.

They’d dated for a year, the relationship ending only a few months ago now.  Nesta had introduced them at an event just like this.  Grayson worked in just one department over from Thomas.  It was the perfect situation, Nesta had insisted, and Grayson had always been a respectable prospect.  

But everything promptly fell apart when Elain had suggested going back to get her master’s and maybe even doctorate.  The news hadn’t settled well with Grayson who only wanted a perfect nuclear family and a perfect wife to be waiting for him at home.

She drew away from him even as he tried stepping in closer.

“Elain, it’s good to see you.” Grayson had a standard profile, nothing truly remarkable in his looks, though he did have a good nose.  His brown hair was neatly styled back, cut in a perfect standard haircut. “I didn’t think you would be here.”

“I’m supporting my sister and her fiance,” Elain said.  

She’d spent the better part of the last few months not necessarily getting over him—rather the way he made her feel.  She hadn’t been happy with the thought of simply coming home and doing nothing with her life.  While she wanted a family and wanted kids, she knew there was more she wanted to do with her life first.  Grayson had tried to make her regret all those things.  He’d stifled her, guilted her, done all the things that made her question who she really was.

There had been enough time wasted over him that she wasn’t interested in wasting even more.

She tried slipping past him. “I should go, I have—”

Grayson was too quick for her.  He stepped in front of her again, hand already reaching for her.

“We should talk, get caught up,” he insisted.

Elain could only stare.  He’d been so insistent about a clean break that he hadn’t even bothered to return any of the things she’d left at his apartment.  Only to pop up in her DMs a few months later to “check-up.”  She didn’t need this.  Or want this.

“No,” she said.  “You don’t actually want that, Gray.  And I certainly don’t.”

The grip on her arm tightened as a dark look flashed in his pale eyes.  He’d never liked being told no.  Some would say that was what made him good at his job.  Elain would say that was the real reason why she was happy with their break-up.

“Everything alright, Elain?”

Never had that voice sent so much relief spiraling through her.  Behind Grayson, Lucien had returned, drinks in hand.  But he wasn’t looking at Elain.  His attention rested solely on Grayson who slowly turned to assess the new arrival.

To Grayson’s credit, he didn’t balk at the sight of Lucien.  Even though Lucien was several inches taller with a stronger build.  Grayson had always been on the leaner side.  But with the dark look in his eyes and the way he stood, nearly towering over the bother of them—Lucien was not someone to be easily ignored.

“She’s fine,” Grayson answered before Elain had the chance.

Lucien quirked a single eyebrow and finally looked at Elain.  He still had that hard look in his eyes, but Elain knew that razor thin line between anger and control had nothing to do with her.

“Is everything alright, Elain?” he asked again.

“Fine,” Elain replied, rather proud that she was able to keep her voice even. “I was just telling Grayson that you were waiting for me.”

This time as Elain pulled away, Grayson let her go.  She was able to skirt around him and to Lucien without any fanfare.  As it was, they’d drawn a few eyes of other attendees.

“Elain,” Grayson began.  But Elain had no desire to hear what else he had to say.

“My boyfriend and I were leaving,” she said promptly.

Then with a bit more force than she intended, she managed to drag Lucien away from the growing scene.  It was a shame, she really wanted to dance at least a little bit.

She didn’t stop until they were through a small side door that led out into an empty hallway.  It was blissfully quiet and several degrees cooler than in the event room.  

“That,’ she said, “was just what I wanted to avoid.”

Lucien said nothing, only handing her a glass of champagne.  Elain accepted it gratefully.  While she’d never much cared for the taste, she needed something that would maybe settle her nerves.  Because everything inside of her was feeling spun on its head.

After she drowned the first glass, Lucien held out the second which she took too.

“Are you sure you're alright?” he asked again.  He didn’t try to reach out to her or comfort her in any other way.  Which Elain was grateful for.  The adrenaline still snapping through her would likely have made her do something stupid.

“Yeah,” she said.  She took another sip of champagne before shaking her head. “He’s just an ass and I should have done a better job at avoiding him.”

“Ex?” he confirmed.

“I didn’t even like him that much,” Elain admitted.  

She took a step down the blackened hallway that had only one emergency light burning in the distance.  A sheer glass wall looked out into a small garden walkway between two different parts of the center.  Most of the foliage was beginning to bloom with bright green leaves dancing in a small breeze that rustled outside.

Elain turned back to Lucien and smiled softly. “Sorry.  I promised an easy night out, not stacked with drama.  Thank-you though, for showing up when you did.”

“What are fake boyfriends for?” Lucien joked, returning her smile. “Did you know he’d be here?”

“I figured,” Elain said, “Nesta had Thomas introduce us.  And It was fine for a while…until it wasn’t.  I think she was going to try and set me up with him again tonight, just so I wouldn’t show up alone.”

Elain smiled softly.  She didn’t blame her sister, not really.  She hadn’t told anyone except Vassa the real reason behind her and Gray’s break-up.  She just didn’t think Nesta would understand.  Her sister had always had so much control over her own life that Elain felt if she admitted to her own insecurities…it would almost be a failure in and of itself.

“And I didn’t want that,” Elain said.  She set the second champagne glass down on a side table that had been left out in the hall. And then because it seemed like the best thing to do, she apologized again. “I’m sorry.”

“Elain,” Lucien said, stepping towards her. “You have nothing to apologize for.  Hell, you got roped into this whole night against your will.”

“Sometimes it’s just easier to go along with Nesta,” Elain said with a wane smile.  “I know she just wants this to be a good night for Thomas and she’s doing her best but…”

Lucien didn’t let her finish her sentence.  He took her hand in one of his large ones, immediately engulfing her in warmth.

 “C’mon.”

He began pulling her down the hall, away from the party.

“What?  Where are we going?” Elain asked.

Lucien only flashed a mischievous smile, the overhead lights catching in the deep umber of his eyes.  He led them to an emergency exit that took them outside to the cool night air.  After the stress of running into Grayson, the fresh air felt wonderful to Elain.  Even if the overhead clouds threatened rain, she loved the feeling of being outside.

After a few yards they reached the valet stand once again.  The same workers as before eyed them with a mix of amusement and wariness.

“We’ll need our car back,” Lucien informed them, passing a tip over as he spoke.  He then turned to Elain. “Wait here, I’ll get your coat.  I’d rather not have Vassa plot my murder.”

He shucked off his own jacket in the meantime and draped it over her shoulders before dashing off back to the event center.  Elain could only stare after him.  Was he seriously suggesting they leave early?  Elain could already picture the face Nesta would be making once she realized they were gone.  And the texts she’d receive.

But she knew even if she’d tried to object to Lucien, he would ignore her and insist playing a little hooky never hurt anyone.  It wasn’t long at all when he returned with her coat.

“What are we doing?” Elain asked as they swapped coats back. 

“There’s an ice cream place just down the street,” Lucien said, “best pecan praline in the city.  None of the food in there was interesting anyways, no bacon and no shrimp.  I checked.”

Elain’s sad little car puttered into view, coming to a stop just before them.  The valet got out, holding the door open.

“Ah-ah,” Lucien said, blocking Elain before she could get in. “You had two glasses of champagne.”

“One and a half,” she argued.

“Close enough.” He had the gall to wink at her before escorting her around to the passenger side. “Relax, Elain.”

She scowled at him, but ultimately knew he was right.  She shouldn’t be driving even if she thought she was fine.  Instead, she glared at him the entire time that he got into the driver’s seat and made a big show of adjusting just about everything he could think of.

“Damn, Elain, you’re short.”

“Vassa’s not the only one who can plot a murder you know,” she grumbled.

Not at all concerned by the mild threat, Lucien drove them the short distance to the small ice cream shop he’d mentioned.  Two oversized cups later they were back sitting in the parking lot with the car heater running while they watched the traffic in the distance.

“Nesta’s going to kill me,” Elain mused as she tasted her helping of pecan praline.  Which admittedly was the best she’d ever had.

“Just tell her it’s part of my famous magic act,” Lucien said, “the Now you see me, Now you don’t addition.”

Elain snorted. “Hm, I do always love a good disappearing act.”

“See?  Magic’s not all bad.”

Elain shook her head, trying not to give him the satisfaction of a laugh.  He must have sensed her straining efforts because he nudged her with his elbow.

“It’s alright admitting you were wrong, natural even.” He took a spoonful of his own ice cream--rocky road—and nodded to her. “Though, perfectionist that you are, I know how hard that is for you.”

“I’m not a perfectionist!” 

“Several hours’ worth of arguing in study rooms suggest otherwise.”

“Saying you’re going to wing it on an assignment worth thirty percent or our grade is irresponsible and ridiculous,” she told him.  A few of their shared assignments had been rather difficult to get through considering both of their different study approaches.  

“I still scored as well as you did,” he reminded her.

Rolling her eyes, Elain ate more ice cream. “But you never hated me?”

The words from earlier still lingered in the back of her mind and with everything else that had happened that night, she hadn’t really been able to puzzle them out.

“No,” Lucien said, “you were never someone I could hate.”

Elain watched him for a moment, considering her words.  She’d never really imagined herself here, eating ice cream while dressed in formal wear with someone she’d once rivaled with.  Someone she hadn’t seen completely.

“I know nothing about basketball,” she informed him, “so that game you’re planning on taking me to could turn into a disaster.  You’ll have to keep me well stocked with garlic fries and lemonade.”

“Whatever you say, Elain.”

.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

Thanks for reading y’all I hope you enjoyed it!  I have the vaguest of vague ideas for a nessian spin off, but who knows… anyways, love y’all and Merry Christmas <3

Tumblr is still throwing fits about my tag lists and I can’t do an extended tag list of people.  So, if you’d reblog I would really appreciate it! 

[beautification-tales]

Ginny's heart skipped a beat as she crept down the creaky stairs of her parents' old house. The scent of freshly baked cookies and pine needles filled the air, reminding her of Christmas Eves long past. She'd been expecting this feeling, of course; she was still that same skinny college girl who used to believe in Santa Claus. But now, as she caught a glimpse of a familiar figure hunched over by the tree, she couldn't help but feel a rush of excitement and nervousness course through her veins.

Her heart raced as she approached him, her breath hitching in her throat. Santa Claus, her Santa Claus, was putting the final touches on a pile of presents under the tree. "Santa?" she whispered, her voice barely audible over the crackling of the fire. "Santa, is that you?"

He turned around slowly, his eyes twinkling behind his snowy white beard. A warm smile spread across his rosy cheeks. "Ginny!" he exclaimed, his voice full of delight. "What a surprise! Why are you up?”

She felt her cheeks flush with a mixture of embarrassment and joy. "I-I couldn't sleep," she stammered. "I wanted to see if you needed any help."

He chuckled, his belly jiggling beneath his red suit. "Oh, you don't need to worry about that, my dear. I've been doing this for quite some time, you know." He motioned for her to sit beside him on the plush rug beside the tree. "But," he added with a twinkle in his eye, "I'm always glad for some company."

