#but everything starts to fall apart for the both of them once aris starts noticing uni's whole slowly becoming more comfortable with being | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

scarlettriot · 3 years

Text

Stood Up

Pairing: Sero/F!Reader

Summary: When you find your dating making out with someone else at a Halloween party, Hanta swoops in and reclaims your evening, rekindling an old flame.

Contains: Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Demisexual Reader, Astronomy/Greek Lore Nerd Sero, Old flame

Warnings: 18+ Below the cut, Minors DNI! Swearing, Demi Problems, Praise/Smidge of Degradation, Name-calling (slut & whore), Pet names (Love, good girl, pretty girl), Car Sex, F Masturbation, Oral M Receiving (Road Head) I think that's everything

A/N: This took me much longer than I expected. It's also my first time writing Sero. Given the season, I decided to add a touch of Halloween and costumes to this one.

If you'd like to read other's in the Stood Up series, here are the links:

Stood Up - Bakugo - WC 3,502

Stood Up - Kirishima - WC 3,612

Stood Up - Kaminari - WC 2,461

Word Count Starting Below: 3,494

Denki Kaminari's annual Halloween bash was in full swing by the time Hanta had arrived. He'd come straight from patrol, wrapping himself up in his own tape making a half assed mummy costume for himself. Not like anyone would notice with the flashing colored lights, loud music, and abundance of liquor.

However, Hanta didn't even make it up to the double glass front doors of Denki's home. Not before doing a double take at the very familiar pirate that ran by him.

"Y/N?" You stopped allowing him the chance to catch up to you, "Holy shit, it is you, when the hell did you get back?"

Three years you'd been gone, working in America. Time differences and busy schedules made it so the two of you barely kept in touch. It was a shame, Hanta thought, considering how close the two of you used to be.

"I- uh- just a few weeks now. I heard you were helping out with the disaster relief after that storm."

It had to be his eyes playing tricks on him, the funny colors of the dancing lights were what made your cheeks look wet, right? Those couldn't have been tears.

"I was, yeah, but I got back yesterday. I didn't know-"

"Get the hell outta here!" His head snapped back towards the front of the house, just in time to see Eijiro, dressed in an impressive werewolf costume, literally throw someone out of the party. The guy drunkenly stumbled off, Eijiro walking over towards where Hanta was standing with you. "Y/N, you good?"

You nodded while Hanta tried to piece together what'd happened. "Sorry, it took me a second to find the bastard. Do ya wanna come back in? I'll make sure he leaves."

"No, Eijiro, thanks though. I'm just gonna head home."

The wolfman frowned but understood. "We'll have a smaller party for ya! Just the gang as a welcome home! You know Denki will look for any excuse to throw a party." He turned his gaze on Hanta. "A mummy, really?"

"You've been a damn werewolf for the last two years! You don't get to give me crap."

Eijiro poked the fuzzy pointed red ears carefully set into his spiky hair. "Mina and I worked real hard on this costume... seemed like a waste to only wear it once."

"We both know you haven't just worn those once, big man."

That got a chuckle out of you while all Eijiro could do was shrug and try to hide a shit-eating grin.

He asked you again if you'd like to stay and once more you said you were going to just head home. It was when you specifically said you were going to be walking home that Hanta spoke up offering to drive you back to your home since it was Halloween and people were creeps.

You were a damn pro hero but he still didn't feel right about just letting you walk home alone.

When you agreed he told Eijiro he'd be back soon and walked over with you to his car.

>>><<<

A part of you missed the old station wagon Hanta used to drive, not that this BMW he now drove wasn't absolutely amazing, you just sort of missed the comfort of the old car.

He waited until he'd reached the end of Denki's long, winding driveway to finally speak. "So, you wanna tell me what happened back there, or am I just supposed to pretend like Kiri didn't kick someone out on your behalf?"

"You could probably just ask Kiri and he'd tell you."

"I could, but, I'd like to hear it from you."

You knew you could tell him, there was nothing you couldn't tell Hanta. There was once a time when the man knew every single detail about your life. Sure, time and distance had put a strain on that relationship but you were back now. There was no reason why you couldn't at least start rebuilding what you and Hanta once had.

"Y/N, if you don't wanna say anything-"

"I was just casually seeing this guy. You know me and dating, how we don't always work out." You said abruptly and he quit talking, "And so, we weren't like official but we said we'd go to this party together. Well, I got here and went looking for him and found him making out with one of Hawks' sidekicks. I got a little upset when he noticed me and, well, he just said he found someone better."

Hanta actually stopped the car, pulled off to the side of the road, threw it in park, and looked right at you because he knew what found someone better meant exactly. You'd used those words in high school when that guy from Shiketsu that you'd been seeing got pissed off that you wouldn't put out and ended it with you. You went to his dorm crying because he 'found someone better', is what you told him. It took him a few hours to get the truth out of you.

You'd always been the kind of person to love with your entire heart but sexually, you'd confessed that you felt different from all the other kids your age back then. Not having the same urges and desires that everyone else seemed stricken with.

"Hanta, it's fine, really. Kiri heard the whole thing and, well, you saw what happened."

"Doesn't make it right! So, you went on a couple dates with a guy, that doesn't mean he just gets to expect you to put out for him! Even if you weren't demi, no one gets to just assume they deserve sex."

His lips were pressed in a narrow line, nostrils flared once in annoyance. He was usually so calm and laid back that you thought it rather cute when he got overprotective. "It's alright, Hants, really."

He still gave you a look that said he disagreed but then shook his head, dropping the subject for now at least.

"Still like those late-night drives?"

"I love them."

"Good."

Hanta waited for a car to pass and whipped the car in the other direction.

It wasn't long before he had the windows rolled down, conversations filling in the blanks of lost time, in between belting out choruses of your favorite songs. Minutes slipped by the further he drove, you lost track of both time and kilometers, letting him tell you all about the ridiculous antics the group had been up to.

Eventually, you caught the scent of salty air and even in the dark, you had a pretty good idea where Hanta was going. He followed a winding road, making two left turns and then a right leaving you on a stretch of road that paralleled the ocean.

You let your head fall against the seat, eyes falling shut and inhaling that wonderful smell you missed so much. Hanta had just one hand lazily on the wheel, his elbow resting out the open window, a relaxed smile was illuminated in soft orange lights off his dash.

You let your head roll onto his shoulder, not as easily done without the bench seat in his station wagon but it worked nonetheless. "Thanks."

His free hand came to rest on your knee, "Anytime."

He turned the wheel, pulling over and parking in front of a small beach access that you guys had found at 3 in the morning five years prior. Hanta kicked off his shoes, leaving them in the car to avoid them being sand-filled and you did the same with the knee-high boots purely because you longed to feel the sand between your toes.

The wooden planks were worn, parts buried beneath the sand until eventually, none remained. Breaking waves flooded your ears and you made a run for them! Before you could reach the lapping water though, tape had wound around your middle and yanked you backward.

"Not happening!" Hanta said firmly. "Last time I let you talk me into late-night swimming we didn't have a change of clothes either and we both got so sick! I think I might have actually died without Bakugo's soup!"

You chuckled, remembering being nineteen and curled up with Hanta on the sofa in the living room of the apartment you all shared for nearly a week. The sniffles didn't cease for almost three weeks.

"Okay, okay, no swimming." You flopped back down into the sand, his tape still attached meaning the cellophane hero was pulled down with you. "Tell me about the stars then, Hants. Who's out tonight?"

Astronomy was a hobby of Hanta's you learned about after moving into the dorms your first year. It wasn't uncommon to find him out on the roof most nights, laying on his back and looking up into the clear night sky littered with twinkling stars, usually with a joint pressed between his lips. It became almost a habit for him to grab you on his way up, pulling you along because you were more than happy listening to him tell you about each constellation and the stories behind them.

It was around this time of year, in your final year of high school; somewhere between him recalling the greek mythos of Aries and Sagittarius that you noticed your heart beating a little faster. You realized something had shifted between the two of you, and, holy shit, was this what it felt like to have a crush! When the hell did that happen?

You'd entrusted everything to Hanta back then, and now, laying in the sand shoulder to shoulder while he talked about Draco, that familiar feeling stirred again. You remembered what it was supposed to be like when you weren't forcing it for some random guy. How simple it was supposed to be.

You inclined on an elbow and he stopped mid-sentence. "Eh, everything alright?" You nodded but he looked anything but convinced, mirroring your position and asking you again.

It was easy for you to lean forward, to brush your lips against his for the first time in three years. And, when you pulled away, he looked about as shocked as he had the night you'd done it when you were eighteen.

"You- you still like me?"

When you left for America, you'd both agreed to put a pause on your sort of relationship. Free to date and screw whomever you pleased because three years was a long time and it just seemed like a fair decision to make. The realization that he might now have someone else special in his life dawned on you...

"Yeah but I totally understand if things are different now and I shoulda asked- oof!"

He kissed you so hard you toppled back into the sand, quick pecks, one right after another, ending them with a long one that nearly left you breathless.

"I didn't know how to bring it up. I didn't want to make you feel awkward about things or make you think I expected something. I thought that maybe since we didn't talk for a while your feelings might have changed."

"I can say with confidence they haven't."

"Thank fuck." He groaned and captured your lips in another searing kiss.

It was easy to lift his shirt off, the shreds of tape that remained were now covered with gritty sand that clung to your fingers as you traced the chest and torso you knew so well. Gliding over defined muscles, lingering on old scars and mapping out new ones he'd collected in your time apart.

His own hands were busy flicking open the brass fastenings of your corset, huffing about it being so much more difficult to get to your chest and something about it being very unfair.

By the time he'd undone the last one, bright headlights shown across the beach. "Shit."

Giggling ensued from the walkway and you both sighed, at least it wasn't the police or a hero patrol. Hanta gathered his shirt and ran back to his car with his hand in yours.

"I thought our days of being caught were over."

"At least it wasn't Mr. Aizawa this time."

A chill ran down your spine remembering the night and the lecture you'd received when your teacher had caught Hanta sneaking out of your room early one morning.

"So, uh, do you still plan on going to Denki's party?" You asked innocently enough but Hanta knew you far too well.

"I think I'm gonna miss it this year." His hand found a home on your upper thigh. "Apparently, you and I have a lot of catching up to do. Lost time to make up for and all that."

"Too bad you don't have that old station wagon anymore. If you did, we wouldn't have to wait to get back."

Dark eyes glanced over at you not so subtly parting your legs.

"I dunno. It's not too often I travel in the backseat of my own car but I've been told it's pretty roomy. Lots of legroom."

Your hand ran over your legs, dipping down to lightly brush your more sensitive parts, thankful you opted for the thin pair of black leggings rather than the dark skinny jeans. Your fingers danced again and this time you let a soft moan pass your lips. "Eyes on the road, Hants."

"That's a little hard to do when I've got you spread out in the passenger's seat." He grabbed your free hand and pressed it against the bulge in his pants. "You've got me distracted, filthy little woman."

You appreciated him testing the waters, a subtle way of checking if you liked those nicknames he used only in private with you, giving you a chance to protest if your likes had changed. They were one's that only felt right coming from him and you were eager to hear more.

Forgoing your own high, you leaned over the center console as best you could, undoing his belt first, followed quickly by his zipper letting his strained cock be free.

His grip tightened on your leg when you kissed the tip of him. "Just like old times, huh?"

A chuckle turned quickly into a moan, taking him in your mouth, pushing yourself further on his cock, fighting your gag reflex to get him down your throat. Hanta reclined his seat further, giving you more room to work with.

Your legs clenched tighter with every groan you pulled from him, wiggling your hips in the seat, letting a hand fall back between your own legs. There was an attempt of a moan around his cock when his fingers coiled in your hair. "Such a good slut. Keep fuckin' goin'." He let you continue at your own speed, needing to focus as best he could on the road rather than what you were doing but, damn, you were making that increasingly difficult.

He wasn't stopping you though. He rarely did. You'd sucked him off on countless drives before and only stopped when- "That's it." He lifted you off him by your hair at the same time he pulled off the road. There was a convenient turn-off, hidden by overgrown brush you noticed before he shut off the headlights.

Hanta took you by the chin, smearing drool. "Backseat, pretty girl." He reached into the glove box and pulled out a foil wrapper, "What do you say we test out that legroom?"

He wait to watch your smile grow wide before crawling into the back because he had to be the first to go if this had any chance of working. Once situated, pants under his thighs, he patted his lap for you to climb over.

You slid easily onto his lap, hands traveling up and over his shoulders, kissing hard while you rocked your hips against impossibly hard length.

There was so much comfort in the familiarity of him. It wasn't awkward to fall back into rhythm with Hanta, to remember that he loved the feeling of your nails dragging down his chest. And he was just as eager to get your shirt off, reach your breasts he'd missed so much, and get his tongue on your nipples.

Your head tipped backward, loving the pace he set, hips bouncing creating the perfect tug on your nipples between his teeth.

"Love, if I promise to buy you a new pair, can I rip these damn leggings? They're just so thin and-"

"Please." Your breathy moan had him smirking and with a single grunt the leggings were ruined, cool air from the vents had only a moment to touch your bare ass before Hanta's hands reclaimed it.

There was no way he hadn't felt your arousal before ripping your clothes off, you soaked through your panties and leggings, you knew that, but that didn't stop him from commenting on how soaked you were now on his fingers. "Want me inside you, whore? I think you do."

You nodded with a whimper and he slipped a finger in. "Hants, noo- I- I want your cock, please."

"You're gonna take my fingers like a good little slut first." You clenched at the words falling from his mouth. "So fuckin' tight you can barely take a finger. How'm I supposed to fit in here if you can even take a single finger? Need you to loosen up, alright." He pushed another finger in, scissoring the two inside you.

"This gonna make you cum? You need this bad, don't you? Tell me. Tell me how bad you need to cum."

"I want it. Please, please, I need it. I'm so close," You babbled and ripped the foil open with his teeth, rolling it with one hand on his cock. In an instant, his fingers had been replaced with this dick. Sticky fingers on your ass helping you ease down on him with a hiss.

"Fuck," Hanta let out a throaty chuckle, "You still fuckin' feel the absolute best." He dropped a kiss between your breasts, letting you adjust to his girth. "Perfect. Good girl. Such a fuckin' good little slut."

He wasn't about to last long. Not once you started bouncing up and down on him, your tits right in front of his face.

"Couldn't even wait for me to get you home, had to fucking tease me in the damn car." He held onto the fat of your ass, pulling you along him and slamming you down hard.

"Kinda pathetic how desperate you are. Fuck. Kinda hot too."

When the top of your head bumped the roof of the car, he scooted lower, trying to give you as much room to ride him however you pleased.

"What do you need? You wanna cum, don't you, pretty girl, what do you need?"

"Faster, faster please."

Hanta shifted even lower, making you grab onto the two headrests while he thrust his hips up into you at a rapid speed. His thumb on your clit was the additional stimulation you needed to fall over the edge. Nails clawing at the black leather as he continued to moan below you now chasing his own release.

You stayed poised above him, using every last bit of strength to stay upright until his mouth was rambling and his cock pulsed inside of you. Fingers bruising your skin before holding your pelvis snuggly against his.

He was bent in a way that looked entirely uncomfortable and yet he still smiled so widely. Reaching up to brush hair out of your eyes, "You okay?"

"Perfects, Hants. A little sore but I'm sure you are too." He moved off his lap, letting him slip out of you with a groan, "Is your neck gonna be okay?"

"I'll be fine. Having you back, love, is more than worth a little bit of a neck cramp."

As he tied a knot in the condom, depositing it into a plastic bag he had tucked away under his seat, Hanta raised a brow, "Love, really, are you alright? Please, tell me if I hurt you at all."

"No! I'm good, why?"

"You're sitting silly."

You were sitting a little odd, perched on your knees rather than sitting on your ass because the leather was chilly and you told Hanta as much making him laugh. "Wait, I think I can help." He leaned back to the front of the car, flicking a button making it glow. Once he tucked himself back in his pants he hopped out of the car and you could see him rummaging in his trunk through the rear window.

"I keep forgetting to take this out from our camping trip a couple months ago. Guess it turned out to be a good thing." He laid the blanket down over the passenger's seat, declaring that should help a bit.

You wrapped the now toasty warm blanket around your bottom half while Hanta drove back towards the city, your head on his shoulder, his hand on your thigh.

"So, shopping tomorrow? I believe I owe you a pair of leggings..."

"It's a date."

#mha #mha smut #bnha #bnha smut #hanta sero #sero #sero smut #hanta sero smut #sero x reader #sero x y/n #hanta x y/n #hanta x reader #mha x y/n #mha x reader #smutober #kinktober 2021

572 notes · View notes

lolita-lollipop · 3 years

Note

Omg wait! I love the part 2, but can I ask for another alternate!! Like what if they’re just stuck, but they still need to feed, so when someone moves into the apartment, they lock her up in a room temporarily so they can get the new kid. Maybe Izuku, but then they meet, when Izuku finds their room or they try to escape or something? Would they escape? Would the family catch them? How would they react? Please!!

PART 3- YANEERE ERASERMIC FAMILY CORALINE AU X READER

- I guess this is a continuation (?) kinda.

———————————————————————

You’ve been dancing with midoria in the kitchen, just a slow stepping g dance, one you might see at a school dance when a slow song comes on. It was pure euphoria, peaceful, and calm, you just loved him so much, and now you finally have the chance to be with him forever. You let a smile break ok your face as he spun you around in the air, giggling like a schoolgirl, this was perfect. Perfection falls way to quickly.

“You know, I wish we could stay like this forever, I love yo-“ he started, holding you close, not before a loud crashing noise could be heard across the house, the sound of a shattering glass, and both of you turned. You were warned of the wildlife in the area, bears, elk, maybe even deer, you sighed, letting go of his hands, making your way towards the house. Your been here for what? 3 hours? And there’s already an occurrence, just your luck too, it ruined the moment.

“Gimme a sec babe, I’ll be back, just gonna go shoo it out of the house.” You warned, you’d seen horrors great and small, a little deer couldn’t scare you, could startle you heavily, sure, but not strike real fear in your bones. He muttered an”okay” before goin back to stirring the skillet of food, also annoyed by the sudden disturbance. You turned the doorknob, displaying a nursery, preparation for the future. The window right above the creme colored crib was shattered completely, spread around the floor. Yet no animal, just a broken window, you raised a brow, bending down to touch it, then, yeh door behind you slammed shut, and you gave a laugh.

“IZUKU! Quit playing around!” You yelled, and went to turn the doorknob so you could go hug you husband again. But it wouldn’t budge, and that smile was wiped straight off your face, you couldn’t hear him laughing, nor could you hear his footdeps, what’s going on?

“What are you talking abou-“ he started up, yelling back at you from the kitchen, but he was cut off before he could continue, a loud clanging sound could be heard, then nothing more. You panicked looking around, someone was in your house, right? There’s no other explanation, you tugged at the doorknob, pulling it as hard as you could, before it just came off, now you’re really locked in here.

“You know, we’ve been waiting for you” a voice echoed behind you, it made your spine crawl with a familiar sensation, you know who taht is, you’re just hoping you’re wrong. You paused for a moment, not moving a muscle, then turned around, meeting buttons to eyes. And so, you screamed. The man who claimed his title of “father” had been standing in front of you, reaching his hand out touch you. You made a dash towards the shattered window, of yoj could hop through it then you could go around and get out. Failing though, as he had his hand wrapped around your shirt, his fist bale led up in the fabric, he yanked you back, pulling you into his chest.

“GET OFF OF ME, DONT TOU H ME YOU MONSTER.” You screamed at him, clawing at his hands, a scream resonated form outside the door, Clearly belonging to your husband, which jsut amde your movements more panicked, you kicked at his legs, bit his shoulder as hard as you could, scratched him, rammed your head into his chest, everything. You were NOT going to do this again. How did they even get here? Where did he come from?

“You Need to calm down honey, you will hurt yourself” he spoke, completely unaffected by your attacks, he pulled your head into his chest to shush you, this time around, they had been prepared, it was a mere coincidence that you had been in this house, but to then it seemed like fate, earlier in the day someone had knocked over the shelf standing in front of the door, so it was fairly easy for them to get out, just to see you, little you, dancing with a nasty man.

His blood boiled, you left them just to do exactly what they forbade you form doing? You’re married? No, no way. That boy is as good as dead, at least he’ll have a meal.

“Cmon, you didn’t really think we’d let you leave us, you’re just too little to understand, oh I know, we’re protecting you. So please don’t cry baby, don’t be sad, we have a suprise for you when we get home” he spoke, dragging you flailing figure closer to the wall, bending down to open up the door again, you continued screaming, grasping at anything to fight back with, anything. You ended up grabbing the closest thing to you, a plushie.

you grabbed a fucking plushie to fight off a man twice your size

He shoved you into the interlocking hallway, shutting the door right behind him and l I king it, licking you in there. The only other way out would be through the other door, leading to the other side, to the “other home”. You sobbed, letting the panic fully overtake you, crawling fowrard and sitting in the middle, curling up in a ball, you cried, the door was locked, and you’re on the wrong side of it, with a stupid plushie as self defense. There isn’t any way out, how did you not notice the small door and get the hell out! Why hadn’t you noticed it? You could’ve avoided this! All of it!

All you could manage to hear through the thick wooden door on the other side were one sided screams, each made you curl up further, in pure agony, each and every last one made more tears aris eto the brink of your eyes, you knew, oh you knew so well that he wasn’t okay, yet you could do nothing about it, you hate this, you hate this helplessness, you hate them.

Then, the screams silenced, and the door Clicked open again, you made yet another attempt at dashing through the opening, and failed again , when your other father grasped your shoudler, pulling you right back. Hizashi hushed you, the hallway had heightened quite the bit, enough so that they could fit comfortably, he swung you off your feet, pulling you close.

“Oh don’t be like that, I know you’re upset, but there isn’t a reason to pout, let’s get you back home, this time, you aren’t leaving. Oh god you’ve grown too much, your still my little baby girl forever, don’t worry.” He cooed, walking with your squirming figure to the opposite side of the hallway, his husband was holding a bag of… um, remains, from that scum from earlier, eri was gonna have to eat. He almost cried at how cute you looked, even with the tarts, you’re just holding. A cute little stuffed animal, all sweet, his little baby.

“You’re insane, I don’t belong here- not with you” you hissed, trying to bite his hand off when he caressed your face, then bent down to open that door, that dreaded little door. Just to reveal the same thing that haunted your nightmares , the same rooms you spent being forced to cuddle and color, the place that you’ve been avoiding the past three years, your “other” home.

“Don’t say that, oh- KIDS! Your little sister did back!” Aizawa yelled, you could once again, hear the puttering of footsteps upstaira, as you did your first day here. You looked back at your “fathers” giving them one last tearful glance, silently begging them to let you go. It was so perfect just moment ago, why does this always happen to you? It was so, so perfect.

You should’ve known by now to realize that perfection, gets shattered with just a touch of a button

———————————————————————————————————

Thank you for requesting! It was super fun to do!

I got my inbox to work again! So I can see new asks, it started acting weird this morning, but I fixed it, so we’re all good!

Have a wonderful day today! Goodbye!

#yandere aizawa #yandere erasermic x reader #yandere erasmic #yandere erasermic family #yandere eraserhead #yandere hizashi yamada #soft yandere shinso #yandere eri #yandere shinso #platonic yandere #platonic obsession #yandere platonic

198 notes · View notes

lilacsnid · 3 years

Text

『✔』 𝐅𝐞𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐋𝐨𝐯𝐞: — 𝒏𝒆𝒘𝒕 𝘹 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘳

One night at The Right Arm; where two people finally notice what they feel for each other.

GIF above is not my own, full credit to the owner x

A/N: ask permission to use or re-post my work, please do not steal or plagiarize my writing x

©lilacsnid

— YOUR throat felt scratchy as you rolled onto your back on your make-shift bed on the floor. It took multiple attempts for you to try and fall asleep, yet you had been unsuccessful.

You had been at The Right Arm for about a week now, and the recent events that had played out had taken it’s affect on everyone. Minho being captured by WCKD and Teresa betraying the whole group. Thomas was quick to plan our next move while also trying to hide how he truly felt about being betrayed by the girl he liked. His plan being to rescue Minho, keeping the promise he had made to him.

The rest of us agreed with Thomas, knowing we’d follow him anywhere.

However, we needed time to recover; to patch ourselves up and prepare for the long road ahead. It was exhausting with our future constantly being unknown. But as long as we all had each other, we were stronger than ever. The air was cold at The Right Arm, especially at night. You started to feel uncomfortable, so you sat up, leaning over the edge of the bed. Sighing heavily, you rubbed both of your hands over your face. Your eyes scanned the concrete room out of habit, glancing over your friends as they slept. Thomas, Frypan, Aris, Brenda, Jorge.

Yet your glance suddenly halted over Newt’s bed that was across the room. You knew he wouldn’t have gone far, but given everything that has happened, you couldn’t help but worry. Thinking about it even more, you weren’t even sure that you had actually seen him come to bed at all. Furrowing your eyebrows, you bent down to pull your boots on and quickly tie the laces. You were dressed in black cargo pants and white tank top. Due to the crisp air, you decided that it would be wise to tug a long sleeve shirt on over your singlet before you left.

I need some water, you thought.

The dry feeling in the very back of your throat was starting to intensify and become unbearable.

Rising to your feet, you made your way over to the open door, being cautious not to wake any of the others up. You made your way outside, noticing how the air was slightly cooler outside rather than inside that boxed room. You continue to stroll over to the outdoor kitchens, rubbing your temples in order to relieve your stress. You reached the kitchen in a matter of seconds. After you jumped the counter, you bent down to retrieve a bottle of water from one of the various crates that were littered all around the place. You jumped back over the counter once you had found one, landing back onto your feet with a thud.

Wasting no time, you twisted the cap off the plastic bottle and tipped the bottle up to your lips to take a much-needed swig of water. You willingly continued to chug the water, letting your thoughts silence for a while.

“What are you doing up, love?” A sudden voice startled you, coming from some direction behind you.

Through a mouthful of water, you screamed. Yet it sounded like a high pitched squeal. You knew who the voice belonged to, you could pick his voice up out of a line-up. However, it still managed to catch you off-guard quite easily. You turned around with wide eyes, catching a glimpse of the British blonde boy you had become close to over the years.

“Shit, Y/N! I’m so sorry!” Newt sympathized, jogging up to you and rubbing small circles into the center of your back.

His touch instantly made your skin crawl in ecstasy. And despite the warmth that you could feel radiating off his body, this simple action made goosebumps rise on your skin. You couldn’t get enough of this guy, and even if you didn’t want to admit it to yourself, your body always said otherwise. You craved him.

