#but if this is a breakup song it’ll be weird to get it so soon

[diamondseaside]

is anyone else terrified for you’re not losing me like if it’s about what we all think it’s about i’m not ready to know what happened

[scrapsovereign]

Fic idea: Isekai BG3 AU where Ascended Astarion and Gale try to kidnap Tav in an interesting setting to bring her back…but were off by about 100 years.

If you liked country, maybe you could write a song about the week you’ve had.

Starting Sunday, you cried all the way home from the vet and all night after you put down your very sick 21 year old cat, went in Monday to find you’ve been let go from your job at the Box of Human Suffering, and came back to your apartment early to find your partner in bed with their coworker.

Fan-fucking-tastic.

You make it to your bestie’s place and crashed in their spare room- you’re still invited to Ren Faire if you want to go. It’ll be fun! You can stress shop, get trashed, be hungover in the hot, hot sun…

Feeling like shit outdoors in the beautiful cottage core fever dream that is the PNW summer is better than feeling like shit at your apartment around your now ex-boyfriend. Besides, there’s no cell phone signal at site so you can avoid the inevitable garbage fire that is the social media fallout.

The night before you make your way to Ren Faire you can’t sleep. Stupid global warming. The open window in your friends’ guest bedroom helps to cool off the room some but it’s still pretty warm. Eventually, you fall asleep…with your phone on your face.

A slender, pale hand picks it up, puts it aside on the table next to you, and smooths back your hair. That feels really nice. You hum out in bliss, a peaceful smile on your lips.

“Soon, we shall be reunited at long last, my treasure.”

That voice. You’ve heard it before in dreams just like this one.

What happens next is something that you’re sure there’s a million Labyrinth fanfics about. Damn, that’s a spicy dream- you had to fake it with your ex but this guy? You have 3 orgasms! In an hour! That’s more than you had in your whole 2 year relationship that just ended!

The next morning, you make it to the event with your friends and are setting up when you hear the couple in the site next to you bickering. You poke your head around to look at the corner to see an Astarion and a Gale cosplayer arguing with each other. They’re so in character it hurts. “Astarion” looks like he’s about to stab “Gale” with a tent pole before you intervene and offer your help.

Turns out they’ve never been to one of these things before! You laugh darkly at the situation of your new thirst trap friends. Two hot guys with British accents at REN FAIRE of all places is like dumping a bucket of blood in shark-infested waters.

And YOU get to be their guide.

You learn a little more about them, but it doesn’t add up. “Greg” teaches computer science but doesn’t say where and looks at you weird when you crack a joke about the internet being a series of tubes. “Ryan” says he’s a lawyer who works in downtown Seattle but won’t tell you what flavor of lawyer he is and he’s never heard of Jeff Bezos’ Balls.

Huh.

Ryan is super excited to learn about and partake of all the drunken debauchery that happens after dark, so you drag your new friends to all the different camps and make sure they know some of the rules before you let them loose.

You knock back some blue pixie stick and cackle at Ryan when he does a spit-take from the sweetness of the drink. Greg (who ignored your warning about not eating more than one atomic cherry because he wanted to show off how well he could tie a knot with the stem) gets into a very spirited debate with your DnD buddies on the nature of “The Weave”. While he’s distracted, Ryan drags you away from site, away from the event, far beyond the parking lot.

He looks down at you with adoring eyes, your hands held delicately in his, his silver hair positively glowing in the moonlight. He begins to lean down toward you- oh shit, is he going to kiss you?!

“Uhhh…I’m fresh out of a breakup, this probably isn’t a great idea if you’re looking for something that isn’t casual- and I don’t want to come between whatever’s going on with you and Greg.”

He barks out a laugh. A wicked smile spreads across his face, displaying that really great pair of fake teeth. You make a mental note to ask him later where on Etsy he got them from.

“It’s time to go home, Octavia. You can abandon this little charade of yours.”

You stare up at him blankly, feeling uneasy all of a sudden.

Why is he calling you by your middle name? That you never gave to him? Which is also your grandmother’s first name? Your grandmother, (who you bear an uncanny resemblance to), who died more than a decade ago?

You ask him as such. His lips curl in to a snarl, his hands tighten painfully around yours.

“Don’t be stupid, pet. Do you know what we’ve had to go through to find you?! The bloody traffic from that awful place called ‘Renton’ was worse than the ordeal it took to infiltrate the Acquisitions Incorporated Office in Waterdeep. You’ve had your fun, but you’re coming back with us. Tonight.”

Waterdeep, as in Waterdeep in the DnD? What the LARP is he talking about?

You try to tell him that he doesn’t need to be in character, that this isn’t that kind of event when you don’t feel good all of a sudden.

The night swirls around you, wrapping you in a blanket of inky darkness.

You awaken from your dreamless slumber, noticing the softness of real silk sheets beneath you.

Slender fingers lovingly card through your hair. You’re held tenderly in strong arms. You can’t remember the last time you’ve felt so relaxed and comfortable.

Your stomach drops as a familiar voice lilts out above you.

“Welcome home, my darling consort…”

[wincestation]

Just Tonight

Prompt: Stanford Era

Pairing: Sam x Dean

Summery: Inspired by the song "Just Tonight" by The Pretty Reckless. Sam drunk-dials Dean in the middle of the night and tells him he needs him, but after a year apart, is one night enough?

Word Count: 2,059

Written For the SPN Trope Round Robin 2021 (@spn-trope-round-robin) - Round 3 (Remix/Inspired By).

A/N: My first SPN writing challenge ever! I really enjoyed this one. Hope you do too! also, @stanfordsweater your brand is in there for a moment ;)

Read on ao3

Sam’s world is narrowed down to the sound of the dial tone. He waits in the cold, his breath forming visible little clouds. Finally, someone picks up on the other end.

“Sam.” he sighs heavily. “It’s 2am. On a Wednesday.”

Good, Sam thinks. He’s in the same time zone as me. “Dean, I need you.”

“What?” Behind Dean’s voice, Sam can hear the engine of the Impala rumbling to a halt in the background and the familiar sound almost makes him cry. “What do you need me for?”

That question has too many answers, and Sam can’t think straight, he just knows he’s cold and alone and tired and he needs his brother. “I need you to take me home,” he says in a pathetic, tiny voice, leaning against a tree to keep his head from spinning.

Dean tries to sound sympathetic, Sam knows this, but his words come out patronizing. “Can’t you get a cab or something? Or... walk?”

“Dean, please.”

“It’ll take me forever. I’m in bed.”

“No, you’re not. You’re in the car.” He feels sick. Dean never lied to him before.

His brother might be thinking the same thing, because he doesn’t reply.

“C’mon, De, please.” Sam is begging but he doesn’t care, he’s the one who left, he’s the one who hurt Dean, and if Dean wants him to beg, he will. He’ll do anything. “Start the car and take me home.”

*

“You’re drunk.” Dean says in disbelief.

Sam slides into the Impala and slouches against the seat. “And a bit high,” he confirms.

“It’s like I don’t even know you anymore,” and Sam knows he meant it as a joke, but he can’t say anything because the lump in his throat threatens to overflow if he does. He gives Dean the directions and leans his head on his brother's shoulder, ignoring the voice of reason that screams at him to stop making a fool of himself.

If Dean minds, he doesn’t show it. He drives slower than usual, as if he doesn’t want this ride to end, and for a few minutes, Sam lets himself feel a little hope.

The car stops too soon. “Looks like we’re here,” Dean says. It’s an unnecessary comment just to break the silence and Sam drags his pounding head away from his brother’s shoulder.

When he doesn’t move, Dean adds, “Need me to walk you inside?”

Sam nods. “Please,” and Dean agrees, because he could never say no to his little brother.

They both blink when Dean turns on the living room light. Sam groans and sinks into the couch while Dean looks around.

“Nice place. How can you afford - “ he stops abruptly and Sam raises his head.

Dean is holding a framed picture of Sam and Jessica, both smiling happily at the camera. She’s wearing his Stanford sweater - the one he has on right now, in fact. Dean looks at him and Sam knows he noticed that. “Didn’t know you had a girlfriend, Sammy.” his voice is bitter and he puts the picture down as if it was burning his fingertips. “So you two live together, huh? Where is she?”

“She’s - not here.”

“Is she out partying on a Wednesday, too? When is she coming back?”

Sam winces. He doesn’t want to talk about Jessica right now. “I don’t know,” he says.

Dean turns to him with a cold smile. It’s the smile that Sam fears most - the one that doesn’t show his teeth, doesn’t reach his eyes. “So you invited me in, for what? So we can wait here for your perfect little girlfriend and - “

“She’s not my girlfriend,” Sam cuts through his words. He stares at Dean angrily. “Not anymore.”

Dean looks genuinely surprised. “What, she… left you?” Sam nods. “Like, for good?”

Sam pauses for a moment. “She’ll come back eventually.” Before the cold smile can return, he clarifies, “To pick up her things, I mean.”

“Oh.” Bitterness gone now, Dean looks a bit lost in the middle of Sam’s Stanford living room, and Sam almost laughs. Dean was always better at dealing with broken bones than with broken hearts - but it’s not like Sam himself was any better. The memory of the last time he saw his brother starts to creep back at him, and although he banishes it away, it kills any chance of laughter.

“So…” Dean starts, looking at Sam, as if he wants him to say something. When he doesn’t, Dean continues, “Unless you want to cry into your pillow while I stroke your hair...”

“No - don’t go.” Sam blurts out.

Dean just stares at him. Eventually, he says, anger underlining his words, “So you want me to stay, and, what? Get you through your hangover, help you get over your breakup with college Barbie? Is this what you meant when you said you needed me?”

Sam’s too hazy to properly respond, can’t even see straight. “Just tonight, Dean, please.” His hands reach out to the edge of Dean’s jacket and he grabs handfuls of the leather, bringing Dean as close to him as possible, trying not to sob his next words, throwing any inhibition away. “Please, De, need you to stay with me.” He knows his eyes are probably leaking. He doesn’t care. He looks up to his brother’s face, trying to memorise it so he can remember it tomorrow, because right now he can’t decipher what that look of his means.

Dean grips Sam’s hands and holds them for a moment. “Just tonight.” He says at last, and lets Sam drag him onto the couch and wrap himself around him. The anxiety that bubbled up in him is settled down, and Sam allows himself to relax into his brother's arms; even if it’s just tonight.

*

The light hits Dean’s eyes and he blinks furiously before finally making out his surroundings. A moment later, last night’s memories come back to him and he sits up, completely awake.

He can hear the shower running. His nose picks up the scent of coffee - and toast, too. His watering mouth is what makes him get up eventually, and when he does he feels his clothes stick to his skin, a reminder that he slept in them last night. Sam did, too. They didn’t even bother with as much as kicking off their shoes before drifting off to sleep - together, legs tangled, arms holding each other close.

Because that’s normal, right? Nothing says “Hey, Sammy, I missed you” like a casual brotherly spooning, Dean thinks grimly and sits at the kitchen table.

He nibbles on a slice of toast while contemplating his next move. Sam is bound to leave the shower soon - it’s taking him forever, what a princess - and Dean has to be ready when he shows up. He let himself slip last night, lost in the face of Sam’s desperation, that genuine need… But he shouldn’t have stayed. He should've tucked Sammy safely into his bed, say goodnight and drive the hell away from this stupid prissy college.

Dean braces himself when he hears the water stop. Any moment now, Sam will enter the room, apologize for calling him up, and send him on his way.

Dean is already thinking of a way to tell his father about this (cuddling excluded, of course) when Sam steps into the room, casually rubbing a towel over his wet hair, completely naked.

“Dude, what the - “

“Oh - shit, Dean, I thought you were still asleep.” Sam flashes an embarrassed, apologetic smile as he wraps the towel around his waist. Dean feels heat creeping up his cheeks and tries his hardest to repress it, seriously, it’s supposed to be Sam who blushes like a girl, while Sam sits in the chair in front of him and grabs a piece of toast.

Trying to keep his eyes away from his almost-naked brother, Dean stares at the clock on the wall, trying not to think of it as counting away his time. Finally he asks, eyes still fixed on the clock, “Don’t you have classes or something?”

Sam shrugs his shoulders. “Professor is sick,” He says with his mouth full. “Want me to show you around campus later?”

“Show me aro - aren't you going to apologize?” Dean snaps, moving his gaze back to his brother. He lets more anger into his words than he intended and he curses himself for it, but it’s too late to back out from this conversation now.

Sam swallows his food, troubled, and sets the rest of the toast aside. His hands drop to his lap, where he plays with the towel, until finally he says, “I’m sorry, Dean. I shouldn’t have done this.”

Disappointment starts to bloom in Dean’s chest like blood stains through a t-shirt and he pushes it away violently. This is exactly what he was getting ready for, so how come he still has any glimpse of hope? “Yeah, you shouldn’t have.”

“I was just so - “ Sam won’t look into his eyes, and traces of last night’s desperation start creeping into his voice. “When you told me all those things, I, I panicked. I was already pretty unhappy for a while - you know me and dad, always butting heads - and that was kinda like a final push or something.”

Dean has a weird feeling in his stomach. “Sam, what are you talking about?”

“I’m trying to apologize, Dean. Please, just let me finish.”

“For drunk dialing me last night and dragging my ass out here in the middle of the night,” Dean says, not asking, trying to convince himself that this is all the conversation is about.

“What?” Sam looks at him. Dean notices tiny tears hanging from his lashes, like fish caught in a net. “No. For leaving you.”

The silence thickens while they look at each other. The clock keeps ticking away in the background.

“I told you to forget everything I said,” Dean says eventually. His voice is hoarse even to his own ears.

“But that’s the thing, Dean,” Sam speaks quietly, “I just couldn’t. Even here, all those miles away from you, I couldn’t stop thinking about what you said. I tried to put it all behind me, find a girl, build myself a normal life… But I couldn’t.” His eyes are focused on the towel and Dean’s head is working overtime to make sense of this.

Sam sniffs. “I know I hurt you.” He says in a small voice. Dean sees right through him - sees his teary-eyed baby brother, who simply did something he isn’t proud of and now aches for his forgiveness. “I said things I regret.”

“Called me sick,” Dean reminds him, mercilessly. “Said I needed to go see someone to fix everything that’s wrong with me.” Many other things were said, too, but those are the only ones he can bring himself to repeat.

“But that’s the thing, Dean,” Sam lifts his head at last and meets Dean’s eyes. His eyes tell Dean he’s right - this is his best, desperate attempt to fix this. “I don’t think you’re sick anymore. I think I know how you feel.”

What is he saying?

“I tried not to, tried to run away from it. But nothing else was enough, no one else was.” He’s visibly crying now but he continues, and Dean realises Sam needs to say those things, not just to him but out loud, to make them true, to make sure there’s no turning back. “De, you’re my big brother. And I love you. I don’t care if people think we’re sick, okay? I want to be with you - “

Dean doesn’t know how he got there - he doesn’t remember getting up - but he’s kneeling next to Sam, reaching up to brush away the tears, and it’s hard to reach his face because when did his baby brother get so freakishly tall? “It’s okay, Sammy. Don’t cry.”

“Mean it, Dean. I need you. I can’t - not without you.”

Dean stands and hugs Sam’s teary face to his chest. “Not going anywhere, Sammy. I’m right here with you.” Sam wraps his hands around his big brother and they melt into each other, bright morning sunshine and the smell of burnt, forgotten coffee, and little drops of water and tears mixing together and they don’t know where Dean ends and Sam begins but that's exactly what they're craving, wouldn’t have it any other way.

[imagine-a-life-like-this]

It Was Always You (M.YG)

Warnings : mentions of cheating, swearing, abandonment

Synopsis : 2 years after their breakup, she posts a music video with memories of the relationship, staring a man that isn’t him. she thought she could move on, but for her, it’ll always be him.

Word Count : 4215

“I like you.” I told him quickly, scared to look up from my hands that were in my lap. After a minute of silence, I braved a glance up and met his eyes. He smiled at me, and something in my heart knew.

           “That was my line.” He joked. We shared a small laugh. I couldn’t help but feel like I was on cloud 9.

           I sat at the same table from my memory, looking at a man that wasn’t him. He wore a similar outfit, per my request, and I wore the exact clothes I wore that day. “I like you.” I said confidently, not looking down this time.

           “That was my line.” He chuckled, reaching across the table to take my hand in his. “I brought you here to confess.” I giggled and smiled widely at him.

           “Cut! Absolute perfection. This music video is going to be a hit, I can feel it.” Ahn Jae Hyun and I both stood from our seats and bowed to those working hard to make my dream come true. I then turned to him and thanked him.

           “I really appreciate you being in this video.”

           “Of course. Anything for a friend. You’ve worked really hard, should we grab something to eat before going home tonight?” I nodded and linked my arm with his as we left the café. “I’ve never seen you be such a stickler for your videos.” He joked as we walked towards the restaurant down the block from where we were.

           “This one is special to me. It’s basically reliving my favourite moments with my first love.” I admitted. Jae Hyun and I rarely kept secrets from each other since we met filming a drama together a couple years ago.

           “Ah! You’ve told me about him before. Was he more handsome than me?” He said with a chuckle. I playfully hit him in the arm as I laughed.

           “No one is more handsome than you.” I told him, leaning closer to him as we walked. I’ve always been comfortable around Jae Hyun, ever since the day we met. I remember him asking me on a date soon after filming had ended, but I was engaged at the time. “Do you ever think about where we would be if I was single when you asked me out?” I pulled away slightly and looked up at him, my arms still wrapped around his. He stopped walking and looked at me with a smile.

           “I think we’d be just like this, but this would be a date.” I scoffed and playfully hit his arm again. “I’m serious, Y/N. You’re a special girl. That ex of yours is a real idiot.” Blush rose to my cheeks when he said that.

           “Ask me again, Jae Hyun.” He furrowed his brows at me before putting it together.

           “Are you sure, Y/N?” I nodded with a smile. “Okay. Well then, Y/N, would you like to go on a date with me?” Again I nodded and the two of us began walking again.

           I was preparing dinner for the two of us when I felt his arms wrap around me. “To what do I owe this beautiful surprise?” He kissed my cheek.

           “I just wanted to cook dinner for my handsome boyfriend.” He unwrapped his arms from around me and turned me around to face him. “What?”

           “I love you, Kim Y/N.” I scoffed but I couldn’t stop the blush from forming. “I’ll only ever love you, for the rest of my life.” I could see in his eyes that he was completely serious.

           “Good! Because I’ll only ever love you.”

            Jae Hyun wrapped his arms around me and placed a kiss on my cheek. “To what do I owe this beautiful surprise.” I giggled as I continued cutting the vegetables.

           “I just wanted to cook dinner for my handsome boyfriend.” He turned me to face him and when I met his eyes, my heart broke a little bit. My smile didn’t faulter though as he confessed his love for me. “Good, because I’ll only ever love you.” We shared a quick kiss before the director called cut. “Is it weird to relive my memories with my ex as my current boyfriend?” I asked with a small pout.

           “It is a little weird, but in the end he lost you and I got you. So I’m happy doing this for you.” I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled him down for a kiss.

           “I must have saved a country in a past life.” He chuckled and kissed me again.

           I slowly walked up the path lit with candles to see him kneeling on one knee with a bouquet of flowers in his hands. Tears immediately sprung to my eyes as I stood in front of him. “I really meant it when I said I’d only love you for the rest of my life. Since the day I met you I knew in my heart you were my forever. I love you so much, Kim Y/N. Will you marry me?” He handed me the flowers as he pulled a velvet box from his pocket. When he opened it and I saw the heart shaped diamond, I couldn’t stop the tears from flowing.

           “Yes, of course.” He slid the ring on my finger as he stood and brought me in for a kiss. “I love you.”

           I looked in awe at the set that was decorated to perfection, exactly the way it was decorated the day he proposed to me. Jae Hyun draped his arm across my shoulders, causing me to look away from the set and up at him. “Are you sure you can do this?” He asked, a look of concern in his eyes. I gave him a soft smile as I nodded.

           “One more scene and we can stop living in my memories and make new ones.” I told him. He quickly kissed me.

           “I already know where to start.” Before I could ask him to elaborate, the director called us to set. This was the scene I was the most nervous about. I still had the exact ring from that day and told Jae Hyun to use it. I could already feel the pain in my heart at the idea of someone else proposing with the ring he did. When I decided to do this video, I hoped he would see it and the two of us would get back together. But the day before shooting began, one of his bandmates sent me pictures of him with Jennie. I decided then that this would be a way to move on.

           “You all worked hard!” I announced as I bowed to the crew who helped this come to life. “Thank you so much for all your hard work.” I bid my goodbyes and joined Jae Hyun’s side. “Did you want to stay tonight?” I asked as we got into his car.

           “Of course.” He smiled at me and took my hand in his as he began driving.

           “Thanks again for doing this. I don’t think I could have done it with anyone else.” He quickly smiled at me before looking back to the road. He then brought my hand to his lips and pressed a soft kiss to my hand.

         “Oppa!” I exclaimed and jumped into Seok Jin’s arms. He chuckled before telling me to take a seat. “Why are you so serious?” I asked while sitting across from him.

           “You know why, Kim Y/N.” He raised his voice. Something he’s never done to me, not even when we were kids. “That music video you just posted?” I let out a small chuckle.

           “The one with Ahn Jae Hyun?” He nodded. “Wasn’t it adorable?” I played dumb, even though I knew he knew what I was doing. My brother knows me better than anyone else.

           “I know those are moments you shared with Yoongi.” I gulped, trying to swallow the tears. I can’t even say his name without crying. “And you posted it on your anniversary?! And you won’t even answer his calls. You’re being ridiculous.” I scoffed.

           “I’m being ridiculous? Did you say that to him when he wouldn’t answer my calls after our fight?” He stayed silent because he knows I know he took Yoongi’s side. “I used my own memories to make a video so I could move on. Those memories were suffocating me, oppa. He broke my heart, and my own brother wasn’t even there to help put the pieces back together. He took everything from me, all I did was make a music video. No one even knows it’s about him.” Jin sat there silently, looking at me with a look of pity.

           “Could you just talk to him?”

           “You were out with him, weren’t you?” He yelled at me. Tears were streaming down my face. “I told you I didn’t like when you’re with him!”