As they sat there, watching the fire dance and listening to the soft crackle of the wood, Ginny found herself opening up to Santa Claus in a way she never had before. She told him about her struggles in college, about how she missed the innocence of childhood and the joy of believing in magic. And when she confessed her secret crush on him, she felt a weight lift off her shoulders.

Santa Claus chuckled warmly, his eyes twinkling. "Why, Ginny," he said, "I've always known you were a special girl. And you know what? I think you might just be the perfect person to help me out this year."

Ginny felt her heart skip a beat. "Really?" she breathed.

"Yes, really," he replied, reaching into his red suit and pulling out a small, glistening object. "I've been searching for someone to take on this role for a very long time."

He placed the enchanted cookie into her hand. It felt warm and heavy, like it was imbued with magic. "This," he explained, "is an enchanted cookie. If you eat it, it will make you my special helper.”

Ginny's eyes widened in disbelief. "Really?" she breathed.

"Really and truly," Santa Claus assured her, his voice gentle and sincere. "It will give you the magic and power to help me all Christmas Eve.”

She looked down at the enchanted cookie in her hand, feeling a mixture of awe and trepidation. She took a bite as the warm cookie tasted like cinnamon and chocolate.

As she chewed, she felt a strange sensation coursing through her body. At first, it was a tingling in her fingers and toes, like pins and needles. But then, it spread through her entire body, making her feel more alive and vibrant than she ever had before. Her breasts seemed to swell, growing larger and fuller beneath her sweater, and her hips widened, curving out in a way that made her feel incredibly feminine.

She glanced down at herself in shock, then back up at Santa Claus. He was grinning from ear to ear, his eyes twinkling with delight. "That," he said with a nod, "is the power of the enchanted cookie. It's giving you the body of a goddess.”

As she continued to stare at herself, her reflection in the tree, Ginny realized that her pajamas had completely morphed into a Santa Claus outfit. The once-plain pajama top had transformed into a tight red blouse with white plush cuffs. Her pajama pants were now a pair of shiny black panties that hugged her legs and shapely behind. She even had a pair of black boots on her feet.

Her hair, which had been tied back into a ponytail, now flowed freely around her shoulders in soft, wavy curls. She felt as if she had been transformed into a living, breathing version of one of Santa's elves. She couldn't help but smile, feeling a thrill of excitement and anticipation coursing through her.

Santa Claus chuckled, seeing the look of awe and wonder on her face. "Well, well, well," he said, clapping his hands together, "it seems my magic cookie has done its job. You look absolutely radiant, Ginny. I knew you'd make a perfect addition to my team."

He stood up and offered her a hand, helping her to her feet. She felt a newfound confidence and grace as she took his hand, their skin connecting in a warm, electric way that made her heart race. "Now then," he continued, "it's time for you to begin your training.”

Ginny looked at Santa with a hunger in her eyes. She had always loved Santa but now it seemed she wanted even more as she licked her lips. She felt the magic coursing through her but she also felt something that made her now heavy breasts tingle.

"Yes, sir," she breathed, her voice huskier than before. "I'm ready to help you, Santa."

He chuckled, his laugh filling the room. "Oh, Mrs Claus, you have no idea how much help you're going to be. You are going to make all the children happy this Christmas Eve."

[thecoffeelovingfreak]

as long as you love me so

• jade leech x gn!reader • 1162 words • no warnings! • original prompt requested by anon!

