#but i finished my report cards now and most of my classroom is all packed up | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

smuttyaf · 4 years

Text

Southside Serpent

The teacher was going through the attendance, calling out every name and making sure everyone was available in class or wondering who is coming late. It was third period so no one was surprised if people fluttered in late, but no one expected Calum Hood to walk into class after he missed the many in September.

Words: 5.8k

Rating: R

Request: Yes

The dry bread crunched underneath your teeth, as the feeling of the tasteless fried patty was unpleasantly warm and clammy in your mouth. Your face scrunched up at the bland chicken burger between your hands, which the café labeled as “Spicy” when it was just brittle and unappetizing. You placed the cardboard down on the metallic paper that you unraveled it from and sat back in the navy blue chair of the library, your fingertips grasping your ivory water bottle last minute to wash away the taste.

You sat alone and surrounded by books from different genres, from horror to facts, some with drawings and others with pages just filled with maps and locations. Your eyes gazed amongst the many brown pages, the hard covers and the flimsy paper ones, the view appealing to you as the different colours raging from neon to a burgundy were in your view.

You did not mind spending time in the library, it was quiet and rarely anyone ever came in here, unless to check on the computer about their popularity status or to fake study for their test. Other than that, no one came here out of pure enjoyment like what you did. You loved books, most of the librarians would joke around and say that you have read all of them; you would just your head at their teasing behavior and brush them off, because it certainly was not true.

You arrived at Riverdale High just a month ago and this was your safe heaven. It was sad to say that you did not have any friends, your only friends were the thirty year old librarians who let you eat and drink in the library because they knew the truth too, you were alone.

It is not like you have not been trying to make friends either, it is just difficult moving to a new school, in year eleven when everyone already has their friend group made up. What were you suppose to do? Barge in and make them your friend just because you’re new? It didn’t make sense to the librarians when you explained it to them, but it made sense to you. You did not want to harm any friendships that already existed since the beginning of the school year, which is just how you are. So you remained in the library, as the dust collected on the book shelves and the quiet hum of Sherry as she typed away on the computer.

Evil laughter erupted through the classroom speakers as the introduction of Thriller begin to sound throughout the room. You rolled your eyes at the corny implication that your English teacher did as you took your regular seat in the back of the classroom by the window were you can see the trees that cover themselves in orange, green, and red colour leaves.

You placed your binder, pencil case, and water bottle on the desk before pulling your seat out and taking your place. Your hands stretched and grasped your small black pencil case and unzipped it before placing it down and opening up your binder and flipping through your notes to get to a clean line sheet.

The class grew quiet as his feet shifted through the alignment of desks; his hair was a mess of loose curls, he wore sunglasses even though he was indoors, his clothes were still dark as usual and his personality still seemed like a mystery.

The smell of his cologne came crashing down on you as he took a seat next to you. Your body stiffened, your eyes bulging out of your head for minute realizing what has happened. You took a deep breath that you let out of your nose before piercing your pen to the line paper and beginning to write down the date.

“Is it that noticeable?” You hear the voice next to you whisper while leaning into you, your heart picking up. You let out a small cough, covering your mouth before speaking.

“I mean, you were gone for like a month?” You whisper back, your eyes meeting his gaze for bit. His chocolate eyes bore into yours; not even paying attention to the slides that presented themselves onto the screen. Your eyes tear away from his and let them float back onto the front of the class; your fingers begin to write.

“Oh come on, I was sick.” He excused himself; you shook your head and laughed a bit. Of course he was “sick”.

“Mhm, sure… Did you let the teachers know?” You spoke in hush voice.

“Ah fuck the teachers, the only thing they care about is their money,” He said, his fingers not even inching towards his wooden pencil and ruined notebook that sat upon his desk.

You hum ending the conversation so you could concentrate on what is going on. You did not want to miss anything, your grades were really important to you and you are not going to let a delinquent ruin it for you.

You brush off your beating heart and sweaty palms and concentrate. This was an absolute cliché; of course, one of the bad boys in your local town is seated next to the new girl, should you start making a Wattpad story with overly dramatized characteristics now. You let your eyes roll even at the thought of your preteen self living the life you wanted when you were thirteen years old, you nearly gag at the thought really.

In class, your teacher did a presentation about what the class will be reading in the next week as this would be the second book that your class has read altogether ever since the school year started, and it was only October.

The many people in your class were absolutely exhausted with the fact that it seemed that you were getting nonstop books, which was true but you did not mind it one bit. You loved it really, it made you spend more time focusing on your assignments and paying close attention to detail in everything that you did that left your updated report card making you pass with flying colours.

45 minutes past in your class room, your eyes peeling to look up at the clock; the class begins to pack up, the shuffling of chairs, pencil cases closing, and the sound of books stacking on top of each other before the closing sentence of your English teachers lips release to the class to have a nice day and do not forget the homework online.

Your heart picks up when you realize your preteen dream did not come true, you let a relieve sigh slip out of your nose as you stand from your chair and grab your books, your body leaving the classroom as you walk a few steps deeper into the hallway and go to your locker.

Your fingers circling around the knob of your lock and unlocking it, your arms putting your books into your locker before grabbing your art bag with your prize possessions so you can head to your next class.

“Jesus Christ, can you please help me,” You hear a voice exaggerate next you, and you think nothing of it, thinking it’s the person next you who is talking to their friend. So when you close your eyes and turn to head to your awaited destination you bump into a broad chest.

“So now you’re deaf and blind?” He questions and you immediately step back, your cheeks growing red as you let a scoff leave your lips.

“That’s not very nice to say,” You speak while looking up at him, his eyes rolling before landing onto your damaged paint splattered bag.

“You paint?” He says with surprise, his bottom lip caving into his mouth before letting his eyes trail away from the bag and back to yours.

“Uh, yeah,” You whisper before letting your gaze hit the ground, it’s quiet for a few moments as you hear the sound of his breath, lockers slamming shut and sneakers hitting against the ground.

“Listen I need your help… Sorry I never got your name,” He whispers back, your eyes still never the leaving the ground as you hear the chime of the bell telling everyone to head to class.

“Y/N,” You state letting your eyes peer back into his, your body backing away from his to get out of his personal space.

“So I need to head to class,” You continue, your hand peeling away from your side and point it towards the direction you should be heading in.

“Okay but I need you to help me,” He sighs, his brown orbs looking like puppy dog eyes.

“Help with what,” You say with exhaustion, the last thing you wanted to see yourself in was a part of this bad boy’s scene.

“Can I please get your notes, I need to study because this ass hat is making write two unit tests by the end of the week and I don’t know shit.” His body is slouching and his shoulders drop as his back curves in and his body slams against the lockers, peering at you dramatically.

“Everybody knows you don’t know shit,” You say, voice tasteless and strain as you look at him with a straight face.

“Thanks for that bit of encouragement.” He says while a half smile tugs at the ends of his lips as he shakes his head slightly.

“It’s the truth.” You state, your fingers rubbing against the stitches of denim in your jeans as you look at his lazy state. “Meet me back here by the end of the day and I’ll give you all my notes.” You say, your body beginning to rock on the balls of your heels as you feel your oversized cardigan brush against your clothed thighs.

“I need more then notes,” He sighs, voice annoyed as he looks at you, his eyes going back to the same one of a new born pup.

“Well that is all you’re going to get.” You say, eyebrows rose as you turn on your heels and beginning to walk to your class. Please, let this be a dream you thought to yourself at this stupid moment.

The pads of your fingertips brush against your cleansed face as you just finished rubbing your heavenly scented moisturizer into it. Your routine finally finished as you stepped away from your desk and fell onto your bed. Your head falling against your soft pillows as you let a sigh fall from your lips.

You let your feet dangle off your bed as you hear the usual chime from your phone, your upper body immediately flexing up and grasping it from your side and unlocking it, your fingers traveling to your messages to see an unknown number.

Hey

hi. who is this?

You forgot about me already

It’s Calum

how did you get my number?

I know people.

Your fingers dance around your phone screen as you suck in an eager breath. Who could he have possibly got your number from? You did not know anyone from this school nor have you made a friend. That causes a chill to run down your spine before finally coming together with message to write back.

did you need anything?

Yes actually. I was wondering if we could meet up to talk about your notes

why?

I just said why.

my notes has everything you need to know.

Anyways… so your place after school tomorrow? Great

calum i’m serious

What makes you think I’m not?

You leave the conversation there as you pull your phone away from your face and toss it back where it was before. You shook your head a bit, a smile stretching on your lips.

“Welcome to my humble abode,” You say, your hand holding open the door for Calum. His socked feet moved against the wooden floor boards that barely creaked under his steps, you watched as he shuffles deeper into your room, his fingers feeling over the end of your bed frame.

Four walls are painted with a rosy cream shade as your drawings and paintings covered every inch were your bed leaned against it; your desk was on the opposite side with even more art pieces on that wall, your plants were in the corner growing healthy as ever as the sun light shorn brightly through your room that your healing crystals that laid amongst your dresser made beautiful colours cast around your room. You had fairy lights loop through your bed frame and along the tapestry that was pinned to your ceiling, as well as led ones stripped to the bottom of your bed spread that was plain white with grey accents like your fluffy pillows and sheep felt blanket.

“Your room is neat,” Calum says while turning around to look at you, his teeth showing in his smile as he kept his gaze on you for a bit before wandering over to your drawings.

“I like this one,” He says, his body moving across your room and feeling over the art piece that had a head with flowers coming out of it while the face of the head had disoriented features.

“Thanks,” You say while placing your bag by the end of your bed, taking your books out and laying down.

“What does it mean, if you don’t mind me asking?” Calum continues his back never turning away as he still continues to take it in. You shrug your shoulders a bit while peeling your books open and sorting them on your bed.

“Well it kind of means how beautiful minds are in the saddest and insane people, I really shouldn’t say insane but…”

“I know what you mean,” Calum finishes for you before turning around with a straight face his eyes looking down at your state and the books on your bed. “Oh so we’re starting already? No refreshments, snacks?” He says while squinting his eyes making his way towards you.

“Shut up and sit down so we can get started because the last time I recalled you were the one who invited yourself to my house,” You say, your eyes looking at him with a pointed look and he lets a sigh leave his lips.

“You got me.” He huffs before plopping down on your bed swinging his bag from off his shoulders and peeling it open to grab his contents and beginning to start this studying process with you.

You knew the notes that you wrote out for yourself like the back of your hand, you knew everything that was going on in the course because you paid attention and tried extremely hard not to miss any days like the curly haired boy who sat next to you, listening to the words spewing out of your mouth explaining and breaking everything down that happened in the two units that he missed.

As you spoke to Calum you watched as his facial expression seem so captivated by how you spoke, how his eyelashes were lengthy, his lips so plump, with narrow tan cheeks but yet a rugged appeal. His curls came over his forehead, as his bushy eyebrows framed his brown orbs, and in that moment you really wanted to draw his face which extremely surprised you because you never done a self portrait before but his features are so extremely beautiful that you couldn’t help it cross your mind, you wanted to take a picture of him like this, in this moment to look over every feature and sketch it into your book and pin it on your wall.

“Hello?” Calum says, his hand waving in your face as a smile tore at your lips.

“Oh sorry,” You state, your cheeks growing red as you focus back onto the books in front of you.

“It’s fine, I need a break, this book sounded extremely boring,” Calum huffs as he repositions himself and straightens his back out on the bed, the smell of his cologne filling up your nostrils.

“I liked the book,” You say softly, your eyes tearing away from the hard cover and looking at Calum as he rolls his eyes.

“What did you like so much about it?” He speaks, his eyes flickering over your body as he lets his fingers grasp at his knees and take a deep breath.

“I like how she writes, it flows really well, and I like the plot, it’s a different yet a gross experience. If I’m being honest I did not like it at first, I thought it was a weird concept but then it started to grow on me and certain incidents made me want to put down the book but also wanting to figure out what happens next. It grew on me.” You say while closing the red book written by Margaret Atwood with thick brown pages that run smoothly over your finger tips.

“Snacks?” You say while climbing off of your bed and stretching your limps, your burgundy crop tank top lifting a bit as your knitted black mini skirt clings to your hips, your black cardigan feeling over your pantyhose thighs as you slip on your bunny slippers while peering at Calum.

“Yes please!” He says, a wide smile on his lips as his eyes beam, you shake your head for a moment before turning and leaving your room.

Your feet carried you to the kitchen were you made snacks for you and Calum. You cut up cubes of cheese and made a plate of crackers with fruits on the side, you also grasped two water bottles and juice boxes because you did not know what Calum was craving.

You didn’t know what this was, yes it was just a study session but honestly would anything change after this. Would you consider Calum a friend? Of course you wouldn’t because you knew what it was. It was just a moment so he can catch up what he missed, and after this he’ll probably miss another month of school and then come back to you and ask you once again if you would help him, and honestly you would. Calum was a nice guy; he was funny and sarcastically rude that you found him attractive in that sense, his hair was adorable and it seemed as if Calum’s chubby cheeks and wide smile were crafted by cherubs.

A part of you kind of wanted this moment to last forever, this was your first time ever talking and hanging with someone at Riverdale High. It felt nice finally to talk to someone, to share your opinion on what you thought about certain things and to also have someone in your presence, someone to talk to and joke around with even if it were just a moment of your life. After this things will go back to how it was before, lunch in the library and keeping your head down and doing art quietly in the back of your art class as Sales blasted through your headphones.

You walked back into your room and placed the refreshments on the bed and looked up at Calum as he was back on his feet and roaming around your room, looking art your drawings and letting his fingers slide against them.

“Please do not ruin any,” You say jokingly as you hop back onto your bed and pop a marble cheese cube in your mouth.

“They’re so engaging… I honestly haven’t seen any like this before,” He said, his eyes roaming amongst the many drawings with disoriented features, bulging or tired eyeballs, cheeks flush pink or red, even some of your drawings looking so morbid and almost scare as begging an onlooker to ask you what was going through your mind when you decided to make this art piece.

“Thank you,” You laugh lightly as you chew into the cheese as you grab your phone and go onto your social media.

“No really, these are so different… You’re really cool,” Calum says while turning and sitting down by the end of your feet, your eyes tearing away from your phone and looking at his lean body as he laid along your bed, his black shirt raising at his hips to show the happy trail leading down his belly button.

“I never got that one before,” You say while tearing your eyes away and looking at Calum, his arm peeling away from his side and grasping two grapes into his hands and popping them into his mouth, his eyes tearing away from the green globes and peering into your eyes.

“When did you move here?” Calum ask, his hand coming down to his chin to rub the naked skin there.

“July,” You speak your feet digging into your bed spread but soon to feel different as you accidently dig them into Calum’s calf, you don’t let it phase you though, he was warm and you were feeling cold. His eyes flickered from your eyes to your foot, and then back onto your eyes, his lashes fluttering as the end of his lips tug for a moment.

“Not bad? Where did you go to school before?” He questions again, his eyes running down to the three necklaces on your chest that all hold meaning to you, while also looking at your pierced ears.

“I was actually home schooled,” You continue, your eyes turning away from Calum’s as you grab a bottle of water and turn the cap.

“Home schooled? So did you have any friends?” Calum inquires, his head shaking slightly as his bushy eyebrows push together.

“Of course I had friends, lots of people think just because you’re homeschooled you just stay inside the house all the time,” You laugh as you take a sip of your water. “Yeah I had friends, I miss them a lot.” You say, your eyes looking over your room before turning towards Calum and smiling a small smile.

“Do you still talk to them?” He continues even further.

“Yes I still talk to them, god, so many questions,” You laugh, your eyes rolling, and you watch as Calum raises both of his hands to his chest in surrender.

“Sorry,” He said quietly, his eyes gazing away from yours, as you see a pink shade spread along Calum’s structure cheeks.

“I’m joking,” You snicker while reaching over and punching Calum in the shoulder and you’re completely caught off guard when you feel the hand that was glue to Calum’s chest reach over and grasp your arm in his and bring you closer to his face. Your cheeks growing immediately warm as you’re deeper in Calum’s personal space that you never thought you would be in.

“Ha ha,” He says bland and fake, causing you heart to hammer against your chest before you feel Calum press his soft lips onto yours, and you were not lying when you say you were completely taken back from this action, your eyebrows came to furrow together as your lips were still locked to his, your eyes were wide open before you felt the saliva drip down Calum’s lips onto yours before tearing away from him.

His eyes were glossy, lips resembling them as he looked at you with a cloudy gaze, and it was this luster state that Calum was in that caused your heart to stab in your chest as you leaned back over and pressed your lips against Calum’s again, your tongue swiping against his top lip as he welcomed you so lovingly into his mouth, his tongue wrapping around yours and tasting the sweetness of your mouth.

You let Calum shuffle his lean body off of your duvet and onto you, his arms lying by the sides of your head as you let him hover on top of you, his lips never leaving yours as his neck craned down and kissed you deeper and deeper that you felt like you were sinking and his lips were the only thing bringing you to shore. Your hand that was free from his grasp ran down his back flowingly as he continued to pepper kisses against your now bruised lips before peppering them down the sides of your neck, his lips running over the beauty marks scattered on your chest as you felt your cardigan and his leather jacket rub against your expose skin.

Your breath came out rushed and quick, your body colliding into his broad chest as he continue to pepper kisses along your collar bones, his eyes peering into yours and you didn’t want to look into his eyes so you let them trail up at the tapestry that rested on your ceiling that held your unlit fairy lights through it.

“You’re okay with this?” Calum questioned, and you felt his hard gaze on yours, and you didn’t want to look at him, a part of you just wanted this moment to happen and you wanted to get over it smoothly so that you could just think of it as the moment where you had sex with this bad boy in your room and there was nothing else left between the both of you.

But Calum had other plans; he didn’t want you to think this was just a moment, that you were just some plot he had in his notebook as if this was just something he did, later you realized that it meant more to him then it was to you.

His arm tore away from the side of your head and he let his fingers grasp your chin roughly in his hands, even though his eyes were glossy and held such a radiance of lust they were hard and cold, beckoning for you to be honest with him because that is all he simply asked of you.

“Are you okay with this?” He questioned again, this time his voice soft and assured, he wanted you to feel like you can back out anytime. Just because he held a title at the school didn’t mean that he could just kiss a girl and put his hands down her pants just because he was supposedly known.

In that moment you felt your heart lunge forward, your brain rambling on about cute this moment was, the preteen section of your brain speaking in its high pitch voice as it persuades you to fall in love with him, fall in love with the way he kisses you, and how his leather jacket causes creases in your skin, fall in love with the way his fingers are playing in your hair, and fall in love with the way he’s asking if your okay in the most vulnerable position you have ever been in.

You nod your head and lean up towards him, pressing a kiss against his lips, your eyes finally closing and welcoming the feeling you were pushing away for what felt like the longest of time.

You and Calum kissed for a moment, your tongues swapping together and tasting each other, feeling the way your bodies rubbed against each other, your finger tips feeling the creases of his skin and his lips learning the curves of yours.

Soon enough he pulled away and let his lips wander down your body, his hand tearing away from your head and running down the expanse of your skin, his fingers feeling over your tank top before running down your thighs and pushing your knitted skirt against your hips, the material getting tighter and tighter as it bunches up there. Your eyes peered down towards were Calum laid against your heat, his mouth breathing against your core and you couldn’t help the twinge of nerves racking up in your stomach.

His mouth breathed against your heat, his head leaning into your crotch as he breathed you in, the feeling of his tongue pushing against your layered core caused a moan to trial out of your mouth due to the small friction.

Your hands pulled away from your thigh and rested them into his ringlets of curls, his head still burring itself into your heat as his hips rutted into your sheets.

Quickly his hands slipped away from your hips and ripped your pantyhose, his fingers soon pulling your panties to the side as he let his mouth cup your silky self into his mouth as he let his tongue feel over your walls.

His lips smacking against yours as they were extremely wet against his, the feeling of his tongue wandering everywhere imaginable had your mind in the gutter, the sheer feeling of excitement ran down your spine and the feeling of the seductive enjoyment satisfying you that you let your fingers sink into his hair and push his head deeper into him. Your hips moving against his mouth as you feel his tongue run over your bundles of nerves over and over again that you couldn’t help the moans slipping out of your lip.

The best part of this moment was that Calum let you use him in the aspect to fill your needs, he let you take control and let your hips dance against his tongue, his lips gliding against yours and tasting the sweet nectar of your body run along his lips and drip into his mouth like milk and honey he use to have when he was a boy and couldn’t fall his asleep.

He loved the way he lost himself in the taste of you, never knowing that he could taste something so sweet and appetizing in his life that he kept on moaning against your heated skin. He loved this; he loved the way it dripped down his neck, slobbered against his cheeks, he love to cling to your clit like he was sucking your clothed nipples.