The eye contact was short-lived. You quickly spun back around, spitting the mouthful water out before it had the chance to get caught in the back of your throat.

“Newt! What the hell, you shank!” You exclaimed, wiping the back of your hand over your lips. You tried your best to stifle the coughs that threatened to leave your mouth. A frown was evident on Newt’s face as you lifted your gaze to make proper eye contact with him.

“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry,” He repeated a few times, and you could still feel the motion of his hand over your back.

You couldn’t stop yourself from letting out a giggle once your throat was cleared, playfully slapping Newt’s chest with your free hand in the process.

“Don’t scare me like that!” You teased, your voice raising slightly as you smiled.

Newt also let out a laugh at your actions. He raised his arms, trying to shield his chest from your hand, “Ow! Y/N, okay! I won’t do that again.”

His reaction was sweet, and you couldn’t help but flash a toothy grin towards him as he stood across from you. You lowered your hand as the air around the two of you fell silent. Newt peered over at you, his eyes scanning over your body before running a hand through his own hair.

“Are you okay?” He asked, keeping a small distance between the two of you.

You leaned against the counter behind you, screwing the cap back onto your water bottle as you nodded in response, “Yeah, just couldn’t sleep. I was thirsty.”

Newt nodded, shifting his weight off of his bad leg.

“What are you doing up? I noticed you weren’t in bed when I got up.” You were quick to add, curiosity getting the better of you.

You watched as Newt simply shrugged his shoulders, he took a deep breath in before speaking, “I just went for a walk, wanted to think about things.”

You crossed your arms over your chest as you continued to lean against the counter. You looked over at him quizzically, “Is everything alright?”

“Yeah,” Newt answered with a soft expression, “I just-I haven’t been able to get my mind to settle since that night.”

The night where Teresa betrayed us all. And most importantly, the night that Minho was captured. It’s been beyond difficult; going from seeing him everyday to him suddenly being snatched out from underneath us all.

“Me neither,” You whispered, glancing down at the ground.

Newt bit his lip, beginning to rock back and forth on his feet, “Hey, would you mind staying up with me? Just for a little while? I just-I really don’t want to go back to bed yet and, I’m gonna be honest, I really don’t want to be alone.”

His words made your heart flutter as you suddenly saw this vulnerable side to Newt that you hadn’t seen in very long time. You wanted to take care of him. You wanted to offer him some comfort, even if it felt like the world you all currently lived in was falling apart. He had always been there for you over the years, and now it was your turn.

“Yeah,” You breathed out, smiling gently towards him, “Of course I will.”

Newt nodded his head in appreciation, flashing you a quick smile. But soon, you noticed just how much everything that had happened was affecting him. Because as Newt kept nodding, you could see the glow of tears that has started to form in his eyes. The moonlight made his brown orbs look darker. He didn’t try and move his hands to wipe them away, he just kept them tucked into the pockets of his pants. As the tears escaped the barrier of his eyes, he scoffed sadly as they freely fell down the apples his cheeks.

You tilted your head to the side in response, noticing how he refused to make eye contact with you. You had only ever seen Newt cry once, way back in The Glade days.

“Oh darling,” You whispered, taking a few steps towards him. You shuffled closer until you were standing right in front of him. He still hadn’t moved a muscle, his eyes were glued to the floor but the tears kept coming. He was silent.

You reached out slowly, feeling relieved as he let you cup his cheek in your hand, you thumb moving in small and soothing strokes against his skin.

“Hey,” you whispered again, not wanting to be too loud, “I’m right here.”

Newt slowly began to cave and soon you felt him lean into your touch. He lifted his bloodshot eyes to look into yours but soon ended up closing them. He turned his head slightly to the side to place a small kiss into the palm of your hand that still cupped his cheek.

Tears slid down his face more rapidly this time as he squeezed his eyes shut. You just wanted to hold him, and so you did. You stood on your tip-toes, leaning up and wrapping your arms securely around his neck; pulling him into an embrace. He stepped into your embrace willingly, responding graciously by wrapping his arms tightly around your waist and burying his face into the crook of your neck. You could feel the distinct feeling of his breath hitting your shoulder; serving as a reminder that, in this moment, you had him safe in your arms.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

The two you had been talking for what seemed like hours. Here, the two of you sat; side by side, in the moonlight, leaning back against a rock. The whole time, Newt had been tracing patterns into the dirt beneath you while he opened up about what has been going on in his head.

The air around you fell silent once again after a few more minutes of chatter.

The sudden sharp sound of Newt breaking the stick in half that he was using to trace patterns into the sand rippled through your ears. You observed him quietly as he disposed of them, throwing the two pieces a few feet ahead of where the two of you sat.

“Hey thanks, for being there for me,” Newt spoke up, rubbing his palms together before continuing, “For always being there actually. You’ve never let me down. Always keeping me stable.”

You turned to gaze at him, grinning from ear to ear, “I’m always gonna be there for you, Newt. You mean a lot to me.”

For the first time in a while that night, a smile formed across Newt’s lips in reaction to your words. A small chuckle erupted from him as he turned his head to look into your eyes, “I’m glad we both feel the same way about each other then.”

Silence washed over you as the pair of you continued to hold an almost intense glance with one another. Yes, it was intense. But there was something else about it. A sense of longing, a yearning desire. Both of you could feel it.

Soon you found Newt furrowing his eyebrows, breaking your gaze to look down at the ground.

“Are you scared?” He questions out of the blue, glancing back into your eyes, “Of the future and what’s to come.”

You sighed heavily, taking a short moment to think hard about the question you had been given.

In the end, you nodded, beginning to twiddle your thumbs, “Yeah, I think I am. I’m scared of what could happen. I’m scared of losing more of my friends. I worry that we might not ever have a home. I’m scared whether we’re going to find Minho or not. I think I’ve been scared this whole time, I’ve just never realized it until now; after all we’ve been through.”

As you were talking, Newt’s hand had found it’s way to yours, lacing his fingers with your own in a shy kind of manner. You squeezed his hand gently in response before finishing, “I’m scared of being alone in this crazy and insane world we’ve found ourselves in. I’m scared of losing you and having to go on by myself. Apart from the others, you’re all that I have left. And I don’t ever want to lose you. Ever.”

A sudden wave a nervousness came over you as you had just realized how much you had admitted to the boy next to you. Just how much was there, out in the open, awaiting his response. His fingers were in yours with one hand, and you soon felt his other hand reach over to lightly trace patterns into the back of your palm that was exposed. You could now feel his touch on either side of your hand, and the very feeling heightened your senses.

Finally he turned to look at you, meeting your eyes in a way that you had never noticed before. It was love. And that was the moment when the two of you noticed just how deep you had fallen for each other.

“Look, I don’t know who I was before the maze, none of us do, right?” Newt states, watching you as you nod in agreement, urging him to continue, “But I’m so glad I’ve been able to become the person that I am with you. I’m so glad you have been able to make me experience and feel things again. You bring out different parts of me that I never knew existed. This life is the only one I’ll ever remember, and the fact that you’ve been and will be apart of it just-it just makes me feel....happy. Like, really happy. It makes me want to work for our future. A reason to keep going.”

His words were like music to your ears. It’s like a surge of electricity went through you as you sat in awe. Now knowing you could continue on this crazy journey with your friends and Newt by your side, being more than a friend to you. A lover, a companion; it meant everything.

“You’ve made me feel things the whole bloody time I’ve known you,” He finishes, letting out a breath he hadn’t quite realized he had been holding in.

His shoulders rose and fell with each shuddered breath he now took. He was surprised beyond belief when you giggled, slipping your hand away from his grasp to situate yourself in his lap; straddling him with your legs either side of him. Nervously, Newt lifted his hands to rest on your hips, glancing up at you as his breath hitched in the back of his throat.

You grinned, staring down at him as your bit the inside of your cheek, admiring how attractive and handsome he was. Placing your hands gently on the sides of his head, you saw Newt close his eyes momentarily as you ran your fingers through the hair at the nape of his neck, “I’m so in love with you, Newt.”

The corner of Newt’s mouth tugged up into a smirk as he soon relaxed underneath you. The butterflies that were going around in the pit of his stomach were almost too much for him to handle. He continued to stare up at you for a few moments, making you chuckle as he continued to smirk.

“What are you thinking, huh?” You asked, your hands lowering to rub comfortingly over his chest through the material of his brown long sleeved shirt.

“I feel,” Newt ushered, pulling your body even closer by moving his hands from your hips, all the way around to your shoulder blades, his hands not once breaking contact with your warm skin, “....like I wanna do this:”

He leans forward, pressing a chaste kiss to your right cheek. Almost as soon as his lips meet your skin he’s pulling back, doing the same to your left cheek. You instantly crave his touch, his lips. Newt could almost sense your eagerness, so he continued.

“Right here,” He whispered as he hovered his lips over your own, “Is that okay?”

You were stunned. It’s like you had momentarily lost the ability to speak. Not trusting your voice, you held his gaze for a few moments longer before nodding, giving him permission to finally kiss you after all these years. The kiss was slow and sensual. Newt didn’t want to slip up or make a mistake. This was the first kiss he’s ever had; well, from what he could remember anyway. But he wouldn’t want to kiss anyone else but you. You were all he ever wanted, for the rest of his life. He knows that for sure.

He’s the first to pull back gently, delicately pecking your puffy lips once more while keeping his arms firmly wrapped around you. Before pulling him back in for another kiss, you heard him whisper against your skin, “You’re all that I have too, and I promise that I’m never letting you go.”

553 notes · View notes

medicallyinevitable · 3 years

Text

Medically Inevitable

Chapter 14:- Pitiful Pining

Characters:- Ethan Ramsey, Arielle Valentine, Sienna Trinh, Ethan Ramsey, Harper Emery, & Danny Cardinal

Pairing:- Ethan Ramsey x Arielle Valentine (F!OC)

Warnings:- Light angst & minor language

Word Count:- 2000+ words

And a special thank you to @akshara16 for pre-reading this chapter💞

Arielle’s PoV:-

You’re reading your 18th, well actually what seems like the 100th text book when someone knocks on your bedroom door. You answer with a more irritated tone then you meant.

"Hey, you okay?" The door opens to reveal Sienna with two mugs in her hands.

"Yeah...”, you try to smile but even you know it doesn't quite reach your eyes.

"You don't seem okay though," Sienna says as she comes inside and hands you a mug. You look inside the mug to see what's in it. "I made us some hot chocolate."

You smile, accepting your cup with a genuine thank you as you move, making space for Sienna to sit.

"So what is it?" Sienna asks sitting beside you.

You shake your head, just thinking about the case makes your head spin. "Just a patient’s case. I’ve been running test after test but every result was negative.", you sigh, "and the patient happens to be a major asshole to say the least.", You smile sadly.

"Is it the P. I. T. A?" She asks.

"P. I. T. A?"

"Pain in the ass," she laughs, so do I.

"Oh yeah… Danny mentioned that earlier. That name fits him perfectly!" I respond laughing.

"So what do you think he has?"

"I don't know anymore," you sigh again, "I ran almost as many tests as possible."

"I'm not any expert but maybe if the two of us try to find it, it'll be easier?"

You look at her a bit surprised, "You'll spend your free time diagnosing my patient?"

She smiles at me, "Of course. That's what friends are for right? To help you."

You look at her with a grateful smile. "Thank you."

"You can thank me with strawberry glazed doughnuts once we're finished with this.”, she replies with a silly wink.

"Deal."

You spent the next thirty minutes discussing the symptoms as you catch her up with the diseases you've managed to ruled out.

In between, you notice Sienna acting a bit weird. But whenever you try to bring it up, she deflects your question so you decide not to press further.

Another half an hour goes by with Sienna’s weird antics and you decide you’ve had enough. You close your book and turn towards Sienna. She tries to act like she doesn’t notice you looking at her but eventually she looks up.

"What is it, Sienna? I can tell you want to ask me something but you’re not.”, you say.

"Uh-what?" she asks nervously, her eyes darting around everywhere but you.

"I don't know what you’re talking about."

"Don't lie, Si!," you narrow your eyes.

But she doesn’t budge. You keep asking her until she finally accepts.

“Come on Si, no secrets between us right?”

"Okay fine!... you’re hiding something, Ari,", shesays catching you off guard.

"I-Me? I'm not hiding anything," you try to laugh it off.

Now it's her turn to narrow her eyes. "You are! See, you’re behaving really weird."

"I'm not behaving weird," you oppose.

"You are. And don't you dare deny it again.”, she says in a serious tone.

"You can talk to me, you know that right?” Her voice changes to the caring and concerned tone reserved for her closest friends.

You ponder for a minute, whether or not to tell her. You’ve shared so many secrets with Sienna before, you know she's your best friend and that you trust her completely.

Before you know it, you start blurting out everything. From how Dr. Ramsey assigned you the case, to how he wouldn’t reassign him to someone else, and then your confrontation which was probably the most idiotic thing you could have done. Then how you both shouted at each other, you completely blanking out at the fact that he was your supervisor and could pull you from the program the next second if he wished, and how that lead to triggering a panic attack, then lastly…

“I don’t know how, our faces were mere inches apart, breathing ragged, and I had absolutely no idea what I was doing-“ You throw your hands up, cutting yourself off as you jump up and pace around the room.

“I mean I could have kissed him for God’s sake! What was I even thinking?! If it weren’t for my pager I don’t know what I would’ve done…”

“Woah, calm down Arielle. You need a break.” She makes you sit down and drink a glass of water, waiting until you’ve calmed down a bit.

“Now, tell me what else happened.”

“What?! Nothing else happened!” How Sienna knows you so well eludes you, nonetheless you try to hide it.

“Something else happened, or else you wouldn’t be spiraling this much. I know you Ari, you always have a cool head under any circumstance.”

You sigh, knowing there’s no use in hiding it. “Well I did see something…”

“Go on.”, she says urging you,

“Well it all started after the whole almost kiss thing, my brain was like scrambled eggs and my shift had already ended so I took my car and drove around until I realised I had no idea where I was, and to top that disaster off I was starving…”

———————A few hours before———————

“Ugh, I think I drove all the way to the other side of town. And I’ll have to drive all the way back to the apartment and then start research for Nigel’s treatment again. And I’m hungry because instead of eating lunch, I decided to unleash my wrath of Dr. Terminator. Ohh, can this day get any worse-“ In the midst of your little blabbering session, you spot a classy French cafe across the street.

“Well at least a day this bad always has room for improvement, and right now I’m starving.”, you park your car and head inside.

The smell of roasted coffee and baked buttery goods hits your senses the moment you enter the cafe. The serenity is a nice change of pace compared to always busy and bustling Edenbrook, dimly lighted and decorated with beautiful vintage items.

“At least I won’t bump into anyone here that I know.”, you think as you stand in the queue.

You decide to order a vanilla frappe with drizzled salted caramel and go for a regular chocolate doughnut to satisfy your sweet tooth. After the barista brings your order, you move towards a nice secluded corner and sit down at the table.

You slowly finish your doughnut and coffee, savouring the taste as you gaze out the French style window. You’re about to dispose of your trash when a familiar sweater shirt catches your eye.

“No way…” As you hide your face with a medical journal which you randomly fished out of your purse, you peek over the top to see Dr. Ramsey sitting across…

“Is that Dr. Emery?”, your mind recalls the time when you saw them in a patient’s room, quite cozy with each other. And now they sit a few tables away from you, talking as her hand is over his. You pretend to read your journal as you watch both of the doctors get up and throw away the remains. You follow pursuit and slowly exit the cafe making sure they don’t notice. You stand at the side of your car door and watch as they both edge closer and closer, her hand now on his jaw. Their faces are barely an inch apart now, as he leans in to close the distance.

“That’s- I can’t-“

Not being able to look at them, you get in your car, slamming the door and speed away as fast as you possibly can, ignoring the tears that brim in your eyes.

————————end of flashback———————

”Oh Arielle…..I’m sorry.”

“It’s alright.”, you assure her when pretty much everything going on in your life is anything but alright. She gives you a look.

“I- okay well there’s nothing I can do about it, and it’s not like anything would have happened, it was merely a stupid crush.”, you reply wondering whether you’re trying to convince Sienna or yourself. A long but comfortable silence passes, you both just sit and immerse in everything you’ve just blurted out.

"How are things between you and Wayne?", you say desperate for a topic change.

"It's as usual I guess?" she says now as gloomy as me. "We haven't had a proper conversation in a while."

You try to comfort your best friend as you mentally curse the idiot.

"He's an idiot, Si, " you tell her. "If he can't value you, he's not worth it Si."

"He was not always this way you know... We've had happy days. But ever since I started my residency he became... distant."

You put your hand on top of hers in a comforting manner and give her an understanding smile.

"You can always talk to me about it, Si. You know that right?"

She nods and shoots me a smile, a sad one, nonetheless a smile. That’s a slight improvement.

We talk about our messes of relationships for a bit more before Sienna decides we had enough gloom and doom and it was time to make some happy memories.

“Okay, what did you have in mind?”, you ask.

A grin forms on her face as she tucks her knees in and speaks, "Why did the Dalmatian go to the eye doctor?"

“Medical joke hmm?” She nods and nudges me to try to answer. After thinking for a moment, I shrug.

"Because he kept seeing spots.", she says following with a fit of laughter. The joke isn’t even that funny but even you end up laughing your heart out. That's the thing with best friends, everything becomes a thousand times better when they’re by your side.

"Oh-" Sienna tries to say recovering from her previous laughter session, "There's another one."

"What did one tonsil say to the other tonsil?"

"Umm...What?" you ask when you fail to find an answer.

"Get dressed up, the doctor is taking us out!" We both break into another fit of laughter, laughing till tears form in the corner of your eyes.

You wipe tears from your eyes, still smiling broadly.

Your own reflection catches your eye in the mirror. Your balayage hair is now slowly falling out from the messy bun you tied up before, your eyes now have bags in addition to your dark circles and lastly you look like a zombie with your smeared makeup.

“I look like a hot mess.”

Sienna laughs. “Well I have a night shift today so I’ll look worse than you after it.

You join her in another wave of laughter until Sienna’s phone goes off from her room.

You watch her as her eyes light up and then morph into worry as she looks at herself. You give her a look.

“Oh uh… Danny said that he would give me a lift to my shift and stop by to get coffee.”, she shouts as she rushes into her room. You chuckle watching her frantically trying to make herself presentable as she grabs her bag and heads downstairs.

“Bye Si! I’ll see you later-“ She’s already run off. With a smile, you head towards your room for a bath, dinner and then a date with more textbooks.

************************************************************

Authors’ Note:- Hey everyone, Chapter 14 of Medically Inevitable is finally out! We know that the release was scheduled much much earlier but life happens unfortunately and it took us quite a long time but from now on, our regular schedule will continue again!

Anyways, let us know if you enjoyed this chapter and your predictions of what will happen next! Are Harper and Ethan really a couple? And if they are, why did Ethan almost kiss Arielle? And what’s happening with Danny and Sienna? As always, it means a lot to us if you comment and reblog and have a great day/night everyone!

Love,

@drariellevalentine & @mysticaurathings

Medically Inevitable Taglist:-

Let us know if you’d like to be added to the taglist!

56 notes · View notes

crystalninjaphoenix · 3 years

Text

The Tower

A Stitched Story

JSE Fanfic

So given how this AU is *so close* to being finished, I’m gonna go a little off schedule for these last couple stories. Hence, this one being posted this week instead of next. Might we be able to finally get rid of those menacing strings in this entry? Well...not exactly. There seems to be a side effect. And before they can figure out a way around it, all hell breaks loose. Enjoy ;)

Tagging @septic-dr-schneep for inspiring this AU with this post.

Read where it started: Stitched Together | Season One | Season Two

Previous Season Three stories: Torn Apart | Tales to Tell | Threads | Twice Bitten, Never Shy | Two of Souls

Taglist (finally): @bupine @violet--majesty @ari-trash

“It’s going to be fine,” Chase muttered, bouncing nervously in place. “It’s allll going to be fine. It’s going to work out.”

Are you alright, Chase? JJ asked, giving him a look of concern. Do you not like elevators?

Chase laughed. “It’s not the elevator that worries me, it’s what’s waiting on the floor once we get there.” It was also the fact that Jackie was holding onto his arm tightly, head resting on his shoulder. Clingy as usual. But hopefully, that wouldn’t last long. Because right now, they were going to try to destroy the strings.

The magicians had proposed it the day before. They thought that using magical fire or electricity would be able to get rid of them for good. After a short talk, all the boys had agreed to try. Hopefully, once the strings were gone, Jackie and Marvin would...well, not go back to normal. They knew that was impossible now. But they’d be friendly, at least. In the best-case scenario.

The elevator dinged, and Chase and Jameson stepped out into a long hallway. This was the sanctuary’s very top floor, reserved for any magical testing that might go wrong. Apparently it was heavily protected. It didn’t look like much. Just like all the other halls, it seemed like something you’d find in a hotel. But then Chase noticed all the doors were made of metal. Ah.

Jack and Schneep were some ways down the hall, waiting outside a door, sitting on a bench against the opposite wall. The moment Jack saw Chase and JJ approaching with Jackie, he stood up and waved. “Hey!”

“Yeah, I see you, Jack.” Chase waved back. “Can’t miss you.” They quickly closed the distance. “Are things—ow!” He looked down. “Schneep did you just whap me with that thing?!”

“I don’t know what you are talking about.” Schneep twirled his white cane like a baton, causing everyone to back up. “I was just confirming you were here.”

“I—don’t you, like, sense souls or something?”

“Chase, please. I still cannot see you.”

JJ chuckled a little, the sound muffled. Is everything ready?

“Yeah, all the magicians are getting ready.” Jack pointed at the door, which was labelled ‘Dangerous Reaction Room 7.’ “When they’re ready, you and I are supposed to go in, while Schneep and Chase keep an eye on Jackie out here, to make sure nothing happens with him while we get rid of the, uh...S-T-R-I-N-G-S.”

“He can spell, Jack, he is not an idiot,” Schneep said.

“Yeah, well, I don’t think he’s listening,” Chase muttered. He tried to pull his arm away from Jackie’s grip, but he held on tighter, making Chase grit his teeth to ignore the uncomfortable closeness. “Do you two really need to go in the room? I mean, look at that sign. It says ‘dangerous’ on it.”

“Yeah, well, JJ’s shields will be really helpful,” Jack said. “But you’re right about me. They want me to tell them if anything happens with the soul bits that are part of the...well, you-know-whats. And I was like ‘Don’t you have instruments or something for that?’ and they were like ‘Yeah but we’re not going to risk something happening to them’ and I said ‘But you’re okay with something happening to me...a living person’ and they said ‘You’ll be fiiiiiine.’” Jack sighed. “Anyway, I’m not gonna argue. It’s too much effort. And anyway, I want to see those green bastards gone.”

Before the discussion could continue, a voice came through the door. “We’re ready!” Yvonne shouted. “Come on in!”

“Well, good luck, bro, both of you,” Chase said.

“Yes, break a leg,” Schneep added. “Or do not. Actually, please do not break anything.”

JJ gave another muffled giggle, and Jack smiled. “Thanks, guys. We’ll see you soon.” He reached over and pulled open the door, and the two of them disappeared into the room. When the door shut behind them, it briefly glowed with a yellow light, then returned to normal metal.

The room beyond the door was entirely bare, its walls, ceiling, and floor reinforced with metal. Waist-high metal walls made a circle in the center of the room. Griffin, Delyth, and Yvonne were all gathered around that circle, with Griffin holding a pair of boxes. In the center, the strings were lying in a bowl-like shape built into the floor. They were trying to wriggle up the sides, but were evidently having trouble grasping the slick metal, and kept falling back down. JJ gave Jack a look. This isn’t a very encouraging room.

“Yeah, I know, it’s like...I get this is for safety and all, but it just feels like things are about to blow up.” Jack closed the door behind him, sealing the room. “You guys just...have a place like this?”

“Yes, of course.” Griffin walked over to the two of them, taking something out of the first box and holding it out. “Here, please put on these goggles, in case of shrapnel.”

That is even less encouraging, JJ signed, but took the offered goggles and put them on. Jack did so as well. This whole thing felt less like getting ready to cast a spell and more like the start of a dangerous scientific experiment. One where things could explode.

Delyth was busy reading something on her phone, lips moving silently. “Are we uh...are we ready?” Jack asked.

“Sorry, just reviewing.” Delyth shut off her phone and put it away. “Fire and lightning aren’t my specialties; it’s been a while.”

“You sure you should be casting it, then?” Yvonne muttered.

“Yes, of course. I’m still a highly skilled agent, and if I must say so myself, probably the most powerful magician in the sanctuary at this moment.”

“Alright, alright, I get it. You want to continue with that horn-tooting, or should we get started?” Yvonne pulled her own goggles down over her eyes.

“I say we should start now,” Griffin said. “Eventually those strings are going to climb their way out of the target zone.”

The five of them gathered around the circle. Jameson, wary, half-held up his hands, weak circular shields flickering in between all of them and the strings, ready to snap into greater strength the moment they needed to. “Alright, I’m about to start casting,” Delyth announced. “We’ll start out with a slow burn, and hopefully that’ll be enough. If not, I’ll increase the severity until they’re gone. Ready?” Everyone nodded. “Good.”

Delyth reached forward, muttering a spell under her breath. Above the circle, directly over the strings, a small, pale purple fireball appeared. It started off the size of a golf ball, but as Delyth slowly lowered the gently burning flame into the circle, it grew to baseball size, then to about the size of a basketball. Below the heat, the strings started skittering frantically, like a cornered animal. They tried to climb the walls, but once again fell back.

When the ball of flame hit the bottom of the bowl, it burst, filling the entirety of the area in a liquid way. In the fire, the strings became panicked, twisting and tripping over themselves in any attempt to get away from the flames. They were unsuccessful. But apparently, so was the fire. The strings were not burning, though they certainly acted like they were. Jack closed his eye to look at the strings in his soul vision, but saw no change there, either.

“Nothing’s happening,” Yvonne said cautiously.

“Indeed.” Griffin nodded. “Delyth?”

“On it.” Delyth clenched her fist, and the flames filling the bowl disappeared. “These next spells are going to be a bit more...pyrotechnic.”

“Oh shit.” Yvonne took a few steps back. Jameson, agreeing with the sentiment, strengthened the shields just a bit.

Delyth raised her hand, then brought it down with a fierce shout of a spell word. A fireball slammed down into the bowl, exploding at the bottom with a loud bang! Purple flames licked at the sides of the walls, and the strings thrashed frantically, some of them clustering together. Delyth repeated the spell one, two, three more times, making everyone cover their ears. The fire inside grew, but the strings were still intact. Now starting to look frustrated, Delyth started chanting. Fireworks of hot purple magic exploded repeatedly in the bowl, causing ear-splitting snap! snap! snap!s every time they blew, giving off smoke.