for 'the snow's coming down', my winter event ❄

~~~

When you agreed to go on a hike with Jade, the forecast had only predicted a 20% drizzle. Now, as powdery snow continued showering, you realized just how quickly weather could outrun a meteorologist. It wasn't as though the path was untraversable, but snow piles up quickly and it would be safer to find a place to wait out the storm.

"I believe there is a cabin up ahead where we can rest and wait for the storm to pass." Jade spoke casually from beside you.

You nodded your head and continued forward, doing your best to block the snow from your eyes and ignore the chill of your nose.

Soon enough, a large well-lit cottage appeared. Smoke billowed out of the chimney, and the snow surrounding it seemed to have been recently cleared. To the left of the cabin was a large barn-like building with the same log style build. To the right was a garden, long dead and plagued by winter frost.

Climbing up the steps to the front door, you rapped lightly on the wood in an attempt to be courteous. As soon as your hand fell back to your side, the door opened to reveal a man with mid-length white hair wearing a green sweater and black pants.

"Hello, there! It's not very often I get any visitors during this time of year!" he chuckled, "Please, come in. There's no point in staying cold when I've got a lovely fire in here!"

The man opened the door wider and casted his arm towards the main room. With two quiet 'thank you's you found yourself sitting on a worn yet comfortable patterned loveseat next to Jade.

The middle aged man – Gunther – as you eventually discovered, disappeared into the kitchen with the promise of hot coffee, leaving you alone with the teal-haired vice housewarden.

"The kindness of strangers never fails to fascinate me."

You turned your head to look at Jade, retorting, "Really? What else fascinates you?"

His eyes lit up, but you continued: "Besides mushrooms."

His hand drifted to his chest almost subconsciously, but his eyes twinkled.

"How rude."

"I'm being honest, Jade! I want to learn more about you.

His features became laced with contemplation, before his eyes looked amused.

"You."

You hummed before asking, "What do you mean?"

"I am fascinated by you." 

Your cheeks involuntarily heated, as you turned your head to the fireplace. He chuckled quietly at your reaction as the owner of the house entered the room holding two steaming mugs and a golden key.

"Here you go." he said, handing each of you your coffee cups.

You thanked him before quickly taking a sip of the warm bitter drink, trying to calm your heart and save face.

"This is the key to my guest house! You're welcome to spend the night there, if you wish. I have a reservoir of wood between my cabin and said house, so feel free to take what you need."

With an expression of gratitude, Jade took the key.

"If you'll excuse me I have some paperwork I need to finish, but I will still be available if you need me." Gunther stated before walking towards a closed room – most likely his office.

Finishing your coffee, you placed your mug next to your companion's empty one and followed him out of your lovely host's home.

—

Gunther's guest house was quaint and carried a woodsy charm. The decoration consisted of many of his antiques and small personal items. Two paintings hung beautifully – one on the west wall depicting the local sunset, and the one on the east wall displaying the sunrise. A fireplace claimed the northern wall with the front door, and the southern wall’s arrangement was overtaken by a large bed.

With a simple spell by Jade, the fireplace was voluminously lit. Investigating Gunther’s antiques further, you found an old phonograph and a collection of 45s that appeared to be mostly traditional pop.

As you carded through the sets, a voice sounded in your right ear.

“What have you found, Y/n?”

You jolted lightly as a chill ran down your spine. Quickly recollecting yourself you replied,

“Some old records, however, I’m not sure from what decade.”

Moving slightly to the left, you allowed for Jade to view them as well. After looking at 5 more, his hand reached out to grab one with a half white and half purple label.

“If my memory serves me correctly, we have this exact record at the Lounge – though it is only a copy from 50 years ago, as that was the closest Azul could get to a primary pressing. I must admit it is quite charming to hold an original, given that this record is about 75 years old.” 

His tone carried interest and his movements seemed almost… eager… as he placed the record on its plateau and set the needle down.

As the smooth instrumental melody began, your curiosity of this new world’s music led you to ask who the artist was.

“Beau Carmichael. He was a popular serenader during his time and is now considered a ‘classic’, if you will.”

When the serenader’s voice began, you understood the public’s admiration for him. Mellow and deep vocals echoed soothingly around the small guest house, and the continuous soft melody of the song only added to that feeling.

Your heart started to race, however, as Jade held out his hand. You took it without question and let him guide you into a graceful dance. Thoughts raced through your head, but you tried using the music to calm you down. Nevertheless, when you really focused on the lyrics of the song you couldn’t help but think that Jade’s choice of record was deliberate. And when you looked back at the past three months – noticing the momentary slips in his mask, the seemingly genuine curiosity towards you, and the almost uncharacteristic consideration and protection he provided – you thought yourself a fool.

As your eyes met his olive and gold ones, you watched as he analyzed your features – most likely reading your thoughts. When he seemed satisfied with your conclusion, his gaze appeared adoring.

A small smirk overcame his features as his charming voice quietly sung the concluding lyrics, “I’m confessin’ that I love you.”

—

The next morning the storm had cleared, leaving Gunther with plenty of work to do before the sun decided to pitch in. After bundling up, the middle-aged man grabbed his shovel and set out to clear his property. At the same time he left his cabin, his two guests left his second house. With an exchange of good mornings, goodbyes, and a return of the home’s key, the couple set off. Upon closer inspection, the white-haired man noticed a small note attached to the golden key.

Thank you for your assistance, Gunther. While the snow was unexpected, it only made this opportunity all the more perfect. And, if you’re curious to know, my plan did work.

- Jade

[honey-minded-hivemind]

My serious answer on who Reader's companion in into the Unknown is Scott or Kurt. Both give off older and younger brother vibes. Scott would be a very good straight man to the weird and fantastical things going on, while Kurt is excitable and would continously think something is cool until he is reminded yet again that this place is dangerous and bloodthirsty before screaming.

My Crack answer is Lance, Peter, or Toad because they would be miserable and very vocal about it as they regularly get their butts kicked, and I think that's funny.

Ahaha! All good answers!

Scott would be worried, annoyed, and listing every problem with the world around them. He is hugging Reader at night though, and will fight off a Beast or Witch or Harvest Lord for them. He carries an ax or knife with him (he's wearing a sweater with a pumpkin or birds on it-)

Kurt would keep touching everything, from the black turtles and black birds and black roots and flowers, he's messing around with any sticks or teigs or pieces of candy or food he finds, and is talking the entire time. Reader has to save him from a soul-eating creature, and Kurt is hugging them, shaking, and apologizing. Poor guy is trying to make the best of a bad situation, and he tries to entertain himself amd Reader, it just goes wrong 7/10 times (he's wearing a blue sweater, tan pants, and possibly is wearing a witch's hat or cape, carries a bird companion with them, their version of Beatrice thr Blue Bird)

If it was Lance, poor guy is over it. Nope. No. No way. He did NOT sign up for spooky little towns or demons or the thing that sings in the woods at night. He wants out. He also happens to get into trouble, be it stepping in a pumpkin, having to walk in the rain, or falling flat into mud or a river. Reader is offering him a hand, they're giving him a handkerchief, and they're trying to steer him away from the woods (he's wearing a brown coat with black boots, he was carrying a rock in his pocket)

If it was Todd, oh my... This guy is shrieking, running away, amd using Reader as a shield between him and the frightening creature in the dark (it was a cat, thank heavens-). He hops in the puddles, he carries a frog or toad plush with him, and he's trying to joke and make Reader laugh while not breaking down that they're in a place thats creepy as h*ck (is wearing a frog sweater in pale greens and yellows, has brown jeans or pants, carries a frog/toad plush that gets a lot of names)

If it was Pietro, he's talking every second about how miserable he is. Seriously, where are they, why is it so cold and autumn-vintage-looking, where is some food, are they there yet, why couldn't it be anywhere else, did they hear something singing, wait, is that a bird- Reader is letting him run ahead and check for danger, while they go along with what he says, hoping it calms him down some. Reader tosses fruits and rocks between the two of them in a game of catch as they walk, hoping it takes his mind off their situation (he's wearing a fluffy sweater in pale blues and white, has white or pale tan pants, had a bird necklace on)

(Haha, I love it, @sugar-soda! They're all trying to make do with what they have, it's just hard when you're two kids stuck in the Unknown trying to find a way home (and there's no telephone) with a chill in their bones (are they truly alone?) )

[park-jimin-isnt-real]

🍂 pairing: namjoon x reader (platonic) 🍂 rating: pg 🍂 au: "over the garden wall"-esque 🍂 genre: autumn?? a lil spooky, a lil whimsy, a lil mystery; not quite angst, not quite fluff 🍂 this part: You learn a bit more about Devil Town and what you're doing here... and maybe bargain part of your soul away in the process? It's hard to tell. 🍂 tw: blood! 🍂 wc: ~4.1k 🍂 track: Devil Town ~ Cavetown: "You said something dumb again, she's mad, at least that's what they say." (sub-track, Female Robbery ~ The Neighbourhood) 🍂 devil town masterlist 🍂 main masterlist 🍂 an: part two is late but here! thanks to @theharrowing for being my beta and shout out to @sailoryooons for providing me with the creepy autumn vibes songs for the rest of these! i hope you enjoy reading this, please let me know what you think!!

"All that was lost is revealed..."

You blinked.

You didn't remember closing your eyes, and you certainly hadn't meant to. This time, when you opened them, a warm wooden ceiling greeted you. You soon registered the bed beneath you, rather than the wood of the bench from the forest.

You only blinked.

How had time passed so quickly? It was dark when the Fool originally led you to this room, this temporary space for you to reside in.

It was dark, wasn't it?

You couldn't remember the exact details. Was it light outside when the Guide found you? You couldn't see the sky through the trees, but surely you would've been able to tell the difference between day and night.

You looked out the window. It was still misty. The streetlights were on, or lit, or however they were producing light. There seemed to be no change from when you first arrived here to now.

But you had definitely slept.

You didn't feel any rested though.

You felt like you had only blinked.

You stood up, brushing your fingers through your hair, roughly working out any tangles you found. This was a strange place, with strange people, but you wouldn't find the way home by remaining in this room and blinking. You pulled the wardrobe open and decided to change clothes.

The shirts and skirts and pants hanging were all rather plain-looking. Simple colors, basic patterns, and perhaps a little too big for you, but you didn't mind. You chose a white turtleneck sweater and black trousers, nothing that would draw anyone's attention to you.

A large part of you dreaded opening the door, dreaded descending the steps, wanted to stay curled up in the safety of this room. You didn't know why. Why would you be so scared of a doorknob, or a small flight of stairs?

What if the doorknob squeaks? What if the stairs creak?

What if I get caught?

And who was going to "catch" you, the Fool? He seemed friendly enough, offering you a place to stay. He wasn't nearly as ominous as the Guide was.

Nothing would happen. You would be fine.

Turn the knob, open the door, go downstairs. You did it quickly, in order to shut out the voices in your mind that told you to stay safe. The world did not end.

You were okay.

The Fool was up and about, dusting off some of the taller shelves. He turned when he heard you coming, offering you that same dimpled smile.

"Hey, how are you feeling?"

You ran your hand through your hair again, a nervous tic you couldn't remember where you got from. "I'm not sure? I don't feel rested at all…" you trailed off, once again looking around at the shelves full of book and trying to not feel so off about it. " How long has it been?"

Was it truly only a blink or did you actually sleep a day away? You only had a month to figure out how to get home.

The Fool finished dusting the shelf he was on as he spoke to you. "Time and sleep work differently in the Unknown than what you're used to. Don't worry about it too much, you'll adjust soon."

Well, that didn't help you feel better at all.

You let the Fool continue his work, giving yourself a chance to really look around at the place you were staying at—beyond the bookshelves.

The wood was dark, and a lovely rug was placed in the center of the shop. There was a table with a set of chairs over in a corner, made of the same cool wood, with a runner draped across the table in the same design as the rug. There was a silver tea set out, but no tea had yet been made.

Try as you did, your gaze kept coming back to the closest shelf, and you couldn't help yourself anymore. "Can I ask you something?"

The Fool followed your eyes, "Is it about the books?"

"Book," you corrected him, "it's about the book."

