#but i’m having very weird thoughts about ten tonight so don’t @ me

[hobgoblinns]

i know almost every s3 and 4 dw episode off by heart but i don’t watch s2 anywhere near as often so when i do it’s always like “oh my god a shot of ten that hasn’t been permanently ingrained into my memory yet!!!!”

[lovecla]

IF YOU LOVE ME, LET ME KNOW | jack hughes.

chapter ten:

➴ warnings: none :)

➴ word count: 1k

➴ author’s note: and finally, the last chapter of IYLM,LMK. this one’s a bit shorter but i wrote a longer epilogue for you guys :) i’ve been writing stories since i was ten years old but this is the first time i finish the entire thing and actually like it. don’t know how to thank each and every one of you for reading what i write and for appreciating it as much as i do. but thank you.

sophiamontenegro

liked by billboard, arianagrande, tyla and 3,802,901 others.

sophiamontenegro make me yours is officially, well, yours now!!!!

every time i release something i feel extremely lucky and grateful, no matter what. today, i’m more than happy to share this part of me with you all. we’ve been working on this album for a whole year now and it’s insane how much things can change in such a short amount of time.

i’ve learned a lot about myself during this whole process and it’s crazy yet so rewarding. this album is a message to everyone i love and to young sophia, specially.

hope u enjoy!!!!! 💙

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morgan.grace Soph, i can’t tell you how PROUD i am. I’ve known you for almost six years now, and i pray every. Single. Day. That we have the rest of our lives together. I love you so much! Happy horny album day! 💙

sophiamontenegro @morgan.grace i love u

lovssoph I LOVE YOU SO MUCH

ilovehockey12 Jack can u fight lol

ellievlasic woaaaaaaah

njdevils sophia MONTENEGRO 💜

_quinnhughes Congrats Soph!

sophiamontenegro @_quinnhughes thanks quinny!

lhughes_06 @_quinnhughes @sophiamontenegro Y’all coming for dinner tonight ?

_quinnhughes @lhughes_06 You could’ve just texted

soph_wh0r3 I’m so in love with this album, horny sophia is my favorite sophia

user11939 thats that me espresso indeed

jackhughes I wonder who inspired you to write these songs

crazy4hockey @.jackhughes crazy shit to say tbh

— ♡

IN the beginning of January, you started writing your sixth album. Well, you started writing it officially, with the help of your songwriters and producers, because truthfully, you’d been writing it since you and Jack started seeing each other— just some random lines here and there in your Notes app on your phone, that quickly turned into songs.

Months passed and life got extremely busy. People seemed to be very interested in your relationship with Jack, in a weird, almost comical way. Several social media managers have already contacted your team to ask for your participation in YouTube videos, interviews and TikToks, but you refused most of them.

You didn’t mind about talking about Jack or spending time with him in studios, but you knew it wasn’t his cup of tea— even if he never said anything— so you just tried to separate your love life from your career.

The New Jersey Devils failed to make the Stanley Cup Playoffs, and Jack was really upset about it, just like Luke, Nico and the rest of the team, because despite what happened back in November, they all worked really hard.

Time passed after that, and it was summer again, one year since you and Jack started seeing each other. Sometimes, sitting on the bench at his and Quinn’s summer house, you ask yourself if things weren’t moving too fast. In less than a year, your life changed in ways you never even imagined before and you didn’t know if it was scary or not.

But whenever you thought of Jack, you remembered his thick, beautiful lashes, blond hair decorating his arms and legs, blue eyes that brought the ocean to you, smile that brightened the world.

You remembered how he took care of you, how he’d listen to your songs and recommend them to people, how he’d go to your concerts whenever he had the chance, and how he was often seen wearing your merch around town whenever the two of you weren’t together. How he’d watch you perform and congratulate you every time. How he’d spontaneously post pictures of you on his Instagram account, and how he’d reply to some of your fans' comments.

You had been right all along; Jack is your forever. He’s it for you.

You feel the sweet, cold breeze hit your face and you smile, watching as Jack, Quinn and Luke played with each other inside the lake, while Hischier talked with Ellen and Jim.

“Can you believe this is our life?” You asked, quietly.

“Actually, yeah, I can,” Grace replied beside you, laughing. “The only crazy thing about this is us falling in love with hockey players. Didn’t see that coming.”

“Right,” you nodded. “I can't imagine myself with anyone else though. That’s bad,” you joked.

“I don't know if it is that bad,” she shrugged. “Jack loves you a lot. That man can’t stop staring at you even when you’re ten feet away from him.”

You laughed, turning your head back in Jack’s direction, finding those blue eyes you loved so much immediately, who was now running towards you, with his body drenched.

“No, Jack, stay away!” You yelled, getting up quickly and running away from him.

“Soph!”

You started laughing, which made you lose your pace, making it easier for Jack to wrap his wet, cold arms around your body, wetting your white dress.

“Jack, stop, you’re making me wet!”

“That’s what she said,” he whispered in your ear, picking you up and making you wrap your legs around his waist. “Hi, Soph.” He smiled.

You gave in and kissed his lips, smiling softly as he kissed you back.

“Hi, Jack Hughes.”

He put you down and turned you around, wrapping his hands around your waist and resting his chin on your head. “I think this is the happiest I’ve ever been.”

That surprised you, and you felt yourself smiling even wider. “Not when you joined the Devils? Not when I won a VMA? Not when I gave you a blowjob just this morning—”

“Okay, okay,” he laughed, kissing your cheek. “Those are all super happy moments but right now, here with you, baby… I’ll never be this happy again.”

A few years later, you’d look back at that moment and think, oh, Jack, baby, that’s just the beginning. Because he would say the same thing years later, when he kissed you at the altar, or when he held your daughter for the first time.

“I get what you mean,” you snuggled closer, ignoring the wet clothes. “I’ve been happy before. I am happy. But this… this is different.”

“Yeah,” he whispered. “So different.”

“Will I ruin the moment if I say I need to go pee?” You bit your lip.

Jack laughed out loud and picked you up again. “I love you, Sophia Montenegro.”

“I love you more, Jack Hughes,”

“Well,” he kissed your cheek. “I think that’s up for debate.”

“Well. Maybe.”

— ♡

jackhughes

liked by _quinnhughes, nhl, dawson1417 and 210,912 others.

jackhughes lucky fella. @sophiamontenegro

View all 1,992 comments

morgan.grace saurrrr cuteeeee I love you guys

user0092383 ADOPT ME PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE

j86wife imma start doing cocaine…

gia_william i wanted to hate on them so bad but they lowkey fire asf :/

keylaasher soph when u hug him, remember you’re hugging my whole world… 💔

nicohischier ❤️

njdevilsmemes Ain’t no way he can handle all of that

trevorzegras @njdevilsmemes he can’t.

jackhughes @.trevorzegras fuck off

| EPILOGUE |

[casuallyawkardd]

Close Encounters of the Spiderkind Pt II

Pairing: Miguel O’Hara x Single Mother!Reader

Summary: Your daughter needs a sitter at the last minute and no one else is available, at least that’s what you thought..

Warnings: Fluff, Miguel is still a softie around kids, your daughter is a menace to society, this is basically the Miggy and Vada show, I’m not fluent in Spanish so correct me if I mess up 

A/N: Here’s the part 2 ya’ll wanted so bad! Thank you for the lovely feedback from the last post, I appreciate you guys 💞 If you want to be tagged for future parts, be sure to join the TAGLIST

MASTERLIST | TAGLIST

Another month had passed since your little home visit with Miguel. Halfway between then and now, you had decided on sharing your little secret with the rest of the Spider Society. It was no surprise when the other spiders wanted to know more about your daughter, many insisting that you bring her in some time for them to meet. It was especially rewarding when Peter B and Jess heard the news. Granted, Jess was a bit annoyed that you had kept Vada a secret for so long and Peter thought you had deprived Mayday of a potential friend, but after the initial shock they were just as eager to meet her as the others. 

Everyone was surprised at how anticlimatic Miguel’s reaction was. “I already knew,” he would reply when someone would question his behavior, “it’s my job to know.” Ever the cocky asshole, O’Hara. 

The biggest pro to the whole of Spider Society knowing you had a kid was the near infinite amount of babysitters. And trusted ones at that. Except Ben...he was on probation for encourging Vada to hit a new PR with very big, very real weights. Hobie was on thin ice as well, in your opinion Vada was too young to be ‘sticking it to the man’ as he so generously put it. 

When Miguel finds you, you’re in the Go Home Machine control room. Weird, he definitely remembered assigning you an urgent mission. He saunters in, welcomed by the sound of Spider-Byte and you in a very heated discussion.

“Come on Margo, it’s only for a few hours. Vada is a good girl, she won’t get in the way of your work.”

“Nope, not gonna do it. It’s way too last minute, do you see how many anomalies I have to send out today? Plus, I don’t do kids. They're sticky and my equipment doesn't do sticky,” Margo says dismisively, her holgogram zooming around the room as she continues her work.

"My daughter is not sticky," you retort, spinning around in place trying to keep up with her, arms crossed, suited up and ready to go. Miguel recognizes the annoyed look on your face, glad he’s not on the receiving end of it for once, but he’s about to be.

“What’s the hold up? I told you to be on Earth-76C ten minutes ago.”

Your head snaps in his direction, frustration fading only slightly as you huff, “I know. I’m supposed to pick up Vada in an hour, but now I need someone to do it instead and watch her until I finish the mission,” you deadpan him, fidgetting with the Gizmo on your wrist. 

“Did you try-”

“Yes, yes, I’ve asked everyone. Jess is doing date night, Peter said Mayday is sick...” Miguel listens as you rattle off the excuses every spiderperson threw at you, listing every close friend of yours in the society. “...Her grandparents are out of town and my neighbor is the one watching her now, but she has plans tonight as well. So if you have any bright ideas-”

“I can watch her,” it’s so surprising to hear those words come out of Miguel's mouth that even Margo has stopped working to look at him, but his eyes are focused solely on you. Your mouth is moving, but no sound comes out as you try to form a coherent sentence. 

“I couldn’t-”

“It’s really no problem.”

“You’re probably busy-”

“I’m actually very free right now.”

You scoff, hands moving to your hips, “Did Lyla lock you out of your lab again when you went to go grab food from the cafeteria?”

His eyebrows furrow and his jaw tightens, “Do you need a sitter or not?”

Miguel had lost track of how long he was standing in the hall of your apartment building, holographic suit materialized into more fitting clothes for your universe. It felt like an abnormal amount of time, but was probably only a few minutes. Only one old lady going into her apartment looked at him funny, but that was most likely due to the uncomfortable look on his face. It’d been a long time since he’d had to look after a kid by himself, let alone one as young as Vada. 

He had seen her in passing, whenever you would pick up or drop her off with one of the other spiders who had agreed to watch her. You even introduced them one time, saying he was your boss. Vada had just stared at him, he couldn’t tell if it was with a look of fear, confusion or awe. He had no idea how she would react to him picking her up rather than her mother. 

His knuckles rapped against the door and Miguel could hear someone approach from the other side. When it opened he was greeted by a woman, looking to be around your age, maybe even younger. She did a double take when she saw him, but Miguel was used to that. There weren’t a lot of universes where being six foot nine was considered normal. 

“Can I...help you?” she asked him finally.

“M’name’s Miguel...I was told to pick up Vada,” he said simply and her eyes lit up in understanding.

“Oh! You’re who she was calling about,” she called Vada’s name over her shoulder, letting the little girl know it was time to go. “How do you know Y/N again?”

“We’re coworkers,” it wasn’t a lie technically. Miguel parroting what you had told him to say so he could pretend to be someone you knew from your day job. 

“You’re a scientist?”

Miguel paused, confused by the question until he realized she was talking about his...physique. Her eyes not very subtly giving him the up and down. “I...work out when I’m stressed.”

The corners of the woman's mouth briefly turned down in a 'hmph' before returning to their normal position, “Must be hella stressed.”

There was the pitter patter of feet, making Miguel glance past the woman as Vada came to the door. It was almost comical how small she was compared to him, the top of her head barely making it to his hip. The pig tails that were meant to be on top of her head were lopsided, one still in tact while one sagged sideways, and there was a wet spot on her t-shirt. Is that...drool?

“She woke up from a nap about ten minutes ago,” the woman seemed to pick up on his confusion. She knelt down beside Vada, the two hugging goodbye, “Are you okay going with him back to your apartment?” she asked the toddler. 

Vada bit her lip in thought, looking back at Miguel as if to stare him down....or rather up. “Hmmm...yeah. Bye Aunt Harrie,” Vada responds in a neutral tone, stepping through the doorway with a backpack almost as big as her slung over one shoulder.

Miguel exchanged pleasantries with her aunt before the three parted ways. He easily tugged the backpack off her shoulder and followed the little girl down the hallway. She seemed to know the way home, their destination only a few floors up. The rickety elavator opened for them and Miguel stepped in, stopping the doors from closing at the last minute when he saw Vada had yet to get in. 

She...just stood there. Staring at him. Is she scared? Toddlers can get irrational fears, maybe the elevator freaks her out? Then she wouldn’t be looking at that instead of staring at me? “Are you coming?” he finally asked, meeting her gaze when she looks back up at him.

“You have to say superhero jump.” Well that was blunt.

“¿Perdóname?”

“Huh?”

Miguel cleared his throat, “I mean, what are you talking about?”

“Mama always says ‘superhero jump!’ and then I do a reeeally big jump from here to there,” Vada talks with her hands, pointing at her feet and then the elevator.

That’s ridiculous, was what Miguel was going to say before he stopped himself, sighing. “Superhero jump.”

“You have to say it in a happy voice.”

“Superhero jump~,” Miguel’s voice raised an octave in mock enthusiasm, but it seemed to do the trick as Vada did her bathetic jump over the elevator gap. “...Wow, good job.”

“Thank you,” she said proudly as she stood on her tip toes to hit the button for their floor. 

The rest of the short trip was uneventful. Miguel did give Vada a sideways glance when she didn’t request he say ‘superhero jump’ when they got out, calling her actions inconsistent in his head. Like he wasn’t referring to a toddler. When he opened the door to the apartment, Vada was off. She started by running into the living room, stuttering to a stop before going to her mother’s room, then her own and even the bathroom.

Finally she stopped back in the living room where Miguel waited, “Where’s Mama?”

“She’s working, I’m watching you, remember?”

Vada’s nose scrunched at that, “I want Mama.”

“I’m sure you do, but you’ll just have to wait.”

The toddler’s foot stomped defiantly, “I want Mama now!”

“Vada,” Miguel huffed, squatting to be level with her. “Cálmate, your mother will be home in a couple hours. You’re a big girl right? You can wait,” Vada glared at him, but it was hard to take a three year old’s anger seriously when she looked cute expressing it. She then gasped dramatically, cheeks puffing out as she held the breath, little hands covering her nose and mouth. There was a moment of awkward silence as they stared at one another.

What was she-oh. Oh.

“Stop that, throwing a tantrum isn’t gonna change my answer,” Miguel said a bit more firmly, making sure to be somewhat gentle still. She didn’t budge. “Vada, ay coño, that’s enough.¿Quieres desmayarte?” Do you want to pass out?

He reached a hand out to grab her, maybe jostle some sense into her, but didn’t get the chance as she erupted into giggle when his hand grazed her side. Miguel was confused at first before realization hit, “Are you ticklish?” he teased.

Vada giggled again, her bad mood seeming to fade away almost instantly, “Noooo~,” she cooed. 

Miguel scoffed, the corners of his mouth turning up, “Alright, you’re not ticklish, but come on. I’m sure you don’t want to just stare at each other until your mom comes home. There’s gotta be something you want to do? Maybe play? What do you and your mom do for fun?”

The afternoon went by surprisingly fast. Vada was...quite the little firecracker. Very much her mother’s daughter. Not only did she look like a carbon copy of her mom, but she had the same mannerisms. The way her nose scrunched when she was displeased with something he said, the way she bit her bottom lip when thinking hard about something, it was like he was babysitting a tinier version of you. 

