randomgumwrapper · 2 years ago
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i love annotating books like i’m tagging a tumblr post. like having one tag/word/line for each theme makes it so easy to go back and gather quotes for essays because i already know which quotes pertain to each idea. it’s like using color coded highlighters but at the moment i don’t have the wonderful for that. obviously i add more annotations and notes than just the themes, but i just realized that i’ve written “you’re gonna carry that weight” like 5 times already in the first 40 pages of this book
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bumblesimagines · 2 years ago
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Imagine:
Being rivals with Betty
Tumblr media Tumblr media
Request: Yes or No
Been a while since I've done sum for Riverdale
Pronouns for (Y/N); He/Him/His
~~~
“Now, with most material in this course, there isn’t really a correct answer. Most work can be left up to interpretation. However, I’d like to hear your thoughts on the story of Orpheus and��Eurydice.” Mr. Whitley spoke, picking up one of the hardcover books and letting it fall onto the desk, near the sleeping teens head. Reggie woke up with a start, eyes wide and chin covered in slight drool. Beside him, Archie snickered and patted his shoulder.
Betty rolled her eyes at the football player and raised her hand, earning a smile and nod from the teacher. “Yes, Miss Cooper?”
“I think it’s a tragic story about love and loss. It shows how far some people are willing to go for love and how sometimes we just need to let go.” Betty spoke truthfully, leaning forward in her seat and resting her arms on the cold desk. 
Mr. Whitley raised his hand and gave another nod to the student behind her. Betty shifted in her seat and turned her head, feeling a prickle of annoyance spread through her veins as she took him in. (Y/N) (L/N), the guy who made it his life's mission to piss her off.
“Go ahead, Mr. (L/N).” Mr. Whitley sounded exasperated, stepping toward his desk and sitting down. With it being the middle of the school year, he had learned quickly that it was useless to get in the middle of an argument between the two. 
“The story is about love, sure.” (Y/N) begun, that smug condescending smirk resting on his features. It made Betty tighten her grip on her pencil and clench her jaw. 
“But, loss? Maybe the story of how he dies but this tale is just about love and stupidity. He was given an order and instead of following it, he turned and looked at her. Hades specifically told him not to look back at her until he was in safety and he disregarded him.”
“So, if anything, the story is about love and rule-following? And what do you know about following the rules?” While Betty couldn’t necessarily tell him he was wrong, it still felt incredibly ironic he was talking about following the rules.
“And in your boring seventeen years of life, Elizabeth, what do you know about love? Other than getting rejected, of course.”
“You-”
“But, as I was saying, can the story even be interpreted as love? Sure, he can claim he was doing it for love but not once did he think about Eurydice.”
“She was all he thought about!” Betty spat back, turning completely in her seat to face him. Resting his head on his fist, he quirked his brow, urging her to continue. Betty inhaled, setting her pencil down and gripping the chair. “Why else would he risk his own life to save her?”
“Why would he risk his own life to ‘save’ her? She died. There was no saving. If he had truly wanted to be reunited with her, why didn’t he just off himself to be with her for eternity? Honestly, he took the selfish route-”
“Selfish? What about entering literal hell to find the one you love is selfish? It shows devotion and admiration.” 
“It shows carelessness and impulsion, Elizabeth. The tale of how he dies is about love and loss.” 
Standing abruptly and clasping his hands together, Mr. Whitley cleared his throat. “Great discussion, you guys. I’m sure we could talk about this all day but we’re gonna be swiftly moving on to next weeks assignment. That’s right, we have an essay.”
Listening to the chorus of groans and protests, Betty tore her fiery gaze away from (Y/N) and faced forward again, arms crossing as she looked forward. Ignoring the amused look Veronica sent her, Betty collected her things once the bell rang.
"Nice chatting with you, Elizabeth." Betty bit her tongue when his hand reached up and patted the top of her head, glaring at his back until he left the classroom.
"So cute." Veronica giggled. "You two are totally gonna fall in love."
"God, I would never!"
Gifs aren't mine.
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study-coffee-chicago · 3 years ago
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Seasons of Med: Season 4 and Seasons of PD: Season 6: Of Loss and Letters (A Halstead Brothers + Halstead Sister! Imagine)
As always, I do not own any quotes from Chicago Med 4x02.
Y/N's age: 17
Jay's age: 31
Will's age: 33
You sat in your English 11 class and wrote and wrote an essay for your test. Your hand was starting to cramp. Out of the corner of your eye, you saw someone's phone light up from the phone caddy.
Yes, that's right. Your high school now had a phone caddy where students had to put their phones every class. Each student was assigned a number and then that's where they put their phone during that hour. Some teachers didn't care and let you keep it on you, but some did.
Your phone lit up again. You so desperately wanted to look at your watch that was connected to your phone, but you knew that doing so would look like you were cheating, so you decided against it. And, you turned your attention back to your test.
It lit up again and this time your teacher had had enough and stood up to grab your phone.
"Sorry to interrupt your tests," she started, "but how many times do I have to tell you guys to put your phones away with the screen facing the whiteboard. That way it's not dis--" She sucked in a breath as a text came across your screen. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw one word: hospital. And, this caused her to read the text. "Y/N, please come with me."
You stood up, utterly confused, and then left the room.
"Firstly, let me say I didn't try to read your texts. I just saw it out of the corner of my eye and...it's important."
You believed this teacher. She was young, pretty fresh out of college, and one time when you came in for a review session, she made all of you guys brownies to snack on while you worked.
She handed you your phone. It was a text from Jay.
Dad's in the hospital.
Your breath caught in your throat. Was it something with his heart? Had he started drinking again?
"Can I--"
"You can go, Y/N. I'll call the office and have someone bring your books down there after class so you can pick them up there when you come to school later. Drive safe."
"Thank you."
You practically sprinted down the hallway and to your locker as another text came in from Jay.
If you don't answer in the next ten minutes, I'm calling school to get you out.
You finished shoving stuff into your backpack and then started on your way to the office. You went to sign out when one of the secretaries stopped you.
"I've got it, hun. You just take care of yourself." Your teacher must've called down.
"Thank you," you choked out and then left the building, dialing Jay's number as you walked.
"Jay!" you exclaimed when he picked up on the first ring. "What happened to Dad? I was taking a test and then my phone started blowing up. Is he okay?"
"Y/N, there was a fire at his apartment. He's in the ED at Med. Will will fill you in more when you get here." You could tell by the tone of his voice that it wasn't good.
"Jay, you can't just tell me that! There's gotta be more!"
"Y/N, you're about to drive. You'll be at Med in twenty minutes. I don't need you to get in a car accident. Do you want me to stay on the phone with you?"
"Please." You got in your car and then turned your phone on speaker and started your car. "Can you tell me stories on my way there?" you asked Jay. "I need something else to focus on."
"Focus on the road."
"I mean listen to. I need something else to listen to."
"What kind of stories?" he asked.
"Can you tell me how Mom and Dad met?"
"You know how they met: it was at a White Sox game. Dad saw Mom stand up to buy some popcorn and said he fell in love with her at first sight. He must not have been a pain in the ass then. And, his favorite pastime probably wasn't yelling at people like it is now. Probably smiled more, too."
"Technically, he doesn't yell at me," you said. "Except when he was drunk before you started taking care of me and he finished the twelve steps."
"Oh, right. I forgot. I'm his favorite person to yell at," Jay said sarcastically. "He wasn't always an ass, though. He was actually excited to have a daughter at first. And then, his asshole buddies in construction changed his mind and made him think that women weren't his equals."
"Dicks," you muttered. "What did you and Will do when you found out that Mom was going to have me? Were you mad you weren't going to be the youngest anymore?"
"Nah, I was happy I'd have someone to pick on like Will picked on me."
"Hey!"
"Obviously I didn't follow through with that line of reasoning," he laughed. "Mom was telling us how we'd have to play tea parties with you and all that girly stuff. Me and Will obviously weren't too thrilled about that."
"Well, you're lucky I'm not a girly-girl then and didn't really play tea parties."
"That's because I taught you how to kick a soccer ball the minute you could walk. Shocked you didn't play that in middle school and now in high school," he added.
"I'm not competitive enough for that."
"Oh, believe me, we know. That's why you didn't play goalie: because one game you were goalie, you just sat down in the goal and started playing with the grass."
"Goalie was boring. And, you don't get a break; you don't get to sub-in. My favorite part of kiddie soccer was the snacks and juice boxes at the end."
"Don't forget those few times you scored goals during the games," Jay pointed out.
"Yeah, I guess that part was kinda fun."
"See? You had fun."
"Not really. But, I'm pulling into Med now. I'll gonna park and then I'll be in the ED."
"Okay, make sure you remember where you parked."
"Don't worry, I will."
You parked and then made your way into the ED waiting room.
"Miss, I'm going to need you to take a seat and wait to be seen," a nurse you didn't recognize said.
"Oh, no," you started. "I'm not hurt. It's my dad. He was in the fire and my brother called." You looked down at your feet, finally realizing the gravity of the situation. "My brother called and said he's in the ED. Um, one of my brothers is Dr. Will Halstead."
"Oh, I'm sorry, honey. Go right on in." She gave you a sympathetic look.
"Thank you."
You hustled into the ED and looked for Maggie or one of your brothers. You spotted Maggie first.
"Maggie where's--"
"Your dad's in Treatment One." She pointed you in the direction of the room and you made your way over there.
You entered the room at the same time as Dr. Rhodes. "You guys wanna fill her in?"
"What's going on?" you asked, worry evident in your voice.
Your dad started coughing and spit some bile into a bin, causing you to wrinkle your nose in disgust.
"Dad tried to play hero," Jay started to explain, "He forgot he was in his 60s with a bum ticker."
"Yeah, well, this is your fault to begin with," Pat Halstead said.
"Me?" Jay asked.
"Yeah, you stuck me in that fire trap."
"Please, can you two just not fight for once?" you complained.
"Pop, stop talking," Will urged.
Dr. Rhodes started doing an EKG and then ordered some tests, finally shutting your dad up...and saving you from another argument between Jay and your dad. Then, after he was done, he got called out to consult for Dr. Choi.
"I don't need all this," your dad complained once Dr. Rhodes had left the room.
"Calm down," Jay told him rudely. "You're getting yourself all worked up."
"What do you know? You're no doctor."
"Dad," you said.
"You had no right to sell my house!"
"You wanna talk about this again?" Jay practically yelled. "It was a wreck. You couldn't take care of the place."
"You just wanted my money!"
"Hey!" Will yelled, but it didn't stop the two...nothing ever did.
"You don't have any money you thankless old prick!" Jay yelled and then started to walk out.
"Jay!" Will yelled as you started to follow him out, hoping to calm him down. "Y/N, stay here," Will told you.
"Why?"
"I know you're gonna try to calm him down, but he needs to cool off by himself right now."
You huffed. "Fine." You turned back to your dad. "I don't think he really meant it. He was mad. Both of you say things you don't mean when you're angry. You two are a lot alike that way. Like when you said he wasn't a son of yours."
"Yeah, you should apologize for that one," Will agreed.
"Not until he apologizes for what he just said to me. Only then will I--"
Alarms started sounding and lights starting flashing. Will hit a button on the wall and two nurses rushed in.
"Will, what's happening?" you screamed. "What's happening to Dad?"
Will lowered the bed and then put his fingers to your dad's neck. "No pulse. Bag him."
"Wait, he's your dad," a nurse, who you recognized as Monique, said. "Shouldn't another doctor run the code?"
"You got one handy?" Will asked as he started chest compressions.
"Will, what's happening?" Jay asked as he re-entered the room.
"Jay, I need you to take Y/N out of here. Now."
"No, I wanna stay. What's going on?"
"Jay, now," Will stated again.
Jay placed on hand on your back. "Y/N, c'mon."
The alarms were still sounding, the lights still flashing.
"No!" you yelled.
"Y/N, I need room in here," Will told you. "The best thing you can do for Dad is to leave this room."
"No! I wanna stay!" you yelled again.
Jay looked at Will and he nodded. Then, you felt yourself being lifted off the ground by Jay.
"Put me down! Put me down!" You started kicking and swinging your arms, but he didn't budge. "Let me go back in there!"
Once safely out of the room--and having drawn the attention of most people in the ED--did Jay finally put you down. You tried to run back towards the treatment room, but Jay scooped you back up.
"Nope. We're going outside," Jay told you.
"Fine. But, once we're out there, I'm not walking with you."
You crossed your arms in frustration. After that little stunt he pulled back there, there was nothing he could say that made you want to be around him.
"That's fine. Just keep your phone on you."
***
As you kept walking down the sidewalk to the right--Jay had went left as soon as you walked outside because you didn't want to be around him--you spotted none other than Kelly Severide sitting on a bench, looking like he was currently throwing himself a pity party.
"Hey," you said as you walked up to him.
"Y/N? what are you doing out here?" he asked as he looked up.
"I could ask you the same thing."
"Well, have a seat. You look like you've been crying."
"So do you," you pointed out.
"Stella's in the ED," he admitted. "She had a nasty inhalation injury. They uh, they might not be able to save her lung...which means she wouldn't be able to be a firefighter anymore." He looked back down.
"I'm sorry, Kelly. But, Stella's a fighter."
"Yeah, I know. She left home when she was eighteen and she didn't have the best home life before that either."
"She told me."
"She told you?" he asked, looking back up at you.
"Yeah, when she helped me get ready for homecoming, she told me that she gets it. She gets what it's like not having a mom to help you get ready for dances."
"Dude, we have a problem," Will said through the phone to Jay.
"Which is...?" Jay asked.
"Nat got called in. We don't have anyone to help Y/N get ready for the dance."
"Shit," Jay cursed. "Yeah, that really is a problem. Let me make some calls."
Jay hung up the phone with Will and then scrolled through his contacts. He thought about asking Hailey, but he wasn't super close with her yet, so she was off the table.
Then it hit him: Stella.
But he didn't have her number.
But he had Kelly's.
"Please don't be on shift, please don't be on shift," he muttered as the line started ringing.
"Hey, Halstead," Kelly answered.
"Hey, man. Listen, I've got a huge favor to ask you. Well, actually, it's more you asking Stella for the favor."
"What do you want me to ask her? She's right here."
"Well, it's Y/N's homecoming dance tonight and Nat was gonna come over and help her get ready and she got called into work. I was wondering if maybe Stella could come over and help Y/N out."
"Okay, I'll ask her."
He heard mumbling which he guessed was Kelly talking to Stella. "I'm gonna put her on," Kelly said after a minute.
"Okay."
"Hey, Jay," Stella said into Kelly's phone.
"Hey, Stella. Kelly explain everything to you?" Jay asked.
"He did. I'll be over there in an hour. Unless you need me sooner, then I can make it half an hour."
"An hour works great. Thank you so much. You're a lifesaver, really."
***
Jay had left to run to the store and had told you that Stella would be there in an hour. So, when someone knocked on your apartment door twenty minutes later, you were utterly confused.
You got up from the couch and looked through the peephole in your apartment door, seeing none other than frick and frack...otherwise known as Adam and Kevin.
"What are you two doing here?" you asked as you opened the door. "If you're looking for Jay, he went out to run some errands."
"No, we're actually here to see you," Kevin said.
"Me?"
"Yeah," Adam confirmed. "Aren't you supposed to be in a dress or something?"
"I'll put it on after Stella dose my hair," you told them. "Sorry, c'mon in."
The two entered the apartment, but you were still confused as to why they were here, and why they were here for you and not your brother.
"I guess we can teach her like this," Adam said.
"Might be better, too," Kevin started. "That way she won't rip her dress when we're first teaching her."
"Uh, excuse me. Right here, guys. What are you planning on teaching me?" you asked, annoyed that they were talking about you like you weren't even there.
"We are here, little Y/N, to teach you how to fight," Adam answered.
"First of all, don't ever call me little Y/N again. Second of all, no you're not. What's the real reason you're here?"
"That's it," Adam laughed.
You raised an eyebrow, so Kevin decided that he needed to clarify. "It's just for self-defense. Just in case a horny teenage boy comes up to you and starts grinding on you at the dance, so you'll know what to do."
You were still skeptical about this, but they did have a good point. You had to give them that.
"Okay, so what do I do? And, did Jay put you two up to this?" you asked.
"He didn't," Adam answered. "We came of our own free will. First thing you need to know about throwing a punch is doing it with a closed fist." You closed your fist. "Perfect. Now, when you throw the punch, make sure your arm is locked out."
You did as he said and your punch was a little flimsy, but you worked on it.
***
"Is this the right color you think? I tried my best," Jay said as he met Stella in the elevator on their way up to his apartment. He pulled out a sparkly black bottle of nail polish. Stella had asked if your nails were done, and when he said no, she asked if he could pick up some nail polish while she packed up all her hair stuff and makeup to help you get ready. He had reluctantly agreed. By looking at the picture of your dress he had on his phone--it was a two-piece dress where the skirt portion was long enough that it covered your belly. The skirt was white with a floral design and the top was black with sequins--and used that to figure out what color nail polish to pick. Stella told him to keep it simple, so he just picked up a black bottle with some sparkles.
"Perfect!" Stella exclaimed as she looked at the color.
They got off the elevator and then walked to your and Jay's apartment. When Jay opened the door, he was met with one of the weirdest sights he had seen in his life: Adam was rolling around on the floor in what looked to be pain and you were jumping up and down and celebrating and then giving Kevin a high five.
"What happened here?" Jay asked.
"Oh, hey bro," Kevin said.
"Hey, Jay," Adam gritted out from his spot on the floor.
"We were teaching Y/N self-defense in case someone grinds on her at the dance," Kevin supplied. "And, we got to the kneeing part."
"So, she kneed him where the sun don't shine?" Jay laughed.
"Yeah," Kevin confirmed.
"Good job, Y/N. Adam, I'll get you ice and a beer. Kev, you want one?" Kevin nodded and Jay handed the small bag containing the nail polish to Stella.
"So, here's the deal," Stella started. "Natalie got called into work, so you're stuck with me helping you get ready. I've got some nail polish that your brother so generously went out and picked up for you, a straightener, a curling iron, tons of bobby pins and little hair ties, and tons of makeup. Just tell me what you want and we'll get the ball rolling."
You helped Adam up off the ground and then started towards your room, Stella following close behind.
***
"You know, I never had a mom to help me with this kind of stuff either," Stella confessed as she was twisting your hair.
"You didn't?" you asked. "Who helped you?"
"My mom was in and out of my life in high school, so usually one of the nice neighbor ladies helped me with my hair. The makeup was all me."
"So, you know how it is. I feel like it's harder for me than for Will and Jay because they both had Mom for over twenty years. I only had her for nine."
"Well, if you ever wanna talk about girl stuff, I'm your girl. Now, anyone special you wanna dance with? Or are meeting him at the dance?" Stella asked.
"Well, there is someone." You blushed.
"Girl," she dropped your hair. "You can't just leave me hanging like that. Who is it?"
"His name's Caleb. He's really good friends with my friend, Andrea." Stella knew who this was. She knew that you had saved her life during the shooting half a year ago. "He's really cute. Tall, Brown hair. Blue eyes. One of the star players on the football team," you told her wistfully.
"Ooh, you got it bad," Stella laughed.
"I got what bad?"
"Your crush on this Caleb kid. You are crushing on him so hard, Y/N. Can't say I blame you. The popular kid is always the way to go...as long as he's not a douche."
"He's actually not. He's actually really nice."
"Well, does Caleb have a date to the dance?" Stella asked.
You sighed. "He does. Her name's Sasha and she's a total bitch. Excuse my French."
"Well, I'm gonna let you in on a little secret: sooner or later, the dude sees his girl's true colors."
"I, uh, I thought about asking him to dance. I remember Jay saying when I was like four and he was going to his senior prom, that if he wasn't dating Allie and a girl asked him to dance, that he'd dance with her because it takes guts to ask someone to dance. But, since Caleb's got a date, that probably won't happen."
"Hey, if he's dancing solo and a slow song comes on, you gotta ask him to dance. Shoot your shot, girl."