He smiled again, and this time you wondered if it was a bit condescendingly. "No, books. They are different, you just can't tell yet." He finally stopped dusting, walking over to the main counter where you had first seen him. There were stacks of the same book again, this time decoratively placed on the corners. You followed, and stopped on the opposite side, leaning onto your elbows.

"Different how?"

"You're a very curious person," the Fool said instead.

"I just wanna know where I am and what I'm doing here, it can't be that hard to tell me that."

"You're in Devil Town," he told you, "and figuring out why is a part of being here."

That was a first. The Guide hadn't mentioned anything about that. You cocked your head a bit, asking, "What do you mean?"

"Most people don't get the option of coming to Devil Town," he explained (and you were grateful to have an actual explanation). "They simply move on to the Great Unknown, without much prompting or help. Lost souls like you —like all of us were at one point—only come to Devil Town because we're looking for something or we're running from something."

Whatever you're running from, it won't catch you here. It can't.

That's what the Guide had told you before you met the Fool. Had the Guide already known why Devil Town appealed to you?

But he also said he couldn't tell you what you were doing here, in the Unknown, in Devil Town. Was that meant to be a clue? A loophole he could exploit to point you in the right direction?

Was remembering what you were "running from" the way to going back home? (And, if you were running from it, did you really want to go back to it?)

"Which one were you?" You asked the Fool, instead of the plethora of other questions bouncing around in your head.

His smile didn't drop, but it did turn the tiniest bit harder. "I don't remember," he answered dismissively. "Now, are you ready to choose who you are?"

"I still don't understand what that means." No one in Devil Town had actual names, the Guide had told you that, but you still didn't understand why. Simplifying a person down to a single label was wrong; people were so much more multifaceted than that.

"Look around the shelves and find the blank book," the Fool instructed you, gesturing to the shelves behind you. You didn't really want to look at the shelves, but figured there was no true harm to be found.

It wasn't like one of the books was going to open itself up and bite down on your hand or anything.

Right?

It didn't take you very long to find what he was talking about. On the third shelf from the top, on the second bookshelf, there was a book that didn't have anything on it. It was the same brown the rest of the books were, same height and thickness, but the title was missing. You carefully pulled it from its place and took it back to the counter.

 "Good, now what was on the spine next to the book?" the Fool asked. You looked at him strangely for a moment, because couldn't he see what the title of all the books was? But he also said they were actually different, and you couldn't tell yet...

The longer you spent in the shop part of the building the less you liked it.

"It said 'the Runaway'," you answered, still put off by the strange name. It sounded less like a book title and more like what someone here would be called.

"Hmm, interesting," he mused to himself as he inspected the book you brought.

"What's interesting?"

"That means you're in Devil Town because you're running from something."

It won't catch you here.

What were you so afraid of? What were you running from, and why were you scared of getting caught?

"So I'm the Runaway?" you asked, just to clarify that's how this was working. "That's my new name?"

"That is who you are," the Fool stated, like it was never a question in the first place, then handed the book back to you. "And this book is now yours."

"But, this one was blank, the one that said 'the Runaway' is—"

"Look again," he cut you off. Hesitantly, you turned around again, looking at the bookshelves.

You were suddenly in an entirely different bookshop. The shelves and décor hadn't changed, but the books on the shelves were all different now. You slowly approached the nearest shelf, letting your fingers graze across the spines, some fat, some thin, some tall, some short. All different colors, all different titles.

"Everyone gets a book," he continued as you gazed in amazement at the books. "It documents who they were before Devil Town, and the choices they made once they were here, and how they ended up staying."

"Can I read them?" Someone must have figured out how to get home.

"No," he answered, sounding disappointed, "no one can."

You turned to look at him. He looked different without his dimpled smile, more somber and serious, and you didn't like it. "Then why document their lives at all?"

"If we knew why—"

"It wouldn't be the Unknown," you finished for him, "yeah, whatever." You were getting real tired of that excuse. It might be the Unknown but surely there were still some things that were known.

A few of the book titles caught your eye, and you wondered who these people were. One particularly thick book was titled "The Daredevil", while another one, much smaller and thinner, was "The Protector".

And maybe part of you was looking for "The Guide" or "The Fool", and since you couldn't read them anyway there wasn't any harm in looking.

"You'll probably meet some of these people as you explore the town, and you can ask them your questions."

You sighed and finally let your hand fall from the books. "Guess I'll start that, then." You were torn on exploring the town, on meeting the people here; part of you would love to stay here with all the books.

But you couldn't read them anyway.

So you turned and started towards the door, not really ready to venture out into Devil Town, but knowing there wasn't much else for you here helped your feet move forward.

"Wait!" The Fool cried, causing you to turn back to him. "There's one other thing."

"What?"

He looked unsure, like he didn't want to tell you what other thing was involved but he had to. "In order for you to leave with the book, and for it to start documenting, there's something we need to do."

You weren't sure you wanted to do whatever it was, but you also felt like you didn't have a choice. "Oh..kay…" you breathed out as you walked back to the counter.

"Place the book down again and give me your hand." You followed his instructions for the third time. You held your hand out for him to take; his wasn't cold, but it wasn't warm either. In his other hand, he pulled a small paring knife from behind the counter and your eyes went wide.

"This may hurt."

That was your only warning before his grip on you tightened and the knife slid across your palm, leaving a perfectly straight, shallow line in its trail. The Fool then flipped your hand over, pressing the cut on the cover of the book. Blood seeped out of the cut, onto the cover, in between your fingers, probably leaving behind a messy, bloody handprint.

You looked up from your hand to glare at the Fool, still holding it in place, still keeping his gaze down. He was muttering something under his breath, but you couldn't make out the words or read his lips. Then he looked up at you.

The Fool's eyes glowed yellow-white, nearly perfect circles, and his body turned shadow-black. All the light from the room was sucked out, channeling itself in the book and into him. The hand holding yours down resembled claws. You tried pulling away, but his grip was iron-tight.

"Let me go!"

"Common souls plain as bread must hold me o’er ‘til better fall dead."

His voice was deeper, more echoing and booming than you had ever heard. You grabbed onto your trapped wrist, hoping to get enough leverage to slide free.

You blinked.

The Fool let go of your hand and you fell backward, landing ungracefully on your behind. The light had returned to the shop, and the Fool looked normal again, all dimpled smiles and normal eyes.

"Sorry about that," he said, ducking his head a bit, as if he were embarrassed, as if he didn't just go through the quickest and most traumatizing transformation. "I've found that just cutting people is faster and easier than explaining it to them."

You couldn't care less about that at this point.

"What was that?!" You demanded to know as you pushed yourself up from the ground.

The Fool had the audacity to look confused. "What was what?"

Your eyebrows shot up. Was he actually doing this right now? After what he just said to you?? "All the darkness and the glowing eyes and the creepy sayings!!" You glanced back and forth between him and the book sitting on the countertop. It looked like your bloody handprint had already dried, somehow.

(And if you were paying attention, you'd notice that the cut on your hand had healed entirely as well.)

"What glowing eyes and creepy sayings?" He asked you, still playing dumb. "I cut your hand and put it on the book, nothing else happened."

He was actually trying to gaslight you right now. He had to be, but you couldn't imagine why that would be the route he was taking. Why not just tell you that he couldn't tell you what happened, chalk it up to being in the Unknown or whatever? Why was he outright deliberately lying to you?

"Ugh!" You screamed out in frustration, not the most clever thing you could've said but it was all that you could think of in the moment. You grabbed the book off the counter and stormed out of the bookshop, just barely hearing the Fool sigh behind you:

"I said something dumb again, didn't I?"

You stomped along the streets, passing people dressed much better for the chilly weather than you were. You knew there were jackets in your wardrobe, but you were too mad to go back for one right now.

Also, you couldn't really go back at this point. You didn't know the layout of the town (the Guide hadn't really given you a tour or anything, just dropped you off with the Fool) and there were no posted maps anywhere. You didn't want to disturb anyone out and about, either, so you settled for calming down a bit and walking around until you found a bench to sit on.

And you sat there, on the bench, your book in your lap, your limbs shivering ever so slightly, and you watched the people roam about.

You weren't sure where exactly you were, or how long you were there,

You only blinked.

At one point, you looked down at the book in your lap, red handprint looking up at you like it didn't know why you were so upset with it.

"I'm going home," you said out loud. "Do you understand, mystical book that's now blood-bound to me? Home."

"You're going home?"

The new voice shocked you, and you looked over your shoulder to see someone in a long, bright red coat, black pants just barely sticking out the bottom. His silver hair was being blown by the gentle wind, and his wide eyes looked at you intensely.

"Who are you?" you asked him, feeling nervous around this new person. You didn't want to have another encounter like you just had with the Fool.

"That doesn't matter right now," he dismissed your question, then bit his plump lip. "You said you're going home?"

"Not yet," you admitted to him, though you weren't sure why. "I've only been here a day, I think."

"So there's a chance you could still stay." He perked up at that idea, and that made you more curious. The Guide and the Fool had both been pretty ambivalent about you staying in Devil Town or leaving, but the newcomer was excited about you sticking around.

"Why do you care? And who are you?" You tried asking again, hoping this time he would tell you. Then a familiar voice rang closer.

"There you are!" The Fool ran towards you—still sitting on the bench, your book now being clutched closely to your chest. You wished it was something else, something softer. Something you were more used to holding like this.

A teddy bear, perhaps.

The Fool was slightly out of breath when he stopped in front of you, something large and black draped over his arm. He started handing the object to you when the person behind you spoke again.

"Fool," he said in way of greeting, voice colder than when he spoke to you.

"Loner," the Fool nodded to him, barely acknowledging him.

You turned again to look at the Loner, at the one the Guide had specifically told you to stay away from. He looked the most harmless of the ones you had met so far, what could have been so bad about him?

"Is she yours?" The Loner asked the Fool.

"For the time—" The Fool started to answer, but he was cut off.

"Because she has a book now."

"Yes, but—"

"So shouldn't she be on her own?"

"Can you stop talking about me like I'm not here?" You asked, starting to get upset all over again. You looked back and forth between the two, wondering what the Loner meant and still why you were supposed to stay away from him.

"Yes, sorry," the Fool addressed you for a moment, before looking at the Loner again. "I can take care of this," he insisted, "please go."

It took the Loner a minute to respond. "Alright."

Then he turned and walked away, without so much as a goodbye to you. You watched him retreat, even as the Fool sat down next to you.

"I'm glad I found you," he said quietly.

Your gaze shot to him, and your anger was reignited. "Why, so you can tell me more creepy things and then pretend they didn't happen?"

"No, I—" He broke off with a sigh. "I'm sorry about what happened, because clearly something did happen."

"And you just don't remember it?" You still didn't believe him, but perhaps his apology was sincere. He did look sorry for scaring you off, at least.

"I don't," he admitted, "truly." The Fool let out another sigh, looking away from you now. "I was thinking, maybe I should tell you some things about Devil Town and how it all works."

Well, that would be a start, both to him making it up to you and to you better understand why you were here and how you could get home. You took a deep breath, holding the cool air inside your lungs for a moment before exhaling and responding.

"That would be really nice, actually."

So the Fool sat down beside you and finally offered you the black object. You fussed with it for a moment, turning it this way and that, before discovering it was a long jacket. He had brought you a jacket but had foregone one himself.

You wrapped the fabric around your shoulders, huddling into it, grateful for the way it helped shield you from the chill. "Thank you," you told him, then met his eyes. He had a hint of that smile on his face again, but his eyes were still somber, carrying the weight of whatever he was about to tell you. After a minute passed without him saying anything, you prompted, "Well?"