Vada played him like a fiddle, getting him to play pretend with her little toys, even convincing him to do different voices for each of the dolls she had assigned to him. Miguel was just glad no one else was around to witness this, he’d be spending the rest of his life threatening them to keep quiet. He became very aware of the drama at Vada’s preschool, the little girl filling him in on all the latest gossip, to which Miguel was listening to with an embarrassing amount of intrigue. 

“...now Becca isn’t talking to Daina because Daina laid next to Teddy during nap time,” Vada rambles on, absentmindedly rolling a toy truck across the floor. 

“Uh huh, because Becca like likes Teddy,” Miguel affirms, his deep, monotone voice a stark contrast to hers. He sat next to her on the ground, watching Vada as she continued to play, while detangling the hair of one of her dolls with a tiny, plastic brush. 

“Yup! And then Becca got mad and pushed Daina into the sandpit, so now Becca can’t play outside for pickup.”

“Tch! Puta...” Miguel mutters the phrase without even registering it, catching himself when he realizes how invested he’s gotten in petty gossip. A child’s petty gossip, no less. Domínese, O’Hara... 

“Puta.”

Miguel’s eyes widen, looking back at Vada. Did she just.. “Don’t say that word.”

“Why?”

“It’s a bad word.”

“Nuh-uh, my mommy knows all the bad words and she's never said that one.”

“It is.”

“Poooootaaaaah~” Vada enunciates, giggling at how annoyed Miguel gets when she says it. Before Miguel can scold her once more, the clicking of the front door alerts them of your arrival, both Vada and Miguel’s head snapping to watch as you come in and shut the door behind you. 

It had been a more difficult mission than you had anticipated. The Sandman from your earth was reeking havoc in another dimension. Seemed like an easy fix, until you discovered there was another Sandman from a different universe also in the mix. After some sloppy web work, a little assistance from the spider of that universe and a few bruised ribs, you had them captured and returned to HQ to be sent back to their respective earths. The damage to your body was minimal, for someone with superhuman abilities, a good night’s rest would have you back to normal.

The door had hardly been shut when the familiar tapping of Vada’s feet on the hardwood approaches you. And as usual, you crouch down to accept her embrace, this time wincing slightly as her little body collides into yours, your toddler oblivious to the injuries you had sustained. She wastes no time talking your ear off, telling you how her day was at Aunt Harrie’s and her evening with Miguel.

Miguel, speaking of, stood in the archway that connected the kitchen to the living room to watch the interaction unfold. You don’t see it, but the sight of you watching as Vada eagerly chatters brings a smile to his face, just a small one, as he admired the relationship between mother and daughter. When you glance his way, he averts his gaze to the ground and clears his throat stiffly. 

“Well, sweet girl, it sounds like you had a busy day,” you say, looking back at your daughter. She’s beaming at you, a sight that always warms your heart no matter how many times you see it. “Come on, let’s get dinner started.” Vada moves like someone who’s never eaten, bolting to the kitchen counter and crawling onto one of the bar stools. 

“Can Miggy have dinner too?” she asks, fidgetting excitedly in her seat. The question makes you pause, stopping just as you were about to fill an empty pot with water. After hemming and hawing for a moment, Vada decides to turn her attention to the man in question, “Can you, Miggy? Can you?”

Miguel’s eyes narrow, jaw set as he thinks of what to say, Vada waiting with bated breath. “Well...”

“It’s fine.” You finally find your voice again. 

Miguel turns his attention to you now, “It is?”

“Yeah, I don’t see why not,” you shrug simply, “that is if you want to stay for dinner.” Miguel purses his lips as he thinks over your offer and you try not to chuckle at the sight.

“...What are you making?”

“Boxed Mac n Cheese.”

He scoffs, “That doesn’t sound very-”

“Mac n Cheese is my favorite!” Vada chimes in, “Mama always gets the one’s shaped like unicorns and rainbows cuz they taste better.”

Her words make Miguel pause again, finally letting out a deep breath through his nose, “Sure, I’ll stay for dinner.”

You smile mischievously, “We’re happy to have you, ‘Miggy~.’”

“Don’t push your luck.”

Dinner with you and your daughter was surprisingly pleasant. Miguel didn’t say much as he shoved the cheap pasta and cheese down his throat, watching you interact with your daughter. It was domestic, almost peaceful. Afterward Miguel offers to do the dishes while you put Vada down for the night. He excuses himself once done, thanking you for the meal and making sure to leave out the part that, for dinner being a cheap box of mac n cheese, it was the best meal he had had in a long time. 

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[potatogratins]

— where the stars shine brightest

꒰ summary ꒱ after a day with friends, yuki ishikawa comes home to you cooking dinner. He's not open to the idea of you taking in the excess of the food he has to eat and believes you're forced to do all that—or so he thinks.

꒰ genre ꒱ fluff ꒰ pairing ꒱ | ishikawa yuki/gender-neutral reader ꒰ w.c. ꒱ 1,354 ꒰ published ꒱ august 18, 2024

꒰ a/n ꒱ wrote a very quick yuki one shot :) in reality, i think i would be extremely weirded out by his meal choices LOL but I love that little (he's literally tall!!) idiot...

“Tadaima,” a voice speaks by the door.

In the volume of his voice, you know that the day was well-spent with friends. Its tone, a pitch higher than it usually is, comes as a sign of cheerfulness. In these mere three syllables, you know that even if the day was partially cherished, there is an implication of excitement; the day for him can only be fully cherished when he has loved and adored you in the flesh.

“My sweet,” you greet Yuki, as he walks behind you and kisses the top of your head.

“Oh, please don’t smell my head—it’s full of sweat and pollution,” you tell him, but he kisses your head again nonetheless. He stands beside you, as he observes you cooking.

“What’s that?” he asks with such naivety.

To which you reply, “Your usual meal, your majesty.”

“You don’t have to cook for me, you know. I’ve been doing it on my own for more than ten years,” he says as he tries to hide his frown. You may be slow in other things, but when it comes to Yuki, you’re quick enough to figure him out.

“Let’s not talk about this. The moon is shining half as bright, and even if the clouds are hiding the stars, I know they’re shining twice as bright. It’s a beautiful night, so let’s cherish it,” you tell him. He playfully nods and puts his hands up in defeat against your poetic, dramatic little ass, and you place each food onto a plate before Yuki brings it to the table.

When the both of you finally get to sit down, he takes in the food he has always taken in in the same way. But when he sees you, eating what he would call scraps—the excess of his meal, mixed with extra condiments and leftovers–he is left sighing at every instance you put a piece of your meal into your mouth.

He has to do something about it… and so he says, “I still don’t feel comfortable about this.”

“About what?”

“The food.”

You look down at your food, and then at him again. To you, there’s nothing wrong with what you’re eating. You begin to understand that tonight is a night that will be filled with sighs—well, not the kind both of you are hoping for.

“Yuki, again. At the very beginning, I said I wanted to be in charge of the meals. You had no objections. You said I could make any meal that I wanted—your words, not mine,” you tell him calmly and slowly, “I have spent a majority of my life making decisions for myself without the help of anyone else. If I loved you any less, I would have walked right out that door.”

He simply nods to your words. He’s taking the information in, just as much as the both of you are eating. When both of you finish eating, you begin to take the plates and utensils–as well as the pans, pots, cutting boards, and whatnot–to the sink to get them washed. Yuki stays still in his seat, watching your every move.

“I didn’t know you love me that much,” Yuki confesses.

You laugh, “Silly. You think too much. I’m wildly devoted to you that I’d clean your rice paddles—and all of these I do because it’s my choice, I hope you understand that.”

“I’m beginning to.”

He approaches you from behind, his fingers constantly moving, never in the same place it once was. He then wraps his arms around you and places his face on your head.

“I thought I told you—”

“I don’t care,” he interrupts.

“My head—”

“Blah blah blah—”

“It stinks—”

“Blah blah—”

“It smells—”

“Like love and hard work.”

For a moment, you place one of the white plates down and turn your head to him—bewildered, amazed, astonished. Your eyes widen and eyebrows raise.

“I didn’t know you love me that much,” you then confess. Oh, how the tables have turned. He looks at you and smiles. When you turn back to washing everything that was left on the sink, he plays with your hair, which looks and smells of love and hard work.

After washing the dishes, you and Yuki form a separate routine. As you shower, he begins brushing up his Italian and does his stretches. An everything shower, as you call it, gives him an opportunity to take as much time as he can to catch up with whatever he has not done for the day.

When you finish your shower and step out the bathroom door, you see Yuki by the living room, going through his phone just to pass the time. He looks up and sees you, pajamas crinkled and hair dried. He smiles and pats your tiny, tiny head and showers next.

You sit on the left side of the bed, turning on the lampshade. In silence, you grab your copy of Ogden Nash’s I Wouldn’t Have Missed It and the pen that sits in between the pages. You begin to go through the poem To My Valentine, annotating a word or a phrase or a line or a stanza. There are intervals in the scratching of the tip of the blue ballpen against the surface of the page. You revel in this kind of silence, where you sit and do what you love while the love of your life is just a few meters away from you. It’s comfortable. It’s a reminder that love persists in every space you both occupy. It’s a routine you will never get tired of.

By the time Yuki finishes his shower, he checks on you by peeking through the bedroom door. You are asleep with a book in one hand and a pen in the other—which he is grateful that you haven’t accidentally written on the bed sheets at some point—snoring the night away. It's surprising for him to find you already asleep, for on the most normal of days, if he finished showering, you would have surely greeted him outside the bathroom door, asking him to get to bed in an instant. He tiptoes to your side and takes away the book and the pen, lightly placing them on the bedside table and turns off the lampshade. He then goes to his side of the bed and lies down.

Not wanting you to sleep in a terrible posture, he nudges you a little. There’s a soft sigh that comes out of your mouth before you see his shadow, as you're half-awake.

“Whatisit?” you ask.

“You fell asleep reading again.”

You fix your posture, fully lying down.

“Youshouldn’thavewokenmeuppp,” you scold him.

“Why?”

“Ialways…needto…getaheadstartbeforeyoustartsnoring.”

He laughs. He combs your soft hair and says, “I’ll stay awake till you get to sleep.”

For the next few minutes, he places his hand on you and feels your chest rise and fall less and less and your breathing turn quiet. Then, there’s a little snore that comes out of you. He smiles. He has no right to complain about you snoring, it’s not as loud as his snores anyway.

He brushes your hair and kisses your temple. Then again. Then again. He lies on his side of the bed, allowing the darkness to seep through his eyes. In his head, he begins his plans to spend a day with you tomorrow. Or maybe two days. Or three. Though your love for each other is infinite, life is not; Yuki will hold you dear for as much as he can, for as long as he can. He'll do anything to express his gratitude besides what has already been expressed in the days since you have been together.

Then at long last, you are both asleep.

By then, the night had fallen halfway. The clouds have finally cleared, where the stars begin to show their shine. Just know that whatever nature throws, the stars are still bound to you and Yuki—at the height of adoration and tenderness between the both of you, there is love in a sky where the stars shine brightest. 

[angelic-sturniolos111]

Matt’s Teammate 💙 pt. 2

After long-distance texting and FaceTime calls everyday for months Matt finally makes plans to see you in person again. [pt. 1 here!]

matthew sturniolo x fem! reader

warnings: cursing, slight make-out sesh (v romantic), just fluffy asf

author’s note: sorry this took longer to write than expected but enjoyyyyyy

this pic of Matt is so bf coded I can’t even

Y/C/N = your city’s name [from tour] even though we’re gonna pretend you live somewhere cold and snowy to match this pic (sorry)

***four months ago***

I had fun tonight, Y/N. You seem like a really great girl, and I would love to see you again if I can.

You stared at your phone in disbelief, and had to check his account ten times over to make sure it wasn’t a bot or a scam because you genuinely could not fathom that Matt Sturniolo just replied with THAT. Simply liking the message would have sent you through the roof, but your heart is soaring.

You carefully and deliberately craft a response not wanting to blow your one and only chance at possibly being with Matt again. You decide to keep it simple and sweet as to not come off too overbearing (even though internally you were completely freaking tf out).

Of course! Next time you’re in Y/C/N shoot me a text 🥰

…and with that you typed your phone number into the message and hit send.

Moments later your phone starts ringing with a FaceTime notification from an unknown number. Guessing it might be Matt you quickly fix your hair in front of your face, put on lip gloss, and adjust your boobs to look perfect in your bra to try and look your best. You slide the bar to answer the call, and Matt’s glorious face illuminates your screen.

Holy fuck holy fuck holy fuck. You thought to yourself as you kept a calm smile on your face despite your heart trying to escape your chest. Matt smiles when he sees you on his screen.

“Hey, sorry to call you randomly but I tend to sound a lot better in person than I do over text.” He laughs. “And,” he hesitates, “I honestly wanted to see your pretty face again.”

Your breath hitches in your throat at his words. You try and collect the million thoughts flooding your brain right now to get a sentence out.

“I— uh… Yeah I,” you croaked out. You were able to keep your composure better earlier on stage, but this was completely different and VERY unexpected. Matt laughs lightly at your obvious nerves.

“Take your time. Sorry, I’m sure I caught you completely off guard.” He teases, but you can also see the sincerity in his eyes and know that he’s being patient for you.

You take a deep breath in through your nose, and out through your mouth.

“Okay…” you say letting out what was a mixture of a laugh and an exasperated sigh. “Hi!” You say cheerfully.

“Hi.” Matt responds sweetly. God, the way he was looking at you made you want to throw the phone across the room.

“You’re right, I totally wasn’t expecting any of this… do you do this often? Like, call fans and stuff?” You said a bit unsure. Your heart was telling you that Matt maybe genuinely liked you, but your brain also knows that he’s a dude who could just be looking for a hookup in each state while he travels. Matt furrows his brow at your question before looking surprised.

“Oh OH no no no no no it’s not like that. I swear. Like- I mean… not like I just want to fuck or anything. Um, I like you and I saw your DM and— not to be like weird calling you or anything but…” Matt stops his frantic run-on before pausing and taking a breath. “No, I don’t do this often. I don’t do this ever actually.”

“I think you just made that pretty obvious.” You both laugh. “Sooooo,” you say in a sing-song voice “you like me?”

Matt brings his hand up to rub his eyes as a small smirk creeps on his lips and he nods his head gently.

“Yeah… yeah I really do. I thought I’d never be able to do anything about it, thinking I’d never see you again, but my brothers convinced me otherwise. When I found your instagram earlier I decided to take a chance hoping I wouldn’t regret it.” He says, and you can’t help but blush.

“Why would you regret it?” You ask.

“Well, not knowing if you were already seeing someone, or just weren’t interested. Mainly though because it would be tough to really see anyone given my career.” A tone of sadness lingers in his voice. It’s clear that his words are true, and that he definitely has feelings for you. Clearly, you had feelings for him too and would love to get to know him more, but you also knew that dating him would be quite challenging at times.

“Maybe we didn’t win tonight, but we still do make a pretty good team. I trust we can work something out because I’d love nothing more than to see you again.” You say smiling, and with that Matt smiles in return.

“I don’t know… I’m really starting to feel like a winner right now!” Matt jokes making you scoff and roll your eyes at his cuteness.

***present day***

You often reflet back to the night you met Matt on stage given that that was the first and last time you had seen him in person talking, hugging, laughing. These past four months you have enjoyed every text, every phone call, every FaceTime from him as you stayed in close touch— talking every single day. You had grown to love and admire Matt through a screen since the beginning, but this time was much much different. Now, you two had a genuine, deep, emotional connection, and you were no longer just a fan watching him through a screen. You meant something to him. The two of you often talked and fantasized about your next meeting, but had no real plans of that actually happening. You were in school, and he had YouTube and his career to focus on. Finding time in your schedule to visit each other was difficult, but both of you were hoping to work something out soon.

***

You snuggled up on your cozy apartment couch watching the latest triplet video on your tv screen. You subconsciously had your attention on Matt the entire video. You had to keep rewinding the video because you missed nearly everything they were saying as you kept wandering off into day dreams about him, wishing he was sitting there next to you, arms wrapped around you. You’re pulled out of your daydream when your phone dings.

Hi beautiful sorry it took me so long to respond we were recording a podcast.

No worries ☺️ can we FaceTime?

Sure, but can you do me a favor first?

You’re curious as to know what on earth kind of favor you could possibly do for Matt.