           “I know, but it was a cast dinner. We weren’t alone! I couldn’t just not go.” I tried explaining, hoping he would calm down and we could sit and talk this through like we always do. “He asked me out a few weeks ago, but I told him I was engaged. He knows, Yoongi. And I don’t love him. I’ll only ever love you.” I reached out for him, but he ripped his arm from my grasp, causing me to fall down.

           “Don’t touch me. You’re nothing but a cheater.” He stormed out, ignoring me calling after him. I curled up on the floor and sobbed, hoping he would just come back. I called him multiple times over the next week, until Jin sent me pictures of Yoongi with Jennie. I just wished he would have talked to me.

           “He had that chance two years ago. I don’t want to talk to him.” I lied and stood up from the table. Jin grabbed my arm as I walked by him.

           “Please just see him once. He’s been going crazy ever since the video came out.” I let out a small laugh.

           “Good. I hope he feels guilty. I hope you do too.” He released me after that, and I left the café. I was able to hold in my tears until I got in my car. I let out my sobs, hoping the pain in my heart that he left would soon be gone.

           I don’t know why I agreed to this. Besides Yoongi, Jennie was the last person I wanted to see. I considered her a good friend of mine, someone I opened up to about my relationship with Yoongi. I poured my heart out to her and told her how I just wished him, and I could go public with our relationship before the wedding, but we had agreed to keep it private. She helped me write the song I wanted to release as a way to subtly tell the fans we were together. A love song called Suga Sweet. The same love song I’ve now released under the name Our Love.

           “Y/N.” She said as she sat down. “I just want to start with I’m so sorry. He had told me things were over, that you moved on with a co-star.” I scoffed.

           “I guess in his eyes our relationship was over. Regardless of that fact though, you were my best friend. I trusted you and loved you like a sister, and you still dated my first love.” I admitted to her. “Ahn Jae Hyun and I didn’t start dating until recently. A part of me always hoped Yoongi and I would get back together.” She reached across to grab my hands, but I pulled them away and sat them in my lap.

           “I’m so sorry, Y/N. I didn’t think it would bother you this much.” I laughed at that statement.

           “It’s too late for that now, Jennie. I hope you two are happy together.” I stood and began to walk away.

           “He’s still in love with you!” She called after me, causing me to stop in my tracks. “He meant it when he said he would only love you. He could never love me.”

           “That’s karma for you.” Was all I said before walking away. I turned right when I exited the café, bumping into someone as I did. The smell of his cologne wafted up my nose and I could feel the tears prick my eyes. I really didn’t want to confirm it was him, but I had to. When my eyes met his, I quickly looked away, wiping the tear that fell.

           “Y/N.” He whispered and reached out for me. I stepped back from him. He dropped his hand back to his side. “I’ve been calling.”

           “How the tables have turned.” I chuckled, not daring to meet his eyes. As much as I want to hate him, I know I can’t. He will always be my one weakness.

           “I should have come back that night. I should have believed you.” I took a chance and met his eyes once more.

           “Too little too late, Min Yoongi.” I tried to walk past him, but he grabbed my wrist.

           “Please talk to me.” I looked at his hand wrapped around my wrist and then back up at his eyes. “I want to apologize. I want to tell you how beautiful that video is. How beautiful that song is. Jennie told me it was for me. For us.”

           “Y/N!” I looked towards the sound of my name and saw Jae Hyun getting out of his car. He had promised to pick me up after my meeting with Jennie and take me out to forget everything. I felt Yoongi’s grip loosen and took that as my chance to rip my arm away from him.

           “Jae Hyun, I was wondering where you were.” I smiled and walked towards his car, leaving Yoongi to watch me walk away this time.

 “Who was that? I thought you were meeting with Jennie?” I looked straight ahead, trying to calm the beating of my heart. I always imagined what it would be like to run into him again. All the things I would say to him to convince him he was the only one for me. I always imagined us getting back together, us getting married. I’ve never pictured anyone else at the end of the aisle since the day we met.

           “Min Yoongi. My ex-fiancé.” I chanced a look over to Jae Hyun to see he was looking over at me before focusing on the road again.

           “You mean to tell me this famous ex of yours, the guy who thought you were cheating on him with me, the guy you lived all those memories we just filmed with, the guy who walked away from the most beautiful woman alive, is THE Min Yoongi. Mister Agust D. Suga.” He kept glancing between the road and me.

           “The one and only.” I giggled, hiding the fact that all I wanted to do was run back to him and tell him that I still love him.

           “Never pegged him as an idiot.” Jae Hyun joked, causing me to laugh. “I have a question though.” I looked up at him, telling him to ask away. “Isn’t your brother in the same band as him? Have you really not run into him until now?” I looked down to my hands, not really wanting to answer the question, but I know I can trust Jae Hyun. He was there when my own brother wasn’t.

           “He’s actually my half brother. Our dad cheated on his mom with my mom. Jin has blamed my mom for their rocky relationship ever since, even though he told her he was single. Him and I used to get along when we were younger, but as we got older, he always figured I’d be like my mom. So when Yoongi went and told them I was cheating on him, Jin took his side immediately, no questions asked. He abandoned me in favor for Yoongi.” Jae Hyun reached across and took my hand in his, running his thumb over my knuckles in a soothing way. “I still love him though. That’s my oppa.” I smiled. “I just wished he saw me as his sister.”

           I spent the rest of the day with Jae Hyun before he had to head home to go to bed early. He told me he was starting a new drama tomorrow. And as I laid alone in my bed, my phone buzzing with texts and phone calls, I knew what I needed to do. I texted Yoongi to meet me at our café in 20 minutes, any later than that and I was leaving.

           I quickly touched up my hair and makeup and swung my purse over my shoulder before heading out, my heart threatening to pound right out of my chest. I hoped he would be late so I could leave and convince myself he never cared, but he was there at our table before I arrived, two drinks on the table.

           He stood to greet me when he saw me walking his way. “I got your favourite.” I smiled as we took our seats. It was like I was transported to two years ago before the breakup, sitting here across from him like everything was okay.

           “I’m going to say everything I have to say, and you’re going to sit and listen until I’m done.” Yoongi nodded, urging me to say everything. “I waited for you. I waited everyday for a text, or a call, or even for you to just show up at my house. I didn’t even want you to apologize, I just wanted you back. I called everyday for a week before seeing that you were going out with Jennie. I took that as my hint that we were over.” I took a minute to take a drink and collect my thoughts. “No official breakup, not even a text. It took me a long time to get back into the groove of writing songs and acting. I took a long break. Jae Hyun was the only person I had then, so he was the obvious choice when I came up with the concept for my comeback music video.” I took another break, willing the tears not to fall.

           There were so many things I wanted to tell him. I wanted to tell him all the nights I couldn’t sleep. The amount of alcohol I drank wishing to forget the years we spent together. How many tears I cried; how broken I was. How badly I wished I could just see him again. “I had hoped this music video would show you how much I loved you, how I could only ever love you. I hoped it would make you realize that we were forever. But the day before filming began, Namjoon sent me pictures of you with Jennie. I don’t know why, but he did. So instead I used this as a way to get the memories out and move on. Jae Hyun asked me out after the first day of filming.” I admitted and watched as his face fell.          

           I wanted to tell him how I wished it was him the entire time. Every time I met Jae Hyun’s eyes, I wished they were his. I wished I was kissing him. I wished he was the one holding me. Even now, a month after the fact. Jae Hyun was a great guy, but he wasn’t Yoongi.

           “You used the real ring I proposed with.” He said after some silence. I nodded. “Where is it now?” I hated the fact that it was in my purse. I hated the fact that I didn’t like to be without it. I hated the fact that I still wore it from time to time.

           “I sold it after the video.” So I lied. I hated it so much I lied. “I thought about selling it for a while, but our love was priceless to me. But after seeing you get back together with Jennie; it didn’t feel priceless anymore.” I kept lying through my teeth. I held back the tears and lied to the only man I’ll ever love. “4,429,622 won. That’s how much our love costs.” I watched as a tear fell down his cheek.

           “Was Jennie telling me the truth when she said that song was written for me?” I nodded.

           “She helped me write it. It was going to be the song I used to tell the fans about us. I was hoping we could make a video together. Maybe of our wedding. It was originally called Suga Sweet.” He closed his eyes, obviously trying to hold back the sobs he wanted to release. “She was my best friend. She knew exactly how I felt about you and she still betrayed me. Yet, I never hated you two. I wanted you to come back to me, and I wanted my friendship with her back. But Ahn Jae Hyun is a really great guy and I’m finally happy again.” He nodded.

           “I meant it you know. I’ll only ever love you.” It was my turn to blink back tears.

           “You should have thought of that before you walked away.” I stood from the table. “I hope everything has been said so you can stop calling me.” And I walked away from the love of my life once again.

           “How was filming?” I asked Jae Hyun as he laid his head in my lap. It’s been a week since I saw Yoongi, since I decided that I need to give my all to my relationship with Jae Hyun.

           “You know, same old same old.” But it seems as if he’s grown distant with me. I pretend that I don’t notice as I run my fingers through his hair and watch as he falls asleep. I understand that filming takes a lot out of a person. I also understand how much effort he puts in to being the best. But I also know the kind of guy he is. A player type. He can fall out of love just as fast as he can fall in love.

           Him and Yoongi were so different. From their personalities to the way they carry themselves. Every detail of them is so different. I found myself comparing Jae Hyun to Yoongi every single day, and I found myself falling out of love with him, just as he was doing with me.

           “Should we breakup?” I asked when he woke up. He sat up and stared at me, but I was staring straight ahead. I know he knows this is what’s best. “I don’t have feelings for you anymore.”

           “Yeah, I don’t have any for you anymore too.” I knew but it still hurt hearing him say it. “I don’t want you to leave though.” I laughed.

           “You’re my best friend, Jae Hyun. That’s not going to change.” I looked over at him and he was wearing his award-winning smile.

           “I think you should get back together with Yoongi.” I looked down to my hands that were on my lap. I won’t lie, since I saw him last week, I’ve been thinking about it. What’s the point in dating anyone else when I know I’ll just compare them to Yoongi anyway. “You’ll never stop loving him, so just love him.”

           “You’re a wise man.” I laughed. “But a relationship is two people.” He lightly hit my head.

           “That man loves you, regardless of what happened two years ago. You two belong together and that’s on soulmates.” I rolled my eyes before telling him to get out. “Call him, stupid!” He called after me as I pushed him out of my house and closed to the door. And that’s exactly what I was going to do.

           I didn’t expect him to pick up. I expected things to be like they were two years ago. But he answered almost immediately, like he had been waiting for my call since last week. “Y/N.” He said into the phone.

           “Come over. We need to talk.” It was like he teleported to my house with how fast he was ringing my doorbell. He stood at the door dressed in sweatpants and a t-shirt with his hair an absolute mess. But to me he was the most handsome guy to walk this planet. All the words I wanted to say left my brain when I wrapped my arms around him and nuzzled my head into his neck. “I tried not to love you, but I can’t.” I whispered. And he wrapped his arms around me, pulling me tightly into his chest.

           “You’ve always been the only one for me. I’m sorry I didn’t realize that sooner.” I pulled away from him and shook my head.

           “You’re here now.” He nodded, telling me he was never leaving again. We eventually moved to my couch where I reached for my purse, took the ring out and placed it on the table in front of us. He looked at it and then at me. “I never sold it. I tried. But our love has always been priceless.” He reached for the ring and grabbed my hand before sliding the ring on my finger.

           “This is forever the place it belongs.”

[mercuriallily]

WIP: Where the Wind Cries, Chapter 1

Word count: 546

WIP Page: x

Prologue   Chapter 2   Chapter 3   Chapter 4   Chapter 5   Chapter 6

* * *

Friday, 6 December 2019, 5:42PM

“...Shaping up to be a nice weekend. If you’re up near Whistler tonight, watch out for snow squalls moving through the area. Nighttime temperature will be dropping down to minus seven degrees, with a wind chill of minus fifteen. Tomorrow’s high will be near minus three, going down to minus six in the evening--” The radio gradually distorted into static before cutting out completely.

Ashleigh sighed as she gazed out of the window, her head resting against the glass. Snowflakes playfully danced outside as they floated to the ground. Pine trees bristled and swayed in the wind. A wolf cried somewhere in the distance, quickly followed by a chorus of more wolves joining in.

“Road’s not too bad, eh?” Logan said from the driver’s seat. “I thought for sure it’d be worse than this.”

“Hmm.” Ashleigh straightened her posture. “Well, it has just started to snow. But you’ve got your winter tires on, right? We’ll be fine once we get further up.”

“Yeah, about that...”

“What?”

Logan glanced in the rearview mirror, then at Ashleigh. “About a kilometre or so up the way, we’ve gotta stop the car and walk the rest of the way.”

“Really?”

“Yep. Local police have deemed it too dangerous for vehicles. Y’know, ‘cause of all the accidents.”

Reaching for her thermos, Ashleigh nodded slowly. “That makes sense.” She took a sip of her hot chocolate before putting the thermos back into the cup holder. “It’s kinda weird being back.”

Ashleigh hadn’t been on the mountain in almost five years. She’d attended the memorial after the crash, and again after graduation, but that had been the last time. The mountain made her uncomfortable. And after what had happened... Well, she just didn’t like it.

“I’m glad you’re coming back, though,” Logan said. “Even though you didn’t come on the trip with the rest of us, you were still a part of our class. And it just wouldn’t feel right without you.”

“Thanks, Lo.”

“I’m serious! Jamie specifically asked me to contact you. He really wants you to be there.”

“Speaking of James,” Ashleigh said, “who else is coming? You didn’t tell me.”

Logan thought for a moment. “Well, there’s Jeremy Tremblay,” they said, referring to Jamie’s best friend, “and Alex and Tanya Hutsul, and Mia Song, and you and me, obviously.” They grinned mischievously. “Oh, and Daniel Radek. Remember him?”

Ashleigh’s face flushed, and she turned to look out the window again. “Oh. Really?”

“Uh-huh. I was wondering how you’d feel about that.”

“Well, I, uh...” Choosing her words carefully, Ashleigh started over. “It’ll be nice to see him again.” Then, changing the subject, “So, Mia was invited. Why?”

Logan shrugged. “I dunno. I guess Jamie wanted her to come.”

“But... I mean, their breakup was so...awful. I guess I’m just surprised that Mia actually agreed.”

“Me too, Ash. Me too.”

A short time later, they arrived at a parking lot of sorts. Logan put the car into park and shut off the ignition. Grabbing her thermos and backpack, Ashleigh opened the passenger’s side door and got out. It would be dark soon.

[gossipchii]

Beautiful stranger

FF.net link: Here

Characters: Takenouchi Sora and Ishida Yamato

Pairing: Sorato

Words: 2100+

Notes: It was inspired by Halsey’s song of the same title. I don’t know, it’s a beautiful song.

Enjoy!

Sora knew exactly which day today was, she knew it without looking at her phone, or at the calendar she had hanging at her wall. She knew it the moment she woke up because her chest felt heavy. It had officially been one year since her breakup, she sighed. Sora had done everything she was supposed to do during that long time to get over a breakup: she got a haircut, she exercised a lot, got back to playing tennis! Hung out with friends, even went to a few dates that never succeeded.

Yet, there she was, sitting in her bed with a heavy chest. She decided she needed a few drinks that night, so she texted her friends’ group chat and it was settled. Sora wanted to go to their usual bar, a small place they went to at least twice a month, but Mimi insisted they went to the newest place in the neighborhood, a bar with the coolest view in Odaiba, she assured. All Sora wanted was a drink that night, so she accepted.

She finally got out of her room, to meet both her roommates in the living room, she was surprised by how late it was, she probably had spent an hour staring at the walls in her room.

“Morning, Sora!” Miyako was playing some game in the TV and Hikari was editing the photos they had taken last week, when she had insisted Sora to be her model.

“Morning,” she smiled softly, decided that she wasn’t hungry, but she still needed some food, so a smoothie would do. “Happy anniversary!” The redhead sarcastically exclaimed, lifting her smoothie glass as if she was cheering, both Miyako and Hikari knew exactly what she was talking about.

“How are you feeling?” Hikari, the younger of the trio hugged her, she had always been better with actions than with words.

“Kind of numb, it’s crazy to think it’s been a year already.”

“It will get better,” Miyako had never liked Sora’s ex-boyfriend, she said he used to shut down her light.

“It already has,” Sora’s tone was sincere this time. “In fact, I texted Mimi and the others, we’re going to the hit bar that just opened, you both should come.” She took a sit alongside Hikari, surprised by how good the photoshoot had turned out.

“I don’t think I can, Koushiro and I have a meeting in a few hours, and we’ll have to start working with the project as soon as possible.” Miyako and their mutual friend, Koushiro, had started a software company when they were in freshman year in University, and they had grown incredibly quickly. “He should be getting here soon, actually.”

“Hikari?”

“You know I don’t really like going out…” and Sora knew she was right, so she wouldn’t insist. “Plus, I want to finish editing these, they are crazy good, Sora!” the redhead couldn’t hide her blush, she did look good if she had to accept it herself.

“It’s all because you do magic with the camera,” Sora admitted, it would have been fun if her roommates had joined her night out plan. “This means it’ll be Mimi, Taichi and I all over again.”

“You see my brother more than I do,” Hikari laughed.

“I should start getting ready, considering Koushiro will be here soon and I’m still on my PJ’s.”

The rest of the day went out quicker than Sora was expecting. She wasn’t looking forward to her breakup anniversary because all the feelings she felt back then would go back to being fresh. But having her roommates at home, and Koushiro too had been a nice surprise. It hadn’t been half as bad as she had feared.

“Honey, I’m home! You better be ready, Takenouchi because the reservation is at 9pm sharp and if we get late, I’m…” Sora got out of her room, leaving Mimi speechless, a hard thing to do. “Who are you and what did you do to my Sora?”

“Oh, you’re exaggerating.” First Hikari, now Mimi. Perhaps her inside wasn’t at her best but Sora was glad her exterior didn’t show it. “Where’s Taichi?”

“Waiting for us downstairs, something about him not having the money he owes to Koushiro…”

“I heard that! Ugh, he promised!” Koushiro interrupted their meeting to stare at Mimi, she simply shrugged.

“We´re leaving!” Mimi held Sora’s arm and soon enough the trio were on their way to the bar.

Sora had been close to cancel on Mimi, it felt strange dressing up that much, even wearing heels. But this new place had strict dressing policy and Mimi was so excited to visit it. Plus, Sora needed a drink, just one.

“Was he mad?” Taichi asked Sora once they were on the elevator, if the bar had the best view of Odaiba, it was just obvious that it would be in the twentieth floor.

“So mad! You’ll need to pay him soon.” It was weird to see Taichi all dressed up, even weirder than seeing herself in heels.

“I really was planning to pay him today, but then Mrs. Princess decided to come to this expensive place and…”

Sora got lost in her thoughts, while Mimi and Taichi argued. She had a strange feeling about the night, a good one perhaps. So much had happened in a year, she should be proud of all the growing she had done, right? And she was with two of her best friends, a night out with the Taichi/Mimi duo was always compelling.

Soon enough they were inside the bar, and it would have been silly not to be struck by how dazzling it was. Sora was grateful Mimi was friends with one of the members of the band, otherwise she would be afraid to spend God knows how much money in a single drink.

.

Dancing in high heels should be considered an extreme sport, Sora thought to herself after she had decided she deserved a time out from all the dancing. She sat on the bar and ordered a martini, while she softly laughed at Mimi and Taichi dancing, both brunettes were a show to admire.

But perhaps she should have paid attention to the actual show to admire, the band that was playing in the bar. They had been fantastic, keeping up the mood for the entire night, it had just happened that Sora was having too much fun dancing to pay attention to the ones she should be grateful with.

She immediately regretted looking at them, and she may have been exaggerating but she felt herself getting lost in the singer and bass player’s eyes. They were the kind of blue that only existed in one of Monet’s paintings. She couldn’t decide if they were icy or warm. She got lost in his bad dancing; hips like Jagger but two left feet, an adorable way of attracting everyone in the bar’s attention. He had great stage presence.

But the thing she got lost into the most were his lips, the way they moved. It may be the alcohol she had drank that night, but Sora could swear she had never seen a mouth like his. One she would kill to kiss.

“Thank you so much for this amazing night, our good friend Daisuke Motomiya will take up the gig as DJ. We were Knife of Day, the night is still young!”

The DJ, someone younger than the members of the band, immediately took the stage. Sora was astonished by how free he looked. It was obvious that the DJ was passionate and having fun onstage, she could never be the center of attention like that.

“Is this seat taken?” a male voice took her out of her thoughts, when she noticed who was speaking, she wished the floor would open and she would disappear. She wondered if he had noticed her staring.

“It isn’t,” she sounded chiller than she was expecting, confident even.

“The bar is packed tonight,” it was an open comment, she wasn’t sure if she was meant to reply. She still did.

“It was probably because you guys were playing tonight,” she blushed, he smiled. “You were great.”

“I saw you dancing,” he sounded confident, not a single doubt in his voice. His body language, however, appeared nervous. “Seeing you having fun, made me think we were doing a good job. Ishida Yamato,” he handed out his hand, Sora shook it almost in shook. How old was this guy?

“Takenouchi Sora,” she felt so nervous, she could swear even a giggle came out of her mouth, as if she was fifteen and not a 24-year-old woman. “How did you know it was me dancing? As you said, the bar is packed tonight.”

“Your hair is hard to miss,” Sora grabbed a strand of her hair, embarrassed. “Also, you were with those two who are definitely…”

“Hard to miss, yes.” Sora laughed, loudly, covering her mouth afterwards. It had been a while since she had laughed like that. She wanted to keep talking to Yamato, she had no idea what it was, or who to blame but she wanted to get to know him. However, the music in that place was so loud…

“We can go outside, if you want.”

“Was I that obvious?” Yamato shrugged; Sora smiled. “I wasn’t going to invite you to my place if that is what you were thinking, I mean, both my roommates are home anyway so it would be weird but…” she blushed, deeply. What was going on in her head that night? “What I’m trying to say is, there’s a bar nearby, it is pretty chill, and we could talk…”

“I would like that,” a chuckle. “There’s no rush in meeting your roommates. We can take it slow.” His smile was sincere, Sora thought. She took a sight at Mimi and Taichi to realize they had been staring for who knows how long. With a single look they gave her their blessing.