But the strings were still there.

“Keep it up!” Griffin shouted over the noise. “It’s possible that we’re doing damage, just slowly!”

“Right!” Delyth took a deep breath, wiped her forehead, then raised her hand and sent another fireball down into the bowl, this one sending spears of fire into every direction. The bowl was now full of searing purple flames, yet the strings remained. And so, Delyth started another spell.

A bolt of purple lightning crashed into the bowl, adding yet more flames in addition to smaller branches of electricity that remained, crackling, connecting between the walls. And she did it again. And then sent more fireworks. And another fireball. And another electric spell.

Outside the room, Schneep and Chase remained sitting on the bench, Jackie now in between them. When the first bang! echoed from the room, the two of them jumped in unison. “What was that?” Schneep hissed.

“A spell, probably,” Chase said. “Uh...sounded like a big one. Do you think it worked?”

There was the second bang! Schneep flinched, then muttered, “Apparently not.”

“Right.” Chase looked down at his hands, twisting his fingers. “I guess we won’t know until they come out if it worked.”

“I suppose not.”

Chase sighed. He really, really hoped this worked. Maybe things wouldn’t go back to normal afterwards, but it would be better. Things would be...what was Jackie doing?

He paused in his hand-wringing to give this situation a better look. Jackie was rocking on the bench, forward and backwards, gripping the fabric of his pants in white-knuckled fists. Chase blinked, and stared. Jackie’s expression...it was pained. Every time one of the bang!s went off, he flinched, not out of surprise, but as if he’d been physically struck. “Uh...Jackie? Are you okay?”

Jackie didn’t respond. His mouth opened just a bit, letting out a small groan. Schneep stiffened, turning towards Chase. “Is everything okay?”

Chase didn’t get a chance to answer. “No,” Jackie whispered. “No, no, no, this—this isn’t okay.” He gasped as more loud noises came from the room, then suddenly doubled over, both hands shooting upward to press against his chest. “This—! This—! Isn’t okay!” He cried.

“Jackie!” Chase and Schneep shot to their feet in unison, Schneep backing up and holding his cane defensively, Chase standing in front of Jackie and crouching down again so he could be level with his face. “What’s wrong?!”

“Hurts. Hurts.” Jackie was shaking, all the color drained from his face. “It hurts! It hurts!” He lunged forward, grabbing Chase’s shirt and burying his face in it. “Make it stop!”

“I—I’m sorry, I can’t,” Chase said, at a loss for words. “I...Schneep, can you go—”

“No!” Jackie choked the word out from behind a sob. “Schneep, don’t leave.”

Both Chase and Schneep froze. That was...the first time Jackie had actually acknowledged any of them by name. Anyone other than Chase. “I...okay, I will not leave,” Schneep said slowly. “What should I do?”

“I don’t know,” Jackie shook his head. “I don’t know, I just—just stop it! Make it stop!”

“We—we can’t, Jackie.” Chase instinctively wrapped Jackie in a hug, holding him tight as he continued to rock back and forth, crying into Chase’s bandanna. “What’s wrong? What does it feel like?”

“I—I’m dying,” Jackie rasped. “I-I’m dying again. Chase, I don’t want to die again.” He let out another sob. “I—I’m being torn into pieces. Please, someone. Just stop this! Please!”

Schneep suddenly stepped up next to Chase. “Jackie, I am going to take your pulse, okay?” His voice was surprisingly gentle, and Jackie nodded, letting him press his fingers against the pulse in his neck. “Okay, okay. And your temperature. You need to back up a bit so I can feel your forehead.” Jackie did so, trembling a bit as Schneep put a hand on his forehead. “Scheiße,” Schneep hissed.

“Oh no, it’s in German, that’s not good,” Chase said. “What’s wrong?”

“He is burning up.” Schneep hurried over to the room’s door, hand trailing across the wall to find the doorknob. “And I think I mean that literally.” He grabbed the handle and turned it. Only to be met with resistance. Locked. His face drained of color. “Hey!” He started banging on the door. “Open it! Stop the whole thing, for god’s sake!”

“I’m going to die again,” Jackie said quietly, squeezing his eyes shut and shaking his head. “No, no, I don’t want to die again. I don’t want to go to hell.”

“You weren’t in hell, Jackie,” Chase said, trying to sound reassuring. “A-and it’s going to be fine.”

“Hell,” Jackie insisted. “Hell hell hell. Awful things...happening. Bits of my brain swirling around. So...angry. So much hate. It ate at me. Us. There were two of us, a-and we were just one, and I wasn’t sure—who am I? Chase, who am I? Chase, I don’t know.”

“You’re Jackie,” Chase emphasized. “Jackie Parker. The guy who decided to be a superhero because you thought you needed to. The guy who offered to let Marvin move in after he decided to sell his house. The guy who would babysit Lily and Moira when Stacy and I were too busy. A good guy. That’s who you are.”

Jackie was quiet for a moment. And then, softly, he asked, “Are you sure?”

Before Chase could answer, a loud crashing noise came from the room beyond the door. Jackie screamed, and fell forward off the bench, only held up by Chase still holding him. “Stop stop stop stop stop stop!” He shrieked, writhing and seizing. His temperature continued to rise, and Chase could feel the heat radiating from his entire body, like standing near a fire that was getting increasingly larger.

“Scheiß drauf!” Schneep kicked at the door under the handle one more time, then dropped his cane and reached to the side, grabbing his scissors from out of nowhere. He made a downward slashing motion, suddenly causing a membrane of yellow magic to appear over the door. It lasted for only a second before Schneep cut through it, leaving it in tatters. Then Schneep stepped forward and disappeared, teleporting straight into the room.

There was a lightshow of lightning happening in the center of the room. Jameson had his shields raised against any possible threats, and everyone except Delyth had backed up to around the edges of the room. In contrast, Delyth was stubbornly staying her ground next to the circle, hurling spell after spell at the strings, voice starting to crack and rasp as she shouted the spell words.

“Stop it! Shut it all down!” Schneep yelled.

Delyth looked over at him. “I’m making progress!”

“That is the problem!” Schneep ran at her, hands outstretched, and managed to grab her arm before she sent it down to cast again. “Stop it!”

Delyth shook him off, readying herself for another spell. But before she could cast it, the blue shield in front of her suddenly slammed into her stomach, knocking her to the ground. Immediately, the lightning fizzled out, and any fire slowly died into pale purple embers that soon stopped glowing. Jameson lowered his hands, and glanced back at Delyth. Sorry, he signed, circling his fist on his chest.

“What’s wrong?” Jack asked. “Why’d we have to stop?”

“Something is wrong with Jackie,” Schneep explained hurriedly. “I-I think we are hurting him.”

Jack’s eyes widened, and he ran out of the room. Jameson followed shortly thereafter, and then Schneep. The magicians stayed in the room. Yvonne walked over to help Delyth up, and Griffin approached the circle in the middle, taking the lid off the second box he was holding so he could put the strings inside.

While the magicians cleaned up, the boys gathered around Chase and Jackie. “What’s wrong?” Jack asked. “What’s happening?!”

Chase looked up at him, not answering. Jackie had calmed down considerably once the spellcasting had stopped, and was now shaking and gasping for air, face pale and hair damp with sweat. He continued to hold onto Chase, who luckily didn’t seem to mind as much as he might have in other circumstances. Glancing upward, his eyes darted around the people surrounding him. “...Jack?” he whispered. “Schneep?” Then he looked at JJ, and frowned, confused. “Who’re you?”

“I...” Jack was temporarily at a loss for words. With this spellcasting, they’d been fully prepared for Jackie to lose it and start fighting to get to the strings, but this? They hadn’t even considered this. He seemed...normal. “This is Jameson, Jackie. He, uh...he’s a friend. But he can’t talk.” JJ waved, looking understandably nervous.

“Are you okay, Jackie?” Schneep asked urgently. “How do you feel?”

“...bad,” Jackie said after a while.

Chase laughed a bit. There were tears in his eyes, but he wasn’t sure what emotion was causing them.

“Where am I...? H-how did I get here?” Jackie looked around some more. “I don’t understand. I don’t understand what’s happening.”

“It’s a long story, Jackie,” Jack said. “We need to know if you’re okay, that’s all you need to focus on for now.” He paused, then closed his eye to activate soul vision. Usually, he’d see a mess of red and blue light in Jackie’s chest when he did this, but this time it was...different. The red and blue were neatly separated out, forming a circle that was roughly three-quarters red and one-quarter blue. But it wasn’t going to stay that way. He could see the edges where the colors met starting to swirl and shift already. “I don’t think we have much time,” he said in a hushed voice.

“Jackie, what do you remember?” Schneep asked. “Can you tell us? Quickly?”

“I-I...that depends on what you mean by remember.” Jackie shut his eyes tight. “I...there was...it was horrible. I-I saw—there were these—horrible, horrible things. Awful things, ha-happening to people. You guys were there. But I don’t know. I-I don’t know if they were all real or just my thoughts. Maybe both, but I...” He bit back a sob. “...I don’t know which were which. And just...so much...hating. I was so...felt so...much...hate.”

“It’s okay, it’s okay,” Chase murmured. “You’re going to be alright. We’ll make sure of it.”

“Jackie, I have a question,” Schneep said. “Do you remember...did you and Marvin do some sort of spell? In your apartment?”

“Spell...” Jackie’s eyes suddenly shot open. He reached up and grabbed something around his neck. That amulet. That broken amulet, one of the pair that Anti always wore. “That spell! That—I didn’t—I didn’t—I didn’t want—”

“What? Did you not want to do the spell?” Schneep asked.

Jackie shook his head. “I did, at first. But then—he lied to me—”

“Marvin?”

“Yes, he didn’t tell me everything, I—I didn’t want that, I tried to stop it—” He suddenly froze. “Oh my god.” Reaching up, he covered his mouth with a hand as tears started to swell in his eyes. “Oh my god, I killed him.”

“What?” Chase asked, shocked.

“It was an accident! I just wanted to stop it! We got in a fight, I-I had a knife, I—he wasn’t supposed to die! I didn’t want to kill him!” His breathing sped into hyperventilating as he started rocking back and forth. “It was an accident! I—if he didn’t move—if I’d just been more careful—he wasn’t supposed to die! I wasn’t supposed to kill him!” The last sentence was ripped from his throat in a scream, and Jackie doubled over, curling over his knees and covering his head with his arms.

“Jackie, Jackie, it’s fine, we believe you!” Chase bent over as well, trying to keep his head level with his. “It wasn’t your fault, and we know that. It’s fine. You’re going to be alright.” For a moment, Jackie was frozen in that position. “Hey, it’s okay.” Chase patted his back, and at that, Jackie moved, leaning into him. “It’s okay.”

“...Chase.” Jack’s voice was low and warning, but Chase didn’t hear him.

“It’s all over now,” Chase said reassuringly, giving Jackie a hug and straightening, pulling him into a kneeling position. After a moment, Jackie responded, wrapping his arms around him. “It’s alright. It’s...” Chase paused. “You’re uh...squeezing pretty tight there. Could you loosen up a bit, bro?” Jackie didn’t answer. In fact, he started to squeeze tighter. “Jackie, I—I really don’t like this.” Chase started to squirm. “Jackie?”

Jameson finally stepped in, quickly pulling Jackie away from Chase. He didn’t seem to mind much, eyes now looking a bit glazed. His head turned around absentmindedly, not really looking for anything. “Where are we?” He asked. “Where’s the rest of me? It’s close...we think.”

Chase quickly backed away, scrambling to his feet. Looking shaken, he walked all the way until his back was pressed against the hall wall. “What...what happened?” He asked quietly.

“It’s weird,” Jack said. “His soul...the two colors were separated, but they were starting to mix together again. Then he started talking about—about killing someone...and it all just snapped back to being all jumbled up.”

“Marvin,” Schneep muttered. “He was talking about how he accidentally killed Marvin. During the transference spell, it sounded like. They fought, and it...must have...” He turned around, burying his face in his hands. It was hard to imagine. And he didn’t want to imagine it at all.

“Yeah, that would cause some problems in the spell.”

The boys jumped in unison at the sound of the voice, and looked over to see the magicians had left the room. Yvonne, noticing them all staring at her, continued, “I mean, I don’t think it’s ever happened before. If it has, it was probably a long time ago. Long enough that all records of it are gone now. But I imagine the spell would want to keep going—black magic like that almost has a will and drive of its own—but without both of the participants, it couldn’t, so it just messed their souls up.”

“God...” Jack breathed.

That must have been terrible, JJ signed sadly.

“I imagine so,” Griffin said gravely. “But I’m afraid I must ask...do we want to continue with the spellcasting?” He held up the box. “We were actually making some headway there near the end.”

“Are you crazy?!” Chase, though still a bit rattled, was put together enough to whirl on the magicians. “We almost killed Jackie!”

“There was no guarantee that was going to happen,” Delyth said calmly. “The chance that he would have survived is equal to the chance that he would not have.”

“You know, I think he would not have,” Schneep stated flatly. “I may not be a doctor anymore, I may be blind, even, but I can still fucking recognize when someone is having a crisis.”

“And the point of this is to get rid of the strings, not Jackie and Marvin,” Chase added, folding his arms. “That is the last thing we want.”

“It might not have killed him,” Delyth repeated. “And besides, while these strings exist, they’re both a high threat—”

“Are you fucking insane?!” Jack shouted. “Are you asking us to kill our friends?!”

“No!” Delyth shook her head furiously. “Alright, what if we took this in short bursts? That took a lot of my magic, anyway. We’ve damaged them slightly, if we keep this up—”

There’s still a chance they’ll die once the strings are gone, JJ interrupted. I understand you’re concerned about what might happen, but this isn’t the way.

“Yeah, Mae, I knew you were strict, didn’t realize you were heartless,” Yvonne emphasized.

Delyth took a step back, shocked. “I didn’t mean—I...I’m sorry. I didn’t want to come off that way.”

“Don’t do it again,” Chase said in a surly tone.

“But what do we do now?” Jack asked quietly.

“That is not clear,” Schneep said. “But one thing is. We cannot destroy the strings.”

“Then...what can we do?” Chase whispered.

Nobody had an answer for that.

— — — — — — —

The sudden pain in his chest was fading. Still, he could only lie on the ground for a few moments, panting and shaking. What was that? Why had that suddenly happened?

...where was he?

Marvin sat up, looking around. This...looked like some random street. The buildings were tall but run-down, and there were no cars or pedestrians in sight. He must have collapsed right onto the sidewalk.

...how did he get here?

He reached up to his face, and felt a mask covering half of it. What? He pulled it off. This...looked like his mask, except snapped in half, with the white ceramic stained blue. Hadn’t he seen this? Or...had he just imagined it?

Attempting to stand up, Marvin winced, falling back down to a sitting position. His feet really hurt. He could remember walking...so much walking. For days, it seemed like. And his stomach was turning in on itself. He hadn’t eaten anything in...in...he couldn’t remember.

“Hello?” He called. “Is...is anyone there? Um...help?”

He tried to recall the last thing he remembered. And immediately regretted it, as all he could find were visions of people suffering, horrible, gruesome sights. Were those real? Or were they just thoughts he’d had? Shaking his head to physically ward off the images, he tried to remember something else. He had been...angry. Full of rage so hot it was like it was physically burning him. But everything was disconnected, broken, shattered. Held together by tenuous strings. His mind was in pieces. He’d been pulled apart.

Suddenly cold despite the sun overhead, Marvin wrapped his arms around himself, squeezing his eyes to hold in tears. “It’s fine, it’s fine, it’s fine,” he muttered. “It’s fine, it’s...” He let out a sob, and started rocking back and forth. That helped. Tapping his arm with his fist helped, too. What was happening? Why was it happening to him?

What...

He...

There...

Feel...

Marvin shook his head, climbing to his feet and holding the half-mask close to his chest. He was coming apart again. Bits of him were...they were...mixing up. Again. He couldn’t...think...

What else did he remember? What...we...I...you...? Us...? He didn’t feel...whole.

“No, no, no, no.” Jackie pressed a hand against his head. Jackie? No, he was Marvin. Or...was he someone other than both of those? No, he was Marvin. Marvin Marvin Marvin...

He didn’t feel whole. Why? Because...he was broken...?

His hand brushed against his neck. There were...stitches...strings...there. Stitches. Strings. Strings. Strings. Strings.

The rest of him. The rest of them.

He could feel it. He couldn’t feel it for a while there, but something had changed. Now he sensed where they were, clear as day, easy as following a sound.

Turning in that direction, he slid the mask back over his face, and smiled. Now he knew. Now he would be brought back together. He headed straight in that direction, any pain and discomfort instantly forgotten. He had to find the rest of him.

— — — — — — —

The whole group had quickly dispersed after aborting the spellcasting. Griffin and Delyth had disappeared to wherever they usually spent their time, Jack, JJ, and Chase had retreated to their rooms with Jackie in tow, and Schneep had gone down to the basement to do some more training. But not long after, he found he wasn’t in the mood. He just...kept thinking about what they were supposed to do next. Maybe if they put the strings somewhere else, somewhere far away? But where would even be far enough? Eventually, he left, taking the elevator back up.

The doors dinged open much sooner than he expected. That might have been surprising, if he hadn’t sensed the presence of someone on the other side. “Oh! Hey, it’s you.” Yvonne’s voice. “You mind? I can wait for the next lift.”

“No no, is fine.” Schneep stepped to the side, feeling her brush past him.

“Thanks.” The elevator doors shut, and he heard the sound of Yvonne pressing a button.

“We are on the same floor, yes?” He asked. “Are you not going to your room?”

“What? No, I am, I just pressed it again. Y’know...cause I wanted to press the button.” Yvonne giggled a bit. “Huh. Didn’t realize that could be confusing if you couldn’t see what was happening.”

“I did not either, until just now.” It had been months since he returned to the waking world with his sight missing, and he was still learning new things.

“Hey, actually, can I ask you a question?” Yvonne said.

“Go ahead.”

“How’d you manage to get through the protective spell around the reaction room? That’s supposed to prevent anyone from barging in and interrupting everything, but you just teleported right in.”

Schneep frowned. “Well, I just...when the door would not open, I thought there must have been some sort of magic protection. And I was right. So I...I did not think about it too much, actually, I just grabbed my scissors and cut right through, then jumped inside.”

“Huh.” Yvonne paused. “Are these scissors of yours...magic?”

“I am not sure, actually.” Schneep reached forward and grabbed them, pulling them out of a pocket in thin air. “They seem very normal to me, what about you?” He snipped them a few times for emphasis.

“Yeah, they look pretty normal.” Yvonne paused. “In uder’m magima,” she muttered. There was a cool breeze, and then she said, “Nope, I couldn’t pick anything up. They’re just regular-ass scissors. Guess that must be part of your magic, then. To cut straight through wards? Hey, do you mind if I call you some time? We can go on a trip to some of the most protected ABIM storages.”

“Ha ha,” Schneep said. “I suppose that—” He suddenly stopped.

“What? Something wrong?”

“We stopped moving,” he said. “But the doors are not opening.”

“...oh. I hadn’t noticed. That’s—oh my god!”

“What?!”

“The lights went out,” Yvonne said in a hushed voice. “Is there a power outage? That...shouldn’t happen.”

“Why? Are the lights magic?”

“No, but I don’t think sanctuaries would be prone to blackouts.” She banged on the elevator doors, then pressed several different buttons. “Ugh. This is taking too long. Can you teleport us out?”

Schneep raised an eyebrow. “I could, technically. But I should warn you first, teleportation is not a pleasant experience.”

“Hey, I’ve tried it...once. Twice. Anyway, it was fine for me then.”

“You cannot do it again?”

“Nah, can’t remember the spell.” He could practically hear Yvonne shrugging.

Schneep sighed. “Alright. I will do all the work, then.” He held out a hand, and Yvonne quickly grabbed it. Making sure he had a firm grip on her, he thought about where to jump. He had no idea where they were in the building, and he could only really imagine the basement, his room, and the ground floor. That last one would probably be the most convenient. They could just take the stairs. Debatably, his room would also be helpful, but he didn’t want to bring someone into there without asking Jack if he could, since they shared the space. “And going now.” So he jumped.

Instantly, they were back on the ground floor. And instantly, Yvonne yanked her hand away. “H-holy shit,” she breathed. “Holy—” She stumbled away, bracing herself against the wall and taking several deep breaths. “You weren’t kidding.”

“I did warn you,” Schneep pointed out.

“That is not normal teleportation. I don’t know what you’re doing, but it’s not normal.” Yvonne paused. “Wait...do you hear that?”

They both fell silent. Some ways away, there was the sound of crashing and shouting...some sort of fight. In unison, they ran towards the sound.

Rounding a corner, they ran right into a magical battlefield. The ground was broken up, with purple crystals protruding from the floor and stabbing the air. The wallpaper was singed with purple flames, and a couple of the doors had been knocked off their hinges. The moment Schneep rounded the corner, he ran into a long, blue string, which immediately wrapped around his torso and pulled him down with a yelp.

“You two!” Delyth was holding her own against her opponent, eyes glowing pale purple. “What are you doing here?!”

“Mae!” Yvonne gasped. “What—”

“It’s Marvin,” Schneep said through gritted teeth. “Isn’t it?”

“Maaarvin?” That voice identified him shortly before he came into sight, stepping out of one of the rooms with broken doors. His broken mask was firmly on his face, set above a wild grin. “Is that who we are?” Blue strings of magic danced in the air around him.

“Oh fuck.” Yvonne took a step back, raising her hands instinctively. On the ground beside her, Schneep was struggling with his scissors and the thread entangling him.

“Get out of here!” Delyth demanded, thrusting her hand forward to conjure a purple crystalline shield, deflecting the wave of blue strings that flew at her. “I’ll take care of this!”

“Don’t be ridiculous, Mae, you’re running out of juice!” Yvonne protested. “Look at how faint that shield is!”

“You need to get to the strings! That’s what he’s—” She was cut off as one of the strings wormed its way under the shield and wrapped around her ankles, yanking her upwards.

“Mae!” Yvonne reacted instinctively, hurling a ball of pale blue magic at Marvin, knocking him to the ground and making him drop Delyth. “Oh, sorry!”

Marvin got to his feet, swaying for a moment. He glanced upwards towards the ceiling, and grinned even wider. “We’re really close,” he muttered. A ball of wriggling blue thread spawned in his hand, and he threw it upwards. Once it hit the ceiling, the strings spread out in a fan, digging into the plaster and causing white dust to fall down onto Marvin below.

“Oh no you don’t!” Yvonne swung her hand, sending a wave of magic at the strings and knocking them to the ground. Frowning, Marvin turned his attention to her. More strings appeared in the air, slithering in a way that seemed distinctly hostile.

Schneep finally managed to cut through the string wrapping him up, and he scrambled to his feet. “I can make sure the strings are secure,” he said. “You two hold him back.”

“Got it.” Yvonne raised a shield, then reached down and helped pull Delyth to her feet. “We can handle this.”

Schneep nodded, and jumped away, just before Marvin lunged forward at the two magicians.

His jump took him to the floor directly above him, though he fell a few inches onto the floor. Not bad, for being entirely unsure where he was going. But it sounded like he hadn’t escaped the chaos on this floor, either.

“Got him!” The scene he’d stepped into had Jack, Chase, and JJ struggling with Jackie. Jack had managed to grab Jackie, wrapping his arms around him in an effort to hold him back from...going somewhere. “Guys, can you—”

“Let go!” Jackie twisted around, and suddenly there was a flash of red light. Jack cried out and staggered backwards, suddenly bleeding from a cut across his cheek. Immediately, Jackie started to run again, only to run into a wall of blue light as Jameson created several shields around him, trapping him in.

“What is going on?!” Schneep asked.

“Oh Schneep! Jackie just went crazy all of a sudden.” Chase hurried over to Schneep’s side. “It was weird, he was talking about ‘the rest of him’ again.”

“The rest of me!” Jackie whaled. He started pounding on the shields—no, not pounding on them, stabbing them. With bits of red light, long and sharp and almost shaped like a knife. “I need to get to them! I need to—”

Jameson flinched, and one of the shields abruptly shattered. Jackie wasted no time, dashing forward, right past Schneep and Chase, and running up to a closed door. With another flash of red magic, the door was cut right in half, wood folding to the ground, and Jackie disappeared inside.

“No!” Jack cried. He and the other three hurried forward, into a dimly-lit room filled with coppery boxes. Jackie was quickly knocking them aside, until he found one the size of a shoebox. Grinning maniacally, he pried at the lid, but it wouldn’t open. “Stop him!” Jack shouted.

Chase dived forward, tackling Jackie to the ground. He shrieked, but managed to keep hold of the shoebox. “No!” Jackie yelled.

“Give me that!” Chase reached for the shoebox, but Jackie held it away from him. Of course, the other three quickly stepped in to help, with Schneep managing to grab the box, Jack prying at Jackie’s hands, and Chase and JJ holding him down. Jackie shouted, struggling and twisting, and soon the whole situation devolved into a wrestling match on the floor of the room. It only lasted for a few minutes before one wrong kick knocked down a nearby stack of boxes, which came crashing down onto the four of them, momentarily stunning them all.

Unfortunately, Jackie recovered the quickest. He pried the box away from the others and scrambled backwards. “You don’t understand,” he hissed. “We need it. We need to be whole. And we will have it! We will—!” Suddenly, he stopped. And looked down. And then, out of nowhere, he laughed. Raising one hand, sharp blades of red light appeared in the air.

Jameson immediately tried to shield the others, but it turned out, that wasn’t what Jackie was planning. The blades plunged downward into the floor around him in a neat circle, slicing right through. And then the floor gave way, and Jackie fell through the new hole onto the floor below.

In the room beneath, Marvin had been locked in a fight with Yvonne and Delyth. Well, mostly Yvonne, as Delyth’s magic was quickly draining. Shades of blue magic traded blows, blasts pushing back strings and strings wriggling through shields. Then the ceiling was cut through, and Jackie landed on the floor behind Marvin, who immediately froze and spun around. His face split into a wide grin.

“Bell, they have the container!” Delyth shouted, pointing at the coppery box in Jackie’s arms.

“On it!” A pale blue wall sprang up in between Jackie and Marvin, stopping Marvin just before he was able to pull Jackie to his feet. “Now what?”