Your hips were now circling along his tongue as he let it laid flat against your core, his index finger of his free hand coming down and now toying with your bundle of nerves, that only caused your back to buck off the bed, your fingers tear themselves out of his head as a long moan trailed out of your mouth as this foreign feeling shuttered down your thigh and curled your toes.

“Calum… Calum… Calum…” Your mouth whispered on repeat as you felt your chest expand and let a cool breeze slip through your bones and out through your mouth as you unwrapped yourself against the brown eyed boy tongue.

Calum was letting his tongue continue to lap around your lips as you felt your body contract, your hips immediately tearing away from Calum’s as you tried your hardest to move your body away from his sinful lips. He let his hands go softly around your hips as he now peppered kisses against your matted sweat body, your hands tearing away from his curls and falling to his neck, your hands carrying him to your lips as you press kisses against his, your lips immediately pulling away as you laugh at the mess of fluid on his face.

“Sorry,” Calum chuckles lightly while letting his fingers rest in your hair, but you only shake your head before pressing a kiss against his lips before letting the palms of your hand wipe away the mess on his cheeks.

“Hm,” Calum hums, his eyes closing for a moment as he his face looks so relax, your eyebrows furrow together before peering down between the both of you, a small wet spot being sported against his denim jeans.

“Did you?” You ask, not finishing your sentence as you see his eyes flick open quickly his cheeks go blush again.

“I’m so sorry,” He says, his head falling into the crane of your neck as you only giggle at his embarrass state.

“Nothing to be sorry for,” You say, your fingers feeling over the leather of his jacket as your head turns to face Calum’s. You let your bruised lips press a small peck against his skin while feeling him under your rough fingertips.

You both spent a few moments in silence before Calum twisted his body, his head turning away from yours before leaning up on his hips, his upper body turning and looking down at you.

“Shall we keep on studying now we got that out of the way?” He says, a smile leaving his lips, and you just laugh while shaking your head.

“Sure, but why don’t we clean ourselves up a bit.” You say, your body now raising up and looking at Calum with a pointed glare.

“That sounds like a good idea.”

“Would please get your fatass off of my locker,” You state while trying to get your locker open but it immediately slamming as Calum continues to lie against it.

“You’re not listening to me!” He exclaims, his arms slamming down at his side as his notebook and pencil were fitted between his hands.

“Because you’re going to do fine, stop worrying,” You say, your body finally giving up and looking up at Calum tiredly.

“How do you know that?” He asks, his eyes looking lost and uneasy as you see the nerves etched into his face.

“Calum, we studied all this week after school, you remembered everything really good. If you still don’t think you’re going to do good go over the cue cards but I really need to finish my art project so please would you stop bothering me for a just moment.” You state, your eyes looking up at him tired of hearing him put himself down when you knew Calum was going to do perfectly fine.

“Okay… okay, okay, fine. I’m sorry,” He says, his head falling down as he moves his body off of your locker and you sigh while finally peeling it open and grabbing your art bag.

“Can I get a kiss for good luck?” He questions just as the bell chimes and you just roll your eyes at him.

“Go to class,” You say before slamming your locker and turning to head to your art class, but you soon feel Calum gasp your elbow in his fingertips, causing you to stop for a moment as he plants a kiss behind your ear, your head immediately turning as he quickly pulls away and rests them on his chest a cheesy grin on his lips.

“Wish me luck.” He laughs before turning into your English classroom leaving you feeling happy for once since you got to Riverdale High.

281 notes · View notes

etraytin · 4 years

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Quarantine, Day 103

June 22

Tonight's journal is coming to you from my balcony, where it is dark at nearly ten pm and very humid, but still pleasant with all my plants growing and the hum of air conditioners all around me.

And fucking yikes, those are some large bugs. The inside is also very appealing at this hour. I think I will write from my armchair this evening.

Anyway, I need to go to bed earlier than usual tonight because I have a very early morning tomorrow. Poll workers need to report to the precinct by 5am, and although I'm lucky to live nearly on top of our polling place, I still need to shower and dress and pack my breakfast, lunch and dinner before I go. We typically don't finish till 8:30pm, sometimes later, so it's a damn long day when you're not allowed to leave the precinct for any reason. Typically we make it nicer by throwing a big potluck of foods people can eat on all day long, but COVID ruins everything once again. At least there's a fridge and a microwave so I won't be stuck with PBJs and tepid water bottles.

The procedure is going to be different this time, too. I work pollbook most of the time at our precinct, which is the computer we use to check people in. It's not difficult work, but it is exacting, and it must be done right every time. Almost every counting discrepancy in a precinct starts at the pollbook, with somebody who didn't get entered properly for one reason or another. I have not made any major mistakes yet, knock on wood! There is a special precinct captain just for the pollbook, who does not work the pollbook but watches us working the pollbook to make sure we do it right. She's very demanding, for obvious reasons, and insists that we follow a particular procedure that is the same every time, so no steps ever get missed. This time we can't touch anybody's ID, which is going to make things different since we usually hold the ID till we've pushed the key to enter the voter, and we have to hand out the ballot ourselves instead of sending them to a ballot table. I'm hoping we get off to kind of a slow start so we can get the hang of things. I really, really do not want to be the person who causes a counting discrepancy. The biggest thing we've got going in our favor is that it's a simple Republican primary, so only one ballot type to hand out, and attendance is likely to be fairly light.

Going to bed early will be easy, at least, because the new mattress topper is here! Yay! It's very soft and cushy and I love it deeply already. I've only laid on it a little because it needs to recover from being vacuum sealed, but I can tell we're going to be the very best of friends.Our super-old mattress for the past two nights has made my back and neck very sad. We can't afford a new mattress, but this is like a new mattress, or close enough for now. I'm finally looking forward to going to bed!

Today was grocery pickup day, so we finally have milk and eggs and yogurt and such. The morning routine was disrupted when we realized that the truck's battery was flat after sitting for so many weeks, but I was able to take the battery pack we got for Christmas from my folks and use it to jump the battery, with some Facetime assistance from my dad. I know the principles of jumping a battery, but never had to do it on my own before. It's not too hard. I then had to go over to the post office, a chore that always ruins my day a little.

I don't understand what is wrong with my post office because I have dealt with many many post offices in all the places I've lived and none of them have been terrible like this one! I went in and told them that I wasn't getting my mail and asked if they might be holding it. Officious Asshole Guy, as he shall henceforth be known, assured me that they did not hold any mail without an order to hold it. I told him that I had a hold mail for the first two weeks of May, but that my mailbox was bursting when I got home May 16, so I assumed that, per usual, the mail carrier ignored my hold. I asked if he could go check, and he did, and came back with a big bundle of mail. He informed me that it was my fault that I wasn't getting my mail because I'd said I'd pick up my mail on May 16 but I hadn't done so. I reiterated that I'd gotten all my mail up until May 16, and that this must be mail from later, after the hold mail expired. He insisted that was not the case, that they never held mail without a hold mail order and never did not hold mail that had been ordered held, and that if I hadn't gotten any mail in a month, it was because people weren't sending me anything. It was useless to argue with him, so I took my mail and left. Everything in the pile was, of course, from after May 16. I went home and reminded all my family and friends on Facebook to please not send us anything via postal mail because the probability of it not reaching us is fairly high. I am sticking with my resolution to not leave any negative comments or complaints for anybody who has to work during the pandemic, no matter how terrible they are, but this guy really, really tempted me.

Just typing all that out has angried up my blood again, so I'll finish out with nicer stuff. The kiddo is back to using the knitting loom, which is a nice hobby and something good to do while listening to podcasts. He's been a little high strung since we got home, settling back into the routine, but it's getting gradually better. I wish it weren't so hot, so the kids could go out and play distantly with each other. Virginia is on a downswing right now, so it's not too unsafe except for the heat exhaustion part. My husband's summer class didn't make, not enough students signed up, so while that's a little less money for us this summer, it also means more time for him to work on his book.

And my mail today included two interesting COVID artifacts I will probably save: my son's report card with all V's (not evaluated) for his fourth quarter grades and merely a notation at the bottom that he is being promoted to fifth grade, and my sister's wedding invitation with an "everything could change at any time" caveat right under the RSVP instructions. These are strange days we are living in, but the weirdest thing I saw today was a Crayola Maskpack commercial that looked exactly like a commercial for any other Crayola school products, kids running, jumping, coloring in the classroom, interacting with their teachers, except every single person except one mom at home was wearing a bright colorful facemask. It looked so bizarre I watched it through twice, couldn't look away. It really is a new world.

#quarantine #crayola #election 2020

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schmuwuwu · 5 years

Text

Sunrise

Synopsis:

An AU featuring GOT7′s leader, Jaebum, in an unexpected romance with You and in the most unlikeliest of situations~

The biggest bully in your school, Jaebum, was always constantly after you. He would breathe down your neck and you would always submit to fear. Every time you heard his voice or hear him approaching, you immediately turn to run and find a place to hide. In the end, he would catch you; you hadn’t been too successful in escaping from his clutches so far. He would be glaring you down, making you scared as to what he would make you do. It’s either “Do my homework.”, “Money.” Or “Come with me.” The last one was the scary one. Doing homework was alright since you both were learning the same material and you weren’t tight on money at the moment, but not too free either. But whenever you hear him call you out to follow him, you knew that you had done something wrong, either to make him angry or he found fault with something you did. You were honestly more afraid of him than your parents. Every day, whenever there was a self-study lesson or a break, he would call you out. He would hurt you, without mercy, and leave you writhing in pain and in the end skipping the rest of the day to rest in the infirmary. Once, he had hurt you badly enough that you had to be sent to the hospital. Another student had found you underneath a deserted staircase, bleeding and passed out. You had had enough of this school life. But what could you do? After all, you had a crush on him... As hard as it was to believe.

You knew there was no point in running away from him. While at school, Jaebum would often address you as “Loser”—might as well be your name since he practically said that every time you met. Every time he called your “name”, you knew what Jaebum wanted from you. The tone in his voice said it all. You had learnt how to read his mood from his voice alone by now. Once, you tried running away from him, already having beaten up the day before and the fresh wounds were still dark and purple. The cuts had yet to stop bleeding as well and you knew that you couldn’t take another hit. You would normally be able to run quickly, flying past classroom doors and flights of stairs in a blink of an eye. But that day, you were limping and the wounds were aching, which slowed you down considerably. In the end, you had to hide in a toilet cubicle, praying that he didn’t see the direction where you ran towards. You leaned against the cubicle door, panting, and slide to the floor, tired. Your cuts had stopped bleeding that morning but due to you running, they reopened and had bled onto your bandages. Yet, you couldn’t feel the pain, the throb of your bruises, the sting of the cuts or the ache of your limping leg. No, your heart throbbed with pain and fear. You could hear your loud heartbeat in that silent bathroom, waiting and holding your breath.

“He can’t come in here… He wouldn’t dare…, would he?” you wondered to yourself, ears straining.

As luck would have it, the bathroom door swung open, colliding with the wall with a forceful thump.

“Don’t think you could run away from me. I already know you can’t,” Jaebum said.

You could see the smirk on his face as he announced his presence. You watched with panicked eyes as his shadow sidled closer and closer until it reached your cubicle door. Tears sprung up in your eyes as you knew, that there was no way to escape. That he was right; there was no way to run away from him. You scrambled to move and shrank yourself in the farthest corner of the cubicle, right next to the toilet, having a foolish idea that maybe the toilet would somehow help in making your escape. Seconds later, the cubicle door burst open, its hinges breaking from the force. Jaebum stood with a proud smirk looking down at me. God, you so wanted to wipe that smirk off his face but couldn’t help but be entranced at how cool he looked. His school uniform, a tad bit disorganised without the blazer and his tie was loose, revealing his chest from the top unfastened shirt button, striking a confident pose with his hands in his pockets. Your heart skipped a bit when you were suddenly pulled back to earth.

“Wait, wait, you’re about to get beaten and you’re thinking such shameless thought!!” you scolded yourself.

“Uhh… W…w—what do… y—you… wa—want—t?” you spluttered.

“Oh, nothing much, just the usual. A pinch of taking away your money, asking nicely for you to do my homework again on the side and of course,” he smiled widely. “Gobbling up your desperate and pained face as you scream in agony as I mercifully hit you again.”

What happened next turned into a blur for you and when you realised it, he had finally finished and left you on the floor bleeding as usual. Just before you passed out, however, you caught a glimpse of Jaebum at the classroom door, looking back at you. That guilty face of his… why would he beat you if he was going to make that face, why was he the one with such a pitiful expression when you were the one being beaten—you wanted to shout in his face. But of course, you didn’t have the courage to do so and you couldn’t help but actually feel pity for him. You spent the whole night finishing up yours and Jaebum’s share of homework—which unfortunately for some reason also included the homework from the girls that would hang around Jaebum. It pissed you off thinking about them and could feel your face burning up as you did their homework as sloppily as possible, no longer caring if they got a bad grade for the assignment. Gosh, if anyone were to come right now, you wouldn’t even say anything and immediately will burst into tears, hopping that they would give you a hug and a shoulder to cry one—and probably even a chocolate shake.

As you laid on your bed, you started drifting back into the past. You regretted ever passing the detention room that very day. Jaebum was shockingly present. He never had a bad grade on his report card even if he never did do his own homework or skipped class almost all of the time. He was laying with his head down buried in his arms on his table so you thought he was asleep. Quietly, so he wouldn’t notice you, you opened the door just slightly, enough for you to slip through, and inched your way closer to him. When you were as close to him as you dared, you took out your phone to document everything, so you can review what you got at home. But, instead of getting something or anything, you saw something that would change your life.

Jaebum was sleeping with his head buried as deep as it could be into his arms. But instead of the usual leering smirk that he had when he went to hunt for you, he had a melancholic expression. He had tears forming at the corners of his eyes. Suddenly, his face contorted into fear and pain and he shrank deeper into his arms. Your heart ached at the sight of him and thought about how nice it would be if you could make him smile. You looked at him, feeling pity for him, and without thinking, reached out and pat his head gently. His hair was soft, unlike how spiky it looked. You mindlessly continued to caress and Jaebum eventually had a peaceful expression on his face again. You straightened up from your position and got ready to leave when Jaebum smiled.

“Mum… don’t worry… I’ll protect you…,” he mumbled. “I won’t let… anything hurt you… anymore… I promise…”

You bolted out of the room, thinking of his beautiful smile and blushed. Your heart was thumping in an allegro and it didn’t showed any sign of calming down. You sank to the ground, leaning against the door, shocked at what you had discovered.

“Don’t tell me…,” you mutter to yourself. “Do I like him?”

You shook your head and stood up. You went back home for the first time feeling happy to have gotten your wish fulfilled in seeing Jaebum’s smile. But your heart still ached for what he had said in his sleep. You pondered for a while and realised you didn’t know Jaebum much other than the fact that he was good at fighting, for better or for worse.

“Poor guy… must have had a rough life…” you thought, pained as you recalled Jaebum crying in pain.

You would soon grow to know that Jaebum indeed had a tough life. Since young, he was exposed to a world of pain. He had made a resolve that he didn’t want to be weak and didn’t want to remain that way. He vowed to himself to grow stronger and stronger in order to protect his mum. In the end, it was inevitable but his father left the family and left Jaebum with a scarred heart. Eventually, he did get stronger, to the point that no one dared to come across him. He had made a name for himself and even delinquents dared not to pick a fight with him. Since he didn’t want to be caught by his parents, he always waited for them to throw the first punch. After all, what happened after would be self-defence for Jaebum. But when high school rolled around, he felt his frustrations grew as he realised the pain of keeping a secret from his mum. He had lied to her how he got certain injuries and even resorted to threaten a pack of students to pretend to be his school buddies. He had only realised how lonely he was and went around to search for fights. If he did, he would at least be distracted for a while, forget about the pain and the guilt.

Coincidentally, he had met you while he was skipping class and fell in love with your smile immediately as you were walking to your own class. A smile that knew no pain and he felt as though it was too precious to leave unprotected. He did everything to protect your smile, your precious happiness. He tried to keep you in his sights so he knew where you were at all times, would ward away any guys who had any intention of coming close to you and even tried to isolate you from the school just so you would come to depend on him. But he never knew how to properly protect a person and fighting was really the only thing that he knew. In the end, you were hurt in the process and Jaebum realised that you were never going to come around to him if he kept doing things in the shadows. You would continue to hand around guys, flashing an easy grin at them, not aware of what danger they could’ve posed to you. So, Jaebum felt as though you were challenging him. And a challenge it was. If you weren’t going to come around on your own, he was going to make you. And so, the bullying started.

At school, you successfully managed to steal the school’s rooftop key and locked yourself there.

“Ahh! How nice!” you sighed in relief. “This way Jaebum can’t find me, at least for today!”

You were finally going to have a peaceful day for once. You went to the railings and sat there, swinging your legs in joy. The wind felt great in your hair and the freedom that you had, not being bound to anything felt amazing. You felt a whole load suddenly lift from your shoulders and for once after so many months, you managed to break out into an unrestrained grin. You laugh to yourself, feeling yourself go over the ledge, holding your weight by gripping the railings.

“This feels amazing!!” you laugh to yourself.

Immediately though, your thoughts went to Jaebum. He was probably searching for you right now since the bell had rung and students were beginning to file out of school from under you. You watched as your fellow schoolmates laughed with each other, smiling together. You thought of how lonely you suddenly felt without Jaebum. With Jaebum, at least you got someone with you, even if it hurt, but it lessened your loneliness even if it was just a tiny bit or if it was only for that one moment. It felt nice when Jaebum would find you. You felt wanted. Even if it was the wrong kind. Tears fell from your eyes as you looked down at the students. For a split moment, you thought of just letting go, feeling the wind through your whole body and not have to think of anything ever again. You wouldn’t have to worry about your parents’ constant arguing or your siblings retorting back to your parents or having you eat dinner alone everyday again because the others had “something more important to do”. You wouldn’t have to think of your school ranking or your academics or getting worried over an exam. You wouldn’t need to think about how lonely you were or Jaebum’s crying face or how he was probably still in pain. You would be free…

You sigh to yourself.

“Ahh… Before I knew it… Jaebum became super important to me…” you said.

You felt the familiar pang of jealousy as you thought of how he was always surrounded by girls or how he would casually flash his grin at them. Although everyone knew not to piss him off, as long as they were on his good side, they knew that he would treat them nicely. Was it just you then, you thought to yourself.

“Am I the reason Jaebum is always angry?”

You gazed off into the distance, distracted by your thoughts when you heard shouts from below you. You looked down from you position and saw a crowd of students yelling at you.

“Don’t jump off!”

“We’re here for you!”

“We’ll catch you!”

You looked down at them and felt confused. Did they think that you were going to jump? You rolled your eyes, which were still moist with tears.

“Even if I jump, is there actually anything good that comes out of it?” you muttered. “If I jump… Jaebum will be…”

You stayed up there at the railings, clearly not going to jump since you hadn’t taken off your shoes or written a suicide note but showed no signs of moving either. Some students had reported to passing teachers and some were trying to coax you to unlock the rooftop door. You made no movement, neither to acknowledge them nor to stop the possibility that you were going to jump. Right then, you saw a butterfly flitting by you. You leaned forward and reached out to it, carefully holding onto the railing. The butterfly landed on your extended finger and you smiled, feeling as though you made a friend with the small creature.

“Wouldn’t it be nice if we were actually friends though?” you asked the butterfly laughing.

You sighed sadly to yourself and looked below you. You stared in amusement to the crowd who were panicking. You guessed that it might have looked like you were about to jump since you were leaning so far forward and they probably couldn’t see the butterfly.

“What do I care about them… After all… no one bothered to help me… They only made my life harder…” you thought to yourself.

Suddenly, a voice said from behind you.

“Please don’t do it.”

You turned around in shock and, having forgotten that you were on the edge, let go of your hand on the railing. The next thing you saw was the sky above you. I don’t want to die!! You closed your eyes when you felt someone grab you from above. You slowly open your eyes and saw who it was that saved you.

“Im Jaebum?!”

He was panting hard and had sweat dripping down his face. He proceeded to pull you up and you safely landed on the other side of the railing. You stared in shock at him. What was he doing here? How did he get through the locked door?

“I—I broke the door… I was in a… hurry after all…” he panted.

You could only stare at dumbfounded. Why would he, of all people, rescue you? But you were most befuddled by how Jaebum’s voice was. It surprised you that he could speak so softly. You suddenly snap back to reality.

“ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND?!” he yelled at you suddenly.

Well, there went the soft voice. He was back at shouting at you. At that point, you had had enough. You wanted nothing more to do with Jaebum. You wanted nothing to do with these doubts. You wanted to clear it with Jaebum once and for all.