And so, they went to Sora’s usual bar, they danced the whole night and even played air guitar to one of Yamato’s said favorite songs. Sora was not sure of what she was doing or why she suddenly felt so safe if she had had the lingering feeling that boys only came to do her wrong. But it felt different that night. She was not a kid to believe in love at first sight, in her young adulthood she knew such thing didn’t exist, but she believed in chemistry. And it was palpable between them.

“I can’t believe how late it was,” since around 1AM Sora decided it was fair for her to get rid of her heels, realizing how short she really was next to Yamato. She liked it.

“I didn’t even notice time had passed this fast, to be honest.” They sat in a bench near Sora’s apartment building, eating some random food they had found on a vending machine when they left the low-key bar. “I really had a lot of fun Sora, thank you.”

Sora’s chest felt warm, she looked at Yamato’s eyes, feeling weird to be looking at them so close and confident, compared to when she first saw them earlier that night. She couldn’t believe where the night had taken her.

“Can I be honest with you?” Yamato nodded, she believed him. “I wasn’t expecting to have fun tonight, I was sure the night would be tough for me… but it wasn’t. You turned it into one of the best nights I have ever had, and I appreciate it like you have no idea.” She took a bite to her sandwich to avoid looking at him.

“I don’t know why tonight was supposed to be bad for you, but by all means I’m glad I helped to make it a little brighter.” The sun was starting to rise, and they were both in comfortable silence.

“You can come meet my roommates, I bet Hikari is already awake.”

“I thought we were taking it slow?” Sora playfully hit his arm.

“Don’t get confused, Romeo. We still are.”

.

“Sora? Are you there?” Mimi’s voice took her out of her deep thoughts, as she was shaking her martini sitting in the bar.

“Uh? Yes, of course.”

“I don’t know what you were thinking about, but I wanted to introduce you to my friend in the band, who got us here for free,” she winked at Sora, noticing the blue-eyed singer behind her.

“Ishida Yamato,” he shook her hand, Sora laughed internally.

“Takenouchi Sora.”

It may have been the night of her breakup anniversary, but a feeling inside Sora let her know that maybe, just maybe, it was finally safe for her to fall.

[alfolfa]

Do Me a Favor?

Annabeth didn’t know what had gotten in to her, but before she knew it she was already dialing Piper’s number. They had broken up a few months ago, but Annabeth still hadn’t told her family, who very much approved of Piper. The topic of the breakup never really came up in any conversation, which was Annabeth’s excuse for not telling them. But now, the Chase household was hosting their annual Christmas gathering, where friends and family all are invited— meaning Piper was expected to come. Annabeth didn’t know why she couldn’t just show up without Piper. Why she couldn’t just say they had broken up. But it was already too late when she heard a familiar voice answer the phone.

“Annabeth?” The voice asked. God, she missed that voice. The breakup was mutual, they both thought it was best. They had an argument. Much more serious than the rest of the ones that they had before. It just didn’t seem like something they could recover from. She wasn’t sure how the argument started, or what it was about, but she knew it was bad enough to cause them to break up.

“I can’t just be perfect, Annabeth!”

“You can at least try to do things the right way!”

“What? You think I don’t try?”

“Piper that’s not-“

“No. I get it. You don’t think I try. Whenever an exam comes up, you think I just do nothing. You think I don’t study. Whenever your birthday comes up, you think I don’t try to get you a nice gift.”

“Piper please-“

“Don’t even, Annabeth. You think I don’t care enough about anything to give a shit about what’s going on around me. You’ve always thought I was this lazy asshole who let everyone do everything for her. But believe me, I try so damn hard with you. I’ve always tried so hard with you. You’re the only person I was ever sure about. You’re the only person I’ve ever loved, for God’s sake. How self-involved do you have to be to have never noticed?”

“No…” Annabeth could feel the tears rolling down her cheeks.

“I’m done, Annabeth. I’m sorry, but I’m done.” Piper stormed out the day door.

Okay so it wasn’t a mutual breakup. Piper broke up with her. She hated that. She also hated that she was definitely in the wrong. But it was too late for any of that. “Yeah… hi.” She finally responded. “Um… so my family is having their Christmas party thing, and I…” She didn’t know how to ask. ‘Hey, can you pretend to still be my girlfriend because I haven’t told my family we’ve broken up?’ didn’t sound like the best thing to say. “… I was wondering if you could go… with me...” Annabeth could almost see the smirk through the phone. She hated that smirk. She loved that smirk.

“Have you not told anyone we broke up?” Annabeth stuttered over her words.

“Listen, I know it’s been a while since we broke up, but the topic never really came up, so…”

“Wouldn’t the topic have come up while you were talking about the Christmas party?” Annabeth just didn’t respond. The truth was, she didn’t want to tell her family they had broken up. Piper had just gotten along with her family so well, and they really seemed to like her. She didn’t want them to be sad that they weren’t going to see her again. Piper and her started dating during their first year of college up until a few months into their fourth. “Doesn’t matter. I’ll go.” Annabeth’s thoughts were broken when Piper spoke up again. She hadn’t really registered her answer until a couple seconds later.

“You… what?”

“I’ll go. As long as it means I get to have that famous Chase family Christmas Pudding. Plus, your family kinda loves me and I’d like to see them one last time.” Annabeth smiled even though she knew Piper couldn’t see her.

“Thank… thank you so much, Piper. I promise I’ll tell them after Christmas.”

“Sounds good. Stop by my apartment when you’re ready to go.” Annabeth hummed in agreement. “Is Nico going?”

“Yeah, and Percy. I thought they could come with us, why?”

“Is it alright if I invite someone?”

“I guess… Piper what are you planning?” She could hear that goddamned smirk again.

“Nothing.” Annabeth rolled her eyes. It wasn’t nothing.

*

A few days went by. Mostly filled with packing and constantly reminding Percy that they were leaving the next day.

“Sorry.” Percy said when Annabeth had scolded him for not finishing packing. “Hey, I feel left out. Why am I the only one getting in trouble.” He glanced around the room and only saw her and Nico. “Where’s Piper?” Annabeth’s heart felt heavy. She didn’t want to say anything.

“She-um… She’s spending time with her friends.” Percy scrunched his eyebrows.

“I haven’t seen her in a while. How many friends does she have?”

“She has her own life, okay?” She said a little too harshly. “Sorry. She just has her own stuff going on, is all.”

“Is she even going to New York with us?” Nico asked.

“Of course she is. There’s no reason for her not too.” Annabeth knew she sounded way too defensive, but if she got her point across she was fine with it.

“Jeez. Fine.” Nico spoke. “I guess it’ll be kinda nice to see her. It’s been a while.” Annabeth tried to hide her smile. Nico saw her. “Don’t tell her I said that.”

“Is she bringing that stuffing that she makes? That stuff is really good.” Percy asked. Annabeth smiled. And for a moment, it was almost like nothing had ever even changed.

“I’ll be sure to ask her.”

*

Annabeth held her hand out to the door, ready to knock. Except she didn’t knock. She brought her wrist up to her forehead to wipe off the mild sweat. She wiped her palms on her pants and tried again. She barely got one knock before she gave up again. Thankfully, Piper still answered the door.

“Did you forget how to knock, or...?” Piper teased. Annabeth smiled. She tried to fight off a blush that was making its way to her face. She didn’t succeed.

“Right, yeah. Sorry. Are you ready to go?” Piper smiled at her, and nodded her head before grabbing a suitcase by the door.

“You’re gonna have to relax if you want this to seem natural.” Annabeth sighed.

“I know.” They walked over to the elevator in silence, a weird atmosphere around them.

“Percy and Nico are already waiting in the car.” Annabeth said to break the silence.

“Great.” Piper smiled. Annabeth noticed the elevator stop at a different floor.

“Did you press that?” Piper just smiled in return and walked out the doors. Annabeth frantically followed behind her.

They stopped at someone’s door. Oh god. Annabeth thought as she saw who opened it. “I can’t believe you...” She whispered as Will Solace went to his room to grab his bags.

“I’m doing us all a favor. It’s been taking too long, you know that. Plus, his family bailed on him so I’m being a good friend.” Annabeth grunted in protest, even though she knew Piper was right.

“Ready?” Will asked as he got back.

“Ready.” Annabeth answered. She shook her head at Piper and started walking.

*

As soon as Nico saw Will, he almost spat out the water he was drinking and glared at Piper. Annabeth got in the driver’s seat.

“So much for wanting to see you…” He mumbled. Will glanced at him, confused. Piper laughed as she started to get in the back seat of the car before Percy stopped her.

“Don’t you wanna sit in the front? You know, with your girlfriend?” Piper scoffed.

“Girlfr-yes.” She stopped herself and speed walked around the car to the passenger’s seat. Annabeth hit her arm once she sat down. Annabeth waited for the boys to get in the back seat until she drove away.

“Percy, you know you’re not allowed in the middle.” Annabeth said once he tried to get in after Nico. There were incidents in the past that led to Percy being banned from the middle seat. Will got in. With Percy going after him. The rest of the car ride was mostly quiet, except for Percy singing along to every song that came on. Even if he didn’t know the lyrics, he tried to guess. He never guessed right. Piper and Nico slept for most of the ride, while Will asked repeatedly how long the rest of the ride would take because he had to pee. This drive takes an hour and a half, Annabeth thought.

*

Annabeth pulled into the driveway of her parents’ house. Everyone got their stuff from the trunk of the car and made their way to the porch, where Annabeth opened the door. She was immediately greeted by her family. One by one, they took turns hugging her and the rest of her friends. She showed everyone their separate rooms once everyone was done talking. “Are we sharing a room?” Piper asked as they were walking down the hall. Annabeth thought for a moment.

“We’re gonna have to.” Annabeth could see Piper visibly clench her jaw. This wasn’t going to be an easy weekend for either of them. Annabeth led Piper to their -Annabeth’s- room, although Piper was already familiar with it. Piper placed her bags next to her side of the bed and sat down on it, Annabeth doing the same. “How is this gonna work?” Annabeth asked.

“We just… act the same way we did before we broke up.”

“That’s gonna be hard for so many reasons.” Annabeth looked at the clock on the wall. “It’s almost seven. My parents probably have dinner ready.” Annabeth noticed how Piper happily sighed as she got up from the bed. Annabeth couldn’t help but smile at her.

Piper and Annabeth took their places at the table next to each other. They tried their best to act the same way they did when they were dating. They would occasionally glance at each other and smile, when dinner was over, they linked their arms, Piper laying her head on Annabeth’s shoulder at one point. Annabeth couldn’t help the amount of times she blushed whenever Piper did something affectionate towards her, even though she knew it wasn’t real. Her feelings for Piper never left. They had broken up, but that didn’t mean Annabeth had stopped loving her.

read on ao3 with many many changes

[sagesparrow394]

Coffee Shop AU Fic

Inventive title, I know.

Fandom: Sanders Sides

AUs: Human, Coffee Shop

Summary: Straight out of university, Logan Berry feels like the world is collapsing around him. Having been kicked out by his transphobic boyfriend and stuck alone with a baby on the way, he has no choice but to go live with his cousin. As he starts to get his life back on its feet, however, he’s presented with a second chance at love in the form of a very sweet barista.

Trigger Warnings: Trans pregnancy, light transphobia

“Are you fucking kidding me?! You’d better be!”

“I-I’m sorry, Matthew, I didn’t mean for this to happen!”

“Bullshit! You planned this, didn’t you? Well, fuck it! It was bad enough when you went all switcheroo and said you’re not a girl, you’re a guy! But this? This is the last fucking straw! I want you out!”

“What…?”

“We’re done! GET OUT!”

All this because of two words: “I’m pregnant.”

Now, Logan Berry was stood on the curb outside his apartment block - though he guessed it wasn’t his anymore - with only a small suitcase and a backpack of his stuff. Though tears were trickling down his face, he didn’t make a sound or movement. He was still trying to process everything.

Just out of university, he and his boyfriend bought an apartment together. Just a week later, Logan realised his period was late. He took a test and found he was pregnant. He told Matthew, who immediately kicked him out. Now, he was alone, no home to go to, with the knowledge that he’d have to raise this child on his own.

He just stood there, looking up at the apartment Matthew was in. If only he had just been born biologically male… None of this would have happened…

“Excuse me? Are you okay?”

Logan blinked from his trance, turning to the voice. It was a man, about his age. He had curly blonde hair, a freckled face, light blue eyes and round glasses. His eyebrows were furrowed in concern, a hand resting on Logan’s shoulder.

Logan blinked at him for a moment, registering his presence, his question, and his own situation. After the moment of silence, he broke down into tears. “I-I don’t know wh-what to do… Wh-where do I go…?”

As he sobbed, the other man gave him a look of pity, pulling him into a hug. “Hey, it’s okay… Ssh… Whatever’s going on, I’m sure it’ll turn out okay in the end…”

Usually, Logan wouldn’t trust a stranger this much, but maybe it was the man’s comforting air and kind demeanour, or the emotional pain Logan was in, but he found himself leaning into the other man’s hug. The man’s embrace was the warm, and somehow made Logan comfortable despite him being not big on physical affection.

“I’m Patton, by the way. Patton Foster.”

“L-Logan Berry.”

Patton pulled away from the hug. “I know you don’t know me… but do you need help? Or just to talk? Because I’d be happy to listen. I’m not having the greatest time either… Came downstate for my parents’ funeral.”

Logan shook his head. If this man was mourning the loss of his parents, he shouldn’t load his own problems on him as well. “N-no, it’s okay… I’m, um… starting to feel better, and I know what to do now.”

That was true. In his bout of emotion, he’d been clueless. However, now his head was clear, the answer was simply obvious: his cousin, Thomas Sanders, lived just upstate. Logan was sure if he gave him a call, Thomas would let him stay with him.

“Well, I’m glad to hear that,” Patton smiled. “I should be going, my brother’s waiting for me. Bye, Logan Berry. Hopefully I’ll see you around again sometime.” He gave Logan one last reassuring smile, before turning and walking away.

Logan watched him go, before pulling his phone from his pocket. “... Hey, Thomas? I was wondering if I could stay with you for a while… Yeah, Matthew kicked me out. Why? Well… don’t freak out…”

-

“How can I be calm?! You’re having a baby! Oh my gosh, I’m gonna be an uncle!”

“Technically, you’ll be their first cousin, once remo-”

“Uncle Thomas. Has a nice ring to it, huh?”

Logan rolled his eyes, chuckling. He had moved in with Thomas, who was definitely pissed at Matthew, but could not be more excited about Logan being pregnant. Logan wasn’t surprised, though, Thomas had always been like this . When Logan came out as transgender, his parents had not had the greatest reaction… Thomas, on the other hand, was fully supportive for him, sending him all sorts of useful things, like pictures of short hairstyles that would suit him, links to sites to buy binders, and sites that explained how to bind safely. All in all, Logan could not ask for a more supportive cousin.

Right now, the two of them were heading to a nearby coffee shop. Upon learning Logan had gained a large craving for chocolate due to his pregnancy, not his usual Crofters preference, Thomas had insisted they go to this cafe, saying they do the best hot chocolate, chocolate cakes chocolate cookies and brownies.

“Ah, yes, a good uncle and role model: a man with a degree in chemical engineering, yet is somehow unemployed,” Logan smirked.

“I’m not unemployed! YouTube is self-employment. Also, aren’t you unemployed?”

“I literally just moved here, Thomas, and I can’t exactly continue my old job given how far upstate it is.”

“True…”

The two arrived at the café, Logan looking up at the sign: Foster Coffee.

“I’m telling you, best café ever,” Thomas smiled, opening the door and stepping in.

Logan followed behind, the scents of bitter coffee, sweet chocolate, lavender, and more wafting over him. His stomach let out a small grumble as he and Thomas wandered up to the counter. His cousin smiled as one of the baristas came over. “Hey, Roman. How’s things?”

“Pretty good. You learnt your lines yet?”

“Almost. Know all the songs though. Lo, this is Roman Foster, we both do community theatre together. He just got a job here, his brother runs the place. Ro, this is my cousin, Logan.”

“Pleasure to meet you,” Roman smiled. Logan gave a nod in response. “So, what are you two having?”

“Two hot chocolates, as well as a cookie and a brownie.”

“Coming right up!”

Roman got to work with their orders, chatting with them, wanting to get to know Logan. However, after a few minutes, someone else slid up to the counter, calling for Roman. They were wearing sunglasses, a black jacket and scrolling on their phone. Roman sighed. “Pat, Remy’s here with his weird orders! Can you finish up Thomas’ while I take Rem’s?”

“On it!” A voice called from the back room. As Roman moved on to serve the customer called Remy, the door swung open, the other barista stepping in. Logan’s eyes widened at the familiar face.

“Hey, Patton!” Thomas greeted.

“Heya, Thomas! Wait…” Patton’s eyes wandered to Logan. “Hi! Logan, right? When  said I’d hope to see you around some time, I didn’t expect it to be so soon!”

“You two know each other?” Thomas looked between them both. Patton nodded.

“I ran into him a week or so ago downstate. Are you two brothers?”

Logan shook his head. “No, cousins actually.”

“But we have a more brotherly relationship than cousinly one.”

“Is cousinly even a word?”

“Doesn’t matter.”

Patton let out an adorable little chuckle that made blood rush to Logan’s cheeks.

Oh dear god, no no no, he could not be developing a crush. Not after Matthew… Just because Patton had been kind and caring when they first met didn’t mean he wasn’t going to be just like Matthew. It was likely Logan’s ‘crush’ was just due to hormones from the pregnancy. Also, natural animal survival instincts were likely causing him to latch onto a new person to assist him during the pregnancy. Yes that was it. No real romantic feelings at all, just hormones and ‘animal brain’.

Definitely.

Patton finished up their order, chatting all the time, before Logan and Thomas headed over to a table with their food and drinks.

“You like him.”

“What?!” Logan gasped. Had his cru- I mean, hormone-induced, totally-not-real attraction been that obvious? “Nonsense. Do you honestly think I’d jump right back into a relationship after Matthew? I don’t even know Patton, what if he ends up being just like Matt?”

Thomas gave him a sympathetic smile. “I know Pat, and I can promise he’s nothing like that asshole. Pat’s kind, funny, accepting and the sweetest little puffball ever. I think he’d be great for you.”

“Well, unfortunately, I’m not attracted to him. And even if I was, I wouldn’t get back into dating so soon after a breakup.”

-

It took Logan four months before he returned to the coffee shop for another visit. He’d been too busy with all sorts of things: applying for jobs, going to interviews for said jobs, apartment hunting so he wouldn’t have to invade Thomas’ space for too long, and of course preparing everything for the baby. He didn’t have much time to relax.

That day in particular, Thomas was filming a video for his YouTube channel, so Logan needed to be out the house. He figured that he should take the chance to relax with a nice hot chocolate and chocolate muffin. Stress wasn’t good for the baby, after all.

As he stepped inside the café, he smiled at the wonderful scents. He went forward up to the counter, rubbing his baby bump soothingly, feeling the child moving inside. He’d first felt them moving just two days before, almost crying when it happened. Okay, maybe not almost. More like sobbed his eyes out until Thomas had run out of tissues.

It wasn’t long until a barista came up to him. Last time he came, Patton and Roman had been the only baristas there. It seemed they’d hired someone else.

“Hey, what can I get ya?” the barista asked, adjusting his purple bangs so they were over his eyes.

“A hot chocolate and chocolate muffin please.”

“Oh, I can take this one, Virge!” Patton came over, smiling at Logan and his co-worker. “You mind heading to the back and grabbing some more coffee beans?”

“No problem,” the barista, ‘Virge’, replied before heading through the door behind the counter.

Patton just smiled at Logan. “Been a while, huh? It’s good to see you again, Lo!”

“You too, Patton,” Logan replied. “Was that a new employee?”

“Yep! We hired Virgil just last month. Speaking of which, why’ve you not come here in so long? I was hoping you’d become another of our regulars.”

“I’ve been very busy. Job and apartment hunting… Just everything to set up our new life here.”

Patton raised an eyebrow curiously. “Our? Who’s taking away the y from that word? Do… do you have boy or girlfriend?”

Logan tried his best to ignore the downcast inflection of the last question before responding. “Oh, no, I’m single. I’m talking about this little one.” He took a step back, revealing the baby bump to Patton, who let out an excited gasp.

“Oh my gosh! You’re having a baby? That’s amazing! How far along are you?”

“Four and a half months.”

“You’re so lucky, I’ve always wanted to have a kid. I just haven’t had the time to look into adoption, not to mention I’d rather wait until I have a boy or girlfriend.”

“Understanda- ” Logan stopped mid-word. Patton’s eyebrows furrowed.

“Lo? You okay?”

“They kicked.”

“Huh?”

“The baby… the baby kicked!” Logan’s eyes were glistening, his hands resting on his stomach. Patton didn’t hesitate, immediately coming around the counter and placed his hands by Logan’s. As he did, there was a small tap underneath.

“Oh, Lo… You’re so lucky to have this little miracle…” He looked up at Logan before fishing some napkins from behind the counter. “Here.”

“Th-thank you…” Logan replied, taking them and blowing his nose and wiping his eyes. “You’re too kind, Pat…”

“Nonsense. There’s no limit for kindness,” Patton replied, guiding Logan to sit down at a nearby table. “I’ll go finish up your order. You have some time with your little angel.” He turned and headed back behind the counter.

Logan just sat there, rubbing his stomach, occasionally feeling kicks. The smile wouldn’t leave his face, and he watched as tears dropped from his cheeks and onto his shirt. After a few minutes, Patton came back, placing Logan’s order on the table as well as handing him more tissues. He then took the seat opposite Logan at the table. “You said you were single… If you don’t mind me asking, who’s the father?”

Logan’s smile faltered as he wiped his eyes. “My ex, Matthew… He broke up with me after finding out I was pregnant. He also revealed himself to be a secret transphobe in the process.”

“Oh… Lo, I’m so sorry…”

“Don’t apologise… You helped me a lot. When you ran into me for the first time, it was just after Matt kicked me out. You made me feel so much better. I needed that hug and the comfort you gave me. I thank you so much for that.”

Patton gave a bittersweet smile, reaching over the table and taking one of Logan’s hands in his. “I’m glad I could help. Are you sure you’ll be okay?”