Jackie got to his feet, looking at the wall of magic. And he laughed. He raised one hand and swiftly brought it down, cutting through the air. An arc of red light ran right into the blue wall...and it instantly shattered. Yvonne gasped, stumbling back. A trail of blood started to leak from her nose.

Marvin grabbed Jackie by the hand, and they both smiled the exact same smile. Then he spun around and sent a wave of blue strings at the magicians. Delyth tried to conjure another shield, but it was much too weak, and the strings cut right through and pinned both of the magicians to the walls.

“No!”

Something flashed in the faint light, and Marvin cried out, stumbling back. He’d been stabbed. A pair of scissors was sticking out of the back of his shoulder.

Schneep had dropped through the hole Jackie had made. Now, he stood behind Jackie and Marvin, expression twisted with anger and his eyes glowing turquoise light. There was a second pair of scissors in his hand, and he lunged. Marvin sent out another wave of strings, but Schneep disappeared, reappearing on the other side. Jackie whirled around and grabbed his wrist, preventing him from using the scissors he was holding. Except that now Schneep had a third pair in his other hand, which he opened wide and slashed, hitting Jackie’s other arm, the one holding the coppery box. Jackie yelped, and dropped it, only for the box to be caught in a net of blue strings and pulled over to Marvin, who picked it up.

Jackie and Marvin looked at each other. “Getting out,” they said in unison.

Marvin sent a few more strings Schneep’s way, who disappeared and reappeared behind the pair. But shortly after doing so, Jackie made a slashing motion, and an arc of red light hit Schneep in the chest. He cried out, falling backwards from the force of it. The moment he hit the floor, Jackie and Marvin grabbed each other’s hands and ran, right out the room and down the hall.

“They’re heading to the front!” Delyth shouted.

Jack, Chase, and Jameson, hearing the shout, ran for the front entrance, though it was far away. Schneep climbed to his feet and jumped, beating them there. But it was too late. By the time the group arrived there, Jackie and Marvin were nowhere in sight.

For a moment, all they could do was stand there, staring at the empty lobby in shock. Then Chase fell to his knees, Jameson collapsed on the nearest chair, and Schneep dropped his scissors. “They got away...” Jack breathed. “They...we have to go after them.”

Schneep nodded. “Yes. We have to, now.” He buttoned up his coat. “We cannot waste any time. Jameson, could you track them?”

“Wh...am I super out of it, or did you not have a coat just a minute ago?” Chase asked. “Where’d you get that?”

“I, ah...don’t...know.” Schneep blinked, running his hands over the black coat he was wearing. “But I recognize this feel. It is my black one, yes?”

“Yeah, but...how’d you get it?”

“And I’d like to know how you got like two other pairs of scissors.” Yvonne and Delyth appeared in the lobby entrance, both breathing hard from running and still with blue string wrapped around their limbs. “Like...seriously, where did those come from?” Yvonne tried for a laugh. It failed.

“Look, I think we have more important things to think about,” Schneep said irritably. “Jamie, can you track them?”

Jameson nodded. “He said yes,” Jack told Schneep.

“Good. We have to do it now, or—”

“Whoa, no way any of you are going out there now,” Delyth interrupted.

“What?!” Chase got to his feet and whirled on her. “Did you see how fast they broke in here?! Do you want to know what the two of them could do with those strings?!”

“It’ll probably take them a while to get the container open,” Delyth said calmly. “It’s designed to be unable to open without the proper authorization. Right now, we can’t just go barging in there, we have to have a plan.”

“Barging in there is a plan,” Jack protested. “We can’t let—”

“No.” Delyth’s voice was firm, unshakable. “Somehow, Marvin got right through our wards. Facing an opponent like that—two opponents like that without a plan? I can think of little more foolhardy.”

“I’ll tell you what’s more foolhardy,” Chase said coldly. “Letting those two have time to open the box, get together, and form Anti again.” He laughed hysterically, grabbing his hair and pulling at it. “That’s what they want to do! You’ve heard them! They’re all ‘we need to be whole,’ and ‘whole’ is Anti! That motherfucker! We can’t—can’t let that happen! We just got rid of him! We were going to fix everything!”

Delyth, please, Jameson signed. I understand your caution. It will be dangerous. But time is of the essence. We need to go NOW if we want to have any chance to prevent this. Chase pointed out how easily and swiftly they broke in and found those strings, they won’t have trouble with the box they’re in.

Jack translated all this, and added, “Plus, you haven’t seen Anti like we have. We...we still haven’t told you everything he’s done.” He swallowed nervously, eyes shadowed for one moment. “There were things that were just too...too hard to talk about. A-and he might have a grudge against you, too, if he reforms. We can’t let...any...anything ha-happen.”

Delyth looked thoughtful for a moment. But then she shook her head. “We can’t risk it. Besides, we have to look at the wards. Figure out why Marvin attacked now.”

“It has to do with us trying to destroy the strings, I am sure,” Schneep mumbled.

“If this Anti reforms, we can protect you—”

“That is not the point!” Chase shrieked. “We had to go through hell to get Jackie and Marvin separate again! We might not be able to do it a second time! We have to go now!”

“Mae,” Yvonne said softly. “I think you’re right.”

“You do?” Delyth said, clearly surprised.

“I mean, yeah, we’re not in any shape to fight right now. Especially you and me.” Yvonne touched her bloody nose. “I think we should go get cleaned up in the clinic. These guys can rest in their rooms. Once we’re all good, we can discuss what to do next.” She looked over at the four others, making significant eye contact with all of them. “In fact, we should go now. It’s on this floor. And you guys should definitely go upstairs while we do this. We might be a while.”

Delyth sighed, thankfully not catching on. “Alright. Let’s go. I know you four are anxious, so we’ll be quick, we promise.”

The boys were silent, but they all nodded in unison as the two magicians retreated back into the halls. They remained silent as they listened to the retreating footsteps until they could no longer be heard.

Schneep whirled around. “Jamie? You really can track them?”

Yes, definitely, Jameson said. I’ve been practicing while in this hotel, finding random things. He held his hand out, eyes scrunching up in concentration. A spinning blue disc formed on the tips of his fingers.

“Should we get weapons?” Jack asked.

“I’d like my gun,” Chase said.

“One moment.” Schneep reached to the side, hand disappearing into a pocket. When he pulled it back out, he held Chase’s gun. “Here you are.” He tossed it in Chase’s general direction.

“Whoa!” Chase leaned heavily to the side in order to catch it. “Your aim’s still as bad as ever, I see.”

Schneep chuckled. “Jack? Do you need anything?”

“Um...no, not now. Maybe I’ll reconsider later.” Jack looked over at Jameson. “Alright, let it go, JJ.”

Nodding, Jameson flung out his arm like he was throwing a frisbee. The tracking disc spun off, disappearing quickly through the front entrance. The four of them ran after it, with not a single ounce of hesitation between them all.

No more waiting. They needed to finish this now.

#jacksepticeye #jacksepticeye fanfiction #jacksepticegos #septic egos #septic egos au #jacksepticeye au #chase brody #jameson jackson #jackieboy man #dr schneeplestein #marvin the magnificent #brigid writes fanfiction #the stitched septics #stitchedstories

20 notes · View notes

moons-and-stars-and-shit · 3 years

Note

Hi, I love your blog! Can I request a cake, if you’re still doing them? It’s fine if you’re not though.

If you are, can you do it for a boy? I’m generally considered tall (I’m 5’7”) and I have really curly brown hair with green eyes and really pale skin. I’m Irish-American and I’m an Aries. My hobbies are; photography, reading thriller or historical fiction novels, writing fanfiction, and listening to music (specifically punk rock or really obnoxiously loud Irish rock). I’m quite shy when it comes to new situations or places and I have an anxiety disorder, so I’m usually quite anxious and generally considered quiet (which makes my music choices ironic). Before people get to know me, people think I’m a b*tch or that I’m cold because I tend to stick with the same people and not generally talk to others unless I’m forced. Even my friends have said they thought I was mean before they actually met me. I can be pessimistic at times, but I care about the people I’m really close with and I’ll defend them no matter the situation. I can be annoying, I overthink everything, and I am insecure about literally anything and everything about myself (from my body to my writing)

I’m generally considered one of the smarter ones in my friend group, usually my friends come to me when it comes to writing essays or having to read a book for class, since I’m good at analyzing things. I’m the friend that usually everyone tries to protect from things, from fear that I might “break” or something like that, which can be annoying but I know it means that they care. Though I would prefer that people be straight forward and honest with me instead of walk on eggshells or keep secrets, because contrary to popular belief, I can defend myself just fine. My friends say I have a hard time letting people in since I don’t want to end up hurt, so I have a tendency to keep people at arms length because I’m afraid to have my heart broken.

I don’t know if that’s enough information or if I over-shared (I have a tendency to do that), but if you are still accepting these kinds of requests, I hope this is enough.

🍰 for @lifewouldbebetteronmars

Hello my Aries sister!!!!

Romantic Matchup

Tsukishima Kei

How yall met

Ok be prepared to be shocked

But Tsukki needed a tutor

He was having a difficult time understanding the new topic they were doing in class

So the teacher recommended you as a partial tutor

At first he didn't really like you

It really wasn't anything you did

He just hated that he needed someone else's help

And he was kinda embarrassed about it

But as time went on he started to warm up to you

Some could even say he looked forward to your tutoring sessions

So when he didn't need you to teach him anymore

He tried to find excuses to hang out with you

He's just too prideful to say that he likes you and wants to hang out with you

And even though you knew that was probably the case

You didn't want to call him out like that

So you would just hang out with him whenever you could

And the bond between you two grew with every passing day

And eventually you guys started dating

What they love about you

He loves how intelligent you are

Tsukki is pretty smart himself

So if he thinks that your smart

Bb you're a genius

And although he resented your smarts when he first met you

He's come to realize it's one of your most admirable traits

He loves how you care so deeply for your loved ones

He knows you would do anything and everything for him

But he also knows you would do the same thing when it comes to any of your friends and family

Like he's literally seen you telling off somebody for picking on one of your friends

He made a mental note to be careful who he picks on that day

He loves how straightforward you are

Ok so this is Tsukki were talking about

He doesn't really like overcomplicated people or people he can't understand

And you are anything but that

Tsukki can read you like a book

Maybe its because hes spent a lot of time with you

Maybe it's because he pays more attention to you than other people

The world may never know

What you love about them

You love how he doesnt try to “protect you”

Now don't get me wrong

Tsukki would take a bullet for you if it ever came down to it

But he knows for the most part you can take care of yourself

So unless you specifically ask for help hell leave you be

You love that he understands your limitations

Tsukki knows you have anxiety

So he tries to make social exchanges as comfortable as possible

If he notices that your uncomfortable talking to someone

He’ll swoop in and remove you from the situation

However...

He tries to get you to step out of your comfort zone from time to time

He knows just as well as you do that being social is just apart of life

And he doesn't want you do always be dependent on him when it comes to being social

So he just gives you little nudges

Until eventually its like your anxiety never even existed

Favorite things to do together

STUDY DATES!!!!!!

Ahem anyways

Mans loves to have a good study date with you

It's really just you two doing homework and reading together

But he loves those little intimate moments with you

Late night walks

You guys take late night walks ALL the time

Once again it's nothing more than just walking round and listening to music

But Tsukki finds comfort in your presence during these times

Random Hc

The team was very very shocked when they found out you were Tsukkis gf

Like Tsukki + a relationship = error

Definitely got bombarded with questions when you met the team

He keeps some of the photos you've taken in a little box in his room

He proofreads all of your fanfics

One time it was your turn to pick the music for a study date

He was very shocked when hard core irish rock started playing…

When you guys first met there were a lot of moments when you just stared at eachother like

Because you didn't know how to talk to each other

Sometimes he acts like he doesn't know something just so he can be around you

Astrology

Aries + Libra

Compatibility 62%

However difficult it might be to reconcile these two natures, remember that this is a primal opposition that represents partners by signification.

Aries and Libra are the couple of the zodiac, as much as any other opposing signs, for they are each other’s seventh house, house of relationships.

Even more so if we acknowledge the fact that Libra is the sign of relationships in general.

Any problem they might have with each other is something to be worked on, because it shows what their personal problem with any relationship is.

When they are madly attracted to each other and fall in love, there is almost nothing that could separate them, no matter the differences.

Wouldn’t we all like to find the middle ground with our loved one? They need to work on their bond, that’s a fact, but their relationship is a promise of a perfect fit of two souls meant to be together.

Friendship Matchup

Tendou Satori

How yall met

You guys have been friends since middle school

You saw how other people treated him and you just didn't think it was right

So you befriended him!

You guys were attached at the hip all throughout middle school

Then he left for highschool while you stayed in middle school

Then when it was your turn to go to high school you had went to karasuno

So you guys lost touch

But then one day you saw a familiar head of red hair at one of your boyfriends matches…

It was Satori!

You were so excited to see him again that you practically sprinted over to him to reunite

He was so happy to see you again!

Ngl the entire Karasuno team was very confused on how you knew the guess monster of Shiratorizawa

Why you became friends

Like I said you saw how people treated him all throughout middle school…

So even though you were 2 years younger than him

You decided to befriend him

He was shocked by your kindness

And honestly a little hesitant

It wouldn't be the first time someone pretended to be his friend just to stab him in the back later

But for some reason he thought you were different

So he became friends with you

He was super sad when he lost contact with you :(

He always thought about how you were doing

But hey fate decided to bring you two together again

And it was like nothing changed

You both still had the same strong connection you had way back in middle school

What yall love about each other

He loves how out there you can be

Like there was a time where you two just blasted music in a park and just were dancing and vibing

He loves how your able to channel your creativity into your photography

He compliments every picture you take

Even if it's not a good one

He loves that how you look vs how you act are two totally different things

He won't lie to you you definitely have RBF Syndrome

(resting bitch face syndrome)

It almost reminds him how ushiwaka looks

But the difference is behind you rbf is a generally warm person

You love how fun Satori is!

Moments with him are always filled with laughs

Never a dull moment with that one

You love that he does not allow what others say get to him

Oh and on the days they do

Your right there to pick him back up and get him back to normal

Overall you guys love that you can depend on each other

Random Hc

Tsukki felt a little intimidated when he found out satori was your friend

Their rivalry during their game may or may not have had something to do with you…

You guys had homemade friendship bracelets as kids

And he kept his in his room even after you lost touch

Ironically enough he WILL NOT allow you to be insecure

He's like Insecurities we don't know her ❤️

Astrology

Aries + Libra

A friendship between an Aries and a Libra brings in the inherent polarity of the Zodiac itself.

The constellations of Aries and Libra lie opposite to each other in the Zodiac, at an angle of 180 degrees between them.

This polarity is displayed in their characteristic traits as well. Each sign has qualities that the other sign lacks.

Add to it the fact that Librans have a natural desire to be harmonious, and Aries and Libra form a relationship of great equilibrium.

The polarity of Aries and Libra could be described as self versus other.

But the differences go much further than that. Aries are impulsive, excitable, and willing to jump into things immediately.

Libra are indecisive, peace loving, and prefer a calm, quiet view of everything.

Star signs with opposite polarity often share a zealous relationship with each other.

In general, polar alliances turn out awesome when they are good, but rather challenging when they are bad.

Polarities could twist and knot together if the signs didn’t understand each other well.

However, Aries and Libra are a well balanced pair.

Libra are charming, well cultured, and have pleasing manners that could compensate for the brazen nature of Aries.

On the other hand, Aries are strong willed and decisive, which could compensate for the irresolute nature of Libra.

Aries could help Libra reach resolutions more easily and make them more spontaneous.

Libra could, at times, show Aries that they are not always as right as they think they are.

#haikyuu!!#haikyu x reader #haikyuu fandom #haikyuu fluff #haikyuu x y/n #haikyuu hcs #haikyuu matchups #tsukishima x y/n #tsukishima kei #tsukishima x reader #tsukishima headcanons #tendou headcanon #tendou x y/n #tendou hcs #tendou satori

26 notes · View notes

peterspideyy · 4 years

Text

chapter 13 | never look back

series masterlist

previous chapter ~ next chapter

————

your voice was raw, from the amount of screaming you’ve done. your wrists were fragile, from you banging the handcuffs against the chair, in hopes your friends could hear you.

“get the door open!”

“hurry!”

after being captured by wckd for six months (it felt more like six years), you could hardly remember your friends voices. your friends faces. thomas. newt. peter.

you could hardly remember, the rush of love you felt when peter looked at you, like you were the only thing in the world, worth looking at. you could hardly remember, the rush of warmth you felt when he kissed you. touched you. and you hate how wckd ripped you apart, from the love of your life.

the only thing you could remember though, was when you were taken. peter’s broken screams. his harsh tears. him trying to fight his way out of vince’s grasp, to get to the one thing that keeps him going. you.

but now, after six months, he’s right behind the door.

at the back on the carriage, with hundreds of children infront of you, with them being separated from their loved ones too, you felt your throat close up, in anticipation, as you saw the door open.

thomas walked in first. your own brother; you couldn’t help the tears starting to fall. newt followed in after, and you were about to shout their names, but froze once you saw peter, walk in.

you couldn’t explain the feeling you felt, when you saw him. you noticed how different he looked. his hair was a bit longer; it looked more softer and curlier, than last time. he looked a bit older, despite being apart for only a couple of months. his clothes were new. however, they were still worn down.

but, no matter what he looked like now, he was still your peter.

they walked up, looking at everyone’s faces, before stopping at aris and sonya who were a bit ahead of you. thomas hugged him slightly, checking if he was okay, before harriet came with bolt cutters, freeing them both, before they all hugged.

“it’s okay, you guys are okay-“

he stopped talking to the other children, once he met your eyes and he froze.

“y/n?” he croaked, and peter’s face lifted up from aris, at the sound of your name.

thomas rushed over, and all you could do was sob, as he wrapped his arms around you, “oh my god, y/n? thank god you’re okay.”

“get the bolt cutters!” newt ordered, making harriet run towards you, smiling slightly, before freeing you. standing up, you hugged your brother properly, as he stroked your back gently. pulling away, you looked at newt, before he pulled you into a tight hug.

“thought we would never bloody see you again.” he mumbled against your shoulder. he pulled back grinning, before moving to the side respectively to reveal, peter.

he was starring at you the whole time, unable to move as he felt different emotions rush into him at once. happiness. sadness. love. relief. he didn’t know, but he couldn’t breath at the sight of you. he thought you died. and he hated that, that thought even crossed his mind. but, it did.

“peter?” you whispered, and the sound of his name coming from you, snapped him out of his trance.

instantly, he placed his hands on your cheek, before leaning in to kiss you. you pulled his collar closer to you, deepening it, as you felt tears from both of you, land on each other’s clothes. but you both didn’t care. you only cared about each other.

“i-i thought i lost you.” he whispered, not once breaking away. seconds passed, and he pulled back, laughing, as he was overcome with so much love and adoration for you.

“i love you.” he croaked, kissing you again.

“i love you too.” you mumbled, against his lips.

he pulled back, stroking your cheek softly, before frowning, at the sight of your black-eye under your right eye.

“what happened, darling?”

you shook your head, “i’ll tell you later.”

you turned around, watching as thomas kept on looking for minho, and you felt your heart drop, and all the happiness you felt, be washed away.

“he’s not here.”

————

“took you guys long enough to rescue us.” aris said, while harriet gave you a cup of water. smiling at her, you took a gulp, sighing as you felt your throat relax, from the cold water. you were exhausted. mentally and physically. but, being here, with everyone, made you so estatic.

“good to see you too, buddy.” thomas replied, making aris chuckle.

“what happened?” he asked, looking at you and aris, gesturing to both of your eyes.

“fought back. tried to anyway.” aris mumbled, looking at sonya.

“what happened with you?” peter asked from beside you, with his arm wrapped around your waist.

“when aris fought back, i tried too as well. but, janson saw me, and punched me. think he’s been wanting to that for a while.” you laughed, as you felt peter’s grip on you tighten slightly, once he heard you say you were punched.

“you’re lucky you found us at all,” sonya started, “they got us to move a lot. feel like something big was happening.”

“any idea where they were heading?” newt questioned.

“all i know is, they kept talking about a city.” aris replied.

thomas looked at newt, eyes wide.

“i didn’t think there were any cities left.” harriet said, looking at you all.

“that’s because there aren’t. not still standing anyway.” brenda commented.

“wait,” thomas spoke, “what about minho? why wasn’t he on the train?”

you looked down, “i’m sorry thomas.”

he furrowed his brows, waiting for you to continue.

“he was.”

————

“there,” thomas spoke, pointing at a map, “that’s it. it’s a few hundred miles. based on the railways, aris told us, that’s gotta be where they’re heading. that’s were they’re taking minho. we take everyone who can fight. follow roads where we can. we can make it back within a week.”

vince looked at him, “a week? it took us six months to get here. we’ve got over a hundred kids here now. we can’t just hang out here forever, after what we just pulled. you wanna wander off to some random point on the map, you don’t know what’s there.”

“i do,” jorge inturrupted, making you all look at him, “it’s been a few years, but, i’ve been there. the last city. that’s what wckd calls it. it was our homebase of operations. if that city is still standing, that’s the last place you wanna go, hermano. that’s the lions den.”

thomas shook his head, “it’s nothing we haven’t done before.”

“yeah with months of planning,” vince added, “reliable information. the element of surprise. none of which we have now.”

“vince, i’ve thought this through-“

“-hey,” vince inturrupted, “last time we went off the rails, i lost everything! you remember that?”

thomas looked down, before looking at you.

“look,” vince carried on, “i know it’s minho, alright, but you can’t ask me to put those kids on the line, for one man. i won’t do it.”

you looked at peter. you could at least try. minho would do the same for any of you.

suddenly, the radio came on, causing voices to be heard, mumbling slightly. you furrowed your brows, looking at everyone. what was it? instantly, you heard the faint noise of a berg in the distance.

“shit.” you whispered.

“get the lights!” thomas shouted, as you all rushed off in different directions, to turn all the lights off.

you ran outside, watching as one by one each light came off in the main building, while children screamed. turning around, eyes wide, you saw two bergs, searching buildings, about a mile away.

“they’re getting close.” vince commented.

“your right. we can’t stay here.” thomas replied, looking at him, before turning back to watch the berg’s fly away. vince walked off, leaving you, peter, newt and thomas starring off in the distance.

————

“you’ve got to be kidding me, if you think i’m going to stay here.”

“you’ve got to be kidding me, if you think i’ll let you come!” peter argued back, closing the boot of the car.

“i’m not letting you go without me. it’ll be dangerous.” you replied, sighing heavily.

he looked at you, “which is why i don’t want you to come. y/n, i’ve just got you back. i don’t want to loose you again.”

“please, pete. i don’t want to stay here, with you not by my side.”

he walked towards you, placing his hands on your cheeks, starring at you deeply, “look, you’ll be safe here. i’ll only be a week. i don’t want to put you in danger’s way. you mean too much to me, for that to happen.”

“i don’t want you to be alone in this.”

“he won’t be,” newt interrupted from the car, making you both look at him, “me and fry will be with him.”

you gave newt a harsh stare, silently asking him to shut up, before he put his hands up, mumbling a ‘sorry’, as he got back in the car.

you placed your hand on peter’s chest, stroking his top softly, looking up at him, “there were three things that kept me going when i was captured. you, everyone here and minho. making sure he’s safe and free, is something i want to be apart of. minho is one of my longest friends, okay? we ran the maze together, everyday. do you not think i should at least get the chance, to save him? something you know he would do, if it was one of us in his situation?”

peter looked down, frowning slightly, as he took in your words. he knew you were right. he wants to save minho too. but, he just can’t help be feel like he is placing unnecessary danger on you. danger which could be prevented, if you stay.

“please?” you pouted, giving him puppy eyes. he sighed, before nodding slightly, making you smile.

“but,” he started, leaning down to kiss your forehead, “you stay by my side, okay? promise me, you won’t leave me?”

“promise.” you smiled, pecking his cheek quickly, before turning around at the sight of your brother packing his bag, walking towards you all. well, unbeknownst to him.

“where do you think your going then?” newt asked, switching the lamp on.

thomas sighed, “newt i-“

“don’t be a twat about it,” he interrupted, walking towards him, “i’m already in. come on.”

thomas shook his head, “no. not this time. look, even if we find minho, it doesn’t guarantee we make it back from this.”

“you’ll need all the help you can get then won’t you.” newt smiled, before opening the door, making fry poke his head out, while you and peter opened the back door, looking at him.

thomas laughed, shaking his head, before stopping at the sight of you, “y/n? no. you’re definitely not coming.”

“please, don’t argue over her not coming or not. i’ve already had to listen to these two love birds argue over it.” fry complained, making you and peter roll your eyes.

“i’m already coming, thomas. you can’t change my mind. we started this together, may as well end it that way too.” you shrugged, smiling at him.

“okay. let’s go and get him back.”

————

“i don’t want to come across as too negative, but if i was a crank, that’s exactly where i would be.” peter spoke, making you nod in agreement.

looking at the tunnel in-front of you, you could hardly see the light from the other side, as well as what was in it. peter was right though. that tunnel is probably filled with cranks. and you’re not particularly fond with going in it

thomas looked at the map in his hands, before glancing up at the tunnel again, “the only way to the last city, is through the tunnel. there’s no way to get to it around it.”

glancing at peter, he squeezed your hand reassuringly still looking ahead, before you looked at the tunnel again.

“alright,” newt began, “i get shotgun.”

he walked off, getting into the car, before you all followed. fry turned around in the driver’s seat, looking at you all. you nodded, patting his shoulder, before you leant back in the back seat, with thomas and peter on either side of you. he started the car, mumbling an ‘here we go’, before driving slowly into the dark abyss. newt got his flashlight out, pointing it around the tunnel, looking for any signs of cranks.

“just take it nice and slow.” peter mumbled.

swerving in and out of run-down cars, you all looked out of the windows, for anything. the car stopped insantly, and you looked in-front to see one crank, standing in the middle of the road, screeching slightly.

“it’s okay, it’s just one,” thomas spoke, “take it slow. go around ‘em. we’ll be fine.”

fry turned around, “take it slow. alright.”

newt turned his flashlight off, rolling his window up.

suddenly, thomas jumped into you, and before you could ask what’s happened, a woman was banging on the window, “please. help me!”

peter then jumped into your side, turning to see another crank, trying to open the door.

“fry, we’ve gotta go.” thomas ordered.

before you knew it, you were surrounded by cranks, screeching and trying to open the car doors.

“floor it, fry!”

“come on!”

as he started the car again, zooming off, a crank jumped onto the front, punching the main window, causing it to crack slightly.

“come on, fry, shake him!” thomas shouted.