"Well," the Fool repeated. He took a breath of his own before delving into it all. "Due to the nature of being in the Unknown, there's not a lot that we know about Devil Town. What we do know is what we can remember, and that gets documented in the books."

You both looked at the book now sitting in your lap as he continued, "It's Devil Town that chooses who you are. When you're in this probationary time like you are now, it pulls from your life before, but if you manage to stay in Devil Town you can change who you are. I was the Bookkeeper before I was the Fool."

"Why did it change?"

The Fool sighed, long and heavy, before answering. "Because I made a very foolish deal with a very powerful entity in order to stay here, and part of that deal is what I believe happened with you back at the shop."

"All the darkness and the glowing eyes and the creepy sayings?" You repeated your words from after that moment, this time asking rather than accusing.

He nodded, "I don't remember what happened, nor what purpose it serves to the Beast who offered me the deal. But I am sorry that it frightened you."

The two of you sat in silence for a bit as you absorbed all this information. The more you learned about Devil Town, the less you wanted to stay here, the more you wanted to make your way back home.

Somewhere in between the soft rustling of wind through leaves, or distant steps and quiet chatter among people, you thought you heard a twig snap behind you. Your head turned to look over your shoulder, to see if perhaps someone was there.

There wasn't.

But it reminded you of the new person you had met before the Fool found you. "Why did the Guide warn me to stay away from the Loner?" you asked, still gazing behind you, waiting to see if he would appear again. "He seemed nice enough."

The Fool huffed a laugh. "The Guide is just overprotective, don't listen to him. The Loner is… well, he's alone, and he's been here longest of us all." You turned to look at him again as he continued. "The Guide probably thinks that the Loner will try to convince you to stay in Devil Town, but the Guide doesn't wish this for anyone. He would rather people travel to the Great Unknown. Himself included."

"Well, I don't want to stay in Devil Town. I want to go home." You believed that if you said it enough, you would manifest the right path into existence, or perhaps get enough clues to get you there on your own.

"Time changes all things," the Fool smiled, dimples prominent on his cheeks. "You may not feel so at the end of the month." He finally stood, stretching his arms over his head, then turned to look at you. "Take the book with you as you explore. As long as you're on probation, you can read through it."

"But once my month is up—"

"It will join all the others on the shelf. If you do go home, or end up in the Great Unknown, then your story will stop there. But if you come back to Devil Town, it will continue to document your happenings."

"Any advice for exploring?" you decided to ask before he left you alone again. The Fool's hands were in his pockets, and he looked ready to leave back to the comfort and warmth of the bookshop.

"Be careful who you talk to, and more careful who you trust." The Fool warned you. His warning sounded awfully similar to the one the Guide had left for you, albeit less sinister. "And stay away from the river," he added, almost as an afterthought, "especially if you're by yourself."

With that, the Fool turned and began walking away, back to his little shop, and you looked down at the book—your book—once more. It hadn't changed at all since you came to this bench, but it felt bigger than before, more important now.

You couldn't remember how you got here, but the book would document everything that happened to you while you were here. And before your month was up, you could read through it. Was this how you got home? Exploring and remembering and piecing things together?

You curled the book to your chest again, huddling further underneath the jacket. The Fool had told you time moved differently here, so you decided to make time move.

You blinked.

🍂 thanks for reading!! 🍂 tagging: @secfir

[mdemontespan1667]

A Night To Remember

Lloyd Hansen and Reader

Warnings: Vaginal Sex/Choking/Spitting/Cheating (Reader)/Degradation

I wrote this drabble while I was trying to write something else. Hope you like it.

“Look at that perfect, tight pussy taking my big dick.”

Glancing down, you watched Lloyd’s impressive cock slide in and out, shiny from your slick. 

You moaned, low and aching.

Lloyd leaned forward, his mustache tickling your ear.

“You’re nothing but a needy slut, aren’t you.”

“Uh, I…”

“Aren’t you.”

His words bounced off the imported Italian marble walls.

“Ye….Yes.”

“Yes what.”

“Yes..I…I’m a needy..oh God..I’m a needy….slut.”

Lloyd snapped his hips faster.

Obscene sounds filled the small executive bathroom.

He spit on your partially exposed breasts.

“Play with your tits.”

Without hesitation you rolled your already peaked nipples between your fingers, driving your lust higher.

Without your arms to brace yourself your body flopped wildly on the Teak countertop.

Lloyd chuckled.

“Dirty whore. Letting a complete stranger fuck you while your husband’s schmoozing downstairs.”

He was right.

You should feel guilty.

Should make him stop.

It was Stark’s Halloween party after all.

But here you were, 20’s style Flapper dress rucked up around your waist, breasts popped over the beaded bodice.

“Does your precious Steve Rogers get your pussy all wet like this, stretch that hole like me?”

Unable to form a coherent sentence you shook your head.

His fingers dug into your hips.

You were so far gone you didn’t care if he left bruises. 

“I’m getting close Pumpkin. You better sort yourself out if you don’t want to get left behind.”

Desperate to cum, your hand dropped between your gyrating bodies.

“Damn, you’re just a dumb bitch in heat.”

You flicked your swollen nub faster, the palm of your other hand rubbing against first one, then the other nipple.

“Oh God…..I’m…”

Your walls clenched around Lloyd’s thick cock.

He batted your hand away, his thumb lashing your clit mercilessly.

“There..there..right…ahhh.”

The orgasm hit you like a freight train, body locking in momentary ecstasy. 

Lloyd threw your legs over his shoulders, perfectly maicured hand wrapped around your throat.

He slammed into you like a jackhammer, each thrust vibrating painfully.

Tears stained your cheeks, the pleasure/pain almost too much.

“You can take it Slut” Lyoyd ground out, “Pussy’s like a goddamn vice.”

His grip tightened on your neck.

“Lloyd..I’m…”

He completely closed your airway.

Black spots danced in your vision as the hardest orgasm of your life careened through you.

Everything tingled, caught fire.

You clawed at his hand, lungs burning for air.

“Fuck, Fuck, Fuck.”

Lloyd’s rhythm faltered.

 Then he was cumming inside you, your cunt milking every last drop.

With a final, violent shove he released you, dropping your legs.

Gulping air, you coughed, collapsing against the mirror. 

“You made a mess all over my dick Cupcake.”

He tucked himself away, buckling the fitted black pants.

“I should make you lick me clean.”

Lloyd checked himself out in the mirror, adjusting his collar. 

Conceited man hadn’t bothered with a costume.

His finger ran down your slit, dabbing the dampness on his neck and wrists.

“It’ll be more fun to see if Stevie boy can smell that sweet pussy.”

He pushed the heavy, wood door open.

Glancing back he flashed a sinister smile.

“You look like shit Buttercup.”

The door swung shut behind him but not before his voice boomed.

“Hey Rogers. We finally have something in common.” 

I don't even know who to tag anymore so if I tagged you and you don't want to be I apologize and please let know.

@caffiend-queen @alexakeyloveloki @americasass81 @lokislastlove @ironlady1993 @nildespirandum @starynighty @xoxabs88xox @sapphirescrolls @hansensgirl @momc95 @sagechanoafterdark @jtargaryen18 @punemy-spotted @sinceimetyou @rustytricycle @imdarkinme @xsapphirescrollsx @titty-teetee @saiyanprincessswanie @sweater-daddiesdumbdork

[weemsfreak]

Who's Rowan?

Hi all! I thought I'd write something different. This fic is a behind the scenes possibility from the night of the harvest festival, hope you like it :) ~ 2900 words

Larissa x fReader

Warnings: Fluff and comfort, mentions but not descriptive of death, violence, a weapon, gore, dead body, gross stuff like that.

It was a lowkey night…at first. You were sitting in front of the tv watching Yellowjackets, damn this show was weird, but you enjoyed it. After showering you had settled down in your pajamas with pasta and wine in hand, wishing Larissa was with you.

She was at the harvest festival, insisting that she go to keep an eye on a certain student who dared to run away. Despite being her girlfriend, you didn't want to go with her tonight. You just weren't feeling an outing. You didn't have anything to do with Nevermore as you ran your own business, a liquor store in the main square of Jericho. You rarely went with Larissa to events that had to do with her job. It wasn't that you weren't proud of her, of course you were. You just figured that she had her friends and co workers and you had yours, and you probably wouldn't be very welcome around hers, considering you weren't an outcast.

You were caught up in your show watching Misty do some serial killer shit when the door burst open, scaring the absolute crap out of you. You looked toward the kitchen as Larissa was running toward you, stumbling and almost falling over her flats. "Y/N, Y/N!!" she hollered. You stood up and ran towards her, taking her in your embrace and looking up to meet her eyes. She was out of breath and looked genuinely frightened. "Larissa, oh my god what's wrong?" you asked concerned. "Y/N I need you to help me, I need you to help me get rid of a body" she spoke loudly and fast, you knew this wasn't a joke. Still, it sounded like one. Who stumbles in late at night and says I need to get rid of a body? Knowing the shit that has gone on at Nevermore, it was probably something she got roped into. But Larissa was a sweet, loving woman, what could happen that would make her rush in here screaming about getting rid of a body? Did she murder someone? You wanted to ask questions, you had so, so many, but all in all it didn’t matter. Larissa was the love of your life and you would do whatever she said. "What the fuck Larissa?" you screamed out, seeing the panic in her eyes become larger. "Please Y/N, I'll explain later!" she screamed, tears gathering in her eyes. "Okay, okay, come get changed!" you hollered running up the stairs to your room.

As you came back two minutes later wearing black track pants and a sweater, you grabbed your switchblade and shoved it in your pocket just in case. Larissa was upstairs getting changed, and you had no sweet clue how she was planning on getting rid of this body. "Fucking hell" you muttered, downing your wine and making your way to the barn. You took chemistry in university, so you brewed your own alcohol in your barn as a hobby. You had many different chemicals, god knows why. You searched for the lab grade sodium hydroxide, of course it was on the top shelf. You jumped, you couldn't reach it. "Shit, fuck, god dammit" you screamed. You grabbed two flashlights as Larissa opened the door to find you. "Come on Y/N!" she hollered as she ran out into the darkness. You followed behind, catching up to her. "Larissa, please tell me what the hell is going on?" She walked fast, her strides carrying her much further than yours. She had tears in her eyes as she spoke, "Y/N, there's a monster out here. It has attacked people in Jericho, and they’re pointing fingers at Nevermore. I know it's not one of my students, but I don’t know who it is. Tonight, a student told me that another student, Rowan, was attacked in the woods. I went to find Rowan, I think he's dead." You looked at her, your mouth dropped open in disbelief. "I need to get rid of him. If sheriff Galpin finds him, Nevermore is done, over, shut for good. And that's not happening on my watch." Fuck, Larissa was intense when she needed to be. You found that so hot, and you loved it about her. "Larissa, you know I'm always on your side. Just tell me what we need to do." She sniffled, walking a few feet in front of you, and turned to look at you. Honestly, she didn't know what to do. "We need to bring Rowan's body back to our place. When the police go searching the woods, they cannot find it, do you hear me?" She spoke in the most stern and demanding tone she has ever used with you. "Yes ma'am" you replied.

As you reached the woods, you had a dreadful feeling. You never came out here for a reason. As you were following Larissa to the body, she shifted into the male form of herself, some man you've never met. This man was her default male shift that the used occasionally. You followed Larissa to the body. Jesus, what thing had claws that big? "Get his legs" Larissa said, and you picked up his legs while she held him by the arms. You both started walking back to your place, luckily you didn’t live far away. You looked at his stomach, all torn open from whatever monster had it's way with him. "Oh god. I'm gonna be sick" you muttered, almost throwing up on the ground. "Y/N just don’t look at him" Larissa cried, she couldn't bare to see a student like this. When you got back to your barn, you placed him on the ground inside. "Riss, I don’t know what to do, what do we do?!" you almost screamed as you watched her shift back into herself. "I don't know, I don't know" she panicked, pacing the barn. "I need to call the sheriff. If he finds out I knew about this long before I called it in, he'll be suspicious." You sighed, you knew what you had to do. Under heat and pressure, lye would be corrosive enough to disintegrate flesh and...well, you know. You just had to make it through the night, by sometime tomorrow the evidence would be gone. "Rissa, I need you to get this off of the top shelf for me, then go in the house and boil me some water, like a shit ton of water. The hottest you can make it." Larissa stopped pacing and stared at you wide eyed but said nothing. Tears were streaming down her face but you could see her anger start to bubble up. She wasn't angry at you of course, it was just this whole situation. "Larissa NOW!" you shouted, and she walked over to grab the sodium hydroxide off of the shelf. You took it from her and got out one of your barrels for brewing. You made sure it was sealed up so that there were no leaks. You slowly poured the whole bottle of sodium hydroxide in the barrel, careful not to splash it anywhere. You looked over at Larissa who was still beside you, she was frozen. You never saw her in this state before, and the fact that you were doing better in this situation than she was terrified you. You put the bottle down and turned to her. As you looked in her eyes your tears started to fall. You wrapped your arms around her waist and pulled her down to rest her head on your shoulder. She let out a sob as you rubbed her back, giving a kiss to her head. "Riss, listen, we're going to be alright, we got this, pretty. I need you to boil me a lot of water though, can you do that for me?" You spoke soft in her ear hoping to calm her nerves and get her to spring in to action. You never thought you'd see your girlfriend in this state, you always prayed that you wouldn't. She stood up and nodded her head at you, grabbing your face and giving you a wet kiss before turning to the house.