Logan was silent a few seconds, just looking at their hands, before blinking back to reality. “Oh, um, yeah… It’s been four months, I’m over it.”

“Well, that’s good!” Patton gave Logan a big smile. “I’m sure you’ll find the one, Lo. Who knows, maybe they’re closer than you think.”

“Yeah, I think he is…”

“Huh?”

“Nothing! Don’t you think you should get back to work?!”

-

“Hey, Lo! How’re you?”

Logan just groaned as he leant on the counter. “A week late. Seven whole days, and no baby. I’m sick of it… I’ve got an apartment of my own, their room’s all set up, I have a job ready to go after maternity leave. Everything’s ready for them, but they won’t come…!” He sighed. “I just wanna be able to have Crofters again without throwing up…”

“Just gonna put it out there,” Roman came up and stood next to his brother. “Apparently, having sex is supposed to make babies come.”

“Roman!”

“He’s right,” Virgil added, joining the conversation. “It is supposed to work.”

“I don’t think I’ll be trying that, thank you very much,” Logan replied, face flushed, refusing to look Patton in the eye. “Any other tips, however, would be greatly appreciated.”

“I think spicy food is supposed to work?” Roman offered. “But apart from that, I’m all out of ideas.”

“I’m sure it won’t be long, Lo,” Patton smiled. “And I’m sure, when they come, you’ll forget all the hardship when you’re holding that precious little bundle in your arms.”

How did Patton have the ability to make anything undeniably cute?!

“I guess that is true… Thank you, Patton.”

“It’s nothing, Logi!”

That smile… so cute…

“...D-Did you just call me cute?”

You said that out loud? Fuck, Logan, you said that out loud! Stupid fucking baby brain! Come on, don’t just stand there, say something!

“I… Um, I just… It was, uh…”

And it was at that exact moment that Logan’s water broke.

-

Logan couldn’t take his eyes off the bundle of blankets in his arms as Thomas drove him home from the hospital. He smiled every time the child let out a little coo or an adorable giggle. His baby, his son...

The two cousins headed up the stairs before arriving at the door to Logan’s apartment. Thomas took the liberty of opening the door as Logan’s hands were full, and as they stepped inside, Logan’s eyes widened.

Patton, Roman and Virgil were all already there.

“They insisted they wanted to come see you the minute you were out of hospital,” Thomas explained as the three visitors came and stood around Logan.

“Oh, he’s beautiful…” Roman cooed.

“You gotta be proud, teach,” Virgil smiled.

“What’s his name?” Patton asked.

“Evan.”

Roman gasped. “Like Evan Hansen!”

Logan groaned as everyone else chuckled. “No, he is not named after a character from one of your silly musicals.”

“They are not silly!”

“Hey, Roman, ease up a little,” Patton scolded. “Logan’s had a rough couple of days. Also… there’s something serious Lo and I need to talk about.”

“Oh…” Logan’s stomach twisted. After everything that happened that day, Logan had completely forgotten about the incident just before his water broke. “Look, Patton, I’m sorry, it was a slip of the tongue, I didn’t mean to- ”

“Lo, ssh,” Patton interrupted him. “I… I, erm… I think you’re cute too.”

“You-?” Logan was interrupted yet again and Patton pressed his lips to Logan’s. Logan’s eyes widened, stunned, before they fluttered closed and he leaned into it. After a few moments, they pulled away, and there was a silence…

“Welp, Roman, Thomas, you both owe me fifty bucks each.”

Roman and Thomas groaned, glaring at Virgil, who smirked cockily.

“Don’t get all pissed at me! It’s your fault for betting in the first place.”

“Language!” Patton scolded. “There’s a child here!”

“You bet on us?” Logan raised an eyebrow condescendingly.

“These two bet they could set you up. I bet against them, saying it would happen without them interfering,” Virgil explained. “I was right, and now I have an extra a hundred dollars in my pocket.”

Logan rolled his eyes, but smiled as he felt Patton’s arms wrapping around his waist. He leant into the embrace, holding a sleeping Evan close to his chest.

“I love you, Logibear…” Patton smiled.

“I love you too, Pattoncake.”

“Aww, they’re making pet names for each other already!” Roman let out a small squeal. However, the noise caused Evan to wake, shifting in Logan’s hold.

“You think he’s hungry?” Patton asked. “I can make him up a bottle of milk.”

“No need,” Logan responded, sitting down and going to unbutton his shirt. “Oh, um, are you all okay with me breastfeeding in front of you guys? It’s just better for cognitive development than bottled milk, so I find it worth the potential short period of dysphoria- ”

The others all nodded, saying it was perfectly fine, though Patton sounded a little concerned at the mention of dysphoria. Logan gave an appreciative smile, reassuring Patton that the dysphoria really wasn’t that bad: after all, he’d gotten used to it with not wearing his binder for a majority of the pregnancy.

Roman suggested they have a movie night to celebrate the baby’s arrival - gotta introduce them to Disney early - and the canonicity of the Logicality ship. Patton thought it was sweet they had a ship name for them, Logan thought it was rather stupid.

Anyway, they chose a movie - Winnie the Pooh, as Patton said it was likely the most family friendly for Evan - and all bunched up on the couch, Thomas having grabbed snacks from the kitchen.

Logan had been longing to have Crofters again for so long, staring at the jars on the table, but unable to pick one up with Evan in his arms. Patton took notice, picking up a jar and a spoon, and started feeding spoonfuls to Logan.

“Practicing for when you officially become Evan’s other father, Pat?” Roman asked, smirking. Logan’s face burned bright red, but Patton responded with a deadpan expression.

“Shouldn’t you be practicing for when you officially become his uncle?”

Thomas couldn’t help but snort at how red his cousin’s face had become. Logan started buttoning his shirt back up. “Y-you know, Evan’s looking pretty sleepy, I should go put him to bed.” He got up and hurried from the room, burping Evan as he went.

“I think you made him overly flustered, Pat,” Virgil pointed out the obvious.

“He’ll be fine,” Thomas reassured. “Just give him a chance to cool o- ”

Patton was already leaving the room, heading to follow Logan. As he stepped into Evan’s bedroom, his eyes widened. So much work had been put into the room. The ceiling was black and had glow in the dark rainbow stars all over it, arranged accurately to constellations. The walls were blue, and there was a solar system mobile over the cot. Logan was tucking Evan in whilst quietly singing. Singing a song very familiar to Patton.

“When I see the way you act Wondering when I'm coming back I could do about anything I could even learn how to love like you…”

Patton quietly stepped further into the room as Logan sang, mesmerised. His voice was so smooth, calming… He’d give Roman a run for his money.

As Logan came to the end of the song, Patton wrapped his arms around his waist, making the father jump.

“It’s okay, Logi, it’s just me. Your singing was beautiful.” He gave Logan a small kiss on the cheek. “By the way… I’m sorry if I freaked you out earlier. I don’t know why I said it, we literally just got together, I- ”

“Pat, it’s okay. In fact, I couldn’t be happier to find out you see us getting married in the future.” He turned in Patton’s hold so they were facing each other. “I love you so much.”

“I love you too.”

The two leant forward, their lips meeting, Logan’s hands going to rest on Patton’s cheeks. They stayed there for a bit, just enjoying the moment, until a knock on the door signalled them to pull away.

“Sorry for interrupting,” Thomas apologised, stepping inside, “but we have a serious mission. Operation Glasses Gays is complete. Now, I need your help with Operation My Chemical Roman-ce.”

-

Taglist: @part-of-me-do-not-know-the-rest, @why-should-i-tell-youu2

[thelarrielouie]

Hiya! I got tagged by the dearests @harrehleh and @burnsony to share my fav 9 albums. Sorry for the lq of the pics btw  These are in no particular order. I just love them.

Get Weird by Little Mix (Lightning) - This is my fav album from Little Mix so far and I’m pretty sure it’ll stay like that for a long time. I absolutely love these girls, and they outdid themselves with this one. Not a single bad song on this album.

Expectations by Bebe Rexha (Don’t Get Any Closer) - She really did that!! I still need to get my hands on this album but I’m broke… so.. Bebe is an amazing songwriter and this album shows that. Songs like I’m a Mess, Sad and Grace spoke to me on a personal level just like most Bebe songs do. She’s incredible and I’d rec this album to anyone. 

Breakout by Miley Cyrus (Goodbye) - This album screams 2000′s like no other. Not to mention how pop/rock the sound is. This is probs my ultimate fav album but don’t tell the others albums that. shh. Also, Breakout? Iconic. 7 things? The song of a whole generation. It’s my fav for many reasons. 

Take Me Home by One Direction (C’mon C’mon) -  I was torn between MM & TMH but God… tmh has some amazing bops. If I could, every version of tmh would be in here. Songs like Irresistible, Truly Madly Deeply, Nobody Compares… THIS ALBUM IS INSANE. The amount of money I would pay to go back and go to a tmht is not healthy. Sadly they didn’t come to my country but I would get a passport just for it.

Bangerz by Miley Cyrus (Someone Else) - uh.. There’s Wrecking Ball in this? Britney collab? HELLO?? This is the best breakup album out there and no one can change my mind. Amazing bops and the tour was iconic. 

Mind of Mine by Zayn (sHe) - Believe it or not Zayn is actually the only one of the boys that I like the songs 100%. Idk how to explain it? Like, I love their solo songs but Zayn’s was the only one that actually was in my “love” zone. Idk if it’s just me, but some songs just don’t really go into my comfort zone but I’m really accepting of everything, so I give it a listen. Zayn’s was the only one I didn’t have to do that. 

Icarus Falls by Zayn (Back To Life) - 27 songs and not a single bad one. How did he manage that? Holy shit this album is fire and no, I won’t stop talking about it.

Harry Styles by Harry Styles (Only Angel) - Harry’s was a lil weird to listen at first but boy,,, it opened my eyes. But I only like it if it’s Harry. No, I will not start listening to songs like the ones on the album just bc Harry likes it. Only if he stops being annoying and covers more of them. Then I’ll give it a listen. My comfort zone expanded bc of Harry Styles and Harry Styles only, thank you. 

Sincerely by Stephen (Fly Down) - This dude was so high writing this, but it sounds dope. Also, I love his voice so that’s that.

As soon as Louis and Liam releases their albums I will put it here, promise. 

I tag @fromprincesspark @babeharrie @louis-sott @rbbsbb & @laurel-hips you don’t have to do it if you don’t want to. xxxx

[bulletproofscales]

What if after a really hard breaks up Jimin puts on a hecc Ton of weight,the other band members notice and tease him till he breaks out in sobs n tells them y?

— THIS REQUEST WAS EVERYHING i am trying a new type of writting though, i hope its an improvement!!!–

“Uh, Jimin?” Silence. “Are you- Are you in there?” He heard Hoseok’s voice from across the closed door. He didn’t know why he wasn’t coming in, this was technically his room too. But he appreciated the gesture of fake privacy. “Jimin?” Hoseok asked again. Right, an answer; he has to answer something, anything. He didn’t even bother opening his mouth as a weak hum erupted from the back of his throat. He felt kind of bad as he heard Hoseok groan defeatedly at the other side of the door, before he spoke again. “We were going to get something to eat.” The older stated.

There was a minute of silence between the two. Jimin sighed and slowly and with difficulty sat up on his bed.

“Comin’” He said tired. Food seemed to be the only thing that got him out of bed these past days.

Or well. These past, months; the past year? Jimin had lost track of time after his days had become ridiculously monotonous: he woke up, he ate breakfast he went back to bed, eat some snacks throughout the day, have lunch, go back to bed, take a nap, eat dinner, go to bed. Though he never got much sleep, he kept getting these flashbacks whenever he tried to close his eyes. It had turned into a routine too, trying to sleep, failing miserably, and automatically waddling to the kitchen to eat. Eat until food was the only thing occupying his mind.

He opened the door where Hoseok was still standing at the corridor, his smile beaming yet sympathetic. He mustered to smile softly at the older as he wrapped an arm over his shoulders affectionately.  Jimin could practically feel his excitement, they hadn’t gone out to eat the seven of them out in ages. It wasn’t his intentions to shut his friends out entirely, but he did. Guilt swelled up at his chest, he hadn’t even explained to the six what had happened. They knew he had gone through a pretty bad breakup; just because Hoseok coaxed it out of him, and he probably told the other 5 baffled men. They didn’t know all the other details…He shook his head, he didn’t want to think about this, not now. Not when things were finally going back to the way they used to be. Not when Jimin was finally feeling comfortable on his own skin again; happy by the way his body did not have any resemblance to the one he had when he first got himself into that toxic relationship.

He knew Hoseok had noticed the changes, Jimin saw it on the older’s pitiful eyes as he saw him try to get his old clothes to fit.

“I could go with you to buy new clothes.” He suggested hesitant. Though Jimin didn’t even have to consider it.

“I’ll order some online.” Those days, the younger barely had enough emotional energy to have a proper conversation; but he knew Hoseok didn’t budge at his coldness so he couldn’t say he felt bad. But now, that he was out their room with the promise of going out to with the six of them, eh could feel Hoseok get more comfortable around his new shape as the hand on his shoulder gently squished the layer of soft fat underneath his skin. It was an unsettling feeling, the older was not completely used to Jimin’s size and he had been the person he had talked to the most during his shutdown form the world. What would the others think?  He tried his to busy his mind.

“Where are we eating?” He asked, surprising himself with how cheerful his voice sounded. Almost like he did before.

“Oh we agreed on going to Seokjin’s. We discuss it in the groupchat…” Hoseok answered mindlessly a hint of awkwardness in his voice.

“Right.” He’d be lying if he said he remembers the last time he used his phone, let alone check their groupchat.   

They walked until they were outside their apartment and Jimin couldn’t help but swallow initiated as he stared at Hoseok’s tiny car. During all this time, he had barely left the house, and when he did it was through an uber where he could sit at the back, alone, with no constricting space.  He had only travelled with Hoseok once when the older had gotten a pretty bad muscle strain from dancing; though he is much smaller at the time. He prepared himself for a cramped ride as he squished himself at the front seat. His stomach covered most of his lap, and his thighs were to big for him to be able to spread them to give his doughty middle some room. Jimin clasped the seatbelt around him, flinching the tightness of it sinking into the crease in between two fat rolls. He blushed as he saw the older notice Jimin’s uncomfortableness.

“Don’t worry Jiminie! It’ll be a short ride.” He said with a playful smile as he patted lightly the top of his massive dome. The younger felt his heart sink; sudden shame and embarrassment spread across his body. He knew this feeling; Jimin tried to force himself to continue the conversation. But he didn’t find energy within himself to so, opting to make himself as small as he could, eyes blank on the road ahead of them; mind overflowing with scenarios of his best friends being judgemental and teasing of him. All he can do now though, is hope that by the time they got there Jimin had regained enough energy to face all six of them at the same time. The ride was shorter than he had wanted. Well, in a sense he did want to get out of the cramped space; but he didn’t feel quite ready to face the other five men. He felt warmth spread across his chest as Seokjin opened the door to his place.

“Hoseokie you did it!!” The eldest yelled with excitement bringing him closer for tight embrace. Jimin timid at the sidelines.

“Did…what?”

“He brought you!” Seokjin took JImin by the hands the older’s long arms sinking into his plush waist. He couldn’t help the bubbly giggly erupting from his lips. He missed him.

“It’s been so long!” The younger found himself genuinely excited.

“Yeah, too loong.” Seokjin said with eyes travelling up and down his body quickly. Jimin felt himself shy away from the eldest touch; but convince himself to not do so. It could have been nothing, just a facial gesture to accentuate his words. He pushed the thought at the back of his head as he walked further into the apartment and to the dining room; where he saw only Yoongi on his phone. It was weird he was the only one, maybe he has finally moved into seokjin’s home? Wow, it really has been a long time. He was going to introduce himself though Hoseok’s voice spoke first.

“Oh Yoongi-hyung!” Hoseok’s sing song voice made the older  hum as a response “Look who I brought to come with me!” He sounded happy, too happy. It made him feel guilty after being away for so long, they had missed him too and he just… shut them out. Guilt was soon replaced with excitement as he saw his youngest hyung look up eyes open wide as his jaw dropped in the least discreet manner. He felt heat rise to his cheeks.

“Jimin!” Yoongi stood up abruptly, running towards and wrapping him around his arms firmly. Jimin felt the soft fat covering his entire body squished against the older man’s firm torso. Although the position made him aware of the size difference between him and the older, they stayed like that for a while. Against popular belief, Yoongi did give amazing hugs. After finally separating, or more like Yoongi peeling his lithe body from Jimin’s doughty frame, he spoke again. “I missed you.” His voice was raspy and he could feel his heart melt.

“I missed you too.” He stated simply with a small smile. He didn’t feel like saying anything more, but the idea of an uncomfortable silence between someone who Jimin had considered his best friend for ages was worse than forcing a small talk out of him. “So you moved in with Seokjin-hyung?” He asked and as soon as he saw the older’s reaction; he knew the answer. It was written all over him, and his bashful timid smile and the pink dust adorning his cheeks.

“Yeah, though it hasn’t been long. But I spent most of my time here anyway, so it wasn’t that big of a change.” Jimin felt his eyes widen, it has really been a while.

“It feels like there have been too many changes happened while I wasn’t here.” Although he was calm there was a sad undertone to the younger’s voice

“I’d say there have been a lot of changes to you oto Minnie.” Yoongi said with his cold sarcastic humor. It was typical of him, but for obvious reasons, today it hit differently, making him shrink into his seat. As much as his large form allowed him to. He was at a loss of words, he felt the energy drain from his system at the comment. Luckily though they small talk was interrupted by the doorbell.

“Ah that must be Jungkook and Taehyung.” Seokjin said beginning to stand up, though stopping half way through. “Jimin, you should go greet him instead!” The enthusiasm on his voice even made him excited to see the two youngest. Yet as soon as he stood up with the loud creak of his chair as he stood up and walked in front of everyone to see, he felt himself wanting to shrink again. He walked dejectedly towards the entrance, he could hear the two boys talking to each other across the door. And although he couldn’t make out any words, yet Jimin’s mind begun to spiral. Where they talking about him? What if the other boys had already told him he was there? What if they weren’t excited he came? What if they felt uncomfortable? What if they were mad at him for what he had done? Jimin’s stopped himself before he broke down; tonight was about reconciliation, he was not about to make this about him; he had to make it up to them.

“Hey! Is anyone going to open up or what?” He heard Taehyung’s loud yell across the door clearly, alongisde several loud bagns against it; snapping JImin out of his trance he opened the door hurriedly. He had taken so long that know the two men were standing right in front of the door closely. And now with the door fully open where standing their face barely inches apart from Jimin’s. There was a moment of silence, where he could see form up close the way their eyes widen ridiculously; they take a few steps back slowly, eyes still fixed comically on JImin. FOr a moment, the older considered they were not glad to see him there. Though his worries dissolved when he fell down under both of their weight in a bone crushing hug. The thud his body made against the ground was louder than he had expected; he still wasn’t used at the impact his new body had on the world around him; and although his ass and back where cushioned by a thick layer of fat, it still hurt like a bitch. Though his pain was drowned under the youngers’ calls of his name.

“Jimin!” They screamed too loud for the time and place they were in, earning a genuine giggle form the older. Which made not only his entire mass jiggle, but also Jungkook and Taehyung who were sinking into his doughty flesh.

“Hey, its hyung to you!” He tried to sound as mad as he possibly could. But suddenly, he felt guilt. Jimin hadn’t talked to his “dosa sings” in about a year, could he still consider himself something even remotely close to a “hyung”? What if they thought that too?

“Hyungie” Taehyung whined happily nuzzling into his girthy neck. Jimin felt his heart melt, Taehyung had always been the affectionate with him, it had been so long yet the younger’s touch and affection still felt warm and familiar.

“Hyungie.” Jungkook followed him, nuzzling his face in the other size of JImin’s neck right under his double chin. Now, he was scared. See, when Jungkook was sickeningly sweet it meant something terrible was about to happen; most likely to him…But things were different know,he hasn’t seen Jungkook in a year and maybe the youngest really truthfully wanted to be all lovey dove-

“Gu-guys…” Jimin’s shaky voice left stern as he could sound with both the older larger hands reaching for his sides and armpits. Their free hand gripping tightly each of Jimin’s fat arms. The hands that had reached down to his sides and armpits began to tickle slowly, and he got desperate. “Nohoho Oh NO GUYS! GUYS NOHO HAHAHA” Soon his loud cackles blended in with the ones Jungkook and Taehyung were letting out, they had the older trapped right where they wanted him. Even without them holding his arms, Jimin didn’t believe he’d have the strength to get both of the boys off his large body. He could hear himself laughing, it was such an odd sound after so long, he can’t remember the last time he laughed as much as in the past 10 minutes he had been in Seokjin’s and Yoongi’s house. Jimin allowed himself to forget close his eyes and laugh alongside with them.

“Kookie look! His body jiggles for a while even after he laughs!” He heard him exclaim. And automatically his laughter died down.

“You’re right! Look at it go!” Jungkook’s ñarge hand settled at the side of his ballooned stomach and palmed it gently. Jimin couldn’t bare look at them, he felt the shame crip up his insides choking him up.

“Yah you guys coming or should we start without you?!” Seokjin came to his rescue as the two youngest stood up hurriedly, not without grabbing each of JImin’s chubby hands helping him up with a struggle.

“We missed you.” Jungkook said warmly.

“Enough cheesiness, lets go. You must be hungry.”

“We can say the same for you eh Jiminie!” Taehyung exclaimed jokingly as the trio walked towards the kitchen. Jimin’s face heated up under the younger’s teasing tone. Jimin shyly walked up to his seat next t Yoongi who offered a caring smile towards him. The table was silent as the two youngest expectedly look around to each other person sitting at the table.

“Weren’t we just threatened that there was going to be no food left if we didn’t hurry up?” Jungkook asked Taehyung, with an overly exaggerated annoying tone; it was good to know they haven’t changed.

“Oh why yes Jungkook, I believe we were!” His deep voice rising comically.