Of course

You replied and anxiously awaited his answer as you saw the three moving dots across the bottom of the screen indicating he was responding.

Can you open the door?

What? You were incredibly confused. Not a second later you hear a knock at your door. You’re thinking maybe he had flowers delivered again, but it was almost 10pm so that wouldn’t make sense. You get up and walk to your door opening it hesitantly and slowly. Your door was cracked about halfway open before a familiar face pops into view.

“Hi!” Matt giggles excitedly.

“OH MY GOSH!” You scream, throwing the door all the way open and jumping into his arms. He wraps his arms around you tightly as you burry your face into his neck.

Matt’s POV:

I hug Y/N tight, smelling her sweet hair and loving the feeling of her wrapped up in my arms, something I had been dreaming about for months.

Chris and Nick were both focusing on individual personal projects, and since we pre-filmed some content I finally had the time to visit Y/N. As Thanksgiving is approaching, and she’ll have some days off from school, the timing couldn’t have been better. I previously had Chris send her some exclusive Fresh Love apparel, but she has no idea I saved her address from her shipping info. I booked a very expensive last minute flight out to see her, but even just hugging her now I know it was worth every dime.

I began to rock Y/N back in forth in my arms, not wanting to release the hug, but the cold autumn air was making me shake even through my hoodie and jacket.

“Can I come in? I’m chilly.” I say into her hair.

“Yes, yes come in!” She says pulling away from the hug and eagerly dragging me inside by my arm. I could feel my jaw tightening from smiling so much. She is absolutely adorable.

I glance around her apartment that I had seen a million times over on FaceTime, but never in person. She had a bookshelf with a framed photo of us on stage together at the show we met at, and it warmed my heart so much. I genuinely felt like the luckiest guy in the world being in the presence of such a beautiful girl that I could call mine.

I hasn’t even finished dropping my backpack off my shoulders all the way before Y/N engulfed me in another hug as she dug her face so deep into my chest I wasn’t sure how she was even able to breathe.

“I’ve missed you.” I hear her soft, muffled voice say into my chest.

“I’ve missed you more beautiful.” I say pulling back and planting a gentle kiss on her forehead. She pulls away and our eyes lock. Do I kiss her? Is now the best time? I’ve imagined it in my head, but now that it’s actually happening I am completely unsure of what to do. She takes a deep breath in and interjects,

“Umm. So what do you want to do first?” She asks kindly, and I laugh.

“That’s it? No questions about how I got here or how long I’m staying?” I question her.

“Oh forget that you can tell me later. I don’t want to waste a single second with you— after all we’ve planned to do so much together.” She says. Every text, every call, we talk about what we would love to do together. Nothing intimate, but just dates we’d love to go on, movies we want to show one another, stuff like that. Anytime I find a cute date spot in LA I write it down in my phone notes hoping that I can take her to all of those places someday.

“I don’t know it’s late now and I’m pretty tired. I was so excited on the plane ride over I didn’t sleep a wink.” I say, and she gives me a soft smille. “Can I—um. Can I cuddle you, Y/N?” I say shyly and her smile grows.

I follow her as she walks into her bedroom and swipes all her stuffed animals onto the floor to give us room. She looks at me, her cheeks blushing pink as she pats a spot on the bed for me. We both climb onto the bed next to one another, and I extend my arm out for her to lay her head on my chest. She moves her body closer to mine as her body clings to my side. She wraps one arm under me with the other resting on my stomach as her hand gently caresses my chest. Our legs entangle into one another and she drapes her thigh across mine. I play with her hair and look down as her eyes close softly, fully enveloped in my embrace, taking in the moment. I dip my head down so it’s resting on top of hers.

We stayed like this, silent, for a while.

It wasn’t an awkward silence, but it was quite peaceful. It was the type of silence where you’re just enjoying the moment savoring what life has to offer.

After a while I start to feel her slightly shifting. She moves to look up at me and we smile, locking eyes.

“I’m so comfy, and as much as I want to talk your ear off I’m actually really enjoying this.” She says softly.

“Me too. How about we go to sleep now, and we can get an early start to our day tomorrow, yeah?” I suggest and she nods her head.

She looks so unbelievably beautiful in this moment. Her eyes twinkle from the light of the lamp on her nightstand, her soft skin still slightly blushing, her pink lips parted ever so slightly. I want to kiss those lips so god damn bad.

My hand moves from her waist to the side of her face gently swiping my thumb across her cheek. This caused her eyes to flicker from mine down to my lips, and with that I pulled her in closer and placed my lips on hers. It was a quick kiss, but soft and gentle. She pulls me back in and our lips once again meet, this time for a deeper kiss, full of passion and want. We kept kissing like this, and I move my arms back to her waist to pull her up across my lap as she straddles me.

She pulls back from the kiss, and I wish I could capture what I see in front of me to keep this moment forever. She had one hand on my chest to balance herself, and the other was playing with the hair on the back of my head. Her eyes glanced down at me, looking into mine, and her reddened lips curled up in to the cutest smile. She was breathtaking, and I knew then that I was completely devoted to her.

“So… regret your decision to message me?” She asks teasingly making me let out a small laugh. I stare deep into her eyes as I respond.

“Not in the slightest.”

**********

This is definitely not my best work and it’s super short so I apologize. 😣

Thank you to everyone who enjoyed part one! Sorry this is lowkey a let down I feel bad tbh.

Plz don’t h8 me I love you all

- Kay 🩶

[harrywavycurly]

Sarah does Eddie come back? I need to know if he comes back for us😭😭

Hiii lovey!! So I’m in a good mood so I’ll give you the answer, it’s yes. Eddie does come back for you and here is the conversation y’all have when he gets there, enjoy!💖

-find all things One Night Stand Eddie here✨

*Eddie has come to tell you the three words you never thought you’d ever hear come out of his mouth*

“Please don’t be asleep already…please don’t be asleep…plea-” “Are you talking to yourself? That’s a new level of weird….” “Jesus! What the fuck are you doing down here?” “Waiting for the elevator.” “You’ve been waiting for the elevator this whole time?” “Well…no…I kinda forgot to uhm push the button when…you left.” “Uh…have you pushed it yet because….the light isn’t on.” “Oh fuck…there yes..I have pushed the button.” “Will you…just let me walk you upstairs…please?” “Eddie it’s almost one in the morning can you just go home and we can finish this whole pointless argument tomorrow?” “I don’t want to argue with you…I know why you were with Steve and I’m sorry I reacted the way that I did..” “Did you know Dustin can skate backwards? It’s pretty impressive.” “Are you ignoring the fact I said I was sorry?” “No…I’m just waiting on you to elaborate on why you’re sorry…you know since there’s so many reasons you could be apologizing to me right now.” “I’m an asshole.” “While I’m so happy you’ve come to terms with that…I thought you were apologizing not just stating facts?” “I’m sorry I was an asshole to you about being with Steve…I just…I feel this…need to know what you’re doing all the time and I’m sorry.” “I get it Eddie…I’m carrying your daughter and you feel protective of her and I understand but you have to realize I’m an adult and there’s going to be times I go do things without telling you because I don’t have to let you know where I’m at and who I’m with all the time.” “It’s not just her I feel…protective over it’s..it’s you too…I know you’re going to do things and hang out with people without me knowing and it’s fine I’m going to try…to be more understanding about it…” “why do you feel you need to protect me?” “Because you’re new in town and…you don’t know a lot of people here and I don’t want you to get hurt.” “You don’t want me to get hurt?” “Yeah by the fucking jackasses in this town…I know you don’t trust easy and clearly you’ve had some…shitty men in your life and I’m just…I’m trying not to be added to that list.” “You’re not doing a very good job…” “I know and I’m sorry…will you please let me walk you to your door?” “I would but…honestly my feet hurt so bad I don’t think I can walk at this moment in time so I’ll just take the elevator.” “What? No just…sit down on the step and uhm…I can…rub them for you? Maybe that’ll help and then we can…take the elevator together just in case you…get sick.” “This is the second time you’ve mentioned rubbing my feet tonight…are you into feet or something?” “No no…I just wanna help you feel better.” “I’m kidding…yeah sure you…can rub my feet..that would be fine.” “Okay here give me your hand…that’s it okay now just sit…down…good job…uhm…so Dustin can really skate backwards?” “Yes it was so cool and Lucas and Will can dance on skates…next time you need to come.” “Yeah sounds like I missed quite the party…how’s that feel?” “Like I could fall asleep right here on these concrete steps….thank you.” “For what?” “Coming back…I’d still probably be standing there having not pushed the damn button for the elevator…” “Next time I won’t leave.” “Promise?” “Yeah….I promise.” “Good because I was ten seconds away from calling Wayne…”

[ramblingthoughtsofayoungadult]

Headcanons: Jordan Li with Streamer!fem reader

A/N: This character has a chokehold on me just like they do everyone else. Also, I don't claim to own this character nor the gifs, I just had this idea for a scenario.

Notes: 1116 word count and some swearing.

You never thought that your stream you started out of boredom during high school would take off but by the time you got to GOD U, you were always on the Top Ten Streamer list on V-TV.

 Your content ranged from wholesome gaming, collabs with other creators, and commentary on popular videos or media. Emma, Marie, Luke, Cate, and Andre had all been featured at least once but your oldest friend, Jordan, was hesitant.

“I don’t want a bunch of weird strangers knowing who I am,” they muttered when you tried to convince them to join for the millionth time.

You pouted, “Jordan, that’s what the mods are for. Anyway, it’s a risk you’re going to have to take as a supe anyway, right?” They were reluctant to admit you were right and after bribing them with Olive Garden, grumpily sat next to you as you set up your stream the following night.

“Try to look a little more enthusiastic,” you teased as you adjusted your cameras to frame you and Jordan well.

“It’s hard when I’m still hungover,” they griped. Despite their mood, you couldn’t help but feel giddy as you clicked on the big green “start” button and sat down in your custom gaming chair.

“Hi everyone, welcome back! Today, I have a very special guest who taught me almost everything I know about gaming,” you chirped, pulling Jordan’s chair closer to your side. “This is Jordan.”

Almost immediately, your chat started going crazy. “Who’s the hot guy?” “That’s your friend???!!!” “I knew I should’ve tried harder to get into GOD U.”

Jordan’s eyes widened at the response, and they sat up a little straighter and waved. “Hi everyone and yes, I am Y/N’s friend, and I did teach her everything she knows about gaming.” You elbowed them in the side playfully. “Not true!” “Before me, she didn’t even know what T-posing was.”

You playfully smacked their arm and shook your head. “Shut up. Anyway, tonight I am wearing my cozy sweatshirt because it is spooky season and to celebrate, we will be playing Outlast and Jordan is here in case I faint from fear and emotional support.” Jordan snorted, “You’re playing Outlast when you couldn’t finish FNAF?”

The night was filled with screaming and panic from you while Jordan mostly laughed at your pain and tried to give directions.

“Go left! No, the other left!” They shouted. “I panicked!”

Throughout the gameplay, the chat was bombarding you both with comments and donations. “Cherrypickednightmare gifted 50 subs and said, ‘Please give Jordan their cut’,” Jordan read. “Thank you for the subs! What cut? This is my channel, Jordan is a guest. They are here as a friend,” you said without taking your eyes off the screen.

“I don’t think you did this well with anyone else on the channel, I think I should be compensated,” Jordan teased. “Your pay is my friendship and potentially more Olive Garden.”

With that statement, your subscribers sent more “gifts” and subs as you continued playing. “Mikeysleftfoot said, ‘For the Olive Garden fund,” Jordan chuckled. “Yes, chat, for only 9.99 a day, you can provide Jordan with a week’s worth of Olive Garden even though they only eat the breadsticks, but someone needs to order something so no one gets kicked out,” you teased in a fake serious voice.

Jordan seemed to have too much fun interacting with chat while you were avoiding being attacked by zombified asylum patients. “WHY DID I COME INTO THIS HOSPITAL ALONE WITHOUT A WEAPON? I’M A JOURNALIST AND NO ONE KNOWS I’M HERE!” you screamed while frantically trying to get your character to run away from the giant patient. “Y/N, Viledeeds87 wants to know how we met.”

“NOT NOW!” But you died in-game seconds later and huffed. “We met in kindergarten,” you stated. “No, preschool.” You burst out laughing, “My bad, I lumped the years together. We were on the playground, I got a splinter from the swing set, and Jordan walked me to the nurse’s office.” “I’ve been looking out for her clumsy ass since.”

After that night, your friendship with Jordan and Jordan themselves became a hot topic on your channel. “Someone said, ‘Why is Jordan so daddy?’ Relax, chat, or else I will not bring them back on the channel. Their head’s gonna get too big from your thirst,” you joked.  

Surprisingly, Jordan loved the attention, especially the reactions they could get out of you because of the attention.

“I should write up a contract to make sure I’m getting my proper royalties,” Jordan suggested mindlessly during a study session.  “You know I have a team of lawyers, right?” “Scared they’ll agree with me?”

But when your merch collection came out, Jordan was the first to model and post about it on social media. Their appearances on the channel were regular and fueled more engagement on your streams, which your management loved.

Your other friends offline couldn’t help but comment on it either, with Andre only being a little jealous of the attention Jordan got while Luke and Cate couldn’t be more supportive.

Emma and Marie proudly shipped you and Jordan. “You’re so cute together, I mean, it’s giving frenemies and will-they-won’t-they at the same time!” Emma insisted. “No way, there’s nothing there. Jordan’s my best friend and it makes sense that we would have decent chemistry.” “I may not be super experienced in this area but, they do not look at you like a friend, on stream and off,” Marie commented.

You thought your younger friends were nuts. If there was anything between you and Jordan, you would be the first to know. Sure, you occasionally got butterflies around them when they smiled in either form and you regularly bought things or sent them pictures of something that reminded you of them. But all best friends do that, right?

Then one night, when you should’ve been studying, you were scrolling on social media when you stumbled across fan compilation videos of you and Jordan. While a lot of them were funny, a few of them were on the shipping side.

For the first time, you saw how Jordan’s big brown eyes softened when you weren’t looking at them and how they were so quick to pull you in their lap when you tried to storm off in a rage-quit. Was this how they always acted around you?

As you raked your brain, you began to remember several moments where Jordan acted a little more than a friend to you but at the time, you brushed it off. Did this mean they liked you? Did this mean it was finally okay for you to admit how you feel?

[so-long-soldier-writes]

drabble #1 - shots

kol mikaelson x reader

summary: of all the places for your secret crush to be revealed, of course it's at a loud, unruly bar. and, of course, your crush overhears everything you say about him.

tags: alcohol, drinking games, secret crush, minor steroline

word count: 953

For the last three hours, you and Caroline have been in the grill, getting drunker by the minute. An innocent game of rating people who walked through the door quickly became a less-than-innocent game of electing how many shots it would take to kiss said people. Then, of course, things took a turn when instead of asking about strangers, the questions came about friends. Now, you’re in a full fledged, back-and-forth, public game of how many shots it would take to kiss your friends. 

“How many shots to kiss Matt?” You ask.

“Considering I’ve already kissed him, probably none. The embarrassment is already gone. Been there, done that. Now, how many shots would it take you to kiss Jeremy?”

“Girl, like ten, to get over the fact that I’m kissing Elena’s little brother. I mean, he’s good-looking enough, but oh my god.”

“True. Okay, your turn.”

“Hmmm… oh, this is a good one. John Gilbert.”

Caroline chokes on her tequila shot. “That is not a friend!”

“I’m branching out.”

“Like, a thousand!”

You erupt in a fit of laughter, “same. Straight alcohol poisoning.” 

“How many to kiss… Alaric?”

“Saltzman? Seriously?”

“Mhm. And give a real number. Be honest.”

“Ugh. Well he’s not unattractive, but he’s also our teacher, Care. Ummm… sixteen.”

“Very specific.”

“I thought about it thoroughly.”

“Clearly.”

“Okay. How many to sleep with-”

“When did this turn into ‘sleep with’?! I thought we were kissing!”

“Shut up,” you giggle, “how many to sleep with Stefan?”

Caroline goes quiet immediately. She starts counting on her fingers. “Six. Because we’re kinda friends, but not super close. And he’s also Elena’s ex, and Damon’s brother, so that makes things a little weird.”