“YEAH, I AM!” you shouted back at him.

His eyes widened in surprise as the timid girl in front of him was flared with defiance, your eyes looking at him straight on with no fear.

“YOU HAVE A PROBLEM WITH ME? WHY SHOULD IT MATTER TO YOU, HUH?!” you continued, spitting out words with pent up frustration and anger. “JUST GO BACK TO YOUR USUAL SELF! SHOUT AT ME, HIT ME! DO WHATEVER!”

You expected him to shout at you, to actually hit you for being so rebellious against him. You closed your eyes, waiting for his fist to hit you. Tears streamed down your face when you realised that it really wasn’t his fault to shout or hit you. Anyone would be upset if their obedient toy suddenly up and left them after all. But…

“Don’t cry…”

“Eh?”

You opened your eyes and Jaebum enveloped you in a tight hug. You immediately squirm in his grasp, trying to break free, refusing to stop your tirade just because he hugged you. He tightened his hold on you, as though he didn’t want to let go of you just yet. The tears slowed to a stop, as though they were waiting for him to hug you.

“You…!” you twisted and squirmed as hard as you could against Jaebum’s unusually tight grip. “Let me go already! Do you intend to make my life more difficult than it already is?!

Jaebum just sat there, not budging and not speaking. In the end, you collapsed into his chest as you tired yourself out from fighting against for so long. You breathe in Jaebum’s smell and your vision clouded over with tears again.

“Why… why must it be you…” you whispered.

“If you want to hit me, hit me,” he whispered softly into your ears. “But hear me out for a bit please.”

He sounded so abnormally sincere that you could only nod and settle into his chest.

“I’m sorry. For everything.”

He pulled away and made you look at him in the eyes to show you how sincere he really was. You didn’t say anything, you couldn’t. You didn’t know what to say. You stayed in his arms as you listened aptly to him, basking in his scent and warmth.

“I know you think that I might be lying or planning to prank you by doing this but no. I’m serious right now,” he said, looking at you with desperation in his eyes. “I do smile at you, even if you don’t see it. I want to see you smile; I want to protect your smile. But I get so mad that you choose other boys over me. Why can’t I be the one by your side. I had even tried steering other guys away from you but… you never looked at me. Even when I tried to protect you… in the end…”

Tears streamed down Jaebum’s eyes. You immediately felt bad for shouting at him and reached out to wipe away his tears. At first, he was hesitant at you touching him but eventually warmed up to it. He took your hand it his and brought it to his lips. Your face immediately turned red.

“I don’t care what you think of me but,” he pecked your hand. “I like you. Not even that, I love you from the bottom of my heart. And I am not lying.”

New tears formed in your eyes—really, how much were you going to cry today. But you couldn’t help it. From one surprise to another. You break into a smile, the same smile that made Jaebum fall in love with you that fateful day. Jaebum’s eyes widened in shock and smiled at you, feeling a sense of freedom. As though a chain that binded you both together had finally been released, Jaebum let go of you. You could see that his smile was no longer the fake smile he would give to those girls or the proud leer he would give to you in order to hide his pain. It was a genuine smile. Much warmer and brighter than the smile he gave you that day.

“Im Jaebum, I love you too,” you say tackling him to the ground.

And for the first time since he vowed to become stronger, Jaebum laughed. A hearty, carefree laugh. He cupped your face in his hands and gave you a peck on the forehead.

“I love you so much and I won’t let you forget that,” Jaebum said.

His eyes which were once full of pain and guilt were now smiling and bright. This love which enveloped you, immediately healed you of the pain he caused you. You felt as though you were on a cloud. You never thought that you would ever be together. And now, your wish had been granted. And one thing was clear now, among those doubts that were in your heart for so long. You both definitely love each other.

“If I’m together with you, it’s alright.”

#im jaebum #imjaebum #got7 #got7 jaebum #got7 leader #alternate universe #jaebum x reader #jaebum x you #school #romance #got7 jaebeom

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bluehhj · 5 years

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listen to me — chapter 20

LISTEN TO ME — 0020

listen to me masterlist;

WORDS: 2.5K

As they waited in the queue, Jinah repeated to herself that she didn't have to be afraid, for all that was fake blood, special effects and costumed people. There was nothing to fear, it was just a movie like any other.

Jisung, who was standing next to Choi, would choke out a laugh every now and then while looking at her out of the corner of his eye. Although he had seen more than three times, he had chosen the movie "The Nun" to make sure that Jinah had never been interested in even looking at the trailers, and the queue for that session wasn't so long and so they would've to be in the midst of so many people inside the movie theater, since neither of them liked crowded places.

"You know you don't have to go, do you?" Han asked as they advanced a little further toward the entrance. As much as he wanted to see her false pose of brave collapse like a house of cards, he didn't want her to be traumatized. "We can change and see a romance."

"I don't want to." Jinah smiled nervously. "This movie isn't scary, I don't know why you're so worried."

Jisung laughed and raised his eyebrows quickly, "All right, you're the one who knows."

When they handed in the tickets and entered the dark room, Jinah swallowed hard to note that besides her and Jisung, only about ten people were there, most of them concentrating on the front seats. Her intention was to have something to distract herself with, whether it was a child chewing popcorn or a couple kissing, but apparently she'd have to keep full attention in the movie until it finished and twisted to avoid suffering a panic attack during the mission.

Jisung chose a pair of seats from the next to last to sit down and Choi tried to see the bright side of the situation. At least if she was reasonably close to the door, she might run somewhere else if things started to run out of control — and out of control she meant witnessing some evil manifestation off the screen or something. The straw of the soda glass was stuck between her lips during the entire sequence of unnecessary trailers and advertisements, and Jinah even considered the possibility of actually watching that movie as a normal person, but then the following words came out before her eyes: "Based On Real Facts".

"Fuck, Jisung!" she complained, taking care not to speak as loudly as she wanted. "Why didn't you tell me that this shit really happened?"

"You said you weren't afraid."

"I-I..." Jinah thought for a moment and fell silent, regaining her composure. "I'm not afraid, I just don't like leaving my house uninformed," she lied.

Jisung laughed again, amused by all that, and murmured a "relax" before looking at the screen. The movie had just begun.

♡˖°

It was as if Jinah was a balloon about to burst with every new fright.

No matter how many times she looked at the clock, the minutes just didn't seem to go away. Her heart was so fast that she felt like an old woman with a tachycardia; her eyes didn't stop quietly anywhere and her nervous system was being extremely tested by Han, who laughed at her face every five minutes.

"I can also watch a horror movie, she said," Jisung mocked. "I wonder where that brave girl has gone now."

And even as she was about to ask for help, Jinah still wanted to support her fearless image: "I'm still fine, if you want to know."

"It's not what it looks like." Jisung put his hand on the girl's damp palm. "You're sweating, you're so nervous."

Choi would certainly say some tattered excuse, such as blaming the nonexistent heat, but, before she could open her mouth, the fucking idiot Nun reappeared just to put an end to the little self-control she still had and her first involuntary reaction was to squeal a little and squeezing Jisung's hand against hers, entwining their fingers without even realizing it, and then bringing close to her heart.

"I don't want anymore!" she whimpered.

The boy smiled and, even in the partial darkness, stopped to watch the girl's face as he felt the beating of her heart. It was undeniable the fact that he had found her beautiful from the first moment he laid eyes on hers, but he didn't always admire her details so closely. Jinah was sweet and sour in the right dose. Sometimes it sounded a bit childish, but it was captivating. Beautiful eyebrows, beautiful eyes, flawless smile, rosy lips; Jisung couldn't deny even to himself: she was beautiful at his sight.

"Why did you want to come, being so afraid of this kind of movie?" he asked without taking his eyes off Jinah's almost terrified face. Part of him wanted to hold her.

"'Cause I wanted to go out with you again" there was this detail: Choi didn't hide things when she got nervous.

"But we could go out anyway, you silly girl." Jisung got up and pulled the girl to do the same. "C’mon, let's eat something."

Jinah didn't protest and followed the boy out of the room. The funniest thing was that they were walking hand in hand around the mall as if they were a couple and only noticed it halfway to their chosen diner, which resulted in a minimally embarrassed Jisung and a half-annoyed Jinah cause she had lost the touch. After facing the queue of requests — Choi recovering from the trauma of the movie and Han teasing her —, they sat at a table by the window.

"How's the internship?" Jinah changed the subject, since she didn't want to talk about the events of minutes ago after having sworn that she'd never see another horror movie in her life. "I know it's only been three days, but do you feel well already?"

"Yes, it's interesting." Jisung took a sip of soda while his eyes searched the place to see if there was anyone he knew. "The only problem is that, sometimes, the people are too noisy."

"At least you're not in Changbin's place, who's going to start his next Monday. Imagine just having to put up with an entire classroom full of hyperactive kids." Jinah grimaced in disgust. She envied her friend's patience to deal with that sort of thing. "At the very least, I think I'd have a stroke."

"Does he really want to be a teacher?" Jisung frowned. "He'll scare the kids with his homicidal face."

"Of course not, Changbin's a baby inside."

"I don't know... This week even he was completely angry there in the store, just missing breaking everything."

"It must be because Jade and him were going through some problems, but now they're well again" Jinah glorified the heavens for that. It was horrible when the two of them weren't well, because a tense atmosphere settled in the apartment and everything seemed out of place. “The infamous jealousy."

Jisung shook his head in brief agreement and there was a pause in the conversation as they ate their sandwiches. Added to the topic of jealousy, it was a perfect loophole for him to begin to travel in his own thoughts and to bring up subjects he didn't want to revive, but which were always there, marking presence inside his head. Jinah soon noticed the boy's rapid change of mood.

"Are you thinking of her?" she asked cautiously and Jisung sighed. Han felt as if he could never be with Jinah without the shadow of Chaerin appearing between them as a barrier. He didn't want to ruin the night with his problems, but Choi was willing to listen to them, because, in her conception as a psychologist, you can't overcome anything by trying to choke it.

"No" Jisung lied and forced a slight smile. "It's just bullshit in my head."

"It's okay, you don't have to lie to me. You were like this after I told you about jealousy."

"We had a few crises," and before he could stop the words, Han was already venting. It wasn't his fault that talking to Jinah was so comfortable. "Or rather, I had a few crises..." another sigh. "Before I didn't realize it, but, looking better now, we haven't been well for a long time. It was a hard way to reach the last point."

"Can I ask how it happened? I mean, you say Chaerin ran away with another guy, but I wanted to get it right" Jinah knew she was stepping on eggshells by asking all those questions, but just kept insisting on them because the boy, however, didn't show any hesitation at the time of answering them.

"She had left home early that day" was the first time Jisung had spoken openly about it. He remembered hiding many details when he reported what had happened to Yoorim and Hyunjin. Not because he didn't trust his friends, but because he didn't feel comfortable enough. "I called and always fell in the mail box. She didn't even respond to the messages. She just came back at night, when I was already thinking that something serious had happened, she apologized before going to the room and packing" Jisung even would cry, but when it came to his ex-fiancée, his tears were already dry. "I asked what was going on, but she held the cry and didn't answer. Something told me it was a cry of guilt." rolled his eyes. "She left and I couldn't do anything. When I looked out the window I saw Seungmin's car and it was clear."

"So, you already suspected she might be having something with Seungmin before that happens?"

"Maybe" Jisung bit his lower lip for a moment. Even though it was complicated, he felt good talking about all those things that had been trapped in his throat for so long. "I had read some messages and noticed strange things, but it was always 'my head's thing'" he made quotations with his fingers, repeating what he heard so much from Chaerin's mouth whenever he asked about it. "But I can't feel as much anger at Seungmin as I wanted, after all, if Chaerin hadn't paid attention to him, we'd be fine now. It makes no sense to blame only the affair, because who really owed me respect didn't."

Jinah nodded, approving Jisung's way of thinking, so she wouldn't have the trouble to make him understand that part.

"When the two left," Han continued his account of the worst night of his life. "I felt the whole world fall on my back. It was difficult to clean up the mess of glass shards I made in the room, and, before I could ruin the whole kitchen too, I remembered the call center number. I meant to talk to Sorn, I think you know her." Jinah nodded again, smiling slightly as she remembered the Thai. "She had helped me a lot in the last few days, but it was you who answered this time. And by the way, the service wasn't one of the best," he joked, although he was telling the truth.

"I confess I felt a little bad for not having the standard treatment with you," Jinah admitted. "But I only started to act normally after I was sure you wouldn't do anything you could regret, otherwise I wouldn't have said so much bullshit. We would've extended the conversation if you hadn't turned it off."

"You threw it in my face that at least you hadn't been kicked by your fiancé, you wanted what?"

"But you did stress me first!" Jinah defended herself, patting the table as she remembered that Jisung had also thrown unnecessary things into her face. "I didn't return because I thought you wanted to be a little alone, or maybe you'd call again to talk to some other attendant, but, anyway, the idea of looking for you in college was already firmly in my head."

"I actually thought about calling again to talk to someone else, but your voice..." Jisung pressed his lips together as if he had no weapons to deal with. "It managed to calm me even by saying idiots."

"I realized you liked it" Jinah smiled. "So much that you must've wasted a good few minutes looking for my branch in the early morning."

"Just a few" Jisung smiled too. "Still, I thought you didn't care."

"You thought wrong. And I do care until today, you know that."

"Thank you, JinJin." Choi used all her willpower not to freak out when she heard Han call her that way without being drunk. "I don't even know how to thank you for all this."

"You could thank me by moving on," Jinah murmured, hesitantly for the first time. No one could blame her for looking at Jisung and feeling an overwhelming desire to kiss him, but not being able to do so, after all, the boy was still trapped in his old relationship. It wasn't as if she expected the love he felt for Chaerin to disappear overnight, but she believed he had to at least try, and Jinah was so willing to help him overcome all those bad things... "I know it's hard, but it's been almost a month. Life has to go on, don't you think?"

"With moving on," Jisung put his elbows on the table. "do you mean to get a good mood or open my heart to let other people in? Because, if it's the first choice, I think I'm already doing it."

"The two options sort of complete."

"I don't know, Jinah." Jisung ran a hand through his hair absently. Choi almost died without air. Why did he do that to her poor heart? "I don't want to be with someone while I love someone else, and it's not like I have too many suitors."

Jinah blushed, so much that it was impossible to hide from the boy.

"Wait..." Jisung's eyes widened. "Don't you-..."

"No! Of course not!" the girl had tried to fix it, but her face only turned redder. "Aish, don't start to misinterpret things!"

It wasn't the first time that Jinah had given him signals that shouldn't be given to mere friends, but Han always took it as a joke. However, since the small meeting at the home of Hyunjin and Yoorim, when Choi quietly asked for a kiss, a set of internal doubts struck Jisung. If Woojin was there, he'd probably tell him to stop being dumb and grab the opportunity, but, in his head, it wasn't as easy as it seemed.

"Sorry" he disguised as if he really had misunderstood and believed in the girl's acting. "Would you like some ice cream?"

He didn't even have to ask twice.

And as he looked at Jinah without her realizing it, Jisung wished, with all his heart, that he might correspond to her correctly someday.

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angstytieflingbard · 5 years

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Hero’s Journey - Chapter Three: Study Session

Summary: Link has an unfortunate run in with the press, and Bakugo saves him. Later, he has a study session with some friends. Someone leaves a gift on his windowsill.

Warnings: None?

A/N: Admittedly, this chapter is mostly just about Link and setting some of his background and home life. Also I feel I should note, I'm using ASL rules for his sign language, though there hasn't been much so far. I know this takes place in japan, but I am far more familiar with ASL and how it works than any other sign language. It won't make too much of a difference except for the use of fingerspelling, which, while possible in JSL isn't used very much if at all most of the time.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy and as usual don't be afraid to tell me what you think!

~~~

School had been... difficult, today. It had started with the press outside the school gates, swarming like flies to rotten fruit, blocking off nearly all entry or exit.

“Hey! You there, you’re a UA student, right? What’s it like being taught by All Might?” The reporter had asked, already in his face before he’d even reached the bulk of the press. Link blinked in surprise, and then his expression returned to the tired one he’d been wearing before he was accosted. He brushed past her as politely as he could.

“Hey, what’s the deal? You think you’re too good to talk to us or something?” She’d said accusingly, and he flinched at the familiar anger. It was common, of course, for people to misunderstand his silence. And of course it only made it worse, not that she could know that.

Link was determined to just slip through the crowd altogether, but then she grabbed his shoulder with surprising strength, perfectly manicured nails digging into his shirt jacket. The hero-in-training sighed, turning to face the woman. She sneered, which he imagined was her sarcastic way of giving him a smile, and then-

“Oi, gremlin!” He heard a voice shout, and suddenly he was surrounded by the smell of burnt sugar as Bakugou grabbed the back of his blazer collar and hauled him back like some sort of cat. He huffed, expression somewhere between grateful and annoyed as the swarm of reporters parted like the red sea for the spiky blond shoving and growling at anyone who came anywhere near the two of them.

Finally, he dropped him just inside the barrier of UA’s gate, and Link fixed his clothes, frowning cautiously at the boy.

‘Thanks’ Link held the card out, and Bakugou scoffed, pushing the hand - and card - away from him with a surprising lack of malicious intent.

“Don’t bother with that shit, dumbass gremlin. I didn’t forget what you said yesterday, you know.” Bakugou leaned in slightly to say it, and Link felt his hackles rise, all too aware of when he was being threatened. Link didn’t have a card on him for this particular scenario, so instead he just huffed and bared his teeth. Bakugou seemed to get the point, anyway, because his eyes narrowed like he was considering something, but then he stepped back and walked off, Link following a short ways behind.

School had been fine after that, though the class officer elections were surprisingly high energy. Link himself didn’t have much interest, but it’d taken some thought as to who he’d vote for. Midoriya was his first thought, remembering his quick thinking and determination in the battle trials only a few days earlier, but he was also incredibly anxious, and, he thought with an apologetic wince, a bit of a pushover. He’d settled on Yaoyorozu in the end, appreciating her general kindness and level-headedness, something he knew would come in handy to deal with some of the rowdier students.

It’d ended in a tie between Yaoyorozu and Midoriya, and a secondary vote declared the girl the winner. Midoriya seemed flustered that he’d gotten voted for at all, though there was a bit of a relieved glint to his eye that Link attributed to the boy not actually being made president.

After that was lunch, and with it came the break-in. He was in the classroom at the time, along with Yaoyorozu (Momo, as she insisted), Tsuyu, Jiro, Shouji, Ojiro, Koda, and Hagakure, so he’d thankfully been away from the mass panic that’d apparently ensued down there. He wasn’t surprised when he’d looked out the window to find the press swarming around the door just as they had the gate, Aizawa and Present Mic keeping them from getting into the school.

Eventually, though, that crisis passed as well, and his classmates started to filter back in. This also saw him reassuring a frazzled Midoriya that yes, he did still deserve to be vice president even though he hadn’t helped (it’s not like any other classes’ representatives had stepped in, after all) and no, he shouldn’t hand the position off to Iida even if he had been a great help in that situation.

“I guess…” Midoriya murmured, still unsure.

‘You need to work on your confidence anyway. You have the leadership skills, and being vice president will help you get where you need to be to use them.’ He wrote, turning his notebook around to show, and Midoriya gave him a small, grateful smile.

“I suppose you’re right.” Midoriya nodded, and headed back to his desk just as Aizawa returned to start class again.

The rest of the day passed without incident, thankfully, and now he was packing his backpack up to go home, most of his classmates doing the same.

“Hey, Link!” He turned at the sound, and found Uraraka inches from his face, a wide smile and warm eyes pointed up at him. Link didn’t move back, ignoring the short look of surprise on the girls face at his seeming lack of discomfort. He raised a brow at her, and she giggled.

“I was wondering if maybe you’d want to have a little study group today? Just you, me, Deku, and Iida?” She asked, expression hopeful. He sighed, faking a thoughtful expression as though he wasn’t sure.

“C’mon, please please please! I wanna have group bonding time, and there’s no better way to do that than with shared suffering!” She exclaimed, puffing her cheeks out and bringing up her hands in fists in a show of determination, and he huffed out a laugh, finally conceding to her. He gave her a nod and she cheered, hooking her hand in his elbow and pulling him over to where the other two were waiting by the door.

“He said yes! Well, there weren’t any words, but he nodded!” She informed them.

“We still haven’t decided where we’re going, Uraraka.” Iida reminded, expression as serious as ever. The bubbly girl only shrugged, smile still on her face.

“Well, I mean, just one of our houses right? Mine’s a bit busy, bit if you don’t mind that, then…” She trailed off, offer lingering in the air for a moment.

“Mine’s not exactly… busy, per se, but my mom can be kind of a lot for new people…” Midoriya said softly. Link pursed his lips thoughtfully.

‘I could always invite them to my apartment… ‘ Just as he finished the thought, Uraraka turned to him.

“What do you think? You look like you wanna say something.” Her smile turned a little reassuring as he pulled out his notepad, writing quickly with the attached pen. They waited patiently for his response, shuffling a bit out of the way of the door to make way for their classmates trying to leave.

‘We could go to my apartment. I don’t think anyone would be around, so it’d be quiet.’ They all read the note.

“That sounds perfect then. We can all head there together!” Iida gives a little chop to the air with his hand as he says it.

“We should get going then, we don’t want to miss the train!” And with that, they were off.