“hang on!” fry spoke, swerving the car over, and knocking the crank off with a parked truck. the crank fell off, as you all turned around, watching the crank fall on the floor. turning back around, your smile fell, as you saw an object in the middle of the road.

“fry! watch out!” you screamed, but it was too late. the car drove over the object, causing the car to flip upside down.

you coughed loudly, eyes still closed, as your head was pulsing in pain.

“everyone okay?” your brother asked beside you, making everyone hum.

peter turned to face you, “you okay?”

“my head hurts, a bit. but, i’m fine. are you?”

he nodded slightly, “yeah.”

“fry, cover your eyes.” thomas spoke, as he kicked the window off his door, while he climbed out. he tried to open fry’s door, but it was jammed.

“come out the other side.” he spoke, going around the car. newt fell out the door, coughing slightly, as thomas helped him up. as fry was climbing out, thomas helped you and peter out. you furrowed your brows, as you saw peter clutch onto his arm tightly, but you were interrupted by cranks screeching loudly at you.

wipping your head up, your eyes went wide at the sight of a crank, charging towards you all. peter moved his coat out of the way, looking down at his gun holster, before he mumbled a ‘shit’, once he realised it was still in the car. fry was still kneeling by the car, reaching into it as if he was trying to reach for something.

“fry, we’ve gotta move now!” newt shouted, as the crank was getting closer to you all.

“fry!” you urged.

“hold on!” he replied.

peter pushed you behind him, as the crank was a couple of feet away from you, before suddenly fry stood up, shooting in with his rifle.

“nice shot, fry.” thomas mumbled.

“thanks-“

he was interrupted by more screeching, and your heart dropped at the sight of at least 30 cranks running towards you. peter patted your shoulder quickly, signalling how you should run. turning around, while fry stayed shooting at the cranks, you started to run. but, you suddenly froze, at the sight of more cranks ahead of you. fry started shooting either side, with the help of thomas, ordering which direction he should go.

“i’m out!” he panicked, as he saw no more bullets in the gun.

the cranks were getting closer and closer to you, either side.

was this the end for you all, already?

————

a/n- thanks for reading the first chapter on the death cure! i can’t belive we’re on the last film/book already!

————

taglist-

@dreamofaprilsblog @parkersbliss @missmulti @rubberducky-jrr @serasara809 @parkersdarling @euphoniumpets @whatthefuckimbisexual @parkeret @juliebean247 @used-avocado @justahockeylover @jjmaybankswif @annoylinglyaries @24kbucky @hufflepuff-always-and-forever @agent-curt-mega @5sosupernatural

71 notes · View notes

monsterfuneral · 4 years

Text

1940 / The Escape

Headcanon Series: Paul’s Life Through The Decades

Warnings: Parental abuse, domestic abuse, everyone is just kinda an asshole?, cheating, angst

Words: 1.6k

Author’s Note: Here is the first part of four, after this I’ll also be posting a masterlist that I will fill out after each post! I absolutely went off on this, it was meant to be just one little thing but turned into a whole life analysis because I just love Paul a whole lot.

Also yes I fucking made Paul an Aries, no I will not be taking criticism on this fact.

Any questions regarding any of these headcanon posts are greatly welcomed! If you have your own headcanons or questions regarding mine, I would love to hear them! See you guys in the next part!

Series Masterlist

---

- Paul was born at 4:10am on March 28th 1924 in Maine to a middle class family with two older siblings.

- Growing up Paul had been taught to fear the ‘Stick it to the man’ mentality. His parents thoroughly convinced him that if he were to ever even think of rebelling- in any way- they would be the ones to answer for it, that they would lose everything and it would be all his fault. They were the types of parents to drill into their children’s head ‘never speak unless spoken to’, something that was a constant internal fight for Paul when it came to his mile-a-minute brain.

- Once 1941 came around Paul had just turned seventeen when his parents introduced him to a girl two years older than him. Her name was Madison, she had a bright smile, deep brown eyes, and a horrible temper. His parents had planned on setting the two up which he had agreed to at first, drawn in by the charming front Madison had put on. It was something he would soon come to deeply regret though.

- He could tell exactly why his parents had taken a liking to her. She had absolutely no qualms speaking down to Paul when he did anything, whether it was voicing his opinion about a seemingly minuscule detail in a book she read or a single hair out of place on his head. She would berate and hurl insults his way, telling him he was “incompetent and/or lazy” and that he was “lucky he had a pretty face”. His parents gave her constant praise though, treating her as if she were an angel sent from heaven to tame their ‘wild child’.

- It was 1944 when David found a twenty year old Paul scowling down at a book in his hand, muttering to himself about how stupid it probably was. When David tapped him on the shoulder Paul let out a surprised yelp, whirling around and meeting those crystal blue eyes that sparkled with amusement. Paul would clear his throat and timidly asked if he was in David’s way which only made the stranger chuckle and shake his head.

“You just seemed a little troubled.” “Oh.”

- After the brief interaction David continued to watch Paul closely, noticing how many times a week he would drop by the library, mumbling to himself as he glared down at the covers each time, sometimes muttering a woman’s name in the process. It was safe to say the nervous boy piqued David’s curiosity. Sometimes he would purposely bump into Paul just to see him fumble and apologize like a madman before realizing who it was, he asked “do you work here or something?” and David gave vague answers along the lines of “wouldn’t you like to know.”

- Over time Paul began warming up to the stranger, sometimes striking up a friendly conversation that always started with “Nice weather we’re having” and ending with “see you tomorrow”.

- David had also asked weird questions that would make Paul laugh. Things like “if you were given the option to be immortal, do you think you would do it?” Paul would actually think it over before saying “If I could start my life from scratch, then maybe.” David would always have a smirk rise on his lips at answers like that. He was a weird fella.

- One night though, Paul came home from the library, a new book Madison had asked him to get in one hand and his keys in another. He didn’t announce his arrival when entering the front door. instead he just headed to the bedroom, hoping to change out of his work clothes, but when he got closer to the door he heard it. The sighs of pleasure falling from his fiance’s lips just behind the door. He knew what he would see when he opened the door, but who was not what he was prepared for. His very own brother lay just above Madison, their eyes widening before a cruel smirk twisted onto Madison’s lips. Even though Paul had never truly loved Madison he could still feel the tears pooling in his eyes before he shut the door softly and walked right back out the front and got back into his car.

- The next night he didn’t show up to the library which- as much as he would hate to admit it- worried David. He stalked up and down the streets of Paul’s small hometown before he finally found him sitting at the counter of a bar, slouching over his drink. David sat himself down next to the blonde and asked what happened, but Paul wasn’t budging, afterall he was taught by his parents to never burden other people with your problems. But David insisted on prying, which eventually made Paul snap “just leave it!” with a glare at his friend. It was the only time Paul had ever talked to him like that, which in all honesty kind of shocked David.

- “Have you ever considered my question about immortality?” David asked after Paul’s outburst, completely dropping his previous prying. Paul had a bemused expression on his face, raising his brow, most definitely not in the mood for more of David’s puzzling questions tonight. Paul merely shook his head and downed the rest of his drink and insisted he didn’t have time for this before getting up from his stool, paying, and walking out the door. But David was hot on his trail. He tried to get Paul to talk to him but he was only given the cold shoulder, which only served to irritate him. He grabbed Paul by his brown coat and pulled him into a back alley, pinning him against the brick wall and said “I’m trying to offer you a different life. An escape Paul.”

Yeah right…. Paul wasn’t believing it. He told David to let go of him, thrashing his shoulders and eventually bringing his fist up to his friend’s face, who remained unmoving. This only served to freak Paul out even more.

- After that night he stopped seeing David around the library. He didn’t see the confusing man anywhere, ripping the routine they had built up right out from under him and leaving Paul to be consumed by the shadows of his life once again.

Or so he thought.

- David appeared outside his apartment building one night and told Paul to come get a drink with him. A kind smile on his face as if he hadn’t just disappeared for a week straight. But craving that simplicity of friendship they had in his life again, he accepted. David took him to this bar Paul had never been to before, saying it belonged to a friend of his. He walked around behind the counter and fished out a fancy jeweled bottle claiming it was homemade wine, the best anyone could ever have, he poured it into a wine glass and slid it over the wooden surface to Paul. With an arched brow Paul shrugged and downed the addicting substance in seconds, staring at David who had a dazzling smile and a mischievous sparkle in his eyes.

- The next few weeks passed by in a blur for Paul. His mood had heightened, his sensitivity to the sun had shot through the roof, and he had this constant hunger gnawing at his stomach. Not only that, but David had all but whisked Paul away from his old life, insisting there was nothing there for him anymore anyway, he didn’t need much convincing to agree. Paul wordlessly ran away with David, not telling his family or even his fiance where he was going and that he was never coming back.

- When David finally showed Paul what he truly was the poor boy was terrified. He stared at David’s sharpened features with wide teary eyes and a gaping mouth. It was when David told him what exactly he did to Paul, what the wind truly was and that he was going to be just like him. And that thought tore at Paul.

- He was at a constant internal battle with himself for the next eight years, trying his hardest to adjust to this cursed life David had both forced onto him and gifted him.

- Paul hardly looked at David, furious that he hadn’t even been given the choice to be turned into this monster. He hated David for robbing him of his choice, something his parents had always done to him, it hurt being betrayed by his closest friend like that. But there was a brief moment when he and David started talking again before Paul would shut him out all over again. After a particularly gruesome string of killings caused by Paul, which forced them to move to a different state entirely, his guilt eating away at him and he shut down once again.

- It was a dirty friendship. Especially since David was never good when it came to talking to people about their feelings, it made him feel uncomfortable. So whenever Paul would get particularly angry at him he would just scowl and tell him to deal with it, this was his life now. Which of course only served to make the blonde even angier.

- Max was another person that made Paul incredibly uncomfortable. His striking resemblance to Madison’s father always made him feel unconsciously scared. The rushing memories of his mortal life would always come crashing down on him after Max would get irritated with Paul. The fear he would feel always made him curl in on himself and isolate himself from the both of them for weeks.

- Yeah Paul's first eight years of being a vampire weren’t pretty, with his guilt toppling over on him after every feed or the nervousness he felt when surrounded by David and Max’s very dominating personalities he felt like he was suffocating.

#paul #paul imagine #the lost boys #the lost boys 1987 #the lost boys imagine #the lost boys imagines #tlb #tlb imagine #the lost boys headcanons #monster writes

23 notes · View notes

juliangrant · 3 years

Photo

CHARACTER INTRO:

NAME: Julian Joseph Grant

AGE: 36

OCCUPATION: Defense Attorney

BIRTHDAY: March 28th, 1985. (Aries)

HOMETOWN: Phoenix, Arizona.

FACECLAIM: Chris Evans

BACKGROUND:

The Grants were a legacy that only a special few could uphold. Born from old money, many successes, and lawyers at their top grade, the family name would stand the test of time. Henry Grant, and his wife, Andrea, would come to dote on their children, wanting perfect statues of successful, money, and power. Therefore, this meant that Henry had his eyes set on Julian following in the promising footsteps of a Grant, going into law, ruling with an iron hand. What Henry Grant hadn’t counted on? Just how hardheaded his oldest would come to be. Always on his own path, it’d come that Julian and his father would clash more then anything else. Julian wanted to be free, and see where life took him. He didn’t care about the name he was born under, or the successes his family seemed to come with. He simply wanted to live life his way, and because of this, the divide between father and son was most noticeable. At 16, Julian would come to meet someone who would change the course of his life. It was love at first sight, or so it’d seem. This girl seemed to be the one to get the wild and carefree Julian Grant under control. So, much so, that Julian would make the decision to move out of his family’s mansion, at the tender age of 17, and shorty after the two young teens would find themselves married. And oh boy, did that set ablaze so bright.

But at the time, no one could tell Julian anything. He was simply gonna do what he wanted to do. This, however, maybe the one thing he should’ve taken advice to. Just short of a year of his young marriage, the woman he was so sure was the love of his life had left him. Ring on the counter, and a note with an simple ‘I’m sorry’. A realization that she was following after her dreams, which didn’t exactly involve him, anymore, it’d seemed. The broken heart he’d feel was unbearable, as was the anger. Picking up a piano that he had in his place, he’d proceed to throw it against the wall. And the next thing he’d know, he was trashing the room. Little did he know that the broken heart he felt would be the least of his worries. His dreams of playing professional ball would also come to a crashing haul after a drunken night had left him incapacity of continuing on the field. Instead of stopping there, he'd dive deeper into the bottle. Drinking away his problems. The memory of her, the pressures of being a Grant, his lost dreams of getting away from his family, and playing ball, everything. One night of that would turn into many, and before he knew it, the alcohol seemed to take him completely out of his reality. He felt in control of his life, despite the fact that this was further from the truth. Before he knew it, he was making even headlines in his town, adding to the scandals the family was so well known for. Not at all surprising to those around them. After all, Andrea Grant had made the headlines countless of times in just the short years prior, following her divorce from Henry Grant. Her son now making them just seemed like the apple that fell from the tree. This would all come to a head when he’d find himself in a bar fight one night. Angry at the world, and fuel by the liquor in his veins, he’d come to nearly beat a man to death. Leaving him only hanging on by an inch of his life. He’d come to find himself facing time in prison for his assault. But as one could expect from a Grant, the family name, his father’s representation in the court room, and the money they held, it’d all would proceed to do Julian well. Getting him off rather light, he’d find himself doing countless hours of probation in place of the jail time he was looking at. But with his light sentence, came strings. His father now owned him, and Julian did very little to fight him.

Julian would take this time to fix himself, going to AA, he wanted to get control of himself once again. Along the way, his father would also regain control over his oldest son. Setting Julian up on the path that Henry always felt he should've been on. Pulling the right strings a long the way, Julian would fall into line. Law showing to be a natural talent in the blood as he was a shark in the court room, only following foot steps that were so desired of him. Who he was only a shadow of who he was, his past feeling like it was hardly ever apart of him. as he now seems to be the perfect mini me of his ruthless father. Working along side him at the family firm.

ALSO

Over the years, his heart has turned rather cold. Focusing more on work and such, as his love life has only ever truly been a joke. he has come to realize that the less he involves such serious commitment into his life, the happier he is.

He is ruthless in the courtroom, and his success proves that it works for him. That ruthlessness has translated into his personal life, just a little, but most people still find that they’re capable of starting up a conversation with him and getting through with it just fine. Most people who knew him growing up would say that he isn’t remotely the person they remember, nor thought he’d be. Some would consider that a good thing, others-- not so much.

THE GRANT FAMILY:

Henry Grant: A powerful man who likes things his way. Extremely hardheaded and unwilling of change. The relationship between father and son is at best --- just okay. Most days they butt heads, and argue. As it is truly almost like having two of the same people in one room together. But their relationship has gotten a little better from where it was years ago. They are two very powerful men in their own standing, and that is sometimes not the greatest thing to have around at the same time.

Andrea Grant: A carefree, wild, live loving woman. Once stuck to follow the dreams her own parents had for her, she found herself quite unhappy for quite a long time. Her marriage to Henry was a rough one, more for show then anything else. His mother has gone on to do her own thing since the divorce, she’s very open with her body, and high end sex work (ex. toys, having posed in play boy, just being very much a MILF, which makes him extremely uncomfortable when people realize that’s who his mother is, and they wanna speak on it.) Most days its hard for his mother or father to be even remotely civil to one another.

2 younger siblings: He’s close to his siblings, for the most part, but they have all had their issues with different things in the past. Their parents have definitely screwed them up, and that’s probably the thing they can share and agree on the most.

(pinterest)

WANTED CONNECTIONS

THE BEST FRIEND: M/F/NB. This person has been by his side for a long time, and may have even helped get him sober when he first went to get help. This is his person. The individual that can get through to his no matter what.

COLLEAGUES: Lawyers, cops, judges. Anyone who would work in law and would have come across each other at some point. It can be a good relationship, it can be a bad one.

THE FIRST LOVE: This would be his ex-wife, and the whole young love disaster. They were together most of high school, he wasn’t the nicest person when she first met him, but she got through to him unlike most have. She ended up leaving him about a year after they got married. For absolutely whatever reason.

THE SECOND SHOT: Despite how shitty his first marriage ended, he managed to find someone else. Only this didn’t end all that well either, once again, for whatever reason. But this relationship was just as much a string as the last.

HOOK UPS/FWB: He is so very good at these. A little too good at this point. This is an area he masters, and he likes that. He doesn’t care for the emotions, but the sex, he enjoys the sex. And he enjoys experimenting. No nights spent, no names given, no emotional baggage. Best of both worlds.

SIBLINGS: There’s 3 of them. So they could all be boys, the last two could be girls, it could be one girl, one boy. It could also be nonbinary. Anything works. And I will put out a WC with more info on that later.

POSSIBLE EXTENDED FAMILY (ex. cousins, but ALSO STEP-SIBLINGS): As I do believe his parents possibly remarried.

ENEMIES: People will 100% hate him. There is no doubt there, so any which one, I’m down. He defended someone your character hated. He was a dick to yours one day at a coffee shop. Might hate him because of his family. The possibilities are endless here tbh.

Truthfully I am open for everything and anything. I can’t wait to plot with you guys!<3

#( x. | about. )#( x. | bio. )

1 note · View note

jovanniaaron · 3 years

Text

⤜ ❝ 𝖙𝖍𝖎𝖘 𝖘𝖍𝖎𝖙 𝖜𝖆𝖘 𝖌𝖎𝖛𝖊𝖓 𝖙𝖔 𝖒𝖊, 𝖎 𝖆𝖎𝖓'𝖙 𝖈𝖍𝖔𝖔𝖘𝖊 𝖎𝖙. 𝖙𝖗𝖎𝖊𝖉 𝖙𝖔 𝖒𝖆𝖐𝖊 𝖑𝖎𝖋𝖊 𝖆𝖓𝖉 𝖘𝖔𝖒𝖊𝖍𝖔𝖜 𝖒𝖆𝖉𝖊 𝖆 𝖒𝖔𝖛𝖎𝖊 ❞

i’ve been keeping a close eye on JOVANNI MALIK AARON lately . by all means , i’ve started to notice the striking resemblance between him and keith powers , but something sparked my interest more . as it turns out - the aaron family have indeed tried their best to tuck away jovanni’s impulsive tendencies , but it only seems to bring out his arrogance more . according to close confidants , on rare occasions , he can be debonair , last time they saw this side of him was , and i quote - “ON HIS TWENTY-FOURTH BIRTHDAY” . but most shocking of all , seems to be the fact that ever since i dug deeper in his life , i somehow couldn’t shake the image of golden grills on perfectly straight teeth : tendrils of marijuana smoke in the air : leather seats in a foreign car : a façade of perfection : empty bottles of hennessy : pretty lips spilling pretty lies : smooth r&b and soul : the seductive scent of creed aventus & sex out of my head .

⤜ BASICS.

full name: jovanni malik aaron ( pronounced: joe-von-ee ) nicknames: j, jo, vanni, van ( pronounced: von ) birthday: march thirtieth zodiac: aries gender: cis male pronouns: he/him/his sexuality: pansexual occupation: part-time model / full-time law student / part-time paralegal

⤜ PHYSICAL.

height: 6′2 weight: 182.3 lbs. eyes: brown hair: dark brown/black, usually cut into a bald fade piercings: both ears, usually wearing small gold hoops tattoos: none distinguishing characteristics: he has a dusting of freckles across his face and a jawline so sharp that it could cut steel. he’s usually wearing a flirty, panty-dropping smirk on his face, and he carries himself with confidence -- a swagger that’s simply unmatched. he has a small scar on his forehead that he got playing in the yard when he was younger. he’s classically handsome, with perfect bone structure, a tall and lean stature, jovanni is something of a walking wet dream.

⤜ PERSONALITY.

positive: bold, confident, debonair, intelligent, creative, playful, easy-going, charming, flirty. negative: impulsive, invincibility-complex, cocky, selfish, self-centered, emotionally unavailable, temperamental, dishonest. short description: to jovanni, the world is his oyster. it revolves around him. the aaron family is the epitome of perfection personified, and jovanni was raised to carry that perfection on his back. he’s gotten good at putting up that façade though -- creating the illusion that he’s just another perfect member of the aaron. on the outside, he’s the picture of perfection and grace -- just like the family mantra. when, in reality, he’s self-destructive. he’s quite the opposite of what his parents would like him to be. his confidence bleeds into unabashed arrogance, he believes he’s invincible to everything -- the law and even death. not to mention, you can’t trust a single thing that spills from those pretty lips of his.

⤜ BIOGRAPHY.

(tw: drug use)

jovanni had a perfect childhood. his parents showered him with anything he could have ever wanted. his bedroom was full of the latest toys, video game consoles and video games, he had the biggest birthday parties in the backyard, and he never wanted for anything. maybe it just came naturally, seeing as his parents are who they are, but jovanni’s always been naturally intelligent and driven. he was easily always top of his class, bringing home good grades and top test scores. however, jovanni had a problem when it came to discipline, and that only got worse as he grew up. he had an affinity for landing himself in hot water with his parents because he talked back to a teacher, or he pushed a schoolmate on the playground -- jovanni just didn’t ( and still doesn’t ) like to be told what to do. of course, this little issue was a blemish on the face of the aaron family name, and it simply had to be handled.

and it was. jovanni was taught, by any means necessary, the importance of good behavior and self-image -- because his self-image directly reflected the family image, and the aaron family couldn’t be anything short of perfect and graceful. it’s the family mantra after all, right?

jovanni’s academic achievements continued to grow, so did the pressure to keep up that perfect image, and so did his desire to be anything but. by the time he was in high school, jovanni was fully immersed in parties and alcohol, he was sleeping around -- with girls and guys ( though he’s still pretty closeted when it comes to his sexuality ), getting absolutely hammered when he got the chance, when his friends would come over they would raid the wine cellar for whatever liquor they could find, and before he graduated from high school, he was introduced to marijuana and a few other drugs -- like lsd, molly, and ecstasy -- he also did coke once in college but it was a one done thing for him.

while jovanni and his friends knew what he was really like on the inside, to his parents and the rest of the outside world, he was a perfect kid. he got straight a’s, was involved in plenty of clubs, always elected president of the student body, a star wide receiver on the football team, a great basketball player, and an amazing baseball player, a tutor, and someone who always had the attention of some of the most coveted universities. he would attend court when his father was working more high profile cases, or more like his father would drag him along, and so jovanni just assumed he was expected to follow in his footsteps.

during college -- which were full of wild party days, hookups, and a few scandals that his parents worked hard to cover up ( including but not limited to: a dui charge, a hit and run, two unwanted pregnancies, and a threatened expulsion after a plagiarism incident ) ( he also pledged kappa alpha psi ) -- he started doing a few modeling gigs here and there after being discovered on instagram. he still does it to this day, a few modeling gigs here and there that have garnered him quite the social media following. when he isn’t modeling or partying or fucking -- he’s focusing on law school while also working at the firm his father does as a paralegal.

he still lives young, wild, and free much to his parents dismay, though his façade of perfection hasn’t come crumbling down...yet. time will only tell how long he can keep this up.

⤜ WANTED CONNECTIONS.

exes: maybe an ex-girlfriend that his parents had set him up with in high school, they probably had a toxic relationship because neither of them wanted to be in it. or maybe it was toxic but your muse wanted to be in it, actually loved jovanni despite how he treated her. another ex -- someone he actually wanted to be with and probably loved despite his parents not really accepting that relationship.

friends: friends from high school and college. they can still be close or maybe they drifted apart. friends who he partied a lot with in high school/college.

the bro: his true bromance -- otb. this has been his best friend since like the first grade, they’ve been through everything together and they’re still as thick as thieves.

the sis: his girl best friend, it’s always been platonic between the two of them.

enemies

a boy he’s known since high school, someone he explored his sexuality with. maybe they’ve drifted apart or had a falling out and now they’re running into each other again.

fuckbuddies: this one’s pretty self-explanatory. the boy likes sex, it’s one of his vices next to weed and alcohol and looking in the mirror a little too much. layer in some angst with some of these relationships and we’re cooking with grease!

and plenty more! i’m down for any and all connections honestly! just give this a like or slide in my ims and we can plot out some connections and plots for our muses!

#❝ ━ intro.#monterey.intro #pls luv us 🥺

4 notes · View notes

haledamage · 4 years

Note

"I think we're stuck." for Kai?

(trigger warning for claustrophobia, brief mentions of child abuse (no worse than the stuff mentioned in-game in Aloth’s backstory))

“Oh, lovely,” Aloth said drolly, staring into the room he’d just discovered. “A dark, ominous closet. My favorite.”

“Wonderful.” Kai managed to sound even less enthusiastic about the discovery than he did as she stepped up next to him. “You know, when I said I wished we could have some more time alone together, this isn’t quite what I had in mind.”

“I know.” He took her hand, gave it a quick squeeze, then let her go. “At least those journals look promising. Maybe we’ll actually find some clues in this one.”

“Or spiders.”

He chuckled. “I suspect we’ll find spiders either way. After you, my dear. “

Kai didn’t hide her reluctance to enter the tiny room, but she did it anyway. It was barely big enough for the two of them to have room to move about without having to climb over each other. She suspected she could lay on the floor and be able to touch all four walls, and the ceiling was low enough that the cobwebs hanging from it caught in Aloth’s dark hair, silver strands clinging to him and aging him before his time. The three walls that didn’t house the door were covered in shelves with stacks of old, crumbling books and intriguing esoteric trinkets.

Without a word, the two of them turned to opposite shelves and started sifting through their contents. She had to resist the historian part of her brain that told her to take everything so she could study it at her leisure. They were here for a purpose, and part of that purpose involved leaving as small of a trace as possible of their passing.

Still. It was very tempting.

“Oh!” Aloth exclaimed suddenly, drawing her attention away from the golden curio she’d been inspecting. “I think I found something. I can’t read the text, but it looks familiar.”

She peeked over his shoulder at the book he was holding, squinting to try and see it in the unlit room. “It’s Engwithan. It’s too dark in here to decipher, but I recognize the language.”

“That seems promising,” he muttered to himself, tapping his finger on the corner of the book as he thought. Kai knew what he was thinking; he was trying to decide if they should risk exploring more, or take their prize and get out. He nodded, coming to a decision. “We should go. We’ve already been here too long.”

“Agreed. We’ll take it back to our room and see what there is to see. Worst case scenario, we can come back.”

They tried to put everything else back where they’d found it, more or less, then picked their way back to the door. It had drifted closed while they were exploring, the old wood warped and uneven from age. Aloth reached it first and moved to open it, but it didn’t budge.

He tried again; the doorknob rattled as he tried to shake the latch free, but it remained unmoved. He threw his shoulder into it, trying to force it, but it still remained spitefully closed.