“Really?”

“What would you say?”

“I’m not sure, actually.”

“Alright then.” She looks around the restaurant for a minute. In a split second, her eyes land on someone, then bounce off immediately. When she turns back to you, she’s smirking. “How many would it take for you to sleep with Kol Mikaelson?”

On a normal day, you’d blush red and refuse to answer. But tonight, you’re too drunk to remember you have to hide your crush on the man. “Two. Both solely for confidence.”

Her jaw drops, “Y/N!”

“What?!”

“You’d sleep with him barely drunk? Not even drunk, like slightly tipsy?”

“Girl, I’d sleep with him sober, I just need the confidence boost.” You shift in your seat as she says nothing. “I know you feel the same way about Stefan, so don’t come at me!”

“I said six!”

“I know you’d do less, given the chance!”

“Y/N!”

“What?! He’s hot,” you mutter, “and I like a bad boy.”

“You’re crazy,” she laughs, “we’re gonna need another bottle for this. I’ll be right back.” She saunters off towards the bar, still shocked, but also giggling, about your truthful answer. 

“Might take me a shot of confidence, too, darling. To match your boldness.” A voice comes from your left. You whip around to find its owner, just to come face-to-face with Kol himself. 

Your face pales.

“Aw, come on, don’t get shy on me now.”

“Did- did you?”

“Hear you? Definitely. Vampire hearing, darling. Plus, girls get louder when they’re drunk.” He smiles. “But not to worry, I’m flattered it would only take a couple confidence shots to sleep with me. Say, we can make that a reality. I’ll admit, the reason I come to this bar every night with my brother is on the off-chance that you’d be here. Looks like I came on the perfect night.”

“You look for me?” You stutter on your words.

“Not in a creepy way, but like an ‘I need to know you’ way. Seems to me that you’d like to know me better too, if it’s not so outlandish of me to suggest.”

“No, not at all.”

“Sounds lovely. Meet you at seven, here, tomorrow night?” 

“I’d love to.”

“Perfect, then.” He takes your hand and kisses it. “See you then, darling.”

He leaves with enough time to spare so that Caroline doesn’t cross his path.

“I nearly had to fight Matt for the bottle. He tried to say we’re too drunk. But- why are you blushing?”

“I’m not blushing.”

“You totally are.”

“I am not.”

“Y/N!”

“Fine! I might be!”

“Why? What happened? Spill!”

“Our conversation may have been overheard.”

“Oh no! By whom?! Not Stefan, right? I would die.”

You bite your lip, “nope, Kol.”

“Mikaelson?!” You nod, and her eyes go wide. “What did he say?!”

“Invited me out on a date,” you try to not squeal in excitement, “tomorrow at seven.”

“And you’re going?!”

“Of course. I did say I’d sleep with him, right?”

“Oh my god, is he the secret crush you have that you wouldn’t tell me about earlier?”

“Quite possibly.”

“Y/N!”

“I can’t help it, he’s hot!”

“He’s going to eat you alive.”

“Not if I eat him first,” you say, wetting your lips. 

“Oh my god, girl, you’re crazy!”

“Don’t worry, I’ll keep an eye out for your guy to set you up,” you snicker, “then we can both date our secret crushes, and sleep with them with minimal shots taken.”

“I do not have a crush on Stefan.”

“I didn’t say Stefan.”

She pales, knowing she’s caught. “You’re so bad!”

“Bad? Or going after what I want? Come on, Care, join the dark side. You know you want to.”

“Mmmmm… you better tell me how that date goes tomorrow.”

“Oh I will.”

“Now,” she puts on a fake serious face, “how many shots to sleep with Damon, if he wasn’t a dick?”

You snort, “I don’t care how less dickish he is. If I already have Kol, I don’t want anyone else.”

[mothybean]

Airhead

Chapter 3

---

Our study session ended a little after midnight. Once I pulled myself together and focused on Jinx’s explanations, rather than her lips, I actually learned something. She was a lot smarter than I had anticipated. Jinx agreed that Heimerdinger’s approach to teaching was niche and super convoluted. I was shocked that she was able to decode his old English riddles and with such ease. It was almost second nature to her. As we went through each question, Jinx was able to break them down in a way where my brain could genuinely absorb the information. I felt like a weight had been lifted off of my shoulders, the fear of failure was becoming less intense the longer I paid attention. It wavered, but ultimately, our session did help. I had a new profound sense of confidence after just a few hours, who knows how much confidence I’d have in just a week!

I closed my laptop and shoved it back into my bag. As excited as I was, I was exhausted. We studied for about five hours straight. Jinx seemed pretty tired too. I didn’t want to push her. She sat on the far end of the couch, watching me gather my belongings as she fiddled with one of her braids. I couldn’t help but feel flustered, her gaze on me. Being the awkward mess I already was, my awkwardness always intensified if there was a pretty girl nearby. It was a curse. I was very well spoken, but put me in a room with a hottie and it’s bye bye articulate and hello neanderthal who lives in a cave and shits in a hole. 

“I really appreciate you helping me out tonight. I’m sorry it went on so late.” I said softly, hiking my ten thousand pound bag on my back. Jinx stretched her legs out on the couch and her arms above her head, the intensity of her stretch caused her black tee to hike up a tad, her stomach revealing itself slightly. My eyes immediately homed in on her navel, my thirsty side was getting stronger by the second. As I examined her stomach, I noticed she had even more tattoos; the same blue clouds she had on her arm. They seemed to trail down her whole right side given the line up. My thoughts started to wander, wondering just how far down they went. My curiosity was piqued.

“No biggie.” She waved me off.  “Lemme know if you need more help.” She said casually, her body sinking into the couch, her shirt riding up even more, her stomach now fully exposed. I couldn’t help but stare. Much like Vi’s, she was in good shape too. Not as much as Vi, but Jinx absolutely had definition. My mouth went dry at the sight of her. The primal urge to drop my bag and pounce on her like a wild animal was intense. As much as I wanted to, I seriously needed to pump the breaks. She was my tutor and my best friend’s girlfriend’s little sister. Would it be weird if we started dating? I wonder what Vi would say, no, what would Caitlyn say? Did Jinx even swing that way? It seemed like a fair accusation, most bi or gay chicks had dyed hair and tattoos. I don’t think I was too far off based on my educated guesses.

“Hello?” Jinx questioned. I snapped my attention to the blue hair goddess still sprawled out on the couch. Goddamn she looked like a painting. “You good? You’ve been like…staring at me.” Once again, I felt my cheeks go red hot, my heart started to pound a bit harder. My heartbeat felt so loud, I was starting to think she could hear it.

“Oh, sorry, I just…” I needed to think of something and quick! It was only a matter of time before the incoherent babbling started. “I was just going to ask you about…your tattoos! W-where did you get them?” I felt sweat start to form  on the back of my neck with how nervous I was. Jinx raised an eyebrow in question. She pulled her shirt down, covering her exposed skin and sat up straight, her eyes burning into mine. 

At that moment, the room’s vibe suddenly felt…different. I couldn’t put my finger on it, but there was a palpable tension. I was praying that she wasn’t pissed off at me being a thirsty idiot. I was staring at her like she was some exhibit afterall. Who wouldn’t have felt uncomfortable? I was about to apologize when Jinx suddenly stood up, her eyes still locked onto mine and pulled her shirt over her head. My heart was racing faster than a fuck boy street racing at two in the morning. I couldn’t think of one coherent thought as she stood there in only her sports bra. My eyes slowly looked her up and down, counting every single cloud she had on her immaculate complexion. 

“I got these done a couple of years ago. You like ‘em?” She smirked as she modeled her tattoos, her fingertips slowly dragging down her arm seductively. I felt my temperature gauge break. I’m pretty sure I looked sunburned with how red I was. She was stunning. My legs desperately wanted to move forward towards her. I fought hard against my subconscious behavior, counteracting them by giving her a forced smile.

“Wow.” Was all I could mutter. Jinx chuckled softly, obviously amused with my reaction. She stared at me a bit longer before her hands dropped to the hem of her pants, slowly pulling them down. Stunning and VERY out of pocket. If I were a cartoon character, steam would have been pouring out of my ears and blood would have been spewing out of my nose. I had no idea what was going on, but I didn’t know if I could handle it, considering I almost creamed my pants just by standing in her bra and pants. It was game over if I saw her in her bra AND underwear. I had to get out of there. Fast.

“Oh! Wow, look at the time! It’s really late. You’re so gorgeous-I mean-THEY’RE so gorgeous…haha. Silly me. I’m always messing up my words. You’ll have to show me next time! Uh, bye!” With my babbling idiot making an appearance, I took that as my cue and I sprinted towards the front door and bolted outside, leaving the door wide open. My heart was thumping against my rib cage like an angry UFC fighter. What on Earth was she doing? Wait, what was I doing? I was just in there ogling her and then the moment she makes an advance, a super strong one if I may add, I dip?! I was pathetic. I smacked myself in the face, realizing my mistake and started to turn around. The moment I faced the front of the house, Jinx was leaning in the doorway, her arms crossed and a smug look of satisfaction planted on her beautiful face.

“See ya next time, Y/N.” She chuckled, closing the door, an audible lock sound echoed. I stood there embarrassed as ever. I probably looked like a moron with how I reacted. At least she said ‘next time’, reassuring that I didn’t completely freak her out by my nincompoop behavior. I couldn’t get her body out of my mind, her blue clouds flashed everytime I closed my eyes. I was captivated to say the least. 

I got into my car and tossed my bag onto the passenger seat. I turned the ignition, my car’s engine stuttering a bit before fully turning on. I caught a glimpse of myself in my rear view mirror as I backed out of the driveway. I was still red as a lobster. I couldn’t wait to get home. I was going to take the coldest shower in existence. I had to cool down my core. If my body went any hotter, I’m pretty sure I would have melted into a pitiful puddle. I had to say, even though the night ended kind of weird, I was eager to see her again. When next time rolls around, I won’t run.

[tommysversion]

Heyooo, I love all of your work!!! Low-key binge read all of it!!! I don’t know if this is like a weird or bad ask, but I really want to read a fic of Joel Miller or Din Djarin seeing the readers SH scars for the first time and asking them who did that to them or getting worried. I think this would need some sort of fluffy ending lol

I struggle with SH and just kind of want to see how you think he would react to seeing such scars.

Hello anon! This is not remotely a bad or weird ask, I’m sorry I didn’t get to it sooner. This is something that’s very very personal to me, as well. I struggled with SH and attempts for ten years. I’ll be clean four years in October. I’m sorry this isn’t as long as I wanted it to be, I got kind of emotional writing this. I hope you like it, and I hope you’re doing alright. My inbox is always open if you need someone to talk to. 💞

{ Scars }

You didn’t think anything of it when you rolled up your sleeves to prepare dinner. That the scars were there was as natural to you as anything else, your hair colour, the freckles on your arms, the shape of your nose. 

You were so used to them being there, the old ones and the not so old, some covered and some not, that they didn’t even register to you. You weren’t exactly comfortable showing them to people, though, and so usually you wore long sleeves. 

It made sense that Joel hadn’t seen them. If anything, you’d been subconsciously trying to make sure he didn’t, not so much afraid of what he might think of you, as you wanted to avoid the conversation. 

Tonight it was inevitable, as he leaned against the kitchen bench, watching you, his gaze eventually falling to your hands, your bare arms. He stopped mid sentence; he had been talking about teaching Ellie how to play guitar, how he would teach her a few old songs he liked. 

“And I thought I’d teach her Country Ro-“ 

He circled the bench, taking your hands in his, turning your arms face up so he could see the scars there. 

His first, almost foolish thought, was to ask who had done this to you; to worry that you had been tortured. But then he looked a little closer, and realised, releasing one of your wrists and almost absently touching the scar on his head, because he knew. 

“I’m not gonna ask if you’re alright, sweetheart.” He said finally, “because I know that’s a stupid question. So instead I’m gonna ask if you’re safe?” 

You took a moment to breathe before you could look up at him, forcing yourself to exhale before you nodded. 

“It’s been… a while. You probably think I’m stupid, or weak, or-“ 

He shook his head, leaned down to kiss your forehead, cutting you off. 

“I don’t. I don’t think you’re weak. I know… I know what it’s like. To have so much pain inside that you don’t know what to do with it.” 

Again his hand brushed his own scar, remembering the cool metal of the gun to his temple, the way his hand had shaken, the way he had flinched. The trail of self destruction that had followed that failed attempt. 

“I just…”

“I know.” He reassured you, releasing your other wrist so he could wrap his arms around you, holding you close. “Believe me, baby girl, I know.” 

The idea that this man, the epitome of survivor and strength, knew exactly how you felt was… calming. Reassuring. He had survived so much, had worked through so much pain and come out the other side. If he could do it… if he was there with you… perhaps… so could you. 

[bitchinbarzal]

five more minutes | luke hughes

summary; I liked this song so it’s a song fic!

-

Eight years old, couple cane poles sittin' down by the creek

Lines in the water watchin' those bobbers, seein' that red sun sink

Mama's on the porch yellin', "Supper's hot, y'all come and get it"

We yelled, "Five more minutes"

“y/n, luke c’mon you too! Dinners getting cold!” Ellen shouted down the yard to the dock where you both sat watching the fish.

“Five more minutes mom!”

“You can come back out after but you’ve gotta eat!” She demanded and the two groaned, standing from their sports and marching up the garden to the table where everyone else waited for them.

“About time, I’m starving!” Jack moaned, finally able to eat his burger.

“Yeah we had to wait for you Lukey and your girlfriend” Quinn taunted.

Their dad gave both of them a stern look “Knock it off you two, you’re making poor y/n uncomfortable”

You smiled, burger in hand and ketchup smeared on your cheek “It’s okay I’ve got brothers too and they suck also”

The two choked on their food and Jim let out a laugh “She’s funny, I think she’ll fit right in here”

After dinner it was getting dark.

“Mom we’re going down to the dock again!” Luke announced

“I don’t think so you two, it’s late and y/n sweetheart your mom will be wanting you home soon”

“five minutes? Please mom?” Luke begged

“Okay five minutes and I mean it! No chancing it remember you’re still only eight young man” she kissed his forehead and let you go.

At sixteen it was 12:03 standin' at her front door

Katie's dad said midnight, but we needed just a little more

Yellow light flippin' on and off, interruptin' that goodnight kissin'

We wanted five more minutes

“Twelve o’clock you return my daughter Hughes” is what your dad said when luke picked you up for your date.

“Yes sir, twelve o’clock like the past eight years we’ve been friends” he made a playful jab but your dad didn’t laugh

“Well you weren’t dating her then, it’s different criteria now”

Your date was perfect, he’d taken you to the fair and it was just carefree. It was very You.

Luke landed you on the porch at 11:57, before the cut off.

You stood in front of him on the porch, hands cradling his “I had a lot of fun tonight, thanks Lu”

“Anything for my girl” he smiled, brushing the hair from your eyes behind your ears.

You watched his eyes as Luke’s head slowly dipped down and right before he was going to kiss you…

the porch lights began flickering

You both groaned simultaneously

The door opened and your dad mumbled “twelve o three kid, you’re late”

“Five more minutes sir?” He almost begged and you gave a pleading look.

“Fine but I’m deducting ten the next time you take her out!”

At eighteen, turned my helmet in and walked to the fifty-yard line

Just the coach and me after we lost eighteen to nine

And I cried, "Man, next time to get in here, I'll have to buy a ticket

Can't you give me five more minutes?"

They had returned from Florida, unsuccessful once again.

Everyone was moping around and making calls — the calls. Mackie and Duke never even left Florida, Luke and Eddy had to pack their stuff in a box and ship it out to Florida.

Luke found himself at the brunt end of phone calls from Jack, Nico, the organization. He just wanted to breathe.

He found himself in Yost on a Friday night all alone.

He sat in one of the seats, it felt weird he’d never sat here before.

He stared at the ice thinking of all the memories; his first goal, his team, his first hattrick.

“It’s weird to sit alone in the dark you know?” Your voice broke him out of his thoughts, turning to see you on the concourse.

“What are you doing here?”

“I had to grab my camera from the media room I’ve got an interview with Mackie tomorrow about signing that I need it for” you explained, sitting in the seat next to him and dropping your head onto his shoulder.