"You're right. I'm gonna ask him to dance. I will ask Caleb to dance."
"That's the spirit! Now, we gotta get you looking extra hot so he falls in love with you when he's staring into your eyes while you two are slow dancing the night away."
You laughed and Stella returned to your hair.
***
Later that night, a slow song came on and Sasha was nowhere to be seen with Caleb. But, he was on the dance floor, near the back wall, all by himself. So, you asked him to dance. He said yes, and after, he even gave you a hug. Best dance of your high school career so far.
After you texted Andrea to tell her that you danced with Caleb because you had no idea where she was, the next person you texted was Stella. You knew she'd be hella excited for you.
You crushed on Caleb for a few months after that. But, then he got a new girlfriend and ended up cheating on her with not one, but two different girls. Needless to say, your crush on him died the second you found out this information.
"She loves you, you know," you said to Kelly.
"She told you this?" he asked.
"She didn't have to. Every time Stella sees you, or even when she talks to you, her face lights up."
"She's good for me. That's for sure."
You paused. You knew Kelly didn't have the best relationship with his dad and neither did Jay, Will, or even you. You also knew his dad had died a few months ago, around October and it was currently February. "Did you ever get mad at yourself?" you asked.
"About what?"
"When your dad died. You knew he wasn't the best person, but you were still sad."
"I'm sorry, Y/N. I don't understand where you're going with this," Kelly apologized.
"I know my dad wasn't the best person, hell he was neglectful and unfit to be a parent, still is. So, why do me and my brothers still see him? Why do I still feel sad and scared that he might die?" you asked. You knew this was something you should be asking your school counselor--you had started seeing her a lot this past year because of the shooting--but Kelly was here now. And, maybe he'd understand because he didn't have a very good dad either.
"It's because you remember how he used to be," Kelly said. "You, Jay, and Will all remember when he was a better person. When Benny died, I didn't feel like I was grieving current Benny. I was more grieving for the Benny I knew when I was five years old when he was a good dad. And, I never gave up hope that he'd become a better father as I grew up. When he died, I knew it would never happen. You're grieving the dad you used to know and the hope you might lose of him becoming a better man."
You nodded because you really had no idea what to say. You thought Kelly was right; maybe that was the reason why you were sad and fearful about the possibility of your dad dying. You two sat in silence after that, finding comfort in each other's presence, each hoping for the best, but trying to prepare yourself for the worst.
***
You walked into the ED, to be met with Jay storming out and Will quickly following after him. You ran after them.
When they finally stopped, you made your presence known. "Okay, someone wanna tell me what the hell's going on?"
"Dad's brain dead and Will, Will doesn't want a second opinion and just wants to let Dad die," Jay spat.
"A- Are you sure he's brain dead? Maybe you read it wrong?" you asked. There had to have been some kind of mistake. Your dad couldn't be brain dead; he couldn't be a vegetable.
"Y/N, I know this is a lot of information to take in, but the EEG, the thing that reads brain waves, showed that Dad's brain dead. Dr. Abrams read it and he's our top neurosurgeon."
"I still want a second opinion," Jay restated.
"Abrams is our top neurosurgeon, Jay. The opinion doesn't get any better than that," Will told him.
Jay scoffed. "So all your degrees, all that money, all those years in school, this is the best you can do?"
"Jay, Dad almost died two years ago. He's been living on borrowed time."
"Abrams didn't say Dad had no chance!" Jay protested.
"One thousand to one is no chance."
"So you just want to give up?" Jay clenched his fists at his side.
"I've seen a lot of patients in his condition--"
"There goes that doctor voice."
"I'm sorry, but I am a doctor," Will retorted.
Jay scoffed. "Yeah, we got that message. And Dad knew you thought you were better than us. We always came in second. Hell, Y/N came in second because you were away at med school! Who was looking after her when Mom was dying? Me and Dad. Who took her in because Dad's a shitty parent? Me. You weren't there, and now you wanna decide what happens to Dad?" He stepped closer to Will.
Will took a step closer to Jay as well. "You know that's not true, Jay."
"Yes, it is!"
Will opened his mouth and started to say something, but you weren't listening, you were too busy stepping between your brothers because you sensed a fight about to break out.
"Enough!" you yelled. Both Will and Jay looked down at you, shocked at your outburst. "Dad's fucking dying in there and you're fighting about old shit! Don't you see that it doesn't matter? Do you really want to spend your last moments with Dad fighting? Because I sure as hell don't."
Then, you moved away from them and made your way to the bathroom before you started bawling. You really didn't want to do that in front of the other people milling around the hospital.
Jay sighed and put his hands behind his head as he watched you walk off towards the bathroom.
"I never thought I'd say this," Will started, "but she's right. We can't be fighting right now."
"Yeah, I guess we shouldn't be doing that," Jay said. "I'm sorry."
"It's okay. I know you didn't mean it."
"Guess me and Dad really are alike. Stubborn and quick to yell things we don't mean."
"I'm pretty sure all of us got the stubborn gene, even Y/N."
Then, The COO of the hospital, who Will introduced as Ms. Garrett walked up to them and told them that they had the full support and all the resources that the hospital had available to help their dad. This didn't seem like her at all, so Will excused himself to go talk to Ms. Goodwin. And, Jay figured this was as good a time as any to see how you were doing, as he hadn't seen you leave the bathroom yet.
***
Jay popped his head into the bathroom and since he only saw one stall in use and saw your shoes in that one, he entered the bathroom and locked the door.
He heard a sniffle. "Short Stack? You okay?" He paused, mentally kicking himself. "Stupid question, of course, you're not okay. I know you're in here," Jay said gently.
"Go away," you said through your tears.
"Y/N, you know I can't do that."
"I just wanna be alone...and for you and Will to stop fighting."
"We made up. Me and Will are fine. Can you please come out?"
You swallowed and frantically wiped your tears away and the snot that ran from your nose. Then, you walked out of the stall and immediately over to Jay and hugged him. "I'm sorry," you mumbled into his brown jacket. "I'm sorry for yelling and swearing. I just wanted you guys- I just wanted you guys to stop."
"I know, I know. Neither of us is mad at you. You had every right to be pissed at us."
"It's just- It's just... nevermind. It's stupid."
"Y/N, it's not stupid. Just tell me. I promise I won't laugh."
"You promise?"
"I promise," he confirmed.
You sighed. "I didn't get as much time with Mom as you two did and now I'm not getting as much time with Dad. You guys had both of them--" You drew in a shaky breath. "You guys had both of them at your high school graduations. I won't have that. I won't have that, Jay."
And that's when you crumbled and you just sobbed into Jay's jacket. When you were nine, you never really comprehended the number of things your mom wouldn't be there for, like your first high school dance, your first date, your first kiss, your high school graduation, your college graduation(s), your wedding, your possibly having a kid and her possibly having grandkids. Granted, your dad wasn't the best dad or even the best man in general, but now you'd have neither parent at any of those things, at any of those milestones.
Jay just held you as you continued to sob about all the things your parents wouldn't be there for, holding you just as your mom would hold him whenever he cried when he was younger.
***
You and Jay sat next to each other by your dad's bedside, the sounds of the vent that was currently keeping him alive were the only sounds that could be heard. Will came in and motioned for Jay to meet him outside the room.
"Be right back." He placed a hand on your shoulder.
"Be right outside," Will promised.
Outside of the room, Will explained that the reason Gwen Garrett wanted to keep your dad alive was that his bypass was 29 days ago. And that she just wants to keep your dad alive for one more day just so the hospital didn't take a hit.
"You think Dad would want this?" Will asked. "To stay alive just to buff some numbers?"
"No, no he wouldn't. But, me and Y/N talked while you tried to figure out what that Garrett lady wanted. Uh, Y/N didn't get as much time as we did with Mom and now she's getting less time than we are with Dad."
"Because she's a lot younger than us. What are you trying to say, Jay?" Will asked.
"I think Y/N should decide. She should decide whether or not we keep Dad on the vent because she had the least amount of time with him. She should get to decide whether or not she gets more time with him."
"Jay, I'm not trying to argue with you, but do you really think that's a good idea? Her decision could cause her a lot of trauma down the road if she ends up thinking she made the wrong choice in the future," Will pointed out.
"We could tell her our opinions and what we want, but tell her that ultimately, she gets to make the final decision. That way, she doesn't feel like it's totally on her," Jay suggested.
"And if she doesn't want to make that big of a decision?"
"We decide between ourselves."
Will sighed. Jay did make a good point. "Fine. But if she feels like shit for months, I'm blaming you."
"Add you to the list of people blaming me for bad shit in their lives."
"Are you lumping me together with criminals you put away?"
"Basically."
Will and Jay re-entered the room. "Why does it feel like he's squeezing my hand?" you asked.
Will sighed. He didn't want to crush your hope of your dad coming back, even though he knew it wouldn't happen, but he also knew that he couldn't give you false hope; he knew he needed to explain this to you.
"Those are just reflexes," Will answered. "I'm sorry, Short Stack, but they don't mean anything."
"They don't? He doesn't know I'm here?" You sniffled.
"He doesn't know," Will confirmed.
You nodded and continued to hold your dad's hand.
"Y/N, we have something to tell you," Jay started. You tore your eyes away from your dad and up to your brothers. "Me and Will decided that you should decide whether we keep Dad on the vent because you got the least amount of time with him."
"You- you guys want me to decide whether Dad lives or dies?" you asked.
Will nodded. "If you don't want to, me and Jay can decide between ourselves, but you can still tell us what you'd prefer. If you want to decide, we can let you do that. Or, if you want our opinions before you decide, that's fine, too."
"What do you guys think? I don't want to decide all by myself," you practically whispered.
And so, they explained to you how Garrett just wanted to keep your dad alive for one more day just to buff some numbers and how they didn't think he'd want to be alive just to do that, just to save the hospital from liability.
You also knew that there were one thousand to one odds against your dad coming back and that those weren't odds at all. He'd need a miracle. And, if there was one thing you knew about your dad, it was that he didn't believe in miracles. He believed in hard work, not miracles.
It was for these reasons that you said what you said next: "Let him go."
***
"Just when I thought you couldn't get any dumber," Will started when you and Jay arrived at your dad's apartment a few days later to go through his stuff. Surprisingly, most of it had been spared during the fire. "You went after the person responsible for the fire, didn't tell anyone, and ended up getting shot."
"You got shot?" you yelled as you walked in.
"Nice going, man. She didn't know," Jay said, annoyed. He turned to you. "It hit the vest. I'm totally fine. I just have some bruising on my chest. Nothing to worry about."
"And you two tell me to be careful," you mumbled. "I should be telling you that."
"It's no use, Y/N," Will said. "I tell him all the time. He just never listens."
"You know you're not a cat, right Jay? You don't have nine lives."
Jay rolled his eyes. "Where are we starting?"
***
Jay looked down at the pictures he was going through. He always thought that his dad didn't make it to his police academy graduation. But, the photo in front of him proved him wrong: there, in his hand, was a picture that his dad took of him on stage, getting his badge pinned to his chest when he had graduated from the police academy with the date written on the back.
He put a hand over his mouth to stifle his sobs and keep you and Will from hearing them. But, he didn't know you were on your way to find him.
"Jay, Will's wondering if you want us to order pizza? You good with--" You stopped talking when you saw Jay sitting on the floor, staring at a photo with silent tears streaming down his face. "What's wrong?" You knelt down next to him.
Jay frantically wiped his tears away using the hand that wasn't holding the photo. "Sorry, yeah, tell Will he can order pizza."
"Jay," you said sternly. "What's wrong? And, don't you dare say nothing. Because you wouldn't let me say nothing, you'd bug me until I told you. So, if you don't tell me, I'm going to keep bugging you about it, just like you'd do to me."
Jay chuckled. "I really screwed myself over by using that parenting tactic, didn't I?"
"Yeah, you did. Now, what's wrong?"
Jay sighed. The Halstead stubbornness was starting to show more and more now that you had been living with him. And, because of this, Jay knew that you wouldn't let up.
"I always thought Dad never went to my graduation from the academy." He set the picture on the floor between you guys. "But he did."
You furrowed your eyebrows. "You didn't know that?"
"Why would I? Did you know?" he asked, turning to look at you.
"Yeah. He had to leave early because he had to make sure he was home when I got home from school. That's why he couldn't congratulate you after. He never told you?"
"No, he didn't."
"You know the first thing he said to me when I walked inside?" Jay shook his head. "He said: your brother's a Chicago police officer. I'm proud of him. And your mother would be, too."
"He- he said that?" Jay asked, getting choked up once more.
"He did. He might not have said it, but he was so proud of you, Jay. So proud."
***
Will opened a cabinet to grab some paper plates for you three to eat your pizza off of. As he was grabbing them, his hand brushed up against something leaning up against the back wall of the inside of the cabinet. It wasn't one something, but multiple somethings. He furrowed his eyebrows and took out the entire stack of paper plates, causing the multiple somethings to fall to where the paper plates had previously been. Then, he took the mystery things out of the cabinet.
He gasped when he read the first one.
In his hand, he held six letters, two addressed to each of you, one from your mom and one from your dad.
"Will, what's taking so long?" Jay asked as he flipped open the pizza box. "Food's getting cold."
"I think the pizza's gonna have to wait, guys." Instead of grabbing the plates and bringing them to the table, he brought the letters instead.
"Those don't look like plates to me," Jay pointed out.
"Because they're not." He set the pile of letters on the table. "They're letters. Addressed to each of us."
"But, that's Mom's handwriting," Jay said, flabbergasted.
"What do they say?" you asked.
"Only one way to find out," Will said and reached for the two addressed to him.
You and Jay did the same.
You swore you could hear a pin drop as each of you slowly ripped opened the yellowing envelopes. The seals were easy to open because, since they had been sealed for so long, some of the stickiness was gone.
Will first started with the one from his dad.
Dear William,
I know I said a real man goes right to work. And, I know I was mad at you for doing what you wanted to do and becoming a doctor. But, I guess I just have to think of med school as on the job training...that you pay a ton of money for. You will never hear me say this out loud to you because you know as well as I do that I am as stubborn as they come and I hate admitting I was wrong. But, you did good, kid. Both you and Jay did.
I'll keep this short because, if you're reading this, that means I'm gone and I'm assuming you, Jay, and Y/N are busy with the arrangements. But, just know that even though I don't say it a lot, I love you and I'm proud of you, son.
Love, your father,
Pat Halstead.
Will wiped below his eyes. His dad did say he was proud of him when he was out of surgery two years ago. And, Connor had told him everything his dad had said about him before he went under the anesthesia. But, it was nice to have that in writing because it would be there forever.
It was like all three of you had the same idea to open the letter from your dad first. Your logic was that you figured your mom's would make you cry more, so you figured you'd open that last.
Jay fought to keep his eyes dry as he read the letter from his dad. He regretted the last words he had said to him, now more than ever.
Dear Jayson,
I know you think I hated you for going into the military straight out of high school. But, I didn't. I was just scared, scared I was going to lose you. One thing you don't know is that I tell everyone I work with that you're a war veteran. I love bragging about you and telling people about your accomplishments. They always say I should be so proud of you. And, I'm sorry I never tell you that, but I am proud of you, really proud of you. You fought for our country and saved countless lives over there. Just keep saving the innocent, Jay. That's what you seem to do best...and fight against the people who tell you that you can't do it, just like how you fought against me when I told you not to join the military.
I'll keep this short because if you're reading this, that means I'm gone. But, always remember that I am so proud of you and that I love you so much.
Love, your father,
Pat Halstead.
His dad was proud of him. And now he had a reason as to why his dad didn't want him to join the military: he was scared. And, Jay told himself that if he had his own kids, he'd probably do the same thing because he had seen the horrors of battle and he wouldn't want any of his kids to go through that.
Finally, you read yours. And, as you read it, you were crying more than your brothers. You really didn't care, though.
To my daughter,
As I am writing this, you are nine years old and want to be a doctor. I don't know how that will pan out or if you'll change your mind on what you want to do. But, I am here to tell you, don't let anyone or anything stand in your way of what you want to be. Don't let Will stand in your way and don't stand in his shadow if you become a doctor. Strive to be better than him. Compete with each other if you end up going into the medical field; a little friendly competition never hurt anyone. Be smart and keep your brothers in line because Lord knows they're both as stubborn and as reckless as they come.
Love, your father,
Pat Halstead.
So, Jay was right: Dad wasn't always a sexist pig. And, Kelly was right as well: you missed your old Dad, the one who believed you could do anything, not the one who you knew when you were 13 to now, who was drunk, unfit to parent, and sexist as hell.
Then, Will opened the letter from his Mom.
To my first baby, Will,
First of all, let me say that I love you so much, more than you can ever imagine. I know you'll be a great doctor. Just, be smart, and try to be a little less stubborn because I'm assuming you're going to have to work with other doctors. Find it in you to compromise. I don't know what to say in this because me and your dad agreed that you and Jay and Y/N will get these letters when he's passed as well, so I don't know how far into the future you'll be seeing this. So, I figured I'd leave you with some life tips.
Mom's life tips to Will:
1. Never, ever lay your hands on or disrespect a woman. If you do, I will come down from heaven and smite you myself. This goes for Jay, too.
2. Make sure you help your girlfriend or wife with the household chores, like cleaning and cooking. You never leave all it to her. Again, same goes for Jay.
3. I'm sorry to say this, but never grow out a long beard. You have red hair and if you grow out a beard, you'll look like an overgrown leprechaun. Sorry, sweetheart.
Love,
Mom (Amelia Halstead).
PS. In this envelope you will find $500. This is to help you with med school loans, malpractice insurance, or if you're reading this way into the future, to help you with bills, and your own little family.
Will let out a small chuckle as he read the last life tip. And, thankfully, he had never decided to grow out his beard. And now he never would.
Jay looked down at his mom's loopy cursive handwriting and began to read.
To Jay, my second baby,
First of all, I love you more than you can ever imagine. And I am so, so proud of you for choosing to serve your country. I don't know whether you'll decide to stay in or leave the rangers, but I'm sure you'll be amazing at whatever it is you choose to pursue. And Jay, please keep in mind that you only have one life. Don't be crazy and reckless out there. I don't think you will be, but I'm just reminding you because I'm your mom and that's what moms do, they nag you and they worry about you no matter what. And, if you're reading this, that means your dad has passed away as well. Don't take this the wrong way, but please go see a therapist. You've fought in a war and seen terrible things overseas (I know because you once had a nightmare at home. I just didn't tell you that I knew this) and you've lost both of your parents. You should talk to a professional, sweetheart. But, always remember that I will be with you when your nightmares get rough. And, if Y/N wants to follow in your footsteps and go into the military, talk to her about it, but don't fight her on it like Dad did to you. Finally, I will leave you with some life tips.
Mom's life tips for Jay:
1. Never, ever lay your hands on or disrespect a woman. If you do, I will come down from heaven and smite you myself. I already wrote this in Will's letter as well.
2. Make sure you help your girlfriend or wife with the household chores, like cleaning and cooking. You never leave all it to her. Again, this is in Will's letter, too.
3.  I know you want to save everyone, Jay. And, you have a big heart, but you also take things personally. Just know that you can't save everyone and that is okay. Be kind to yourself and think of all the people you did save as opposed to those who you couldn't. It's okay to grieve for them, but don't let your grief last forever.
Love,
Mom (Amelia Halstead).
PS. Also in this envelope is $500. Use it towards therapy. But, if you already made the leap to go to therapy, one I am proud of you, and two, use it for something else. Donate it to veterans in need maybe. Or, use it to help pay off loans if you decided to go to college if you ended up leaving the military. Or, if you're reading this way in the future, use this money to help with bills and your own little family.
Maybe Jay would start therapy again now. He had gone a while ago, but after his meds stabilized his nightmares again, he stopped going. Maybe he'll go again because as he always said, his mom was a smart lady.
You were ugly crying as you opened the envelope and read the first few words that your mom had written.