Kai wished she’d thought to bring her pistol. There was more than one way to open a door.

He turned to her, a frown set deep in his brow, and she knew what he was going to say before he said it. “I think we’re stuck.”

It was amazing how much dread could come from just four words. “Of course we are. Gods forbid anything go simply for a change. How long do you think before someone comes looking for us?”

“If we’re lucky? A few hours.” His eyes roamed the room as if trying to find a different way out, but there were no windows, no spaces there could possibly be any hidden doors or alcoves. “If we aren’t… Edér will probably notice we’re missing by morning.”

“Galawain’s flea-bitten arse!” Kai growled and kicked the door. It did not fly dramatically open like she’d hoped. She leaned back against the door and pressed her head against it.

“Feel better, my dear?” he asked dryly.

“I’m sorry, darling. I just…” She closed her eyes, trying to keep her composure, but she was breathing too fast. “I don’t like tight spaces.”

“I… had forgotten,” Aloth said softly. “Forgive me.”

“Not your fault. It’s been a while.”

“That it has.” He tried to hide it, but Kai could still hear the pain in his voice.

“Don’t you dare apologize, Aloth Corfiser. We’ve talked about this.” They had, in fact, talked about it exhaustively. He still felt guilty for leaving Caed Nua, even though they’d agreed he needed to, and she still felt guilty for not going with him, even though they’d agreed she needed to stay in Caed Nua. It was a circular argument, one with no clear answer and no winner and all it did was reopen wounds that would be better left alone so they could heal.

“I know,” he said, voice so low now it was almost a whisper. She hadn’t realized how much her hands were trembling until he laced his fingers with hers. “But I can still never get back those years we were apart.”

“We have plenty of years ahead of us that we’ll spend together.” Even on the edge of panic, that still drew a small smile to her face. “Though we’ll probably spend them locked in this gods damned closet.”

“Kai. Look at me.” Aloth’s voice was gentle but firm, and she found herself responding to the command almost unconsciously. He was standing very close, his face barely inches from hers, and instead of making the suffocating closeness of the room worse, his proximity actually made it a little easier for her to breathe. His pale eyes seemed to glow in the dim light. “You are safe. I won’t let anything happen to you. Just keep your eyes on me.”

He kept talking about nothing in particular, his voice calm and his gaze steady, his hand a lifeline in hers. Every breath came a little easier than the one before. She stopped shaking as the panic ebbed away, and the walls moved back to a reasonable distance once more. Finally, she sagged against him, pressing her face to his shoulder and just breathing him in for a moment. He smelled the same way he always did, the vanilla-and-dust scent of old books and the clean sharp ozone scent of his magic and a hint of woodsmoke that he picked up from her.

His arms went around her, holding her close, and the last of the tension drained from her and she could finally think again. Her thoughts raced like they were trying to make up for the time lost panicking. Maybe one of these shelves had a key. They couldn’t be the first kith to lock themselves in here. Or maybe… “I don’t suppose Iselmyr knows how to pick locks.”

“Fye, ainlie if ye've git an axe.”

“Figured it couldn’t hurt to ask.” Kai’s own Awakened memories weren’t any help either. Iorena had been a soldier through and through. She knew how to open a stuck door using a spear as a lever, but that didn’t exactly help right now. A memory from her own childhood surfaced, hazy but possibly useful. “Maybe I can. Do you have a letter opener? A… a hair pin? A quill you’re not especially attached to?”

“Perhaps.” Aloth raised a curious eyebrow, but started searching his pockets for anything that might fit the bill. “Why would you know how to pick locks?”

“When we were children, my younger sister Ariana taught me.” Her pockets were distressingly empty, so she scanned the shelves to see if they had anything promising. “It’s been about thirty years since I’ve done it, but it’s worth a try.”

Aloth beat her to the punch, plucking a single patinated copper hairstick that probably predated the gods themselves from the shelf above her head. He offered it to her and she turned to the door to try and coerce it open. “Why would you need to know how to pick locks as a child?”

“Our mother favored solitary confinement as punishment,” she told the lock so she wouldn’t have to look at Aloth while she spoke. She knew what she’d see there: pain, sympathy, and enough understanding to make her angry, both on his behalf and on her own. “While I turned to reading as a way to pass the time, Ari was more proactive. She would sneak out in the middle of the night and rearrange Mother’s furniture, or steal things from Father and hide them throughout the house, and lock herself back away before they awoke in the morning. They never did figure out who was doing it.”

“How terrible,” he said softly, and he clearly wasn’t referring to Ariana’s poltergeist impression.

“No worse than anything you endured as a child.”

“That doesn’t make it okay.”

“No. It doesn’t.” Kai really didn’t want to talk about this anymore. There wasn’t enough space in this room for the two of them and the looming specter of her mother. Lucky for her, she was offered a very easy change of subject as the lock made a loud clicking sound. “Aha!” She gave her makeshift pick a careful twist and the door swung open. She climbed to her feet and gestured to the now-empty doorway. “After you, my dear.”

Neither of them said a word as they crept through the empty building and back out onto the street, then through a nearby alley. They emerged into a lantern-lit courtyard, music and laughter pouring out from the open doors of a tavern, and slowed their pace. Just another normal couple enjoying the evening air. The inn they were staying at was only a few buildings down, and they went straight up to their room as soon as they got there.

As soon as they stepped inside, Aloth rounded on Kai, hands falling onto her shoulders. “Are you okay?”

“I’m… getting there.” No use lying to him; he’d see through it anyway. She brought a hand up to his face, tracing her fingers along his cheek. “Thank you for keeping a level head, darling. If I’d been there alone, I suspect I’d have never made it out.”

“You don’t have to thank me. You’ve done the same for me. We take care of each other.” He said it like it was a simple fact of life. Water is wet; grass is green; we take care of each other. It made Kai adore him even more, just like it always did. “I got you something.”

He pulled the Engwithan book from his bag, then reached into it again and pulled out a smaller book, barely the size of his palm, and a bronze statuette of what looked like a deity, though it didn’t look like any of the ones they knew. They were small enough items that probably wouldn’t be noticed as missing, unless the owners did a thorough inventory - in which case their visit would have been noticed anyway.

Kai took the palm-sized book from him and opened it, curiosity getting the better of her. In it was page after page of faded writing in what looked like a very old form of Eld Aedyran, and the pages were so old they threatened to crumble at her touch. “You stole ancient artifacts for me,” she whispered, awed.

Aloth smiled proudly at her clear approval of his thievery. “Of course I did. I know the woman I married.”

She carefully took the books and statue from his hands and set them on the table. Then she walked back to him, cupped his face in her hands, and kissed him, pouring every ounce of gratitude she had into it - not just gratitude for the pilfered gifts, but for his support, and his love, and just for being there.

“You’re welcome,” he said breathlessly once they parted, already leaning in for another kiss.

“That’s just the start, darling,” Kai said when they next broke apart. She pulled away from him enough to undo the clasps on her armor, letting it and the shirt she wore underneath fall to the floor. “We’ve got all night. Allow me to thank you properly.”

#watcher wednesday #kai cirdani #kailoth #times like this I'm reminded that Evie Carnahan was a big inspiration for Kiki's character #nothing makes her happier than stealing priceless artifacts from bad people #and aloth is happy to exploit that fact as often as possible #this was my hurt/comfort fic I wrote #I had a migraine so I made poor kiki have a panic attack :/ but we're both okay now!#brightoncemore

27 notes · View notes

big-bad-ulf · 4 years

Text

Hear You Me || Layla & Ulfric

Location: Graham and Frankie’s Apartment Complex

Timing: The early hours of May 30th, 2020

Tagging: @big-bad-ulf and @laylacooke

Content: Family death mentions, Grief

Description: Ulfric breaks the news to Layla about Celeste’s death

The knock on the door at Frankie and Graham’s apartment was ominous. She had spent all night tossing and turning and for that reason, she had ended up on the floor in a small, little corner in Frankie’s bedroom. It’s also why she was the first one up and sitting on the couch with the tv turned down low as she stared into space thinking about the day before. The knock had been the thing to draw Layla’s attention back to reality, and without thinking, she automatically got up and walked to the door. Opening it up, she saw Ulfric standing there, but no Ariana. No Celeste, “Ulf…”

Ulfric almost groaned when Layla opened the door. Damned wolf hearing, she’d been so fast, he’d been hoping for a few moments longer of waiting on the doorstep figuring out what to say. Instead, he found himself stumped. “Layla… Hello. I’m sorry I asked you to leave on such short notice,” he apologized, realizing now how it could have easily been misconstrued as him tossing out after he’d expressly promised not to do that. It had seemed kinder at the time than just letting her sleep ignorantly surrounded by Celeste’s memories or telling her and having her stay up all night on the roof with him to wait for Ariana’s return, but now he was unsure if he’d done it for her so much as because he hadn’t been up to speaking the words aloud to anyone yet. He had promised Ari he’d take on this responsibility for her though, so he’d find a way to now. “Is there somewhere private we could go and talk?” He looked inside cautiously, unsure if her friends would still be around.

Layla had known something was going on, and yet, again, she had felt left out in the cold. It seemed as though she was always the last to find out things from the other wolves. As if she would never fully fit in with the pack, and while him asking her to leave hadn’t necessarily crossed her mind as him kicking her out, it did sit uneasily with her for the remainder of the night, especially after the lingering sound of the howl remained in her mind. Simon’s message to her hadn’t helped either. If Winn’s mother calling and Winn texting hadn’t been enough, whatever this was, had been thrown onto her shoulders too, and now, she was about to find out what was really going on, “They’re both still asleep, but we can leave. I can come back for my stuff later.” She didn’t want to wake them up, let alone have Graham hear anything that was going on.

Ulfric considered her proposition for a minute, contemplating where they could go. He couldn’t bring her back home, that was the whole reason they were here in the first place, nor could he think of any other venue that would be ideal to break the news he had to tell her. “Maybe we don’t have to go that far,” he counter-offered, spying a fire escape snaking up the side of the apartment building. The roof would be good, private but open, as he suddenly realized that the thought of being trapped in a small room with Layla and words of Celeste’s deaths was rather unbearable. He led the way up the spiraling staircase in silence, pondering how best to initiate his explanation of the events that had occurred on prom night, though he hadn’t come up with much of an answer by the time he arrived on rooftop, pacing as he waited for her to reach the top too. “You were told someone picked up the bounty on Ariana and Celeste, yes?” He queried softly once she did. The beginning, that was usually a good place to start.

She wasn’t sure where they needed to go, but him wanting absolute privacy made her more nervous than she already was. How bad could this conversation be? When he spotted the staircase leading to the roof, she reluctantly followed him. Did she want to know? Could her heart take what he was about to reveal? And why wasn’t Ari there? She was the one that broke the news to Layla. She was the one that made sure she was okay. She was the one that had rescued her from the dumpster and sleeping under bridges and in seedy motels. Was Ulfric about to tell her that Ariana wasn’t coming home? She pondered this all the way upstairs, and when she made it to the top, she tried to prepare herself the best she could for whatever news was about to come, “Y-Yeah...Celeste told me that when I first moved in with you guys. Ulfric?” Her warm brown eyes held a heavy sadness behind them as she peered into his own eyes looking for anything that would give her some kind of heads up.

Ulfric tried to meet Layla’s eyes as he searched for his next words, but seeing the sadness already reflected there, he pulled his gaze away. Instead, he fixated on the horizon behind her where a patch of the sky still appeared slightly hazy from the smoke that had filtered out of the abandoned warehouse on the docks districts. “Celeste’s parents… They slipped Ari some kind of sedative at the prom, took her hostage, wanted to draw Celeste out so they could make her watch them kill her. We managed to get Ari out,” he barrelled through, wanting to assure her of Ariana’s escape, but he knew it would be cruel to allow Layla to build up hope that everything had worked out after that. To allow her to think that maybe Ari was a little worse for wear but that otherwise things would continue the way they were. So, he barely paused for breath before adding. “But Celeste didn’t make it. I’m sorry-- I promised she could take the lead. It was her vengeance to take and I thought-- I should have…” He trailed off, a thousand better actions, judgments, and plans he could have made filling the space between them. Unable to settle on one he just repeated. “I’m sorry.”

Layla listened closely as Ulfric explained what had happened. She didn’t want to miss anything or to make him have to repeat anything. When she heard Ariana’s name and that she was safe, relief came to her. But the short pause caused Layla’s breath to hitch in her throat. And when she heard that Celeste hadn’t made it, her heart stopped beating, “Wh-What?” Tears began to fill her eyes. And her hand fell to her side, where some of the stitches had remained from the last time they had really got to sit down and talk to one another. The last time Celeste had given her advice and saved her from bleeding out from another stupid teenage situation she had gotten herself into. Her hand covered her mouth in disbelief as she let out a muffled cry. And then her mind went back to Ariana and the howl. That had been the reason she howled. Crying out because the girl who had become her sister was lying dead at the hands of hunters. At the hands of her own parents. The woman that Layla had shared a similar history too. The only person that seemed to understand what she was going through, more than anybody, was dead, “No-No this...this can’t be right.” She began pacing back and forth anxiously. Fiercely wiping her eyes and nose with her arm; sucking in air through her nose trying to clear her sinuses. But she soon stopped as a tidal wave of sadness came rushing over her. Someone else, who just in a short time, had become so important to her, was gone. A mentor and an ally. And while she knew the hurt she was feeling was only a fraction of what Ariana was feeling, it still hit her and brought her to her knees on the rooftop. Sobs began filling the air as Celeste’s death had seemed to be the cherry on top of all the drama that had happened in the past few days, and her heart felt like it was crumbling. No wonder Ulfric had told Layla to leave. But how could she even begin to go back to a trailer that held all the memories she had with Celeste. From the first day they met to the night she explained to Layla that her time would come to be brave and to help the pack. Followed by the two watching Legally Blonde and laughing until tears were in their eyes. But yet here she was again. Left in the lurch with no one there to explain to her that sometimes life just went this way and that she wasn’t alone. In that moment, with Ulf standing just behind her, she had felt so lonely. The relationship with Ulfric, though still relatively new, had felt strained. Layla had struggled to trust him and even though he was the one standing there telling her, because Ariana probably couldn’t and Celeste was...gone, she knew the connection him and the other young wolf had would never be something she could obtain, and the adult she had felt like she was connecting with the most was dead, “I didn’t even get to say goodbye…”

Ulfric stood frozen, wanting to provide Layla comfort but not sure how to do so. They both knew the trust between them was a recent thing, and rather tenuous. An embrace seemed to him like it might come across as inauthentic. Still, he wanted to show her that a better understanding between them wasn’t impossible. His misgivings about her weren’t as set in stone as they had been before his realization about Celeste; that her actions had been driven by a genuine love for Ariana, not malicious intent or cowardice. If someone with a hunter’s blood and abilities was still capable of having a good heart, then he owed this hunter’s child who lacked the latter the benefit of the doubt. With that in mind, he placed his hand on her shoulder hesitantly and squeezed. “I marked her resting place,” the older wolf informed her softly. “I know it’s not the same, but you can visit her, talk to her there.”

Tears continued to fall down her face as sobs could be heard. She was glad they had come to the rooftop. Glad Frankie wasn’t around to hear her weakness at this very moment. With Celeste gone, she felt confused. She had just started to find her footing. Had a parental figure in her life that she was starting to trust with both her head and her heart, and just like that, she was gone. Her mind jumped back to Ariana. Layla was older. She did feel protective over the younger wolf, but she was, by no means, capable of caring for anyone else. Hell, she couldn’t even care for herself half the time. Was she supposed to help Ulfric now? Those had been just a few of the hundreds of questions that ran through her mind. It was Ulf’s hand on her shoulder that stopped the swirl of thoughts and inquiries in her brain. The soft words gave way to quiet sniffles as her sobbing had eased, “And what about Ariana? Is she safe? Can I still see her?” Her eyes focused ahead as the sun was just pushing itself over the horizon.

“Yes, she’s safe,” Ulfric informed her, grateful and impressed that Ariana’s well-being was so forward in her mind despite how deep she still was in her own grief. He withdrew his hand but settled beside, on as equal a level as he could achieve given his natural height advantage, and joined her in watching the sunrise. “She’s staying with family friends, Deirdre Dolan and Morgan Beck. I’m sure she’d like to see you.” Despite his initial reservations about Layla he hadn’t failed to notice the bond she’d developed with Ariana, and now more than ever encouraging that bond seemed like it would do them both some good. “She just wasn’t ready to sort through her sister's things. And… neither was I,” He explained, confessing the last part reluctantly, but openness was something he needed to work on with her, if things were to be better going forward. “That’s why I asked you to keep out of there, but it didn’t seem right to explain the rest on the phone.”

Layla wanted to see Ariana. She wanted to spend time with her, but most of all, she just wanted to give her a big hug. Of course, it didn’t mean she could keep herself from crying. In fact, she knew after Ulf had left, she was probably going to curl back up in her corner on the floor and sob, “I don’t think Deirdre wants me anywhere near her house. I don’t know if you heard about the bean incident, but I sorta wrecked her place, when she was having me chase after a dog - Simon’s dog.” She wiped her eyes with her arm. It was the last thing Ulf said though, that kind of stung. Keep out of there. It was as if she wasn’t welcome. Like he didn’t trust her. Looking towards him, but not directly at him, she spoke, “I wouldn’t have taken or touched anything, Ulfric. I know I’m just some stray that Ariana took in off the street, and I may not have known Celeste as long, but she meant something to me, too.” Getting up off the ground, she let out a soft quivering sigh, “I appreciate you telling me in person. And I won’t go back until I’m allowed to. Just don’t touch my bow. My name is engraved on it. I think I got most of my things out last night after you texted me.” She put a soft hand on his shoulder, before heading back downstairs to Graham and Frankie’s apartment. Slipping back inside, she found her spot back on the floor and laid back down, quietly crying to herself, until she couldn’t anymore.

“I doubt she’d hold some minor property damage against you now,” Ulfric countered, he didn’t know Deirdre very well but while she had come across as odd and a little dramatic, she clearly wasn’t uncaring. He doubted she’d be petty enough to stop the girls from visiting each other in this time of grief. “If you want to see Ari you should.” It wasn’t until Layla went on the defensive that he realized his mistake. “That’s not what I meant—” He protested, inwardly kicking himself for the poor phrasing. Keep out. He’d meant he wanted to keep her from harm, since his residence was now a treacherous place full of inescapable reminders of what they’d lost, not that she posed a threat to the sanctity of Celeste’s memory by being there. Still, considering he had outright told her he thought of her as a potential threat before, he couldn’t fault her logic. “It just didn’t seem right for you to remain, going about your business as if everything was fine, when it wasn’t,” he tried to clarify, by the young wolf was already descending the stairs. With her enhanced hearing, he had reason to hope she’d heard him, but not that she’d believe him given their history. With a sigh, Ulfric collapsed onto the rooftop and waited for Layla to reach the ground, allowing her to put some distance between them before he would leave himself. Above him, the stars had set, Celeste’s last night on this Earth had officially drawn to a close. Nothing remained but the bright morning sun to burn away any shadows that might have hidden the fact she was gone.

#chatzy #layla #hear you me #wickedswriting #tw death mention

10 notes · View notes

k-popscenxrios · 5 years

Text

Didn’t Ask For This Finale (Roommate!JK x OC)

A/N: Okay please don’t hate me for how long this took!!! It’s super long to make up for the wait!! I had so many issues writing this final part honestly. It’s still not 100% the ending that I want it to be, but after lots to re-writing, I think it’s pretty good. Thank you all for sticking out the story until the end! I hope you stay around for everything I have planned for the future! Now, on with the show~

Warning: This is very loosely edited. There will be typos and mistakes!

Summary: “I didn’t know you hated me so much,” he spoke as he grabbed my wrist and once again turned me around to face him, “and quite honestly, I don’t think I’ve done anything horrible enough for you to hate me to the degree that you do.” “You say that like the hate isn’t mutual,” I remarked as he shook his head. There was a bitter smile on his face as he took a deep breath, “I think you are quite honestly one of the worst human beings I’ve had to come in contact with.”

10.5k words | drama ✞ | fluff ♡ | (mention of) mature themes ✗

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | Finale

⇨ Masterlist ⇦

The days were flying by faster than I could keep up with as I tried to get used to the fact that Jungkook was actually about to leave. His bags were all packed and his car was filled will most of his things while his essentials laid in his room for him to use until tomorrow. This was our last night together since he leaves tomorrow afternoon for school.

Taehyung was also leaving tomorrow, but it felt like he had already left. He spent the past couple nights at Hana’s apartment, but Jungkook and I didn’t mind. It was nice getting to spend some time alone with him at home. I never wanted these days to end…

I had just finished getting ready in the bathroom when I walked out to the living room. I was about to open my mouth to say some cheesy line to Jungkook about his cologne, something about his spraying it on my pillow before he leaves tomorrow, but my mouth shut before I spoke. My eyes locked onto Yoongi’s as I felt relief fill me. I’m glad I saw him before I opened my mouth. I almost forgot he was here.

Jungkook agreed to let Yoongi move some of his stuff into the apartment since Taehyung had already moved out of his room. Taehyung’s old room was now turning into Yoongi’s room, and he was already talking to me about turning Jungkook’s room into a game room.

“Sorry,” Yoongi spoke when he saw my surprised expression, “I know I said I was leaving but I packed my laptop charger in a different box than I thought. I think it’s in my room somewhere.”

I just nodded and motioned for him to walk back to what was now becoming his room. On his way through the hallway, he passed by Jungkook who emerged from his room. His eyes locked onto mine before he walked my way.

“I’m going to run one of my bags to my car since I’m not going to need it before I leave,” he informed as I looked down at the bag on his shoulder. It was the bag that he had walked in my apartment door with when we had our first encounter of the summer. The sight of the item made me slightly smile before I looked up at him again.

“Okay. Hurry back, Kook,” he gave me a light kiss before he passed me and walked out the front door. I walked back to Yoongi’s room as I felt the air changing. This time tomorrow, Jungkook will be gone and it’ll just be Yoongi and I. It was weird to think about, but it was something I needed to get used to.

I leaned against the door frame and caught Yoongi’s attention as he looked up from the box his hands were buried in. “Having trouble finding it?”

Yoongi nodded and his face twisted with annoyance as he took out a few items, “I know it’s in this box. All my music equipment is in here, and it’s like every power cord that I own is in this box… AHA!”

Yoongi began pulling out one of the cords from the box with a relieved look on his face as I smiled, “I’ve never seen you look so happy.”

Yoongi sent me a dirty look before he stood up, moving toward me, “Well I’m gonna get out of here. You want me to move in tomorrow night, right? Or do you want a night to yourself first?”

“No, please,” I shook my head, “I need you here tomorrow night. I don’t think I can handle staying a night alone here after he leaves. It’s gonna suck.”

“I know,” Yoongi frowned and took a step closer to me. I could tell that he was feeling pity for me, but he didn’t voice it. “You can always call and video chat Kook. Plus, hasn’t he already promised to come back here after the first week or so of school?”

I shook my head, my eyes fixating on the window behind Yoongi. “No. He promised to come back for my birthday, and he’s trying to convince me to come visit him on his birthday weekend and stay with his sister.”

Yoongi moved into my line of sight and crossed his arms across his chest, “that’s not too far off from now. Less than a month, right?”

“Right,” I nodded, but he could tell that there was still something off about me. I didn’t know what was wrong with me. We were talking about something happy, so why am I so glum? “But I… I’ve never met his family because I’ve never had a reason to. My family already likes him and has known him for years because of Taehyung. I even forgot that Jungkook has a sister until we were talking about her a few days ago!”

“Ari,” Yoongi spoke in a calm, soft voice. His tone was calming me down for the most part, but I was still nervous. I was nervous that Jungkook would grow tired of our distance, I was worried that I wouldn’t get to see him very often, and I was very very worried that his family wouldn’t like me.

“Ari,” Yoongi called to put my attention back on him, “You two have been inseparable for this past summer. He’s not going to grow tired of you, he’s going to miss you like crazy. You know this already, Kim.” He knocked me in the shoulder and I let the smallest smile slip through my face, “I don’t like you second guessing yourself.”

Our conversation stopped short as we heard the door to the apartment open and close. Jungkook was back.

It wasn’t long before he was walking down the hallway and poking his head into Yoongi’s room. I didn’t fail to notice the nervous look on his face when he initially saw me, and my smile almost dropped immediately. It’d been a while since he had looked at me that way, and I didn’t like it at all.

“Hey babe,” I tried to act calm when in fact, I was not calm.

“I’m about to head out. Don’t worry, man,” Yoongi held up the cord that he had been looking for in the first place as Jungkook’s eyes shifted to Yoongi. He swallowed and nodded before looking back to me.

Was that about Yoongi? That look? Surely not… he’s been telling me this past week that he’s relieved that Yoongi will be here! He wanted me to have someone here with me since he was leaving.

“Kook, is everything okay?” I asked as Yoongi took that as his cue to dip out faster than his legs could carry him. I tried to not laugh at his eagerness to leave, but the smallest smile slipped through. I heard the apartment door close and lock before Jungkook opened his mouth.

“Everything’s totally fine,” he said, but his tone was all but genuine. That tone in his voice reminded me of our early days when either of us were about to start an argument. I thought that we would finish out these last few hours together in peace, but sadly, I was wrong.

“I just would prefer if you and Yoongi had some rules. Rules like, you can’t be in each other’s rooms.”

I raised my eyebrows and crossed my arms across my chest, “So you actually don’t trust me or Yoongi. Jungkook, this is ridiculous. There is nothing between Yoongi and I. We kissed once, and it was just for Yoongi to prove a point.”

“Wait,” Jungkook’s eyes widened in sync with mine as I realized that I had never told him that, “You and Yoongi have kissed? When the-”

“It was just for him to prove that I don’t actually like him! Right after he kissed me, he basically told me that I was falling for you. He’s been right so far, so why doubt him when he said that me and him are not meant to be?” I swallowed as my eyebrows furrowed in anger and sadness, “I love you so much it’s not even funny, Kook.”

He swallowed and looked down after my words. I could see guilt swimming in his eyes, but he was still fairly angry. I could tell by how tense his muscles were.

“I just don’t know that I can completely trust Yoongi. You would have never fallen in love with me if Taehyung hadn’t forced us to be around each other all the time. You two are willingly hanging around each other all the time. If I fell for you because of the living situation, then what’s to stop him?”

I took a step closer to Jungkook as I stared deeply into his eyes. “You did not just fall in love with me because we live together. You fell in love because we were forced to get to know each other. Yoongi and I already know each other fairly well. Sure, we don’t know some things about each other, but learning new things about someone doesn’t make you fall for them.”