“Whatcha thinking about?”

“The next time i wanna get in here, I’ll have to buy a ticket” he mumbled.

“I’ll get you in, media perks and all that” you joked and he chuckled only lightly

“I’m serious y/n, I feel like I wasn’t even in college two seconds now suddenly everyone’s trying to pull me out I just need five more minutes!” He snapped, frustratedly sitting forward.

Your hand rested on his back and you kissed him shoulder “You’ve got all the time in the world baby, I’m here when you’re ready”

He looked up at you, eyes red and strained “Can we have five more minutes?” He looked towards the ice and you nodded.

You both took off downstairs and got on skates before headed off doing calm laps of the ice, hand in hand.

“I wish we were kids in the dock again” Luke grumbles, turning to face you and skate backwards.

You smile “We gotta grow up sometime kid”

The lights turn on and catch both of your attention. Reggie, the cleaning guy stands ice side “you kids gotta go!”

“Five more minutes?” You ask, a soft smile on your face and he shrugs “Only five! And because you’re my favourite!”

please give us five more minutes?

You sobbed and sobbed into his hoodie, gripping onto him for dear life “Baby I’ve gotta go”

“No not yet” you cried.

“You said that last time, I promise you it’s going to be fine” he pulled you away from his body and looked you in the eyes “you’ll be in jersey with me in no time”

You pouted, sniffling “just give me five more minutes”

“My flights boarding” he states, checking his watch.

You lean forward, wrapping your arms around him and sniffling into his chest “I love you Lu, I’m so proud of you”

“I know love, my biggest fan always but I do really have to go” he urges, pulling you away from his body and holding your face.

You lean up and kiss him before mumbling “You’ve got to walk away now Luke because if you don’t I won’t let you go”

“Okay I’m going” with one last kiss

You step back under Mark’s arm watching Luke walk through the airport and begin crying again. Mark rubs up and down your arm “He’ll be great y/n”

“We just needed five more minutes”

[ctrsara]

(Lab) Accidents Happen

(Read on AO3)

(Little story based on this pencil drawing I did last night, plus some color added with my kid's random colored pencils, and cleaned up in Photoshop)

Tony Stark had only been home for about ten minutes when FRIDAY announced, “Boss, you have an incoming call from Dr. Banner.” 

He finished loosening his tie and pulled it free, tossing it on the bed. He glanced at the clock out of habit, even though he knew it was late. He wasn’t ever in bed at this hour, but Bruce usually was. His brow creased in concern.

“Put it through.”

“Tony?”

“Hey, Big Green. Everything okay?”

“I just got a notice that there was a lab accident in Lab #8.”

“At this time of night?” 

“Yeah, I looked at the footage, and it’s your kid. He’s fine, but I’m gonna let you handle this. I was just getting in bed.”

“Um, my kid? Not sure what you’re talking about,” Tony said nervously, slipping his shoes back on. “An issue with the chemistry lab is really your--”

“Go fix him, huh? He shouldn’t be in the lab this late on a Saturday night, especially unsupervised.”

“On it,” Tony said, resignation in his voice. Why did Bruce call Peter his kid? And why did Tony know exactly who he was talking about?

As he walked into #8, his eyes widened. What a mess. A very worried-looking Spider-kid was staring at a giant mound of frothy goo covering the table in front of him. 

“Peter.” 

The boy jumped, and a hand flew to the back of his neck. He wasn’t wearing a single stitch of safety equipment, and if Tony was right, he’d just smeared some of the  mixture along his neck.

“Uh… Mr. Stark? I thought you were at the gala!”

“I was, but I ducked out early. Care to explain what’s going on here? Why you’re in the lab, unsupervised, at this time of night? And what is this?”

“I…uh… it’s been a really busy weekend already, and finals are coming up next week, so I’m booked with study groups tomorrow, but I’m nearly out of web fluid, and I won’t have any time to make more this week, so if I didn’t make it tonight, I’d just be out, so I thought it would be okay if I just came in real fast to mix some up, but… uh…”

Tony was pretty sure Peter hadn’t even breathed during that little word explosion. Since no real explosions seemed imminent, he kind of wanted to laugh, but he made sure to keep his expression disapproving. 

“All of that, and the fact that you’re not even wearing goggles aside, what happened?” His web fluid had never looked… yellow before.

“I don’t know, I swear! The salicylic acid was clear when I measured it in the beaker, but then as I started pouring it all turned yellow and just kind of grew and I was afraid it wasn’t going to stop. But it’s still sticky,” he finished, trying to (unsuccessfully) wipe his neck and fingers off with a questionable looking rag.

Tony walked over and looked at the different chemicals he had assembled. Everything looked good until he got to the salicylic acid.

“Not the acid, Pete,” he said, the disapproval in his voice very real now. If the teen had grabbed something else without double checking, this could have been quite dangerous instead of just messy.

Peter stared hard at the bottle Tony was holding. “Oh,” he said, surprised.

“Yeah, ‘Oh.’”  But that wouldn’t have made the whole thing turn such a weird shade of yellow. Tony picked up the beaker next to him, which still had some cloudy-looking, very yellow liquid in the bottom. He smelled it gingerly while the teenager found new spots the sticky liquid had attached itself to.

“Peter, did you wash this beaker before you used it?”

“Uh…”

“What was in it before?” Tony asked brusquely.

“I… don’t remember?”

His usually-sharp kid wasn’t firing on all cylinders. What was up? He eyed the sheepish teen, noting the smudges under his eyes. 

“Kid, how much have you slept lately?”

“I’ve slept!” Peter said far too quickly. 

Tony raised an eyebrow, waiting. 

“Maybe not quite enough. Just with finals, and patrolling, and--”

“I see.”

“Mr. Stark, I swear, I just--”

“Let me tell you how this is gonna work. I’m going to call your aunt,” (Peter’s eyes went wide) “and tell her you’re staying the night.”

“But Mr. Stark! None of my study stuff is here with me!”

Tony continued, ignoring the boy’s dismay. “Then you’re going to go upstairs, shower, eat something, and you’re going to bed. In the morning you’re going to hope that whatever makes your webs dissolve in time will still hold true for this monstrosity, because you’re cleaning this up before you go anywhere.”

Peter nodded forlornly. 

“Then I’m going to take you out to breakfast, after which you may resume your crazy study-group-frenzy of a day.”

Peter was smiling slightly now, though he still looked nervous about going to bed instead of getting a few more hours of studying in. His expression clouded again. 

“But what about my web fluid?”

“Oh, that won’t be a problem. Spiderman’s going to be taking a break this week until after Peter’s finals are over.”

“But, Mr. Stark!” 

“Uh-uh-uh! After your last final, and after a full night’s sleep, you may come back and make more web fluid, and resume vigilante-ing.”

“‘S not a word,” Peter grumbled, starting to put a few things away.

“You can do all that in the morning, kiddo,” Tony said, finally letting his voice soften and a hand reach to brush Peter’s shoulder comfortingly. “Shower. Bed. C’mon.”

Peter nodded in defeat, leaning heavily into Tony’s side as he wrapped an arm around the boy to steer him towards the door.

“FRIDAY?”

“Yes, Boss?”

“Lock down #8. No one comes in but me or Peter until it’s clean.”

“Dr. Banner?”

“Especially not Dr. Banner,” Tony said, eying the giant soggy mess on the table. “He’d ban us both from every setting foot in here again…”

[sparks9793]

I may or may not have followed up on that idea from Sunday cause the BF was busy tonight 🤭

November 11  

There’s a lot to do in terms of work today. With the impending snow storm on the way, he’s pretty sure his flight to LA will have to wait for at least a day, if not more. The BNA airport is old so when there’s a big storm, there’s a high probability that the lights will go out and it takes hours of maintenance to revive the building.  

He has an interview for a new gig in a few days. It’s a big artist and Taylor wants to be the one to lead her creative process, cause the curly haired man knows, they could be great together. He’s been prepping meticulously for it and has a team to help him get ready for the interview with fresh ideas. Nearly every day since she contacted him, he’s met with either Carlos, Dan or Zac at eleven o’clock to go over the key points of this new album’s vision, what he'd change from her previous work if he was her producer and how they’d put his plans into action.  

The curly haired man’s phone goes off when he’s just getting into his key notes for today’s call with Carlos.  

Hayley arrives at his home studio at ten thirty and sheepishly places a long black gently in front of him. “I know. I’m pushing it with the time. I can tell you’re in a sour mood.”  

Taylor’s feeling a little nervous and trying to avoid caffeine, but he knows how hard it must have been for her to get the coffee, especially with the weather outside. She still has some snow in her blonde hair. He takes the coffee and sip it, appearing disinterested.  

“Did you get me a donut or muffin?”  

“No” Hayley says, grinning, as she pulls out a bag and tosses it onto his desk. Two strawberry donuts.   

“Hmm. Good enough. Sit down.”  

Hayley sits down, fixing her sweater as she does. She crosses her leg over the other comfortably and then rests her hands in her lap. Whenever Taylor sees her, the curly haired man likes to note the differences from the last time he’d seen her. Her under eye circles are still very prominent.  

Blonde hair is still drying from her morning shower, face clean of makeup. Her clothes are neatly pressed, a spark in her eye. He feels proud just from looking at her and Taylor hopes she feels the same looking at him.  

“I’m alright. Got a court meeting tomorrow about dividing our assets. It’s a bit annoying now.” The tiny blonde hesitates suddenly and then leans forward, placing her laced hands on the desk. “I actually wanted to talk to you about something I’ve been thinking about for a while. I know you don’t have a lot of time, but I’m occupied tomorrow so I’m just going to fit it in now.”  

“Sure. Everything okay?”  

“Yeah. Yeah, no, everything’s good.”  

“Alright. What is it?”  

Hayley opens her mouth and inhales, but then stops. She bites her bottom lip turning it a deep shade of pink. Taylor knows her well enough to be able to tell when she’s stressed and her discomfort oddly eases his thoughts of not being able to read her anymore.  

“I wanted to ask you last time, but I guess we were a little busy” she starts, glancing down at her bare fingers. “You can totally say no because I understand how weird this is and I don’t want you to feel pressured because I’m your friend, but I also want you to consider it, alright?”  

The curly haired man puts the coffee down and reaches for the donuts, taking a big bite. “Sounds good.”  

“Alright, well.” Now she looks uneasy. Takes a deep shaky breath before speaking. “I was wondering if it would be okay to stay with you for a little bit.”  

Taylor swallows the donut so quickly, it goes down the wrong pipe and he coughs a bit and it gives Hayley a look of concerned, her whole face full of worry. With tears in his eyes, he croaks, “Is the little bitch kicking you out of your own house?”  

Her eyebrows shoot up and her mouth curves into a small smile. “What? No. It’s not that. He’s almost fully moved out actually. I haven’t seen him in a while. It’s just that, well, the house is meant for two or three people, you know? So now that he’s not there and Alf’s been staying with mom, it’s just big and empty. And I’m barely there except to sleep. I just… I don’t know. I don’t really want to be alone right now.”  

There’s a deep pink blush over her cheeks, giving her a healthy glow on Hayley’s otherwise pale skin. Her summer freckles are long gone now, but the new color looks lovely on her. “I don’t mind” Taylor finds himself saying, “if you stay at mine for a bit. But it’s a little cramped now that I turned the downstair rooms into my studio, don’t know if there’s enough space for all your clothes”  

“I don’t mind that” Hayley says quickly, sitting up a bit straighter. “It’s not the clothes I’m worried about. I can work around it, it’s fine. I guess I’m more concerned about…”  

“Staying with me” Taylor finishes, putting the donut down. He wipes his hands on a napkin, but chooses to do it under the desk because his fingers are trembling.  

“Yeah” Hayley says sheepishly, toying with the ends of her hair. “I don’t want it to be weird. But I also don’t want to be alone and I’d rather be with someone I know than be alone.”  

This is one of the many times that the curly haired man realizes he doesn’t fully know how Hayley’s been handling the divorce, only because he’s never been through one. Taylor’s been through break ups, the worst one being with the person sitting in front of him, but never a divorce. After all those years and vows and sacrifices. It’s beginning to dawn on him just how lonely a divorce must be. He’d rejected her and the last thing he want is for Hayley to feel unloved.  

Cause she isn’t. In fact, Taylor right here, loves her more than life.  

And not only that, but he knows Hayley’s nature after being with her for so long. Under the hard exterior, she’s a soft soul. Feels hurt deeply.  

Hayley assumes the silence is a sign of discomfort. Immediately, her green eyes widen. “Like I said, you don’t have to agree T. You can even take a day or two to think about it. I’m not…I’m not forcing you. And I know that this is really weird because you’re… you, Taylor. We have history and I’m not trying to open any stitches or do anything to hurt you. And-and you can totally tell me if I’m disrespecting boundaries because I’ve done that in the past without realizing. I just want to be comfortable and I want you to be comfortable, so be completely honest with me. It won’t make me upset or angry or anything, yeah?”  

Fuck, she’s freaking out. he can see the vein in her forehead bulging from lack of air. She begins moving her left leg up and down and it prompts him to do the same.  

“That’s not the problem, Hayles” he tells her sincerely. “I don’t mind you staying with me. I think my concerns are the same as yours, that we’ve lived together before and we’re not exactly dating anymore so what if it’s awkward?”  

“I promise I will stay out of your way and not bug you when you’re working and leave you alone. Like I said, I’m barely at my own place, go the GDY office most days, so I don’t think I’ll be at yours much anyways except to sleep.” She takes a deep, shaky breath. “I’ll pay you rent, T”  

Taylor shakes his head, offering her a smile. “I’m not worried about rent. You don’t have to do that.”  

“Yeah, but if I’m using your house, it’s the least I can do.”  

“You can buy the groceries.”  

“Sure, I can totally–” Hayley pauses, inhaling slowly. “Are you agreeing to this?”  

Having Hayley as a roommate again? He can do that. It’ll only be for a little bit. He can keep himself off of her. I’m agreeing to this, isn’t he? This is a bad idea, but she’s looking at him  like that . Like the first time she really considered they should move in together when they had been dating. Such hopefulness in her eyes. Such excitement and nervousness.  

How could Taylor ever say no to Hayley when she’s looking at him like she’s completely dependent on him? He selfishly wants her to be dependent on him for things like these, but it’s irresponsible of him when the curly haired man’s struggling to take care of himself. Should he be selfish for once and refuse her? Or should they give it a try?  

In the end, the only selfishness that proves to be triumphant is when he thinks about Hayley’s close proximity to him. And the curly haired man  loves the idea of being physically close with her again.  

“Yes” he answers, reaching for his donut again. “We can make this work.”  

Instant relief breaks out onto her pretty face. Her smile is wide and she runs a hand through her blonde hair. “Thank you, T. I promise I won’t get in your way, okay?”  

“I don’t mind” Taylor insists sincerely, wishing his heart would stop acting like it’s about to stop. “I hope your living habits have changed from before.”  

Hayley stands up and shakes her head with a cheeky smile. “They haven’t. At all. You’re a lifesaver.”  

“Don’t come tonight though. I’ve gotta clean up.”  And freak out privately.  “How about the day after tomorrow?”  

“That’s perfect” she breathes, leaning over the desk to press a quick kiss to his cheek. She glances down at her watch at the same time Taylor’s phone’s alarm begins to ring, signaling that he has to call Carlos for their meeting soon. “Thank you. I’ll leave you to your meeting now, but seriously. I owe you a bunch. Bye!”  

And with that, Hayley’s out of the studio and Taylor’s taking a bite out of his donut once more. This is fine, he thinks to himself. Everything is going to go smoothly.  

The curly haired man feels the weight of her lips on his cheek throughout the hour-long meeting. He is a very selfish man, indeed.  

(What do we think?)

[icedroplove]

Chapter 3

-------x-------

It was already morning, Gray felt well rested and ready to start the day. The mages were at the lobby waiting for Natsu to join them since he hadn’t left the room yet. 

“Do you guys want me to go check if everything’s okay?”

“Please, Lucy.” Erza answered.