~~~

A little less than an hour later, they were all walking into Link’s apartment, giving curious glances around.

“So this is where Link lives..?” Uraraka mumbled to herself, picking up a telescope on the table covered in little paintings of seagulls, carefully turning it over in her hands. Link pulled out his notebook again.

‘That’s my cousin, Aryll’s. The school she goes to has dorms, so she only comes back on weekends and holidays. She left it here to “remember her by”’ The pink cheeked girl laughed, setting the telescope down.

“Your cousin seems like quite the character.” She said, though her expression made it seem more like a question. Link nodded solemnly, making her giggle again.

“So, where are we going to study?” Midoriya asked. He seemed a little uncomfortable, as though he wasn’t sure what he should be doing in this situation.

Link made a gesture to follow him, and led them through the small, blue and green themed galley kitchen into a cozy little dining area, with a white table and chairs and blue curtains speckled with orange-red flowers. They settled in, studying and working on homework together. It was nearly an hour later that the conversation started to stray from their studies.

“I almost forgot to ask, but where are your parents?” Uraraka asked casually, backtracking at Link’s grimace. “Oh, you don’t have to answer that of course! I was just curious-” Link cut her off, putting up a hand to signal for her to wait, and he wrote in his notepad, as he’d been doing for most of the afternoon.

‘My dad was a pro hero, he died ten years ago, when Toxic Chainsaw first became active, and my mom died when I was still a baby. My uncle’s usually traveling for work since he’s a businessman, so usually it’s just me and sometimes Aryll.’ Uraraka blanched.

“I’m… so sorry, Link.” Link shrugged.

‘It was a long time ago. I barely remember my dad.’ The three glanced at each other. The mood of the room felt stifling now, so Link stood and headed for the kitchen.

“Well, I guess we’re taking a break now.” He heard from behind him, and he couldn’t help but snort at the somewhat exasperated tone, working on getting the cooking utensils he needed.

Link had always loved cooking. It was cathartic, and helped him clear his mind in the same way a good workout often did. Plus, Aryll always seemed to enjoy it, which helped. He set a pot on the stove, cranking up the burner all the way and starting to put his ingredients in. Carrots, butter, milk, some flour for good measure, and then left it to cook.

When he finally brought the food out to them on a tray, they all gave him grateful smiles (well, Iida’s expression couldn’t be considered a smile, but it was the intent of the thing Link cared about), and set aside their phones and notebooks to eat. Uraraka was the first, and she immediately froze as soon as her lips closed around the spoon. Slowly, she pulled the spoon away, and they watched as she chewed and swallowed with some amount of effort.

“How is it?” Midoriya asked with increasing concern. Uraraka hesitated, a calculating look flashed across her face, gone so fast Link wasn’t sure if he actually saw it.

“It’s actually pretty good!” She smiled cloyingly sweet at the green-haired boy. Link was still watching them intently for their reactions. Midoriya’s brow furrowed.

“Come now, Midoriya! What reason would Uraraka have to lie to us? Besides, we’re in Link’s house, it would be rude to not eat what he made for us.” Iida lectured, and the other boy All trelented, each of them trying the soup.

Midoriya choked, face drawn tight as he swallowed down the bite. Iida’s expression was unreadable, and he put the spoon down almost robotically. Link gave them a satisfied nod.

‘I’m glad you like it. Aryll used to react like that when I first started cooking for her. Now she barely even blinks. It’s nice to see people so openly enjoying my cooking again.’ Link dug in to his own food, missing the horrified looks his friends exchanged.

“Hey, Link… Where did you learn to cook?” Iida asked slowly. Link gave them a gesture to wait a moment, and quickly downed the rest of the soup before turning to the notepad again.

‘I taught myself, why?’ All three of them sighed.

“No reason. We were just curious…” Uraraka told him, expression unreadable. Link nodded sagely.

‘I could teach you guys too, if you want.’

“Link, don’t take this the wrong way, but I really don’t think that’s a good idea…” Midoriya murmured.