To my baby girl,
Y/N, I love you so much and you will always be my baby girl no matter how old you get. I know I only got nine years with you, but know that I will always be with you in your heart no matter where you are. I was so excited when I found out I was having a girl and I'm so sorry we didn't get as much time on earth together as we should have. Continue doing what you love. Don't let your brothers take Beary from you. And, don't take no for answer when someone tells you that you can't do something just because you're a girl. Us girls are strong. As for the future, sweetheart, you have the kindest little personality right now. Never lose that. But, at the same time, don't let anyone take advantage of that. Stand up for yourself and stand up for others in need. I am going to leave you with more life tips than I left your brothers because they're older and should know a few more things than you at the moment...and they aren't girls.
Mom's life tips for Y/N:
1. And, don't laugh at this, but it works. When shaving down there, apply deodorant down there after. It helps to keep razor bumps and itchiness at a minimum.
2. Don't go for the first man that says I love you. You need to make mistakes before you fall truly and madly in love.
3. Girls can be cruel in middle school and high school. It's okay if you only have one or two true friends because having a few super close friends is better than having lots of distant ones.
4. Don't depend on any man for anything. Before moving in with your boyfriend and/or getting married, make sure you are financially stable all by yourself. That way, you will be able to leave him if things go south.
5. When you do get married, always keep money hidden away or have a secret bank account that your husband doesn't know about. That way, if things get really bad really fast, you can get out of there as fast as possible.
6. Finally, and I'm assuming Dad, Will, or Jay has already told you these things, but if they haven't, here they are. When drinking, watch the bartender make your drink. Don't take drinks from anyone. And don't leave your drink unattended.
I love you, sweetheart.
Love,
Mom (Amelia Halstead).
PS. Also in this envelope is a $20 gift card to Build-A-Bear. If you are too old to use it, save it for your kids. Or, if you have kids, give it to your kids. There is also $480. This can be used to pay for dresses for school dances, for college, and if you're reading this way in the future, to start a stash of money that your husband doesn't know about, or to help with bills and your own little family.
All three of you were in tears. But, you always knew that both of your parents would be with you and that they were so, so proud of each of you and that they loved each of you more than the world itself.
A/N: Thank you so much for reading! Leave a comment if I made you cry! I got a request of Kevin and Adam teaching Y/N how to punch, so I incorporated it into this imagine. To the anon who requested that, I hope you liked it! Anyway, please reblog/like and comment to tell me what you think! As always if you want to be added to my taglist, just tell me and I’ll add you! Finally, liked the imagine? Buy me a coffee here. 
taglist: @theambracer88 @virtualreader @kelelas-life @celyndavies @brookerz122493 @musicismyescape27 @anotherfan07 @thexplosivegirl @dreamingwithlens @xoxmariaxox @onechicago18 @iamasimpingh0e @i-like-sparkly-things @herecomesthewriterwitch @liampayne88​
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1rintooru · 4 years ago
Text
Little Agreements
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Pairing: teacher! Sugawara Koshi x gn! reader
Themes: fluff, enemies to lovers 
Word Count: 2k one-shot
Warnings: light swearing - that’s all!
Summary: You and Sugawara are rival teachers at a reputable elementary school. Even though you can hardly stand each other, your students have started shipping you together and it’s just awfully annoying! Little do they know, you’ve been keeping a secret from them the entire time.
a/n: teacher suga is good suga... this was so fun to write and purely self-indulgent - i can't get him outta my fat brain🥴 but enjoy anyways..!
You clicked your pen once. Twice. Three times. Perhaps to an outsider it would appear that you were annoyed – impatient even, but you knew it was nothing more than a habit, much like the restless tapping of your foot or improper care kept to personal belongings. You eyed the worn-down mathematics book that was currently being hastily shoved into a backpack, the spine barely keeping the pages glued together.
“Looks like you’re all set to go,” you proclaimed, putting down your pen and eyeing the student in front you. The boy beamed, yanking the zipper of his backpack shut and throwing it over his shoulder.
“Couldn’t have done it without ya, teach!”
You nodded and smiled appreciatively. You were flattered but you couldn’t take all the credit. The boy you were tutoring for a couple weeks now always claimed he didn’t care for school; you still remembered how he once told you that sports were ‘where it’s at’ – whatever that meant. However, the improved grades paired with the purple shadows under his eyes told you an entirely different story. He’d made his way to the door, his hand already grasping the handle before turning around, an impish grin plastered on his face.
“Even though you and Sugawara-sensei are cute together, we’re still gonna beat your butts!”
You bolted out of your seat and glowered at the young boy.
“Don’t you have other classes to tend to?”
He smirked at your chagrin.
“I’ll see ya around!” he shouted, sending you a quick a wave goodbye before finally leaving the room. You plopped back into your seat upon hearing the door close behind the student, rubbing your temple discontentedly.
Ah. Of course.
How could you forget the school speed quiz? It was an annual event that the school implemented three years ago as a means to motivate students and raise class scores. The idea was that a group of children would be chosen to represent their class and be quizzed on a variety of subjects – the questions becoming increasingly difficult as the game progressed. At the time you sneered at the idea and even complained to the school director that it would only waste funds and resources. Now you were glad that he didn’t listen to you, though he could have skipped laughing in your face. With that being said, the event was a double-edged sword. It made you incredibly happy and filled you with pride seeing students find the joy in learning again, but on the other hand it only exacerbated the teasing comments from the students. They adored seeing you two together and you never could quite wrap your head around it. After all, you and Sugawara were rivals.
Your eyes darted down to your wristwatch: fifteen minutes left until next period. Not a whole lot of time, but just enough to shotgun a coffee and have snack in the solace of the staffroom. You hurriedly tidied the mess on your desk, arranging everything to your liking for the next class before finally stepping out into the bustling commotion of the school hallway. Excited chitter-chatter and non-discreet gossip filled halls as you found yourself surrounded by young children. Each face was familiar and you could have assigned a name to every single one. Even the tall one with fluffy gray hair and gentle brown eyes with the recognizable birthmark.
Wait, no – that’s no child; that’s Sugawara.
He walked towards you with a pep in his step and a bright grin, parting the busy hallway like Moses as students stared at him slack-jawed and awestruck. He was the school celebrity, proven by the sheer number of students that called out to him as he passed – and he loved it. You tried to swerve around him, but it was surprisingly difficult to escape through a sea of grade schoolers.
Damn it, just when you were looking forward to that coffee!
“Here, like I promised.”
Sugawara’s voice rang clearly as he firmly pressed a stack of essays into your hands, the weight of the stack momentarily catching you off guard. Your eyes instinctively scanned the first page laying on top. As per usual, your students performed well in academic pursuits but that wasn’t what bothered you.
“Green glitter gel pen?” you teased, lifting an eyebrow questioningly.
His hazel eyes gleamed confidently. “Hey, we agreed that I would help grade assignments that you couldn’t catch up on – you never said I couldn’t use my colored pens!” He mirrored your teasing lilt before continuing. “Besides, from a psychological standpoint the color green is more uplifting and motivational than a harsh red.”
He wasn’t entirely wrong. You both had agreed that you would tutor his students in mathematics and sciences while he would help grade assignments to take some of the workload off your plate. But that didn’t make his claim any more convincing and it only made you roll your eyes disparagingly.
“That pseudo-science is why I’m the one tutoring your students.”
“Geez, point made Y/N!” he scratched his head embarrassedly, the other hand defensively creating a barrier between the two of you.
“Y/L/N,” you quickly corrected him.
Sugawara’s posture visibly deflated at the curtness of your words. As mature and gentle as he was, he had a tendency to have his heart on his sleeve. You felt a little guilty and even considered saying something to mince your words, but the opportunity was stolen from you as a group of young girls skipped past, snickering as they went.
“Oh my god, Y/L/N-sensei and Suga-senpai are flirting again!”
Your secure stance faltered as the unsuspecting comment hit you like a brick, nearly making you drop all your papers. Sugawara’s eyebrow quirked upwards, thoroughly amused by your loss of composure. You hoped that the heat you felt in your face couldn’t be seen from the outside as you gingerly smoothed out the folds of your sweater.
“Suga-senpai?”
Sugawara’s playful grin immediately dropped as he noticed the daggers you glared at him.
“Huh?! A-ah it’s not like I told them to call me that! It – it just kinda happened.”
Seeing him so flustered would normally have made you smile, but you weren’t going to give him any kind of reassurance. Besides, it would have only worked as ammunition for privy students stalking your conversation. So instead, you simply shook your head, an exasperated sigh just barely escaping from your pursed lips.
“Well, if you don’t mind, I have a coffee waiting for me – and you have recess duty, have you already forgotten? So, if you’ll excuse me.”
You gave him a patronizing poke on the shoulder as you moved past him, beelining towards the staffroom.
The two of you were so vastly different in your teaching methods. You took your work seriously and prided yourself in the academic success of your students – your class always scored extraordinarily well. You were stern but incredibly ambitious and dedicated to your craft. Sure, Sugawara was popular with the kids, but playing the role as best friend wasn’t going to help them pass their classes. You failed to understand why most of the schoolchildren were obsessed with you two being an intimate couple; even prior to the school speed quiz event the two of you were rivals. His laissez-faire teaching methods didn’t mesh well with your own – in fact, you resented them. That’s why it was akin to pouring salt into a fresh wound when each year your respective classes tied during the annual event.
You decided to ignore the thought. This year was going to be different.
****
Oh, how you loved being the one responsible for cleanup duty.
At least, that’s what you would say if it weren’t that you were the only one responsible for cleanup duty.
As you watched one of your students – a petite girl with long dark hair – collect a pile of dirt into a plastic dustpan, you began to wonder how Sugawara roped you into this. Again. You and him had a lot of agreements, for the sake of professionalism of course, but this was not one of them. The school day seemed to drudge on forever and you were not spared from any incessant comments, even in its final moments. Ironically, one of your pupils turned into somewhat of a teacher as they explained to you what ‘shipping’ and ‘OTP’ meant.
Why on earth would they consider you and Sugawara something like that?
You dismissed the remaining students after carefully examining the room. The floors were cleaned and the whiteboard was spotless, but the wastebasket hadn’t been emptied and the desk arrangement was crooked. It wasn’t exactly up to par with how you usually left the room, but you were no heathen and you noticed just how lethargic everyone was becoming.
You also needed to find a certain someone that deserved to be chewed out.
That certain someone was found in the school’s gymnasium, excitedly talking to the school volleyball team that was retiring for the night. The frustration you felt immediately melted once you saw how animated Sugawara became as you overheard his motivational tangent. His passion was infectious and easily fired up the young boys in yellow and blue jerseys listening to him.
Was this where Sugawara always disappeared off to?
It was a silly question, really. Seeing him zealously offer game strategies with the biggest grin on his face made the answer obvious. You cleared your throat, suddenly feeling awkward as all the children – and Sugawara – turned to face you. The boy you had tutored earlier today, now clad in a yellow jersey spoke first.
“Well teach, did ya know that Sugawara-sensei was a volleyball player in high school too? He was a setter, believe it or not!”
You could only stare dumbfounded as your eyes bounced back and forth between the braggadocious athlete and a proudly grinning Sugawara. The lack of response on your end began to unnerve the gray-haired man as the corners of his mouth began to twitch downwards and his eyes glossed over with doubt.
You shrugged, “I don’t really see it, honestly.”
The both of them gasped in unison. The young teen stared at you dumbstruck – his jaw would’ve hit the floor if it could, while Sugawara staggered backwards as if a spear had punctured him in the chest.
“She’s a tough cookie, Sugawara-sen–” the teen’s underhanded comment earned him a swift kick from his teacher.
“Well, I think it’s time to call it a night. How about we tidy up and retire for the evening?”
And just like that, Sugawara had roped you into another cleaning duty. Thankfully the volleyball team was still so fired up from his speech earlier that the tidying up went by remarkably fast. Eventually you and him stood alone in the building, after finally saying your goodbyes to the remaining kids.
He looked at you and cocked his head to the side, to which you nodded in response. Perhaps it was a simple unspoken agreement or maybe it was just a force of habit to head home together. Regardless, it was hard to imagine it any other way.
The cool autumn air greeted you the moment you stepped out of the gymnasium. Goosebumps pricked your skin as a crisp autumn breeze embraced you, sending a shiver down your spine. The sky had turned into a watercolor of fiery oranges and deep purples as evening drew closer. You glanced over to Sugawara, nestled in the layers of his scarf and his hands hidden in the pockets of his coat.
“Do you have regrets?”
Sugawara paused, brown and orange leaves twirled with the wind just short before his feet, but that wasn’t what stopped him. He was clearly perplexed by your question.
“Regrets?” He scrunched his nose as though the word itself repulsed him. He dug his hands deeper into the depths of his pockets and his features visibly softened as he pulled out a golden ring. It gleamed magnificently as the rays of the setting sun reflected off the band. Seeing him fit the ring snugly onto his finger prompted you to do the same, pulling out the velvet pouch that protected the ring within it. Sugawara smiled as he watched you slip the ring on, fondness etched into his features as he extended his hand towards you. You happily obliged and entangled your fingers in his.
“How could I ever have regrets with the life I have now?”
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unlikelymilkshakedream · 4 years ago
Text
A/n: Hello! Here is part 3 for the Charlie Weasley fic I promised. Sorry this took so long. I promised angst, so I'm giving it. Hope you enjoy!
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Another day, another exam, or so it seemed that way at Hogwarts. As May came to a close, and June starts, your O.W.L.s were giving you more stress than you had ever felt. Your future was on the line if you didn't do well with your exams.
Not only were your exams crushing you, your relationship had been rocky for a couple of months. After the valentines day dance with your date, Charlie Weasley, nothing could have made your life better. You were dating your best friend, all of your friends supported you, and you had no tests coming up. In other words, very different from your life currently.
You were still technically dating your best friend, but from long classes and homework that came with them, to Charlie's quiditch practices lasting forever in hopes of winning the house cup, you hadn't had time to spend a moment alone together in what felt like years.
Your friends would always be there for you and you knew that, you cared about them with your whole heart and knew they felt the same way, but they had their own exams and futures just as you did. You would never ask them for anything because you didn't want to be a burden.
And of course, your exams. Your dreams of becoming a curse breaker were very important to you. You wanted nothing more than to help people, on top of finding your brother and protecting hogwarts. You were a natural curse breaker so it only makes sense that you would pursue your passion. However, if you wanted to do that, you needed to not only pass your exams, but exceed the expectations.
With that responsibility came nights on end in the library, studying, preparing and hoping that it would all work out. Your exams, finding your brother, hell, even your relationship with Charlie. You knew how rocky it was and you were devastated by that, but you knew if you two truly wanted to, it would work out, or so you hoped.
So, another night in the library, was your fate. You wanted to be with Charlie, but you knew he had quiditch practice, and you had a potions exam in the morning that you weren't ready for. As you flipped through your book, trying to soak up as much information as you could, you didn't notice a certain redhead sneak behind you.
"Hey baby," you felt the hot breathe on your neck and jumped more than out of your skin.
"Blimey Charlie, you scared me." He chuckled as he pulled a chair beside you.
"Sorry, I just wanted to see you after practice, and I haven't seen you all weekend." He smiled at you, which you couldn't help but smile back.
"I know, its just tomorrow starts like the most stressful week of the year. If I don't do well on my exams, my future can be forgotten. Speaking of, I am not ready for potions tomorrow, hence why I'm here." You smiled as you looked back towards your book.
"Hey, you're gonna do great on your exam because you are great, and smart, and beautiful," Charlie said as you rolled your eyes and laughed. "Its just we haven't seen each other in a while, thought i could keep you company." You sighed.
"Look, I know we haven't been the most talkative lately, but what exactly do you want me to say, you know how important this is to me." He put his hand on yours.
"I know, I get it baby, I do, and after this week, we're gonna celebrate." He said with the biggest grin on his face. Suddenly, Madame Pince came around the corner with the dirtiest look on her face.
"Shh!" You smiled sheepishly.
"Sorry Madam-"
"Shh!!!" You sighed as she walked away. You turned back to charlie.
"You better go, I have to study and don't wanna get kicked out." You smiled at him.
"Okay, but I meant what I said about celebrating." He smiled hugley. You returned the smile, only a fraction of what he had given you. That made his smile falter and eventually he turned and walked back to his dorm.
Eventually you had to except the time as 11pm rolled around and Madam Pince kicked you out of the library. You took the book along with all your other stuff and headed towards your common room.
Once you were in, you sat down near the fireplace and opened your potions book once again, flipping to the section about dragon livers and how they were hard to get.
Eventually, you heard the clock strike 2am and had to call it a night. As you closed your booka nd sat back, looking into the fire, you thought of your life as a cursebreaker, how great it would be, how much you wanted to do it, and what you were willing to do to achieve that goal.
As you stood up and headed towards the stairwell, your way was blocked by charlie, the last person you expected to see, especially at this hour.
"Hey, what're you doing up?" Charlie asked groggy.
"I could ask you the same thing. I was just going to bed." You said as you pushed past him and climbed the stairs. He followed you up.
"I thought you'd be up, I was just checking on you." You turned around as you got to the last step before your dorm and smiled.
"Thats sweet, but go back to bed. Goodnight." You leaned down and kissed him on the cheek, then headed into your dorm, falling on your bed and instantly falling asleep.
The next morning, you woke at around 8. Shit. You were late. You quickly got up and dressed faster than ever and ran to the dungeons. You mad either to class just in time, not eating or anything.
"Well, well, Ms. Brooks, you have decided to grace us with your presence, how considerate." Snape sneered at you as you walked to your seat beside Rowan, breathing heavily, across the room, you saw Charlie looking worriedly at you, which was the last thing you wanted in that moment.
Once your potion exam was finished, you walked out of the room, feeling exhausted and like you failed. You started walking to your next exam, which was charms, the easiest of your exams. Soon enough a certain redhead caught up with you.
"Hey, y/n, why were you late today?" You turned to him.
"I over slept, which I dont do, so I didn't realize at which point I had to sprint to make it, which I didnt." You sighed tired lying. "Why?"
"Just wondering, I missed you at breakfast. Did you eat anything?" You smiled softly.
"No, I haven't but its fine, look i have to go to charms and I really don't wanna be late again, see you." Without another word from either of you, you walked away to charms.
At charms, you felt most confident of all classes, which honestly wasn't saying a lot. You finished your exam pretty easily and walked to the great hall, intending on studying until your Defense Against the Dark Arts exam in an hour. Once the clock struck the time to take your next exam, you left the great hall.
Once you reached DADA, you walked in with Tulip and took your seat. You should feel bad, but you just were so glad charlie wasn't there, staring at you like a sorry case. He meant well and you knew it but you just wanted space.
As you finished your final exam of the day, you headed to the library, studying for transfigurations next. When you reached the library, unfortunately you fell into the same pattern as the previous night, except this time no charlie.
When the clock struck midnight, you went to the dorm room and headed straight for bed, not bothering to study anymore. Once your head hit the pillow, you were out.
When you woke up the next morning, the sun was shining into your window nicely. It was a good way to wake up honestly. You say up and saw Rowan asleep. You figured you had a few minutes before breakfast so you got up and got dressed.
You and Rowan walked to breakfast while revising your transfiguration knowledge. You didn't feel as bad about it as potions but you also didn't feel as great about it as charms. Walking into the great hall, you found Charlie sitting with his younger brothers. You knew you had to go sit with him.
"Hey y/n, how'd you sleep?" Charlie asked as he saw you sit next to him and his brothers giggled at him, to which he sent a dirty look.
"Um, not the best but ye know. Its whatever." As you sat down you ate the blandest breakfast ever, granola and coffee, it would just have to do for today.
"Are you guys ready for the big game tomorrow night?" Fred asked the table. You looked at him with a confused expression whereas everyone else seemed to understand.
"What game fred?" He turned to you.
"Uh, the house cup game, we are so gonna kick hufflepuffs ass." Ah.
"Right, good luck." Charlie turned to you.
"You'll come right love? What me win?" You smiled as you sipped your coffee.
"Uh yeah, maybe, I might have to study for History of magic but we'll see." Charlie stopped.
"Y/n, you can't miss the game, its only the biggest game of the year. Please come." Ugh when he gave you those puppy dog eyes, you knew you were done for.