“Well, we aren’t going to start without Namjoon here aren’t we? We always wait until the seven of us are here.” Hoseok started with mocking eyes towards them. Although the atmosphere was light and playful Jimin’s mind went straight to Namjoon; if the last time he had talked with the seven of them hadn’t been awful enough, the last time he and Namjoon had talked was even worse. Along with guilt, the amount of times Jimin had told Hoseok he’s try to make it, form the door of their room; he imagined the six of them sitting in silence. Witing only to see if he’d show up. He unconsciously bit the inside of his mouth as to force himself to swallow any upcoming tears.

“Jimin you look constipated.” the short man next to him stated jokingly.

“Yoon! Don’t be rude, of course he’ll be constipated with the amount of food he-” The doorbell cut him mid sentence, Seokjin standing up excited towards the door. He stood petrified. Though he ken who was at the door, so Jimin used all the strength within him to make himself feel comfortable and act natural. They always used to tease each other like this, about everything. But this change was something so heavily influence for what had happened between them Jimin couldn’t help but plead they would just go back to teasing him for his height. He was able to compose himself before the two tall men stood in front of the table.  “Well! That makes seven of us!” Cheers erupted from all around the table, though Jimin’s eyes were glue to his youngest hyung, who was looking straight back at him too. Mouth slightly agape, a timid smile taking over his full lips; of course, it wasn’t in Namjoon’s nature to be resentful. But that didn’t mean Jimin was free of guilt; though he mustered a a small smile himself for the older. Luck was on Jimin’s side though, as the only remaining seat was between Jungkook and Hoseok. And just like that, they began to feast; talking loudly overtopping each other’s voices like they always did. Jimin was too hungry to talk, the nerve wrecking situation only making his appetite grow; so he allowed himself to dig in.  See, the thing with food is that it had become such a vital copying mechanism for Jimin, he got completely lost when he binged, depersonalized from his surroundings. The only feeling being the food sliding down his throat rapidly. He didn’t notice he was already on his third serving when Hoseok exclaimed.

“Woah! Jimine! You are going to choke! We get that you are hungry but slow down!” Jimin felt completely stuck, petrified. Hoseok out of all people, he had seen him eat,h he heard him break down at early hours of the morning food wraps as his only consolation. Why did he have to says something, JImin couldn’t bring himself to answer. He just stood there, chopsticks halfway to his mouth. He only knew he was crying when saw the six pairs of eyes around him change with worry. Hoseok was about to open his mouth again but Jimin stood up instantly, the feeling of his entire body jiggling at the sudden movement didn’t help the hot tears streaming down his face.

“I know! Alright?” He yelled with a shaky voice. “I know that I am fat! I know that I wasn’t always fat! And I’m trying to convince myself that you have every right to tease me about it, ‘cause you do… I mean, I should already be grateful you guys don’t hate me…”

“Jiminie…” Namjoon began to talk but Jimin had just opened up and there was nothing he could do to stop the words from flooding out.

“No no! You do have every right to be mad at me… You kept warning me about him, that what he was doing to me wasn’t healthy. And I didn’t listen!” His words came out in between choke dup sobs. “Even when I got him out of my life, I couldn’t bring myself to talk to you guys again; even when I know you guys would forgive me. I just, didn’t feel like I deserved it.” Jimin couldn’t control the loud sobs and whimpers leaving his mouth in between words, or the hot stream of tears running over his round cheeks; memories form his friends, concerned about him telling him to dump his boyfriend. Jimin continuously snapping at them until it got into a full on argument. He ran away from them but Namjoon ran after, stopping him to calmly tell him; they just wanted to help. But Jimin snapped at him too, running back home, back to him. “I- I just isolated myself, I didn’t want it come back to you guys until I had fix what I was feeling about myself after him. And what helped me with that was, gaining weight… I know its weird, but- I came to love how different I look than when I was with him. And I know, if I’m so happy with the way that I look I shouldn’t be so self conscious about your teasing. But I guess I’m just still thinking you guys have every right to hate me for what I did , and I’m ranting and I’m sorry that this was supposed to be happy but I just ruined it.” His vision was blurry though it didn’t matter because his eyes were glued to the floor, or his big dome that covered most of his vision form the floor.  He heard shuffling, but he couldn’t bring himself to look up. It was a choked up sob that wasn’t erupting from his lips which raised his head up.

It broke his heart to see Taehyung already crying in front of him, or to see all six of them in front of him in that matter. Painful yet understanding eyes, pouring affection; the moment alone made JImin’s eyes well up with tears again.

“I’m- I’m so sorry. I should have listened, I should have came back to you I-” He is cut off by Namjoon.

“Jiminie, we forgive you.” His tone was gentle and he couldn’t help leaning towards him burying his face in the taller man’s chest; sobbs shaking his core once more. Quickly after, he felt more firm body sinking around his soft sides. Pairs upon pairs of arms wrapping around his expanded waist. They stood like that for a while, Jimin’s tears soaking up Namjoon’s sweater, in any other situation JImin would get anxious in the silence; but this time, it was comforting.

“OK, but we can’t actually just separated from this and continue eating like nothing has happened!” Jungkook exclaimed.

“Agreed. Everyone grab a dish we are moving to the living room!” They all did Jimin doing so too. “Not you Jimin, you seem like you could use a break. You too Taehyung, go settle in.” His voice was gentler but the pair did as told. They walked into the living room,both of them with shaky breaths as an aftermath from crying. Jimin sat on the middle of the large couch, Taehyung settling real close next to him, their bodies touching entirely as the younger promptly rested his head on JImin’s softened shoulder. Again, no words were needed between the two.

“It really hurt you know?”

“What? That I told you he was my soulmate?”

“That too but, that you had through this whole year a-alone.” Jimin didn’t know what to answer, no matter how many times he’d explain it had been him who cut them out, a part of them would still feel guilty.

“Though don’t worry Taetae! He isn’t alone any more!” Jungkook’s voice piped from the dining room as he settled a couple of dishes he was bringing on handing one to Taehyung and keeping one to himself before climbing up on the couch and reting on its headrests, his muscular things in between his head. Strong hands instantly running his hands slowly and with care through the older’s hair. Soon after Hoseok came with a plate on each hand and automatically going to sit at Taehyung’s lap. Then came Seokjin and Yoongi with the remaining plates, the eldest letting the rapper sit comfortably on his lap. Following behind them was Namjoon with two large bottles of sodas in his strong arms, he walked until he was in front of Jimin.

“Make some room for me?” The younger blushed noticing how much of his lap was being occupied by his heavy stomach; he spread his thighs apart letting it fall in between and that was all Namjoon need before he sat shyly on his fattened lap.

“Minnie.” Hoseok called cautiously, guilt from the fat man’s outburst still evident on his voice “How about we feed each one of us a bite at a time? Would you like that?” Although the situation was overwhelming, the closeness from all the six men; it felt oddly right. And the idea of being taken care by them in sich an intimate way, was appealing to Jimin in more ways than he dared to admit; so he nodded.

“I’ll go first!” Namjoon yelped a little to enthusiastically earning hard to repress laughter from the others. “What? After all these crying he must be dehydrated!” The way he got defensive over it was adorable to everyone. And as cute as it would have been to keep on flustering him, they allowed him to start. Opening the bottle excited as he held it with firm arms up to Jimin’s parted lips. The gassed liquids slid down him easily filling him with just as much ease. Then went Hoseok feeding him a mouthful of one of the two plates he was holding and then the next one, Taehyung continued feeding a large piece of his plate; He had to look up to eat Jungkook’s bite leaving his thick neck exposed. Which all Namjoon Yoongi and Hoseok saw as an unpasable opportunity as they ñeaned in nuzzling it at first yet not long after a soft gentle kisses being placed all over him. He had to look back down to eat off Seokjin’s hand, though the three of them were pressing much closer to him than before. And by the time Yoongi’s turn had arrived all the flavours were mixing up in the his mouth.

But Jimin couldn’t bring himself to care about the flavour, the vicious cycle starting over with Namjoon. The feeling of being cared for and looked after bringing heat to his chest, that and the amount of food being forced into his hardening belly. Or perhaps it was the thought at the back of his mind that all their gentle caring touches were far more romantic than any platonic explanation could justify; scared by the fact of how much he was enjoying said actions from his friends. He didn’t let the worry ruin his fun too much, as it was easy to get lost in the other men’s attention on him. Jungkook began to place soft kisses to the crown of his head; large hands sliding from the back of his neck to massage his fattened breast like pecs. Taehyung’s hot lips kept mouthing on his girthy neck leaving sloppy kisses. Hoseok’s dainty hands found their way to the rolls adorning Jimin’s sides pinching and grabbing from his muffin top or his love handles. Namjoon continued to grind on the younger’s lap, even though he was nowhere near his crotch, he was directly pushing into Jimin’s bloating stomach; earning waves of pleasure flood him. Yoongi’s large hands found a place on Jimin’s heavy overhang jiggling it strongly or groping it allowing him to let some gass out in between mouthfuls. Or Seokjin’s hot breath against his ear and the way he bit into his earlobe softly. The pleasure was intense and overwhelming, so much so Jimin didn’t even noticed his ballooned stomach, not until every plate was scooped clean. A scrunched up expression taking over his face. As soon as his uncomfortableness was shown sixs pairs of hands were rubbing his swollen middle.

They had all physically relaxed when he was done, the only noise being his hard breaths and the occasional quiet praise form one of the others towards him. Soft nothings spoken barely above a whisper. “You did so well Minnie.” “So proud of you”

The questions about this whole situation where crawling back to him, but he didn’t let him bother him for long. He was full, warm, and finally eating for a different reason

[northsidemarleyrose]

It’s The Small Things \\ Ryley

Who: Marley Rose and Ryder Lynn (@serpentlynn) What: Ryder and Marley keep up old traditions and visit an old favourite spot. The trip is far from normal. When: Wednesday, December 3rd, late night. Where: Sweetwater River Notes: Ryder is BOLDED, Marley is regular. This went places I didn’t expect. Also I died of cuteness. Word Count: 7,600 (yes exactly) 

Marley knew she wasn't even close to being able to sleep. She hadn't expected Ryder to actually offer to pick her up and take her somewhere just because she was upset. She didn’t know what had gotten to her tonight, but something had nonetheless, and it sucked.

She didn't know what she'd done to deserve the amazing friends who were surrounding here through this breakup. She decided to wait on the front steps for Ryder, knowing he wouldn't be long and not wanting any knocking to wake Charlie.

It was colder than she'd realized outside, but she sat down on the top step regardless, kind of wishing it was snowing, solely because it'd be pretty.

Ryder wasn’t expecting to be with Marley again tonight, but he definitely wasn’t complaining. She needed to get away and he was happy to get her away. When he pulled up to Charlie’s, he saw her sitting on the steps and got out of his car, opening the passenger door for her with a grin, “Your chariot, here to take you wherever you desire.”

After she got in, he slid over the hood of the car to the other side, a trick he learned a while ago to seem cooler even though he rarely uses it, and entered the driver’s side.

“So do you want to head to Sweetwater? Or did you come up with something else while I was on my way over?” He asked her, glancing over at her while he pulled onto the road.

When Ryder slid over the hood of the car Marley winced, waiting to rush out if he fell, but, impressively he made it look easy. She knew if she tried something like that she'd fall flat on her face and everyone would laugh.

She did like the river, even in the cold weather. She nodded. "Sweetwater would be nice... It'll be quiet out there." Marley needed quiet, she needed to get away from everything that was happening in town, especially with Blaine. "As long as you don't think it's too cold."

Sweetwater worked just fine for him. Some quiet time away from everyone and everything. “Nope, Sweetwater sounds perfect.” Ryder responded, starting to drive towards their spot for however long they stay there.

“Did you like my trick?” He asked, referring to sliding over the hood, “Looked up how to do it a few years ago, practiced a lot to make it look cool.” He said, keeping the radio on a low level so that there would never be silence in the car but they could still hear and speak to each other.

Without asking, Marley knew the exact spot along the river Ryder was heading. They'd run lines for Grease there plenty. And after she'd found out about Charlie and Daniel he'd found here there once and it almost just became a safe place when things were too much, for both of them. Whether they decided to address whatever issue they were having, if they made time for each other to go find peace and quiet, or, well, if Marley found time for him because she was always busier, that's where they'd end up.

She couldn't help but let out a quiet laugh, barely a laugh. "I did, even if you scared the crap out of me. I was worried you'd hurt yourself," she told him. "But you did good, RyGuy. You'll be impressing all the suitors soon and then I'll have to go to the river all by myself."

Ryder loved being at the river with Marley, he still occasionally came by himself but usually Marley was there with him. It was just for the two of them, their own bubble, their own slice of Riverdale where they can just exist and be there for each other.

Ryder grinned hearing her answer and the nickname, though he didn’t really agree with the last sentence. He wasn’t looking to impress any suitors, not while his feelings for Marley were coming back to the forefront of his brain. “You’re never going to have to worry about going to the river yourself, Marls. Even if I date someone, I’ll always have time to come to Sweetwater with you.” He told her, which was the truth whether he liked her or not. He wouldn’t stop going to their spot because of a relationship.

Ryder had to be some sort of magical creature, Marley was sure. She'd never admit it, but it was probably because of the Lucky Charms. Nevertheless, here she was smiling. Looking over at him, for a second she was able to forget why she needed him.

"Okay, okay," she conceded putting her hands up playfully. "I will worry not. Or ... at least try not to." That was probably a mistruth, Marley worried about a lot, but she knew Ryder and she knew he liked lying just about as much as she did. It was never something she actively worried about with him.

She looked out the window when the radio took her off guard. Just The Way You Are. Blaine had told her time and time again he'd ghost written that song for her. Somehow gotten into Bruno Mars' head and made him write a song all about her. As much as she didn't want it to happen, tears filled her eyes. Marley didn't want to make Ryder uncomfortable so she kept a look out the window. "There's some clouds and it's cold... think it'll snow?" She asked, trying to keep her voice as steady as possible.

Trying not to worry was probably the best he was going to get from her and Ryder knew it. But he was glad she was at least giving him that. Lying wasn’t something they did with each other, and he really appreciated it. It was just one more thing he liked about Marley.

He nodded along to the radio a little, he loved this song, definitely one of his favorites. At Marley’s question, he glanced up at the sky, “Maybe. Hopefully not too much, I only have one blanket in the trunk and I do not think it could keep you warm forever,” he answered, continuing the drive. “You wanna know something weird about Bruno Mars? I never hear anybody say he’s their favorite artist. Ever. But he’s got so many awards and his songs are continuous hits. But it’s like everyone knows and loves his songs. Uptown Funk comes on and no one is saying “oh my god I hate that song”, everyone loves his stuff. All of his songs are great. But you could go and ask someone who their top ten favorite artists are and no one will say Bruno Mars. It’s like he has some magic or something that gives him ultra success and fame but no one will think of him when they think of their favorites.”

This was another thing he liked about Marley, other people would just tell him to shut up or something because they didn’t want to listen to his dumb tangents about whatever popped into his head, such as right now with his thoughts on Bruno Mars. She at least let him finish instead of cutting him off, because she was a super sweet person, and he loved that.

Marley leaned back, wiping her eyes, when Ryder started talking about Bruno Mars. It was easier to listen to him than focus on the lyrics. She thought about what he was saying and it was definitely true. And the same could be said about Maroon 5 too actually. It was weird.

She didn't understand how he was acting like this was normal. Sure, hanging out was pretty normal but it was late and this was the second time she'd needed him to come around so late in a week. It was something she really admired how ... go with the flow he was. How genuine he was. Her entire life, well, most of it, Blaine had been her constant, her best friend, the person she could count on, but ... come to think of it, Ryder was too.

Marley knew she could always count on Ryder, that was never a question, and she hoped he knew the same. It was just hard to see things that were right in front of you sometimes, she supposed. He was good, truly good. She was lucky to have an amazing friend.

"How long have you been holding that one in?" She asked with genuine curiosity and a bit of a smirk when he'd finished, glancing over at him, confident that at least for this moment, she could fend off the tears.

When Marley asked how long he’d been holding that tangent in, Ryder laughed. “Too long. I keep thinking about it every time one of his songs come on the radio,” he told her, which was very true. He was glad he could finally share it with someone else.

Honestly, the fact that it was late didn’t even phase him. He was always down to hang out with Marley whenever, even if it involved going out to the river in his pajamas, any time spent with her was time well spent in his book. Especially this week, with the breakup and and everything, he just wanted to be extra sure that she was okay.

Soon enough, they were by their spot and he got out of the car and went around to open her door, though, not by sliding over the hood again, because it was harder on less solid ground and he didn’t want to fall. “I miss our spot, feels like it’s been a bit since we’ve been here,” Ryder said, grabbing the blanket from the trunk just in case it did snow, or even just if she got cold and wanted it or something.

It wasn't long before Ryder parked the car and let her out, always a gentleman. The walk from the car to the spot they called theirs was quick. "It has been," she nodded as they walked. Unfortunately life after high school got busy. They both had pretty big roles in their families' businesses and sometimes time got away from her, she was sure it was similar with Ryder.

Once they found the tree, one of the biggest in this area, Marley sat down against the trunk. She didn't even remember how they'd found this spot, but it was theirs. She'd been to it once or twice without him, well, on top of the few times he'd found her there when he knew things were bad. It was just never the same alone, and she'd never been there with anyone else.

"Let's try to not let that happen again," she told him as he sat too. "Spend so much time not coming here."

Ryder sat down against the trunk next to her, nodding in agreement at her statement, “I agree. It’s good to just get time away from the others and have it be just us and the river,” he leaned back and looked over at her with a grin.

“Do you ever come here by yourself?” He asked, mostly just curious on if she came alone just like he occasionally did. Though it was usually just to blow off some steam and let the river wash away whatever was on his mind, it just worked better when he was with Marley. Which, he assumed has something to do with him having feelings for her and her just generally being a great person. She made things so much easier to deal with and even if there are some things he hadn’t outright told her, she was able to get it off of his mind for a while without even knowing it. It was yet another thing he liked about her. “I do, not a lot or anything but sometimes I end up just driving here and sitting by myself,” he said, almost trying to explain his curiosity for wanting to know if she did too.

Marley nodded, knowing there was no point in trying to lie to Ryder, that hardly ever worked. Outside of a short period of time in her senior year, it wasn’t something she actively made a practice of.

“A couple times... well a couple times when you didn’t end up here if I’m being honest.” Though, knowing he came down to the river alone too was kind of nice. It felt like it was a place of sanctuary for both of them, not just her.

They sat there for a few minutes in silence and Marley leaned over, resting her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes for a second. It wasn’t long before someone cold and wet touched her nose.

Snow. She sat up quickly and forget about everything just for a second. There was nothing quite like the first snow of the season. “Called it,” she smiled, looking over at Ryder.

So it wasn’t just him, that was nice. This place really was their own little bubble to exist in, whether together or by themselves. Though judging from her response along with his own, it was mostly their bubble together, which he really liked.

She rested her head on his shoulder and Ryder got to just sit there with his arm around her, admiring just how beautiful she looked in the moonlight, as corny as that sounded to him. She was amazing, and deserved so much more than to be hurting this badly and he wished he could take all of the pain and put it on himself so she wouldn’t deal with it. But he couldn’t, the best he could do is just be there for her.

Marley quickly sat up and he didn’t know why for a moment until she spoke, and he glanced up and saw the snow. He was too busy staring at his friend to even notice it started. “Yes, you did. Looks like I’m not the only psychic in town. You can guess the weather and everything.” He told her, smiling back at her.

Marley rolled her eyes. She thought the whole psychic thing was over, but here he was, bringing it up again. “Oh yes. Totally psychic,” she quipped at him. “Had nothing to do with the temperature and the clouds in the sky.”

Marley didn’t understand how she could feel so low until the entire time waiting for him. How she could spend so long hating herself for her choices and the consequences of her actions, how she could dwell on Blaine and his actions until she was in tears, but then when she was hanging out with Ryder, nothing else seemed to exist. It had to be some sort of magic or superpower he inherited from his movies.

“Exactly,” Ryder responded, “Nothing to do with temperature or anything like that, just you being psychic.” He offered the blanket to Marley, wanting to make sure she didn’t get cold while they were here. Especially since it was certain to get colder since they were by the river.

This almost felt like a scene from a movie, the snow falling down around them while they sit in their own private spot at the riverbank. It was perfect for the climax of some romance movie, where the guy would tell his best friend that he’s been in love with her for years and lean in to kiss her. For a moment, he considered doing it.

But this wasn’t a movie. Marley was still hurting from her breakup with Blaine and he didn’t need to add confusing her by admitting the feelings he’s had since high school. That wasn’t going to help her whatsoever. And that’s all he was supposed to be doing right now, helping her get through this.

Marley took the blanket gratefully and spread it across both of them, it wouldn't be fair or right to hoard it for herself, she was the reason they were out here after all. The scene was kind of unreal. It was dark but the moon was bright, especially now with the snow falling. The river was calm, not silent but calm. The two of them under the tree. She knew if someone came along it'd look different than it was, but she didn't mind, though, she also knew that no one would be walking by.

She didn't know why silence with Ryder was so easy, but it was. Sometimes when they were down here all they would do was just sit. Sometimes they'd vent. Sometimes it was all laughter and jokes. Tonight didn't feel like a laughter and jokes night.

As per usual, her mind wandered to Blaine. She didn't want it to, but it did. He claimed Just The Way You Are was written for her, but in the end ... they didn't work with the way she was. Tears sprang again and she quickly wiped them away, but she knew he'd notice, Ryder always noticed. "Do you ... Do you think I'll ever be enough for someone?" She asked him, choking on the last word.

Silence was usually something that Ryder hated. It made him feel awkward and like he had to do something to get rid of it. But with Marley, he didn’t. Silence was fine between them, it was nice even. He was comfortable enough to be okay with the silence with her, but soon enough it was broken when he noticed her tears and listened to her question.

The question was making him wish the circumstances were different even more. He wanted to tell her that she was more than enough for someone, him, but he couldn’t. “Of course. You’re amazing, Marley, you’re going to find someone who will think you’re more than enough. Someone who loves every single little thing about you, who would stop the earth from spinning if you asked them to, someone who would never think about making you do something you don’t want to do,” for a moment, he almost said ‘someone like me’, but he caught himself and just said “and I know you’ll find that someone, Marls.” Even if that someone ended up not being him for whatever reason, as long as she found someone she loved, he’d support her always. That’s what he did, and what he’d always do.