“Learning new things about you made me fall for you,” Jungkook was quick to rebut as I sighed in slight agitation.

“No, getting to know the real me made you fall for me. It wasn’t just the little things about me that you fell for.”

Jungkook kept his mouth closed as we both stared into each other's eyes. Jungkook seemed to be looking for something to say, but ultimately he stayed quiet.

“Jungkook, I love you. Even if Yoongi were to magically develop romantic feelings for me, I wouldn’t return the feelings,” I placed a hand on his arm softly as he seemed to relax from my touch. His shoulders that had been tense were now falling as he stepped closer to me. Our bodies were practically touching each other as I continued to look up at him.

“What if you fall to him for comfort since you won’t get to see me often?” Jungkook asked with closed eyes as his arms wrapped around my torso. I placed my head in the crook of his neck and took a deep breath, closing my eyes as I smelled his heavenly scent.

“Well of course he’s going to comfort me with I’m sad, Kook. You don’t want me to be eternally sad, do you?” I moved my hands around him as he placed a kiss on top of my head.

“Just don’t forget to talk to me about everything that happens when I’m gone. You’ll call often, right?” Jungkook’s voice was completely calm at this point as I felt my whole being relax. “And if things get really bad or something really upsetting happens, make sure to tell me so that I can arrange to come see you.”

I smiled into his neck as I nodded and moved my head so that I could look into his eyes. I found myself memorizing every etch of color in his eyes, every move of his mouth, and every freckle or scar on his face.

“And don’t let anyone use my room. Well, Chaeyoung or any of your girl friends are fine, but under no circumstances will there be another man other than Yoongi staying the night here. Ever. Not even a friend of Yoongi’s.”

I smiled and nodded, leaning up to place a soft kiss to Jungkook’s lips. His mouth chased mine as I moved to pull away to say something. A few giggles left my throat before Jungkook moved away so that I could say something.

“Poor Taehyung won’t have anywhere to go next summer,” I pouted as Jungkook’s eyes narrowed.

“You know that the rule excludes family,” Jungkook tried to contain his very slight annoyance as I pursed my lips. “Plus, Taehyung can’t stay in my room if I’m in it.”

“You two could share,” I rolled my eyes, “but does this rule include cousins? What if you have a really hot male cousin that needs a place to stay in town? Just let him know which apartment is mine and I’ll ready your room for his stay.”

Jungkook’s eyes narrowed and his hands reached down and gripped my thighs. I squealed a little as Jungkook hoisted me up against him, wrapping my legs around his torso. His eyes stared deep into mine as he began walking toward my room. “Hot cousins are excluded from the rule.”

“So that means you have a hot cousin,” I nodded and pretended to take interest as Jungkook’s eyes narrowed. I felt excitement build up in me as I ran my fingers through his hair, “How do you think he’d like his breakfast? Do you know what kind of sheets he prefers? Do you think he’d like me walking around in my skimpy pajamas? Because you sure didn’t with how rude you were to me about it.”

“Please don’t kill each other today,” Taehyung called as he was on his way out the door. I rolled my eyes and waved his way.

“No promises,” I smiled as he disappeared behind the door. I turned around after Taehyung left and was met with a wet-haired Jungkook. He was wearing his usual lounge outfit, a white t-shirt and sweatpants, and he was still trying to dry his hair with one of my towels when I spotted him.

His eyes met mine, only to break away a few seconds later. I noticed his eyes shamelessly run up and down my body as I felt my face heat up. Why was he checking me out?

“You should probably wear more clothes. You’ve gotta remember, you live with two guys.” He nonchalantly spoke as my jaw dropped.

“What, are you trying to say that you’re tempted to make a move on me?” I raised an eyebrow, “Because I thought you found me revolting.”

“I do,” he scoffed and threw the wet towel he was using at me, “Which is why you need more clothes on. I don’t want to see that much of you.”

I felt my face turn red, and I couldn’t tell if it was out of anger or embarrassment.

“Be careful, Jeon, insult me one more time and I’ll strip down to my underwear and walk around like that all day.” I threw the towel back at him as his eyes widened. I noticed him stiffen as I felt my confusion written all over my face. His face started to flush as he tightened his grip on the towel I had thrown his way only seconds ago.

He turned in one fluid motion as he grumbled and stormed off into his room. “Please don’t bother me,” He spoke before slightly slamming the door behind him.

“Shut up, Ari,” he growled as he threw me on top of my bed. He crawled above me and his eyes scanned up and down my body. “I’ll have you know, I wanted to jump you that day. That wouldn’t have been appropriate at all considering the fact that I had no idea how I felt about you at that time.”

“So what your saying is,” I smiled and placed a hand on Jungkook’s cheek. His patience was running thin with me, but I was loving messing with him. It wasn’t often that I got to him this much, “You really liked me walking around like that, but you were afraid that your friend would expose your not-so-innocent thoughts about me.”

“Exactly,” he ran his hand through the hair at the base of my neck and propped my head up closer to his, “and I wasn’t about to let go of my pride and admit my attraction to you at the time. I had a douchebag image to keep up, you know.”

I let my eyes flick to the lip that he was biting down on as I also found myself biting my lip. A smile once more began to appear on my face as I tried to hold it back. “You kept that image up well until you would make me cry.”

He growled and closed his eyes in slight pain, “Don’t mention that. God, I hate that. I don’t even like thinking about you crying, and to know that I’ve made you cry on multiple accounts…”

“But you’ve made countless girls cry, Kook. Why did my crying get to you so much?”

The teasing conversation was slowly turning serious as I found myself genuinely curious. He couldn’t be weak to crying in general because I used to hear girls cry over him all the time for the dumbest reasons. Some girls cried because they were dumped by him, some cried because they knew they’d never have a chance with him, and some cried every time he’d sleep with someone that wasn’t them.

“You mean something to me,” his eyes softened as his dominant stance above me turned into him laying next to me in my bed, “I cared about how you reacted to me. You were so cute when you were mad, and I would overstep all the time to upset you. I had a hard time drawing the line of going too far.”

I nodded in agreeance because he definitely wasn’t wrong there. He was still really bad at seeing the lines he didn’t need to cross. I couldn’t help but go really soft seeing Jungkook so vulnerable over me at the mention of me crying. He seemed genuinely sad as he cuddled up next to me.

“Please don’t forget about me while I’m gone.”

I looked over at him and had to resist the urge to laugh. Forget about him? Was he crazy? “Jungkook, I’m the one who should be saying that to you. After all, you said-”

He cut me off by leaning over me and placing a rough kiss to my mouth. I tried to continue with my words, but he chased after my mouth, adamant to keep me from saying what I was trying to. I gave in to his persistence as I allowed him to kiss me. After all, it won’t be long before I won’t be able to kiss him for weeks on end. These next few months are going to suck…

“Can you please go a day without reminding me of how big an ass I am?” Jungkook asked against my lips as I shrugged and leaned up to kiss him again.

“Stop being such an ass and then I won’t have anything to remind you of.”

…

I sat on the edge of what was once Jungkook’s bed as I looked around the empty room. I had been so adamant about turning his room into something else once he moved out, but now that he was actually leaving… I didn’t want to change anything. Maybe if the room is still laid out the same way, then it’ll be like he never left.

I forced myself to get up off the bed and move out of the room, but it was so hard… He wasn’t even gone yet and I was getting really emotional.

“Babe?” Jungkook poked his head into the room and spotted me as I took a deep breath, “We need to leave now if we’re going to get there in time.”

I puffed out my lips in slight disappointment before I moved toward him. We had made plans with everyone to go bowling tonight before everyone left for college, but I was really starting to regret the plans. I wanted more than anything to just stay here with Jungkook for his last hours here.

“You know, Tae’s gonna be super disappointed if we don’t come,” Jungkook reasoned as he saw the hesitation in my eyes. I wanted to punch him for bringing Taehyung up, but he wasn’t wrong. Taehyung would drive over here and chew me out if I didn’t come. He would take my absence personally.

I still wasn’t completely ready to let go of the summer…

“Come on, Ari,” he walked into the room and grabbed one of my arms, pulling me toward the door. My heart ached the further I was pulled from the room. The summer was going to officially be over tomorrow afternoon… I start school in a few days, and Yoongi is going to be living with me… It was going to be hard adjusting to the changes happening all at once.

“I’m coming,” I mumbled as I allowed Jungkook to pull me out of the room. We walked toward the front door as he stopped to let me put my shoes on. I took my time with them as Jungkook crossed his arms and cleared his throat.

“You know, the sooner we get there, the sooner we can leave,” Jungkook tempted me as I found it working. In a way, it was true… I finally actually put on my shoes and grabbed Jungkook’s hand as he pulled me out the door. Tomorrow is going to be a lot harder than I anticipated.

…

Jungkook and I hadn’t been at the bowling alley for very long before I found myself downing a beer that may or may not have belonged to me… But in my defence, Yoongi had gotten up to bowl and left it sitting in front of me to taunt me.

I’d never truly had alcohol before, so my face twisted in pure disgust as I drank half of what had been in the mug. I stifled some coughs to keep Jungkook from looking my way to see what I had just done.

I don’t know for sure what compelled me to drink that beer, and with the aftertaste sitting in my mouth, I was regretting giving in to my snap decision.

The night had been fine so far; we were all laughing and smiling. Everyone was having a good time, especially Chaeyoung since she and Jimin were already intoxicated before they got here. They would laugh at anything, even if it wasn’t the least bit funny.

Jungkook nor Yoongi noticed me downing the beer when I had done it, but it didn’t take long for Yoongi to notice. I thought he was going to yell at me for stealing his drink, but he instead looked very concerned.

“Ari, you’ve never had a drop of beer in your life,” he spoke to me at a low volume as Jungkook stood up to take his turn. I just simply nodded, confirming his statement as if he wasn’t sure of his words before now.

“You’re right. That tasted terrible,” I scrunched up my nose as Yoongi just became increasingly worried. He looked over to Jungkook nervously before looking at the scoreboard.

“You’re so lucky that you already suck at bowling. Maybe Jungkook won’t notice that you just chugged my beer.” He swallowed and licked his lips, “And don’t touch another drink, please. We don’t know how your alcohol tolerance is.”

Well it wasn’t very long until we got the answer to that question. Immediately following Yoongi’s words of warning, I almost stumbled straight into Jungkook. I didn’t even remember standing up from my seat, but the next thing I knew, Jungkook was holding me to him with a surprised look on his face. I could hear Yoongi wince as Jungkook stood me up straight.

“Are you alright, Ari?” Jungkook asked as he leaned closer to me. I felt his head move way to close to mine, and I started to get worried that he was going to butt heads with me. I leaned backward to save my head from the collision when I felt another pair of arms keep me from falling. I didn’t have to look to know that it was Yoongi.

I scanned the room fairly quickly, and when my eyes rested on Taehyung’s, I felt my stomach drop. Why’d he look so scary? Did Taehyung normally look like that when he was upset?

“I’m perfectly fine,” I lied and tried to grab for my bowling ball. It was a lot heavier than I remembered, and I struggled carrying it. I readied my stance to bowl, but when it came time to let go of the ball, I felt my hand holding on to the ball for dear life. I furrowed my eyebrows and started over, but this time, I swung the ball with too much enthusiasm. It flew up into the air and crashed down very loudly onto the alley as I grimaced. I somehow ended up hitting four pins.

I was about to walk back over to my seat when Yoongi shook his head and pointed back to the wrack of balls. Right, I have to go again.

Of course I didn’t hit any pins the second time, but I bowled more accurately the second time.

Not long after I got back from my turn did Taehyung not so subtly wave me over to him. When I didn’t move over to him as fast as he wanted me to, he stood up and dragged me away from our group. It felt like everyone’s eyes were following us the whole time until we moved out of their sights.I didn’t even have to look to know that Jungkook had been watching us from his seat with a look of confusion.

“Ari, what did you drink?” he snapped as I flinched. I don’t remember the last time I’d seen Taehyung shaking so much… the last time he got this way was probably when he found out about Jungkook and I.

“Just half of Yoongi’s beer,” I answered honestly. I hadn’t intended to give him an honest answer, but it almost felt like someone had hit me with truth serum in that moment.

“Why?” Taehyung moved closer to me, scrunching his nose when he for sure smelled the beer on me, “Why did you suddenly decide to drink tonight? You’ve never been interested in alcohol before.”

I felt my expression turn puzzled just like Taehyung’s. The more I thought about it, the more I had no idea what the honest answer was? It was probably a whole bunch of things, but my thoughts were so cloudy that I couldn’t name a single reason.

“It was right in front of me, I guess,” I tried to pass of that answer, but Taehyung just sighed in annoyance and leaned against the wall to our right.

“Then why would you drink half of it instead of trying it in moderation?”

He had a good point, but I had no rebuttal for him. I couldn’t think straight enough to give him a coherent answer to that question.

“Uh,” I spoke dumbly as I heard footsteps behind me, “Go big or go home, I guess?”

Taehyung’s annoyance multiplied, but he took a deep breath to keep himself calm. His eyes closed for a few seconds before I jumped at the feeling of a hand on my shoulder. I spun around and lost my balance because of how fast I spun, and my eyes met Yoongi’s. Thank God it wasn’t Jungkook. He’s gonna be piiiiissed…

“I think this is just over Jungkook leaving,” he offered that information to Taehyung for consideration as Taehyung just looked at me with a great intensity. He didn’t look convinced at first, but his demeanor changed when his eyes caught something behind Yoongi and I. I could only guess what he saw…

I turned to see Jungkook moving over to the three of us. His eyes were focused on the contact between Yoongi and I, and his jealousy was anything but subtle. It took Yoongi less than ten seconds to realize that Jungkook’s eyes looked ready to kill, and he took a big step away from me.

“What’s going on here? Is something wrong?”

I glanced back at Taehyung because if anyone was to say anything, it was going to be him. The silence that followed was deafening as I pleaded with my eyes for Taehyung to stay quiet. Sure, Jungkook was going to find out that I’m, in the least, tipsy, but I’d like to last as long as I can without him finding out.

Taehyung looked reluctant to open his mouth to explain what was going on, and I felt relief wash over me when he shook his head, “Nothing’s wrong. I just wanted to talk to Ari alone is all. I don’t get to have one on ones with her since you’re practically attached to her hip.”

Jungkook’s face twisted in a grimace as he started to back away, “Oh. Sorry, man. C’mon Yoongi.”

Yoongi swallowed and looked after us as he and Jungkook walked away. How would Jungkook take the news that I drank? Surely he wouldn’t care… he drinks fairly often. What’s wrong with me doing it?

“Ari,” Taehyung spoke to get my attention back on him, “Is this about Jungkook?”

I felt my eyes fixate on the bizarre patterns in the carpet we were standing on as we stood in silence. I just wanted to forget about how Jungkook’s leaving. I don’t want to constantly be reminding myself that he’s leaving tomorrow. I’m going to see him again, sure, but it just won’t be the same…

“God, I just want to forget everything right now, Tae,” I found myself pouring the truth out to him as he watched me carefully, “I wish he didn’t have to leave. I don’t like this kind of change…”

I swallowed some tears down as Taehyung’s eyebrows furrowed. He stepped closer to me and wrapped his arms around my waist to hold me to him. I can’t remember the last time Taehyung and I had hugged like this, but it felt really nice. I relaxed into his hold as Taehyung chuckled softly.

“Don’t get too comfortable. Jungkook’s still watching us from a distance.”

“You’re my brother,” I laughed into his shirt.

“He still looks incredibly jealous, Sis,” he pulled away from me as I felt myself finally sobering up. I could feel the beer still affecting my system, but I’ll be fine. I don’t need alcohol to make this night fun. I just need to brighten up my train of thought… “Now stop moping around and have a good time with him tonight. I can tell it’s killing him to spend any time without you right now.”

I smiled and glanced back in Jungkook’s direction. He was definitely looking Taehyung and I’s way with an intensity that sent chills down my spine, but I found myself giggling at the sight. “I guess I should go back to his side before he blows a fuse.”

“I should probably return to Hana, too,” Taehyung wrapped his arm around my shoulders as we walked back towards our bowling lanes, “Which by the way, Hana and I decided to… break it off after tonight.”

I spun to face him as his arm dropped from my shoulders, “I’m sorry, what? Taehyung, you were literally living with her for the past week. What are you even talking about?”

He looked down with a pained smile on his face as I noticed Jungkook turn away from the two of us. He seemed a little upset, but he found himself going back to out lanes to take his turn bowling.

“We both think that we’re moving too fast. We decided that it’d be better to just break up. If we can’t forget each other over this school year, then maybe we’ll get back together over next summer.”

Taehyung sounded as if it was something he genuinely wanted, but something in his eyes made me worry. I knew he didn’t seem like he’d be able to handle something long distance, but his expression as he explained their situation to me just seemed… off. He made it seem as if it was something he really wanted, but I wasn’t sure.

I hadn’t gotten to know Hana too well, but I knew that this was all Taehyung’s idea. She was more than willing to try and make it work with him when I spoke briefly with her in my living room the night she and Taehyung slept together. She genuinely seemed like she was on the road to fall hard for him if she hadn’t already.

“She agreed to this?” I asked as Taehyung swallowed. He reluctantly nodded as I tried to keep from sighing in disappointment. “Are you really not willing to give it a shot? The long distance, I mean. Kook and I are going to be doing it. You two could drive down together to see Hana and I.”

Taehyung shook his head as I was speaking my words as I looked over to where Hana was sitting. She was normally quiet around us since she didn’t know us too well, but she seemed even more quiet than normal tonight. Of course the people that I had to compare her to were Chaeyoung, Jimin, and Hoseok who were all very loud and fairly drunk.

“She and I want to be able to date someone if we find someone of interest over these next few months,” Taehyung explained as my eyes narrowed.

“Tell me, Tae. What girlfriends have you had in the past year?” I asked, knowing very well the answer to that question. His face shifted at my words as I finally felt like I was getting through to him.

“And what about Hana? Are you fine with some other guy having her? Looks like Hoseok’s getting fairly close to her…”

Taehyung’s eyes snapped over to our group as his eyes locked on to Hana’s. Hoseok was laughing and leaning on her, though she didn’t look too comfortable with his bold action. I looked back over to Taehyung, noticing his jaw slack. His fists clenched for a couple seconds before he relaxed them and looked back over to me.

“I’m sorry, Ari. I know you think that everyone can have a happy relationship like you seem to have, but I just can’t do it. I can’t get attached to her and then turn around and leave her. If she’s still single when I come back next summer, then maybe I’ll give our relationship another try. I just… I can’t.”

I felt frustration set in me, but I could tell that Taehyung was not going to budge. He’d been living with this woman, yet he still wants to break up tomorrow. He’s lying to himself to say that this breakup is mutual. Hana told me herself that she liked him even back in high school. She couldn’t believe that they were actually a couple after how big of a crush she had on him back then.

The look in her eyes as she watched him talk to me told me all that I needed to know.

“She really seems to love you, Tae. I’m just trying to stop you from making a mistake,” I tried one last time to talk him out of it, but he shook his head stubbornly. He wasn’t going to give in. I sighed at that revelation and looked over to Jungkook, remembering that I should be spending some time with him tonight. I could tell he was pouting over there while Yoongi was trying to talk to him.

“I’m going to go back over to Jungkook. Plus, it’s been our turns to bowl for a decent while. I’m sure that they’re getting irritated with how long we’re taking. C’mon, Tae.”

…

Learning of Taehyung’s situation opened my eyes to how grateful I felt toward Jungkook. He’d tried to break us up for a little while there, but I was thankful that I talked him out of it. I couldn’t imagine us breaking up indefinitely. If that were the case, I would be so drunk right now that I wouldn’t even be able to walk.

After my sudden spur of the moment beer stealing, I didn’t drink for the rest of the night. I felt queasy since my system wasn’t used to the alcohol, but I slowly got over it after getting up to drink some of the water that they had in a water fountain.

Yoongi had tried his hardest to keep my slight intoxication from Jungkook which I was incredibly grateful for. He’d been such a great friend to me over these past few months, and it was crazy how close we’d grown. He went from being the coworker who I had trouble training to my roommate in the span of a year. Even at the beginning of the summer we were just friends who only saw each other at work.

I sent Yoongi a smile as he looked over at me. He didn’t smile back immediately, but one broke through after he looked away from me, getting up to take his turn to bowl.

The night continued on smoothly, but things started to shift when all the guys decided to head to the game room and play some of their arcade machines. Hana, Chaeyoung, and I stayed back in our lanes. I kinda wanted to join them in the arcade room, but I wanted to talk to Hana more. Her mood seemed fine for the most part, but I could tell something was off every time she looked over at Taehyung.

“Hana,” I called as she looked over to me. We really hadn’t talked much, but I wanted to try and get to know her. I thought that she was a great fit for my brother, so for him to push her away like this was so… infuriating. “I’m sorry about my dumb brother.”

Her eyebrows raised for a couple seconds, trying to feign confusion. I continued to look at her with an unchanging expression as she gave in, letting her raw emotions show. I knew enough about her to know that she hates holding her real emotions back, yet she does it all the time. Taehyung had told me as such, yet he proceeds to do this to her.

“Why are you letting him do this? Why don’t you fight him on it?” I tried to push for her to talk to him about it. If I hadn’t been honest with Jungkook, we’d have ended things on such a terrible note. I’d be wallowing in my apartment right now as Jungkook was off at college doing who knows what without me.

“You know better than I do that Taehyung is stubborn,” she started to open up to me as I glanced over at Chaeyoung. She had sobered up a good amount, and our conversation was flying over her head. She didn’t butt in, though. She let us talk to each other without interruptions.

Well of course I know he’s stubborn. He threatened me with leaving my apartment every time I told him how much I wanted to kick Jungkook out. He was not backing down about Jungkook staying with us. He also was very adamant about not wanting anything to happen between the two of us, and it took him a good month after finding out to finally be comfortable around Jungkook and I. Once he made up his mind, it was very hard to change it.

“But it’s not impossible to change his mind, you know,” I pointed out as she looked away from me, “I don’t know how much Taehyung talks to you about things like this, but it took him forever to get used to Jungkook and I being together. It took him a lot of time, but he eventually changed how he felt about us. He’s been pretty supportive of us since then.”

Hana still didn’t look my way as I sighed and moved to sit on her and Chaeyoung’s side of the lanes. I sat in the seat next to Hana as she dared herself to look up at me.

“I think you should try and fight him on this. If he becomes unreasonable and gets mad at you for any reason, I’ll be here to set him straight. He really likes you, Hana. He wouldn’t be pushing you away like this if he didn’t feel this way.”

“I don’t know, RaeAri,” she shook her head, her eyebrows furrowed, “I would rather wait for him than fight him on this. I can’t force him to listen to me if all I have to contact him is a text message that he could easily ignore. If I need to wait for him, I can wait. I’ve waited the whole summer for him to do something as simple as ask me out, so this should be no different.”

Her words made my heart break as I looked in the direction of the arcade. I hated this. I hated everything about this situation, and it drove me mad to not be able to do anything about it. If I couldn’t get through to either of them, I shouldn’t push this further. The last thing I want is for the both of them to have any ill will toward me.

“I really want you and Taehyug to stay together,” I said bluntly, looking back to Hana, “So if you’ll just wait a little longer for my idiot brother, he’s definitely worth the wait.”

Hana’s face heated up as she continued to look at me. A soft smile appeared on her face as she nodded, “I know he’s worth the wait.”

Things at the bowling alley ended soon after the guys grew tired of the arcade. We were all making our way out of the building as ran off from Jungkook to speak to Hoseok. I hadn’t said hardly anything to him all night since my mind had been in another world for most of the night.

“I guess it’s gonna be a while till I see you again,” I frowned as Hoseok reached up and rubbed the back of his neck. Hoseok failed to mention to me until an hour ago that he was transferring to a different college. He didn’t even tell me, he announced it to everyone after having one too many drinks. Jungkook was nothing short of excited at the news, but I found myself getting really sad over it.

I didn’t like Hoseok romantically, but he was a really great friend. We hadn’t seen each other in person since I had revealed the truth to him about Jungkook and I, but we texted often. It made me sad that I wouldn’t be able to see him after Jungkook left. I was hoping that we would finally be able to hang out together again since I wouldn’t have a jealous boyfriend hanging over my every move.

“Yeah,” Hoseok nodded, a sheepish smile on his face. It felt slightly awkward with the two of us talking to each other. “Sorry I didn’t tell you. I meant to, but…”

I waved him off before I glanced at Jungkook. Yoongi was talking to him to keep him distracted as I smiled. Yoongi is literally the best. I turned back to Hoseok and suddenly wrapped my arms around him, catching him off guard. He stiffened slightly as I felt him look around to spot Jungkook. I felt him relax into my hold when he spotted that Jungkook wasn’t looking our way.

“Don’t forget to text me, okay?” I spoke as he wrapped his arms around my shoulders. “I like talking to you.”

Hoseok nodded against my head, “I won’t forget about you. And if you think I have forgotten you, it doesn’t hurt for you to text first every once in a while.”

I laughed as we pulled away from our hug. I looked Yoongi and Jungkook’s way again as I noticed that Yoongi was having issues keeping Jungkook from looking at Hoseok and I. “I’ll consider it. Maybe,” I joked as I started backing away from him. I sighed of relief having gotten to talk to him without Jungkook watching me like a hawk. That’s something that I’m not going to miss, that’s for sure.

I walked over to Taehyung and Hana who were mid-hug as I felt something was off. Hana was holding back tears and Taehyung’s body was tense as they hugged. He was staying the night at her place tonight, so why did it seem like they were saying bye?

I stopped walking to them, but Taehyung was quick to spot me. He pulled away from their hug to turn to me with a sad look on his face.

“I’m leaving tonight.”

I felt my eyes widen as I looked over at Hana for a couple seconds. Her eyes were fixated on the ground and she seemed to be trying so hard to look stoic.

“No you’re not,” I shook my head, moving closer to them, “You’re not leaving till tomorrow afternoon. You can’t leave early.”

Taehyung sighed and tried to send me a smile, “I’m sorry, Ari. I wanted to tell you that I’m leaving early, but I didn’t know how to tell you.”

“Does Jungkook know?” I asked as I glanced back his way. Jungkook was still talking to Yoongi, and I felt nervous looking at them. At first I thought that Yoongi was just trying to distract Jungkook, but they’re talking even now? What do the two of them have to talk about?

“No,” Taehyung shook his head as I turned back to him, “I knew he’d tell you if I told him.”