"Okay, yes I will go, of course I will." You smiled and kissed his cheek.
As breakfast finished and you and Rowan made your way to transfiguration, you felt confident in the upcoming essay. Going over info with Rowan definitely helped.
Once you were finished with the exam, you went to the great hall, being assigned twenty five inches of parchment for the second half of the exam was not ideal. You were stressed out, but at least you only had care of magical creatures left for the day, something you were sure you'd excel in thanks to charlie.
As you walked down the grounds for your exam, you felt very confident that you'd do well. Your confidence was correctly placed as you walked to the common room to start on you parchment for transfiguration, doing very well on your exam in care of magical creatures.
The real problems didn't start until the following day, charlies big game was today and you hadn't made a dent in your parchment, due to not being able to focus and eventually falling asleep far earlier than you would have liked. Today you had exams in astronomy, history of magic and a regular potions class. You were extremely busy today, it didn't help you woke up 20 minutes before your exam in astronomy so you had to sprint once again to be on time.
Once you were seated in astronomy, your exam begun and you didnt feel very confident. You gave it your all and after about 75 minutes, you were done. You walked out and saw your boyfriend charlie who lit up when he saw you. You walked over to him with a small smile on your face.
"Hey babe, whats up?" You asked him.
"Not much now that your hear, just nervous for later." You looked at his smiling face confused.
"Later?" His smile dropped. You had forgotten about the quitditch match.
"The match that determines who wins the house cup? I thought you were coming, its really important to me." Shit. Right, yeah of course you would go.
"Right, of course I will be there, sorry I'm just tired you know how it is. I will be there, but right now I have to go to potions, ill see you later." Damn, how had you forgotten?
Potions seemed to last forever as Snape lectured on Beatle brains, you swore you were going to die of boredom, all you wanted to do was study for history of magic.
When class was finally dismissed, you headed straight for the library, not having your final exam for an hour and a half. When you sat down in the library, you immediately fell into studying, the time slipping by quickly until it was time to go to your exam.
Arriving to your exam, you set your things down and got ready for it, feeling confident as you had spent a lot of time studying for this. You finished your exam in 65 minutes and headed to the great hall, feeling hungry.
When you got to the great hall and saw what was happening inside, all hunger left your body.
Shit.
Inside, Gryffindor students were celebrating the win of the house cup, you had forgotten the game. You walked in to the great hall and saw Charlie, held up by his teammates above everyone like a king. You smiled at how happy he looked, but when he saw you, its like every drop of happiness was taken from him and you felt your heart break.
Charlie told his team mates to let him down which they did as he made his way over to you, looking hurt and disappointed. You couldn't do much besides stand there and look at him sheepishly.
"Y/n, why didn't you come to the game, you knew how important it was to me and how much I could have used your support." He said loudly, causing those near you to look on at the conversation.
"Charlie, can we go in the hallway?" He looked pissed but didn't object. Once you were away from everyone, you turned to him.
"Charlie, I am so sorry I didn't go to your game, I was in the library studying and the time just got away from me and before I knew it I had to go to my exam and I completely forgot l. I'm so sorry. But you won anyway so you didn't need me at all, cause your just that good." You said with a smile, trying to defuse his anger. It didn't work.
"Y/n, that's not the point, you said you would be there and I wanted you there. You didn't need to study for your exam, you've been studying all week, this is all I asked of you and you couldn't even give me this." As he finished, you felt sorrow drain and anger rise.
"What exactly do you mean I didnt need to study for my exam? I have been studying all week, unlike you, because I care about getting good grades. You know how badly I need to do on my exams to have a future! I didnt go to your match, because I wanted to make sure I did well. I apologized but now your being irrational." He scoffed.
"Irrational? I asked one thing of you, I asked you to attend a quiditch match to support your boyfriend, but apparently if it doesn't benefit you, it doesn't matter, huh is that it?" You were now fully screaming at each other, thank god the hallway was deserted.
"Are you serious? You know maybe if you cared more about your future and grades like I do, you would see where I'm coming from, but all you care about is a God damn match and dragons! No wonder we've been like this for months. You say im selfish, I've done everything for you. I miss one thing and the worlds over to you." Charlie turned away and scoffed.
"You're right, we have been like this for a long time, because we just don't work anymore." You froze. "Y/n, you can't even support your own boyfriend, you care more about tests than anything, this clearly isn't working." You looked at him while a tear rolled down your cheek, which you quickly wiped away. You didn't want to break up with Charlie, God no. But he didn't seem to want to stay together.
"Charlie, it's not like that, you know how stressed I've been, I'm sorry I didn't come to your game, I truly meant to go. I care a lot about my future, but you don't and thats not on me. You can't put this on me, its not just the match, you've been like this ever since the dance, its not only me." More tears rolled down your cheeks as one slid out from his eye.
"Y/n, this just isn't working, I'm sorry." No, God no please.
"Charlie, no, please, don't do this. I swear I-" he cut you off.
"I'm sorry, its already done." He turned and walked away, leaving you standing alone in an empty corridor, feeling your heart leaving your soul. You don't know how it happened, you don't know where it went wrong. Was it truly the match? Or was it ever since the day of the dance? Did he even ever like you?
As you stood in that corridor, you felt cold, you felt like you soul left you. You watched him walk away and eventually out of eyesight, thinking about how you would never feel his kiss again, never feel the comfort of his embrace, never feel his love again.
You didn't want this, God no, but your gut told you it had to happen, you just wish it didn't hurt this much. As you wrapped your arms around yourself and sank to the floor with tears on your face, you felt nothing but hollow, wishing the presence of charlie was still there. Wishing he could hold you and tell you he loved you again, as you loved him still.
You didn't know how you were going to go on without him, but you knew one thing for sure, the last thing you cared about was your fucking grades, because you just lost the best thing in your life.
A/n: okay, sorry this took so long, I suck i know! Im sorry this was shitty, I will try to finish the series relatively soon, there will be 2 more parts. I hope you like it, thanks for reading!
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luminous-shifting-vibes · 4 years ago
Text
*sequel* to actual fucking quotes from the shiftblr coffeehouse discord server
once again, it's out of context because x1000 funnier
also x1000 longer than previous post
"ur satan is gnc af"
"Bestie I’m already having gender envy over a fucking demon please"
"O_O ODEPIJHFbavevisdpvfhzdcnjawedsidjksjdkoeirjfmkdsoeirujdksodifjndmksoidfjdksidfj ITS" NOT IN MY FRAFTS IS SPEDNT 1 hour PN THAT SHIT"
"AUGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH"
"ohoho sexy"
"I am very proud of myself"
"himbo x edgy fuck"
"YOU COULD SQUISH HES CHEECKS"
"he has teefs"
"SQUASH"
"good for biting 📷"
"he's a himbo basically"
"B͂̒̄iͫ̍̈tͧ̓ͯè̄̇"
"bifth"
"i havent watched blue exorcist in years but mr okumura my beloved </3"
"MY LIFE QUESTIONS HAVE BEEN ANSWERED"
"is it important information to mention that the person i put up for my turn is the son of satan" "I know like 1 thing about everyone who isnt ranboo lmfao"
"crimes"
"tumblr sexyman"
"idk why but my first thought was cowboy onceler"
"I vibe with him but he is very long and twisty"
"steampunk e-girl"
"steampunk tumblr sexyman"
"Canonically bi crimelord I agree!!"
"OOO FRIEND SHAPED"
"ARTIST SIGHTED"
"they look like someone i would want to be friends with but is way cooler than me so i'd never actually talk to them"
"babby..... would die for him"
"honestly i probably kin him"
"i'm sure he's lovely but he looks way too much like my ex i'm sorry-"
"i'd be down for another rotation! i have another twink to show y'all"
"Also :00 blonde friend"
"Let us all infodhmo"
"Hsjagdvbs shhh im on phone"
"Nix woukd you like to joon?
"skitters away"
"I have two braincells and they both drink dumb bitch juice"
"oof wait whats the order again i have 0 memory"
"i want to bond with him over cosplay-"
"Awkwardly watches in band kid"
"One day I'm gonna a broadway star"
"which isnt to say they were bad. they were just fortnite dancing during rehersals"
"I threw it so hard my glasses flew off and slid under the stage right divider"
"anyway heres my boi"
"emo"
"haha emo"
"virgil sanders kinnie"
"he looks like he listens to my chemical panic at the fallout boy"
"Bro I bet he'd kick my ass with his deck"
"bird man my beloved"
"fuck i had so much to say and then i forgot it all"
"Birds!!"
"guiguhuh"
"crabrave"
"She sounds like someone I would end up stealing her personality"
"yess name collector gang"
"alias glass aiden haven absinthe fish brick rice"
"But I have Cypress, Remure, Genesis, Lemres, and Comet"
"And she's named after a mars candy bar bc alien"
"Hey, if plato went by plato, you can be king thief"
"im not dissing my gramma like that shfojd"
"My dad has seven legal names" "bitches be like *looks at fictional character* *steals their name* it's us we're bithces"
"coraline lowkey traumatized me but i adore it regardless"
"mmmmmm magic man :]"
"°0° green man"
"criminal (affectionate)"
"he would shoplift a candy bar from walmart and then brag to all of his friends about the sick stealing he did"
"despite the fact he's canonically been capable of overpowering a minor deity"
"i would commit so many crimes for him"
"Very babey"
"Yes please tell green man he is very pog"
"he also keeps a lot of dumb secrets"
"but I will sorely miss the chaos and energy of this here chat until I wake again" (by request XD)
"i just say words and if they're funny then they're funny"
"* or extremly chaotic either works"
"at this point we are just taking turns rambling"
"oH--"
"bc my brain has a schedule"
"Hopefully they have gyoza there or I will lose my mind"
"hehe yes spooky man"
"my ghost glucose guardian"
"the head of the undead group that lives there, and we end up dating. (yes I date a ghost, no I will not be taking constructive criticism /lh)"
"ghosts r just inherently sexy"
"i mean im becoming a squid thing so"
"Raven quirk raven quirk!!"
"ł â m p"
"łæmp"
"mothman: ooh lamp you look very nice today! do you come here often? mothman: wait shit no"
"I'd date a ghost"
"mine is still accurate, i am still sobbing (/j)"
"p e e p e e"
""@nick wilde is a tumblr sexyman" is the best thing i have ever seen"
"im sorry im cackling like a dying hyena"
"you're all 12 year olds"
"PEENIE"
"He once caused global warming on accident so he could get a tan"
"god, what a himbo. i love him"
"that reminds me of my friends kin assigned me jesus"
"Man outside of battle be like: princely crying but then in battle hes like: "CATACLYSM! DISASTER! DEVASTATION!" Chill out man"
"Every time I talk about satan it never fails to shock people it's my favorite thing to do"
"im kin assigning him roman sanders" ""Oh yeah he caused global warming because he wanted to get girls" "he what""
"oh damn i forgot satan was straight"
"twink appreciation club"
"give us the twinks"
"my first thought was bottom-"
"so many people to try and get his dad to love him"
"daddy issued"
"OH MY GOD ITS WILBUR"
"Big boy but"
"anyways janus is swagggg"
"........................."
"gib twink"
"give twink then i will share"
"holds him gentle like hamburger"
"This dumb bitch opened a book that said "do not open" and got possessed by a little bastard"
"he is. fragile creachur"
"klug is beauty klug is grace i would let him step on my face"
"If I'm playing swap and I have to hear one more "Pwanet Powew" Im gonna lose it"
"Who is to blame? Pandora or the box?"
"Bakugo isnt my type but I respect the drip"
"i say like my type isnt long-haired pretty boys and girls that look so gnc that people have a history of confusing them for men"
"hes a gremlin and i can appreciate a pretty gremlin"
"that is to say i am attracted to VFlower vocaloid. This is a confession."
"note i am a lesbian"
"You may like Schezo wegey"
"why does he have one single expression"
"soul soul eater passes the vibe check"
"magic wand"
"I Want To Hold His Hand"
"i would commit a war crime for him any war crime idc which one"
"my favorite one is when he sounded rlly gay because he said "Muscular bodies keep me satisfied""
"p e a n u t"
"Klug is a homophobic homosexual its just facts"
"grug from the croods is peak male performance"
"jaw drops to floor, eyes pop out of sockets accompanied by trumpets, heart beats out of chest, awooga awooga sound effect, pulls chain on train whistle that has appeared next to head as steam blows out, slams fists on table, rattling any plates, bowls or silverware, whistles loudly, fireworks shoot from top of head, pants loudly as tongue hangs out of mouth, wipes comically large bead of sweat from forehead, clears throat, straightens tie, combs hair Ahem, you look very lovely."
"tag yourself im the fireworks shooting from the top of the head"
"i like essays"
"central time gang"
"11:11 pog-" (wait... is that a suprise angel number?? yes it is lovelies just for you <3)
"Then again im also a dumbass bitch who wonders what the souls in soul eater taste like. SERIOUSLY THOUGH. THEY LOOK TASTY AS HELL!!!! LIKE GODDAMN BRO YOU'RE MAKING ME FUCKING HUNGRY. Like. that shit- it's Bone Apple motherfucking Teeth. hell yea my guy. Im hongy now.... shlorp I'm seriously considering this. Like. They seem kinda like a liquid? But a solid? Are they like jello? The fuck they taste like my guy???? I keep imagining they're like sour, like sour candy maybe? Or do they taste salty? Sweet? Maybe some combo of two? Do they even have a taste or is it about the texture? The sensation? God my mouth is watering what the hell. I am starving. I think I need to go get a cookie. I'm gonna go get a cookie. Brb. I'm better. I'm still craving souls though. Which is a weird-ass cringey thing to say but I'm being dead-ass rn. They just.... look tasty???? And I wanna eat one. Thus. I am shifting to Soul Eater for the express purpose of satisfying my fucking cravings. enjoy"
"points were made"
"jello? more like helloooo schloooAHFJDSDAIDWNALDHSJKDAIDANDM"
"WAIT I THINK I HAVE AN ANIME GIRL BITING VIDEO TOO"
"anime girl voice: mmm! mm... ahhhhmp!! mmm, mmm... aaahmp!"
"i think it sounds great i'm going to start eating like that"
"several people are typing"
"do these look edible to you"
"forbidden gummies"
"when I was on lsd I couldn't eat my fruit gummies because I thought they were alive because they had little faces on them"
"oh shit yeah don't do drugs"
"anyways general consensus is puyos are edible, ty for your input everyone"
"everypony is a word so powerful it can bring nations to its knees"
"pls the self control it's taking me not to say "hewwo everypony" in gen chat when someone new joins-"
"hewwo evewrypony uwu deaw cewestia i hopwe it doewsnt wain owo"
"ive cooked up a sowution wiwth the knowwege ive acwued. they say a kitcwen time saves niwne, but im just savwing two. Ive gathewwed the inwedients to make a time sowbet. Thewe's hawdly woom fow seconds when the seconds mewt away."
"I had a ten year old sister... you know what happened to her??? very sad, very tragic... she turned eleven....."
"NIIICE"
"Guts dont say the secks word :( /j"
"watch your fucking language in front of the president"
"im so sorry lumi"
"i think you're like ehhhh 8/10 funny"
"now me???? 10/10. Hilarious"
"sometimes i have to take a step back and remember that this is the same guts i follow on tumblr /lh"
""ok every here's some good shifting advice!!! uwu have a good day" "yeah i did lsd and ate fruit gummies""
"i have one setting and it's whatever this is"
"my bitch ass cat just pushed the door open with his fuzzy face and now my sleeping dad is being lulled into dreams by Cosmo Sheldrake's 'Pliocine'."
"me on discord: nick wilde"
"me on tumblr: shifting water! haha funne! me on here: my hermit crabs are cannibals also i want to eat souls."
"im sorry yOUR VIBESA RE JUST SO DIFFERNT"
"u give off older cousin ive never spoken to but always admire at the family gatherings vibes"
"what the fuck"
"BC I HAVE LIBERTU"
"If you adopt me then yes"
"am I qualified for dad jokes???"
"we're all a lot smarter on tumblr"
"I'm like "awww... sweet... sweet little shiftlings... posting such sweet shiftling content... so pure, so wholesome... does not even know abcs....""
"can't think before you speak if you never think B)"
"I'm not responsible enough to be a mom"
"cat pet"
"show us pictures of the cat or i will do Crime"
"maybe thats me being a coward tho"
"MOTH!!!! MOTH MY BELOVED"
if y'all want I can make this a series bc shiftblr keeps giving me more content
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kinglazrus · 5 years ago
Text
Therefore I am
Phic phight 2020
Submitted by @kili-kai-wox (kilikani on ffn): Danny is surprised when he receives an A+. I wonder what subject it could be from?
Summary: There are two things Danny never expected to get out of his philosophy class: an A+ and to be confronted about his never-ending existential crisis
Warnings: discussion of/thoughts about death and the meaning of death.
Word count: 2971
Today is a grim day for Danny Fenton. It just might be the end of him. He's backed into a corner, enemies approached from all sides. His allies have abandoned him. Friends, family, all gone. He's on his own out here and it doesn't look like he's going to make it. Rations are getting low.
Jazz slaps her hand against her forehead and groans. "Don't be so dramatic!"
Danny, pinned against the lockers by his friends and sisters, howls in outrage. "I'm almost out of gummy bears!" He shoves the near empty plastic bag in Jazz's face, shaking it furiously. "And look! It's mostly just the white ones! I might as well starve."
"Ooh, I love the white ones!" Tucker snatches the bag out of Danny's hand. Fishing a few gummies out, he pops them into his mouth and chews, a blissful smile on his lips.
Danny moans. "My rations."
Sam rolls her eyes.
Danny was on his way to the cafeteria for lunch when they cornered him. They came out of nowhere, surging out from the crowd of shuffling students, surrounding him before he could realize what was happening.
With Jazz in front of him, Sam to his left, and Tucker to his right, they block off all routes of escape. Except the ghostly ones, but too many students are milling about for him to safely use his powers.
Danny doesn't like the look in their eyes. Sam's eager glint, Tucker's grin, Jazz's stern frown. They all set him on edge.
"Can I just please go to lunch?" he begs. Thanks to Skulker, Danny didn't have time to eat breakfast this morning, except a handful of cereal. The only thing he wants right now is to go get some food, even if it's the crappy cardboard pizza they serve in the cafeteria. He needs sustenance damn it!
Tucker stealing his gummy bears is the deepest betrayal he could get right now.
"No," Jazz and Sam say at the same time.
Tucker stealing his gummy bears is the second deepest betrayal.
"Come on, man," Tucker says around a mouthful of gummies. "Just spill it."
"It wasn't my fault," Danny whines, wilting against the lockers. Jazz's frown deepens, turning from disappointment into a full-blown pout. Left with no other choice, Danny relents. "Fine! But I'm telling you, he was asking for it."
He's about to expose his plans but stops when he catches their confused faces. "What?" he asks.
"Lancer was asking for it?" Sam asks. She leans against the lockers next to Danny, eyebrow raised.
"Lancer?"
"Yeah. Mikey told us what happened in philosophy class. And we told Jazz," Tucker says. "What do you think we're talking about?"
Danny thinks about his parents' new ecto grenade—completely harmless to humans, of course—rigged up in Dash's locker, ready to explode as soon as someone opens the door. "It's not important right now. Philosophy? I got an A, yeah. Awesome, right?"
"And you didn't tell me!" Jazz says, offended.
Oh, Danny thinks. That's why she looked disappointed. He doesn't know how he was supposed to tell her, though, because this is the first time he's seen her all morning.
"Dude, you didn't just get an A," Tucker says.
"Okay, A+."
"Dude."
Sam, exasperated, grabs Danny's shoulders and forcibly turns him toward her. "Mikey told us how Lancer stood up at the front of the class and said your paper was the best he'd ever read in that class."
"Oh." Danny's cheeks burn and he ducks his head. "Yeah. That."