There was no way a speech like that could make her not cry a little more. She didn't deserve Ryder. No one did. He had to be one of the best people she'd ever met in her entire life. Too good for Riverdale, that was for sure.

She gave him a soft smile and wiped her face again. "...Thanks RyGuy," she sighed softly, leaning back down down on his shoulder. One day someone would come along and steal his heart and he'd have less time to spend with her. Marley knew he said he'd always make time, but things were different once love got involved, she was already so lucky he was still single.

"For the record, you'll find that person too," Marley told him, not moving from her spot. "You'll find the most perfect someone for your most perfect self. And you'll get to show off all your cool tricks and I bet they'll rival your love of all things nerdy, like Scooby Doo and Spiderman."

These tears weren’t for awful reasons, so he didn’t feel too bad about them, and once she leaned back on his shoulder again, he kept his arm around her, simply saying “anytime, Marls,” in response to her thank you. Which was true, even if he managed to fall for someone else, which honestly seemed pretty unlikely, he’d still make time to help her out. She was probably the most important person in his life right now, it seemed pretty impossible to beat that.

When Marley spoke about him finding someone, he laughed a little. Mostly because the perfect someone in his mind didn’t rival his love of all things nerdy, and that could be part of why he liked her so much. He could explain things and get excited and she’d listen anyways, and while he’d love if she knew more nerdy stuff, he was more than okay with her not knowing. “Well, I’ll be waiting for whenever that happens, but I’m in absolutely no rush here.” Because the person he did love was the one he was sitting here comforting over a breakup. “I’m all good with being single and only needing to pause whatever show I’m watching to come take you for a late night river talk instead of pausing whatever show and telling someone else that I’m going to go take you for a late night river talk,” he added.

His words struck her deep. He was so selfless. She knew she’d woken him up the first time she’d needed him and both of them were in pajamas tonight. “Pretty sure if you did that, you would make whoever it was hate me pretty quickly. I’m apparently a really needy friend,” she teased him moving slightly so her chin was on his shoulder and she was looking at him. “And the last thing I’d want is someone important to you hating me.”

Would she have to compete for attention when Ryder found someone? That wouldn’t be ideal... Sure, he was big talk about making time for her now, but that was all hypothetical. She pushed all those thoughts from her mind though, not wanting to get caught up in made up scenarios.

“Well, I feel like the luckiest girl in the world right now to have you willing to come down here in the cold when you could have been home watching Spiderman Verse,” she informed gratefully. “I’ll be sure to make it up to you soon.”

“Nope, I really don’t think I could date someone that would have a problem with you.” Ryder never really thought about someone having a problem with him always being ready to go help Marley with whatever, but he supposed that made sense, some people would probably not like their boyfriend leaving in the middle of the night to go take a girl to a secret spot by the river.

He shook his head when she mentioned making it up to him, though he was glad she felt like the luckiest girl in the world here. “No need. I can always watch Into The Spider-Verse whenever, you don’t need to make it up to me when I’m choosing to come down here in the cold with you.” He told her, “I’ll always take the chance to spend some time with you.” No need for her to make it up to him when he wanted to do it anyways.

Marley didn't think Ryder meant too much by saying he'd never date anyone that had a problem with her, and the time he spent with her, but that meant more than either of them could have predicted. She didn't know how he could predict that, but she had a lot of faith that he truly did mean it.

Into The Spider-Verse. She'd been close enough. Though, she liked that he didn't outright bring attention to her mistake, just kept going like that was what she'd said. "Don't know why you'd choose the cold over your Spiderman movies," she said with a small laugh. "But, no matter what you're going to say or how much you object, I promise you that I am going to find a way to make it up to you, whether you like it or not."

Ryder had to know better than to try to argue with her, he might be pretty persistent, but her stubbornness usually won out in situations like this.

“I’d choose the cold because you’re involved,” Ryder simply said, “picking between my movies or you is always an easy choice.” Though he wanted to object again, say that there was nothing for her to make up to him, he knew she’d win in the end anyways. “Alright, fine, you’ll make it up to me even though I’m doing this because I want to.” He didn’t see why she would want to, he was just doing what he could to help her, but if she wanted to then he wasn’t going to say no.

Marley's brow furrowed. She seriously didn't know why he'd say that, think that ... live by that. She was almost glad he couldn't see her face as she tried to figure out what she ever did for Ryder than would explain how fantastic he was to her. She was no longer focusing on the snow that was still falling around them. She sat up and faced him, placing her chin on her hand while her elbow was on her knee.

"Why?" She asked him, quizzical look on her face. "What if you get a cold, or worse, the flu? What if a bear decides that we smell good and comes and eats us, or even worse yet, what if a psycho serial killer decides we're his next victim, like a modern day Zodiac Killer or something." Sure, they last few were probably far fetched, mostly probably the bear, but there had to be a limit to this neverending bucket of greatness Ryder seemed to be spewing this week.

Now he had to be careful. As he kept reminding himself tonight, it wasn’t the time to admit his feelings for her. So he had to figure out another way to explain why he’d risk any of that, as unlikely as it is, to be with her tonight.

“I can get over a cold or flu. And a bear or new Zodiac Killer death could get us on Buzzfeed Unsolved and that’s pretty awesome and definitely one of my life goals.” Ryder responded, “I’m cool with risking pretty much everything to hang out with you, you’re fun and nice and awesome. My best friend, so why wouldn’t I?” And I love you and pretty much have loved you since high school entered his mind right after, but obviously he didn’t say that. He was ready for her to question it more, but until then he was just going to stick with that. That she was fun, nice, and awesome so he was willing to risk whatever if it meant he could hang out with his best friend.

Marley couldn't help but roll her eyes. Of course he'd have an answer for all of that. She'd tried to throw impossible situations at him and he hadn't even blinked and had answers for her. How many people in the world would say they'd risk everything to hang out with a friend and probably mean it. Amusement slowly faded from her face and she just looked at him, smiling softly. "You're ... too much," she replied quietly, reaching up and rubbing her thumb on his cheek.

Maybe it was because she was sad. Maybe she just needed to be close to another person. Maybe it was because she believed there might be something more behind his words, though she didn't know why there would be, but maybe. The next thing Marley knew she was leaning forward and kissing him. As soon as she'd started, she backed away, eyes wide .. "I... I.. um..."

She didn't have the words to explain what she'd done and all she could do was wait for Ryder's inevitable questions.

Good, that seemed to work for now. All she was saying in response to his answers for her scenarios was that he was too much, which honestly was something she said to him anyways, so it didn’t bother him. “I think I’m just enough, actually.’

Then she leaned forward and kissed him. And he didn’t know what to do. He wanted to kiss back, obviously, but he didn’t even fully register that Marley’s lips were on his until after she pulled away.

This wasn’t right. He thought he was doing pretty good at not giving super obvious signs that he liked her, but maybe that wasn’t the case. Maybe she knew. But it was still too soon, he didn’t want to be a rebound or anything like that. But he also didn’t want to seem like he was upset that she kissed him. Ryder was, in a word, stuck.

“Why did you kiss me?” were the first words out of his mouth once he was actually able to speak again. “I’m not mad or anything, it was nice, but your breakup wasn’t that long ago and I’m just supposed to be comforting you right now.”

Ryder didn't say anything for a while. Marley couldn't help but start to panic, internally of course, she couldn't let him see that. She sat there, speechless herself until he spoke but she wasn't expecting a question. Why did she kiss him? Truth be told, she didn't have an answer for him. So ... instead of answering him she got up, wrapping the blanket in her arms. "It's late ... and the snow ... it's starting to stick ... we should go.. I want to go home."

Marley couldn't even wait for him to answer before she turned and started walking towards Ryder's car. This was a mistake. He would regret bringing her here, he'd stop coming over, he'd ... she'd stop being his best friend all because she'd impulsively kissed someone who was just saying ... all the right things to someone who's heart was still broken.

He didn’t get an answer, instead, Marley stood up and took the blanket. And Ryder didn’t get to respond before she started walking away, leaving him to scramble to try and get up and follow her.

This was bad, she was regretting it and she probably wouldn’t want to hang out with him because she impulsively kissed him because he couldn’t help saying as much of the truth as he could without outright telling her what he hasn’t told her for years.

Ryder finally caught up to her before she got to his car, “Marley, wait a second.” He gently grabbed her arm to stop her, “Let’s just talk for a second. I’m not upset that you kissed me, it was just a surprise. I wasn’t...I just want to comfort you right now. Be there for you in any way that I can be.”

He didn’t want to do something that may confuse her feelings when she was already going through so much. Otherwise, he probably would have kissed her once it started snowing and told her everything.

Marley knew he'd follow her, he had to, it was his car after all. She wasn't even surprised when he stopped her, grabbing her arm. She decided to play ball and turn to face him. What she hadn't expected was seeing worry written all over his face. She heard him out. Maybe he didn't hate her for what she'd done. Maybe he would still be able to call her his best friend.

She crossed her arms across her chest, holding the blanket close, and bit her lip, unable to keep eye contact. "It ... It just happened ... you can forget about it, okay? Just ... it never happened." Marley knew she had to let him off the hook. This was a one time thing, she'd thought too much about the nice things he'd said and let it get the best of her in a weak moment. "Don't worry about."

He didn’t really want to forget about it and pretend it never happened, but if that’s what she wanted then he’d have to agree. “If that’s what you want. I don’t mind, I don’t know, not forgetting about it.” He should’ve just stopped at ‘if that’s what you want’, instead of adding on the other stuff. Ryder didn’t want to go on and say why he wouldn’t mind not forgetting, especially if all she wanted after kissing him was to forget about it. That clearly couldn’t have been a good sign if he ever did want to admit his feelings.

He let go of her arm, almost ready to finish walking to his car so he could take her back to Charlie’s and she can pretend that the last half of this night never happened if that’s what she wanted to happen. But he doesn’t think he could forget, honestly, it was nice, no matter how short it was before she pulled away.

Marley didn't know what she wanted. She swallowed, trying to get rid of the lump in her throat. She shrugged. "I ... I don't know what I want ..." Maybe there was more truth to that than she'd intended. It took a second before his words sunk in. He didn't need to forget it? Had she not messed up that terribly?

Marley took a breath before opening her mouth again, meeting his eye. "You ... don't need to forget ... that I kissed you? With .. no warning? Why?" She needed to know that he really didn't think she messed up. She needed to know she was still worthy of being his best friend even though what she did was kind of uncalled for.

He sensed those words were about more than just not knowing if she wanted to forget they’d kissed, but he didn’t say anything. Not yet anyways, there would be time for that later if he thought about it.

Ryder knew she was probably going to question him saying that he wouldn’t mind not forgetting, but he hadn’t been able to think of an answer that wasn’t I’ve thought about kissing you so many times that I definitely don’t want to forget that it actually happened. “Because it’s not like it was awful or anything. Nothing’s wrong with you kissing me,” he said, putting his arms around himself to substitute not having pockets in his pajamas.

Despite everything, Marley couldn’t help but chuckle. “I’m pretty sure not awful is the bare minimum standard when it comes to kissing,” she mentioned, feeling a little bit better already. They’d move past this, she could see that now.

Marley looked around at the snow still falling around them. “We probably should still go while the roads are still fairly clear,” she told him.

Were they ever going to address the kiss again? Marley has no idea. Up until now the only time she’d ever kissed Ryder was back in high school, for Grease. And there was a lot different between stage kissing someone and impulsively kissing someone because ... well she didn’t even exactly have an answer for that.

Good, that got a chuckle out of her. "I didn't mean it like that. The kiss itself was really nice. I just meant that the scenario itself wasn't awful," Ryder tried to explain. Not that it should matter, since clearly they were okay with each other now.

When she mentioned leaving, he finally looked away from her and looked around at the world around them. "Yeah, probably." He decided to continue walking back towards his car again, this was good, they were okay. Maybe they wouldn't talk about the kiss until whenever Ryder got the nerves and timing right to tell Marley how he felt, but as long as they were okay, he could wait until then.

"I guess I can be alright with really nice," Marley replied as the began walking to the car, taking their time because she knew the last thing that either of them needed was her falling and breaking her leg or something, especially since her stability had been a little off lately.

Really nice was a normal way to describe a kiss shared between friends right? Maybe they were hanging out a lot more lately than most people would consider just friends, but that was how it'd always been. After they'd finished their last show of Grease they'd been backstage, still in costume and everything, and he'd jokingly asked her out. It was adorable, and the only time anyone had every asked her out during high school. It'd been sweet and she told him he didn't have to be Danny anymore, the show was over, and he'd laughed. Maybe she missed the simplicity of high school. Regardless, it had to be a normal way to describe what had happened.

She sighed as they walked and bumped his arm with hers. "I guess it was nice for me too."

Ryder shrugged while he started the car, “I’m better than I was in Grease. But if you want comments on when we kissed in high school, it was great. Best first kiss I could ask for.” He told her, beginning to start the drive away from the river.

Grease was amazing for him. He never performed before then but he saw a really pretty girl sign up and he felt compelled to. He always told Marley it was because her and Blaine were both too pretty to not want to join, but honestly it was all Marley. He didn’t even really see Blaine until the first rehearsal. Marley got Sandy and he got Danny and some part of him felt like it was fate telling him that it was meant to be. All through rehearsals and running lines at the river, he felt drawn to her, and finally asked her out after their last show. But she thought it was a joke so he played it off like it was one and stuck with her being his best friend, which was already more than enough for him.

First kiss? Marley hadn't known she'd been his first kiss ... or that he'd even count that. She bit her lip and looked down as he drove. "I didn't know that... I'm glad it was something you'd consider your best.. well, not your best kiss just the best first kiss, but yeah, even though it was just for a play and ... I should probably stop talking."

That hadn't gone anywhere she'd intended it to go. She had meant to say best first kiss, not best kiss. There was no way that was his best kiss, she didn't even think it should qualify as a proper first kiss, let alone best in that category.

It was just for a play, but Ryder counted it anyways. "Play or not, it was the first time I kissed someone. I count it." If he didn't count it, then Charlie probably was his first kiss and he doesn't even know if he wants to count those as kissing since it just happened when they hooked up. "Not like I've even kissed many people anyways, I don't have too many to count."

Her for Grease, Charlie when hooking up, really the only time he kissed someone was his girlfriend in high school and it took a game of Seven Minutes In Heaven to happen. Which, honestly, was probably part of the reasons she broke up with him in the first place, but he chose to not think on that too much. It was over with.

Come to think of it, Marley didn't even remember her actual first kiss. She knew it was at an after party of the play they'd done her sophomore year, but the who had completely escaped her. She was glad Ryder had something he could remember, something that ... maybe meant something.

"No surprise here, but I don't have many to count either," Marley told him, though they both knew that was hardly news. She didn't realize how nice it was being with someone who didn't seem to have the same views on sex as the entire town seemed to. The same views that had put an unfixable rift in her relationship. Sure, her and Blaine were talking again, but it was hardly the same. All she wanted was for it to be the same as before any of this had happened. She might not have regretted it, but she wanted it back still.

"Honestly, if I didn't know that you drink water, I'd probably think there was something in the water supply that makes everyone think sex is the best thing ever." Ryder commented, sure, he enjoyed sex, usually with guys more than girls, but it didn't matter to him. He could go the rest of his life without having sex again, there were tons of things that were better than sex. Comics, pineapple pizza, movies, hanging out at the river with Marley, a billion other things he'd rather do instead of have sex.

The drive back to Charlie's felt longer than the drive to the river, but that probably had something to do with the snow and him being a little more careful. And, possibly, him going a little slower on purpose just to stall this night with Marley and make it last even longer. But he wouldn't admit to that, just blame it on the weather.

Marley could only nod to that. "I could say the same about you, Ry," she commented. "You were the one who said you'd give up sex for the right person." That was something not even Blaine could do in the end. He might have tried for her, if she'd let him, but in the end, it wouldn't have worked, she could feel that in her gut.

Ryder was taking his time driving, probably because of the snow on the ground, but Marley was grateful. Sleep was something that had been evading her lately. She'd barely been around Pop's, which was unusual, but she didn't have the energy. But being with Ryder almost gave her the energy she felt had been sucked from her. Him dropping her off would only result in falling back into the slump she hated.

Ryder gave a small shrug, “Yeah, well, it’s not hard or anything. I don’t need sex to have fun.” Sex was weird anyways. No need to worry about needing it in a relationship or anything when they can do anything else. “Pillow forts are way better than sex anyways, adding whoever I’m in love with,” Marley, “sounds like an even better idea.”

He was about to keep driving, head to Charlie’s and drop her off, but an idea popped into his head instead. “Do you want to stay at my place for the night? Well, rest of it anyways?” She could have his bed if she wanted, and it’d mean he can have a bit more time together. “Since it’s so late and all, no need to wake up Charlie or anything.” His parents were fast asleep and definitely wouldn’t mind seeing Marley in the morning anyways. They’ve been wanting him to ask her out since high school, whenever they weren’t already assuming they were dating, at least.

Only Ryder would bring up pillow forts as an alternative to sex. Only Ryder could make it seem normal to do that. It was something she really couldn’t help but appreciate so much.

When Ryder suggested taking her back to his trailer, the one he’d said didn’t have enough room for her. She knew that before she’d kissed him she wouldn’t have even thought before saying yes. She also knew that she should go back to Charlie’s. All that being said, the offer was there and it’d mean having him around for the rest of the night.

“Sure,” she nodded after a second. “But don’t think I’m kicking you out of your room. Unless you insist on that, but we all know I’m more stubborn here and arguing with me will end in defeat.”

Good, she agreed. That meant Ryder could keep driving to Sunnyside instead of Charlie’s place. “You don’t have to kick me out of my room, I was planning on sleeping on the floor.” Ryder told her, though he was sure she’d disagree with that too, “But you are more stubborn, so let’s just share the bed. Make things easier on the both of us.” He added.

He kept driving until they got to his trailer, him getting out and opening the door for Marley for the last time tonight. Quietly entering the trailer with Marley, he took her to his room where Scooby-Doo! Camp Scare was still paused from when he left earlier that night. With an easy grin, he turned it off and laid down in his bed, making room for her and suddenly a lot more tired than he was expecting, but he kept his eyes open to seem more awake in case Marley wanted anything else.

Marley almost laughed when she saw that Scooby Doo had been on. Nothing was more fundamentally Ryder and she wouldn’t change it.

As soon as he made room for her, she climbed into the bed, yawning for the first time in the night. She resumed an almost equivalent position to how she’d been the previous Monday, laying on his shoulder. She knew what it looked like, but right now, in his warmth and security, she couldn’t be bothered. She closed her eyes for a moment, letting the night sink in and letting herself breathe for a second. “Thank you,” she said quietly after a second. “For everything and for being you.” She leaned up and pressed a gentle kiss to his cheek, not something entirely new, but not their usual either, especially after earlier, but she really did want him to know she was grateful.

Almost like an automatic response, Ryder’s arm went around Marley, keeping her close and enjoying being in her company. Then she thanked him and kissed his cheek and he could only grin, “Anytime, Marls. Whenever you need me, you got me.” He responded just as quiet as she was. Then silence fell over the two as he made sure she was sleeping and that everything was okay before he closed his own eyes and was able to sleep himself.

[moondustis]

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updated: 09/08/20

hello! here’s the masterpost for all the fics and drabbles i have written, requests and whatnot.  all the content bellow are pieces of fiction and have been written by me. please do not repost my writing, in any form, anywhere without my permission! (m) indicates mature content you can also find my writing on ao3 and support me or make a commission on ko-fi. thank you for reading ♡ 

all my drabbles can be found here! 

TAEYONG

• take care (m): “You watch as he gets shy, basks on the praise and your heart almost bursts inside of your chest. Taeyong is not perfect, no one is, but he does so much and you truly believe he makes the world a little better just by being the person he is.” (est. relationship, praise kink, fluff.)