You opened the door in the floor that led underground. You carried the barrel down, placing it in the corner below a small high up window. You were so incredibly lucky that you brewed your own alcohol. That and having a chemistry degree have never benefitted you so much before. You climbed the stairs again and sat on a chair in the barn. You mumbled to yourself. "Okay, so, this sodium hydroxide is pretty strong and concentrated, it will hopefully work with a lot of water, it might just take a little longer. After a few days, I'll hook up the hose and syphon it out the window. It will kill the grass, but whatever. Larissa- oh fuck Larissa." You realized that you knew nothing about this boy and you couldn't form a plan to get her out of this if you knew nothing. You ran into the house and saw Larissa boiling water with every pot you owned, standing over the stove crying. "Riss, we need to form a plan, you need to tell me what happened tonight, and if there's anyway that we can get out of this." She looked to you, her lip quivering as she tried to form words. You grabbed a bottle of wine and took a swig before passing it to her. She downed some of it before placing it on the counter and turning to you again. "Larissa Weems, get your shit together. Let me hear that beautiful voice of yours, please tell me." You were never stern with Larissa, that was her thing. But you figured if she was stern with others and it worked, maybe she would respond to it. She tried to compose herself as she stood up straight and wiped her expression. "Rowan Laslow had telekinetic abilities. Lately they have been messing with him. He tried to murder one of my students, Wednesday, god knows why. One of my other students informed me that Wednesday said he got attacked by a monster. I don't know why she was in the woods with him and I don't know how she didn't get attacked too. When I went to see what happened, Wednesday was passed out so I sent her and all my students back to Nevermore." She trailed off looking at the floor, shaking her head. Quietly she continued, "I panicked. Nevermore can't have a student murdered again, it will ruin everything that I've built back up. They will shut us down if people find out." You took a deep breath, outcasts were a fucking handful. "Okay Riss, so what I'm hearing is that Wednesday was the only one to see Rowan dead, yes?" "Yes" "And she's not causing trouble now because she's unconscious?" "Hopefully" "Okay, here's what were going to do. You will call the sheriff and explain what happened, besides the part where you saw Rowan dead. Tomorrow when he is not at school, people will be asking where he is. You will say he must have ran off and that you never saw him. At an appropriate time, you're going to shapeshift into Rowan so that everyone, including Wednesday, sees him 'still alive'. Then, you're going to expel him for being dangerous and for not being able to control his abilities. You will let people see you, as him, leave the school grounds for good." She looked up at you, letting everything you just said sink in. She nodded her head "Alright, alright, that sounds like the best way to go. What do I tell his father?" You thought for a minute, you knew that parents were always one of the hardest things to deal with. "We will cross that bridge when we come to it, baby. I need you to help me now."

You and Larissa poured the hot water in the barrel before deciding you needed more. "Riss, we need to get him in here." As you looked up at her, her lip started quivering again and you saw her tears build up. "I know love, I'm so sorry this happened. You shouldn't have to deal with this Riss, but I'm here for you, all the way." She nodded her head again as you both ascended the stairs. After the deed was done, Larissa looked at him one final time. She turned her head and scoffed in disgust. "I've looked at him for long enough, put the lid on Y/N." You put it on and led her back in the house. You started boiling more water. "Larissa call the sheriff now, you're waiting too long." "I don't know what to say" she spoke quietly. You took a big breath, "Say that a student of yours informed you that Wednesday saw another student get attacked. You can't lie about that because she will wake up and probably remember what happened. Say that when you went to look for Wednesday she was unconscious, so you sent the students back to the school with her and you rounded the rest of them up to make sure they all made it back. Most importantly, say that you were told Rowan was the one who got attacked, but that you couldn't find him. And then you need to go to Nevermore and pretend that you were there this whole time." You turned back to the boiling water as you heard her mumble "Okay, okay." You mustered up a smile for her, "Put on your best principal act my pretty girl, this has to be believable."

You were sat back on the couch trying to relax after this insane night. It was pretty late now and you were really scared. You wrapped your hands around yourself and laid down, trying to get yourself to stop shaking. After Larissa called and went back to Nevermore, you filled the barrel and locked the lid on. You covered the door to the floor in the barn and locked the barn up. You were sure that the plan you came up with would work, and that there was no way anyone would find a trace of Rowan. Larissa's ability was so convenient, how could a principal even exist without shapeshifting powers? The thing that calmed you the most was reassuring yourself that you and Larissa weren't the murderers, you just got rid of the evidence. Still bad, still very, very bad, but it would be fine.

You awoke with a jolt when you heard the door slam closed. Oh shit, they were coming to take you to jail. You looked to the ceiling as you felt tears streaming down your face, you must've been crying in your sleep. Larissa walked over to you and laid on top of you, putting her face in your neck. This comforted you immensely. You loved when she put her all of her weight on you, it was like a really tight hug. "Everyone is safe at Nevermore now, and the cops are out searching" she mumbled into your neck. "Good Riss, that's good. They won't look here. They know there's something in the woods that's doing it, and you're not suspicious anyway." She sighed against your skin, her breath tickling your neck. "God Y/N, you saved my ass tonight." "I'd save your ass any night love" you whispered, nuzzling into her hair. "What did you put in the barrel? How is that going to help?" You thought for a second, you didn't want to think about it and she sure as hell didn't want to either. "I should spare you the gory details Riss, just know he'll be gone in a couple days." She started crying again, you could feel the coolness of her tears on your neck. "Seriously Y/N, I don't know what I'd do without you. You knew how to get rid of the body and you made a plan to get me out of this, a believable one at that. I was so useless and pathetic" her voice shook as she spoke. You took a deep breath trying to hold back your tears and whispered into her hair. "Larissa, you're the love of my life. You work so hard, harder than anyone I've ever met. You are perfect for the principal position, you have every good and possibly bad quality a principal should have" you chuckled lightly. "You shouldn't have to deal with this, you don't need the stress. You didn’t deserve the trauma you got from Nevermore when you attended and you don't deserve this trauma now. I might not understand because I'm not an outcast, but Nevermore is messing you up, sweetheart. You're just too selfless to care." She picked her head up and hovered above you, her beautiful blue bloodshot eyes looking into yours. She placed her red smudged lips against yours in a deep kiss. God, you hoped this wasn't the last time you'd kiss her. You prayed that you wouldn't get caught. You would never survive without her, but even after tonight, you knew she'd survive without you. You smiled at her and traced the back of your hand over her cheek. "You know, it takes a real normie to have the guts to do what you did tonight. You're the only person who doesn't make my life hell. This may sound like discrimination, but I'm so glad that you're not an outcast" she chuckled. You both fell asleep on the couch wrapped in each others embrace. You thought it was funny though, Larissa's ability. Her being an outcast may be saving her, but it's also the thing that's killing her.

[teejaystumbles]

Smapril Day 2: outdoors + "You shouldn't have said that."

Hob doesn't know where they are. Although the moon is high the woods are dark and quiet. His companion is just as silent and Hob can't help but try to ease his nerves with chatter.

"So, you know the way, right? I have to confess, I've not been in these woods since the turn of the 20th century. Has been properly reforested since then, looks like." He chuckles nervously and has to catch himself the next moment on his companion's shoulder when he stumbles over a root. The other turns and stares at him, eyes bright coins in the moonlight.

"I know the way."

"Good." Hob sighs in relief and lets go of Dream's shoulder. "Because I like hiking as much as anyone, but I must admit I'm a bit out of my depth here. What is it you want to show me?"

Dream looks at him over his shoulder. "You said you didn't believe me to be dangerous."

Hob smiles and shakes his head. "Well. I didn't mean to say you can't be, just…I don't think you're dangerous to me."

Dream is silent for a moment and his eyes narrow. "You shouldn't have said that. I…am known to be unable to resist… such a challenge to my pride."

Hob gives a little confused laugh at that and cocks his head in question. Dream turns around and suddenly grows until he is a black shape towering several feet over Hob who swallows nervously. "Dream?"

"Not Dream." Nightmare growls and lifts a sharp claw to Hob's cheek, drawing a thin line of blood. "You should run."

Hob shivers and instinctively takes a step backwards, his back hitting the trunk of a tree. He stares wide-eyed up at his friend's face, suddenly sharper and with a lot more eyes and teeth than before.

"I- I don't want to." he manages weakly and stubbornly locks his knees to keep them from giving out. This is important, he knows. Because he's not the one who is afraid here.

"I'm not the one who's afraid." he says softly out loud and watches Nightmare jerk back. "Even if you hurt me, I can't die, remember? I'm not afraid of you. Dream. Nightmare. Whatever you want to be called. I'll call you friend in any form you take." Hob's fingers are curled in a deathgrip on the bark of the tree, his body not immune to the flight response of his hind brain, despite his words. Still, Hob smiles and decides to go all in. With a sigh he whispers: "I'll call you love, if you let me."

Nightmare shudders and lets out a whine before shrinking in on himself. After a moment he is again the Dream Hob knows, face in his hands, shoulders trembling. "Dream…"

Dream falls forward into Hob's arms and lets him embrace him. "Hob…"

"Yes, dear. I'm here. You're alright." Before he can say anything more Dream's lips are pressed against his and Hob moans quietly in surprise. Dream presses himself against the whole length of Hob's body and when their groins connect they both moan into each other's mouths. "Fuck!" Hob gasps and scrabbles to get his hands under Dream's coat and in his hair. Dream groans and kisses him deeper, pushing his sweater up to his chin, fingers digging into Hob's chest hair and catching on his nipples. Hob lets out an embarrassing whimper and feels his knees give out after all, the prior rush of adrenaline leaving him shaky. He sinks down the tree trunk slowly, falling to the forest floor, lips catching on Dream's chin and throat on his way down, mouthing at his sharp collarbones and finally biting into the dark velvety fabric of the shirt covering Dream's belly.

"You don't need to scare me to get me on my knees, love. Could've just asked..."

He breathes a wet laugh against the top of Dream's pants and receives a broken moan and firm hands in his hair as answer. "Hob. I…"

Hob hums and nuzzles Dream's clothed erection, making him gasp and grip his hair tighter. Hob mouths at Dream through his trousers and pushes his right hand up under his shirt, counting his ribs until he reaches a nipple and pinches it. Dream whines and Hob smiles against him. His other hand finds its way between Dream's legs and teases along his clothed perineum, finally putting pressure against where his hole is hidden under the dark tight fabric. Dream makes a choked off sound and twitches his hips violently. Hob hums encouragingly against his clothed cock and feels the fabric grow wet under his lips.

"Oh, love…you're so precious." he murmurs and mouths at the wet spot, trying to suck out the taste of his beloved. Dream breathes harshly and growls before gripping Hob by the back of his jacket and shoulders and hauling him back up. Hot lips and teeth are on him before he can properly find his footing and they both stumble back against the tree.

"You dare…" Dream growls against his lips and Hob chuckles and kisses him sweetly. "I do. Love. Let me take care of you. Take us home."

Dream does.

[llewellynsoddities]

•I often like to daydream about existing in a world much different from ours