When he turned the paper in last week, he honestly thought he would fail the assignment. The night before it was due, Cujo managed to dig his way out of the Ghost Zone again and immediately wanted to play. Danny was happy to oblige since, for once, he had all his homework done on time and there were no ghosts to take care of that night. The real trouble came when he had to go downstairs for dinner, leaving Cujo in his room with a stern reminder not to leave it.
Miraculously, Cujo obeyed the command. But that meant there was a bored, excitable puppy in Danny's room, alone, for almost an hour, with nothing to play with. His room hadn't been neat when he left it, but it was trashed by the time he came back. His backpack was particularly mangled, and his essay ripped to shreds.
Danny hadn't thought Lancer would accept "a ghost dog ate my homework," as an excuse for not having the assignment done. But he no longer had the library books he used to write the damn thing in the first place. Which meant he had to replace his typed, carefully referenced, well-thought out essay with a rushed, handwritten mess that consisted only of Danny's personal thoughts.
Suffice to say, he wasn't too confident in the new essay. The last thing he expected was to get a passing grade for it, much less actual praise. Danny doesn't get praise, not outside hero work, at least. He gets lots of sighs and disappointed looks. Maybe a stern, "This is proof you can do better," when he pulls a grade higher than a D. But not praise. Never praise.
"It was... something," Danny says. He doesn't usually get embarrassed by attention, although that doesn't necessarily mean he likes it either. But getting called out by Lancer in front of the whole class was an entirely new experience.
Before Lancer started handing out the papers, he had stood at the front of the class and waved the stack in the air.
"I have to say, I'm very impressed by the work some of you did. Very thoughtful," he started. "But there is one paper in particular that I would like to bring up."
Lancer shuffled through the stack, shifting everything around until a bundle of loose leaf ripped from a notebook sat on top. The pages were stapled poorly, and the handwriting was borderline illegible. Danny knew instantly it was his and expected the worst.
"This paper was, perhaps, the most insightful essay I've ever read in all my time teaching this class," Lancer said. He beamed in Danny's direction. "It was speculative, introspective, and intuitive. Written purely from the student's own thoughts on life and death. This is what philosophy is about, and I hope I can see similar work from the rest of you in the future."
Danny sank into his seat as Lancer walked down the aisle, heading right for him, and held his paper out.
"Thanks," Danny muttered, taking his assignment. He couldn't bear to lift his gaze and meet the burning stares of his peers. The worst part, though was when Lancer asked to see Danny at the end of the day.
"Are you gonna go?" Tucker asks.
"I don't know." Danny's grip on his backpack tightens as he thinks about the paper stuffed inside. "I'm not in trouble or anything, and it didn't really sound like I have to go."
"I think you should." Jazz reaches out and ruffles Danny's hair, smiling proudly at him. "You did good, little brother. You're smart, and Lancer knows that. Whatever he wants to talk to about, I'm sure it's good."
Danny grumbles, shoving Jazz's hand away and fixing his hair. He doesn't make it neat, but he messes it up the way he likes it to be messed up. There's a difference.
"I guess. As long as no ghosts interrupt, I'll go," Danny says. Jazz is right—she usually is, much to his chagrin. Whatever Lancer wants, after what he said about Danny's paper, it has to be good. But he still hopes the Box Ghost shows up so that Danny doesn’t have to go.
"Can I have my gummy bears back?" Danny asks, turning to Tucker.
Tucker, cheeks puffed with gummies, looks down at the empty bag. He slowly shakes his head. "I don't think you want them back."
Danny hesitates outside Lancer's door. The final bell rang five minutes ago, and most students have already fled the school grounds. The football team is still here, somewhere, because they have practice in half an hour. Everyone else is out front waiting for their buses. Jazz left in the initial crowd. Sam and Tucker offered to hang around and wait for him, but Danny waved them off and told them to go ahead. They have better things to do.
It crosses Danny's mind that he can lie to them. If he skips out and only tells them he talked to Lancer, they will probably accept it and leave it at that. Jazz might probe him a little about it, but if he acts annoyed about it, she'll stop. But he's being ridiculous. There's no real reason why he can't walk through this door right now and get this over with. Jazz is right. It's probably a good thing. But something about it sets Danny on edge.
Sighing heavily, he reaches out and knocks on Lancer's door, standing on his toes to peek through the window.
Lancer, sitting at his desk, grading a pile of new assignments, looks up. He sees Danny and smiles, waving him inside.
Danny pauses for a second, then turns the handle and steps into the room.
"Please, Mr. Fenton, close the door and take a seat," Lancer says.
Danny does as told, closing the door a little too hard, and shuffles over to the desk closest to Lancer's. Swinging his backpack off his shoulder, he sets it down on the floor beside him and slides into the chair.
While Lancer makes a few more notes on the paper in front of him, Danny scans the classroom. Sometimes it feels like he spends half his day in this room. Lancer teaches a surprising number of courses. Danny's almost impressed by the range. Little hints of each course are scattered throughout the room. A poster about calculating surface area by the window, a cartoonish timeline of US history along the top of the wall, aperiodic table taking up most of the back wall.
For philosophy, there's a collage of famous philosophers taped to the front of Lancer's desk. Danny thinks a former student made it, because it's just some images cut out and glued onto a stiff piece of poster board.
Danny stares at each face in the collage, trying to recognize them. Friedrich Nietzsche is the only one he can identify by name. The only reason Danny remembers him in the first place is his wild mustache. Hard to forget something like that.
"Mr. Fenton."
Danny's head snaps up, gaze jumping to Lancer.
"I'd like to congratulate you again for writing such a wonderful paper" Lancer says. "But I had a few questions."
"Oh, yeah?"
"Are you okay, Mr. Fenton?"
Danny blinks. "I­­­– what?"
"In your paper, you spoke a lot about death, dying, and our perceptions of life now that we know there is some form of afterlife. Some of your points were rather... personal."
Danny thinks back over his paper. The moment he realized he had to make the whole thing up, he decided to talk about the one philosophical debate he was personally invested in: the significance of life after death. He mentioned his parents' views on the matter, that ghosts are mindless monsters, but mostly spoke about his own and what questions he had about it. Thanks to his personal experience with dying, he had a lot to talk about.
Lancer reaches for an open notebook sitting on his desk. Lifting it up, he scans the page for a moment, then reads, "'Some people falsely believe ghosts are not, and never were, human, but are instead creatures from another dimension connected to our own. While some ghosts definitely aren't human, I have met countless that were. They remember living and dying, and there is evidence of their human lives left behind. What does this mean for people who are still living? If we can die and nothing changes for us, does dying matter at all?'"
Danny immediately recognizes his own words. Lancer must have written down what Danny said in his essay. It makes him uncomfortable. He doesn’t want his thoughts lying around where anyone can read them. He especially doesn't want Lancer to pick and choose them at random for whatever this conversation is.
"That doesn't really sound personal," Danny mutters.
"No, it doesn't," Lancer agrees. "But the things you go on to say after this point are concerning, to say the least. Which brings me back to my original question. Are you okay?"
Danny's face scrunches as he thinks. So what if he got personal? It's a personal matter. That was the whole point when he wrote it. He doesn't understand what Lancer's getting at.
Lancer sighs and keeps going. "'Lots of people think about what happens after they die. Usually, they're talking about religion and what waits for them on the other side. Personally, I wonder about what happens to everything I leave behind, and what dying would do for me.' Would you like to expand on that?"
Danny leans away. "No?"
"What dying would do for you," Lancer repeats.
"What are you­­– oh." Finally, realization dawns on Danny. He squirms uncomfortably. "I'm not– I don't want to–"
He cuts himself off with a sight. How is he supposed to explain what's going on in his head without giving his secret away? Danny's not okay, but he isn't not okay, either. He's just... dead.
He died, but he lived, and it changed him. And yet, at the same time, nothing changed at all. In the grand scheme of things, Danny died and everything stayed the same. No one noticed, except his friends, who were there and are probably scarred for life.
Besides, Danny lived, in the end. So he's supposed to be fine, right? But he doesn't know how to deal with going through something that traumatic and realizing it didn't matter.
Ghosts look at life differently. They don't regret dying because once you're dead, whatever led up to that point no longer matters. They remember their lives, but they don't care about them. If Danny had died all the way that day, he wouldn't care either. Thinking about that messes him up.
Lancer watches him expectantly. Danny realizes he's been silent for too long, and he has to say something.
"It's complicated."
"We have the time, if you'd like to try," Lancer says.
Danny shakes his head. "I really don't. You don't need to be worried about me, or anything. I don’t want to die or anything. I just..."
My whole life is just one big existential crisis.
"Mr. Fenton." Lancer stands up, pushing away from his desk.
Danny keeps his eyes on the philosophy collage as Lancer approaches. Holding himself perfectly still, he doesn’t look away, even as Lancer crouches next to Danny's desk.
"Okay."
There's nothing special about the word, or the way Lancer says it. He has no clue what's going on in Danny's mind right now, but he's looking at Danny with warm eyes, offering him a comforting smile, and Danny actually feels like he could be okay.
"For whatever it's worth, Mr. Fenton, I don't think my days would be the same without you. But I understand."
He really doesn't, but Danny appreciates the effort.
"If this isn't something you'd like to talk about with me, I won't push it. Perhaps I could have approached you more delicately about the matter." Lancer pats Danny's shoulder. "I hope you will talk to someone, if you need it. And don't let this stop you from pursuing your interest in philosophy."
Danny doesn't have the heart tell Lancer he only took the class because he thought it would be easy.
"You have a knack for it."
"Um, thank you," Danny says.
Lancer pats him again, then stands. "Don't let me keep you. I'm sure, as you students would say, you have to get vibing."
Danny grimaces. "We really wouldn't."
Dismissed, he gathers up his backpack and practically sprints to the door, yanking it open. Halfway out, he pauses, looking back over his shoulder. Lancer is back at his desk already, resuming his grading.
"Thanks, Mr. Lancer," Danny says. "You're not really 'hip', but... you are kind of cool."
He runs out of the room before Lancer can respond. Lips pressed in a firm line, he contemplates whether today was good or bad after all. A+ on his essay? Good. Getting praised in front of the class? It sounded good, but it felt bad and it was awkward as hell. Tucker eating all his gummy bears? Definitely bad.
The talk he just had with Lancer? Debatable.
Danny rounds the corner, heading for the front doors, and almost barrels right into Dash. He swerves at the last second—thank you reflexes—and skitters out of Dash's way.
"Watch it, Fenfreak," Dash says.
Danny rolls his eyes. "You get more creative every day, Dash. Why are you even still here?"
"Practice tonight, duh," Dash says.
Right. Danny gives Dash a critical look. "Going to your locker?" he asks.
"My stuff's already in the gym, dweeb. Why do you care?"
"I just thought I saw Paulina put some in there early. Could have been a love letter or something." Danny shrugs.
An eager gleam enters Dash's eye. Danny almost feels sorry for the poor guy. He's probably the only person who can't tell Paulina is hopelessly in love with Star. Why else would Paulina say she can't date any boys because she's saving herself for the ghost boy? Seriously.
Dash runs for his locker, yanking it open. As a resounding bang echoes down the hall and green go splatters all over the walls, floor, ceiling, and Dash, Danny finally makes up his mind. Today is a very good day.
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statticscribbles · 4 years ago
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Distance
Summary: Jughead/Plus Sized!Reader Request: Reader figuring out that she’s liked him all along but he started being distant, and can it be very angsty and sad with whatever ending
“Oh my god I like Jughead Jones.” You gasp jerking back when you can feel eyes on you. “You what Y/N?” “Got stuck with Jones; for the english project.” You nervously spit back towards Betty. “And what’s wrong with him?” “He well; he’s really passionate, which is good, but it can be kind of annoying when it’s just a simple essay.” And hot; you think but try your best not to entertain the idea of anything happening.
“Y/N. Betty said you were bummed about working with me?”Jughead’s hand rest on your shoulder and you shrug a little and shake your head. “I’m not; just you’re really into english and the books we read; but there are so much better books than the ones we’re forced to read.” “Oh really? Care to share?” He grins leaning forward and you nod back. “You can come over to mine later; since we do have to actually work on this essay.”
“Are we doing Romeo and Juliet for this?”Jughead looks up from where he’s perched on your bed. “Yeah; I figured we could write it from the point of view of Tybalt and Mercutio?” You offer and he shakes his head. “And what’s your idea then?” “Juliet’s nurse and the Friar.” “You’re comparing me to the nurse?” “Well who would have a more exciting romance? The friar and the nurse; forbidden and barely seen except to-“ “Friars can’t have sex. Not that you need it to have an actual relationship.” “But that’s sort of the point of a relationship; being intimate with another person in ways you wouldn’t with friends.” “You’ve obviously missed out on some key relationship issues.” You laugh and Jughead scowls.
“And what do you know of my relationship issues.” Jughead snaps and you roll your eyes. “You’re a thin white boy; the worst you’re gonna get is rejected and assumed you’re gonna shoot up the school.” You sneer and can see his hand falter. “That shock you into silence?” Jughead nods chewing his lip. “Was it the school comment; or the white boy thing?” “The uh fat thing; I don’t think of you as-“ “I am. It’s obvious; you denying it makes it even worse.” Jughead shrugs pulling the copy of Romeo and Juliet over. “You just want to go back over the assignment then?” “What?” He pretends to be absorbed in the book he’s just pulled out. “The assignment where we have to write as two lovers from Romeo and Juliet but it not be both of them.”
“Oh yeah; course. I still think we should do the nurse and the friar.” “Mercutio and Tybalt would be so much more dramatic.” “Really? More dramatic that Romeo and Juliet?” “Yes.” He arches his eyebrow and you shrug. “We could do Mercutio and someone else? Make him in love with Romeo?” Jughead grins. “What about Mercutio and Juliet.” “Mercutio? Really? What he’s been in love with Juliet and hoped that bringing Romeo to the ball was going to give him a chance to get with Juliet?” Jughead nods, you shrug and he grins more leaning forward. “So what do you say Juliet? Want to fall in love with someone destined to die.” “We both are Mercutio.” You laugh a little. “So what we’re gonna west side story this? Since you’re in the serpents.” You roll your eyes when he glares. “You admitting to being a Ghoulie?” He grins and laughs when you shove him.
You’d gotten an A on your project; you’d assured Jughead you weren’t bothered by the late addition of Mercutio’s last letter proclaiming him alive and posing as a banished Romeo in the countryside. When he asks you out to Pop’s to go over something he’d written; the idea your teacher had planted in his head after the project; you agree. It takes you three more ‘editing session’ to realize they are in fact dates and then another four dates to realize how in love you are with him. It takes two more weeks and a fight in front of the Serpents for you to realize how distant he’s been being. What you had assumed were jobs with the rest of the snakes turned into a tangle of misinformation from Toni, sweet pea and fangs all through each other and then passed to you.
You’d tried confronting him but he’d only grown more and more distant until you’d managed to convince veronica and Cheryl something was going on. They look unimpressed with your detective skills and Veronica tries her best to gentely tell you Jughead and Betty have been together for three days. You thank her for the information and inform the rest of the serpents who all seem just as put out as you about his lying. “Jones. We’re voting Topaz as leader.” “Voting?” Jughead wrinkles his nose. “Yeah. Can’t have a leader that lies to us all just cause he wants some blonde northsider to suck him off after school.” Sweet Pea snaps and you cringe back. “Sweets; that’s harsh.”
“It’s true, he’s been feeding us misinformation for weeks; how’re we supposed to trust him as leader; what if he’s like Mustang and pulling one over on us to get in good with the Ghouls and Hiram?” You chew your lip and Jughead stomps his foot snarling. “I would never-“ “Never what Jones? Toni is blood more than you. You scared about the vote?” “No.” He’s glaring at everyone as FP steps from where he was lounging behind. “Y’all really want this?” He nods and the rest of the serpents put there hands up. “Alright hands down. Fangs up for Jughead’s continued leadership?” You try not to cringe when no hands go up.
“Toni Topaz?” You raise your hand keeping your eyes met with Jughead’s. “We need to talk.” You don’t turn back from where you’re congratulating Toni. “Y/N.” You tilt your head and watch as Jughead’s shoulders sink. “I’m sorry about being distant; I just thought it was better; with us being Serpents; it’s not safe, makes you a target.” “And a northsider is less of one?” You watch his brow furrow. “Betty can-“
“Take care of herself?” “Well just-“ “She’s thin, pretty? A cheerleader? Come on Jones Just admit you never cared.” “I did but- I do; just.” “Please don’t lie; I know you’re a Serpent but I don’t want to think of you as a snake.”
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cakers-2000 · 4 years ago
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Well here’s my entry for the Konoha Simps Discord server July event! I was so excited and happy that I was able to take part in this event with all kinds of other talented and amazing writers and artists. 
I hope you all enjoy, I put a lot of time and effort into this!
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Word count: 2.8k
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You cringed as the wooden door to the library squeaked open, creating such a loud reverberating sound that the fellow students within turned to stare in your direction. You winced at the sudden attention and attempted to sneak your way into the farthest corner. With your books clutched tightly in your hands you weaved in between the many students studying and reading at the desks tables. A few sat on laptops, the only sound filling the room being the sound of their typing fingers. Unfortunately for you many of the desks and tables had already been taken by small groups of peers and students scramming to get their last minute projects done. You mentally cursed at yourself for waking up so late. You had told yourself that you would wake up at a reasonable time to get as much work done as possible but here you were in the middle of the afternoon, rushing to get multiple essays done by tomorrow morning at the latest.
You were screwed.
Your eyes landed on a table in the corner. It had room for at least five people but there was only one person sitting there. His hair was wrapped in a ponytail while his head lay on his arms on the table surface. With no other choice but the hard floor for seating you decided that it would have to do. You’d have to hope he wouldn’t mind being bothered.
Upon further inspection you found that the man was in fact sleeping. You slowly pulled out the chair across from him, trying not to make any noise that would wake him and pulled out your laptop and books, maneuvering your many materials around his body in an attempt to accommodate both of your needs.
You hadn’t noticed him slightly stir as your attention fell fully to the work in front of you.
“Do you mind moving your stuff?”
You slightly jumped at the sound of his voice. You peeked around your laptop to find the man was now sat up, cheek resting in the palm of his hand. He still looked extremely tired and he covered his mouth as he yawned.
“Sorry… There isn’t a whole lot of room.”
He raised an eyebrow at you and let out a small sigh. “Why don’t you just sit at a different table? I didn’t give you permission to sit here.”
“Wh-” You were taken aback. He really had the audacity to accuse you of taking his space? “I’m sorry but this is a library. We’re all here to get work done, not to sleep.”
You heard a slight growl sound escape his throat. You sat in silence for a long while, eyes glaring at each other as neither of you moved or made a sound.
And he let out a sigh and stood himself up. Your eyes followed his every movement out of pure curiosity. He knelt down to grab the bag at his side and he turned his back on you, slightly slouching as he left the library.
“Geesh what was his problem?”
You tried your hardest to put your full attention back to the work at hand. Your eyes drifted to the clock in the corner of the room.
Only a few more hours until your new class began, and here you were trying to cram for all of your other classes.
You shook your head, a small sigh escaping your lips as you stared vacantly at the laptop screen in front of you.
~~~~~~~~~~~
The door to the classroom had already been opened, indicating that people were already inside. You quickened your pace. You didn’t want to be the only one late to class but you had gotten lost on campus trying to find the correct wing of the school.
As you slightly pushed the door open you were met with a sea full of students. At first your heart sank. You couldn’t see a single seat for you to sit in, perhaps you had the wrong classroom.
The feeling of dread slowly washed away as your eyes scanned the room and you found one in the back.
And then your heart dropped when you spotted the seat beside it.
It was that man again. With the quickness you had before gone you slunk towards the chair. You pulled it out from under the table and it let out a loud squeak as it scraped on the hard floor. You cringed as one by one their eyes turned to look at you. And the man lifted his head to stare.
A snicker escaped his throat as he spoke to you. “I should’ve figured it was you.”
“U-Uh, hi.”
You were quick to sit down and dig through your bag, trying your hardest not to make eye contact with any of your fellow students. The silence between you two was deadly. You could cut the tension with a knife. Every second that passed by felt like hours.