As Lucy went upstairs, Wendy sank on the puffy chair she was sitting on and sighed, petting her friend ecxeed who rested on her lap. Erza kept her firm, yet impatient posture. Gray leaned against the column and watched from the corner of his eye as Juvia played with her necklace. She looked so absorbed by it and he noticed how her lips were curved in a slight smile.

Gray looked away and crossed his arms, trying to hide the little blush on his cheeks from his friends. It was not that any of them were looking at him, though. 

Suddenly, they all heard someone yelling. It was Lucy, raging because Natsu had fallen asleep again after changing his clothes. They looked at each other and chuckled (except Erza who looked even more irritated with the delay). Ten minutes later, everyone was set to go.

First thing to do was visit their client, whose house was by the wealthier part of the village. Octavius, a short old man with a taste for vintage clothing, welcomed them into his place with a big smile. He ushered them to sit and served them hot tea. The team was getting impatient with making small talk about how the trip was and if the inn was amiable, but they waited. After a bit, Octavius calmly put his cup down, cleaned his round glasses which got blurry from the smoke and looked at them. 

“I deeply apologize for holding you so long in this conversation. I just wanted to certify myself that you were a qualified group for my request. Even though I’ve perceived that some of you lack proper manners…” He glanced quickly at Natsu, who was on his third teacup. The fire mage gulped it down at once  without even waiting for it to cool down. ”...I’ve considered that this fine team of Fairy Tail mages has the virtues I was pursuing. Now. allow me to explain what is that I need from you mages. ” Octavius acted like he was a character in a period drama story, which made sense considering the aesthetics of his clothes and house.

“I indulged myself for seven years to the work of a novel which I was convinced would become the newest classic on the market. It was a beautiful and completely original story about royalty, duties, forbidden love and a happy ending. I even ventured myself into including more… passion… on some interactions between the main couple. Of course, only because I consider that a younger audience would further appreciate the narrative with the inclusion of such scenes.”

Gray noticed how Lucy, Erza and Juvia looked at each other. Natsu and Wendy, on the other hand, just continued listening without any further thoughts. The increase of the girls' attention on what Octavius was saying confirmed his hypothesis on what those scenes were. 

“What I’ve been meaning to tell is, I sent the final draft to my editor a few months ago and got no response from her. I concluded she hadn’t received it, but a week ago I heard that this unknown author had just published a book with the exact same premise as my draft and it’s a success. I bought the novel, and Upon reading, I’m certain that it's a full copy of my work. However, I don’t have any concrete proof that Ludovic plagiarized me, that’s what I need from you mages.

”It has come to my knowledge that he’ll be attending a party tonight at his place. I can get tickets for all of you.” Octavius eyed the group, his gaze stopped at Wendy. “I wouldn’t advise the little girl’s entrance, though. It is a more adult party.”

Wendy shrugged, but didn’t look much disappointed. 

“Don’t worry, she can stay at the inn. Speaking of which, it was very kind of you to pay for our accommodation, mister. We appreciate the gesture.”

Lucy spoke, easily adapting to Octavius’ weird kind of speech. This seemed to make him happy, since the man got up and kissed Lucy’s hand. 

“I see that my choice of mages for this mission has been the most fortunate.”

Natsu gulped his fourth cup of tea and threw his fist in the air. 

“Okay, I’m all fired up! Let’s kick some ass!” 

Erza elbowed him. Octavius did not show any reaction besides eye Natsu. Apparently, the gentleman wasn't one to be rude. He reached for his pocket and handed Lucy a paper.

“If you may, please write your names here so I can get you on the guest list for tonight.” He wrote on another paper and gave it to Wendy. “This is the address of my publisher. It is possible that she has some information on what happened, she was the only person who read my draft.”

After talking a bit longer, they returned to the inn. Erza ordered Natsu and Gray to wear their best outfits since they didn’t know how fancy that party would be. The boys got ready in thirty minutes, but the girls were still inside the bedroom. Natsu huffed loudly. 

“I’ll go hurry them up.”

“Don’t.”

“But they’re taking too long!”

Gray rolled his eyes, sure that if any of them walked in they’d definitely get Lucy-kicked. After convincing his friend that it wasn’t worth it, they sat in the lounge ready to wait a good while.

-x-

“I’m lucky I brought an evening dress by precaution.” Lucy looked at herself in the mirror, examining her outfit. What heels do I wear? The red ones or black ones?”

Juvia looked away from her open suitcase to give her opinion. The red shoes were pretty, but too fancy for an event that they didn’t know how the other guests would be dressed at. The black ones were more versatile and matched the maroon dress Lucy was wearing. The girls agreed that the black heels were better. 

Wendy came to Juvia, who was still looking at her suitcase. She asked her what happened.

“Juvia didn’t bring any fancy dresses…” The girls turned to her, confused.

“Why didn’t you say anything? You can wear one of mine!” Erza said. 

“Oh...” Juvia felt embarrassed, she still felt weird asking for things like this. Even though now she had friends she could count on, she’d been used to being alone for so long that keeping things to herself was a normal thing. “Thank you, Erza-san.”

The redhead smiled and gave her a navy blue dress. “Go on, try it!”

Juvia wasn’t used to wearing revealing clothing like this in her day-to-day life. She liked it, though. The color looked good on her. She adjusted the thin straps to better support her breasts and took another look in the mirror.

“Juvia-san, you look so pretty!” Wendy said.

Lucy looked at her from head to toe and winked. “Oh my, you’ll end up killing Gray like this.”

Juvia squealed and covered her head with her hands, blushing hard. Erza made her sit on the bed and started working on her makeup. While she rambled about which winged eyeliner would match best her eyes, she let her mind wonder about what Lucy had said. Would Gray like her look?

“And… done!” Erza took a step back to look at her work and gave Juvia a hand mirror. She liked her look. It was sexy, but not too different from her own style. She put on her heels and gathered her purse.

“Okay, everything’s set?”

Suddenly, Natsu opened the door.

“Yo, you’ve been here for an hour! Let’s go!!!” To no one’s surprise, he got Lucy-kicked in the face.

After assuring that Wendy and Carla would be okay at the inn, they all left the inn.

-x-

They were lost. The instructions Octavius gave them weren’t enough to find the venue. After walking in circles for a while, they stopped at the main square as Erza went to ask for directions.

Gray crossed his arms and stole another glance at Juvia. She looked… different. Her normal attire was so chaste that he was awlays caught by surprise when she wore more revealing clothes. Of course he already knew that she was sexy, but having her wear a dress that flattered her body was… different. 

He looked away before his eyes lingered for too long on the dress' neckline pushing up her breasts. Gray didn’t want to stare at them, nor at the slit on her skirt that showed a bit of her toned thighs. Shit. It was becoming hard for him, even harder when she walked to his side as they waited for Erza’s return.

“Is everything okay, Gray-sama?”

He nodded, crossing his arms. Juvia looked at the square, toying with the necklace he gave her the night before. His chest warmed upon noticing that she enjoyed the gift that much. It assured him that he was off to a good start.

However, Gray was unsure what move he should make next. He was nervous to just ask her out. His plan was taking small steps. He wanted to make Juvia happy, but rushing wouldn’t be of any good. After all, romance was still an unknown matter for Gray Fullbuster. 

“I’ve never seen you wearing this dress.” Was everything he managed to say.

“Erza-san lend me. Juvia’s not used to this…” She gestured to her outfit “But it’s not a problem.”

Gray hummed. He saw Erza walking back to them.

“You look good.” 

He smiled lightly at her. Juvia blushed. While they followed Erza to the venue, Gray walked by her side.

[straightupsickfics]

something sweet and full of care

ed/stede - ~4k - modern college au

i managed to finish something i started in january... who IS SHE?

college au stede is suffering and missing his boyfriend very much and really not having a good time at all <3 too bad ed's school is soo far away :(

****

Stede Bonnet is… well, he’s not doing very well, honestly. The spring semester is just getting started in earnest, which means he’s got about a million assignments to complete and studying to get done. He's also coming down with the cold he always gets this time of year, and to top it all off, he’s missing Edward more than ever. It’s always ten times harder getting used to being apart again after being together through the entire three-week winter break, and Stede feels his absence so acutely he wants to cry. 

Now, Stede is back on campus, back in his single room that feels like both a blessing (not sharing with strangers) and a curse (not having anyone to study and commiserate with), and missing Ed so much he thinks he might just let himself wallow in it for a bit. Crying sounds both necessary and entirely unavoidable at this point, what with the way his head is throbbing, his stomach is growling, and his laptop seems to glare at him with a particularly threatening energy. 

Stede: I miss you :( 

Ed: I miss you already is that pathetic 

Ed: Okay, that was weird <3 i love you 

Stede: Somehow this makes me miss you MORE 

They would text each other the same thing at the same time, Stede thinks, sighing heavily and sinking onto his bed. He’s made the best of the small bed, covered it in the highest thread-count sheets he could find and covered it in an admittedly absurd amount of soft blankets and pillows, trying to make up for the absence of Ed, the softest thing he’ll ever find in his bed, really. His small creature comforts help for a minute, but as soon as he lays down, Stede knows he’s made a mistake. He’ll never get back up now, he’s too tired, his head pounding too hard for him to be of any use this evening. He stretches and groans, blinking up at his phone as another message from Ed comes through. 

Ed: Me too, I have so much work to do I’m about to say fuck it and go to sleep 

Stede: Ha. I’m in bed having the same thought. I wish you were here, though

Ed: Let’s see then

Stede: [img]

Ed: I always ask thinking it’ll help but it also makes it worse?? How is this possible? You look fucking exhausted, sweetheart 

Stede’s eyes prick at the easy endearment, and he squeezes them shut to push away the tears he knows are coming. No one is even around to see him, there’s no reason he should feel so�� ashamed about crying in his own room, but, well.

Stede: think I picked something up, a cold or something. My head’s killing me and my throat’s all scratchy :/ 

Ed: Poor Stede. Though I guess it’s that time of year… I could set my watch to it 

Stede: Could not

Ed: Totally could. How do you know I haven’t?

Stede: Did you actually?? 

Ed: No 💜 I just know you 

Ed seems set on inadvertently making Stede cry tonight. 

Stede: That you do :( 

Ed: Aw, hey, I miss you, I love you, I wish I could come cuddle you better. You should take tonight to relax and see how you feel in the morning. Don’t force yourself to stay up and study!! 

Stede: 😇

Ed: You already said you’re in bed! Order takeout and stay there… doctor’s orders 

Stede: Twist my arm 

*

Takeout consists of hot and sour soup that tastes delicious but makes Stede’s nose run, fried rice he only pokes at, and a chicken thing he ordered by accident that Ed usually eats. 

Stede dabs at his nose and takes a picture of his dinner and sends it to Ed, explains about the chicken, and manages a smile when Ed sends back a running emoji. 

By the time he’s finished and the leftovers are stashed in his fridge, Stede feels marginally better. At least he’s eaten, which means he can take some cold medicine and hopefully knock himself out for the night.

Tomorrow’s another day. 

Ed: goodnight 💜

Stede: goodnight 💙 I love you 

Ed: love you more, no arguments 😇

*

When Stede wakes up the next morning, he knows immediately that today isn’t going to be any better than yesterday. In fact, if the immediate rush of sneezes is anything to go by, today is going to be infinitely worse. 

“hhIH… hIHh’NDGt! hiH!…’NGDshH! Hh!” Stede manages to stifle two ticklish, insistent sneezes against the sleeve of the sweater as soon as he tugs it over his head, grimacing with the knowledge that this will hardly be the last time he does that today. At least it’s Friday, and there’s a long weekend, so he can sequester himself to his room if he has to. 

He knows, deep down, that he’ll end up doing exactly that once he gets through the three classes he has today. 

Ed: Good morning, love of my life 

Stede: Bet you say that to everyone &lt;3

Ed: Caught me, you’re one in a long, long list, Bonnet

Stede: Okay, I know it was my joke, but I regret it immediately 

Ed: I love you the most. How are you feeling this morning? 

Stede can’t text and make tea and walk to class and keep his nose in check all at once, so he pops his headphones in and calls Ed while he finishes getting ready. He’s downing a dose of liquid cold medicine when Ed picks up, and Stede’s heart swells a little when he hears the smile in his boyfriend’s voice. 

“Good morning, darling,” Ed says in greeting. 

Stede would love to return the sentiment, he really would, but his nose gets the better of him at the exact wrong moment, so what Ed actually gets in return is a flurry of damp sneezes, an entire fit of them all in a row. 

“Hih! Iiiidshh! Heh’ushhh’ue! MmptshhH!” Stede has to set his phone down to blow his nose a few times, and is a little breathless by the time he picks it back up again. 

“God, so sorry, that was gross,” Stede says immediately, but Ed is already making sympathetic sounds into the phone. 

“God bless you! You’re not feeling any better, I take it,” Ed says. It’s not a question, and Stede just sighs again. 

“N’dot quite,” he sniffles. “It’s going to be a…heh! Snf!  long day.” 

“Bless you?” 

“Hdt’UdshhH! IIshhiiew!”

God, Stede really has to get a grip before class. His cheeks heat at even the idea of sniffling and sneezing through the lectures he has this morning, all back to back with hardly enough time to grab tea in between. He'd thought it was smart, when he’d registered, getting all of his end of the week classes out of the way at once, but now that he feels like this he’s having his doubts.

“Why don’t you just skip and email your professors? Not like you’ll use absences to skip class,” Ed says, voice gentle but teasing. “Too smart to slack off like the rest of us heathens.” 

Stede smiles. That much is true, he rarely (fine, never) skipped class, but that’s more to do with the fact that he doesn’t have many people to skip class with than some outstanding academic record. Still, though, his Oceanography paper is due soon, and they were doing a peer review today that he didn’t want to miss. His paper is solid so far, but he could really use the feedback, though Stede already feels bad for the poor person assigned to swap with him. 

He explains the situation to Ed, and notes that his throat already hurts, and he’d only been talking for a few minutes. He really is in for the longest day ever. Stede listens to Ed talk about his own busy day (class starting at noon, followed by a few hours of tutoring, and a warning that Stede might not hear from him for most of the day, but to please call or text him if he starts feeling really bad).

Stede makes himself a travel mug of tea while he listens, his throat feeling heavy and tight with emotion right along with the sore throat. Ed really is sweet. 

“Still there?” Ed asks as Stede locks his door and sets off down the stairs and towards his first class of the day. 

“Mm, yes, sorry! Just thinking…”

“Uh oh,” Ed smiles. 

Stede laughs, then winces, because that hurts his throat, too, as it happens. “Maybe once things calm down and I don’t feel like I’m going to infect everyone in my path… I could come visit? I have some money saved, and…”

Ed’s quiet on the other end of the line. “That would be amazing,” he agrees after a beat. “But let’s cross that bridge when we get there, yeah? You focus on getting through today and feeling better for now, alright?” 

Stede wants to cry. Deep down, of course he knows Ed wants to see him as badly as Stede does, knows that he’s just being protective, but still, that nagging voice at the back of his head, the one that never leaves him alone and hates to see Stede happy, pokes at him. What if Ed doesn’t want him around? His friends are more fun, cooler than Stede, and what if Ed doesn’t want Stede around them again?

No. Stede forces the thoughts from his mind as he huddles into the soft fabric of his coat, tugging his sleeves down over his gloved hands. Ed’s right. One thing at a time. Focus, Bonnet.

Stede repeats that to himself until he gets to his first class, sniffling as he takes his usual seat and sipping his travel mug of breakfast blend tea to keep himself from falling asleep in his chair. 

*

Oceanography goes well enough, though his partner Lucius makes almost no effort to hide his grimaces every time Stede has to turn away to cough to sniffle or blow his nose. As if Stede himself prefers it this way, he thinks, miffed. 

He gets the feedback he wanted, though, and despite his dazed, stuffy head, Stede manages to provide Lucius with some helpful direction, too, he hopes. 

“Here, you look like you need these more than I do,” Lucius says at the end of class, holding a travel packet of tissues out with the tips of his fingers, as if even a brush of their fingers will ensure transfer of Stede’s cold. 

God, maybe it would, Stede really does feel bad. 

“Thanks, Lucius. Sorry about all this,” he says again. 

Lucius has the decency to look sympathetic, even momentarily. “No problem,” he chirps. “Feel better. And maybe don’t leave the house this weekend. See you!” 