Today I stepped out of my sturdy but creaky old wooden cabin to head into town. The sun cascaded through the trees softly and danced warmly upon my skin. The wind blew briskly causing me to shiver slightly as my torn stained boots crunched the fallen leaves. Luckily, my stretched black knitted sweater and pants were enough to keep me warm in the crisp conditions. As I approached the center of town, I began seeing pumpkin and jack-o-lantern decorations all around. I stopped by as many pop up shops as possible to see if anything peaked my interest. One shop, owned by a ghostly old woman dressed in shades of orange with long glowing red hair, had lovely autumnal floral bouquets which I traded gold and crystals for. Another was selling pumpkins seeds, perfect to feed the crows that frequent the sky above my home. Eventually I reached the alchemy shop where I picked up various herbs,barks and oils for my potion brewing. Logan’s alchemy shop is always full of all sorts of characters; the owners son, Malachi, is said to be the most skilled alchemist in town. Unfortunately, he miss uses his admirable knowledge viciously often stealing and wrecking the pop up shops. I began walking back home and away from town as the sun set and the street lanterns cut on. The bugs of the night began singing their songs as the moon revealed itself shyly. Evening was when most of the towns people would venture out from their homes. Fortunately, I was only a few streets away from my long, wooded, windy and desolate street. Of course a lot of the people here are kind enough… but some of them I prefer to stay away from.

[small-sinclair]

To Be Young

An idea that I thought of base is this picture by @suwann-11. Enjoy.

Welcomed readers: @sketchy-rosewitch, @modern-greek-tragedy, @fluffy-little-demon

“Well, ain’t this somethin’?” Lester asked himself as he looked at the two twins. One moment, he and his brothers were racing through the woods all grown up just to see if Lester was still the fastest, but the marsh was too thick that Lester came out the other side in a town that was alive. Ambrose was alive and kicking with the sugar mill working.

He scratched his head as he looked around, taking off his hat. Where’s his brothers? Better question, where’s he, or when his he? He takes a deep breath as he looks around. Everything was so bright and familiar… he felt like he was dreaming.

“Well, betta find ‘em,” he said, putting his hat back on. Maybe if he runs backwards in the forest, time will rest itself?

A twig snapped behind him, making Lester jump. He turns around as he held his chest, and his eyes grew wide. Shyly, a young child stood half-hiding behind a tree, a bright blue eyes looking at him curiously. Long black hair sat at his shoulders and covered half of his waxed face. He wore overalls over a light brown sweater, his hands tucked into the long sleeves.

Lester slowly knelt down in disbelief. “Vinny?” He asked, eyes wide. “Vincent? Is ‘at you?”

The boy looked over his shoulder then back at Lester. Carefully, he stepped out from his hiding spot and came towards Lester. His fingers rubbing the end of the sleeves nervously.

“Do,” Lester felt nervous as he licked his lips, “do you know me?”

Vincent shrugs, bringing his hands up to sign slowly, ‘You look familiar, but no. Sorry.’

“That’s okay, Vincent,” Lester gave a soft grin. He stands up and dusts his pants. “I reckon Bo ain’t fair?”

Vincent shrugs. ‘I don’t know where he is.’ Then his hands fall as he a hiccup escaped. He looks up at Lester with a tearful eye. ‘I lost him,’ his hands were shaky.

“Oh! Don’t cry,” he knelt down and dug into his pockets, pulling out a hanky. “Here, sorry ‘at’s it’s dirty. It’ll do, yeah?” He offered a grin as Vincent took it. “How ‘bout we wait ‘Eee and see if he shows up—?”

“Hey!” Both head shot up to a young boy running through the forest, knees scraped, red button shirt. His pants were partly ripped and shoe untied. His hair hair with sticks and mud.

“Bo?”

“Get away from my brotha, ya freak!” Bo shouted a she raced towards him. Using a fallen log, Bo launched himself up and held back a fist. “Don’ touch ‘im!”

Lester felt Vincent go behind him and hide as Lester caught the fighting twin, kicking the air and throwing punches. He was fussy, but Lester tried to keep a good grip.

“Whoa, buddy! Hey!” Lester tried not to be scared of child Bo, but he knew how big of a higher his brother was when they were younger. “Calm down! I ain’t doin’ nothin’ to ‘im! Honest!” He let down the boy and stepped aside to show that Vincent was safe. “See? He was waitin’ wit’ me for ya.”

Bo breathed heavily as he glared at him then back at Vincent. “S’at true, Vin?”

Vincent nodded.

Bo looked back up at Lester. “Thank you,” he said bitterly. “But ‘m here now. So, you c’n git.”

Lester’s eyes fell on his brother’s wrist, new scars bleeding with raw skin. “Okay, Bo—”

“An’ son’ say me name,” the child spat, pushing Lester aside and stood next to Vincent. “Never gave ya it, too.” He took Vincent’s hand and led him towards the house. “You okay, Vin? Did he hurt ya?”

Vincent shook his head. He looks back at the bewildered Lester and stops Bo. He lets go of his hand and walks back slowly towards him, his wondering blue eye never leaving. He stood a foot a way and signs, ‘Thank you for staying, sir.’ Shyly, he gave Lester a hug.

Lester held up his hands slightly at his brother’s hug, but his hands lower and ruffled his hair slightly. “Yer welcomed, kiddo.” As Vincent stepped away and went back to his brother’s side, taking his hand.

Lester shoved his hands him his pockets and offered a smile. He nodded at Bo, saying, “Watch over ‘em, yeah?”

Bo nods and turns, leading his brother back to their home.

Lester looked back at the forest and felt the warm air through the trees and bushes. He felt that it was time to leave, and he was okay with that. He steps back into the forest and walks back towards Ambrose, leaving behind something at was never his.

“I think I understand now,” he said to the marsh before going through the thick of it. “Than’ ya fer showin’ me.”

He walks through the bush and muck, coming back on the other side. He looked around at the empty town and smiled.

“Lester!” He jerks his head to the left and saw Bo jogging towards him, Vincent following with Jonesy on his heels. “Where t’hell have ya been? You were gone fer an hour!” Bo stood in front of him and brushed off the thrones and twigs. “Well?”

Lester but the inside of his cheek then answered, “Was lost,” he gave a half smile, “but found my way home.”

Bo brought him into a hug, Vincent patting Lester’s back. “Don’t scare us like ‘at!” He pulled away as Vincent swung an arm around his shoulder Jonesy barked happily and circled them. “Come on. Let’s go home and get ya washed up.”

He turns and leads the way home, Vincent keeping his little brother close.

This was his home, and no one was going to take it from Lester.

[satans-helper]

Reaching for Stardust - Part XVII

Read Looking for Space here / Playlists / Read RFS on wattpad or read previous parts here

Word Count: ~4000

Warnings: none:)

This chapter took me ages to write! But it ended up being quite a fun one. Hope you enjoy <3

---

“I can’t believe the boys actually wanted to go to a club,” I said from the passenger seat of Josh’s Jeep. Although it wasn’t a super long drive to get to the city and to see our kinsmen again, I was glad for the break in the harsh winter weather that made the journey smoother–instead of the ice-slicked and snow-covered roads we’d been struggling to get used to again, the highway was clear and dry, the snow kept to the sidelines. The woods lining the interstate were still coated in a seemingly perpetual layer of white which seemed to sparkle a bit with the rare and warm sunshine, the sky a wall of gentle blue and sparse clouds, the sunlight strong through the windshield. I was actually beginning to feel too warm with the heat from the vents and the sunshine licking my skin, bundled up with anticipation of the worst. You never knew when things might change. But underneath my coat, I was already in my “going out” outfit–a midnight blue sequined top with a deep v neckline that was slightly itchy on the inside but not enough for me to sacrifice it, a black skirt and matching sweater tights to complete it. Sequined black heels too, which made me notably taller than Josh, which he seemed to actually love. 

“It is a little surprising,” Josh agreed, also dressed in his New Year’s Eve celebration outfit–gray, almost silvery, pants and a matching jacket, a white shirt underneath, all topped off with a mixture of silver and gold jewelry. I figured we’d both be sparkling quite a lot throughout the night. “Then again,” he continued, turning down the heat after he saw me close one vent. “I think they’re always riding on the high of a much busier life these days. Going out to a whole myriad of places is more natural for them now.”

“Yeah, that’s true.” I looked out the window again, following the treeline with my eyes, imagining how much fun those three boys must have after their shows. Josh and I heard a lot about those nights, sure, but it would be so different to be a fly on the wall. Or to actually be there.  

“Jane didn’t wanna drive down with us?”

“She’s already there,” I said with a laugh, pulling out my phone to check again for texts from her, though I had a feeling there would be none. “She drove down yesterday.”

“Oh, they had a sleepover?”

“Yes. Imagine that.” Yup–no texts. I clicked my phone shut. “I’m assuming it all went well since she hasn’t texted me at all. Did Jake text you?”

Josh chuckled. “Nope. And why isn’t Bev joining us tonight?”

“She’s got another party to go to.”

Josh gave an exaggerated, offended scoff. “Would this other party be better than spending the night with us at a club called Pearl, drinking overpriced champagne and smoking all of Sam’s weed?”

I laughed. “I think she just doesn’t wanna hang out with Sam, honestly.”

I saw Josh’s lips twist a little. “Ouch.”

“No, no, it’s not like she hates him or anything,” I assured him. “I think she’s still attracted to him but knows he’s not interested anymore. So it’s easier for her to take a step back.”

“You think that or she told you that?”

“She told me. More or less.”

“Well,” Josh said, shifting in the driver’s seat. “That makes me a little sad. Bev is great. Is this going to make their places in the wedding awkward?”

“She assured me that it won’t,” I told him and, for once, I actually really wasn’t worried about it. “She’s hell-bent on finding some hottie at her party tonight and bringing them home.” 

“Oh, is that right? I hope she achieves her goal.”

I reached over to briefly toy with his earring. “What’s our goal tonight, Josh?” 

He giggled and swung his head to the side to evade my intentionally ticklish touch. “Our goal, my darling, is to get absolutely wasted and have the best time ever.”

“Which we will be doing again in like, two and a half weeks.” I shuddered, not from any slight chill in the car but from the anticipation. “At our wedding.” 

“So?”

I smiled, using Josh’s own smile at me to turn the nervous anticipatory energy into unbridled excitement. “So let’s do it.”

-

Pearl lived up to its name which, in my own naivety, I hadn’t expected. Then again, I should have known that Sam especially would only go to a club he passionately approved of, which meant it wasn’t going to be a cesspool or anything even remotely close to “subpar.” Still, I hadn’t been prepared for the slick white light, the shimmering waves illuminating a glossy, excited crowd, hot, scantily clad bartenders and servers passing out colorful cocktails in slim glasses, and certainly not the very not Sam music, which was pulsating and electric. The sound felt like it was vibrating through my bones as the entire lot of us made it past the exceptionally well-dressed bouncer and headed toward the bar.

The place was packed despite it being early. It wasn’t even half past nine, yet a throng was caught up at the bar, some people leaning over the counter in desperation while some stood back, shoulders straight and taut, eyeing the bartenders with impatience and contempt.

“I’ve never been to a club where so many people were actually dressed up,” I noted to no one in particular while I surveyed the people squishing against our group. Even the people who didn’t look fancy were sparkly enough to make up for it. 

“How many clubs have you even been to, girlie?” Sam asked, a cheeky smile on his face while he stayed close to Danny, who was one of the people leaning over the bar. The two of them were dressed up–Sam was in silky, shiny creamy fabrics with a bold pop of red from his jacket, while Danny was in black and indigo. I could even see faint traces of black eyeliner around Danny’s long lashes–oh, how things had changed. 

“This makes two,” I told him, earnestly proud of that fact. 

Danny fell back into line with all of us and said, “It’s gonna be an eternity before we get drinks. Should you guys find us a table or something?”

“Yeah, what exactly are we doing here?” I asked, trying to peer past the crowd ahead of me for spare tables. There were people sitting on the edges of the club, but on free-standing stools, not tables, and with my strained leering I could see a dimly lit hallway that piqued my curiosity. I tugged on the sleeve of Sam’s jacket and asked, “What’s back there?”

“Actual tables,” he told me, giving Danny a shove to get him struggling for the bartender’s attention again. “There’s also a big patio out back.”

“There’s also another bar in there,” Jake said, tilting his head and looking at Sam with his eyebrows raised. “So why don’t we try that?”

“Tag team it,” Sam suggested, lifting his arms to gesture out at the hallway and back behind himself at the bar. “Us here, you back there.” 

“And WE will find all of us a table,” Josh added, linking his arm with mine. 

“My god,” I said, too quiet to be heard over the music while Josh and I navigated through the crowd, Jake and Jane just a few steps ahead of us. I raised the volume of my voice to say, “What do you think about this place?”

“I’m not sure yet,” Josh called back to me, pivoting to avoid being elbowed by a man shoving his way past us to, presumably, get to the bar. “Visually, I don’t dislike it. The music, however, I’m not sure about.” 

I wasn’t either. The fast beats that had been laced with electric pop sounds had been replaced with what sounded almost like strange, electronic remixes of goth metal songs. “It’s like whiplash,” I had to shout back to Josh. 