You almost let out an audible sigh of relief when the teacher arrived and you were able to start class. For the most part you had completely forgotten about the man beside you. You were completely engrossed in writing your notes and listening to the lecture.
That is until you received the news of the class projects. Where you would be assigned a partner. The person sitting next to you. You and the man shared a quick glance with each other. Both of your eyes holding the same shocked look. This could not be happening.
Why you?
You were given time to discuss your projects and you turned to face the man, your disappointment evident in your features. You tried to wash it away and smile, holding your hand out to him for a handshake. “I don’t think I made a great first impression earlier. So, I’m (Y/N).”
He slouched backwards in his chair as he spoke to you. “Shikamaru.”
You quickly realized he, in fact, was not going to return your gesture and slowly slunk your hand down. “So Shikamaru, what are you thinking about for a topic? We get to choose any war throughout history so we have a lot of options to-”
“How about we just do something easy? Like… World War 2. Everyone knows what happened, or at least kind of knows what happened. It’s an easy A.”
“Well actually I kinda wanted to focus on a smaller war. Like… maybe the Chinese and Japanese war? It’s kind of interesting, Japan actually took over Korea to try and get closer to China and overtake that as well.”
He glanced over at you, an almost impressed look on his face before it quickly washed away and returned to its neutral state. “If that’s what you want to do then go for it. I really don’t care.”
“Uh, sure yeah let’s do that. Is there any place that you want to meet up and work on this or something? I don’t think I have any way of contacting you either so we’ll have to-”
You could see his eyes glance over at the clock above the classroom door and he raised his hand to cut you off. “Look, he’s gonna release us in a few minutes and I’ve got a ride I need to catch.” He grabbed your notebook from underneath your hands and took the pencil from between your fingertips and scrawled out a few numbers before sliding it back to you. “Just text me or something and we’ll figure out the details later.”
“Alright, I guess that’s fine.”
True to his word the professor dismissed you shortly after your exchange and you watched Shikamaru leave out of the room, not even bothering to give you or the professor so much as a glance.
As you packed your things you couldn’t help but sigh. You really hadn’t had the best luck today. Given Shikamaru’s attitude you had no clue if he was going to put in the effort for the project at all.
That was what concerned you most of all, but unfortunately only time would tell.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“Why did you wanna do this here?”
You glanced up at him, your eyes leaving the book in front of you to instead watch him slouch forward, head resting in his arms.
“Why not? It’s the perfect atmosphere. Quiet and relaxing like a library plus,” You grabbed for the rather large drink in front of you, taking a sip of the freshly made juice. “You can buy yourself something to eat or drink if you need it. It’s perfect.”
He didn’t seem satisfied with your response and instead slouched himself forward to stare at the notebook in front of him.
“What do you have so far?”
“Well I wrote down the five main points we want to focus on and our options for how we want to present it. “We could do a video, a presentation, some type of cardboard thing. We have lots to choose from.”
He waved a hand at you, dismissing all of the options you had just given him. “Let’s just do a presentation. It’s quick and easy.”
You crossed your arms over your chest, a slight pout on your features as you had wanted to do something more extravagant. “You seem to like taking the easy way out don’t you?”
He seemed rather offended at your question and chose not to answer you directly. Instead he stood up from his chair and started towards the exit. Before you could protest his sudden actions he held up his hand, seeming to tell you to keep quiet. “I’ll be right back.”
And with that he slipped out the door. You awaited his return, doing as much work as you could in the time being but as the time drew on and he hadn’t returned you had admittedly begun to worry.
With no option left and as much work as you could get done out of the way you left to find where the man had escaped off to.
Though you hadn’t expected to find him standing directly outside of the building. He was staring down at his phone, casually scrolling through, foot resting on the building. And a cigarette rested in his mouth. He took a drag on the cigarette, blowing out puffs of smoke and a small sigh.
“Shikamaru?”
He turned at the sound of your voice and was quick to finish off the cigarette and stomp it out with his foot. “Oh, hey, sorry I got a little distracted.”
“You’re a smoker?”
He did nothing but nod at you as he put his phone back in his pocket.
“That’s really not good for you, you know.”
“I know.”
“It could really fuck up your health in the long run, you should really quit.”
“That’s easier said than done.”
“But are you even trying to quit?”
“No, I like it, I’m not stopping.”
“But you could die!”
“Okay.”
He didn’t seem to care about what you had to say. His eyes weren’t looking at you. He seemed to almost be looking through you. Why were you even trying? It had already been made obvious that he didn’t like you and you felt the same… maybe. You honestly weren’t sure how you felt about him yet.
“I’m heading out.”
“Wha- Hey! We’re not done yet!”
Honestly his attitude was starting to piss you off but he didn’t seem to care in the slightest. He strolled past you with his hands stuffed in his pockets as a small yawn escaped his lips. “I’m too tired for this.”
He did appear to be at least a little tired. “Fine, but we’re meeting here again tomorrow same time, got it?”
He waved his hand back at you, a monotone tone in his voice. “Yeah, yeah, whatever.”
In all honesty your hope for the project had fallen extremely low. Why did you have to get partnered with him?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“And we’re done!”
You leaned yourself backwards in your chair, a look of pride covering your features as you stared at the laptop resting in between the two of you. It was slowly sliding through your almost 20 slide presentation in beautiful transitions and colors. You hadn't been too thrilled to go with the whole ‘slideshow presentation’ idea at first but you were admittedly pretty happy with the results and Shikamaru had some wonderful ideas that really made the slides pop.
“It looks nice, good job.”
You smiled at the compliment and nodded happily. “You did good too, partner.”
You didn’t know what to expect when you had originally been partnered with Shikamaru. But honestly you were pretty happy with the end result. After your little chat a few weeks ago about your opinions on smoking you had seemed to grow closer. Perhaps it was because you valued each others opinions and ability to stand for those beliefs or purely because you were being forced to spend so much time together.
Either way you were beginning to enjoy his company and you hoped he felt the same.
“Oh right, I was supposed to talk to you about something today.”
“Oh yeah? What is it?”
His hands fell behind his head in a relaxed manner. His eyes were closed but he opened one so that he could see the expression you currently held on your face.
“You know about that fireworks festival thing happening next week?”
“Yeah! I’ve been looking forward to it for months.”
“So you’re going then?”
“I’ve been thinking about it, I don’t really want to go by myself.” You grabbed for the coffee sitting in front of him and took a sip humming happily at the taste. He only smiled as he heard your hums of approval, not seeming to care much about you drinking off of his own drink.
“Problem solved then.”
“Wh-What do you mean?”
Was he going to ask what you thought? Your heart was racing faster as you awaited his response.
“I’m going, I need someone to come with me.”
“Is this like… a date?”
“No.” He was quick to shut you down, the smile on his face falling. “Just two friends hanging out.”
“Oh.” You couldn’t hide the disappointment in your voice but you quickly covered it up with a smile. “I’ll be there. Are we meeting here again?”
“You got it.”
The smile on your face only grew at the thought of the day to come. You were excited, you had grown accustomed to his presence and you didn’t want your time with him to end so abruptly.
The one thing you could be sure about was that time would be moving far slower than usual as you awaited the festival.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The sound of children laughing and giggling all around you was the only thing you could hear. They scampered around your legs, chasing each other with toy swords and toy guns while their mothers tried their best to wrangle them in. You could hardly hear Shikamaru’s voice beside you, though you weren’t sure if that was because it was too noisy or he was barely speaking above a whisper.
“Let’s sit over there.”
“Huh?”
He didn’t repeat himself and instead grabbed for your hand. His fingers intertwined with your own and he pulled you to the right towards a small patch of grass seeming to be untouched by any crowds. A smile curled it’s way onto your lips at the sudden contact. His hand was warm, an almost inviting feeling engulfed you just at the mere touch.
You sat down on the grass. It tickled your skin and you laughed slightly at the feeling. You chatted until the fireworks started, taking the time to discuss each others interests and hobbies. Honestly you had a lot more in common with him then you thought. You weren’t sure but you kind of felt as if you were falling for him… but that couldn’t be right. You had hated him… hadn’t you?
You were interrupted mid thought as the fireworks erupted into the sky. You were entranced by the beautiful exploding colors. The loud booms shook your entire body. You could see Shikamaru out of the corner of your eye. He was staring at you, a warm smile on his features as he rested his cheek in his hand. You turned to face him, head slightly tilted in confusion but he only laughed.
“You know when we first met I hated you.”
“What!?”
You were shocked at his sudden truthfulness but it only made him laugh more. He moved himself closer to you and before you could ask him what he was doing his lips met yours for a sweet and soft kiss. You kissed him back, smiling into it.
You honestly hadn’t expected your relationship with him to go this far, especially after the rocky start you. As you sat on the ground, sharing a sweet yet passionate kiss while the fireworks erupted behind you you could say with confidence that you loved him and you were excited to see how much further your relationship would reach.
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dolliedarlin · 3 years ago
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happy thursday!! how’s it been going?? how’s school?? it’s almost friday, we’re almost to the weekend :)
i rond myself i was going to try to make it a goal to check in with my friends more often, so here i am making the effort! i feel bad i’ve gone kind of quiet lately so i’ve decided to try a little harder.
it’s been a pretty busy school week and i keep finding myself procrastinating a lot 😅 i just really have no motivation this week lol, but it’s almost friday and thursdays are my last day of school for the week so i just need to get whatever homework is assigned out of the way and i’ll be golden! (till my psych assignment is assigned on friday 😂)
i’ve been looking for more things to enjoy, such as movies, books, and tv shows/animes, etc so if you have any, i would love the recommendations!!
i hope everything has been going well and that you’ve been having a good week!! i’d love to hear all about it!! <3
i'm so sorry for not replying on thursday, my love, i actually got sick on thursday and started my period too so it was a really horrible day for me, i'm still sick but i've recovered quite a bit now
because i got sick, i missed 2 of my practicals so i'm behind but there's a well being week off coming up after this coming week so i'll be able to catch up then <3 thank go for that
you're so cute, i aim to do that too ^7^ i just called my friends a few days ago and it was so nice hearing their voices again, i miss them so much! you're doing great btw! thank you for checking in on me, dollface :D
i always recommend these anime movies to watch: Summer Wars and Wolf Children. Wolf Children is sadder though so if you're not in a crying mood, don't watch it. but i'm so so happy to know that you're getting back into doing things that you enjoy!
i just remembered i have a formative essay on the manu due this coming Thursday so i need to get cracking on that, i also have to a lot of pre-reading to do since we're starting a new module now. goodness, it's gonna get pretty busy for me, i need to recover quickly!
it's the weekend now so i hope you were able to relax and do more of the things you enjoy, it'll be good to start off the new week with a good headspace.
despite being sick, i'm so happy to hear from you so soon! thank you for checking in, i always love our convos, it reminds me to be happy that i decided to continue writing or else i never would have met such a wonderful person <3 <3 <3
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julessworldd · 4 years ago
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Cheerleader and the future rockstar
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Warnings: cussing, there’s a jock being an ass talking about the Oc in a gross, sexual way. arguing a little.
A/N: I don’t know much about Izzy’s family life, like his mom and brothers name. I think the one I had is right for his younger brother. And what year he finished high school, bare with me. Oc’s home life is sorta sucky even though she’s the rich cheerleader. she’s not snobby at all like the sterotype everyone has about cheerleaders. I will make a part 2!
@slashscowboyboots​ @roger-taylors-car​ @reigns420​ @awildkaitlynhasappeared​ @ginny-rose-sixx​ @izzysguitar​ since you liked the post last night about the upcoming fic :)
High school Au of Izzy.. Izzy falls for the cheer captain after, she offers her help on an essay in English. Here's the thing the cheerleader has loved Izzy since he grabbed her from falling down the stairs, sophomore year. 
Many know Jeff Isbelle or now Izzy for lots of things. He was the cool, stoner, who was planning on being a rockstar with his buddy, Bill Bailey. To some teachers he was hell on wheels, "The badboy" even though he barely talked. Jocks: Izzy was a creep, just another shadow, stupid stoner who needs to have better life plans. To Judith Channing Izzy was: her crush of two years, wanted to spark a conversation, but her red and black cheer uniform stopped her. Izzy hated the cheer squad because their "Loyalty" to the jocks, they were too happy for his liking at 10 am. Judith remembers when Tommy Lockeler tried to push her down the 3rd floor stairway after, she told him she thought he was nothing but a whore and didn't want to go on a date.  Felt like it was yesterday.. 
I stared at Tommy as he was putting his claim about him being a manwhore. His face got redder and redder by the minute.. 
"Keith told me you had such a tight pussy, Channing. Wanna let me test his theory out? Probably won't you're just a bitch", Tommy spat back.
"Fuck you, Tommy. You just proved my point right there! God, you're so stup-", I felt the air out of my chest leave as I tumbled backwards into someone's arms.  "Whatever", I heard Tommy stomp away. "Hey, hey. You okay?", I heard a soft but gravely voice ask. I opened my eyes to see a tallish boy with medium brown hair, hazel eyes holding me, face with concern. "Yeah, I'm okay. Thanks for not letting me bust my head open, uh?", I said, holding my hands flat on his chest, one hand clutching his Rolling Stones' shirt. "Jeff, but I go by Izzy. Aren't you that Channing girl?", Izzy said, pulling me up, pushing a hair out of my face. "Yeah, I'm Judith. Nice to know my hero's name, Izzy", I blushed.  Izzy grinned, "What made Tommy try to commit murder after lunch anyways?" I smoothed out my uniform skirt, "Just the guy I lost my-", I realized what I was about to say to the new guy. "My hat, this summer. Tommy wanted to- '', I said, but Izzy nodded and seemed to understand what my 'hat' actually was. 
"Well, Keith needed to keep his mouth shut. Tommy is just an asshole, he's a jock they're all the same'', Izzy grumpled. "Yeah, you're right", I said. "Judith! We're gonna be late to practice, come on!", Erin yelled down the hall. "Thanks again, I appreciate it a lot. See ya around, Izzy", I smiled. "No problem. Have a good practice, Jude", Izzy said, reaching into his jacket pocket for his Malobros.  I watched Izzy smirk and skip down each stair, his cute ass bouncing as he went down. "Judith!", Erin yelled again, taking me away from my hero. 
Crazy how that's been two years ago, Izzy doesn't recognize me or chose to at least. After that day, I had a big secret crush on the Johnny Thunders of Lafayette. No guy gets me like Izzy does, Izzy barely knows me but he has such a big affect on me.  I walked into Mr. Allan's senior english class, there was a seat by the window, behind this dark headed boy. I sat down behind him, judging if I liked this seat. It was close enough to board, not in the very very front, nice view outside. "Oh Mike?", the kid turned around. "Oh, you're not Mike. Hi", I looked up and it was Jeff Isbelle. "No, sorry. Is this seat taken?", I asked as my heartrate rose. "No, he came in for a minute, guess he left before I noticed", Izzy said. "Okay class, let's get started!", Mr. Allan clasped his hands together. Allan was going over what we would be doing in the class before we graduated in June. Same bullshit honestly. Read Shakeperse, write essays, read other dead guys' writings. 
Two weeks later, Izzy was still seated in front of me. Making 3rd period class time hell, if you call getting to see his beautiful self plop down everyday. "Alright guys, we finished McBeth and now I'm wanting you to write about how you took the play. I'm asking if you liked the ending, if not write how you would have ended instead. You can use the books, notes we took, even chapter tests I gave back. Due in two weeks", Mr. Allan stated before sitting back at his desk.  It was getting close to 4th period, meaning I could leave for the day, no cheer practice today too. 
"Hey Judith?", Izzy asked. "Yeah, what's up?", I asked from writing my draft. "Did you keep anything from this unit? I lost my binder", Izzy asked. "Yeah, what do you want?", I smiled. "Notes, I guess. I'm not sure how I wanna write this shitty essay", Izzy grinned. Damn what a beautiful smile. I handed him every note I took on the play, side notes, everything.  "Pretty smart for a cheerleader", Izzy said, grabbing my notes. "I liked the play really well, okay?", I fought back.  "If you say so, Judith", Izzy turned back around. 
I walked in the empty room, well thought it was empty. Izzy was sitting in a desk next to Mr.Allan's desk, "Oh sorry, sir", I started to turn around. "It's okay, Judith. Actually, I need you for something", Mr. Allan smiled. I stood next to Izzy. "With what?", I asked. "Mr. Isbelle said you gave him his notes, the first day I assigned this essay. I'm just wanting to make sure he's not lying is all", Mr. Allan said. "Jeff is telling you the truth, sir. He asked if I still had anything about the play and wanted my notes for a starting point, I guess. You said we could use anything we did for the play", I said, starting to get offended he would assume Izzy stole my notes and wanted to cheat. 
"Okay, Judith. Well, since you're here go sit down.", Mr. Allan breathed out, probably embarrassed and a 17 year old girl started him out. The ball rang making Mr.Allan go out for hall duty and talk to other teachers. 
"Hey", Izzy said, standing in front of me. "Hi, Jeff", I smiled. "Thanks for backing me up with dickhead. If I tell you this, will you promise me you won't go to practice and gossip about me?", Izzy said clenching his jaw, he looked really hot. "Of course, Jeff. What's up?", I asked, rubbing my thumb over my other hand. "Your notes helped some, but I'm still stuck. Maybe, it's writer's block I need you to help me crap out this dumb essay. Please?", Izzy said. "Yeah, no problem, Jeffrey. I have cheer until 4:45, but I can meet you somewhere after.", I smiled. Izzy stared at me for a second, "Sure, that's cool. I can give you my address, mom's working late." 
I pulled up to Izzy's place, couple cars were parked outside. I decided to stay on the side of his street and yard, leaving a place for his mother. Izzy stepped out for a smoke as I got out, pulling my brother's t-shirt down. "Boyfriend's shirt?", Izzy blew out smoke from his lips. "No, brother's actually", I said, slinging my bag on my shoulder more. "Oh. Didn't know you had siblings, you gave me the spoiled only kid vibe", Izzy deadpanned. "No, three older brothers and two younger sisters.", I said, feeling small and embarrassed by Izzy. "My brother is here, just ignore him the best you can. He brought home some hamburgers, if you're hungry.", Izzy said, holding the door open. It was an average, but comfortable home. Pictures of Izzy and his brothers, with their mother lined the walls and a few tables. Tv by the wall, couple couches, chairs. Something wet touch my shein, "Sadie! Down. I'm sorry I thought Kevin set her out.", Izzy started to pull Sadie away by her collar. "She's okay. I have two dogs myself, I'm in her house, she's just checking me out. Yeah, you're a pretty girl", I said, bending down to pet her. "What kind of dogs?", Izzy said, sitting on a chair next to Sadie. "German shepherd, named Phoenix, Golden Retriever, Jagger. Jagger is new she's my baby like Phoenix", I said giggling as Sadie licked my hand. "Cool", Izzy mumbled. "Do you wanna start your essay or let me see what you have? Might not have to even start over", I got up and stood by his chair. "Damn, you're really about that essay", Izzy got up, going where I amused his room. 
 "Boys, I'm home!", A woman's voice entered the room. "Oh hi, dear. I didn't know Jeff had a girl over.", She smiled. "Yeah, I'm helping him on an english essay. I'm Judith Channing", I got up and grinned. "Channing? Channing? Is your father's name Frank?", She asked. "Yes, that's him", I said. "I went to high school with him, how is he?" "That's nice, uh he's good. Still in Chicago", I said. "Chicago?" "Yeah, business trip", I said, hoping Izzy would dash in or holler for me to come to see his room. "Does Jeff know you're here?", She asked with a worried look. "Yeah, we met outside. He went to his room for his english stuff, guess he fell to China '', I giggled. "Tell me about it, damn boy takes forever. Jeff! Did you forget about Judith? Jeffery Dean!", His mother yelled. 