‘That’s fair. The kitchen can get chaotic when more people are involved.’ The three exchanged a look of relief. Link pushed his notepad a bit away from him to resituate his notes, and the other three quickly did the same, stacking their own nearly untouched bowls of carrot stew on his to clean up later.

~~~

‘That went well.’ Link thought as he waved goodbye to his friends. They all waved back, saying their farewells as they went, and Link closed the door behind them. They were all heading to the station together, so he wasn’t too worried about them despite the sun setting low on the horizon.

The apartment seemed a lot colder now that they were gone, he noticed absently as he cleaned up. He hummed to himself as he did, voice soft and hoarse with its typical disuse.

Link could only really bring himself to talk around Aryll, or by himself, and even then he still had trouble. He hated it sometimes, how he could be confident and happy and relaxed, but the second he even thinks of speaking his throat seemed to close up, lungs burning like he was out of air and eyes stinging as though ready to cry. It made things difficult, especially when people didn’t understand, and the way he was treated in those times only made it worse.

He was glad he had friends now, ones who were kind and understanding to him about his inability to talk. He was glad for a lot of things really.

Link found himself back in his room after cleaning up, and he paused in the doorway as a glint on the windowsill caught his eye. Approaching, he realized it was a small, green gem, glasslike in its translucence, propped up against his window to make it visible over the frame. He opened the window carefully and grabbed it, quickly shutting the window after himself and glancing out suspiciously, even knowing whoever did it was likely gone.

He laid down on his bed, ignoring the fact that he still had his uniform (sans blazer) on and inspecting the gem in his hand. It was odd, for sure, but…

There was nothing he could really do about this. It didn’t seem dangerous, so he put it in a drawer of his desk, ignoring the strange familiarity he felt for it. He looked out his window again as he closed the curtains, and for a moment he was sure he saw a flash of white on a balcony across the street, but it disappeared as soon as he noticed it, seeming to be swallowed up by the darkness of the evening. Link frowned apprehensively, shutting the curtains tight and heading over to his bed.

He was the only one home, and no one would believe him if he tried to bring it up, so he decided to leave it be. If it was something dangerous, then he’d just have to deal with that as it came. He was a hero student, after all. He could defend himself, even from weird people (or animals maybe, he reasoned) who left gemstones on peoples windowsills at night.

Despite his own justifications, he didn’t fall asleep until the sun was starting to rise over the horizon.

#loz #botw #legend of zelda #breath of the wild #link #bnha #mha #boku no hero academia #my hero academia #midoriya izuku #uraraka ochaco #iida tenya #bakugo katsuki #fanfic #fanfiction #crossover #au

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loveseungs · 6 years

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happy birthday to our favorite dancing gem with a 4D personality !!

↠ pairing: violinist!lee know x pianist!reader ↠ word count: 12.8k words [yes,, indeed,,,,,] ↠ warnings: female reader ↠ genre: enemies to lovers au, absolute tooth-rotting, cavity-inducing, heart-fluttering fluff ↠ summary: In all his life, lee minho had never been desperate. But, in the moment his accompanist had ditched him, it was as if desperate was all he felt.

- you were part of the top students of your level, notorious for being one of the most hardworking and competitive people there were - often times, you’d decline invites to hang just so that you could study for upcoming tests. acing them was a must for you despite your looming desires to get some spice in your life - but honestly who has time for drama lol - anyway one time in class you were finishing up a project wherein you had to build a diorama of some sort out of trash objects - yours was turning out to be quite nice. it was a beautiful structure of a traditional korean house, and you were really proud! it took u days to finish the project and it really felt like your hard work paid off - when the bell rung, your teacher told you to pack away and allowed you to bring your projects home to work on them - with the utmost care and gentleness, you carried yours out of the classroom, thinking about what other lil’ embellishments u could add to make it dazzle - if you could find some spare, broken jade pieces you could form into some nice designs for the exterior, that’d really float ur boat - halfway into mentally designing some accents for your project, you could hear the quick and erratic tapping of school shoes on the floor. - your first instinct was panic because u knew people were running and did not plan on letting them destroy the product of ur blood sweat and tears for the past week - you stood aside quickly in attempts not to get in the way of those running in the hallway - when you looked up, lee minho and some other people were rushing through - it wasn’t like it was hard to know something about lee minho. he was only the top student of your level and one of the best musicians in your school’s orchestra - you worked so hard just to surpass him, but somehow, he was able to maintain his monster of a rank in the academic ladder. - plus, it didn’t help that he was your classmate and that your competitive spirit ignited three times more passionate when he scored the best in class - being second sucked, but what could you do except work harder, right? - anyway, his entire face looked panicked and the least you could say about his hair was that it was disheveled, but he was running towards you and he was running fast, violin case in one hand and a bunch of books in the other - would this be an interesting fic if nothing happened - of course not - you guessed it fellas - with that atrocity of a violin case came the demise of your beautiful korean house - bam - he’d accidentally toppled over your project and just like that, it shattered to the floor - rest in pieces haha literally - completely flabbergasted, it took seconds for you to realize the implications of your current situation. - if things could not get worse, that jerk of a boy did not even stop and proceeded to turn a corner in a rush - you were unsure of how to react - watching the whole situation unfold, your best friend, changbin, hurried over to you to help you pick up the remnants of what’d once been such a beautiful diorama - “holy heck, [y/n]! you alright?” changbin asked in a panic, bending down to scoop up whatever he could - tears started to form in your eyes as the thought of having to redo your project all over again danced in your mind. You had a test tomorrow and didn’t even know if you’d have time to study for that now that your project (which, mind you, was due in TWO days) practically didn’t exist. - was sleep even an option? as the seconds flew, you were paralyzed in the moment. Stress began to hit you like a brick and you wanted to shoot lee minho and then yourself - “[y/n]! please don’t cry, we’ll do something about this—I promise. That absolute jerk! Let’s talk to Mr. Park, I’m sure he’ll understand,” Changbin assured you, looking up from the floor. “Do people not even have common courtesy nowadays? The least he could have done was apologize! Damn, I’m so pissed! I’m so sorry this had to happen.” - it was so difficult to speak. You eventually bent down to help Changbin pick up your fractured Korean house. - “Thanks Changbin,” you mumbled, letting out a deep and frustrated sigh. “Come with me to Mr. Park? I’ll ask if I can get an extension.” - Changbin nodded, taking a half of your load with him. “Yeah, yeah. What happened? I heard some running, then a crash, and next thing I know, my best friend’s project’s been jeopardized. Do you want me to help you rebuild it? I’m already almost done with mine.” - “That son of a—” you began, cutting yourself off. “I don’t know. His violin case bumped into my diorama and before I knew it, I no longer had a diorama. I bet you that was on purpose. Just because I beat him in the last test? I didn’t know he was so petty. I swear, he’s always trying to one-up me!” - Once you got home, you gently laid down the broken pieces of your project on your desk and threw your bag on the floor. Before you decided to pull an all-nighter in attempts to do a two-week project in only a couple of days, you flipped open the cover of your piano and started to play, letting your anger and frustration out as you pressed on the ivory keys. - it was going to be a long night. You might as well’ve started it off on a good note.

〔✿〕

-“Ssaem!” Minho groaned, not comprehending his current situation. “You can’t just deduct points from me like this! It was an accident!” - if mr. park was going to deal w someone today, it was not lee minho fellas - “You didn’t even bother to say sorry or help me, at least!” you shrieked, shooting daggers at Minho with your eyes. - “That’s—” the boy started, “well, I’m sorry! It was an accident! I was in a rush!” - “And now, thanks to you, I’m also in a rush! Do you know how many points this project is worth? Thirty percent!” you yelled, exasperated. - “Students!” Mr. Park cleared his throat. “Mr. Lee, I’m expecting you to either spend one hour every day for the next three days after school to help Ms. [L/N]. Otherwise, I’ll have to transfer your points to her.” - “Ssaem!” Minho grumbled once more. - Your eyes widened at your teacher’s suggestion. “Ssaem, I’d rather get only one day of extension rather than three days stuck with him!” - “Do you really mean that, Ms. [L/N]?” Mr. Park challenged, adjusting his glasses. - “I-I…” you trailed off. “I’m sorry, sir. I’m just quite stressed. I’d be glad to take those three days of extension. Thank you for your consideration.” - “And you, Mr. Lee?” - Minho sighed, rubbing his temples. “Ssaem, I have practice! The concert I’m representing the school in is soon, you know that!” - “Okay, then I will simply transfer 5% of your final project grade to Ms. [L/N].” - “Alright, alright!” Minho snapped. “I’ll do it, sir! Please don’t deduct points from me—I am sorry for my behavior. May I get to practice now?” - “You are both dismissed. Ms. [L/N], I will meet you in the faculty room on Friday for your presentation. Mr. Lee, I will ensure you that I’ll be checking if you’re truly helping her. Go now, it’s going to get late.” - With that, you two bowed respectfully and headed out the faculty office. - “You don’t need to help me out. I just complied because I really need that three days of extension. I’ll tell Mr. Park that you helped me out or whatever. Just go and do your practice thing,” you mumbled, not daring to meet Minho’s eyes. - “Whatever. If you weren’t standing in the hallway that day, we’d not be in this situation,” he snarled, shoving his hands in his pockets. - “Excuse me?” you piped up, folding your arms. “You were the one running! Running isn’t even allowed in the halls!” - “I—” Minho attempted to retort, but ended up fumbling with his hair in frustration. “I’m going! I need to practice.” - “Jerk.” - “What did you say?” - “I thought you had practice? If you won’t go first, I will. Don’t bother thinking about this anymore, since you clearly don’t care about anyone but yourself. Bye, Minho.” - In that moment, something inside Lee Minho snapped open, the strings of his heart aching in fury. If words were weapons, yours was a dagger, slowly but surely inflicting great hurt to the boy. Minho dragged his feet into the opposite direction, clenching his fists until he could feel his nails digging into the top of his palms.

〔✿〕

- you waited patiently in the library for Changbin to come help you fix your project, but time was ticking and you didn’t want to waste it. - so, as you waited, you started mending the cracked fragments of one of the Korean house’s walls, gently gluing two pieces together. To give it a cleaner finish, you used craft glue and white paint to conceal the cracks. - just then, a message appeared on your phone. - binnie boy: sorry, [y/n]. don’t hate me for this, but I need to go home early. noona came home from college and my parents want to me spend time w/ her. Im so sorry ill help you tomorrow - you couldn’t blame him, but your heart sunk in your chest - there was just so much to do. after fixing the walls, you needed to replace all the furniture inside the house and fix the exterior. you didn’t even want to think of your upcoming math test—you still couldn’t even understand some of the lessons. if you flunked that, you might as well’ve said goodbye to your high ranking on the academic ladder. could you bear to deal with the disappointment when your report card came out? stress gnawed at you; tears threatened to start filling your eyes. this week was going to be utterly horrible and it’d just started yesterday. there was too much to do in too little time— - “move over,” came a low voice, a hand tapping you from behind. - you mustered all your strength to conceal the looming impulse to start crying and turned your head to the owner of that voice - goodness gracious u wanted to scream !! - why the flippity flop was lee minho standing behind u ???? why was the world against u :((((( - “the hell are you doing here?” you snapped, not budging. “thought you had practice.” - minho sighed, “look, i just don’t want to be that guy who messes people up and doesn’t take credit for it. i don’t particularly like feeling like a jerk.” - “if you’re here to satiate your own moral codes and do something so that you can feel all heroic about, just forget it. I don’t want your pity party, and frankly, I don’t want to uplift you into thinking you’re less of an atrocity than you really are.” - “no, that’s not what I meant. I just really feel mean and I thought about what you said about me being selfish and stuff, so I want to help you. I’m willing to sacrifice at least thirty minutes if you’ll let me help you. I’m planning to be late for practice today. but sure. if you really don’t want my help, then don’t take it.” - you were taken aback. minho? everyone knew that he’d always turn down any after-school activity to go play the violin, even if it was an activity no one would wanna miss. this was some big stuff, chief - “do what you want, but I’m still mad at you. I still have to study for math after this to make up for my pathetic lack of knowledge, so if you could help me cut the time in two, just start helping me repair these walls,” you mumbled, scooting over a little bit to make space for the boy. “glue the broken ones together and then coat them with glue and paint to conceal the cracks.” - he nodded. “you still don’t understand math?” - “are you mocking me? sorry for not being the top one, Minho.” - “would you stop antagonizing me? i was going to ask if you want me to explain it to you while we fix these walls. I know you want to do well on the test.” - you raised a brow. “I thought you didn’t pay attention to anyone? I mean, you’re never around for long.” - minho looked at you with offense. “do you really think me to be that self-indulged? besides, I’m highly aware of those in the top of our class. you need to know who competitors are, you know. just because I don’t hang around with our classmates much doesn’t mean I don’t know anything about them.” - “my bad,” you answered. “you kinda like, don’t talk to anyone except the people in the music building.” - “I just… don’t see the need to converse.” - “I like the theory that you’re married to your violin better, though.” - “Look, do you want help in math or not?” - “No, as a matter of fact, I don’t. I’ll figure it out myself, thanks.” - “You sure? Last time I checked, you barely passed the seatwork we had last week.” - “How do you know that?” - “Oh, I keep tabs on people who threaten my ranking.” - “Aren’t you a sweet little snowflake?” - “I’m just trying to offer you assistance, so there’s no need to be so uptight. But, if you’re so insistent, at least I’ll be able to maintain my top spot when you flunk.” - You rolled your eyes. “Don’t get so cocky. Just because I don’t get it doesn’t mean I won’t by the time the test comes around.” - lmao who were u kidding tho u lowkey needed his help but u didn’t want him to know that - pride is a thing folks - u both were full of it - anyway u continued fixing the walks of ur project while casually speaking in the corner of the library, making sure not to make too much noise as you worked - even if you were still quite uncomfortable with minho because of his attitude towards being a top student and the fact that he was the cause of your extra stress for the next few days, the whole meetup went surprisingly well - after what seemed to be an hour of endless banter and project mending, minho checked his phone and almost jumped in his seat - “!! i’m late for being late to practice!! hell!! bye!!” - you didn’t even get the chance to bid farewell to the boy who quietly fast-walked to the exit of the library - he almost hit a shelf and the librarian glared at him, but he still ended up bolting towards the music room as soon as he stepped out - you rolled your eyes - he was still annoying but more tolerable, at least

〔✿〕

- “bin, please u gotta” - “[Y/N], bold of u to assume I even understand the lesson” - “wdym??? Aren’t u good at math??” - “screw math!! Why do u think I pursued music and not numbers??” - “but u got high scores last time!!” - “we all did, though??? The topic last week was easy!!” - “im so screwed I still have a 20% chance of making mistakes!!” - “damn!! what r u so worried about?? at least u’ll pass” - “no but I have a rank, fam!! Holy crap im going to go insane” - “mm? what’s this?? Oh, is this your so-called ‘understanding’ the lesson, [y/n]?” - you turned around and there minho stood, a simper dancing on his face. U wanted to punch him - “shame, really. If only someone could help you” - changbin eyed the newcomer. “what’s he doing here, [y/n]?” - “he’s supposed to be in practice, so I’m not sure,” you answered, glaring at minho - geez let the man live, reader - “oh, I’m supposed to help [y/n] fix her project” - “go practice or whatever, minho. changbin’s here anyway” - “only for another ten minutes, though,” changbin mumbled, and you whipped ur head to him faster than lighting - “what?!” - “i told u!! noona’s home for the next few days and my fam wants me home as much as possible!! I love u [y/n] but duty calls” - “I thought you were my best friend,” you sulked, shoulders drooping. “whatever,, I’ll just,, fix this on my own I guess” - “are u guys really gonna just ignore my presence like this or??” minho piped up, still standing- “bin please don’t leave me here with cocky instrument man”

- “to be fair, you can get cocky and you play an instrument, too,” changbin teased, ruffling your hair. “I have ten more minutes, so let’s make this worthwhile?” - “guys?? Hello?? are you guys really this rude usually??” minho interrupted once again, scratching his head. - “you’re the one who busted [y/n]’s project up without apologies,” changbin began in your defense. - you panicked, not wanting to be mean. “uh!! No it’s okay he apologized and stuff. Um, he’s just here because Mr. Park made him. It’s okay, he was tolerable yesterday” - “he came to you yesterday?” changbin made a face, - “only because you ditched me, changbin,” you rolled your eyes. - poor minho was starting to feel awkward - “if you don’t need me—” - you instantaneously grabbed his wrist by reflex “nO!! hold up!!” - WHOOPS - you let go immediately and waved ur hand in front of you. “just sit there!! It’s going to take forever if I fix my diorama by myself. i really need to buy time, sorry.” - “what’s on your plate anyway?” minho questioned, a smirk creeping up on his face. You, whose eyes became glued to your project, didn’t notice though. - “This, proofreading the ten-page essay to accompany it, and studying for two tests. It’s a busy week, I guess,” you answered, sighing. - “I finished putting these two walls together. Gotta run, [Y/N], Minho. See you both tomorrow,” Changbin announced, standing up. - “Already?” you pouted. “Fine. Thanks, Binnie. Say hi to your sister for me!” - And with that, it was once again just the two of you - “If I finish all the repairs today in under thirty minutes, I’ll be able to get an extra thirty minutes to study for math…” you mumbled carelessly, attaching the two walls Changbin’d fixed up to the base of the diorama. “Ooh, but I need to continue to write that cursed essay…” - your eyes trailed off to minho, who was quietly working on the pieces you’d told him to fix - I mean, u could just,,, ask him - ASDLKJKJKJLKLSKSKS - NO - FOOL!! - s IMPLE, BASIC RULE #1: ENEMIES DON’T FEED U BREAD - u couldn’t. he wouldn’t, anyway. but you were growing desperate and if there was one person who’d know— - “I’d like to think you’re staring because I’m attractive, but the more you keep your eyes on me, the more I feel that you’re boring a hole in my forehead.” - FLIPPITY FLOP U NEED TO STOP, LEE M I N H O - asdfghjkl if u didn’t ace the next math test tho,,,, u might be overtaken by the people in the lower ranks - golly why were u born competitive - “ifisaidineededhelpinmathwouldyougivemefifteenminuteofyourtime??” you grumbled quickly - “if ur gonna speak u might consider making urself understandable” - “im sorry but I need your help in math” - “again?” - “I don’t understand this one particular math lesson, and would appreciate it if you could help me because our math test’s tomorrow. I don’t wanted to be screwed.” - “I couldn’t quite catch that.” - at this poINT, U WERE READY 2 THROW HANDS, SIS - “I NEED YOU TO HELP ME IN MATH!” - the librarian shot u both a glare and put a finger to her lips - hhholy crap - that simper minho wore a while ago was BACK AND THE SMUG LOOK WAS ONCE AGAIN DANCING ON HIS FACE LIKE A TAUNT - U WANTED TO SHRIVEL UP IN A HOLE AND SLEEP FOR LIKE A MILLION YEARS but also dropkick him (✿◉‿◉)🗡 - “u know what,, forget it just go to practice—I’ll finish this up myself.” you slumped back in your seat, wanting to crawl into ur bed and scream in ur pillow - “you get impatient with equations. listen, if you stop rushing, you’ll get there. look at this problem.” - slowly, he started explaining the questions one-by-one and you began to… understand - WHAT??? KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING?? IN M Y HOUSE? - “go check with your calculator,” minho urged, painting the last wall piece for your diorama. - you punched in the numbers and lo and behold, u managed to perfect every problem minho gave you to practice - except one because u can get stupid sometimes and u simply forgot that 6 times 8 was 48 and not 42 - lmao mood - ur face lit up and u started quietly clapping ur hands together - “minho!!! i did it!! look!! holy heck,, they’re right!!” ヽ༼ຈل͜ຈ༽ﾉ - “yea but not perfect bc ur dumb” - “stop,, u know how fried brains can get while working w numbers,,,, im H UMAN” - “Well,” Minho began, attaching the final piece to ur diorama, “I finished up the structure of the diorama. Gotta go, I’m fifteen minutes late to being late.” - u glanced at ur phone and voila he was right yall’d already spent like,, forty-five minutes - ???? already???? - time flies when ur having fun i guess lmao ( ͡☉ ͜ʖ ͡☉) - “!!!!! Okay!! By the way, since the music room’s near the campus store, can you buy some paints for the diorama?? Let’s spend tomorrow decorating it. I’ll bring embellishments.” - Minho slung his backpack on one shoulder and his violin case on the other. “You finally want me to come over and help, huh? It’s only been two days since you wanted to stab me and now you’re already looking forward to seeing me. Ah~ I have irresistible charm.” - You rolled your eyes, scoffing. “You’re disgusting. Don’t forget, I’m still holding a knife to your neck. I’m awfully close to getting top one.” - “Once you stop being careless while multiplying, maybe I’ll be threatened.” - “Get to practice, Lee Minho.” - “No ‘thanks so much for helping me, minho!!’?” - “You’re the one who broke my project. If it wasn’t broken, I’d have plenty of time to find someone else to help me.” - “Yeah right, like ‘Binnie’ will increase your chances of overtaking me.” - “Goodbye, Minho.”

〔✿〕

- when you arrived home, your mom held up a piece of colored paper with printed details on it - “what’s this?” she asked, watching you untie your shoelaces. - you squinted at the paper, trying to make out what it was. “ah, that’s just a flyer someone gave me. that competition’s in four months and it’s for serious musicians. i was going to ask you if it’d be fine to watch it with my friends.” - she shook her head. “honey, don’t you want to compete?” - you set down your backpack and took off your socks. “n-no? i’ve barely prepared for it. it’s too late now. Even four months of preparation would be rushing it.” - “but you’ve been working hard on your latest piece. don’t you at least want to show it off?” - LMAO NO - you laughed. “mom, you know I hate playing in front of people.” - “you’re fantastic, though!” - “and you’re my mom!” - she smiled. “well, if you insist. who’re you going to be with and how are you going to go?” - “Changbin and his friends can take me. What’s for dinner?” - “I was going to whip up your favorite, but I actually wanted to make my favorite more.” - “mom!!”

〔✿〕

- “your score?” - “perfect. and you?” - “we tied,” minho announced, holding up his paper. “not bad. but then again, this is still technically my victory, since I taught you.” - “it was out of convenience, really, that i asked you. and you owed me big-time,” you fired back, painting intricate designs on your still-unfinished Korean house diorama. - it was the last day before your big presentation for the diorama project that the boy in front of you so conveniently broke the other day. which means this was the last time you’d ever need to hang out in the library with him,, thankfully - he chuckled. “whatever you say, miss multiplication.” - “I checked my answers three times! I deserved this perfect score just as much as the next person! Just because I made a mistake once doesn’t mean I’ll make it again.” - “Yeah, yeah. Whatever. Anyway, Changbin mentioned before that you play an instrument. I’ve been curious. Which one?” Minho inquired, resting his chin on his hand. - a drop of sweat trickled down your forehead. you didn’t really like flaunting that particular fact… - “um. piano… I don’t really like to show others, though. The only sorta public thing I’ve ever done asides from play in front of my family for gatherings is play some keys for Changbin and his band because the keyboardist fell sick during their gig.” - “Classical or contemporary?” - “both?? i’m trained classically so it’s not hard to switch to contemporary.” - “interesting,” minho nodded, “favorite composer?” - “I love most of the romantic-era pianists and Fritz Kriesler.” - “kriesler’s a violinist and not a pianist, though.” - “who cares? jus sayin’ classical music SLAPS. Libestraum?? a boP. Chopin’s waltz op. 69 no. 1 in a flat major??? complete BANGER!! kriesler’s schon rosmarin????? MmMMMM,,, good stuff. Pianist, violinist, cellist—I give 0 damns. music is music” -Minho’s eyes watched your face as you spoke. ur eyes kinda crinkled as u smiled while talking and he found it quite intriguing - lmao intrigued - “How about you, Minho? Which composers do you like?” - “I like the classical era composers. Mozart, Bach—call them overrated, but I do love them. And even if his pieces are monstrous, I love Paganini.” - “Ah, would you look at that. We’re almost done. You can leave now, if you want. You can be a whole ten minutes early to being late. I can finish this up, no big.” - Minho checked his watch. “Oh, you’re right. But I actually have violin lessons today, and they’re still at six. I’m leaving school at five-thirty anyway because the academy’s just fifteen minutes away. I can stay with you until then, so you can finish this faster.” - “It’s only 4:46, though,” you begin to smirk. “Maybe you’re the one who wants to be with me and not the other way around, as you claim.” - “Are you trying to tease me?” he leaned forward, staring at you. “It’s not working.” - You dared to match his stare with a rivaling amount of intensity. “Mmm, but I’m quite competitive.” - oh holy crap what’s with this tension im screaming where’d u get that confidence from, reader hskskskkdkhdkdh - “Do what you want. I’m going to keep my top one title,” he rolled his eyes. - for the next couple of minutes, you both continued painting pretty designs on the bare walls of your Korean house diorama while talking about each other’s interests - turns out Minho also liked to dance, a fact that’d slipped unexpectedly - he made you swear not to tell anyone and you felt proud bc u had dirt on him (◕ ˬ ◕✿) - there were so many weird sides of him that you hadn’t noticed before - lowkey u liked his sense of humor - lol at some point he admitted that he had random urges to just scream for no reason - “???? Minho u ok???” - “bold of u to assume I have the capability to be ok” - “???????????????????” - “lol im joking,,, the look on ur face is priceless” - “ah,, u like the look on my face?? Can’t help it if im pretty~” - “u wish, sis” - “can I call u MEANho bc ur being rlly mean rn” - “wtvr u want bro. sorry that the truth hurts” - “RUDE” - u continued to banter like this until minho had to leave and u decided to walk out together because yall were finished anyway - wheeze!! Ur newly refurbished house was… u’d daresay,,,, quite a candy to your eyes - with the help of Changbin (though he only contributed like,, 2%) and Minho, your project was back to its good state - it might’ve,, even been better than it used to be - minho gave u helpful insights while u worked on it, too - (◕︿◕✿) (◕︿◕✿) u had to admit, ur project turned out supernice - “uh,, I just wanted to say…” you began, gripping the sides of your diorama’s base, “thanks. I know it must’ve been a lot to sacrifice practice time to help me out. I forgive you for dropping it, even if I never got that apology.” - Minho looked at you indignantly. “Hey!! I did give you an apology!!” - You grinned. “I don’t recall.” - “Alright, I’m sorry, again.” - “Could you repeat that, please? I couldn’t hear you.” - “I said sorry, [y/n].” - “Again?” - lmao get played,, lee minho - “whatever, bro. I’m leaving. don’t wanna be late,, see you tomorrow.” - “Hey, but I’m serious. Thanks for your help. Also for math, y’know, since I was able to perfect it.” - “ok hold up don’t get sappy on me now,, that was a one-time thing and im totally going to clobber whatever chance u have of beating me on the next test” - “we’ll see about that”

〔✿〕

- few weeks’d gone by since then and whenever u’d see minho, u’d wave amiably instead of shooting daggers @ him w ur eyes - sis we love character development 😤😤 - sometimes u’d have some small talk but it’d never get further than that, even if u were classmates - usually it’d just be about borrowing smth - but u guys were still SUPERMEGA competitive towards each other - like whenever test results came out u guys were the first to rush to the board - the few times u were able to one-up minho made him !! super mad - he’d always study extra so he could ruin ur chances of getting a win streak - LMAO BUT THE FIRST TIME U WERE ABLE TO TOP HIS SCORES TWICE IN A ROW JUST MADE HIM INTO A MONSTER - suddenly nobody saw lee minho for like,, three days - and so when test scores came again after that and he was #1 once again, all he could do was smile smugly at u with that Minho SmirkTM - frankly u found urself powerful for being able to cause minho to disappear like that - u thought to urself if u kept getting #1 maybe minho’d disappear again and u wouldn’t have to see him ( ˘͈ ᵕ ˘͈ ) ( ˘͈ ᵕ ˘͈ ) - reader that’s not how it works damn it - chief called, he said THAT AINT IT - A N Y W A Y - one day minho came to class looking like a zombie - y’all have heard of zombie!bang chan when he was featured in twice’s “like ooh-ahh” but fellas minho looked worse than that - eyebags?? Like a racoon - hair??? You wondered if he had a comb in his house?? - expression?? hoooo babe we don’t wanna go there - it felt as if anyone who talked to him would face the wrath of the Lee - but he had reason as to why he was looking so miserable - just the other day, his accompanist told broke their arm in a PE accident and couldn’t play with minho for his upcoming concert/competition - like bro what kind of musician breaks their arm??? Um?? u know u have a concert so TAKE CARE OF URSELF??? - he was furious because the concert was like,, just around the corner and he couldn’t find another accompanist - he’d asked everyone he knew but to no avail - they all had different excuses. family affairs, too soon, whatever reason people’d find to reject his asking - In all his life, Lee Minho had never been desperate. But, in the moment his accompanist had ditched him, it was as if desperate was all he felt. - it was all he could think about during class - like the teacher was discussing history and mentioned something like “duet” and minho wanted to scream - poor boy - he tried to look elsewhere—anywhere but the board - u were just drumming ur fingers on ur table,, imagining an invisible piano bc lol ur teacher was boring u half to death on a lesson u already understood - that’s when minho’s eyes stopped, watching u mindlessly press on the keys of your little desk-piano - he could… - it was possible… - but at what cost…? - ‘no no no’ he thought, shaking his head. - he had too much pride to ask u for help at this point - he didn’t even know how well u could play the piano - but I guess in times like these, desperation trumps pride and before he could think of the logical implications of his actions, minho found himself rushing towards u as u packed up ur things - “hey,,, uh… [y/n]…” - “if you’re going to ask for my history notes, forget it. they’re just messy pointers and I doubt you could understand it.” - “ew no. what makes u think I’d ask u for such a thing?? I don’t even think YOU’D be able to understand it. besides, I’m covered for that.” - “so why r u like,,, so eager to go to my desk?? oh?? wow, do you miss me already? mm, lee minho. didn’t know you were so straightforward~” - U WERE MAKING THIS SO HARD FOR HIM - MINHO WAS HIGHLY CONSIDERING JUST THROWING IN A SNOOTY REMARK AND LEAVING - BUT HHHH WHEN WOULD A CHANCE LIKE THIS COME AGAIN?? - “I didn’t come to boost your ego—that’s-“ he stopped himself before he could pour out an insult. He didn’t want to piss you off before asking you a favor. “Listen, I need a favor from you. Please. I’ve asked every single person I know.”