“This doesn’t make any sense,” I narrowed my eyes at him, “You could have left a week ago, but you didn’t. You stayed because you wanted to spend time with Hana. Why do you need to leave a day early all the sudden? Didn’t you two plan something?”

Judging from how Hana shifted, I was right. Taehyung didn’t budge, though. He was good at playing ignorant, “Since we decided to break up, I don’t want to impose on her and her roommate anymore. Plus, my room is now Yoongi’s room at your place.”

“If this is about places to stay, you can sleep on my couch for all I care. Heck, Jungkook’s not gonna be in his bed tonight, so you could take his.”

I noticed Hana become uncomfortable at my words as I started to read into her movements. She didn’t want me to take him in, duh. She wants him to come back to his place for the night.

“Just spend this last night together, Tae. After all, don’t you want to get back together once summer comes again? I don’t want you leaving to spend your night in a lonely dorm room. Please, Tae.” I grabbed his arm as I looked away from me, “Hana’s not going to say it, so I will. She wants you to stay, okay? She’ll let you do what you want, but that’s not what she wants. Stop being so selfish, Kim Taehyung. With that attitude, you’ll never have a long term girlfriend. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to spend these last hours with my boyfriend who was considerate enough to stay with me for this last night. Call me when you get to the dorm room so that I know you’re safe.”

I spun around and marched away from the two of them, but I was not about to butt into Yoongi and Jungkook’s conversation. Neither one of them were paying attention to what was going on around them because of how invested they were with whatever they were talking about.

I moved over to Chaeyoung and Jimin who were trying to get an Uber to come pick them up. Neither one of them were sober enough to drive, plus, I think they used an Uber to get here in the first place.

“Hey,” I spoke as I sat next to them on the bench they had nearly taken over, “How’s it going over here? I didn’t really get to talk to you guys much tonight.”

“Yeah,” Chaeyoung nodded, “I did hear everything you and Hana were talking about, though. It’s messed up that he’s breaking up with her like that. Didn’t he stay this last week to be with her?”

“Yes! It’s so confusing,” I slightly whined, “My brother is such a dumbass, honestly.”

“That is very true. I’m just glad that Jimin and I don’t have to worry about that,” she sighed, leaning on Jimin’s shoulder. He smiled and locked his phone, putting it down to lean into her.

“You know, Jimin,” I started talking as Chaeyoung’s head shot up. She did not like the tone of voice that I was using, “When you first started working at the theater, Chaeyoung tried to get me to hit on you.”

Chaeyoung winced as Jimin raised his eyebrows in surprise. A smile appeared on his face as he looked between Chaeyoung and I, “For real? Why?”

“She said that she thought we’d hit it off,” I shrugged as she groaned.

“You were sad and lonely and he was cute and single! How was I to know that you actually liked Jungkook and that I would fall for Jimin? It’s just cruel how much you tease me about this,” she pouted into Jimin’s shirt as he just laughed and looked at me.

“I can’t believe I didn’t know this,” he shook his head, “Chae, just imagine that she did try to hit it off with me.”

“Stop,” she tightened the grip that she had on the collar of his shirt, “I was stupid, I know. But I was going to sacrifice a cute boy for her because she was lonely!”

Jimin kissed the top of her head to try and soothe her, his hand running up and down her back, “You know, even if she had an interest in me, I wouldn’t have even considered it. At that time, I thought she and Jungkook were ex’s, and I was convinced that they weren’t over each other. I wasn’t about to be torn apart by Jungkook, because he is scary when he’s jealous.”

I felt my face heat up at the mention of Jungkook lying about us being ex’s. I didn’t know it at the time, but it made a whole lot more sense than the truth did, especially because of all the sexual tension.

“Plus,” Jimin continued, speaking softer. He meant for these words to just be for Chaeyoung, but I heard them, anyway, “I had an interest in you. Of course… I’m not sure that I would have acted on it if you hadn’t approached me first.”

I took that as my cue to leave them alone as I smiled and waved to Jimin. He waved back at me as he continued to hold Chaeyoung to him. I turned to Jungkook and Yoongi who seemed to be wrapping up whatever conversation they had been having before. I walked toward them as Yoongi extended his hand for Jungkook to shake. The two of them shook hands as I felt a smile rest on my face. It was nice to see Jungkook totally calm around Yoongi after his random spout of jealousy a couple hours ago.

“Are you ready to go?” I asked as Jungkook turned to look at me. His brown eyes locked onto mine as I felt myself savoring the look he was giving me. I needed to memorize everything about him, after all.

“Yeah,” Jungkook nodded as I glanced over at Yoongi.

“I’ll see you tomorrow at 5:00?” I asked as Yoongi nodded to confirm. He was moving the rest of his stuff into the apartment, and if I understand correctly. Chaeyoung and Jimin are supposed to help us tomorrow.

Jungkook and I headed off as I looked back at Taehyung one last time. He was talking with Hana, and I bit my lip when I saw the frown on her face. Seriously? Was he seriously leaving her? After everything I said? I couldn’t help but sigh in annoyance as Jungkook looked down at me.

“Is everything alright?”

I looked up at him and swallowed. I didn’t want to talk to him about their situation to be brutally honest. I wanted these moments to be drama free until at least 5:00 tomorrow.

“Yeah. Let’s head home.”

In the blink of an eye, I was already thrown into the final day of Jungkook being home. I felt a constant dread in my stomach the whole morning leading into the afternoon. Jungkook and I spent the morning together playing Wii Sports and going out to each lunch. He tried to cheer me up since I was not doing a good job of hiding my dread, but I wasn’t cooperating. I wanted to feel better, but my heart just wouldn’t let me.

The hours flew by as I nervously looked down at my phone in what felt like minute intervals. I’d look away from my phone screen and by the time I looked back down at it, thirty minutes would have gone by.

It was nearing 4:30 when Jungkook walked into the kitchen to grab the last of his drinks from the fridge. He was nearly done packing everything away into his car that he could, and I stood nervously in the kitchen. I watched him slip the drinks into a lunch bag before he exited the room, heading to what has now become a husk of what used to be an inhabited room. I didn’t follow him as I stayed in the kitchen, denying myself the fact that Jungkook was seriously about to leave me behind in this apartment.

He’s actually leaving, and I wasn’t sure that I was fully prepared. It wasn’t as if I thought he might stay behind, but I had never fully grasped the fact that Jungkook was actually going to leave this apartment one day.

“You know,” Jungkook chuckled from the other room as I walked out into the hallway, “If you were still the same girl from the beginning of the summer, this day would have been a celebration to you. You would have thrown me a goodbye party because of how excited you were at me finally leaving.”

I let a smile break through my sadness as Jungkook walked out of the room. He’d gotten all that he needed from that room, and it hurt to know that he was finally done packing. He was fully ready to leave, but it seemed wrong for him to be leaving without me following him. Not that I would follow him even if I could afford it…

Well, I might have chased after him, but I’ll never truly know since I’ll never get into his school, anyway.

“I’d almost rather hate you right now,” I spoke with a waver in my voice. Jungkook’s eyes softened hearing my voice as he walked up to me. He had a bag hanging off his shoulder that he placed on the floor, kneeling down to search through it. I watched him curiously as he finally found what he was looking for.

“So, I know that this isn’t what you asked for,” Jungkook started as I felt my expression become completely puzzled. I don’t remember asking him for anything at all…

He stood up with a small black box that my eyes traced like a hawk eyeing it’s prey. I never asked for anything from him. Why’d he buy me, what I could only assume is, jewelry?

He held the box out for me to take as I looked up at him in confusion, “Kook, I never asked for anything from you. What are you talking about?”

Jungkook looked down and pulled something out of his back pocket to hand to me. It was a small card with the same emblem on it as the box. I reluctantly took the card as I eyed him curiously. What was he up to?

“Just read it and then open the box,” he smiled as I started to open the card. I jumped when Jungkook reached out to close the card yet again, adding even more to my confusion. “But save it for when I’m gone. It’ll be weird to read the card if I’m standing right here since I wrote it as if I’d already left.”

I let a small laugh out of my nose as I moved away from Jungkook, walking to place the box on the dining table. Jungkook followed after me as I turned around to face him. “Is this a goodbye present of some kind?”

“I guess you could say that,” Jungkook shrugged and nodded. He took a few steps closer to me before his arms wrapped around my waist, pulling my torso to his. “I thought about giving it to you sooner, but I doubted myself too much at that point. That was around the time that I spewed lies out to you about… you know.”

I nodded and ran my hands up his chest, cupping his face with my hands, “Well, I can already tell that I’ll love it. Thank you in advance, Jungkook. You didn’t have to get me anything…”

Jungkook just hummed in response before leaning his head downward, placing his lips to mine. I leaned into him as much as I could during that kiss, because I wasn’t sure what kiss was going to be our last. Jungkook was leaving any minute now, and I was trying so hard to not think about it.

His nose brushed against mine as he changed angles in the kiss. His tongue also pressed against my lip asking for entrance, and I was quick to give it to him. I delved all my passion into this kiss as my hands slid into his hair, lightly tugging at the roots. His teeth nipped at my lip which sent a shiver down my spine. I stood up on my tiptoes to press into him further, and that action lead Jungkook to picking me up. I laughed into the kiss before wrapping my arms around his neck for support.

“I never want to have to leave you again after this,” Jungkook mumbled into my lips, his eyes staying closed, “I can’t believe that we’ve only been together since the beginning of the summer… it feels like I’ve spent the past ten years of my life with you.”

“Well,” I smiled and opened my eyes to meet his, “We have known each other for that long. It’s funny how life can bring you this close to someone that’s been in the background the whole time.”

“Life was just waiting for the right time to put us together,” Jungkook smiled before slowly pulling away from me. His eyes glanced at the clock behind me as I felt my happiness fading away. It was time for him to go…

“Are you gonna walk me to my car?” Jungkook softly asked as I nodded. Of course I was.

The walk was incredibly silent, but I was sure to hold on to Jungkook’s hand for dear life. He couldn’t leave if I never let go of him…

By the time that we got down to the parking lot, it was past time for Jungkook to go. He had a decently long drive ahead of him, and I hated to prolong the time it would be until he got to his dorm.

Jungkook turned to face me as I tried my best to send him the biggest smile that I could manage. His soft smile that he sent in response melted my heart. Why was he that cute? How could someone so perfect looking exist?

“I guess this is goodbye for now,” Jungkook sighed, pulling me into a sudden hug, “You are coming for my birthday in a few weeks, right? My sister already agreed to letting you stay with her, so you won’t need to worry about a place to stay.”

I was not about to bring up how nervous I am to meet his family right before he leaves… I’ll have this conversation with him another time…

“Of course,” I nodded, despite not having made the arrangements with work about going. I still had plenty of time to work it out, though.

“Good,” he smiled and nodded as I looked down at the ground, “Then we just need to get through three more weeks before we see each other again. Simple enough, right?”

He said it as if it was going to be simple, but I knew it would be anything but. I was still going to miss him like crazy. It was like a huge chunk of my heart was deciding to live four hours away.

“Right,” I nodded and swallowed. “I really love you, Jungkook. Don’t change too much while your gone.”

Jungkook gave me a soft smile, planting one last kiss on my lips before he let go of me, “I love you, too, Ari. Don’t forget to tell me everything that happens while I’m gone! Make it seem like I never left, okay?”

I let a soft, bittersweet smile appear on my face as Jungkook took another step away from me. The further he got the more my heart hurt, but I was going to be okay. It would take time, but eventually, I’ll get through it.

“Okay, Kook,” I nodded, grabbing the door knob to the stairs entrance. He turned away and quit looking at me as I felt my smile drop immediately. “I just wish I didn’t have to make it seem like you never left.I just wish you actually never left.

…

I had almost forgotten about the box that Jungkook had left me in suspense about as I walked up the stairs. It wasn’t long before tears were welling up into my eyes, and I hadn’t even opened the card yet.

Kim RaeAri,

What can I say, truly? You, Ari, have turned me into one of those sappy guys in those cheesy dramas on TV. When sitting down to write this, I had no idea where to begin, but I was really over thinking it. As you know, I love you. I know that you’re wondering what I bought and why I bought it, but I assure you there’s a story behind it. You should know this story.

As you know, I still feel horrible about all the awful things I said to you when I first moved in. The worst I’ve ever felt was when I flung that money in your face. That was no way to handle any situation, yet you still loved me despite me doing something as horrible as that.

I know that you remember what that money was over. You spent money getting me furniture for my room, and that was me paying you back for it. Well, it would have I hadn’t been such a douchebag. As you might have guessed at this point, the ring I got you is my payment back to you. I know that it’s not cash, but I thought you’d like this more. Think of it as a promise ring if you want. The ring wasn’t the full cost of what I owe you, but I have more to give you in the future. Just give me a little longer to pay you back in full.

I love you, Ari. I trust Yoongi to keep you safe since I can’t be there. I already can’t wait to see you again.

Love, Jungkook

A/N: I know, it’s a cheesy ending... but I don’t care, I liked it! I wanna know what you guy’s thoughts are on this series! It’s been a fun and wild ride, and I can’t believe it’s actually over... Well, unless I write some drabbles or something because I like the idea of writing Ari meeting Jungkook’s family... but I’m not promising anything!

Thanks again for reading! Your time spent reading this means the world to me~

⇨ Masterlist ⇦

126 notes · View notes

lordofthenerds97 · 5 years

Text

Fast Cars and Freedom

1/? Dr. Feelgood

Masterlist

Prompt: "I can't keep fighting like this." @dacremontgomerylover

Summary: A Siren. A creature from the depths of the ocean who lures a sailor to their death by her beautiful voice and appearance. But like those creatures, not everything is as it seems. Billy Hargrove finds himself settled in the crap town of Hawkins during his senior year. The guys are all idiots and the girls are nothing but desperate. Quickly bored to tears, a reserved and domineering girl grabs his attention. He doesn’t know anything about her, but she knows everything about him. And she more than earned the nickname the school's population had given her.

Words: 2,281

Rating: T+

June, 1984

The sound of the shrill hiss of the bell cut through the chatter of the students, abruptly ending their conversations as they made their way to their classes, albeit at a snail's pace. The first day of school, and everyone was moving slowly. None of them wanted to face the harsh reality of the education they were expected to have. But nevertheless, the students moved in a wave and an onlooker wouldn't be able to differentiate one person from another. But one head stood out among all the rest, her fiery red hair glinting in the light that streamed down from the windows above the lockers. She stuck close to the never ending wall of lockers, her arms clutching her History and Biology textbooks close to her chest. There was a noticeable bubble of space around her, people throwing cautious glances in her direction as they moved to their classes. She didn't mind, in fact, she rather liked the bubble that she had. It gave her less of a chance to come in contact with anyone else. She wasn't much of a people person, and the fact that most people either ignored her or stayed away was perfectly fine with her.

There were a couple exceptions, of course. She had a very small circle of friends and she kept them close to her whenever she could.

But one of those friends had been missing for a good long while.

Barbara Holland.

She had disappeared last year and no one had heard from her since.

She jumped when she felt a hand on her back, turning her light green eyes to see Johnathan coming up beside her. She gave him a soft smile when he grinned at her, his brown hair falling in his eyes.

"Hey."

"Hey, yourself." she responded.

"How are you? I haven't seen you in what feels like weeks." he said, almost bringing them to a complete stop.

She bit her lip, eyes darting away from him. She had purposely been staying off the radar. After everything that happened last year, she wasn't sure she wanted to be seen. Nancy, Steve, Johnathan, the kids, and herself had been through a lot. She needed some time to process it all, and her mind decided to shut down to do it. When that happened, she preferred to be away from the prying eyes of Hawkins High. That always seemed to be a never ending battle, seeing as she had recently been thrust into the spotlight.

Nancy and Steve seemed to go back to their normal routine. Though, it appeared that the events of the Upside Down weighed heavily on Nancy's conscience despite everything that Steve had told them both. She had shut herself away from the majority of the school's population, much like herself.

She blinked when she saw a hand waving in front of her face.

"Ari? You still with me?"

The redhead blinked again, turning back to Johnathan. He had managed to keep her from entirely shutting down. He was insistent on taking her out, keeping her mind occupied. He would take her to the movies, rock climbing, hiking, or for a photography drive. Things she loved doing that would momentarily take her mind off of everything else. He was the one that turned out to be her rock, and she tried to return the service. He was one of her best friends, and she appreciated him more than he knew.

"Yeah," she said after a moment, clearing her thoughts. She caught a glimpse of Tina passing out fliers before turning her full attention back to Johnathan. "Sorry. Just a bit...distracted."

This time, he did stop them, laying his hands gently on her shoulders. "Talk to me, Ari. You're not gonna shut down again."

She smiled, nodding. "No, I won't."

He still wasn't satisfied, and she knew it. But he dropped the subject with just a displeased look. "Why don't you come over for dinner tonight? Will would love to see you."

That sent a pang of guilt through her heart. Like Will and Barbara, she had spent time in the Upside Down. She had seen and done things that still haunted her nightmares. If she wasn't forcing it out of her mind, she could still feel the sticky black blood coating her hands. But unlike Barbara, she came out of it relatively unscathed. She and Will had grown close in that darkened world as they both breathed in the same poisonous air. She had tried her hardest to keep them both sane and safe. For the most part, she succeeded. But she had been pulled out by Johnathan and Nancy, through the old twisted trunk of a tree. She had been pulled out before she could help Will. Before she could make sure he was properly safe from what he had called the Demogorgan. She had done a fair amount, but it was nowhere near good enough. He still suffered because she had left.

She paused for a moment before answering. Since her return, her parents had hardly let her out of their sight. But, she figured, this would count for something.

"Okay." she said.

He smiled before nodding, putting an arm around her shoulders and heading down the hall.

"Watch yourself, Byers."

"Don't let her open her mouth."

"You do realize she's dangerous, right?"

"Dude, I heard she talked a guy into blowing his brains out."

"I'm not surprised. She lives up to her name."

Ari glared at the guys who threw insults in their direction. She almost bared her teeth in a snarl, taking a step forward. They jumped backwards and away, not wanting to be anywhere near her. She smirked as they tucked tail and ran in the opposite direction. Johnathan turned to her, concern once again taking over his features.

"What's that about?"

She shrugged. She had been considered an outcast before her three week disappearance. But, because of her looks, she still had jocks trying to get in her pants. She had a rather...interesting...way of dealing with them. But they didn't always take the hint.

Therefore, she had earned her nickname.

"Watch out for Siren, Byers. I don't want your kid brother to have to go through losing his brother."

She rounded on the other guy, stalking towards him, books lying forgotten in the hall. Johnathan quickly grabbed her and and pulled her back, planting her firmly on the ground in front of him, his eyes searching hers. After a moment, her rage dissipated, leaving behind an exhausted expression before she rubbed her forehead and picked up her books.

"Sorry." she muttered to her friend. She was sick and tired of being treated like the plague. She didn't mind if people avoided her, but it was the comments that really got to her.

"Forget them. They're losers."

She snorted in response, rolling her eyes and starting to walk to her class once again. She held her head high, ignoring the many eyes that followed her, their scrutinizing gazes ripping her apart.

By lunch, she'd had enough. She gripped her messenger bag tightly as she stalked out of the school, her lips set in a thin line. She made her way towards the parking lot, weaving through the students that were in her way. She sighed as she found peace in her parking spot beside the old oak tree. She sank to the ground, leaning her back against her 1973 Harley Sportster. It wasn't long before she was joined by Will, who managed to sneak away for lunch. She grinned at him as he sat beside her, crossing his legs as he grabbed the sandwich out of the brown paper bag. She ruffled his hair before handing him the spare Coke that she kept in her bag. He took it without a word, nodding his thanks to her.

She turned her head slightly when she heard footsteps approaching. By her count, it was a group of guys headed to their cars. She decided to pay them no mind, instead grabbing an orange from her bag. They had made it around the tree by the time she got it peeled, handing half of it to Will. He took it with a thank you around a mouthful of food.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here?"

Ari stifled a groan when she recognized the voice of Tommy H. He was one of her biggest tormentors, and there were several others that followed his lead, seeming to hunt her in a pack.

"Looks like two freaks hiding from us. Where's the stalker, Siren?"

Ari glared at them before flashing a glance to Will. There was no way she was going to start something in front of him. But if worse came to worst, she would end it.

"He's standing right beside you, Mason." she said, turning her gaze on the junior that stood to the left of Tommy. "Didn't you know? Tommy here has been following me around since we were kids. He's just pissed I won't give him what he wants."

There was a chorus of 'ooooh's' that followed her statement, the eyes of his group turning on Tommy. He glared at Ari.

"I didn't think you were allowed to be within five hundred feet of the Byers kid. What, I mean with you being the one that kidnapped him and all."

Tommy leaned down and grabbed Will's arm, hauling him to his feet.

"Get off me!" Will shouted.

"Don't touch him!" Ari hissed, jumping to her feet and staring Tommy down.

He snorted at her. "Some sicko you are. I'm just trying to keep the boy safe from the woman that held him against his will in the woods forever."

"Let. Him. Go." she enunciated. She was protective of the youngest Byers boy, and she would go to the ends of the earth to keep him safe. And right now, Tommy was the one that was threatening his safety. Ari saw the tight grip he had on the twelve year old, and the way the Will glanced up at him in fear. The image made her blood boil and her vision turn red. But she couldn't afford to be the one to throw the first punch.

"What kind of sick bastard gets off on grabbing little kids, huh?" she demanded, her eyes narrowing.

As soon as the words were out of her mouth, Tommy jerked away from the kid as if he had been burned. He shoved the kid towards Ari, and Will wrapped his arms around her torso. Seeing the way Tommy wound up, she gently but quickly untangled herself from Will, preparing for the hit that she saw coming. She clenched her jaw and redistributed her weight.

But before she felt the blow, a hand entered her line of vision, clamping down on Tommy's fist, stopping it in it's path. Surprised when the blow didn't come, Ari took a step backward when a denim clad figure stepped in front of her, shoving Tommy backwards.

"There a problem here, gentlemen?"

Will darted back to Ari, wanting to make sure she was fine. She put a hand on his head, ruffling his hair as she glanced down at him with a small smile. "Go back to class, Will." she said softly.

He gave her a frown, not wanting to follow her order. But when he glanced at the other guys and back to her, he nodded cautiously. He quickly grabbed his bag and started sprinting towards the middle school.

"No, Billy."

Ari crossed her arms, glaring at the group of guys that had surrounded them. The one that stepped in front of her, apparently named Billy, stood with his hand son his hips as he talked with Tommy and the others. Deciding to bow out while she still had the chance, she grabbed her bag and almost disappeared into thin air as she headed back into the high school.

"Dude, where'd she go?" Mason asked, pushing past Billy and looking around.

Billy turned, a frown on his face, as his eyes scanned the area looking for her. His eyes narrowed as he spotted the head of bright red hair stepping into the building.

By the time the school day was over, Ari's head was spinning.

"Oh my God, have you seen the new kid?"

"How could I not?"

"He's such a dream."

"I wouldn't mind a ride on that horse."

"I heard he's got a record."

"Where's he from?"

"Cali, I think. I'd like to kiss that skin as much as the sun has."

Johnathan caught up with her as she made her way out of the school, rubbing her forehead as she went. "Kill me now." she muttered.

He chuckled, knocking his shoulder into hers. "Sorry, no can do, Red. You promised to come to dinner tonight. Besides, you didn't survive three weeks on your own to give up now."

She rolled her eyes before Nancy came up to them. "Hey, you guys are going to Tina's party?"

Ari groaned. "You serious, Nance?" she asked. "You know I hate crowds."

"I didn't get an invitation."

Nancy rolled her eyes. "This is me inviting you, idiot. Come on, Ari."

Ari frowned. "I don't know. I've got a lot of things to do."

Nancy sighed. "Think about it?"

"...fine."

She and Johnathan quickly dove into a conversation, leaving Ari to fend for herself. She quietly excused herself, leaving her two friends behind as she walked back up to her motorcycle. Tightening the strap on her bag, she swung a leg over the body of the bike, pulling on her helmet as she did. She started the engine, smiling when she heard the familiar roar. She loved consistency, and the fact that she could always count on her bike made her cherish it even more. She glanced around before moving out of her parking spot, headed towards the road. But what she failed to notice was the blue Camaro parked a few spaces in front of her, the occupant watching as she moved. A cigarette dangled from his lips and smoke poured out if his nose as his keen eyes watched her. He watched until she turned into the highway, moving out of his line of sight. And he waited until the passenger door opened and the young redheaded girl plopped into the seat before stomping on the gas and skidding out if the parking lot. She cursed at him as she slammed the door shut, looking for the seatbelt that would undoubtedly save her life. "Are you insane?!" she demanded, gripping the door as he peeled onto the road.

He quickly caught up to the black motorcycle, smirking as he did. The rider turned when she heard the roar of the muscle car behind her, which she was surprised was louder than the engine of her bike. He took the cigarette out of his mouth, letting it drop out of the window as he stepped on the gas, pulling up beside her in the opposite lane. But because of her tinted visor, he couldn't see the shocked expression that she wore as he recklessly drove beside her, traffic laws be da****. He motioned for the younger girl to toll down her window, which she grudgingly did. Billy leaned over the seat, pursing his lips as if blowing her a kiss before he sped up, passing her with the blaring of a rock band and the squealing of tires.

Ari hit the brakes as he continued to speed away, her mouth dropping open. That was the guy that had all the other girls in an uproar?

She shook her head, quickly putting the thought out of her mind as she turned down her street. She had a lot of buttering up to do on her parents, and she needed to start as soon as she could.

She hadn't told them the full story of what had happened. They knew that she had been taken around the same time as Barbara, from the pool outside of Steve's house. They knew she was held with Will Byers. They knew that she kept them alive.

But what they didn't know was how she did it. How she managed to prevent that monster from eating them. Or how she had abandoned Will when Johnathan and Nancy pulled her out. They didn't know of the blood that stained her hands, or the screams of terror that ripped from Will's throat. They didn't know how she got the scars that adorned her back and right shoulder. They didn't know about the ghost pain she experienced, still feeling the monster's thousands of teeth dig into her flesh. They didn't know about the nightmares that still plagued her, waking her in the middle of the night with her body covered in a cold sweat.

And she would never allow them to know. That burden was not theirs to bear. It was hers.

She parked the bike inside the garage, taking off her helmet and allowing her naturally bright red hair to once again spill over her shoulders before handing the black helmet on the wall beside the bike. She plastered on a smile before walking into the house.

This was her life.

This was the never ending horror story of Aria Grey.

#billy hargrove #billy hargrove fic #stranger things #writing #dacremontgomerylovers1.2k #challenge #prompt this

25 notes · View notes