The dark hallway was lit with strings of fake pearls, all dripping from black wires that almost entirely disappeared into the walls, and then we were in an even larger room where there were indeed tables. I sighed with relief–the space was marginally quieter, though the same songs filtered in my eardrums, and the bar was entirely visible. I watched Jake take Jane’s hand and zig-zag through the other patrons to reach it as I cleared my throat, the air so full of so many different colognes and perfumes, smoke and sweat, everything dry and dank at once. 

With the volume of the music so loud, Josh and I resigned to sitting next to each other in mostly silence, primarily communicating with facial expressions and hand gestures–a sour face from me when a man in a pleather jacket and way too much Axe body spray walked by, which made Josh sniff after the man and laugh hard into my side. The wait for drinks continued, and Josh’s eyebrows lifted and his lips parted in awe while he pointed at two girls headed to the bar, one in a purple sequined mini dress and the other in a longer, flowy, glittery teal dress. 

“Matching!” Josh said, leaning against my shoulder to get right at my ear. “Kind of.”

I nodded, my eyes following the shift of those purple sequins until the girls disappeared into the sea of people, then caught a glimpse of red and black headed our way–Sam and Danny, respectively. 

“My fucking god,” Sam said loudly as soon as he was within six inches of our table. He set down a try of six shots that he’d been carefully cradling the entire way as Danny set down a separate tray holding four different cocktails. 

“It’s nice that they gave you trays,” I noted, tapping the one holding the shots which was all iridescent and cream colored. “So fancy.”

“You didn’t get Jake and Jane drinks?” Josh asked, scanning the tray of cocktails that all looked unfamiliar. “What are these anyway?”

“Different house cocktails,” Danny said, pointing at each one as he explained them. “This red one is called something like ‘Cherry Divine.’ I think it has amaretto in it.” He pointed at a bubbly, almost clear drink with a strawberry garnish in a shorter wine glass. “This one has champagne in it but I can’t remember what else.” 

Sam shoved those two at Josh and I, clearly ready to get on with it, and took the last two for himself and Danny. “Okay, yeah, drinks,” he said with a huff, running one hand through his hair. He picked up a shot for himself and gestured at the tray. “Let’s do shots already.”

“Wait, wait,” Danny said, laughing, and grabbed Sam’s arm. “We have to wait for Jake and Jane.” 

“There they are!” Josh said victoriously, standing up and waving an arm out at the pair headed toward us, another tray of shots in Jake’s hands and another tray of cocktails in Jane’s.

“Long wait,” Jake needlessly explained as he lifted the tray of shots over his head while shoving past a different couple going in the opposite direction. With a deep sigh, he set it down once he was finally at the table and Jane set her tray down in tandem, then they both looked incredulously over the four trays holding the copious amounts of alcohol.

“So are we gonna do all these shots right now?” Jane asked with a laugh, sitting down across from me, the silver and purple glitter in her fine, tulle-like top catching the light. 

Jake sat down next to her and finally Sam and Danny joined in their own chairs, the table bouncing a bit as Sam slid in too hard. “We really should,” he said, already reaching for two of the shots. He and Josh were actually the least sparkly and shiny of us all, with Jake taking a little note from Danny with his all-black ensemble. “I’m feeling fairly desperate for a cigarette now.”

“Me too,” Josh echoed, passing me a shot next. I sniffed the clear liquid, discovered it was tequila, and grimaced. Josh just laughed and said, “You’ll need one too after this, won’t you?”

Twelve shots down the hatch, two for each of us, most of us wincing with each one; we sipped our cocktails as chasers and sat there amongst the excitable crowd, all of us turning our heads one direction, then the next, to take in the atmosphere. 

New Years always felt strange. There was so much expectation, but for what? Josh and I tried–and succeeded, honestly–to make the best of it every time it came around. The harsh, dark, bitter cold winters ended up being no match for a rowdy night full of multiple bottles of champagne, loud music, card and board games and the inevitable midnight kiss which always led to sloppy, fun, giggly drunk sex. This year was the first in a couple years we’d gone out, although last year we had also ended the night with not just the two of us. 

Looking away from the strangers and back to all my friends–my new family–I began to wonder what next year’s celebration would look like. There had been a night recently where I’d been texting Danny, mostly about wedding stuff but also about band stuff, and the latter proved to be more interesting–I’d known how talented all the boys were and I’d seen their success grow more and more over time, but I hadn’t known just quite how serious it was becoming. Danny wouldn’t tell me details–he swore that he couldn't–but apparently big things were happening. Bigger than all the other big things that had happened. And with the sudden onset of a wicked buzz in my head from the shots and somehow downing half my cocktail without even realizing it, my mind lingered on the mystery and the trepidation that came along with it more than I cared for.

“Is anyone feeling daring enough to dance?” Josh asked, scanning each and every one of us with bright, mischievous eyes. 

“Can anyone dance to this?” Danny asked, tilting his head, eyes looking up. “I don’t even know what I’m hearing.”

“I’m gonna need a few more drinks before that happens,” Jane said, and I voiced my agreement.

“Patio?” Jake offered, gesturing to the vague backdrop where the patio must have been waiting, and was probably just as congested as the inside of the club.

“Are we really ready to risk losing our table?” I asked, though I wasn’t quite sure I wanted to stay in any longer once the music changed yet again. The bass was even louder than earlier, aggressive and juxtaposed by swooping, high-pitched vocals. Maybe later on they’d start playing more familiar tunes. I turned to Sam and asked, “You chose this club? May I ask why?”

“Okay, alright, the music absolutely sucks ass,” Sam agreed, lifting his cocktail. “But the drinks are good, it’s busy, it’s kind of cool. Sue me for wanting us all to do something different for the new year.” 

“No one’s gonna sue you, but I do really want to see you dance now,” I told him; Josh smiled and gave an enthusiastic nod while Jake snickered behind his drink. “You know, to make up for it.”

“I would also like to see you get down with these strange, terrible songs,” Danny chimed in, nudging Sam with his elbow. 

Sam roped an aggressively affectionate arm around Danny’s waist and brought their faces close together. “Only if you do it with me. You’re the one with all the moves.”

The patio out back was less crowded but still full of life, although most people had covered up their festive outfits in favor of jackets and coats to shield against the cold. Some brave girls didn’t cover up at all and I wondered how they were standing out there without, at the very least, shivering violently. 

The city street in front, mostly devoid of trees, sent wind hurtling back to us but the vague sort of tree-lined courtyard behind the fence–also covered with string lights of fake pearls and tiny, glittering white stars–shielded us a bit from the other wall of cold air. I wrapped my coat tighter around myself and Josh pressed himself to my side. My hand that was holding my drink was already becoming frigid and a little stiff; I went to put the other in my coat pocket but Josh grabbed it and held it, his hand warmer while he rubbed his thumb over my knuckles for a few seconds, then he let me go to fish for his cigarettes while Jake pulled out his own and Sam whipped out a joint.

No one else around us cared about what we were doing or who we were–while I shared that American Spirit with Josh, I wondered to myself if Jake, Sam and Danny were reveling in their anonymity. Someday, they might not have much of it. But tonight, we were all strangers to the rest of the club-goers, just another posse looking for a good time and to ring in the new year with lights, glitter, alcohol, smoke and that excitement that some people like to say only comes once a year. Meanwhile, I was sure I felt those butterflies, the anticipation, the bundle of buzzing sparks every day with my sweetheart, who stayed close to my side and whose fingers brushed against mine each time we passed the cigarette back and forth. 

We smoked; we drank; we danced. Danny really did have the moves, I was reminded of again–I hadn’t seen any of the boys dance in so long that I couldn’t stop laughing with pure delight when Danny was the first to get out on the dance floor and force himself to jive with the music. I watched Sam watching him, then he swept out to meet his best friend and long, gangly limbs moved alongside Danny’s more built ones; it didn’t take long for Jane to pull Jake along by the hand, giggling enough for him to laugh too, and Josh and I watched them all until the song changed. Then he was doing the same thing–grabbing my hand and yanking me into the crowd, into the circle of our very best companions, while the clocks around the Eastern time zone ticked minute by minute into the night, while everyone forgot all the bad things that had happened in the past twelve months.

Pearl had their own ball to gradually drop in the last minute of the night and, of course, it looked like a huge, shiny, opalescent pearl. It twirled in the air, sparkling in the lights from the extra layer of jewels and sequins coating it, as some people kept dancing, ignoring it, some kept dancing while watching it with their heads tilted up and fixed in the same direction, while some people stopped entirely to focus their full attention on it. It was a mixed bag in our group–Sam and Danny kept dancing as if the ball didn’t exist. Jane and Jake swayed together slowly, side by side, watching the molasses-slow drop, as if the music was something gentle and light. Josh gathered me in his arms and swayed us together too, my back pressed to his front, and I had a hunch we were both imagining the giant fake pearl as the moon outside–the moon that would ascend, not fall, on both, on all, of us in just a few more nights. 

Despite the club being more or less a total mass of strangers, most people all chimed in together for the final ten second countdown of the ball drop. Sam and Danny did too, which prompted the rest of our group to join, all of us so drunk and stoned that every second of camaraderie felt like part of a huge, profound mission. In a way, I think it was–getting through any year was a feat every person should celebrate. 

I felt an excited sort of trembling in my bones, my eyes wide and too clear given the amount I’d drank as I followed the descent of that opalescent orb hanging overhead like it really was the moon. The moon displaced, an artificial but still significant moon that had been created just for us, for all of us who danced, laughed and consumed beneath it. 

When the chanting of counting became a roar of nearly synchronized cheers, before Josh spun me around, I saw Sam grab the sides of Danny’s face and pull him into a shocking, searing kiss. My own laugh in response at what I’d witnessed caught in my throat, a hand flying up to my mouth; I saw a flash of dark hair that I knew was Jake going in to kiss Jane, then Josh was in front of me as my mind went dizzy for a moment. But when he pressed us back flush together, facing each other this time, and his mouth met mine. I blinked into velvet darkness and felt like we were the only two people in the universe for a brief, blissful moment.

-

“So…” I began, slurring the single word, while Josh and I were undressing in Danny’s room. Now even more unsurprisingly, he and Sam had volunteered to share Sam’s room and leave us in Danny’s, and I had saved this juicy gossip until Josh and I were alone. It hadn’t seemed like the best thing to bring up with all six of us crammed into an uber on the way back to the boy’s house, although even in the dark confines of that SUV, Sam and Danny hadn’t hidden touches of their hands and the pressing together of their thighs. 

“So..?” Josh countered with a sly smile at me not having finished my thought. He stumbled as he tried to take his pants off, helplessly hopping around on one foot until he careened over to prop himself up with the edge of Danny’s bed. 

“So,” I began again emphatically, raising my eyebrows at Josh while I unzipped my skirt. “Did you see what Sam and Danny did when the ball dropped?”

“I caught a glimpse,” Josh replied with a chuckle, then a grunt of effort as he struggled to kick his pants all the way off. “Given how things have been going for a while, can’t say I’m surprised. Anyway, who doesn't want to kiss Danny?”

I laughed and nodded. “Totally, right? But yeah, not surprised, just surprised to see it, I think.” Standing in just my bra, tights and underwear, I grabbed my overnight bag to rummage through. The pajamas I’d packed felt luxuriously soft, comforting and inviting against my fingers, the electric energy of our celebration night dwindling into the usual drunken sleepiness.

“Everyone’s pairing off!” Josh said with a dramatic flair of his voice and a dramatic whipping off of his shirt to the floor. “What are we going to do?”

I laughed, tossing him his own pajamas from his bag. “Who do you think will get married next?” 

“I can’t even think about that.” Josh stripped down to nothing at the same time I did. “I almost didn’t remember you and I were getting married until just now.” 

I let out a loud laugh while the soft cotton brushed over my chilled skin. “You’re a little liar. I’ve thought about it a lot tonight, actually,” I told him, looking away from his nude form to find my travel toothbrush. “It was a really enchanting night. I didn’t expect it–not with the music and the club being, like, what it was.”

“It was a great night,” Josh agreed, achieving a little more balance while he got his PJ pants on. “Now it’s a new year–what are we gonna do with it?”

I paused at the bedroom door, toothbrush in hand, head and heart thumping: “We’re gonna get married and we’re gonna have the time of our lives.”

---

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