- minho?? politely asking u a favor?? Shocking - “If this is about lessons—” - “How well can you play the piano?” - “Minho, I already told you. I hate playing in front of people.” - “No, but I came here to you already knowing that. I know you literally have every reason to tell me ‘no’ right now, but I don’t want to miss a chance. There’s this competition happening in around two and a half months. If I back out now—let’s not even talk about what’ll happen if I back out now. Anyway, bottomline is that I really, really need an accompanist and you are my last resort.” - “u realize how much of a rush two and a half months is,, right” - the thing is though, you’d been practicing some pieces for some months now, in the secret hopes that one day, maybe you’d gather courage to play it somewhere - “Changbin told me you’ve been playing piano a lot.” - traitor - u looked into minho’s eyes and at this point they were pleading you with such vigor that u even considered saying yes - you always wanted to perform onstage, even once in your life - “…What’s the piece?” - “We can play anything you want. But let’s confer and choose a piece we both already know, if possible. Don’t worry, because I’ll help you. If you’re down, let’s practice during breaks and after school. Days before the event, we can get an excuse slip from the faculty so that we can practice, since we’re representing the school.” - ur stomach did a flip - “w-we’re representing the school???” - “uhh… yes???” - rhfekwnkjfsekfn you literally had every ounce of reason as to tell him no and carry on with life - but minho had never asked people for help, not even when he looked like he could really use some - you wondered just how bad it was for him to be on his knees like this - “I’ll try?” - minho’s face literally switched from zombie to the mcheckin’ SUN bc he started to gRin liKe A fOoL - “yesyesyesyesyes thank u!!! thank u so much!!” he placed a hand on your shoulder. “you don’t know how much this means to me. i’ll be sure to repay you well!!! let’s meet during breaks tomorrow so we can start?” - “if you can repay me by letting me be #1 for the rest of the year—” - “,,,, [y/n],,,,” - “im ½ kidding anyway sure see u i guess”

〔✿〕

- “okay, I’m going to need u to do more crescendo on this part” - “what do you mean” - “like, swell it more.” - “like this???” - you attempted to play the part minho’d instructed you to practice, but your hands were trembling - askjhfgdfjhahdsbjhasdjhad hoW DO U EVEN NOT SHAKE WHEN THE VIOLIN PRODIGY OF THE ENTIRE SCHOOL WAS RIGHT THERE - LIKE SURE U WERE RIVALS BUT NOT IN MUSIC,,, - u felt like u were WASTING his tIME - “uh, [y/n], your playing sounds too soft and hesitant” - “im so sorry aghhh” - gosh u didn’t know what to do like - u were panicking bc u kept messing up for the past 30 minutes,, ur hands were everywhere and u just couldn’t play properly - which made u even more panicky bc !!! u were fine when u were at home but suddenly u felt so inferior to the keys - “your hands are… shaking…” minho pointed out, tilting his head. “what’s wrong??” - EVERYTHING - “nothing!!” you lied. “just probably not my day,, I guess” - “[y/n] you’ve been trembling ever since we started this practice session.” - what even do u say to that - like,, at this point u just wanted to tell him sorry but ur too much of a wuss - that’s so embarrassing tho esp bc he might never let u live that down - ughhh u were conflicted and u couldn’t even hear what minho was saying - “[y/n]! you’re not paying attention!” - “I am!” - “I asked you what was wrong, and you’ve been staring at the piano for a full two minutes.” - “I’m sorry!” - “Stop apologizing if you’re not going to do anything about it!” - golly those words cut thru ur chest like a knife - hhhh as if you weren’t already so afraid and insecure - “I’m trying my best! Look, maybe you should just find a better pianist. I told you, I’m not cut out for this. Honestly, you’ll save yourself time.” - minho frowned. you were always so confident in everything else you did—academics, hobbies—but now you were so readily admitting defeat + bringing yourself down - lee knows when something’s up so he immediately places his violin down. “let’s take a walk.” - you sighed and closed the piano before following the boy outside - the sky had darkened already and the streetlamps illuminated the campus ground - minho tried to observe u but all u were doing was walking w ur hands in ur pockets, eyes fixated on the ground - your unconfident demeanor concerned him a little,,, - “hey, you sure nothing’s wrong??” - lmao he knew something was up but like,, he didn’t wanna seem imposing - “no, not really, but i’m telling you. you’re better off finding another accompanist…” - “you have to give me good reason as to drop you, if you’re so insistent.” - “Well!” you started. “look, I’ve practiced that same piece for two whole hours every day—just that piece—for the past three weeks and yet I can’t even play the first part without messing up somewhere. I know two hours might mean nothing to you, but I’ve been trying really, really hard, I swear. It’s so embarrassing because I’ve been able to perfect until the second page during my time, but whenever we meet, my hands literally betray me and won’t allow me to get past the third measure.” - you didn’t want him to see your face because you were actually this close to crying of frustration. “I’m sorry. I usually don’t give up so easily but I don’t want to hassle you for such an important thing. Sorry for wasting three weeks of your precious time,” you mumbled, trying to conceal your shaky voice. - oooohhh wheeze u wanted to bop yourself in the head bc ur eyes!!! were doing The ThingTM!!! the teary teary thing!!! in front of ur arch nemesis, lee minho !!!! ur pride !! was on the line !! - minho noticed u trying to avoid his gazes so he just stopped walking altogether - “Do I scare you?” he asked, halting his steps. - “What? Ew, no.” - “Then why are you so afraid to play?” - “I’m not afraid!” you insisted, pretending to scratch your eye in attempts to clear them of tears. - “Your hands shake and your notes sound unsure all the time. Do you expect me to believe it’s not fear? If it isn’t, then what is?” - “So maybe I am scared, what’s wrong with that?” you shot back, facing him this time. “Alright, fine! Maybe I feel inferior every time I lay my hands on the keys. Maybe I’m really insecure of the fact that I can’t seem to get things right. Maybe I am afraid!” - “You can’t just be afraid to make mistakes! That’s what’s making you hesitate every time we meet up, that you’ll mess up somewhere in the middle. You can’t keep thinking like that!” - “I know that! But it’s getting increasingly difficult to get that out of my head. I can’t help but think that if this whole thing flops, it’ll be because I messed up your flow.” - “Would you quit thinking that you’re below me?! Quit thinking you’re mediocre. If that’s your mindset for this competition, then mediocre’s all you’ll ever be. Give yourself a break!” - “That’s easy for you to say! You don’t screw up!” you yelled, gripping your fists. “I have to go, Minho. It’s getting late. Find yourself another pianist, please. I would not like to waste your time anymore.” - “[Y/N], I—” - “See you around.”

〔✿〕

- aghhh minho was so conflicted the next day - he didn’t know how he was going to find another accompanist but most importantly he didn’t know what he was going to do about you - he wasn’t the type of person to just drop people - he rlly wanted to talk to you but he couldn’t find you after classes - every time class would end, you’d bolt outta there with changbin - and when minho asked changbin where you’d went, changbin would make up some excuse that he didn’t know - !! he really needed to get you to get a grip, and fast - the competition was nearing already and it was too late to back out - deep down, minho knew how you were feeling and it made him even more determined to find you and get you out of your own head - he knew how it felt like to be afraid of the instruments - seeing how hard you worked but having it all washed away by insecurity made him really wanna throw hands @ those said insecurities bc he knew u !!! didn’t deserve this - but he couldn’t get a hold of you - he even tried to talk to you in class but u pretended like u were sleeping - “hell, woojin!! what do I do??!!” minho asked, fussing up his hair in frustration.

- woojin was part of the acapella group and mmMPH GIVE ME THAT MUSICIAN SOLIDARITY 😤😤😤😤😤 - woojin wisdom hours = open - “be gentle with her,” woojin spoke, taking a bite of his chicken lunch. “i think she’s the type of person who really needs gentleness at this point in your situation.” - “oh, for sure. but how do i even do anything if she won’t even talk to me??? she ‘slept’ in class, woojin. she never sleeps in class because the teacher might get mad and that would affect her grades. i checked out all her usual spots, but nothing!! before i came here, i even asked the lunch lady if [y/n] passed by, but she didn’t. which is totally weird because she always gets those little rice ball snacks from the lunch lady when its available!!!” - woojin squinted his eyes. “you sure know an awful lot about [y/n].” - “?? Of course?? I keep tabs on my enemies??” - “…chan is in third place in ranking. do you know what he eats during lunch??” - minho started to sweat. “w-we worked on a project in the library, okay?? [y/n] and I have had some time to talk!! in my defense, i know all of chan’s test scores!!!” - “you know everyone’s test scores, minho.” - “what even are you trying to get at??” - “I’m just saying, you know lots about [y/n] for being her archenemy.” - “Oh, he was watching her like a hawk during class earlier. It was weird,” Chan announced, taking a seat on the floor next to Minho. “And for the record, I usually have rice toppings for lunch. But that’s not something I usually tell people.” - “I wasn’t watching her like a hawk!” - “why u always lyin,,,” - “chan i am going to vore you” - “Calm down bro, you know it’s true. Why’re you so adamant, though?” Chan questioned, stuffing his mouth with food. - “I just need to talk to her. She wants to back out being my accompanist because she’s insecure about her playing. But where else am I going to get an accompanist this late?” Minho sighed, taking a bite of his sandwich after. - “What piece are you playing?” - “Romanze Op. 4, Kriesler.” - woojin raised a brow and chan had to restrain himself in attempts not to choke of laughter - “You must be desperate, considering you’re fighting for your nemesis to talk to you,” Chan commented, biting his lip. - Minho gave Chan a playful shove. “Don’t word it like that! You know that this competition is important!” - “Shoot her a message. Get a teacher to help you. Bribe Changbin with food,” Woojin suggested. - “Whatever… I’ll figure it out. Let’s get going. Class is about to start.” - the rest of the day passed and minho thought of a plan to corner u after class - he just - he could not just !! let u go off like that. to see his rival being this defeated was kinda concerning - but just as classes ended and he prepped himself to go to you - the last subject teacher approached him to discuss something - rip minho n his plans - press f to pay respects - f - after being the last one out, he just kinda slumped back and slowly made his way to the music room - he really needed to talk to u but his chances flew out of the window - just as he stepped into the music building, he heard some piano playing from the main music hall - it was odd, minho thought, because rarely anyone would touch the grand piano there - before going in, he listened to the playing and wow,, he was impressed - the lee minho, violin genius boy, impressed - the way the majors and minors danced together to one melody sounded just - ugh - beautiful - it was tchaikovsky’s December, the waltz - the playing felt lighthearted, as the player took some expressive liberties - but even so, the interpretation of the piece was really fantastic and even made minho grin a little at the memory of Christmas -his heart did a little leap bc yes!!!! He could ask this person to play for him considering the chances of u coming back to him was sorta crushed… and this person had wonderful playing - just as he peeped into the main music hall, a familiar sound resonated throughout - it was the accompaniment to the piece you were supposed to play with him - and the person who was sitting behind the piano playing it… was ofc none other than you - let’s get it reader babe - he didn’t want you to stop, so he hid behind the wall once again and just listened - you started to play, letting the music fill your soul and overflowing to the tips of your fingers - e v e rything was on point - the proper tempo, the proper feel - minho was surprised because this - this person playing behind the wall in the music hall wasn’t the hesitant, doubtful pianist he practiced with - this was a free musical spirit in full control of the instrument - of course, your playing got a little wonky once you carried on, but you still managed to continue reasonably until the end. Some of the latter parts needed lots of work, but it was okay!! - you managed to hit the right end note, too!! WHEEZE U WERE SO HAPPY U DIDN’T FAIL MISERABLY @ THAT END NOTE - when you finished, you started going over the parts you needed work on - you didn’t notice minho approaching you until you heard a voice come - “I thought you said you only perfected until the second page?” minho asked, resting his elbow on the top of the grand piano - you were REALLY STARTLED - U ALMOST FELL OUT OF THE PIANO SEAT - AKAJDSKDHASJDHKASHDS WHAT WERE U GOING TO DO - “h-how long have you been listening in?” - “From the start of your Tchaikovsky piece.” - AJSLDKJAKSJDKASDJKASK U WANTED TO HIDE IN A HOLE - U COULDN’T EVEN COME UP W A COHERENT REPLY??? - luckily ya boi lee knows what to do ( ͡~ ͜ʖ ͡°) - sorry I cant go 1000 words w/o mentioning that pun im sorry - minho opened his violin case and took out his instrument. “let’s start from the beginning, shall we? don’t be afraid to make mistakes. i’ll just be here, and we can go over the parts you want to as many times as you want, okay? slowly first, one, two…” - you guys started out okay, but you fumbled up a bit on the second page and minho noticed that your shoulders were kinda riding up - he stopped and walked over to you, placing a hand on your shoulders and giving them a gentle pat. “relax your shoulders. they’re tense. don’t worry, we’ll fix it. again,” he instructed, standing right beside you - even if he was beside you, you suddenly felt all anxiousness lift off - there was something about his tone and his demeanor that just!! made u feel sorta safe ?? - u ended up doing well until minho said to repeat the part!! To which u did well again!! - U SMILED A LIL’ AND MINHO SAW IT BUT HE SAID NOTHING N CONTINUED - did he resist the urge to smile, too??? HELL YEA BROTHA - you guys practiced and practiced and practiced anD PRACTICED - nonstop nonst00p - you decided to take a break and checked the time after a long time of just repeating and repeating certain parts then playing all those parts together - ur eyes widened when u saw that a wh0le tw0 hoURS HAD GONe By - like b r o u DIDN’T EVEN FEEL THE TIME PASS - WERENT U FLUSTERED BY MINHO’S SUDDEN APPEARANCE LIKE,, 2 MINUTES AGO - wHy diDN’t U NOTice - ur arms and fingers were kinda tired so u both decided to take a break and walk around campus - lmao it was already like 6 o’clock and it was getting dark outside - “we need to polish the notes after the piece’s halfway point,” minho told you, walking towards a vending machine. “there are still lots of phrases where we fumble up. On page four, where your left hand does the arpeggios, you forget to do the dynamics.” - “Sure, sure. Oh, and in the part where you have rubato, you kinda sound angry.” - “I do?” - “Yeah. I mean, I don’t really know, but like, that’s just the vibe. I could be wrong, though,” you told him, stopping in front of the vending machine. - “No, no, I’ll keep in mind. Want anything?” he offered, pointing to the vending machine. - “Can you press for grape soda? Hold on, I’m just going to fish for my money,” you answered, reaching into your pockets. - Minho pressed one button for grape soda and one button for strawberry milk. “No, it’s okay. I put my money in already.” - “Take it, it’s not like I can’t pay you back.” You held out your money. - Minho reached for the drinks that fell out. “I refuse. This one’s on me.” - u almost droPPed UR MONEY - “bro??? u ok, pal?? r ok w/ u treating ur arch nemesis???” - he let out a little minho laugh (HIS SOFT MINHO GIGGLE OMG). “well, you’re kinda my partner now, so…let’s put the nemesis title on hiatus.” - he placed the cold grape soda can in your hands. “u-uh,, thanks minho!!” you said, flabbergasted @ his actions - WHY WAS MINHO BEING SO NICE??? (,,꒪꒫꒪,,) (,,꒪꒫꒪,,) - lee minho?? n i c e??? in THIS economy?? - U WERE SO CONFUSED - lmao phat mood sis - you guys walked around in comfortable silence for a little bit, enjoying the bit of breeze and fresh air while sipping on your drinks - y’all ended up sitting down on a bench in the courtyard, jus chillin’ - minho decided to steal a glance from you for a bit - BIG MISTAKE - a small smile was playing on your lips as you looked up at the sky drinking your grape soda - you tucked some stray hairs waving in your face because of the wind, and hhhHHHOLY HECK MINHO’S HEART STARTED TO DO THE TTUGS TTUGS BOOM BOOM - were u always that attractive before??????? like??? Maybe ITS JUST THE STREETLIGHTS PLAYING TRICKS ON HIS EYES - u felt the power of his stare and u turned to face him. In a quiet voice, you mumbled, “minho? is there something on my face?” - beauty, probably - “u-uh!! No!!” he blinked, whipping his head literally anywhere else - “oh, alright then,,” u were kinda bashful bc like?? Uh,,,, why was he staring at u - MINHO WANTED TO BOP HIMSELF IN THE FACE LIKE !! WHATS THIS - HE WAS PANICKING BC HE KNOWS THAT HE KNOWS THAT HE KNOWS WHAT THESE HEARTBEAT SHENANIGANS ARE IMPLYING - too soon, heart, too soon - !!! FEW MONTHS AGO HIS HEART BEAT IN ANGER TOWARDS U BUT THIS,,, DIDN’T FEEL LIKE ANGER - or maybe it did?? BC U WERE DOING SMTH 2 HIM N MAKING HIM FEEL THESE E M O TI O NS - he felt like he betrayed himself!!! why couldn’t he come up with some genius, witty remark at this time?? WHERE WERE HIS FLIRTING POWERS?? - “let’s head back!!” he said, standing up and walking towards the music building - he squeezed the last remaining bits out of his milk cartoon and SUCKED WHATEVER LAST DROPS HE COULD GET - ‘mmMMM STRAWBERRY MILK IS DELICIOUS,, ITS NOT LIKE MY HEARTRATE’S GOING LOCO RN MAYBE I SHOULD TAKE MY BLOOD PRESSURE WHEN I GET BACK HOME’ was all he could think - ?? u were so bamboozled. “minho, you’re walking too fast,, wait for me” - “i’m not fast, you’re just really slow!!” - when you two reached the music hall again, minho zipped UP HIS STUFF LIKE LIGHTINING - “See you next Monday, [y/n]!!! practice well!!!” - he z00000med outta there - yeeted outta that place - that night, he threw himself on his bed, screaming incoherently - soonie and doongie didn’t even know what to do with their human brother - but?? They tried?? To console him with small ‘meows’??? - “Soonie, Doongie, your brother’s super mad. [y/n], my rival, did something really bad again today. She just!! decided that it was okay to look cute under the dim lights of the campus??? Like??? excuse??? Me?? that was so rude, don’t u think??” - soonie gave a ‘bro-u-srs’ face and doongie just meowed in disappointment - big same soonie and doongie - “doN’T GIVE ME THAT FACE, SOONIE!! U KNOW THAT IT’S UPSETTING!!” - soonie just… hopped off minho’s bed - ‘i-can’t-take-u-any-longer-hyung’ - “NOO!! SOONIE COME BACK!! Doongie, help me!!” - doongie meowed again, crawled to the foot of minho’s bed, and took a nap - “why won’t my siblings love me???” was all minho could say before shutting off the lights and drifting off to dreamland

〔✿〕

- “you’re starting to like him, aren’t u” - “shut ur mouth hole changbin and help me pick out an outfit for the concert!!!” - “the concert’s two weeks away, why r u doing that now??!!” - “BECAUSE ITS 2 WEEKS AWAY??” - “anyway stop dodging my statements. Minho’s warming up 2 ur heart n u know it” - “changbin u wanna like,, get out of my house” - “uhhh?? Do u wanna like,, start admitting that ur rival isn’t even really ur rival now considering that u guys literally do everything together now” - “excuse me I do everything with you!!” - “not anymore u don’t” - “what are u talking about??” - “u study together,, take breaks together,, spend after school together,,,” - “that’s because u don’t like helping me with acads and I need to spend as much time as possible practicing for the compet!!” - “k but r u sure u don’t have a thing for him. Like, u don’t consider him cute??” - “changbin, no one could be cuter than u.” - “um,, of course?? I’m your binsual always and forever, but that doesn’t mean you don’t think minho’s cute.” - “t-that’s!!!” - you turned to face changbin, cheeks warming up. U could not lie 2 ur best friend,, he’d know immediately - “don’t even think of lying to me, [y/n]. u know its physically impossible.” - “so what if he’s cute?? Chan’s cute, Woojin’s cute,, you’re cute. Do I like any of you?? no!!” - “whatever, [y/n]. once u admit to me that you’re starting to catch feelings for violin boy, u owe me a chicken night out.” - “no I don’t!!!” - “but you’ll want to because u’ll wanna ramble about ur undying love for ur arch nemesis” - “GET OUT OF MY HOUSE, SEO CHANGBIN” - “no thank u”

〔✿〕

- your breath was hitching and your palms were excreting buckets of sweat the more time passed on - once you got to the venue for your performance, you kinda just - f r o z e - today was d-day, love, and u were just,,,, so unsettled - you tried to shove off your nervousness away but it wasn’t that easy - anyway, minho saw you from a distance and started to approach you - but like,, the nearer he got, the clammier he felt f0r some REASON - HHHHH HOLY CRAP YO - “[y-y/n]?” his words came out with a little bit of a stutter and he wanted to scream - minho fighting - you turned around and hollllly moly did lee minho always look THIS gorgeous?? - his hair was fixed so his forehead was seen and overall gave off a fresh, clean look - the first few buttons were undone on the black polo he wore, showing off a lil’ bit of his collarbones - oooo my heck sklkaslklaklsklskldsklaskdajkdljk he looked spicy - “oh, hi minho,” you greeted, waving - “you look rather pretty today,” he grinned, giving you some kinda smug look - but inside, his heart was like - SLKLSDAJLKASJDKLAJSHKDJASHJKSAHKJDSLKAHJKFSGJDHKJFKAHDLKJDGHFDSDFGHJKLKJ - he was a flustered mess inside but like,,, it’s lee minho everyone - how else would he try to cope other than being smirky - “I can say the same to you,” you answered, not wanting to give in to his charm - ugh,, we stan competitive people!!! <<333 - anyway, yall walked to the holding rooms to wait for the concert/competition to start - you took out your lil’ finger exerciser mechanism thing - I don’t know what it’s called but basically it’s just an object with some knobs you can push down with your fingers as you hold it in your palm,,, its to exercise the fingers and some musicians use it askjalskjdalkjdla lmao - you guys were eleventh in the lineup, but once the competition started, you started really freaking out - minho was practicing one final time but he noticed that your eyes were glued to the floor like you always did when something was up and you were kinda gripping your finger exerciser thingy unnecessarily hard - he immediately stopped and walked over to you, put his violin down, bent to the floor, and stared u straight in ur eyes - “hey,” he started, softly, “look at me.” - you did as you were told, but your breath was still unstable and your heart was palpitating - “minho—” - “When we get up on that stage, I want you to forget that we’re in a competition. I want you to focus on nothing but just savoring the moment and letting the music that’s deep in your soul just burst out. And if you ever feel, even for a moment, a pang of hesitation, I want you to look at me and remind yourself that you are not alone up there. I’m with you, I’m your partner.” - just then, he took away your little finger exerciser and replaced it with his own hands, intertwining your fingers with his - “I don’t care if we don’t win, hell, I don’t care what the crowd will think. I just want to play a song for you, with you. Let’s dance, [y/n]. Please let my melody waltz with yours.” - you gripped his hands a little tighter, observing the intricate details. His palms were pudgy and soft, but the tips of his fingers were rough and calloused. Nevertheless, there was something about those hands that made you feel a sense of relief, a sense of serenity. - “okay,” you answered, looking at his chocolate eyes. - “When we get there, forget about being perfect. Let’s just let loose and play whatever we feel a ‘Romanze’ is.” - just then, the organizers called you to head towards the side of the stage to line up for your performance - despite standing up and heading there, minho didn’t let go of your hand - it was just a simple gesture he wanted to convey, that this stage was to be shared by you both and that he and you were now a tandem. - all waits eventually come to an end, and so did yours. after a soloist finished their piece, it was finally your turn - he still,,, didn’t let go of your hand,, as u bowed to the crowd,,,, - minho… a sweetie… - it was only when you turned to head to the piano did he gently let your hands fall apart, but he gave you a reassuring smile and mouthed ‘let’s do this’ - you settled into the piano seat and looked at minho for the cue - and you were off - it started off quietly, but immediately you started to pour out your soul - with every crescendo, every vibrato, you just let the music in your heart overflow to the tips of your fingers - and you’d periodically steal a glance from minho to let him know you were still with him - he smiled and you both just followed each other, matching each other’s pace and vibe perfectly - when I say perfectly, I mean PERFECTLY - the atmosphere was a canvas that was to be painted upon with the color of music - as if one artist, you two splashed the vibrant color of your Romanze - the sound of the piano took the sound of the violin in hand, dancing steadily and beautifully together - as you reached the end, you took one more glance at minho and locked eyes. - that’s when you let the music fade away, lingering in the air as you both raised your hands from your instruments - There was no applause. - but it was alright. - minho walked over and took you in his hands once again, faced the audience, and bowed - it was only then the audience realized,,, wow,,,,, you guys were finished - one clap melted into a chorus of applause - you spotted changbin and your family jumping in the front seats and u COULDN’T HELP BUT SMILE LIKE AN IDIOT - its worth noting that changbin was screaming his head off, too - “YESSSS!!!!! [Y/N]!!!!!! QUEEEEEEEEEEEEEEENNNN!!!! MINHO!!!! LEGENDS!!!” - one by one, people started to stand - you were CONFUSED - U TURNED TO MINHO AND WENT ALL LIKE,,, “????” - he just gave you the BIGGEST sunshine grin and led you offstage - when u reached the backstage, u just,, took one look at that same sunshine grin and couldn’t hold it in anymore - you engulfed minho in a tight embrace, letting a laugh tickle the air - “minho!!!!” you squealed. “w-we… we did it!!!!” - much to your surprise,, he didn’t shove you away in disgust, but he started to hug you just as tight - in fact, he sorta just picked u off from the floor and hug-carried u to the holding rooms - “we did, we did,” he laughed, letting his forehead rest on yours. - he was rlly close but u didn’t rlly mind,, u were just so happy - you could see the light bounce of his irises and ugh it was beautiful - “[y/n], I’m so proud of you.” - “Thank you so much for believing in me when I could barely believe in myself. I owe so much to my family, Changbin, you—but mostly you. I really appreciate how you invited me and even talked me out of my trance. And you held my hand; you don’t know how much I needed that. Really, thank you so much. I’m so happy right now.” - “Wait, can we sit down? My legs hurt from standing so much,” Minho requested, pulling away from you. - actually it was not because his legs hurt,, son,, his CHEST HURT - HIS HEART WAS DOING FLIPS AND FLOPS AND HE MIGHT HAVE REALLY ENDED UP SCREAMING - anyway u guys sat down on the couches that were available in your holding room, sitting a few inches away from each other - out of nowhere, minho just yelled, “AAAAAAAHHHH!!” - ????????? u looked at him, absolutely confounded - “minho??? why’d u scream??” - “oh nothing I just wanted to” - u were like?????? ????? ok??? - “can we take a cute pic?? I need to post this on my Instagram,” he asked, pulling out his phone - “o hell yea!!” - he opened up his camera and told u to pick a filter - “bro I promise SN*W has like,, the cutest filters ever can we pls take one with this cherry filter,, SIKE I WANT THE ONE WITH THE DANK GLASSES” you exclaimed - minho made a double chin and u gave a korean heart to the camera - “absolutely stunning. this pic overflows w/ visual power,” minho commented, picking another one. “okay, now can we take one w this rlly cute cat filter see look at this OH DAMN,,, LOOK,, SEE HOW CUTE MY FACE LOOKS” minho announced - “lee minho why are we friends??” you asked, smiling for minho’s selfie - “because im cute and everyone knows it” - “whatever,, please send me the selfies so I have my own copy,” you chuckled, “can u take pics of me actually?? It’s rare for me to be dressed this nice so I’d like to take advantage. Let’s head outside for a bit so we can get those aesthetic outdoor backgrounds!!” - minho got up in like, 0.2 seconds - “hell yea!!! I love that!! U gotta snap pics of me, too!!!” - long story short yall went out while the other contestants performed and started taking pictures of each other - “[y/n], please get my good side” - “shut up, lee!!! It’s hard to take photos when im on the ground tryna get u @ a good angle” - “actually, nevermind. just take as many photos as u can because ALL my angles are good anyway ;))))” - anyway ur lil photoshoot sesh was short,, just 10 mins before yall headed back to chill in the holding rooms again - u guys started to talk about random things like minho’s dancing hobby and your catastrophic friendship with seo changbin - “one time, when we were kids,, I caught changbin crying bc he accidentally left his stuffed munchlax in his house when we were on vacation” - “ok but have u heard his music, [y/n]??? 3racha SLAPS” - “im his best friend, u idiot,, I get pre-release privileges to spear.b’s hottest new drops” - “im going to hunt u down for them” - “shut up ur friends w chan u can just ask him” - while talking, you guys listened to the other performers who were also!! Super good - there was this one violin duo that heckn,,, RocKED THE STAGE OMG,,, - anyway time flew by and u were once again called to line up @ backstage - wheeze,,, they were announcing the winners already - minho started to sweat and even if u heard him saying he didn’t really care about the win, u knew it would mean a lot to him - poor baby looked nervous - so u did His Thing and grabbed his hand reassuringly - he almost JUMPED but he immediately softened up and mouthed a ‘thank u’ - one by one, contestants were called upon the stage - until it got to the top three - you guys waited… so tensely… - … - but ur names were never called ;; ____ ;; - when the first place winner was announced, u saw minho’s eyes turn from being hopeful to being absolutely defeated - u were about to give him a hug but then yall heard another announcement - “But wait!!! We wanted to give out a special award for the performers who captured the audience’s hearts!! During the intermission, we asked you to vote your favorite performance, and we’re announcing that now!! Ladies and gents, would you please give it up for… … miss [L/N][F/N] and Lee Minho!!!” - AKDSKLDJAKLDJLSKAJDL MINHO’S EYES GREW WIDER THAN PLATES - !!! THE AUDIENCE AWARD?? WAS JUST AS PRESTIGIOUS AS A TOP 3 AWARD - u had to drag him out of backstage so u could accept the award - cue changbin and ur families SCREAMING their heads off AGAIN - changbin almost fell down trying to yell, press f for respects - u engulfed minho in a gigantic hug again and u swore there was some dust in ur eyes that made some tears pop - its ok minho had some ‘dust’ in his eyes also - when u guys went offstage again,, you told minho, “c’mon!! our families are waiting for us, let’s have dinner together.” - “wait!!” he piped up, grabbing your hands. “listen, i need to tell u something. I promised myself that I would if we won something.” - u were like,,, okay,,, sure,,, - “I never got to thank you for helping me out that day. Honestly, I was really hoping you’d say yes. When you told me you wanted to drop out, I felt something telling me that I couldn’t just let you go like that. You worked really hard, and I really wanted to see you have it pay off,” he began, ears turning the slightest shade of pink, “and I also wanted to say that these past months have really been meaningful to me. I know we didn’t have the best start, but after the library thing—which, oh damn, has been like,, so long ago—I realized that you weren’t such a bad person. For the past months we’ve been practicing together… I-I… sorta super enjoyed it. And now, at this very moment on this very night, I’ve come to accept that I really, really like you after a period of fighting with myself. I… I just wanted to tell you because I might not get the chance when things go back to normal and we do our own things in school.” - u lips. parted like the red sea - “Holy crap, I thought I was the one going crazy,” you whispered, “I thought it was weird because I, too, liked the guy that constantly threatens my grades…” - “wait wh-“ - you nodded. “yeah… I really thought I was ballistic… but yes. I really appreciate how you didn’t give up on me. There’s just… something… I really liked working side-by-side with you. And I genuinely enjoyed the moments I had with you. I’ve also been fighting with myself to accept that I kinda have a thing for you—but thank you so much for lifting me up when I didn’t believe in myself.” - AKJASKLAJDLKAJSLKDJASLKDJASLK IT WAS AT THIS POINT MINHO WOULD USUALLY SAY SMTH COCKY BUT NO. U, DEAR READER, HAD RENDERED THE BOY SPEECHLESS AND HE WAS REALLY ABOUT TO MELT HIS HEART WAS GOING AT 4419 MILES PER HOUR - he leaned in towards you, staring at your eyes with terribly red cheeks - “Can I??” - you nodded, and that’s when minho closed the gap between u two - the kiss was very sweet and tender, lasting only for a couple of seconds before minho lost it and dropped to the floor in a screaming mess - “[Y/N] U CANT JUST DO THAT!!!!! AKLSKDJLKASJDHGSHGDLKASJDLA HELPPPPPPP” - “MINHO, PLEASE. DON’T DIRTY UR CLOTHES, WE’RE GOING TO HAVE FAMILY DINNER” - he eventually got up and headed out with you to greet your adoring fans (aka ur families who were holding bouquets of flowers for yall and a sCREAMING changbin) - but once again, he decided to enclose his hand in yours. - It was a gentle reminder of how much you meant to him. He didn’t feel like it was a sudden splurge of emotions, nor did he feel like he was just being tricked by this emotional high. He just knew, by the steady hum in his heart, that being with you truly, truly made him a better person. - Maybe it was the way you seemed to match his music, maybe it was the way you both inspired each other to keep being better, maybe it was the way your eyes crinkled as you smiled, maybe it was the way you hugged him like he was the only person in the world. - Whatever it was, he loved to be with you. - Because you felt like home.