With Lucius gone, Stede lets himself outside and proceeds to fall into the coughing fit he’d put off for the duration of his class. Best to get it out now before the next one starts. That’s the goal, anyway, though he knows, deep down that it will be impossible to keep all of his cold symptoms in check for another four hours. 

Four hours. The idea of it is enough to make him want to turn right around and head back to his room. It feels like a marathon. He really can afford to miss the classes… but… 

But he’s stubborn. Stede can almost hear Ed telling him as much over the phone, and smiles a little to himself as he makes his way to his Earth Science class. Maybe he is stubborn, but it’s also the busiest time of the semester, and besides, Stede likes his classes. He loves to learn and always has, and finally having the ability to study exactly what he wants hasn’t worn off just yet. 

So, Stede blows his nose a final time, thankful for the backup tissues from Lucius, as he’s sure he’ll be running through his own in no time, and trudges across campus to his next class. 

He can do this. 

*

By the time the day ends and Stede finds himself back in his room his head is throbbing with congestion and he can hardly think straight. Fever, he thinks dimly, but he doesn’t have a thermometer that he can find, so he settles for a lukewarm shower that leaves him shivering, a glass of water, and a dose of cold medicine. He’d been hoping to make it through some of the reading he needs to get done, but anything more than a glance at his laptop sends his eyes swimming with tired, irritated tears. 

He’s pressing his face into yet another handful of tissues, his eyes and nose seemingly in some kind of contest for which can run the most, when his phone lights up with a text from Ed. 

Ed: How’re you feeling now? Make it back to your room okay?

It’s the first Stede’s heard from him in hours, he realizes sullenly. Ed mentioned his busy day this morning, and Stede had completely forgotten. He knows it’s silly to think that he’s the only one of the two of them trying to slog through the rush of the semester, but he feels just bad enough that he lets himself get away with it. 

Stede: Pretty bad :( I’m back, yes, probably just going to end up falling asleep and hoping for the best. How was your day?

Ed: Good :) busy

Stede frowns down at his phone; nothing to smile about as far as he can see. 

Stede: Good 

Ed: ;)

Stede: What

Ed: Nothing, you get comfy and maybe we can FaceTime in a bit. Don’t fall asleep without me!

Stede’s heart gives a little squeeze. He wishes he could fall asleep with Ed here. He feels a little better about the doubts he’d been having earlier, too. Ed misses him, too, of course he does. 

Stede: Wouldn’t dream of it 

Ed: <;3 

Stede does drift off, though. Almost immediately, in fact. He’d sprawled onto his bed after his shower, wanting nothing more than to get warm as he texted back and forth with Ed, but surrounded by his blankets and the beloved stuffed animals Ed had bought for him over the years, well, he didn’t stand a chance. 

It’s his phone that wakes him up. Shit. He was supposed to FaceTime with Ed. Stede coughs into his shoulder, catches his breath, and rubs at his face before he picks up the call. It’s unlikely to do any good, but it’s worth a shot. 

“Edward!” Stede says when he answers. 

“Stede?” Ed’s somewhere dimly lit, his face pressed in close to his phone. 

“Where are you?” Stede asks, yawning. His eyes feel so heavy. His whole head feels heavy, really, thanks to this monster cold. He hadn’t even taken NyQuil, but he might as well have for how overwhelmingly tired he feels.

“Mm? Nowhere,” Ed says quickly. “You fell asleep,” he smiles. It’s not even a question, and the fond tone of his voice makes Stede smile right back. He can’t help it, not when Ed looks like that, warm and smiling and happy, no matter how shitty Stede himself might be feeling. 

“Maybe?” Stede says, rummaging around on his bed for the box of tissues he had beside him before he fell asleep. “H-hh! Hang on’d…Snf! Snf!” Sniffling helps for a minute, if that, but Stede finds the tissue box just in time to grab two tissues out of it before he sneezes. “hDT’SSHH! Ii’eishh’uh!” 

“Bless you,” Ed says, his voice sympathetic and a little tired-sounding. 

“Snf! Thanks,” Stede says. “And sorry,” he adds. “All our conversations today have involved mbe sndeezing at you…”

Ed laughs and Stede wishes he could bottle up the sound of it, let it out whenever he’s feeling bad or missing him. “You’re sick,” Ed reminds him gently. “Don’t need to be sorry for that.” 

Right, well. The thing about that is Stede’s still getting used to it, even after two years. Not being an annoyance when he’s sick… having someone to remind him to take medicine and give himself a bit of a break… It's a lot. Stede’s tired and sick enough that his eyes and throat burn with the threat of tears at Ed’s words, and he forces himself to swallow them away. 

“Think this cold’s gettin’g worse somehow. I really do miss you,” Stede says. It sounds pitiful and he knows it, but at this moment, he can’t bring himself to care. Ed’s seen it all by now, and nothing’s managed to scare him away so far. 

“Mm, yeah, about that,” Ed says, smiling widely now. “I missed you too. And I know how you feel about being alone when you’re sick. So you have to promise not to get mad at me for doing something crazy, yeah?” 

Stede sits up, suddenly wide awake as he tries to make sense of Ed’s words. “What do you mean?” 

There’s a knock at his door and Stede’s heart leaps as his stomach swoops because of course. 

“You’re… no! No way. Ed?? What did you do,” Stede’s sputtering, caught in a tangle of blankets on his narrow bed, and Ed’s laughing as he tumbles out of bed in a surprised little scurry. 

“Let me in, you lunatic.” 

Stede throws his phone onto his bed and moves as fast as his over-tired, cold-ridden brain will allow him, and then the door’s open and Ed’s here right where Stede’s wanted him every moment of this neverending day. Ed wraps himself around Stede without a second thought, pressing himself in as tight and close as he can manage, Stede’s face tucked into the warm skin of Ed’s neck, breathing each other in for one long, endless moment. 

“You’re here,” Stede says without pulling away. 

Ed laughs, the sound as warm and familiar as always, except now Stede can feel it vibrating right through him, and even this is enough to make him want to cry all over again. Everything about Ed feels so warm and safe he wants to sink right into him. 

“I’m here,” Ed repeats. “Some of us don’t mind skipping the occasional class,” he teases. “D’you know the panic you sent me into this morning, talking about visiting soon when I was literally on my way to you?” He brushes his nose against Stede’s, then smiles when Stede has to sniffle a few times as the contact. “Thought you were about to come to me and we’d be in one of those movie situations where I’m here and you’re there.”

“Don’t think I could’ve managed a drive like that feeling like this, to be honest. And.. I thought you didn’t want me there,” Stede admits, a little ashamed. 

Ed looks at him, brushing his thumb gently beneath Stede’s eye and then turning Stede’s face in his hand until Stede’s looking at him. 

“Stede Montague Bonnet,” Ed says, and Stede is already smiling and feeling silly for all of it. “I always want you there! Anyone who didn’t want you around before didn’t know what they were missing. Fuck ‘em.” 

Ed’s right, Stede knows. None of it matters now, not when Ed’s here in his small single room, wrapped around him and kissing him everywhere he can reach. 

Stede does his best to make Ed at home, tucking his bag away and fussing until Ed pushes him gently onto the bed, insisting he can manage two cups of tea while Stede “rebuilds his sick person nest.” 

“S’not a nest, really… more of a fort,” Stede huffs, gesturing to the warm white Christmas lights he still has strung from the ceiling. They give the whole place a more cozy vibe, and he keeps them up year round. 

“Yeah, yeah, budge over, let me into the Stede Bonnet Fortress of Germs,” Ed says, making his way over to the bed with two steaming mugs of tea. 

Stede shifts, rolling over towards the wall and letting Ed settle in against him until they’re pressed in warm and close, wrangling the blankets over themselves. It’s a small bed, but they make it work — Stede tends to sprawl out over Ed anyway, and this time is no different. He’s not inclined to leave even an inch of space between them when he’s spent the last few weeks dreaming of exactly this. 

“Koala mode,” Ed murmurs, one hand stroking softly through Stede’s hair, the other drawing patterns over his back. 

“You’re going to put me to sleep if you keep that up!”

“That’s the point, darling,” Ed tells him. 

Stede shakes his head. “Want to enjoy having you here, not sleep through it.” Stede’s eyes feel heavy though, the events of the day catching up with him all at once. Everything melts away with Ed holding him like this. And, for a rare moment, Stede realizes can breathe through both of his nostrils at the same time, making sleep actually possible.

“We have all weekend, and you’re sick,” Ed reminds him, as if he can possibly forget. “It’s late. You’d be asleep already if it wasn’t for me.” 

“You did try to warn me,” Stede smiles, leaning up just enough to brush their lips together. 

“So I did. Didn’t want to be locked out, banging away at your door like a jilted lover.” 

“Never jilted,” Stede says with a yawn. 

“Mm, hope not. Drove a fucking long way; you’re stuck with me.”

Stede can’t imagine ever feeling stuck when it came to Ed, but that was an argument for another day. He lets Ed take charge of the remote, putting on a Planet Earth episode they’ve watched together before but both enjoy, and it really is no time at all before they’re both asleep, lulled by the company, the warmth, and the soothing voice of the TV. 

Tomorrow’s another day, after all. 

[theladybarnes]

“ Do you like scary movies?”

▸ summary: every story has a beginning, this one happened just one year before ▸ pairings: steve x reader ▸ word count: 4,968 ▸ warnings: stabbing, cursing, mentions of gore (MINORS DNI) ▸ series masterlist

It had been just another regular night down on the quiet street of Fier Road. Where each neighbor in the Northern California town had the distance of a living ten minutes away from each other. 

 For Chrissy Cunningham, she hated growing up in this home. Having spent most of her time with disdain towards the view of the tree farm that resided just outside her window. The feeling of always being watched through the large piece of glass never went away and since it was one of the few houses outside the city, she always felt the most disconnected from the world. 

 Thankfully, once she got into high school, things changed. Instead of having to worry about going into town to see people, eventually, people came to see her. With having such a large house with no noise pollution to her far off neighbors, her house instantly became a party spot. Especially towards Junior year when her parent’s jobs in the town began to have longer hours. 

 Like tonight. 

 “I’m telling you, Nancy! Once you get a little drink in you and that new kid Argyle plays some of his new CDs. The natural flow of the party will bring you and Jonathan back together!”

 “I don’t know, Chrissy. It was a pretty big fight this time..”

 The blonde had just finished setting up the kitchen counter of snacks when her friend Nancy had called. Trying to back out of the party tonight due a recent break up with her long term boyfriend. 

 “With you two it’s only big fights. Which means you guys don’t fight often enough to let this one fight tear you apart.” 

 “I wish I could see things as positively as you do.”

 Chrissy giggled into the phone, leaning against the counter as she played with the set of knives dismissively before she remembered she was cutting up limes for the tequila shots. “It’s called optimism and with it I’m very hopeful to finish the rest of my Junior year with all my friends happy and together.” 

 “..Well almost all your friends.” 

 The girl stood up straight at that. Knowing exactly who she’s talking about but afraid to approach that topic. Shaking her head she decides to move past it. “When you see the place, it’s gonna bring back all the little memories you and Jonathan had together and I’m sure you’ll be sneaking away to my parent’s room before the night is over.” 

 “Is Jason coming tonight?

 “Uh yeah,” the girl replied lamely. “The entire team is coming actually.” 

 “So you and your new beau will be out officially as a new couple.” 

 Chuckling a bit at that, Chrissy walked over towards the patio doors. Looking out into the pool as she mulled over Nancy’s words. “I guess..we’ve barely been official with each other for three weeks.”

 “But you and Eddie were together two weeks ago.” 

 A frown etched across Chrissy’s face. “Look, it’s complicated. We were off and on and finally off. I don’t wanna talk about that right now.” 

 “I know, I’m sorry! We’ve all known him since eighth grade and he’s loved you since day one. It’s just weird now to think that era is over.” 

 A flicker of light from the pool house caught Chrissy’s attention. Walking towards the patio doors, she reached for the light switch, flicking on the flood lights to help illuminate the backyard. Nothing seemed to be outside but she found herself shuddering anyway. “Things just ended..I can’t turn back time to it now.”

 “I know, I know, sorry. Suppose your good ol’ optimism rubbed off on me and I thought to ask in Eddie’s defense.”

 The relationship between the cheerleader and rocker had been bittersweet. No matter how much Chrissy had tried to keep things happy between them, the differences in their lifestyles pulled them apart. “I don’t have anything against Eddie..and if I knew that he could handle seeing me at a party with another guy then I’d invite him. But..”

 “..But it might just destroy him. I get it. Maybe when summer starts and we all go out, he’ll be open to the idea of you guys being just friends.” 

 “That’s what I’ve been thinking.” Sighed Chrissy as she finished setting up. “Anyway, are you guys going to be coming up soon? It’s already dark out.”

 “Yeah, us girls are hitching a ride with our little chauffeur.”

 The thought of their friend Steve going all across town to pick each girl up was enough to bring up Chrissy’s mood, causing a small giggle to bubble out. “You guys should tip this time.” 

 “I think one of us already gives him enough.” Nancy replied, referring to the friend they called Baby (poor girl revealed her interest in Dirty Dancing once and the group would not let it go). The two of them had been the group’s biggest will they won’t they for years and it was kind of sweet to have seen them together this whole year. 

 “Gosh those two are sweeter than caramel.” Chrissy laughed, moving away towards the phone stand. “I love it!” 

 “You should! They’d have never admitted to liking each other if it wasn’t for your birthday party.” The sound of a muffled honk perked into Chrissy’s ears through the phone. “Speaking of those two, I think they’re here now. We’ll see you soon!” 

 “See you soon!”

 After Nancy got off the line, the silence of the big empty house returned. It was always too quiet for her taste and unfortunately, Chrissy unplugged the tv and music area for the apparent DJ speakers that Argyle had promised to bring. 

 Right as she had plopped down on the couch to wait, the phone began to scream. 

 RRIIIING

 The blonde lazily laid across the cushion to reach over for the hand held before bringing the device up to her ear. “Hello?”

 “Hello?” the voice of a smooth deep voice echoed. “Who is this?”

 Chrissy chuckled a bit. “Yeah, who are you trying to reach?” There was an awkward pause. The man on the other line taking his time. 

 “What number is this?”

 “…What number are you trying to reach?”

 Again it’s another beat of awkward silence. “..I don’t know.” 

 Trying to remain kind, Chrissy calmly ended the call. “You must have the wrong number. But it happens, take it easy.” With that, she hung up and tried to ignore the feeling in her gut. She was getting tense for no reason. 

RRIIING RRIIING

 The phone went off again and she stared at the piece in her hand, debating just letting the call drop when she remembered her parents might check in. Pressing accept she pressed the phone again to her. “Hello?”

 “I’m sorry, I guess I did dial the wrong number.” 

 Scoffing at the caller simply confirming what she told him, Chrissy shook her head, laughing for a second. “So why did you dial it again?”

 “To apologize, of course.” 

 “You’re forgiven, okay? Now have a good-“

 “Wait, wait! I want to talk to you for a second..”

 Not believing the nerve of this mystery caller, Chrissy became mildly amused at the fact that he wanted to stay on the line. “Look, this is fun and all but I’m a bit too busy for casual chat at the moment.”

 “Too busy? What plans do you have tonight?”

 The girl huffed out some air before checking the watch on her wrist. “I have a party tonight. Guests I’ll have to tend to soon so-“

 “A party and you didn’t invite me?”

 The question threw her off for a second. Normally she’d hang up on someone pestering her like this but there was something casual and interesting about this person. 

 “Well..not everyone can come. You know what it’s like.” 

 “Do I? How would one know if they’re acceptable to join parties or not?”

 Chrissy frowned at that, not too sure how to answer kindly. “Well, there’s no way to define who can come and go..if you’re from school then you’d know who comes to these kinds of things.” 

 The caller let out an amused laugh. “I see, you mean, the cool kids get to go.” 

 “That’s not exactly true! But they are the ones who usually show up.” The girl moved to sit back at the couch again, tugging at the end of her sweater. 

 “So you’re saying you wouldn’t turn anyone else that might want to come?”