• new things: sweet candy (m): Of all the things that you would think could come out of his mouth, this wouldn’t be one of them. “You want me to hurt you?”(fluff, dom/sub undertones, femdom)

MARK

• heaven all around me series (m): “When you’re eight mark lee pushes you inside a lake. At nineteen you fall a little in love with him. ” (church camp!au, fluff, minor angst) prologue (jaehyun + reader) / part 1 / part 2 / drabble

• pink + white:  “it suddenly hits you that you love the boy in front of you. the purest kind of infatuation. this is not the first time you have thought about this, of course. you would have to be blind to your own thoughts to not know that your intimacy with mark ran far from being simply friendly. “ (,fluff, friends to lovers, )

• lose my cool (m): request: “ semi-public setting, “don’t you want to keep me happy?” and “show me how much you need me.” (pwp)

• what you like / pleaser (m): “Mark Lee is not an impulsive person, not at all. He likes to think things through so he can do them well. He’s also not a poor choice maker, not that he thinks so at least. That’s why he can’t understand why he’s in his room on a friday night conjuring a demon.” (demon summoning)

• basorexia (m): basorexia (n); the overwhelming desire to kiss (n); (friends to lovers, suggestive)

• new things: sit down! (m): “Yes, you had never done it before and it made you nervous that you would be placing a great amount of your body weight on a place so dear to you, his face.” (est. relationship, fluff, face sitting)

• love is not just a verb (m): Fridays meant that the boy that had the butterflies in your stomach absolutely going crazy would be waiting outside for you, and you would finally be in his arms as soon as the teacher dismissed the class. (est. relationship, fluff)

JAEHYUN

• perfect crime series (m): There’s two rules when you start a no-strings kind of relationship: 1. Don’t fall in love and 2. Don’t make it into something bigger than it is. And well, let’s just say you were not the best at following rules. (angst, fwb, college!au, drama) part 1 / part 2 (johnny + reader) 

• blue lace (m): “He really wants to tell you that there are other options, just as easy and fast as dry humping like horny teenagers, but you look like nothing would make you more excited at the moment than that.” (pwp)

• innocence (m): “Your short lived romance with Jung Jaehyun.“ (fluff, angst, first love, friends to lovers)

• the louvre (m):  “On the nights you spend alone the feeling of loneliness is not as comfortable as it used to be. It’s like Jaehyun has engraved himself in every part of your life, trying to fit in inside every empty spot you had.“ (angst, fluff, mentions of mental ilness, comfort, first love) 

   ↳ perfect places (m):  Memories had a weird way of catching people off guard and your mind swims with the one of Jaehyun hugging you near this very lake and whispering in your ears unkept promises. (breakup, angst, coming of age)

• nside (m): “Lazy rainy nights with Jaehyun. “ (pwp, fluff, est. relationship)

• malamente (m): “bonnie and clyde au! “Right now, at the downfall, you can only think back to the basement apartment and the job that barely managed to put food on your mouth. The lack of life on Jaehyun’s eyes and how it seemed almost gone the past days. And there’s the answer. It was. It was all worth it. “ (angst, drama, est. relationship, crime)

• break the internet (m): Tips on staying sane during the quarantine include exercising, establishing a routine, eating healthy and of course, phone sex. (est. relationship, fluff)

• sweet (m): Dinner nights, wine, vinyl records and falling in love. (est. relationship, fluff)

• one more time (m): Maybe this right here is a story about growing up and finding yourself, or about finding love and being vulnerable. But it definitely is a story about friendship, skating, pancakes and Jung Jaehyun learning how to deal with his feelings. (friends to lovers, angst, fluff, coming of age)

• new things: simple (m): “We should make one.” He says it with a calm voice but with a hint of uncertainty, shyness. You blink slowly, heart fluttering like crazy inside your chest. “A baby?” (est. relationship, impregnation) 

 YUKHEI

• high on your love (m): “the smell of weed is already strong when you open the door to yukhei’s room only to find him in his bed, in only sweatpants and your promised blunt between his lips. there’s a song playing that you sure it’s from his sex playlist. corny as ever.“ (fwb, fluff)

• swang my way (m): “yukhei held his phone with one hand and a dumb look on his face. he had been looking at that picture since the moment you sent it, only stopping to reply to it. of all the things he was expecting you to reply to the vine compilation he had sent you with, a nude was the last one in the list.“ (est. relationship, fluff)

• thangs: “your relationship with yukhei told in 4 moments and a mac demarco song.“ (fluff, friends to lovers)

• four leaf clover (m): “i don’t care the cost / don’t need a friend, i wanna be your lady” (fwb!au, angst, unhealthy relationships)

 SICHENG

• heayahe (m): “you could or could not be head over heels for dong sicheng, the best reefer man on campus. it depends on who’s asking, really.“ (fluff)

DOYOUNG

• special affair series (m):  “at a very young age you learned that wealthiness stayed alive by deals and contracts, and that’s exactly what your marriage with kim doyoung is. a deal.“ (arranged marriage, kinda enemies to lovers) part 1 / part 2 / drabble

• new things: day dream (m): Because the thing is, you had a plan. A very stupid one you’ll admit to that, but still it was a plan. A plan that involved seducing the teacher, to finally get him to pay attention to you. (teacher!dy, smut, fluff)

♡ YUTA

• exhale series (m): “you said yes because you liked cliches and yuta looked like a walking one, with his tattooed arms and dangling earrings he looked like the perfect bad boy that would break your heart and corrupt the good girl you were. a silly cliche.” (bad boy!au, est. relationship, voyeurism) part 1 / part 2 / excerpts 

• loyalty.love (m): “the starting point, the moment it all changes, is very easy to remember. as is the moment it all goes wrong. ” (modern persephone and hades, gang au, angst)

• patience (m): On the rare occasions Yuta likes to take it slow, this is how it goes. (est. relationship, fluff)

• songs for you (m): A story about dreams, music, groupies and falling in love with your best friend. It’s the 70s, baby, live a little. (angst, fluff, band!au, friends to lovers, 70s!au)

JOHNNY

• perfect crime series (m): There’s two rules when you start a no-strings kind of relationship: 1. Don’t fall in love and 2. Don’t make it into something bigger than it is. And well, let’s just say you were not the best at following rules. (angst, fwb, college!au, drama) part 1 (jaehyun + reader) / part 2 (johnny + reader)

• killjoy series (m): You have never been good at making coherent decisions, making the right choices. You had a thing for danger and things that seemed out of your reach, a challenge. That’s how you find yourself falling for Johnny’s trap over and over again. (angst, band!au) part 1 / part 2 (mark + reader) 

• new things: blow my mind (m): You open the box slowly but excitedly, getting rid of the wrapping paper to be met with the last thing you would ever have guessed, a shiny butt plug. It’s like the ones you see on the internet, with the bedazzled tip and all you can let out is a small ‘oh’. (est. relationship, fluff)

• keep it lowkey (m): A moment shared between two people that could use some more time. (idol x trainee reader, angst)

JUNGKOOK 

• your teeth in my neck (m): “There’s not a lot on his mind these days, like his thoughts have gone blank and all he sees is red. All he can think about is the thirsty, or hunger he’s not really sure yet, in the pit of his stomach. It’s like it’ll never go away and all he’s left with is the slight shaking of his hands anytime he thinks about blood.” (vampire!au, fluff)

• purity (m): “you didn’t hate the prince, to be honest, jungkook was a very hard person to hate with his bright smile, cute cheeks and gentle personality. you hated the situation you were in, only seventeen years old and already promised to someone you barely knew. feminism was dead.” or your relationship with prince jungkook through the years. (arranged marriage, coming of age, royalty!au)

 YOONGI

• tangerine blossoms (m): “You catch him watching you, of course you do, a smile gracing your lips and he figures this is the agony all the poets had wrote about.” (19th century, angst, fluff, vampire!au, friends to lovers, first time)

SEULGI

• we could do it (if we tried): This is not a story about how your dreams came true or how you find your true passion, no. This is a story about how you met her. Even in the chaos of it all, Seulgi was always the one you would end up with. (angst, first love, idol!au)

[sincewerealone]

presenting: my initial thoughts and feelings on Lover (2019):

I Forgot That You Existed - cute little opener. The beat reminds me of I want you back. Not a bombastic banger of an opening like historically but...cute. i like the “sooooo....yeah” ending

Cruel Summer: A BOOOOOOOOP. this is what I like and what I need I can’t get enough of it at the moment

Lover - we already know her but I do love it. It’s so tender it’s almost hard for me to listen to hahaha 😅

The Man - I like this one a lot! love the leo shoutout and bitches and models. 

The Archer - we know her too but I loooooooooooooove her. I get major emo every time.

I Think He Knows - MAJOR Carly vibes!!!!! I really like it a lot, super fun. I don’t think 16th avenue exists?

Miss Americana and the Heartbreak Prince - Love this one!!! kind of a Lana vibe? Definitely some political undertones. Feels kind of theatrical. Kind of reminds me of Taylor’s the lucky one? I really like it a lot actually

Paper Rings - CUTE. The squeakquel to stay stay stay. I like the energy and the almost pop punk vibe. That key change and bridge!!!!! Adding to the running playlist (I never run though lmao)

Cornelia Street - like this one a lot. Don’t make say it but ****** ......but I cant decide if i think it’s a about a breakup tho? 🤷🏼‍♀️

Death by a Thousand Cuts - BRIDGE CITY. Up there with the ootw bridge....maybe. But I like this one.

London Boy - this is the second worst it’s kind of stupid aksjdjajsjj. I like to think it’s about paddington bear

Soon You’ll Get Better: 😢😢😢😢😢😢😢😢😢😢😢 I’m too sad to say anything else

False God: LOOOOOOOOOOVE. The swifties are gonna pay this one dust i know it. It’s SEXY. Love a sultry sax. This was kind of the vibe I had imagined in the beginning. “My hips are the altar” okay taylor sis get that cookie eaten

Yntcd: i think I like it more than most people do. I still bop to it. It feels a little out of place in the whole album.

Afterglow - nice but a little forgettable. I like her mature perspective

ME! - literally the worst song shes’s done in her entire career. Worse than gorgeous and bad blood and girl at home and fifteen (which for some reason I’ve always hated). Should have been left on the secret life of pets 2 soundtrack

Its Nice To Have a Friend - I guess? The marimba is kind of weird. Kind of an unnecessary song. Doesn’t really add anything to the album

Daylight - a nice closer, feels like a good summary of the album. She really can’t resist talking somewhere in a song huh. But I like it better here. I love the red reference with “I once believed love would be burning red but it’s golden”

overall: i like it a lot! a lot of it feels mature and i appreciate there are a lot of different perspectives and emotions. I think it’ll still live after 1989 in my personal rankings, but it’s so hard to choose.

Favs: cruel summer, miss americana and the heartbreak prince, false god, death by a thousand cuts

Least favs: london boy, it’s nice to have a friend, ME!

[rhiezus]

                                 Lover As Our Ships.  

I Forget That You Existed.

Literally Nayoung to everyone in her life before, including mostly SPB, the Nameless and even Kim Yura. 

How many days did I spend thinking 'Bout how you did me wrong, wrong, wrong? Lived in the shade you were throwing 'Til all of my sunshine was gone, gone, gone 

Also Keun to SPB... Everyone to SPB, that company is trash. But look:

Sent me a clear message Taught me some hard lessons I just forget what they were It's all just a blur

And don’t even get me started on the chorus. 

Cruel Summer

At first, I thought, damn, I don’t have any ship for that because it’s about a breakup and stuff... But then it cleared my mind and now I think it’s two at the same time. First, Minhye and Jukan at college times.

Fever dream high in the quiet of the night You know that I caught it (Oh yeah, you're right, I want it) Bad, bad boy, shiny toy with a price You know that I bought it (Oh yeah, you're right, I want it)

[...]

Hang your head low in the glow of the vending machine I'm not buying (Oh yeah, you're right, I want it) You say that we'll just screw it up in these trying times We're not trying (Oh yeah, you're right, I want it) 

But it just doesn’t stop there, it also gave me little hints of Anna and Kuen.

I'm drunk in the back of the car And I cried like a baby coming home from the bar (Oh) Said I'm fine, but it wasn't true I don't wanna keep secrets just to keep you

[...]

And I screamed for whatever it's worth "I love you, " ain't that the worst thing you ever heard?

Lover

We got mixes feelings about this one, it literally could be any ship at some specific moment, so I really don’t know. However, I still keep my word that Hana and Mark were the first one that came to my mind when i listened to this song for the first time, probably because of The Archer and because of the state they are in right now that makes it easy for me to see Hana listening to this one right now and thing “Have I known you 20 seconds or 20 years?” and “All's well that ends well to end up with you”. Anyways, it also reminds me of Nayoung and Keun because of tHE MAGNETIC FORCE OF A MAn, and for the same reason, I can imagine Bonghu and Sanchan. And let’s not forget of Julie and Valak, they also marked this song as theirs. Oh my god, it also reminds me of Minhye and Jukan, for christ's sakes.

The Man

Speaking of her, that’s very Minhye. And nAYoung TOO. Actually, Nayoung seems like the type that would pick a lyrics from this song and posts on her stories, she is that kind of person right now. That’s official I even put on yes girl, there is no going back. But just... look:

Would you like to worry about drinkin' and dollars? And getting bitches and models? And it's so good if you're bad And it's okay if you're mad If I was out flashing my dollars I'd be a bitch, not a baller They'd paint me out to be bad So, it's okay that I'm mad

The Archer

To all the Hopeless Romantics I did before. I’m serious, this song is every single little bitch that's too hopeless romantic. It started with Hana, then I thought of Haneul, probably Kim Yura too, Anna & Clay. 

'Cause cruelty wins in the movies I've got a hundred thrown-out speeches I almost said to you

(JUST LOOK AT ANNA AND KIM YURA RIGHT THERE)

And I cut off my nose just to spite my face Then I hate my reflection for years and years

(HANEULLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL)

I wake in the night, I pace like a ghost The room is on fire, invisible smoke And all of my heroes die all alone Help me hold onto you

(CLAY)

I Think He Knows

Speaking of Clay, this song radiates Allen and Clay. But before that, I totally thought about Yehjin and Chang too. So well, probably both.

He got that boyish look that I like in a man I am an architect, I'm drawing up the plans It's like I'm 17, nobody understands No one understands

Seriously? That’s Clay about Allen.

Lyrical smile, indigo eyes, hand on my thigh We could follow the sparks, I'll drive Lyrical smile, indigo eyes, hand on my thigh We could follow the sparks, I'll drive "So where we gonna go?" I whisper in the dark "Where we gonna go?" I think he knows

And this is so Yehjin and Chang, hell yes.

Miss Americana & The Heartbreak Prince

Chines & Chihye. There is none else for this, I swear because I’ve looked up.

You know I adore you, I'm crazier for you Than I was at 16, lost in a film scene Waving homecoming queens, marching band playing I'm lost in the lights 

YES, SHALL WE ALL BE SAD ABOUT THIS?

I'm feeling helpless, the damsels are depressed Boys will be boys then, where are the wise men? Darling, I'm scared (Ah)

Keep listening...

No cameras catch my muffled cries I counted days, I counted miles To see you there, to see you there And now the storm is coming, but

And finally...

It's you and me, that's my whole world They whisper in the hallway, "She's a bad, bad girl" (Okay) The whole school is rolling fake dice You play stupid games, you win stupid prizes [...] We're so sad, we paint the town blue Voted most likely to run away with you

Paper Rings

Oh my god, the first time I listened to this song I was “maybe it’s Bonghu and Sanchan”. bUT reading the lyrics I’m so shocked because it’s Raye and Kaili, and fuck this song is very them... From the instrumental to the lyrics, everything.

The moon is high Like your friends were the night that we first met Went home and tried to stalk you on the internet [...] Now I wake up in the night and watch you breathe

Shut up, this is totally about the beer pong! And then suddenly by the end of the year the fact they are together... 

I like shiny things, but I'd marry you with paper rings Uh huh, that's right Darling, you're the one I want, and I hate accidents except when we went from friends to this

Shut UPPP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Honey, without all the exes, fights, and flaws We wouldn't be standing here so tall, so

Cof cof, that’s for Julie. Costance said, “suck it”. 

Also, let’s not forget the part she keeps referring to him as “Baby Boy”.

Cornelia Street

Listen to me, I get the feeling this is Jinhyung and Kyungri. There is no further explanation on how I get to this conclusion, I just felt like it. 

We were a fresh page on the desk Filling in the blanks as we go As if the street lights pointed in an arrowhead Leading us home 

Hm??

And I hope I never lose you, hope it never ends I'd never walk Cornelia Street again That's the kinda heartbreak time could never mend I'd never walk Cornelia Street again And baby, I get mystified by how this city screams your name And baby, I'm so terrified of if you ever walk away 

I had to do a whole specification about this, but can you get the feeling that when they finally realized that they didn’t want to cheat or be with anyone else just because what they had was enough? That’s the feeling. Perhaps it’s also about the fact that they were falling so hard that they just suddenly were like ‘that’s true, i don’t want anyone else besides you and this thought kind of terrifies me a little bit’, you know?!  

You hold my hand on the street Walk me back to that apartment Years ago, we were just inside Barefoot in the kitchen Sacred new beginnings That became my religion, listen 

Totally talking about they sneaking wndr’s dorm to be together.  

Death By A Thousand Cuts

I never had this vision about this breakup until reading this song’s lyrics, but this is probably Seulgi when Hailey and she broke up. Yes, very random, yes, you probably didn’t expect this one but it’s true, let me show you.

Saying goodbye is death by a thousand cuts Flashbacks waking me up I get drunk, but it's not enough ’Cause the morning comes and you're not my baby I look through the windows of this love Even though we boarded them up Chandelier's still flickering here ’Cause I can't pretend it's okay when it's not

Very weird seeing Seulgi demonstrate any type of feeling, she probably felt this because they were together for a significant amount of time and Hailey traveled back to her country to sort her things out so... You can imagine how lonely Seulgi must have felt for a while. 

I dress to kill my time, I take the long way home I ask the traffic lights if it'll be alright They say, "I don't know" And what once was ours is no one's now I see you everywhere, the only thing we share Is this small town You said it was a great love, one for the ages But if the story’s over, why am I still writing pages?

Seriously? This is totally Seulgi trying to figure out where to move from aside WNDR and Hailey, although she did figure it out somehow I can see why she was confused and a little upset even though she totally agreed with Hailey that the best thing was to break it off. 

Tryna find a part of me that you didn't touch My body, my love, my trust (It's death by a thousand cuts) But it wasn't enough, it wasn't enough, no, no

And with that, I rest my case.

London Boy

This would be Nayoung if it was called “Jeju Boy”, also Linlin would take a ride and sing it too if that was the title. Throwback that this is also Taewoon and Hojin (screams and sobs at the same time). If it was “Canadian Boy”, it could be Clay. Wait is Allen from where? IS HE BRITISH? I Thought hE Was AmeriCAn. And finally, if someone does a cover saying “London Girl”, then it’s definitely Evie and Sunny, or even me for wolfie. Yes. I love this song is so catchy, could be anyone talking about their crush, it’s really cute.

Soon You’ll Get Better

You know what this song it's about, let’s skip the crying. 

False God

Haneul & Hyuntae. FUCK THIS SONG I SWEAR, IF IT WAS KOREAN I WOULD SAY HANEUL WROTE IT AND GAVE IT TO TAYLOR. SERIOUSLY JUST LOOK AT THE DESCRIPTION BY GENIUS: ”False God” uses heavy religious imagery to compare Swift’s relationship with current boyfriend Joe Alwyn to something all-powerful and greater than themselves.”

We were crazy to think Crazy to think that this could work Remember how I said I'd die for you? We were stupid to jump In the ocean separating us Remember how I’d fly to you?

Oh, boy, shut up Haneul.

They all warned us about times like this They say the road gets hard and you get lost When you're led by blind faith, blind faith 

Also laughing about the part she says: “ You're the West Village”, change it to UN Village and it’s good to go.

You Need To Calm Down

That's us. And also Hailey. And also sweetpea.

Afterglow

Oh, here we go. Okay, this song is Linlin and Mingyu. I still can’t get over how much this song is them, seriously, I’ll just show the lyrics and let us be sad for the time being.

I blew things out of proportion, now you're blue Put you in jail for something you didn’t do I pinned your hands behind your back, oh Thought I had reason to attack, but no 

[...]

Hey, it's all me, in my head I'm the one who burned us down But it's not what I meant Sorry that I hurt you I don't wanna do, I don’t wanna do this to you (Ooh) I don’t wanna lose, I don't wanna lose this with you (Ooh) I need to say, hey, it’s all me, just don't go Meet me in the afterglow

[...]

I lived like an island, punished you with silence Went off like sirens, just crying Why'd I have to break what I love so much? It’s on your face, don't walk away, I need to say

[...]

Tell me that you're still mine Tell me that we'll be just fine Even when I lose my mind I need to say Tell me that it's not my fault Tell me that I'm all you want Even when I break your heart

Yeah, I KNOW.

ME!

I hate that song, next. 

I’m kidding, this actually brings me good memories even though it’s kind of insupportable. As for a ship, this is Kim Yura and Abe Chiyo. Eleanor and Zeev!!! And WNDR when they are getting ready in the dorm.

I know that I'm a handful, baby, uh I know I never think before I jump And you're the kind of guy the ladies want (And there's a lot of cool chicks out there)

[...]

I know that I went psycho on the phone I never leave well enough alone And trouble's gonna follow where I go

I underestimated how much of Eleanor and Zeev this is.

I know I tend to make it about me I know you never get just what you see But I will never bore you, baby

YeAH, BoY.

It’s Nice To Have A Friend

Me to You, until I realized this was a romantic song and went all “well’... So, to sum up, as a ship this is straight-up Gok Inna and Pyongho. Just check out the genius description: “ Infused with steel drums, It’s Nice to Have A Friend is a dreamy ballad about two friends meeting in school and ending up getting married. It recalls the similar love story of children growing up together and falling in love.” We don’t even need to read the lyrics after that, I agree. 

Daylight

This is another song with different ships to different situations. First, it’s Yohan and Sebin. Jinah and Bokyum. Danbi and Daehyun... Basically, everyone that went through a lot before finding their true love. Again, let’s take a look at the Genius description: “In the final song on her album Lover, Taylor Swift sings about struggling through previous relationships, beginning to doubt her ability to find true love, until she meets someone who brightens her life in a new way. She refers to being unlucky in love in the past, but when she meets her new partner, she only wants to focus on them and their happiness together.” Gotcha?

I don't wanna look at anything else now that I saw you I don't wanna think of anything else now that I thought of you I've been sleeping so long in a 20-year dark night And now I see daylight, I only see daylight

I can only think of Yohan and Sebin finding each other, but you could also see where I thought about there other two here too. Jinah and Bokyum? Totally random but totally meant to be. And Danbi and Daehyun were both like in a love maze thing until they realized how stupid they were since the start. 

Luck of the draw only draws the unlucky And so I became the butt of the joke I wounded the good and I trusted the wicked Clearing the air, I breathed in the smoke Maybe you ran with the wolves and refused to settle down Maybe I've stormed out of every single room in this town Threw out our cloaks and our daggers because it's morning now It's brighter now, now

I swear TO GOD, THIS SONG!!!!! What a great way to finish an album and my thread... *heart emoji*

[kestrelsarethebestrels]

The bright and hollow sky.

I am the passenger...

Siouxsie Sioux's voice croons through the car's speakers as you blaze down the 101 South. You look over to your own passenger seat. There's Nick, your friend of the better part of a decade, who's now fast asleep. You turn down the volume to a more reasonable level.

It's been a while since you've been able to spend time with some friends. Things needed attending to, family needed attention, and finances had been tight.

You had offered to carpool, which invariably always turned into chauffeuring (offeuring?), but you didn't mind - Nick's company was always welcome. But god, how you hated driving and parking in San Francisco proper. And here you are, putting on a little more gas to get the two of you home at a reasonable time. Well, slightly more reasonable than the current time. Your friend's got a long-awaited date with his long-distance partner tomorrow (today, more like), but he's going to need some time to sober up. Or a lot of time. You stopped yourself at a couple of strong oatmeal stouts earlier, though Nick met his drinks with a little more enthusiasm. You look at the car's digital clock. It's 2:53 AM.

It's the best time of the day to travel on any given highway in the Bay Area. You quite enjoy these late night drives; there aren't a lot of other cars out this late, and sometimes it's just nice to de-stress with a quick and aimless solo drive up and down the 280 or Skyline Blvd. The 101 corridor isn't your favorite, but hey, a road's a road. A road's even better when no one else is on it.

We'll ride through the city tonight...