〔✿〕

Bonus: - “woOOOOOOOOOOOO I GET A CHICKEN NIGHT OUT!!!” changbin hollered at u, shaking ur shoulders - “shut up!!! U don’t!!!!” - “I do!!!! U finally admitted u have a thing for him!!! Let’s get chicken!!!!!!!!” - u stared at changbin in disgust, looked at minho for help, but all he could do was laugh his lil’ minho laugh damn - did u sign up for this?? No - But sometimes, it just happens.

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braveskyered · 5 years

Text

Knights (Part 8)

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7

Arthur spends time with Gwen and Percy like a good dad should. Sure, Arthur has made mistakes, but I'd say he's a great father.

At least he's better compared to some...

Part 8: You’ve Got My Soul on Fire Tonight

- - -

“Well, Gwen, your turn. What do you think?”

“It's... a loose fuse. We'll... need to replace that?”

“Very good. I'm proud of you.”

“What about me, Dad?”

“You'll have your turn at the next car, Percy,” Arthur resisted the urge to roll his eyes in amusement at Percy's annoyed pout.

Gwen has become much more confident in herself, and her speech impediment has dramatically improved thanks to attending multiple speech therapy classes. She loved maintaining cars alongside her father and has a knack for robotics and welding, often helping Arthur with the maintenance of his prosthetic arm. Her love on the color gray never waned, often wearing dark gray sweaters and skirts with black stockings and white shoes. Sometimes she would wear a white tee over the sweaters if she felt decorative, or gray overalls over white shirts if she felt adventurous. She often wore her hair back with a white headband that contrasts well with her black hair. Occasionally, if she wanted to add some variety, she would add a blue ribbon or a gray scarf, or would place a small blue circle pin that used to belong to Arthur so many years ago.

He isn't really sure why he kept it.

Percy had mellowed down on his tendency for pranks, instead focusing on how to use technology to go past its limit. He would find old computers at second hand stores with Arthur to find and pick apart so he can learn how they worked before building computers from scratch. He also has a knack for programming, and would often work with Arthur or his grandmother Caelia into writing or finding the best programs to get their online business running or handling the more recent car model that often have computers within them. His color preference is mixed, often going for a mix of yellow-orange or purple while wearing semi-formal clothing. He often preferred to wear pressed white shirts with a purple overcoat with a thin yellow scarf. Every now and then, he would wear a familiar skull pin on his vest that Arthur used to wear so long ago.

Why did he keep that one? He's no longer a part of it.

For Arthur, it's hard to believe that the twins are seven years old now, in the First grade in school, and here they are, within the private garage of Four of a Kind Queens, trying their hardest to make him proud by trying to identify parts or problems in car engines with him.

It made him feel like he isn't a failure as a father to his two little mechanics.

The new year has already started, and once the holidays were over, it was time for the Knights family to return to work, and school reopens. During the winter vacation, Arthur took the time to teach the twins about the repair work Four of a Kind Queens is known for, and would occasionally find broken toys or various damaged items to bring back and challenge them to see if they can fix them. Sometimes the twins are able to fix something, sometimes they can't, and that's perfectly fine.

“It's gonna be so boring when we go back to school,” Percy groaned, “The teacher there don't make it anywhere as fun as you do, Dad. I mean, everything in class is just so easy, it's boring! It's all stuff you've already showed us to do!”

Arthur rose a brow, recalling that Percy is often considered a troublemaker in the classroom. Whether it's drawing in class or fidgeting in his seat, Arthur noticed that if Percy isn't doing something to keep himself occupied, he gets antsy. He thought back to seeing Percy's report card along with Gwen's, and both have solids As on all subjects, except for the notes from their teacher saying they're too antsy at times, Percy more often than Gwen.

Maybe he should talk to Elaine about this later, maybe see if they can be moved to a class that will challenge them. Although...

“You know, Percy, in that sentence, it's 'The teacher there doesn't make it anywhere as fun,'” Arthur grinned, “Want to look at the next car? Last one for today, and it's your turn now.”

“Finally!”

“Percy, my car only took like five minutes!” Gwen protested.

Arthur turned away from the twins for a moment to conceal his lips twitching with laughter. It definitely felt strange at first whenever the twins argue over something like this, but he supposed it could've been worse.

“No way, it felt like hours!”

A wave of heat suddenly passed through Arthur, disorienting him. The section of his left arm where metal met flesh felt warm, nearly hot. He turned, and nearly froze at what he saw in front of him.

...A large golden-colored fox? Why are there little white flames floating around--?

The fangs sinking into his arm.

Arthur managed to suppress most of the fear, but then he felt light-headed, and before he knew it, the world was spinning as his vision blurred from the heat. He held a hand against his head, trying to regain focus.

Why does it feel so hot? Why can't he move his left arm?

“Dad?!”

“Daddy?!”

The voices of Gwen and Percy crying out were the last he heard before everything went black.

- - - - - - -

Arthur knew that he isn't wanted here.

Some of the Deadbeats would occasionally try to spook him every now and then, but over time he hardly reacted to them due to his own self-loathing.

The punishment from the wraith was painful this time, too. Two separate burns that resembled a handprint on his right forearm and left shoulder. He always spoke politely whenever Vivi was around, but as soon as she left and the two were alone...

He bit his lip, finally letting the fact sink in his brain with a heavy heart that this haunted manor that Lewis had conjured for them, isn't his home.

It's the home of Vivi, Lewis, and Mystery. This is the home of the Mystery Skulls.

Not Arthur's.

He glanced up at the hallway of the manor, then turned away to head back to the room that Arthur had claimed as a workshop and bedroom of sorts. Of course, he had to pass through the hallway that had those six painting ghosts, but while the Lawyer often spat out words that basically told Arthur to jump off that cliff in the cave and die like the vermin he is, the other paintings silently watched him pass. If Arthur hadn't known any better, he could've sworn that he saw the Woman, the Wrestler, and even the Priest give him what seemed to be a look of pity.

...As if.

Arthur entered the room that he had claimed, or rather, was designated as his by the wraith, which he figured was the room farthest away from Vivi's, and wrapped his fingers around the handle of his backpack. Before he realized it, he was packing some clean clothes as if he was going to be gone for a week when in reality he would only be gone for a day or two. There isn't really much in here to be honest, when most of his possessions are still at Kingsmen Mechanics.

He didn't want to be here.

He couldn't tell Vivi about the wraith punishing him when she was so happy to have everyone back together again. She is the one that kept things from falling apart the first time, and she intends to let it stick after getting Lewis back.

He couldn't be here.

He thought about it, and once mentioned to Vivi and Lewis that he should probably leave the Mystery Skulls.

“Wait, what?”

Why did this have to happen...

“If you're not happy here, then just leave!”

That... didn't turn out as well as he thought it would. The hand print burns he received from the wraith after Vivi and Mystery left, the former in tears, after their argument can attest to that. He looked at his hands, and narrowed his eyes in disgust at the metal that make up his left arm. The arm that fell to the demon's control, the arm that caused everything to go wrong, the arm that took away Lewis's life.

Why?

Why did this have to happen?

He thought that with the truth revealed to everyone a few weeks ago, after the wraith nearly accomplished mission he was so hellbent on achieving, things would go back to normal.

But after today, Arthur knew that it isn't meant to be.

Gritting his teeth a little to keep himself from breaking down, Arthur proceeded to finish packing all the clothes and tools he knew he will need. If the others here needed any of his tools while he's gone, then... well, that's their problem.

His phone vibrated, and he went to check it, it showed that he received a text from Uncle Lance saying that he is on his way to pick him up. Uncle Lance had sent him a text earlier today that asked him to come help at Kingsmen Mechanics for a week if he could. Arthur frowned slightly, thinking about it somewhat, then sent a reply saying that he will work the hours.

He donned his long-sleeved orange jacket to hide the wounds, grabbed his backpack, and left the room. He ignored the paintings and the Deadbeats, and walked towards the main front door of the manor.

“Arthur? Where are you going?”

Arthur nearly froze, then slowly turned to see Vivi walking towards him, concern on her face.

“Arthur, if it's about earlier, please, I don't want-”

“Uncle Lance needs me to help him at the shop for about a week,” Arthur spoke over her, “If all goes well, I should be back by next Thursday.”

Saying it, he isn't so sure. This isn't his home, after all.

Vivi looked hurt, which made Arthur's chest tighten with guilt. She didn't deserve this, she didn't deserve to have her life ruined by him any more than it already has. She had already lost Lewis once, lost a good portion of her memory involving him, and just now she has Lewis back in her life, slowly falling in love with him again.

She held the Mystery Skulls together, better than he could.

“Arthur, you don't need to leave,” Vivi reached out to him, “We can talk this out. I'm so sorry you're feeling like this. If there's anything I can do, please tell me. I just want everything to go back the way it once was.”

Arthur stepped away from her, not daring to invoke the wraith's wrath. The wraith didn't like it when Arthur had physical contact with Vivi, even if she was the one to reach out.

“Vivi?”

Dread went through Arthur's body like lightning, and he struggled to keep a straight face as he saw Lewis in his human form approach while being followed by Mystery. To Arthur's surprise, Lewis actually looked... concerned?

“What's going on?”

Arthur's phone buzzed, which he quickly checked and saw a text from Uncle Lance saying that he has arrived, thankful for the opportunity to escape, he turned to the front door. For some reason, Lewis looked genuinely concerned, with no trace of malice whatsoever.

He figured the wraith is just really good at acting as Lewis.

But Lewis, the kind and caring friend Arthur had known before everything went wrong, is long gone.

“I have to get going, Uncle Lance is here,” he turned to the front door, “I'll let you know when I'm done helping at the shop.”

A lie. He is not coming back here.

She tried to reach out, “Arthur, you don't need to leave, we can talk this out. We just--”

Arthur opened the door leading outside.

Lewis, still acting concerned, tried to reach out, “Arthur--!”

Vivi pleaded with him, “Please...”

“Don't go!”

He stepped away from Lewis's hand and walked out. He didn't bother listening to them anymore as he shut the door behind him. He spotted Uncle Lance's truck on the front yard and jogged towards it, ignoring the noise in the manor behind him. Wait. Now that he thought about it, how did his uncle come out here so quickly?

He didn't care, he's just happy to get out of this hell. He knew that he deserved all the punishment for being the cause of Lewis's death, but it didn't mean that he wanted it. He isn't looking forward to going back there in a week, because some of the bruises still hurt when he moves his arms in a certain way. It still hurt for his arm to reach up higher than his head.

Arthur got into the truck, trying to ignore the look of concern on his uncle's face, only acknowledging the latter's quiet greeting with a weak nod.

...Now he just needs to find a way to hide the injuries and scars from Uncle Lance while he's working.

- - - - - - -

Something roused Arthur from the memory of the last time he saw the Mystery Skulls.

The first thing that came to him was muffled sound, he could faintly hear the panicked cries and howls of a familiar voice while another voice tried to sound comforting. The sensation of touch then returned to him, the heat still permeating through his body, but he felt something cool on his forehead. Arthur waited for his senses to come back, and he started to try moving his fingers. His right hand obeyed, but he didn't sense any movement from his left.

Right... if he fell unconscious, then it's only natural that someone would take off his left arm. He would've had nightmares had he kept it on, and Elaine knew that.

What exactly happened again? He tried to remember. He recalled giving Gwen and Percy opportunities to look at some cars he was repairing for customers to see if they can find what's wrong with them. It was a way to bond with them, while at the same time teach them the civilian family trade.

Despite some senses returning to him, Arthur still felt numb. He could barely move his fingers, and suddenly the sense of smell returned. He thought he smelled something cooking, but couldn't quite recognize the scent as it was too faint to tell. Was it close to dinner time? He really wanted to move to help Elaine with the meal prep. It was one of the few slow activities he truly enjoyed doing with her outside of robotics.

Arthur struggled to open his eyes, and eventually did so after some time. As his vision became clear, he realized that he is in his bedroom. He didn't recall going to bed, though. Was he that tired? He looked around, and saw that Elaine isn't in the bed beside him. He then glanced at the clock on the nightstand to his right and saw that the time was past four in the afternoon. If he recalled correctly, the time was around...

Eleven in the morning?!

He tried to sit up, and found that it took great effort to do so, especially since he only has his right arm to work with. He decided to take it slow to keep a head rush from occurring, and noticed a slightly damp washcloth falling off from his forehead. He noticed that he could move his legs, so he slowly scooted himself back against the bed frame to get into a sitting position.

Where's Gwen and Percy?

“Arthur.”

He heard the jubilant tone of Elaine's voice, and when he turned to look at the door, he saw her looking relieved as she approached.

“You're finally awake,” she breathed a laugh of relief and embraced him, “I'm so glad. How are you feeling?”

Arthur returned the hug with his only arm, “A little disoriented, but I'm all right. Do you have any idea what happened? The last thing I remember is teaching the twins in the shop, and then suddenly it was so hot.”

Elaine grimaced as she let go, “Uh... about that. Do you remember when I told you that in my family bloodline, our power usually awakens once we reach the age of ten?”

He nodded.

“Well, Percy... somehow got his powers early. We didn't think he'd be capable of getting it,” Elaine sighed with concern and turned to look at the door leading outside their bedroom, “The heat you felt was foxfire, and it nearly... well...”

Percy's power? His full attention focused on Elaine, Arthur grabbed her shoulder, “What happened? Is Percy okay?”

Elaine looked uneasy before answering, “From what we were able to gather according to Mama Vivienne and Nana Niniane, Percy's foxfire is a lot stronger than most other types. He didn't know how to control it since it emerged while you guys were at Queens. When he got impatient, he transformed into a kitsune, and the foxfire went out of control, and you got caught in the crossfire.

“If it hadn't been for the protections Nana Niniane and I gave you, the foxfire would have most likely killed you.”

Arthur's heart stopped. He almost died? Wait! That's not important!

“Where's Percy now?”

Elaine looked down with a solemn expression, “He's... having trouble changing back. He's locked himself in his room and hasn't come out. Not even Gwen can get through to him. He's upset that he hurt you since the foxfire fried the circuits in your arm, and... he knows that you're afraid of kitsune.”

Arthur looked at the stump that made up his left arm. Yes, a kitsune did do this to him, even if it was to save him, but the trauma was too great for him to ignore. It taught him at just what a kitsune is capable of doing, and it taught him to fear it. Yet... he only met two other kitsune besides Mystery, the one who saved and traumatized him at the same time.

The first being Niniane. Even though she knew that Arthur is afraid of her other form, she still helped him by blessing him with protection. It wasn't enough to stop all the nightmares or sad memories that plague him, or stop all of the possible harm one could get, but it was enough for Arthur to know that Niniane cared about him. It was enough for his life to be saved from an accidental death.

The second now being Percy, if his other form is a kitsune, then he is also capable of causing so much damage and pain and suffering. Unlike Mystery or Niniane, Percy is just a young boy at seven years of age. To Arthur, it would make sense if his son had no idea how to control his power if it just came to be.

Elaine said that Percy is distraught at almost killing him by accident.

Just like Arthur was when the demon forced him to kill Lewis.

…No!

He is not having this. He knew it was an accident. He knew that Percy didn't want to hurt him on purpose. He knows better than to assume otherwise.

He is not the wraith. He will not make the same mistake!

Arthur started to get off the bed, ignoring Elaine's small protest. He saw that he is dressed in his sleep wear, so he decided not to bother with changing clothes (Elaine probably did it while he was unconscious). He thought about getting the previous model of his prosthetic that he kept in the lowest dresser as a spare, but thought better of it. It wouldn't do anyone favors if Percy were to fry the circuits of his spare arm.

“Where's Gwen?” He looked at his wife.

Elaine blinked before pointing at the exit, “She's staying with Percy outside their bedroom door. Somehow, she wasn't affected by the foxfire. I don't think she's getting through to him.”

Arthur nodded, and once he got his bearings, he left the bedroom and walked over to the door that lead to the twin's bedroom, spotting Gwen sitting against the front door, her head into her knees. Gwen looked at him in surprise and relief, and Arthur can tell with a heavy heart that she was crying. He could hear his son crying from within their bedroom.

“Daddy...”

“I'm okay, Gwen,” he proceeded to knock on the door, “Percy?”

“Dad?!” He heard footsteps that rushed to the door before stopping, “You... You're okay?”

“I am, Percy. Will you let me in?”

“N-No!”

Arthur smiled sadly, “Why not? Am I not allowed to see my own son?”

There was silence until Arthur heard a click from the door. Hearing this, Gwen immediately made a grab for the door and went inside, crying out her brother's name. Arthur let Gwen go after her brother as he noticed Elaine walk up to him, nodding at her, he then looked in the twins' bedroom and came across an interesting sight. Huddled near the corner is a large gold colored fox with a single long tail and a white underbelly. On the fox's face, a white spot is marked above and between its pale blue eyes.

It didn't take a genius for Arthur to know that the fox is his son, since Gwen is beside him rubbing the fox's head. He should have felt fear, but instead, he only felt concern and love for his son. He slowly approached, only smiling sadly when he saw the fox flinch at the sight of him.

“G-Go away! Don't look at me! I hurt you! You fell asleep and wouldn't wake up! I couldn't stop the fire, I--”

Arthur cut him off by kneeling beside him and wrapping his arm around Percy's neck and holding his head to his shoulder, the closest to a hug he could give with his one arm. Gwen, seeing the opportunity, hugged her brother with both her arms.

He nuzzled against his son’s head, “I forgive you, Percy.”

“...Dad? But... you hate foxes! Mom said that foxes scare you! Why are--”

“How can I hate you or be afraid of you when you're just a big and fluffy puppy?”

He heard Elaine give a snort. Percy tried to somewhat wrestle away from his embrace, but Arthur isn't willing to let go.

“Did you want that to happen?” Arthur asked, moving his hand to the back of Percy's head.

“N-No! I didn't want to be a fox! I didn't want this to happen! I didn't want to hurt you or scare you or--!”

Words weren't going to get through to the distraught mindset his son has now. He held his son's head closer to himself slightly and closed his eyes. He started to hum the song that plagued his heart and soul.

This time I might just disappear...

Whoa-o-o-oh

This time I might just dis-

His heart still ached when he hummed this lullaby, especially since it reminded him of the past he swore to leave behind.

Oh mo mo mo mo

Oh mo mo mo mo (Oh yeah)

Oh mo mo mo mo oh

But that old heartache is nothing compared to what his son must be feeling now. He felt Percy shift slightly beneath his grip. He felt his daughter's hand on his right side.

This time I might just disappear...

Whoa-o-o-oh

This time I might just dis-

No matter what, Arthur will endure the pain, the painful memories, the nightmares this lullaby will bring him later tonight, all for the sake of these two children. He will live for their sake alone.

Oh mo mo mo mo

Oh mo mo mo mo (Oh yeah)

Oh mo mo mo mo oh

Once the lullaby concluded, Arthur noticed that Percy felt lighter. Opening his eyes, he saw Percy back in his normal human form, clinging to him while crying. Elaine is nearby to Arthur's left with one hand on Percy's shoulder, another hand on Arthur's left. Gwen is still holding on to Percy and himself on his right. Arthur wished he had his spare arm attached. It would've made a good group hug.

But if there is one thing Arthur knows for a fact, is that he will not abuse his son for doing something outside his control like the wraith had done to him for the exact same reason. He has loved and accepted Percy since the day he was born, and accepted that there will be obstacles to overcome once his power awoke, and knew that the same will apply to Gwen once her power emerges as well.

He still fears the kitsune in general, but he will never fear his son. And if by some chance Gwen becomes a kitsune herself, then he will continue to love and accept her as a father should.

The four remained together until it was time to eat their dinner.

Arthur briefly wondered with Elaine when Gwen's power will surface, but for now, he will continue to comfort Percy until the boy has it in his head that Arthur has forgiven him.

The two ended up getting their answer four days later when they discovered the twins' bedroom covered in snow during that morning. Percy is awake and shivering, while Gwen slept without a care in the world, her skin as pale as the snow.

Well... at least it wasn't as disastrous, until Elaine realized with a groan that they'll have to replace everything in the bedroom from the furniture to the carpet.

* - * - * - * - *

Notes: Why didn't Mystery do anything to stop him?

Is it just me, or did something about all this seem off to you?

So Percy is a kitsune with a single tail so far to signify his young age, while Gwen is a Yuki-onna? Their powers emerged earlier than expected according to Elaine. At least Arthur didn't get too badly hurt thanks to the protection blessings. Sure, Elaine and her family probably could've blessed the house with multiple protections to prevent accidents like that from happening, but if they did that, then it most likely would've resulted in more harm than good. I heard that too much magic can interfere with machines and whatnot.

A heated argument between the Mystery Skulls... What do you think happened?

Part 9: Brainsick Lyrics

#mystery skulls animated #msa arthur #msa fanfic #fanfic #arthur kingsmen #msa #msa knights #gwen knights #percy knights #elaine knights

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eottoghe · 5 years

Text

Little Boxes - Thirteen

A Jeonghceol Domestic AU where they live in suburbia with their six year old son Chan. Jeonghan is an active member of the PTA, a soccer dad and chauffeur, and a supportive parent all around. His loving husband cares deeply for his passions and will follow him to the end of the world if it keeps him and his family happy. Follow their journey as they get caught up in fun and zany adventures when they fall outside of the guide lines of your average neighbor. Don’t really know where I’m going with this, but I want to see how many different domestic prompts I can get out of this AU before I run out of steam.

First Chapter

Previous Chapter

________________________________________________________________

It’s Monday. Chan usually doesn’t like Mondays all that much because they mean having to restart his routine of waking up too early and sitting through reading time for what seems like foreeeever. There’s no Saturday morning cartoons on Mondays and no Seungcheol-appa to cuddle with on the couch while they eat Cocoa Pebbles. But today is a special Monday. Why?

Because he is officially turning seven years old today!

He doesn't feel any different. Not yet anyway. But he's excited, nonetheless. He likes holidays. All kinds of holidays because most of them only come once a year. And this is the one time a year he gets a holiday all to himself.

At school, Jeonghan shows up right before lunch time with two rectangular boxes nestled close to his chest and a red tote bag hanging off his shoulder. The classroom instantly goes mum at the spectacle before them, thrilled whispers and inconspicuous glances being passed around the room. They know the drill.

They’re all getting really good at math so they can easily spot the solution to this equation. If they sang Happy Birthday to Chan at the start of the class and his parent comes to the classroom during lunch time, then the boxes in his hands must be cupcakes! It happens often enough for them to know, but the excitement never really wears off.

“I can help you, Mr. Choi!”

“No, me!”

“I can get the napkins!”

The kids jump at the opportunity to help hand out the goodies. It’s a great feeling because Jeonghan knows in a few years, it’ll be torture just asking for a simple chore to get done. For now, he revels in the kindness that they exude and smiles the same gentle smile that won them over during the first fundraiser event he’d helped with.

Chan gets out of his seat, running to his dad. He hugs his thighs and Jeonghan has to re-balance himself to make sure the cupcakes don’t go flying due to the sheer magnitude of the impact. Chan showing public affection? He’s put aside his childhood bravado just for this sweet moment and Jeonghan couldn’t be more soft for it.

“Please stay in your seats. I’ll choose a couple of you to hand out napkins and Mr. Choi and I will pass out the cupcakes.” Their teacher calls out to the class. Chan is reluctant to pull away but thinks about getting a red sticker on his birthday. He would hate hate hate getting a red sticker any day for not listening and even more if its on this day so he scurries off to his table and plops back down in his mustard yellow, plastic seat. He is beaming at his dad with rose dusted cheeks as his classmates say happy birthday to him and high five him from where they sit. He loves the attention even if he still gets shy sometimes.

Once they’re back settled and the two designated helpers pass out all of the napkins to each kid, Jeonghan and the teacher divide and conquer. Jeonghan was smart and decided to purchase cupcakes that were as uniform as possible. He knows how picky kids can be and wanted to avoid arguments over who got what.

Chan gets first pick though and his table is glad to have the birthday boy in their assigned group because that means they get next pick. Jeonghan and the teacher go table by table, weaving between the chattering children bouncing in their chairs. The chirped thank you’s rang out in high pitched squeals as they dug into the sugary sweet cupcakes, blue frosting staining their tongues. (Probably the best kind of treats are ones that can be shown off by their visual residue).

As they eat and talk amongst themselves, Chan’s teacher starts up a conversation with Jeonghan standing shoulder to shoulder, looking out across the classroom. “Thank you for coming in today. The kids just seem to adore you, Mr. Choi.” The teacher is a bit new and exultant in her teaching methods. She hasn’t been beaten down by the hardships that come along with the job yet so every moment she sees the kids smile is a win in her book.

“I do my best. I love kids. In another life, I could see myself as a teacher at a school like this one.” He laughs to himself thinking about how completely exhausted he’d be with small aged children filling up every corner of his life. It’s not much different from now only he doesn’t have to deal with the responsibility that accompanies teaching at a public school.

“I could see that too. Chan is always talking about you and your partner like you’re the best things that ever happened to him. We’re so lucky to have Chan and you both as his supporters. He’s got lots of friends here and he’s such a cheerful kid.”

Jeonghan, try as he may, is unable to stop the proud smile from spreading across his reddening face. He feels his ears tingle, looking at the ground to avoid the eyes of the grateful woman.

“Thank you. I feel secure with him in your care.” He nods his head in mutual appreciation. He definitely doesn’t pop in to the classroom nearly as much as he did in the beginning of the year when he couldn’t trust any teacher to govern over his one and only child for such a significant portion of the day. He thinks she’s done well.

She reminds the class that they should RSVP to Chan’s birthday party by tomorrow after Jeonghan mentions it in their casual talk. She also gives her thanks to Jeonghan for giving an invite to every kid as feeling left out in this age is such a saddening thing to see on a child’s face. Invitations were handed out a week ago and Chan was happy to report that everyone seemed eager.

They close out the mini celebration with Chan being wished happy birthday one more time in a cacophonous harmony. Jeonghan kneels and gives him a quick kiss on his forehead before the now seven-year-old decides it’s too embarrassing. The extra cupcakes are left for the other teachers Chan might want to share with and Jeonghan hands over some extra hand sanitizer bottles and tissues he bought for the classroom. The teacher thanks him once more and he’s off.

Chan still has a couple hours left of school so he decides to stop by a Michael’s craft store to avoid the drive back home just to turn around and fight traffic back. There’s still shopping to do for the vast decorations he has yet to gather. He was so inspired, he even made a moodboard from various Pinterest posts he’d come across. Chan wanted a Jurassic Park theme and it allowed Jeonghan to let his creativity set sail.

He’d picked up the plates, cups, and utensils all in a convenient party pack from Party City along with table cloths and enough supplies to craft some pretty kick ass goodie bags. What he’s most excited about though is the zookeeper outfits they’d come across. It took lots of asking around, but they’d found some. The adult size was definitely going to fit Seungcheol better than himself (He was biased. He thought Seungcheol was smoking in everything he wore), but it worked out well enough that when they all stood together, they looked like they were off on an expedition, slashing through vines and palm fronds deep in the jungle. Chan loved it (He was biased. He loved everything).

He’d also already ordered the “party hats”. Of course, they weren’t any regular party hats. If Jeonghan had been any regular person or a part of any regular family then maybe he would have done the regular thing. BUT he’s Yoon Jeonghan and decided that the “party hats” would in fact be Safari hats and made sure to order them in bulk early.

So now he’s pushing a cart through the crowded aisles of Michael’s with Jisoo balanced between his head and his shoulder, speaking animatedly through his cell phone.

“You invited the entire class and the soccer team?” Josh stresses. He wishes Jeonghan would have mentioned the number of expected guests before he signed on for this project.

“It’s not that bad. Not everyone will show up. You know how these things go.” Jeonghan shrugs his shoulder as if the other can see him, brushing off his questioning tone. He’s cutting his eyes back and forth between two very different styles of leaves. Leaves larger than his head surround him in the plastic flowers section. He picks up a handful of both under the guise that the jungle has many different types of plants. He doesn’t have to be climatically accurate. These children won’t be able to tell the difference when they’re maxed out on sugar.

“It’s Valentine’s weekend. Literally everyone is coming because parents are going to dump them for a few hours of alone time.”

“Oh… I forgot to get Valentine cards for the class. Thanx for the reminder.” Jeonghan answers, his mind drifting a few aisles down to where he remembers inflated, pink balloons and mega stuffed teddy bears. He considers getting one for Seungcheol. Seungcheol’s a lot softer than he looks.

“Hannie… This is going to be really expensive… Seungcheol does know all that you’ve planned right?”

“Yah! Stop scolding me. I’m a grown man.” Jeonghan feigns exasperation, but he bursts into a fit of giggles before he can finish. “It’s fine. I’ve been saving up. And don’t try and turn my husband against me. He’s very much so on board with me…” He mumbles after, “…sort of.”

“So on top of helping you set up, you’re calling me in to babysit too.”

“It’ll be fun. Your daughter and Chan can have a play date while we get ready and she’ll pretty much babysit herself at the party. It’ll be great.”