"Mom, hey. Though I told you to come with me, Judith?", Izzy said standing beside me. "How was work, Momma?", Izzy hugged her. "Hi, I'm Kevin and you are?", Kevin, Izzy's younger brother checked me out. "Kev, let her alone she's with me", Izzy said, standing beside me protectively. "You're way way out of my brother's leguage. Hey Mom", Kevin said. "Come on. Holler if you need anything", Izzy grabbed my hand, pulling me with him. He grabbed my bag on the way. "Crack your door, Jeff. I mean it!", his mother yelled.  Izzy's room was nice, typical posters, navy blue bed set, desk with papers and pens, small nightstand with a picture of his family, set of records by his recorder player. I slid my shoes off by his desk and sat on the chair. Izzy flopped on his bed, unamused. 
"So what did you think about McBeth?", I asked. Izzy shrugged. "Izzy, your perspective is gonna help write this essay. Tell me", I scoffed. "Just a crazy dude that got killed for letting his power go to his side over what a couple hags had to say. I liked when he got ambushed by the people", Izzy sighed, rubbing his hair around.  "Okay, see that helps. So,you liked the ending and we can stretch your thought out into five paragraphs", I said, looking for a pencil.  "Listen, Judith I'm not in the mood for a stupid play from a dead guy from 400 years ago. Mr.Allan can go fuck himself", Izzy scoffed out. "If you didn't want me over why did you ask for my help. I do have other shit to do, Izzy", I pinched the bridge of my nose. This fucker made me drive half way cross town for this essay. "Then why did accept to come over and help?", Izzy spat back. "I don't know? Probably because I always help people who need help. It's what nice people do anyways", I rolled my eyes.
“Why did I have to ask a smart cheer captain for help?”, Izzy groaned.
“Sorry to break your little stereotype of cheerleaders being dumb and only want to fuck. You know what, Iz? I’m leaving, who cares if you finish the damn essay. Not like you care if you fail or pass, L.A won’t care either way”, I stood by his bed at his nightstand. Izzy stared up at me with confusion. “How do you know wanna go to L.A? I’ve never had a conversation with you before english”, Izzy raised up. “Bill told me you were thinking about if after graduation, he asked my help for math. We have talked before, Izzy. Sophomore year, you caught me from falling to my death after Tommy Lockeler, pushed me down the stairs. You had a Rolling stones shirt on, your hair a little shorter, guess I landed in your arms on a good day.”, I said, with tears in my eyes. “That’s you? No wonder you look familiar besides being a cheerleader. I’m sorry for being a dick, you did come out of your way for me.”, Izzy stood up from his bed. “It’s fine, Izzy. Why don’t you just bullshit it? I’m not feeling too great”, I sighed, walking to his desk for my bag. “Wait. Please don’t leave, I really need your help. I really liked the book and I’m sorta stuck.”, Izzy grabbed my wrist. 
“Okay. If I see you slacking I’m out, Isbelle”, I said. “Sit”, Izzy said, pushing his office chair to me. “Thanks”, I smiled. Izzy pushed a hair out of my face, “Sorry, it was bothering me”  I blushed, before looking away from him. Izzy chuckled, “Something you hiding from me, Judith?” “Tell you what, if you finish the essay, I’ll tell you what I’m hiding, deal?”, I bit my lip. “Deal”, Izzy smirked. Izzy’s brain was flowing and his hand was scribbling on the paper like he didn’t need me over. “Anndd done”, Izzy said, throwing his pencil in the cup he had on his desk. “Let me read it first”, I grabbed the two pages. “You lied”, Izzy whined. I scanned his paper looking for details of the play, if he had the right grammar, punctuation. “Looks good, Izzy. I’m proud”, I laid the paper down. “Thanks, now tell me why you were blushing?”, Izzy laid his hand on my jean clad thigh. “Do I have to?”, I whined. “I did my part, so it’s your turn, Channing”, Izzy said, not breaking his poker face. “Okay, don’t get mad. I have had a crush on since you caught me that day, at times I’m happy Tommy attempted to murder me that day. You happy?”, I stood from his chair and paced besides his bed. “Judith”, Izzy said.
“Hey, Judith, calm down. I have to tell you something too”, Izzy said, grabbing my hand. “What?”, I asked, scared to death he was gonna kick me out. “I like-”, “Hey dinner is ready”, Kevin opened his door, looking down at our hands. “I better get home, mom’s probably worried.”, I lied, she didn’t give a damn about me and my whereabouts. “Okay, I’ll walk you out”, Izzy said. We reached my car, “Well,thanks for the help. Guess I needed to be forced to write”, Izzy said, stuffing his hands in his pockets. “No problem, I liked hanging out with you”, I smiled. Izzy nodded, “Be safe” “Sure thing. Night Izzy”, I said, unlocking my car door. Izzy stood until I turned at the stop sign from his house. I tried to skip school, to avoid the awkwardness between me and Izzy. He got really quiet after his brother barged in yesterday, at least he was nice enough to walk me to the car and waited for me to get on the main road again. 
I was headed to lunch but was really wanting to sneak out to my car and drive around for a while. Looking through the glass doors that lead to the front parking lot, I could hear my car whine for me to leave. “Fuck it”, I thought grasping the door and pushed it open. “Where do you think you’re going, missy?”, A deep male voice startled me. I turned around to see Izzy grinning. “Oh it’s just you. Come on, let’s ditch”, I smirked. Izzy nodded and opened the door. We ran down the stairs, to my car, laughing. “Why did you wanna skip? You have a good attendance record?”, Izzy asked, plopping into the passenger seat. “Just ready to leave, school was boring. I don’t have cheer practice today. You?”, I asked, starting the car. ‘Shattered’ The Rolling Stones played quietly. “Same reason as you, just fuck it. Didn’t take you as a Stones fan?”, Izzy smirked as I pulled out of the school parking lot and headed towards town. “There’s a lot you don’t know about me Izzy. My dog is named after Mick Jagger, remember?”, I smirked. Izzy nodded his head to the beat of the song, going through my cassette tape collection. 
We got out of my car and went to a pair of swings, Izzy groaned. “What’s the matter, afraid one of the stoners will catch you with the cheerleader?”, I smirked. “No, princess. Just haven’t swung since I was 9”, Izzy grumbled. “Suit yourself, Jeff”, I pushed my legs to swing. “You like cheerleading?”, Izzy asked. “It’s alright”, I said. Izzy lit a cigarette and watched me swing my legs back and forth. Izzy caught me as I slowed down, holding the chain, pulling me close to him. I looked in his hazel eyes, cigarette creeped on his breath. “After, I killed Kevin for bargin in on us last night. I got to thinking, we’re getting closer to graduation. I’m bailing this hoosier state, you’re probably going on to join a sorority at Purdue. I wanna tell you something”, Izzy said, breath fanning my neck. “What is it?”, I whispered. “I like you and wanna know if you’ll be my girl?”, Izzy nipped my bottom earlobe.  I pulled him into a kiss, holding his shoulders, “Thought you would never ask, Jeff” Izzy smiled down at me. “And I’m not going to college, Iz. I don’t have to pay to have friends, just so you know. Thinking about going to New York actually”, I whispered. “Wanna join me out west? Don’t go to New York, just cold as Indiana, baby”, Izzy held my waist. “I can do that”, I grinned, kissing his cheek. 
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slytherindisaster · 4 years ago
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NOT A DATE
I’ve been in a very soft mood for these two for a while now (I mean I’m sure everybody’s already noticed lmao), so enjoy this little winter-y kinda fluff featuring Roxariel (and some other folks). Also one of the dialogue lines was heavily inspired by this.
Roxie belongs to @weasleysandwheezes, Danny belongs to @catohphm, the Gryffindorks (who are mentioned) belongs to @unfortunate-arrow, @cursebreakerfarrier and @words-and-wands.
Word Count: 3,887
Wednesday, 18.15
Hogwarts’ Library
But I believe in Love
And I know that you do too
And I believe in some kind of path
That we can walk down, me and you
-
Someone snapped their fingers right in front of Gabriel’s face.
“Are you even listening to a word I’m saying?”
Gabriel slightly lifted his head and looked at the boy in Ravenclaw robes. He was sitting at the opposite part of the table and was surrounded by a large amount of books.
“Where had you go?” he asked, eyeing him suspiciously. Gabriel was zooming into his own world again and this time Danny was having none of it.
“I think I’m gonna ask her out” mumbled Gabriel, still looking somewhere beyond the reality he was currently in.
“Who? Elladora Ketteridge?” Danny asked snarkily.
“What?” Gabriel looked at him in confusion as if he finally realised, that not only there’s someone sitting in front of him, but that he’s also asking him questions “What are you talking about, mate?”
“Elladora Ketteridge” Danny repeated, extremely calmly. “The one we have to write an essay about? The essay we need to submit by tommorow morning?” his left eyebrow risen up “Does it ring any bells to you?”
Gabriel looked around at his surroundings, noticing that while the parchment laying in front of him was nearly empty, Danny’s were quite the opposite.
“Yeah, forget it” he waved his hand dismissively and closed the nearest book. “I’m going to ask out Haley.”
“That’s what you’ve been thinking about this whole time?”
“Yeah?” he shrugged.
“When are you going to give up eventually?”
“What do you mean give up?” Gabriel looked at him triggered “I thought you out of all people would be supportive! You basically bullied me into having feelings for her, with all your admit that you like her already bull-crap talks!” he said imitating his friend’s voice.
“I do not sound like that.” said Danny but he couldn’t help but laugh.
“Whatever, my point is — you succeeded. I do like her and now I’m going to take her on a date, because it’s a Hogsmeade weekend, for Gordic’s sake!”
With each word he was speaking louder, which eventually catched the attention of the librarian.
“Mr Sapieha!” she scolded him.
“I am incredibly sorry m’am.” he answered immediately, as if he knew it was going to happen.
Danny sighed.
“You’re aware that she must agree to it first, right?”
“Oh, she will” said Gabriel with the amount of confidence as if she already did.
“Right, just like all those times before?” his friend rolled his eyes with a slight smile.
“Look, she will go out with me this time. I mean, let’s be honest — for how long you can resist this pretty face?” he gestured at himself.
“I don’t know, why don’t you ask her yourself?” Danny pointed the quill he had in his hand at the library door, that just opened.
Gabriel turned around and leaned back in his chair, trying to get a better look.
“Haley!” he called out.
This time the librarian just glanced at him angrily.
“Right, my bad. I apologise” he said and sent her a charming grin.
Roxanne Haley, who just stepped into the library, was a girl that possesed both incredible wit and the privilege to call herself definitely more than pretty. That blond-haired Ravenclaw were — in Gabriel’s eyes — practically a perfect match for him. The only minor obstacle for them living happily ever after were the fact that she seemed to have a deep aversion towards him. And she wasn’t shy to show it.
Not that he was actually bothered by it.
Roxie crossed the whole library looking like she knew exactly what she needed to do and how much time it’s going to take her. Gabriel could sewar that this girl even sneezed only when she planned it before.
“Hello Roxie” said Danny when she stumbled past them.
She paused at the sound of her name and took two steps backwards. She smiled when she saw that it was Danny who called her.
“Oh hi! I’m sorry I didn’t see you there, I’m kinda busy actually” she said in one breath “I need to finish all the assignments for the week if I want to have the time do go to Hogsmeade this weekend.”
“Let me guess, you’re all out of quills already?” asked Danny in a tone that implied he knew the answer already.
“If only of quills!” she laughed and turned her head slightly to see that there’s another person listening to this conversation. Her laughter immediately died out. “Sapieha.” she said acknowledging his presence.
“Haley.” he responded with a playful wink. “Fancy to join us?” he asked, still leaning back in his chair, trying to look nonchalant.
“Are you daft? Why would I want to willingly spend time with you?” her brows furrowed as she spoke. “Besides, I was just saying that I am busy.”
“Come on!” he groaned “You can admit that you enjoy our study sessions.”
She blinked couple of times, as if she didn’t quite catch what he said to her.
“Danny and I have study sessions. You just so happen to be there everytime, just to annoy the shi—“ she cleared her throat. “To annoy me.”
“Well if you’re really so bothered by me why do you keep showing up?”
“Because I’m friends with Danny, genius!”
“Well he’s my friend too” he put his hands up in defensive gesture “so, it looks like we’re stuck together!”
“Mister Sapieha, Miss Haley, for the last time—“
Roxie opened her mouth to apologize, but Gabriel was faster. He put his chair back on it’s four legs and turned around to look at the visibly irritated woman.
“I am so sorry m’am, It’s utterly my fault” he said with a sheepish smile on his face, looking right at her “What about I stay around to clean this place up after you close? You really deserve some time off, after putting up with all of us all day m’am.”
The woman’s expression softened a little.
“Or you can just keep quiet from now on?” she said but this time there wasn’t any anger in her voice.
“Of course!” he said loudly “I mean— from now on.”
He turned back to his table, only to see Danny looking at him with disapproval.
“You need to stop doing this.” he said.
“Doing what exactly?” asked Gabriel, trying to appear clueless.
“You know what.”
“Okay first of all —“ he began, leaning back into his chair again. “it’s not like I can control it completely. Sometimes it just... happens naturally. Second of all— I’ll remind you about this conversation next time you will need something from the restricted setcion” he gave him a knowing look and the he turned Roxie. “Haley, you were saying?”
“Do I— do I want to know what was this about?”
“I have a better question” said Gabriel, grinning “Do you want to know what we’re doing this weekend?”
“We?”
“Yeah, we” he nodded in agreement “I’m taking you to Hogsmeade.”
“Not in a milion years, Sapieha” she snorted.
“You said you were going to do some shopping anyway, right? You might as well kill two hipogriffs with one stone.” he winked at her again.
“I’m pretty sure that’s not how the saying goes...” she rolled her eyes.
“Actually we can all go together” Danny swooped into their conversation “I need to take care of some stuff there too.”
Roxie sighed heavily, and shoot Danny a disappointed look.
“Please, tell me you’re kidding.”
“Quite the opposite actually” he chuckled “It’s simple, I like to spend time with both of you” he shrugged. “Please, don’t let me ask you twice, Roxie.”
Roxie took a deep breath, reviewing her options. She looked at her friend after a while, visibly tired.
“Fine. Don’t make me regret this Danny.” she said and walked away, leaving them alone.
Gabriel glanced at his friend annoyed as soon as she left.
“What? What did I do this time?”
-
Saturday, 12.45
Outside The Hogwarts Castle
The excited chatter could be heard from a mile away, as always when it came to Hogsmeade weekends. Hogwarts students were all around the place, not even bothered by the cold whether of late December.
Gabriel was looking around the courtyard, now filled with the school’s carriges with no carters, trying to find his friend. Although he and Danny didn’t really established where they’re supposed to meet, Gabriel was hoping to see him sowhere between the groups of other students, trying to get nice spots for the road.
Finally he spotted a familiar streaks of blonde hair, blowing in the wind, which of course haven’t belong to the person he intended to find, but nevertheless the search turned out to be a success. The girl he was watching, just walked towards one of the carriges that were left on the side of the courtyard, as if she was sure that it’s empty.
“Oi, Haley!” Gabriel yelled and jogged up in her direction. She pretended not to see him and tried to quickly close the carrige door, but he managed to catch it just in time. “Hey, where’s Danny-boy?” he asked, catching his breath, when he noticed that she was the only one inside.
“He said that he’s feeling sick and isn’t coming” she said casually, although her expression looked like she was holding back a couple of curse words.
Oh, he did, didn’t he? Gabriel thought to himself. This sneaky bastard! And just when I started to doubt him.
“Although I think it’s pretty weird, because he seemed perfectly fine when I saw him at breakfast today!” Roxie continued to rant, as Gabriel tried to swallow a cheeky smile that was crawling up on his face.
He slowly climbed the carrige steps.
“So...” He said as he sat himself at the couch across from her. “Looks like it’s just you and me then” he stated and closed the door.
“What?” she looked at him shocked. “Oh, not a chance, Sapieha, you’re walking out of this carrige right—”
They both felt a small bump and the carrige started to move slowly. This time Gabriel couldn’t help but smile.
“You were saying?” he asked, with a shit-eating grin on his face.
“We’re parting ways, as soon as we walk out of this carrige.” she said in a cold voice, looking outside the window, at the road.
“Oh, come on, Haley!” he groaned “Let me take you on a date. Just one date, that’s all I’m asking for!”
“Not in this life. Or any other for that matters.”
“Why not?”
“Because” she said, finally turning to him, the look of her eyes seemed to be way colder than all the snow laying outside the road. “I have utterly no interest in you whatsoever, and even if I did, which is impossible and not going to happen, I do not have time for this kind of stuff.”
“Ouch” he laughed putting a hand on his chest, in a place when his heart was “that’s pretty harsh, even for you, Haley.”
“Ugh, grow up.” she rolled her eyes and returned to looking out the window.
“Okay, no dates then. But let me just tag along while you’ll do your chores. I mean we were supposed to spent this time together anyway, remember?” He changed his tactic. “Also I have nothing to do there anyway, all my friends stayed in the castle.”
“I’m pretty sure I saw the Ellison boy, along with the others — how do you keep calling yourselves? Massive dorks? — outside the castle, betting if they can spent the whole ride to Hogsmeade at the roof of the carrige.”
“Gryffindorks” he corrected her “And it could be anyone, really” he said, scratching the back of his head.
“They were yelling to you, about why aren’t you coming” she raised her eyebrows in a pretentious manner.
“I— I’ve never seen those guys in my life before” he said in full seriousness.
“Whatever.” she said rolling her eyes again, but he could swore he saw a shadow of a smile passing by on her face.
“So, how’s it gonna be?”
“Why would I even want for you to come with me anyway?” Roxie asked, looking genuinely curious.
“Um, besides the fact that you can enjoy the company of yours truly?” he teased, but the look on her face made him quickly regret that sentence. “I’ll carry your stuff or something.” he srugged.
She remained silent, thinking intensively about an answer, and it looked like she was searching for any reason why she would agree on it. After what felt like forever she finally announced:
“Fine.”
-
17.26
Hogsmeade Village
Roxie stepped out from another shop with, yet another paper bag full of school supplies. She went trough the list she made in her head and checked if there is any place she forgot to visit. When she finally established that she was, in fact, done with shopping, she realised that something was missing. Or rather someone. And as she would normally be pleased to be finally left alone, he had all her stuff with him.
“I’m sorry, were you waiting for long?”
She turned around and was more than relieved when she saw that he was still holding her bags as she left them. To her own surprise she was actually kinda glad that he was back at all, and the stuff he was carring had nothing to do with it.
She quickly shook her head, trying to repress those thoughts.
“Where were you?”
“Why, you missed me?” he smiled cheekily but her face remained unimpressed. “Uh, I got kinda hungry so I stepped into Honeydukes, while you were shopping for quills at Scrivenshaft’s.”
“You got hungry, so you went to buy some sweets?”
“Um, yeah? Oh, right” he digged into the pocket of his coat and pulled out a small blue box. “Here.”
“Wha—“
“I wasn’t sure if you preferred the regular frogs or the white chocolate ones, so I bought both” he said as he handed her the box “...but then I kinda ate the white chocolate one, so, I hope you like the regular ones.”
They both started to walk slowly, although neither had the idea where they were heading now. The freshly fallen snow was creaking under their boots.
“Right. Thank you, I guess?”
“Just take the frog” he said, tucking his hands into the pockets of his coat.
“Fine.” she shrugged and stared to open it but then she suddenly stopped. “Wait— how do I know that you didn’t fill it out with some love potion or something?”
Gabriel’s smile disappeared. He furrowed his brows and said with all seriousness:
“I feel deeply offended by that, Haley. Merlin, I know you don’t think very highly of me, but a love potion? Seriously?”
Her already rosy cheeks, slowly turned into a shade of red.
“How could I know? You’re kind of a wild card, aren’t you?” she said defensively.
“Well, do you really think I need such thing as a love potion? Have you seen me?” he laughed suddenly, his expression softened.
“First of all, how can one person be this full of oneself?” she asked snarkily.
“Haley, I am just messing with you—”
“Second of all” she continued, ignoring him. “I rather be safe than sorry. Just because you’re handsome doesn’t mean you aren’t capable of something like this!”
Gabriel slowed down a little, processing what she just said.