Nick's partner is alright, you guess. You've only met him once, so he doesn't yet have your seal of approval. But they've been going strong for almost four years now, and Nick seems pretty damn happy despite the new long-distance situation, so you figure that's all that matters. Your own performance in the relationship department is severely lacking and the last breakup kind of tore you up, probably permanently, so you hope for the best in all your friends' romantic journeys instead.

You absentmindedly slouch into your seat while the song's characteristic horns quietly play in the background. That's when you notice the blank green sign hanging from the overpass. Caltrans probably hasn't gotten around to slappin' those white letters on it just yet. Par for the course. There's always construction somewhere or other. Caltrans must be too busy creating inconvenient merge lanes to set up informational signs.

It's dark out - you haven't yet gotten to the well-lit stretches of the 101. You put on cruise control, a rare opportunity in this area, and a Chevy Tahoe immediately cuts you off from the right. You curse and slam on the brakes to let them do their idiot thing. Where the hell did that one come from? You check the rearview mirror. Strange. There's no on-ramp that you could see, and you hadn't noticed the SUV's headlights earlier. The other driver speeds off into the distance. You look over to see if you've woken up Nick, but thankfully, he's still fast asleep.

You drive a little further on without cruise control, senses now heightened from the near-miss. Probably time to pay a little more attention to the road ahead. You approach another overpass. Here's another green sign. No letters on this one either. Caltrans is really slacking, you think to yourself.

How long have you been living and working in the Bay Area? Too long, perhaps. Traffic is insane and the rent just keeps getting higher every year. Sandwich shops shouldn't be charging $16 for a BLT. Your landlord's unresponsive at best, but at least the AC's never broken down. You don't have the best metric to compare, though, having only ever lived in California your whole life. Sometimes it seems like you'll never leave.

Let's take a ride and see what's mine...

The post-alcohol fatigue is starting to set in; you're far removed from your college drinking habits. Feels like you've been on the road for a while. You check the time again.

3:27 AM. What the fuck? You could've sworn that song was only five minutes long, and you should have passed the SFO airport exit by now. Then again, you don't normally take the 101 into the city. And things look different in the dark. You look over. "Nick. Hey," you quietly say. Well, he's certainly knocked out. Probably'll wake up when you get to the Embarcadero Road exit, which should be... soon? Although you haven’t even gotten to the eye-searingly bright electronic billboard in Redwood City yet.

Another blank green exit sign. It occurs to you that this stretch of the highway looks unfamiliar, but the smaller signs reassure you that you're still on the 101. It would be really nice if Nick were awake right about now, though.

When you pass your fourth blank green sign, you start to wonder if you're dreaming. An unsettling feeling starts growing deep in your chest. You make an executive decision to exit at the next possible off-ramp and take El Camino all the way back to Nick's place.

The next exit is blocked by k-rails and a temporary orange sign on the shoulder that informs you that this ramp is, in fact, closed. Did it get colder just now? You check the thermostat settings. Nothing's changed. Nick's still asleep. You really want to wake him up, but you hesitate to interrupt his sleep over something that's probably nothing. Maybe they're just doing a lot of work on this highway. Except... you haven't seen any construction crews all night.

Another orange sign informs you that the shoulder is closed for the next 12 miles. Great. You make a mental note of the miles on your odometer: 194654. This car's served you well, and loyally. Got it from your parents around 83k and it's never needed an unscheduled maintenance. Though right now you're starting to wonder if there's something wrong with the clock. It says it's 3:42 AM and the same song is still playing. Maybe you accidentally hit the repeat button before connecting the aux cable.

Your heart sinks as you pass the next closed exit ramp. All the green signs are blank, now. You switch hands on the steering wheel and nudge your friend with your right hand. "Dude. Wake up." You emphasize the last two words. Dammit, he's still solidly asleep. You take your eyes off the road long enough to look at him. Well, he's breathing. Just sleeping.

You have a strict no-phone-in-hand driving policy for yourself, but just this once you decide to break that rule. It's probably time to call someone. 911? That seems a little extreme. Another friend, maybe? Eyes still on the road, you reach down to grab your phone from the cupholder. A quick look down tells you that you don't have a signal. That's weird. Usually you'd only lose your signal on the 280, and only in that very short part surrounded by all the trees. But this isn't the place.

Now you're at what's supposed to be mile 12, and you'd like to pull over, but the shoulder's still unavailable. You haven’t seen an off-ramp for several minutes. You decide to continue, but slower. Your right foot eases off the gas and you tap the brakes. The brakes aren't... working? Fuck. You've got to be kidding me. All the blank green signs are just mocking you at this point.

You try to work out if you're in a nightmare or not. On one hand, Nick's here, and you distinctly remember the two of you leaving the bar and saying your goodbyes to your other friends. On the other, well... there's everything else that's happened since. Another glance at the clock. 4:38 AM. Why? In the absence of traffic, you should have definitely been back in Palo Alto by now.

What to do? You know with a certainty that if Nick weren't here, you'd do something drastic to snap out of the dream. Drive into a barrier to slow down or stop, maybe. If it were just you. But your friend is counting on you to get home safely, so if this isn't a dream, you'd both be extremely fucked. If it is a dream... You have to wake up eventually, right? It has to end somewhere, doesn't it?

So let's ride and ride and ride...

The discomfort settles into every fiber of your being. You wonder how long it'll be before the dawn. Until then, you drive on.

[jojosbizarrebaratiddies]

Affections Over The Airwaves (Josuke/Reader)

You've loved Josuke for as long as you can remember. Now that you're all out of high school, that still hasn't changed. In fact, it's gotten worse. You want to tell him but you're terrified of ruining your friendship or making it weird. After a nudge from a couple of your friends, you decide to try something to get your feelings out: Confess over the radio with a letter and a song that sums up your feelings. How it'll go you're not sure, but then the surprising happens...

OK THIS IS MY FIRST JOJO RELATED WRITING SO PLEASE HAVE MERCY. I’ve been writing general fics and stuff for years but this is my first one related to the JJBA universe so I hope it’s not too bad;; I thought I’d do something for Valentine’s Day so why not some sappy stuff with everyone’s favorite Morioh good boy?

Tried to keep it as gender-neutral as possible // Everyone/Most Characters Live AU

You're not sure how anything like this could happen. At least to you of all people.

This whole situation started a couple days ago. Listening to the familiar voice of everyone's 'favorite neighbor' in Morioh on the radio, Kai Harada, you had heard him doing a segment he had added back in December; he answered people's letters and messages for advice on just about anything. It was a couple of weeks before Valentine's Day so he was doing mostly love letters and confessions from listeners, and you had actually sent a letter in yourself. Anonymously, of course, under a name you thought of on the spot. It was mostly at the suggestion of Yukako and Aya, who you had met through your friends in town. 

"Why not give it a try?" The longer haired young woman had asked you. "It might help with this 'issue' you have going on."

"It wouldn't hurt, and if things went sour, you could just forget about it all; We just want the best for you _____-san," the older woman added, a comforting hand on your shoulder.

What were they talking about? Oh, nothing much... just your ridiculously huge crush on the town's golden boy is all.

You had met the so-called 'Morioh Gang' when you had come to the town with your family and you ended up at the local high school. You had actually met Koichi first since you had classes with him, but soon enough met Yukako and, oddly enough, you two got along. Well, after you assured her for the 100th time you weren't interested in the grey-haired boy. Soon enough, you had met the others in their group. A rough-looking but funny and friendly young man who cared for others more than himself who you came to know as Okuyasu Nijimura, a manga artist who only seemed to show little if any friendliness towards Koichi, Rohan Kishibe (who seemed personally offended you had no idea what Dark Pink Boy was and shoved the first volume in your hands the next time you saw him), and the talk of many students who's name was whispered on their lips, especially from the females of the school: Josuke Higashikata. 

Was it his big heart? That beautiful smile with a voice to match? That retro-chic hair he prides himself in? The fact he seemed to tower over you by what seemed like at least half a foot? Or maybe it was that pair of beautiful baby blues he looked at you with as he listened so intently to whatever you had decided to talk about? You're not sure what it was that drew you to the popular boy, but when it happened, it happened hard. Everyone, most of them at least, were such nice people, and Josuke was no exception. As the school years went by, you grew close to a lot of them and before you knew it, you were a part of them too. Unfortunately for you, your heart figured befriending the pompadoured Prince fan just wasn't enough and before you knew it, you were in full on schoolgirl-crush mode. Even after graduating, the feelings didn't cease. It didn't help that everyone ended up at the same university either.

So now here you were, cheered on by Yukako and the woman she had introduced you too later on, waiting to see if Mr. Harada would read your on-air confession. Admittedly though, you had a feeling it might, especially considering the special guest he had called on for the corner to help with love issues.

"Thank you for joining us tonight, Miss Tsuji; You've been great help in answering some of our lovesick viewers," the host thanked the woman, who gave a hum in reply.

"Of course, Harada-san; anything to help people's dreams come true. I am the godmother of Morioh, after all~" she responded, a sigh leaving her lips after. "What's more beautiful than finding someone who makes you feel so happy and carefree? That's the main reason why I created my salon in the first place: to help others make their dreams come true; Finding that special someone is something I think everyone strives for and I simply wish to help them do so."

"Well said, Tsuji-san. Now, this next letter you had said caught your eye out of our pile here. Why is that?"

"Ah, I'm not so sure myself. I suppose it called out for me." You could hear that coy tone in her voice; you don't know how many times you had heard that tone in person, it generally meant she knew exactly what she was doing, which could only mean one thing... The sound of an envelope being opened could be heard, Kai clearing his throat.

" 'Harada-san, I hope that you can help my feelings call out to the person they're meant for. There's a guy I've known for a few years now and I couldn't ask for a better friend. He's kind and sensitive and the most loyal and reliable person you could meet. I don't want to say names but let's just call him 'my prince charming' for now. Over time, however, these feelings have changed and I'm...I'm so scared. I've talked to my friends about this and they encourage me, which I appreciate, but I've never been in a relationship before. I cherish the friendship I have with my prince like it was a treasure, and I'm terrified that I'll change what we have. At the same time though, my friends are right and I need to do something or I'll regret everything and hate myself for not even trying'."

"Such strong wording, they must have been struggling with this for a long time," the woman commented, Harada being the one to make a noise of agreement this time.

" 'That's why I've written in'," he continued to read. "Ah, they have their confession here... 'I haven't known you as long as I'm sure other people in this town have, but you make me so happy. You shine like a sun in my life and you've made every day I can see you and your dazzling smile or beautiful blue eyes is one I hold dear. I know there are others after your heart, but I can't help myself. If I don't say it now, I may never say a thing, so here are my affections over the airwaves . With Love, Stargazer'. They also have a request attached but we'll leave that a surprise. Ah...such heavy emotion."

"What a peculiar psuedonym," Aya pondered. "Would you like my personal advice or would you like to give them a word, Harada-san?"

"Please, after you."

"Thank you. Now to this star-crossed lover, no matter who you are, I only have this. I know affairs of the heart can be frightening, especially if you've never experienced it at quite this level, but it's something that must be done lest you live with regrets the rest of your life. Whether you say it yourself or ask for a friend's assistance, if you truly want to see if your prince will ride with you into that happily ever after, you need to take that next step." There was a pause as she collected her thoughts. "Cinderella made it to the ball and kept hope in her heart that her own prince would come for her, even when the clock struck twelve and her gowns turned back to rags; although she had the help of her fairy godmother, she took those steps up in her glass slippers herself when she was given the opportunity to go to the ball. I can only imagine how much courage it took for you to declare your love for this prince for all of Morioh to hear and for that I'm proud of you. Consider our reading your glass slippers and golden carriage; Much like the fairy godmother comes to Cinderella in her time of need, I hope that we're able to make some magic for you by reading your message and playing your song."

"Beautifully said, Tsuji-san. And now, the request."

You swore your heart was in your throat, or at least part of it was. You wanted to thank Aya and curse her out at the same time. She knew exactly what she was doing and it made you so anxious. Hopefully the name you picked gave enough away without being too conspicuous. You liked seeing the night sky and all so why not go with something like that? Simple enough, right? It felt like your heart was gonna burst out of your chest as the song of your choosing played. You could only hope your feelings got across loud and clear.

The radio show continued to go through other letters after, some people in similar situations (though braver by using their name and the name of the person they liked), some who went through breakups, even some who wanted to share their stories related to Valentine's Day, White Day, and Christmas in an attempt to support others in their missions for love. Or possibly deter them/help them save face with some of the stories told.

It was near the end of the corner after Aya had said her goodbyes to Harada before the host had one last thing to read.

"In a peculiar turn of events, we had a last minute e-mail marked with urgency for the corner. I'll end our little program with this. 'Harada-san, a letter you had read earlier caught my interest and, surprisingly, I think it might've been for me, or at least I hope so. No one's ever done anything like this for me and I have to say I'm flattered. Stargazer, I think I might know who you are, or at least a good idea of who you could be. If it's not too much, I'd like to meet you; we could go to the cafe in town! I'd ask you to meet me on Valentine's but I'm pretty sure the place'll be packed by then, so let's make it tomorrow around noon.' Whatever happens, one of you please keep me in the loop; the build up is tearing me apart! Could this be a love story in the making? Only time will tell. For Kai's Corner, this has been your neighbor, Kai Harada. Now back to your favorite tunes..."

It was a good thing you were sitting on your bed because you probably would've lost your footing hearing that.

At this point, you were second guessing yourself.

Dressed in you casual nicest, you sat nervously at Deux Magots. It was a usual spot for you and the others to go aside from Tonio's place, specializing in various coffee and tea drinks along with desserts. You just hoped that if things went awry, you wouldn't be too embarassed in public. You didn't dress up too much, a nice outfit but not overly done, and you had ordered a glass of a fruit-flavored tea to help soothe your nerves. The place seemed more packed than usual and a part of you wondered if it was because of the Kai's Corner from last night, people coming to see if this story had a happy ending or, if this Stargazer person would be heartbroken. Good thing no one knows that person was you.

As you were sitting, a friendly voice called out to you. You turned to see who it was and oh god are you blushing? You're pretty sure you're blushing. This would be so much harder without everyone else here.

"What's up, Jojo?" you responded with a wave, a hitch in your throat as he approached. "I figured you'd be sleeping in since it's the weekend, or did your mom kick your ass out of bed?" A laugh left the other as he scratched the back of his head sheepishly.

"Y'know, just...felt like takin' a walk here, that's all!" There it was, that sweet voice you had grown accustomed to. Something about him seemed different, though you couldn't put your finger on it. "Y'mind if I sit with ya? Unless you wanna be alone or somethin'-!"

"No, it's fine, go ahead!" you assured him with a smile, watching as he took the seat in front of you. "So, what brings you here? I thought you and Oku were gonna work on that final boss in that game you guys were stuck on last week."

"We still are! I just didn't wanna wake him up. When I called him earlier, he picked up for about 4 minutes and then I heard the other end go quiet. Th' next thing I know I get this loud snore in my ear," he laughed at the recent memory. "I guess it'll just be later, y'know?"

You couldn't help laughing yourself. Seems legit considering how those two could be. Anyone help the person who was in the same room with a snoring Okuyasu and Josuke like you were when you all stayed over at Yukako's place that one time to study. It was like being right next to two lumberjacks sawing at a tree.

"Yeah, it's probably better to let the poor guy sleep; he's been working pretty hard," you commented before looking around. "The cafe's pretty packed today, huh?"

"Yeah. It's pretty busy most've the time anyway but it looks super busy today" he commented, glancing around himself with a grin. "It's not too long before Valentine's 'n all so that might be why. So, got a date or somethin' for then~?" 

You rolled your eyes playfully at his teasing tone and the smirk that followed. "Don't talk to me about dates, Mr. Popular," you poked back. "I'm sure you're gonna be pretty damn busy the 14th. Just don't take too many chocolates or you'll have a lot of treats to pass out when White Day rolls around!"

"Not really," he sighed through his nose before glancing over at his hand on the table. "I still got admirers n' all but it's nothin' like high school. I'm actually kinda glad about that; bein' the popular guy in school can take a lot out of ya..."

"Oh? I figured with all the new people that come into Uni every semester, you'd be swamped. I'm glad about it too though, you looked so tired some days and I know a giant group of people surrounding you probably didn't help, cheery personality or not."

"...Y-Yeah," he muttered, going oddly silent. And did he just stutter a little? The atmosphere became different and the white noise of patrons talking around you and clanking cups and plates filled the air. You were both quiet for a few minutes until Josuke spoke up once more. "Hey ____-san, you still listen to Morioh-Cho Radio, right?"

"Of course, who doesn't? It's nearly everyone's favorite station. Why do you ask?"

"I was just thinkin' about that advice corner from last night. Y'know, the one that Aya-san went on about the Cinderella story after? I wonder how that'll turn out. Must've took 'em a lot of guts to send in that letter..."

"Oh, the Stargazer one? Yeah, they must really be in a pickle," you commented. "I mean, to be in love with someone who's such an amazing friend to you must be scary. I would imagine they sent the letter in because they were too afraid to admit their feelings to the person's face." You looked down into your cup of tea, the reflection of the lunchtime sky moving gently on the surface as you thought through your words. "I know there's been some stories of people confessing and they were still friends after but-"

"-they were still afraid they wouldn't be friends anymore after," he finished. You looked up at him, your mind racing at how hard he had just hit the metaphorical nail on the head. The air felt thicker around you, a true sense of nervousness sitting in. Since he was here now, you might as well bite the bullet and hope for the best. 

"Hey, uh, Josuke, there's something I need to tell you, and-"

"I like you." His words pierced the air before you could even think about confessing.

Wait. W a i t.

W H A T!?

You could only watch as his larger hand engulfed yours on the table, his gaze down at the table in front of you. You could see him bite his lip in thought, as if collecting the words he wanted to say in his head; it's something you had noticed about him when he was thinking about things. This was like something you could only dream of, but it was actually happening. The taste of the tea on your tongue was sweet, the light of the sun was warm against the chilly air, and the feeling of your hand in his was oh-so real and soft. You could only see his mouth considering how proudly his hair stuck out from his head as it was ducked down. As much as you wanted to see his face, his words were the most important thing in this moment.

"______, I-" he paused, not quite sure of the exact words to say. "I know we've known each other for a while now and- Shit, that's not it..." He let out a harsh sigh from his lips, as if releasing a held breath, before looking up towards you, eyes intense and focused as his cheeks bloomed into a light shade of pink. "I like ya. A lot. I have for a long time and I've honestly been too afraid t'say anything 'cause you're such a great friend and I don't wanna be that poor sap that got a crush on their friend just t'get their heart broken and have their friendship be all weird after. When I heard that letter last night, the way that person wrote it reminded me of you and...and..." Josuke's focused gaze softened, glancing down at your conjoined hands for a moment before looking back up at you, those pretty blue eyes staring through your soul as much as ever. "...and I was hopin' that it was you, since you like stars n' all that stuff...and you were talkin' about me..."

You had never seen this boy so nervous before. Well, the only time that could come close is when that fountain turtle crawled up on his leg without him knowing until he looked down and he didn't want to jump up and accidentally hurt the little thing. But other than that, this was the most unsure yet most sincere you had seen him, and that was saying a lot considering he was the most sincere person you knew.

"Josuke, I-" you could feel your heart in your throat. His face looked like how you felt, scared, eyes telling you he was so sure you would tell him you didn't feel the same. "It...was me," you finally managed to get out, the lights in his eyes coming back as your other hand came up to cover his. "You're the best friend I could ask for and I love every moment I get to spend with you; even if I had an awful day, you always managed to make it feel better. I've felt like this for a long time, but I didn't say anything 'cause you're always surrounded by others who love you and you're so popular. I was so sure you deserved better than me-"

"Are you kidding, babe?!" He exclaimed, clearly shocked at your words, and possibly how easily that term of endearment slipped past his lips. "You're the best damn thing to happen to me! I don't want better 'cause I got the best. I've got you."

Oh geez, you knew Josuke was a love kind of guy but you didn't know just how much love this one man had in his body. If you weren't blushing before, you definitely were now, and it showed through how pleased he looked at your reaction. 

"So, you think you wanna give this a chance? U-Unless ya need some time to think or somethin', I'm sure this is a lot for ya to take in!" The most popular guy in all of Morioh was a blushing mess in front of you, and all because of you. Admittedly, it made you feel a little proud.

"I wouldn't have sent that letter in if I wasn't sure and ready, you dummy," you replied, a relieved smile coming to your face. "I've wanted this for years." You could see him release any tension he had building up immediately, a happy expression now on his face. 

"God, you don't know how happy y'just made me. I promise I won't make ya regret it!" You swore his eyes were literally sparkling. It's so adorable you think you might die.

The rest of your time at the cafe was mostly talking and having some sweets while you were there, which Josuke insisted you guys share and that he feed you a bite or two. Needless to say he got a head start on that promise of his in the best way possible.

"...and that's all for updates in Morioh. Before we end this edition of Kai's Corner and wrap up our weeks of love specials leadng up to Valentine's Day, we have an e-mail here that I'm sure some of you will be glad to hear. 'Harada-san, this is Stargazer from the other week. I should thank you and Aya-san from the salon as I have some good news. The last letter of that same night was indeed the young man I had my eyes on and, in a twist of fate, he had the same problem as I had. Neither of us wanted to mess up the friendship we had, but as it turns out, that friendship was the very thing that helped bring us together. I can happily say now that we're currently dating and, although it's only been a little bit, we're very happy.' Ah, what a nice conclusion to that story. We here at Morioh-Cho Radio congratulate you both on your newfound relationship, and may you stay together for years to come. This has been your neighbor, Kai Harada; now back to our regular music broadcast..."

THERE IT IS. I hope you enjoyed reading and I hope it came out alright; I said it in an earlier post, but this idea actually came from a thought I had regarding if the OC I’m working on was in the part 4 universe and ended up crushing on pomp boi. Originally, Josuke was gonna be the one who sent in the letter and the request but I changed my mind in the middle of writing this;

I ended up making the Kai’s Corner thing for fun. I remembered this old radio show that would come on around 6pm or so around here where I live; this woman did requests and advice stuff related to love and couples=, like someone in a long distance relationship dedicating a song to the person they love or whatever. It seems like something that could happen on Morioh-Cho Radio so I threw it in.