~~~~

Great is an understatement.

From the front of their home, much isn’t revealed to the expectant children being dropped off. In fact, the house is still difficult to find due to the 50 other ones built with the exact same model. What sets it apart are the shiny apple red and onyx black balloons tied to the mailbox and the sign hanging on the door saying, “Welcome to Jurassic Park”.

The kids are met at the door by Jeonghan (the responsible one who is actually paying attention to the doorbell) and are led through the simple living room, hopping along plastic dinosaur tracks that are set out. The sliding door leading to the backyard is opaque, covered in a dark backdrop, obscuring the view to the party happening just on the other side. But they can hear music and laughter and the anticipation balls up and rolls through their tummies.

When the door finally draws opens, it attracts them in like a beacon, beckoning forth the tiny adventurers into the wonderful world of dinosaurs. Joshua stands at the entryway with safari hats to hand out. It’s such a funny thing to see the kids blank, sensory spasms making it hard to decide what to avert their attention to first.

There’s greenery everywhere and it truly feels like their own little contained jungle. Wooden planks jut out on display with caution tape strategically draped over them; the fraying at the tips looks like they’d been ripped through. Beware posters tie in the setting.

A table is filled with snacks and foods all made to fit the theme. White chocolate covered pretzels transform into dinosaur bones, doughnut holes dusted with sugar mimic unhatched eggs. Pudding cups with dirt-like, cookie crumbles sprout miniscule palm trees and the tiniest dinosaur figurines. And there’s chicken nuggets! There’s a tyrannosaurus and brachiosaurus and some other saurus they still can’t pronounce. Seungcheol has the grill going and the smoke makes it look like a volcano has erupted in the background.

And is that… a bounce house? In the backyard?!?!

(Jeonghan may or may not have rented that one without Seungcheol’s knowledge but when the crew came knocking to set it up, there was little he could do to argue about it.)

And yes, Jeonghan will admit he outdid himself this time, but he was damn proud of his work. They all were impressed. “You should consider party planning. This looks great!”, his husband said in awe when he’d seen the finish product of Jeonghan’s creation. But with great power comes great responsibility. And responsibility brought big headaches.

The night before, he got the minimum amount of sleep preparing. Everyone helped, but once it got late, he coerced them into bed while his hyperactive, perfectionist mind fussed over the most minute details. He’d ended up finishing the goodie bags, creating labels for the food and pre-made all the snacks he could get away with. He’d hit the bed at around 4 a.m. and woke up hours later to get the backyard ready. On top of mild sleep deprivation, the inevitable over protective side of him resurfaced as the children ran freely, playing make believe. He was stressed™.

“You look like you need a nap.” Joshua sidles up next to him, poking his cheek.

“I just want everything to be perfect.” He admits with a sigh and a tired smile.

Joshua pans over the immaculate scene of their movie-set-ready layout. Seungcheol cooking on the grill as he nods along to the music, the kids—Chan cheesing so hard, letting forth such an innocent, unbridled laugh that breaks the heavens open to let pure sunlight spill down upon them.

Joshua thinks this is perfect. The party. Their family.

“You’re doing amazing. Everyone is enjoying themselves. You should too.” Joshua rubs his hand on his shoulder in a comforting manner. “I’m listening out for the door, go talk to Seungcheol and grab something to eat. Relax.”

Jeonghan takes his advice.

He opens his mouth to say something and instead gets it filled with a piece of meat hot off the grill.

“I just finished up. How’s it taste?” Seungcheol already knows the answer but asks anyway with a knowing smirk.

“It’s haa… Whew. It’s hot.” Jeonghan speaks around the beef burning his tongue. The flavor is savory, but when he says hot off the grill he means it in its entirety. “Yummy.”

Seungcheol kisses him on the cheek, pulling him into a side hug with one arm loosely around his waist.

“I can’t believe I’m really going to do this.” Seungcheol speaks after a minute of watching the kids play.

“It’s really adorable what you’re doing. They’re going to love it.”

“Sure hope so.”

“Hurry up and go! I wanna cut the cake.” He honestly doesn’t mind what time the cake gets cut. The younger brunette is finally starting to relax and knows that this portion of his day will be the most iconic. Although Jeonghan had planned the majority of this party, Seungcheol planned something of his own. And this one was a surprise.

“Oh no! Kids watch out!” Jeonghan shouts a warning to the crowd playing in the patch of grass. They all look up, startled and Jeonghan makes sure he has the camera rolling.

In less than a second, their attention focuses in on the person(?) standing by the sliding door. It’s…

A dinosaur?

They don’t move or speak for a second.

And then they hear a roar. The dinosaur darts out toward their huddle. They scatter, screaming like they’re being chased by an actual creature and not a grown man in an inflatable dinosaur suit. Screams melt into giggles and the laughter builds as the kids continue to run away from who they’ve now realized is just some clumsy person fumbling around in a costume.

Chan doesn’t know who it is until the dinosaur trips over its own feet, landing ungracefully in the grass. His yelp is distinguishable even between the screams and laughs and music.

“Daddy!” Chan runs up to the dinosaur, any possibility of him being afraid flying out the window. By the time Seungcheol finds his way back up, Chan runs into his legs with a tight hold. It sends the dinosaur back to the ground and soon all the kids are piling up on the lump of dino dad roaring unconvincingly.

Joshua and Jeonghan stand by each other, every single second of it caught on video. They’re holding their stomachs with how hard they’re laughing. He imagines this being one of those clips that end up on AFV.

It takes a while to get everyone to calm down. Eventually, they make it to the table to eat and sing happy birthday and share slices of cake. Pictures were taken. So many pictures. And the night ends with children slowly being picked up while they cuddle around the couch and watch the latest Jurassic World movie.

Right before Chan falls asleep, he pulls both of his dads in for a hug, an arm around the neck of each.

“Thank you for the best day ever.” He yawns with the same smile he’s adorned all day. Truly, it hasn’t left his face once.

Jeonghan thinks he can finally rest now. A successful weekend it was.

~~~

Finally got to posting the birthday chapter on here. Tumblr has... changed? There’s not a function to add a line to separate things anymore??? Oof. I’m on twitter now :) @eottoghe

#jeongcheol #seungcheol #jeonghan #coupshan #seunghan #dino #lee chan #fanfic #seventeen

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