 “No, never! That’s so cruel!” The sound of the man’s laugh was a sort of relief to Chrissy as she wiped a hand over her brows.

 “With that knowledge, would you be interested in having me come over tonight?”

 “Yeah.” Chrissy drawed out, “You’re more than welcome to come!”  There was a pleasing hum on the other end making the young girl finally feel a little bit better about her poor word choices. Sometimes her nerves got the best of her and gave her a bad sense of word vomit.

 “I’m glad to hear that. I’ll be able to meet the girl I’m looking at.”

 As if suddenly hit with ice, Chrissy felt the smile drop from her face. Maybe she heard what he said wrong. “..what did you say?”

 “I said I’ll be able to meet the girl I’m talking to.”

 Taking a glance behind her, Chrissy glanced around the kitchen until her eyes landed back in the living room. The large patio doors that led to the pool gave a clear view of the inside of the house. “That’s not what you said..”

 Again the caller gave off a calm chuckle. “What did you think I said?”

 Moving to the patio doors, she flicked on the light switches again, trying to see if she could catch someone in the backyard if she turned the light on fast enough. Again she was met with nothing but the scenic sight of her pool and outdoor patio. Checking over the locks, she sighed to herself before she remembered she was still on the phone.

 “Did I lose you there?”

 “Look, I’m sorry. I have to go.” Chrissy mumbled into the receiver,  pulling her body away from the window. “People are coming and I should probably be ready.”

 “Come on, don’t go just yet. Don’t hang-”

 Not bothering to hear the rest, she hung up the phone and quickly checked the locks on both the back and front before the phone rang again. This time, she couldn’t find it in herself to pick it up. Her friends would come soon enough and she’d be able to deal with a creep on the phone.

 Five minutes passed and still no sign of her friends left Chrissy alone with the incessant ringing that built up of her anxiety. She thought about calling Jason but he already told her practice would run late and he’d show up later. 

 The small sting of tears pinched at her eyes and she felt like the beginning of a scary movie with how nervous she was getting. Getting fed up, she reached for the phone again, pressing the accept button before speaking finally. “Yes?” she asked timidly. 

 “You hung up on me…”

 The voice sounded colder, shocked with her actions. “I had to! P-please stop calling. I’m busy and I need to go!” Hanging up quickly, she looked down at the phone and prayed that the caller would give up on harassing her. But just like before, the phone rang again, sounding oddly angry in its blaring pitch. 

 “I’m going to call the pol-”

 “You hang up the phone on me again and I’ll cut your fucking head off, bitch!”

 The blood in her veins ran cold. Making the only sound out of her was a soft whimper. But that seemed to make the man on the other line happier. His chuckle itching inside the canal of her ear. “..please tell me this is a joke.”

 “Oh sweetheart, it’s more of a game now really. Do you think you can handle that, blondie?”

 For some reason, the question caused Chrissy to shrivel down to the ground. Crawling towards the island in the kitchen, she used the large space in the middle to conceal her body as she tried to calm herself down.

 “Oh Chrissy, I need you to answer me in order to start the game.”

 “Please..I don’t want to play anything.”

 “Well, hate to break it to you miss Queen of Hawkins High. But it’s either you play or Jason does.”

 The mention of her boyfriend caused the hair in the back of her neck to stand up. She gripped the phone tighter as she spoke again. “W-what do you mean?”

 “I’m surprised you didn’t notice, I just placed him out by the pool for you.”

 She’s surprised she’s able to get up from the floor, but she does. And when she reached the patio doors, she slowly inched her hand up to the lights. Praying to every God in existence that when she flicked the lights on, her friends would be on the other side and laugh at the vicious prank they just put her through. “Go ahead, sweetness..turn it on.” urged the voice.

 With a flick, she met with the horror of what was laid outside for her. Instead of the sight of an empty poolside, Chrissy’s green eyes met with the body of Jason. Knocked out and tied up to a chair. His usual green jersey stained with dark red spots as his head was leaning forward, casting his face downward to his lap.

 A bubbled up surge of fear poured out from within Chrissy as she suddenly began to yell at the sight, nearly dropping the phone on the floor. “What is this!?” she cried, reaching to unlock the doors, but at the turn of lock, Jason’s head snapped up. Giving Chrissy a view at the beat up appearance of his face. Whoever had taken him hostage had roughed up his face, enough so that blood trickled from the top of his head and nose. A tight strip of duct tape had been placed over his mouth to silence him. It took only a quick second for his eyes to land on hers, worry flickered over his blue eyes.

 “I wouldn’t step out if I were you.” 

 Tears pooled over her eyes, making his vision begin to turn blurry. Sounds of his panicked screaming were muffled by the tape as he tried to call out to her. “Why are you doing this?” she asked softly, hand still ready to push down on the handle. 

 “Well like I said, either you play or Jason does. And I'd decide quickly, I'm getting impatient here.” 

 Locking the door again, she took a step back, shaking her head to Jason as his muffled cries grew more intense. “Good girl. Now turn off the lights again and we can play.” Through her tears she slowly shut off the light, stepping fully away from the door as she returned to the kitchen island. Using it as coverage once more.

 “Let’s begin, shall we?”

 “How do I play?” Chrissy gritted, using the sleeve of her shirt to wipe off the tears that were beginning to block her vision. The sound of Jason calling out to her was nearly driving her crazy before the caller finally replied back.

 “I’ll keep it simple for you, pretty thing. It’s a good ol’ fashion game of truth or lie. Three rounds and then that’s it! You and the lover boy get to leave. Sound easy?”

“It’s not like I have any other choice..” she scoffed, sniffling a bit as she checked over towards the patio doors again. The light from outside still showed a shadow of Jason on the chair. “What’s the question?” 

 “Exactly, let’s start! Truth or lie, the three people closest to you are; Nancy, Robin, and that sweet, Baby.”

 It was clear to anyone who went to school with Chrissy that those three girls were the ones who were by her side from the start. No one could mess with her when she had them behind her. “Yes, Truth! They’re my best friends.” 

 “Correct! See? You’re doing so good, sweetness.”

 “Okay, so please let me go help Ja-”

 “Nuh uh! We’re still not done yet. Just two more.”

 Her stomach dropped. She knew it was too hopeful that the caller would release Jason but she couldn’t just leave him out there. It was killing her inside. 

 “Truth or lie,” the caller continued. “You’ve recently been appointed head cheerleader.”

 Again this was a true fact, something that Chrissy had been working hard on this whole year. When she was given the title after the recent game, she was beyond happy. But again, this was a fact that everyone knew. It was announced to the whole crowd. “Truth!”

 The caller chuckled at her reply, making her worried about where this was going if he was asking such type of questions. “Last one and if you get this right, you’re free to get Jason.”

 Chrissy gripped the phone tighter, determined now to get Jason inside. Maybe in some sick way this was still a prank and her boyfriend’s friends had set this up in some sort of hazing thing. It’s the only thing that would make sense now.

 “Truth or lie, you were cheating on Eddie Munson for two weeks before you broke up with him to date Jason.”

 “That’s a lie!” Chrissy cried quickly. Her shame and fear built up on her all at once. That piece of information was not public knowledge. Not even Eddie knew about that and here this stranger was using it to toy with her. “People spread that rumor to make me look like the bad guy.”

 The caller made a small sigh of disappointment. Tutting into the receiver tauntingly. “Oh Chrissy,” he cooed. “I thought you understood the rules. You have to get the answer right in order to win.”

 “That is the right answer! I didn’t cheat..I didn’t.”

 A familiar sound of a tape rewinding could be heard through the other end before it played back its audio. “I guess..we’ve barely been official with each other for three weeks…..But you and Eddie were together two weeks ago… Seems you’ve been up to an awful lot of no good fun.”

 “NO! Please don’t do this! Just give me one more chance. One more question.”

 “Sorry, sweets. I’ll give you a bonus round. But I'm afraid our dear Jason is out of the game.”

 At that, all the lights in the house turned off. Capturing Chrissy into the darkness. The only thing that echoed within the walls was the sound of the girl’s screaming as she watched a dark shadow cover over Jason’s body. The glint of metal flew in the air as it crisscrossed in front of Jason. 

 The noises had Chrissy frozen in fear as she could hear the sounds of cloth and something else being sliced. A muffled cry of agony following every slash. Without realizing, she had begun to crawl over, needing to see for sure that this was a reality and not some nightmare.

 In some sick twist of fate, the lights flickered back on to reveal the outside to her again. Still in the chair was Jason. Head back as he stared up in the sky, eyes gone and cold. The front of his shirt was torn open to reveal the gushing pieces of his intestines falling out slowly from his stomach. It was too real, the blood would not stop flowing out and Chrissy could barely let out a whimper as she stared at the horror before her.

 Jason was dead. And it was all her fault. 

 The chilling sound of laughter could be heard through the phone. The tears seemed to be endless as she crouched back down, staring blankly as the pool lights were being shut off again. Most likely now being controlled by the man on the phone. “I don’t want to play this anymore..” Chrissy whispered into the phone.

 Again the caller merely chuckled again. “Final question..are you ready?”

 “Please..”

 “TRUTH OR LIE,” he yelled, “You forgot to check one more door in your house.”

 The whole house grew deadly quiet until the only sounds were Chrissy’s panting. Her eyes wide as she went over everything she did before the calls got weird. She locked both doors. The windows weren’t open since no one had been home all day; it was all locked! She was safe!

 “LIE!” She yelled, getting up from her spot. He couldn’t get in, she was sure of it. Standing up, she walked over to the patio door again and confirmed that it was locked. That is until the sound of a door creaking open rolled down the hall.

 “Are you sure about that?”

 Gripping onto the phone tightly, Chrissy made the decision to arm herself with a knife from the island before she ventured out towards the rooms of the house. Any bit of comfort she had was gone out the window as she stepped forward.

 It wasn’t till she looked at the two rooms by the front entrance that she felt herself begin to panic. Her Father’s office door was always locked. She never in her whole time living there ever needed to go in. But that also made her forget the fact that it led out into the patio.

 The killer was in her house and finally making himself known

. 

Not risking the check, she immediately ran up the stairs to the second floor, catching just a glimpse of something reflective coming from the doorway. Once at the top, the mystery caller himself decided to shoot out of the room, causing the door to hit against the way as he raced to the end of the staircase.

 Chrissy gulped as her wide eyes stared down at the man. He was decked out in a black cloak that concealed his whole body, hands covered in matching gloves and covering his face, a haunting ghost mask. He looked up at Chrissy, tilting his head to the side as he took her in. 

 With the phone still clutched in her hand she took a step back and glanced towards the directions of rooms. “I thought you said I could come in for the party.” chuckled the voice from below. The sound of it was almost robotic in person now, making Chrissy realize it was a disguised voice. 

 “Y-you stay the hell away from me asshole! My friends are coming and the fucking cops are gonna give you the god damn chair!” she yelled, returning her gaze to the man. “You better just leave now!”

 He reached down into his cloak and pulled out a hunting knife. The blade glinting in the overhead lighting showed its long body before it was being pointed towards her. “If your friends are coming, I say we give them a good welcome present.” A step up and he waved the knife playfully. “From you and dear ol’ Jason.”

 Turning around, Chrissy dashed over towards her parents bedroom. The only thought being that if she locked herself in, she could find a way to get over the balcony that faced the front of her house and flag down her friends sooner. 

 But the killer was quick, it was barely when she pushed down the lock on the door of the bedroom that she heard the hard piercing sound of the knife being hit against the wood. “Open up, bitch!” the man yelled, causing Chrissy to let out a scream as she scrambled to push her Mother’s dresser against the door. 

 The man on the other side let out an enraged yell, banging possibly his body against the wood to try and get the door open. “STOP IT!” Chrissy yelled, picking back up her fallen weapon as she scrambled over to the balcony. 

 Looking down the road, she let out a happy cry when she noticed a pair of headlights coming down the long drive down. Her friends were here and their presence would scare off the man. Waving her hand out, she began to yell out towards them! “GUYS! PLEASE HURRY! PLEASE!”

 At the sound of her cry, the killer had burst through the door with all his might. Angrily pushing away the dresser that had held him back as he stormed over towards the balcony. Screaming, she reached for the handle of the sliding door, only to gasp at the killer stopping her. The grip of his hand tight as he pulled her inside the room.

Her other hand tried to hit him with the knife, attempting to stab at him when he pulled back enough to throw a punch against her cheek. 

 The hit was hard enough to have her vision go blurry. “W-wait!” she whimpered, attempting to push herself away. That’s when she felt the hard pressure of the knife going into her chest. A hot liquid trickled out of front of her chest, wetting the thin material of her sweater instantly. 

 No pain had ever felt like this. A mixture of throbbing pain and panic coarsed through Chrissy. But before her hand could even reach up to the wound, another stab was being pushed through her stomach. Again and again the killer dragged his knife through her. Making the pain worse with every push against her body.

 The light in the room was so dim, the sound of her heartbeat was up in her ears. Despite the feeling of her body growing weaker, Chrissy reached up the man’s mask. Letting her fingers glaze over the mask before she pulled it off, revealing the face looking down at her. She wanted to ask him why, get an answer, but all she mustered up was a small puff of air. 

 He reached for the mask back, slipping it back on before he dragged her body to the balcony again, the world was fading and Chrissy wished she could stay longer. See the people she cared about one more time. This wasn’t fair, this wasn’t right. 

 The sound of her friend’s car rolling down the driveway was the last she heard before the man tore the knife along the expanse of her stomach. Soon enough the world faded to black and Chrissy felt herself finally pull away into eternal sleep.

 Not wasting a second longer, the man began to pull out parts of her intestines, matching it up to look like Jason’s out back. The sounds of wet squelching noises were happy to the man’s ears. Reaching deep into the cloak’s pocket, he pulled out a long rope and quickly began to tie it around Chrissy’s body. Making sure every knot was tight before he pulled her up from the floor. 

 The stiffness of her body added a bit of a struggle, but he managed to push the blonde over and watch as her body hung against the balcony railing with a harsh drag. Just in time for the audience to arrive.

 “This morning I woke up with this feeling! I didn't know how to deal with it and so I just decided to myself. I'd hide it to myself and never talk about it. And did not go and shout it when you walked into the room! I think I love you-” Three familiar voices sang out. 

 “Will you three shut up!” Huffed the voice of a man below. 

 Peering over the balcony, the man noticed a group of four teens coming down the long driveway. Steve Harrington being the man in front who had his hands on his hips. “I’m really gonna have the song stuck in my head now.” 

 His eyes cast over to you, rushing to push past the girls so that you could catch up to the boy. “Sorry, Steve.” you smiled sweetly, lacing your hand into his. “Robin’s been singing it all day and we can’t help but get into it.”

 Steve’s glare turned slowly into a smile the longer he stared down at you, reaching up to place a loving hand against your cheek. “I like it when you sing, but Statler and Waldorf here are going to annoy me to death.” he chuckled. 

 The man watched as you coyly batted your lashes up at Steve, leaning up in your tippy toes to press a kiss against his lips. The knife in the man’s hands felt heavier than ever and he found himself gripping it tightly. His eyes watched the way Steve’s hands moved to wrap around the expanse of your lower back, pulling your body closer to his. 

 “Oooh!” Cooed the other two girls in the back. Making you turn suddenly shy as you part from Steve. The boy didn't seem upset that the kiss had ended, in fact, he looked over at the other two girls with a bigger grin now before he threw his head back. “I think I love you so what am I so afraid of?! I'm afraid that I'm not sure of a love there is no cure for!”

 The girls all laughed and began to join in the song again, finally going back to making their way towards the front entrance of the home. Taking that as his cue, the man rushed off the balcony towards the room now. Tonight wasn’t the plan he had hoped for, but soon enough he’d be able to see things through.

 “Omnes una manet nox (One night awaits everyone).” he chanted, running through the house till he was out the patio doors. The sight of Jason brought hope to him as he noticed the beginning of a black sludge slowly creep into the blood that coated Jason’s organs. 

 The last thing the man heard as he climbed over the back fence of the land was the echoing screams from the group of teens.

A/N: And we’ve officially begun this storyline! If its too graphic or uncomfortable I do apologize since it’s not my usual type of posting but this is specifically for Halloween so please understand that. I hope you guys enjoy the mini series!