“So, you think I’m handsome, huh?”
“That’s— that’s not even near the point I was trying to make! Is this all you got from my words?”
“Well, do you?”
She closed her eyes and took a deep breath to calm herself down. A little cloud of steam escaped her mouth when she exhaled.
“Just for the record — yes. I think you kind of fit into the conventionally attractive category. Although I am positive, that the simple fact of you having Veela genes heavily influenced this opinion.”
He looked at her in full suspicion, his brow furrowed again.
“Wait, how do you even know about that?” he looked her up and down, but her expression, as always, wasn’t telling him anything. “I thought it weren’t a public knowledge? Don’t get me wrong, I am not ashamed of it, just— I’m not going around the school telling that stuff to everybody I meet.”
“I just always do my research well.” she said casually, not looking at him.
“Research? You were doing research on me?”
“I— I like to know the enemy well enough!” she tried to explain, but in result she buried herself even deeper.
“Merlin, are you even hearing yourself right now? Haley, I hate to be the one breaking the news for you, but you’re totally obsessed with me!” he laughed, noticing that her cheeks got even more red.
“That’s not what—”
“I mean, not that I mind” he shrugged his shoulders.
They walked in silence for a some time. Roxie’s face went back to her normal color or, at least, as normal as one can be during a winter afternoon. She looked at him from the side, shaking her head, but her lips were curled into a small smile.
“You’re a weird one, Sapieha” she said after a while.
“Hey, look who’s talking. Do you have, like, a file on me or something?”
“You’re still onto that? I’ve told you — it’s not like that!”
“What’s it like then?” he asked, looking genuinely interested. “How do you know about me being a quarter-Veela?”
She sighed heavily, before answering.
“I think Danny mentioned it to me at some point.”
“Oh, so now you’re saying that you’ve been talking about me with Danny? That’s interesting.” The shit-eating grin once again crawled back onto his face.
“Don’t start it—!”
“No, no— I’m quite flattered actually.” he said quickly, cutting her off. “You see, I’m always interrogating my friends about the people that I deeply despise too.”
“Yeah, right” she laughed, rolling her eyes.
“It’s true, though. That’s how I know that you’re a Capricorn for example.”
“What?”
“Yeah, I mean, I guess that makes perfect sense given that you’re willing to give up basically everything just to be at the top of the class.” he chuckled to himself “I should probbably been able to figure it out myself. Feel kinda stupid now, honestly. Although I still have no idea what’s your rising sign, or moon for that matters—”
Gabriel finally spotted her confused look. A cold wave of embarrassment went down his spine. His confidence melted almost as fast as the snowflakes falling onto his head.
“It’s just— kind of my thing, you know? Or I like to think that it is. Astrology, I mean.”
With the corner of his eye he noticed that she shivered a little. Seeing it as the perfect opportunity to drift the unwanted attention away from his stupid babbling, he took off the scarf, that was hanging loosely around his neck.
“Here.”
He overtook slightly and stopped right in front of her, forcing her to do the same. Before she got a chance to protest, he carefully wrapped the scarf around her neck.
“Shut it, Haley, will you? I can see that you’re cold.”
“It’s— Actually it’s surprisingly thoughtful of you” she said, with an expression he couldn’t quite read.
“What? I can be a gentleman!” he angrily tucked his hands back into his pockets.
She started to laugh at his frustrated reaction.
“No, I mean— It’s seems weird that you’re so concerned about me being cold, while you are the one walking around in an unbuttoned coat” she said as she grabbed the flaps of his coat, pulling him a little closer.
“Well I just—” he swallowed the words he wanted to say. Instead he just looked as she started doing up the buttons.
“Done” she said after a couple of seconds but, to both his and her surprise, she didn’t take a step back.
“Perfect” he murmured as a thank you, although he haven’t took a single glance at his coat. He was looking at her instead.
She lifted her head a little and finally locked her eyes with his. He was sure that somehow she got even closer, though he wasn’t really confident if it was her who moved or if he did it himself. They stayed like this, caught up in the moment, for a little while. Then, Gabriel managed to gather all the courage he had left in him, and just as he leaned in to cut the distance between their lips—
SMACK
— something hard hit him in the back of his head, and almost immediately shattered in pieces.
“Ha! You missed!”
He turned around, his eyes glowing with anger. Two third years freezed with the laughter on their faces. The one standing farther realised that the snowball he send seconds ago didn’t miss after all.
“Oi! Watch out you two!” Gabriel yelled in their direction, annoyed.
“Sorry! I didn’t mean to!” the one who hit him yelled back.
“Well, I sure hope you didn’t, mate!” Unexpectedly, a chuckle escaped Gabriel’s mouth. “Otherwise I would have to challenge you to a snowball fight. And let me tell you, I’m incredibly good!”
The boys both smiled with relief, when they realised that he wasn’t mad. Or at least he didn’t sound like he was.
“Right, I can’t imagine the defeat I would face from your hands!” the boy said cheerfully, the other one started to laugh.
“Yeah, you never know when you accidentally hit a snowball fight champion!” Gabriel laughed with them “So try to be more careful next time, will you?”
“Sure thing!”
Gabriel nodded towards the opposite side of the street with a playful smirk.
“Now, get outta here!”
The two third years ran off with laughter trailing their way.
Gabriel turned back to Roxanne, only to find her standing at much bigger distance than she was before. Despite that though, he was able to notice that she was heavily blushing, and again it wasn’t because of the low temperature.
“Remind me to never challenge you to a snowball fight, Mr. Champion” she said with laughter.
“Hey, I am really good at it, okay?” he pretended to be offended. “Although I must admit that he had a good hand too, it hit me pretty hard” he said, rubbing the back of his head.
“Baby.”
“Well aren’t you moving fast, Haley. Are we in the pet names stage, already?”
“What? No. I was insulting you!”
“Could’ve fooled me” he sent her a playful smile.
“Shut up” she shoved his shoulder, but a small smile was present on her face.
“You’re the one who started it.”
She rolled her eyes and begin to walk again.
“Come on, move it, Sapieha!” she called, without looking at him.
“Wait, where are we going now?” he asked trying to catch up with her.
“The Three Broomsticks are just around the corner” she said over her shoulder. “I think I might let you buy me a Butterbeer.”
A wide grin appeared on his face.
“Are you asking me on a date?”
“Don’t push it.”
“Right” he nodded as he walked up to her side.
He extended his arm to her, and even though Roxie rolled her eyes at first, she tucked her hand under it. They haven’t really talked until they reached the Three Bromsticks, but for some reason, the silence hanging between them wasn’t awkward at all.
Actually, it felt just about right.
-
So keep your candles burning
And make her journey bright and pure
That she will keep returning
Always and evermore
Into my arms
— Nick Cave, Into My Arms
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carnationcreation · 4 years ago
Text
Front Row Seat (Tommy Oliver x  Sister!reader)
TITLE:  Front Row Seat (Tommy Oliver x  Sister!reader)
Masterlist
Prompt/summary: (Takes place in MMPR season 3, no specific episode) Tommy misses opening night that the reader thought he’d be there for. 
Word Count: 1,865
Warnings:  none
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Tommy Oliver is the most forgetful person on the planet.
Well, to his sister at least. From dance recitals to school plays Tommy had forgotten every one of them until last minute. He’d always tried to make it up to her, rather it be getting her flowers or fixing the piano in the house so she could finish her vocal lessons. He hated his sister being mad at him. It’s not his fault after all being a power ranger and all. He tried his best to make every performance and event his sister participated in but Lord Zedd never seems to rest. 
He was late. Again.
He told me he was going to pick me up from my rehearsal for the spring musical but here I am, still sitting after over an hour of waiting on him. I really shouldn’t have expected anything else. Even my stage manager was skeptical about leaving me alone this late but I assured her that I would be fine and my brother was on his way.
Eventually anyways.
I gave up and pulled out my AP US History book. What kind of teacher assigns a three page homework assignment with essay questions? Eventually a two-door white mustang pulls up to the curb in front of me. I checked my watch, and he made it right at two hours. 
Adam got out, flashing me a sad smile before pulling back the seat so I could get in the back.
“Hey (y/n),” Tommy said quietly as I got in the car.
I didn’t say anything as I buckled up my seatbelt. Adam got back in the car and Tommy pulled out of the school’s parking lot. 
“How was practice?” Adam said, trying to make the silence less awkward. 
“Good.”
Adam frowned at Tommy for my short response. 
“Look (y/n), I’m sorry I was late I was-” Tommy started.
“Practicing? Lost time while you were with your friends? Doesn’t really matter. I should've just walked home,” I cut him off.
Tommy went silent and kept driving. Adam’s house slowly came into view and he flashed me a small smile as he stepped out of the car. Eventually Tommy popped a CD into the player, as he pressed play the sounds of my favorite Broadway musicals flowed through the speakers. I knew what he was trying to do but I really wasn’t having it. He knew that the music would get me to let my guard down so he’d be able to apologize.
“Listen I’m sorry I was late. I promise I will be there tomorrow.”
“It’s whatever. And I won’t need picked up till after the show tomorrow. You are coming right?”
“Would I really miss my little sister’s opening night? You’re gonna be the star of the show!” Tommy smiled.
I smiled slightly at his compliment. The streetlights went by slowly and before I knew it we were pulling up our driveway to our house. Our parents car was parked out front but their bedroom light was off.
I hopped out of the car and ran to the front door, my backpack swinging behind me. I kept my script tucked under my arm as I went upstairs to my room.
“Hey,” Tommy said from the bottom of the stairs, “you know we’re proud of you right?”
“Right,” I said quickly before turning around and rushing into my room.
_______________
I sat in my dressing room feeling exhausted as I applied the bright green paint on my body. Beverly, my co-star playing Galinda, was next to me removing her pin curls to the blonde wig. 
“Is Tommy coming in tonight?”
“I don’t really know, knowing him he’s probably still at the gym practicing with Rocky.”
“Don’t be bummed, (Y/n). I’m sure he’ll turn up. You’ll do amazing regardless. He’s always talking in History class about how excited he is about your acting gigs,” she smiled as she applied the bright pink blush to her cheeks.
“Does he really?” I said. I was shocked. For all I knew he never talked about me. I wouldn’t think he would be that proud of me, especially with all his accomplishments he could talk about instead.
“Yes! He even handed out flyers for the show with the seniors yesterday.”
Before we could finish the stage manager called five minutes to places and we hurried to finish getting ready.
_______________
The music slowed as I finished belting out the last bars of the finale. I panted as the lights went down. FInally glad the show was over but I loved every second of it.
At curtain call I looked out at the audience. Nope. No sign of my brother anywhere. I sighed but wasn’t that surprised. 
I made my way back to the dressing room to take a break and get ready to go home. Sliding into my comfy clothes to wear home and wiping all the makeup off.
“Hey! Why aren’t you out there with Tommy?” Beverly asked as she walked into the dressing room.
“He wasn’t here.”
“What? But he kept telling everyone he was gonna be here?” she said confused.
“Well he says a lot of things,” I said as I grabbed my bag and rushed out the door.
_______________
Tommy rushed into the theater right as curtain call ended, a bouquet of flowers in hand in (Y/n)’s favorite color. He looked around for his sister in the clumps of families taking pictures with the actors but didn’t see her anywhere. He knew he messed up.
Kimberly and the rest of the rangers came up behind him, “It’s okay Tommy we’ll find her, maybe she didn’t notice you weren’t here.”
“She always looks for me, I always promise her I’ll be there,”Tommy said. His head hung and his eyes started to tear up. 
“Hey man let's go see if we can find her backstage, maybe she’s just getting ready?” Adam said. 
Kim grabbed his hand and the group headed to the dressing rooms.
“Tommy!” Beverly yelled running up to them.
“Hey Beverly,” Kim said, “Where did (Y/n) go?”
“She headed out the back to walk home. Tommy, she was so excited before the show, I told her about the flyers you handed out and everything. Where were you?” Beverly said, placing her hands on her hips.
Tommy sighed, “I got tied up.”
“Uh-huh. Just like you were in the fall too when you didn’t even get to see her solo at the chorus recital. Maybe if you get in the car now you can grab her before she gets home.”
Tommy hid his face in his hands as the girl walked back into the dressing rooms to finish changing. 
_______________
Tears blurred my vision as I tried to focus on the sidewalk. My bag was heavy against my hip and the street lights flickered in front on the ground. Why did I think anything would be different this time? 
I saw headlights from a car pull up beside me. Rocky’s red jeep came into view and I kept walking. 
“(Y/n)?” Tommy yelled.
I pulled my hair down over my face.
“(Y/n) please listen!” 
“Why?” I snapped back.
“(Y/n) please get in the car so we can go home,” Tommy said.
I still kept walking. The car pulled ahead quickly before Tommy hopped out and stood in my path.
“(Y/n) please,” he said. I could tell he’d been crying because of the lift in his voice.
I looked up with puffy eyes only to be met with his own.
“You promised Tommy,” I sobbed.
“I know, I know,” he said as he pulled me into his arms, “I’m a terrible brother I know. Please get in the car and I’ll explain when we get home. It’s getting dark.”
I nodded and Kim opened the door for me to slide in between her and Adam. Kim grabbed my hand and rubbed circles on to the back of it to try and calm me down. I ended up falling asleep on Adam’s shoulder.
I felt Tommy pick me up and carry me into my room. He kissed my forehead and I fell asleep with my comfy clothes still on.
_______________
The next morning Tommy was gone before I could corner him and question him about last night. I dressed in my casual outfit before trying to call Kimberly to see if maybe he was with her.
I decided to go to the juice bar to track him down. I took a shortcut through the park and put earbuds in and my walkman in my back pocket. I felt the air suddenly go cold and I whipped around to strange creatures popping up out of the ground.
I’d heard about the Puddies that will randomly attack but I had never seen them yet. Luckily Tommy made me learn a few moves from him just in case. I quickly began to try and fight them off but there seemed to be too many.
“(Y/n)!” I heard someone yell. I turned to see Tommy and his friends running towards me.
“Tommy! Help!”
They quickly made work of the puddies, me helping out when I could but leaving most of the work to them. Soon enough the puddies were gone but a monster appeared in front of us. What is it today?
“(Y/n) get behind us!” Tommy yelled.
“Do we really wanna do this in front of her?” Rocky said.
“Got no choice Rock, it’s morphin time!”
I stood in shock as I watched my brother and his friends morph into the power rangers.
“What!’ I yelled. 
“(Y/n) get to safety!” Kimberly yelled. 
I didn't wait around to see what happened next.
_______________
I waited nervously at the juice bar for the rest of the afternoon. As soon as I saw Tommy walking in the door I tackled him in a hug.
“Omg what happened? I was so worried I didn’t know what was gonna happen to you guys please tell me you’re not hurt-” 
Tommy cut off my ramble, “(Y/n), we’re fine. Let’s go somewhere quiet where we can talk about this.”
He led us out to his car. As the door closed behind me my mind started racing.
“So,” I started, “The reason why you’re always late is because you’re a power ranger?”
Tommy sighed, “Yes, for the majority of times at least.”
I nodded, still trying to process everything that just happened today.
“Are you mad?” Tommy asked nervously.
“Of course I’m a bit mad! You could get hurt!” I said. 
Tommy nodded and laughed slightly, “Yeah yeah I know. I promise we stay as safe as possible and Zordon can heal us if we do get hurt.” 
“Zordon?” 
“It’s a long story. Wanna get ice cream?”
I scoffed but smiled at my brother, “Bribing me with ice cream now?”
“To make up for keeping that secret.”
“Hmmm… alright,” I smiled.
“Let’s go!” he said.
The rest of the afternoon was spent with ice cream and some well deserved quality time with my brother. I’d missed these days. And come the next show on Thursday, all the rangers gave me a giant bouquet of my favorite flowers. Tommy made sure he was in the front row seat. 
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morwensteelsheen · 3 years ago
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I’m starting grad school this autumn and honestly I’m getting nervous. Like yes I am v excited about the whole prospect overall and I do miss being a student but am intimidated by 3 hr long seminars and thesis writing and massive amounts of reading… everyone keeps saying it’s gonna be very different from undergrad so okay, but how specifically? Is it the large amounts of reading? I already had insane amounts of reading (humanities degree hurrah) especially in my last two years but could you expound on your own experience and how you take notes/read quickly/summarize or just how to deal with first time grad students?
Oh, yeah for sure! A necessary disclaimer here is that I'm at a certain poncy English institution that is noted for being very bad at communicating with its students and very bad at treating its postgrad students like human beings, so a lot of these strategies I've picked up will be overkill for anyone who has the good sense to go somewhere not profoundly evil lol.
So I'll just preface this by saying that I am a very poor student in terms of doing what you're supposed to. I'm very bad at taking notes, I never learned how to do it properly, and I really, really struggle with reading dense literature. That said, I'm probably (hopefully?) going to get through this dumb degree just fine. Also — my programme is a research MPhil, not taught, so it's a teensy bit more airy-fairy in terms of structure. I had two classes in Michaelmas term, both were once a week for two hours each; two in Lent, one was two hours weekly, the other two hours biweekly; and no classes at all in Easter. I also have no exam component, I was/am assessed entirely on three essays (accounting for 30% of my overall mark) and my dissertation (the remaining 70%), which is, I think, a little different to how some other programmes are. I think even some of the other MPhils here are more strenuous than that, like Econ and Soc Hist is like 100% dissertation? Anyways, not super important, but knowing what you're getting marked on is important. I dedicated considerably less time than I did in undergrad to perfecting my coursework essays because they just don't hold as much weight now. The difference between a 68 and a 70 just wasn't worth the fuss for me, which helped keep me sane-ish.
The best advice anyone ever gave me was that, whereas an undergrad degree can kind of take over your life without it becoming a problem, you need to treat grad school like a job. That's not because it's more 'serious' or whatever, but because if you don't set a really strict schedule and keep to it, you'll burn yourself out and generally make your life miserable. Before I went back on my ADD meds at the end of Michaelmas term, I sat myself down at my desk and worked from 11sh to 1800ish every day. Now that I'm medicated, I do like 9:30-10ish to 1800-1900 (except for now that I'm crunching on my diss, where, because of my piss-poor time management skills I'm stuck doing, like, 9:30-22:30-23:00). If you do M-F 9-5, you'll be getting through an enormous amount of work and leaving yourself loads of time to still be a human being on the edges. That'll be the difference between becoming a postgrad zombie and a person who did postgrad. I am a postgrad zombie. You do not want to be like me.
The 'work' element of your days can really vary. It's not like I was actually consistently reading for all that time — my brain would have literally melted right out of my ears — but it was about setting the routine and the expectation of dedicating a certain, consistent and routinized period of time for focusing on the degree work every day. My attention span, even when I'm medicated, is garbage, so I would usually read for two or three hours, then either work on the more practical elements of essay planning, answer emails, or plot out the early stages of my research.
In the first term/semester/whatever, lots of people who are planning on going right into a PhD take the time to set up their applications and proposals. I fully intended on doing a PhD right after the MPhil, but the funding as an international student trying to deal with the pandemic proved super problematic, and I realised that the toll it was taking on my mental health was just so not worth it, so I've chosen to postpone a few years. You'll feel a big ol' amount of pressure to go into a PhD during your first time. Unless you're super committed to doing it, just try and tune it out as much as you can. There's absolutely nothing wrong with taking a year (or two, or three, or ten) out, especially given the insane conditions we're all operating under right now.
I'll be honest with you, I was a phenomenally lazy undergrad. It was only by the grace of god and being a hard-headed Marxist that I managed to pull out a first at the eleventh hour. So the difference between UG and PG has been quite stark for me. I've actually had to do the reading this year, not just because they're more specialised and relevant to my research or whatever, but because, unlike in UG, the people in the programme are here because they're genuinely interested (and not because it's an economic necessity) and they don't want to waste their time listening to people who haven't done the reading.
I am also a really bad reader. Maybe it's partially the ADD + dyslexia, but mostly it's because I just haven't practiced it and never put in the requisite effort to learn how to do it properly. My two big pointers here are learning how to skim, and learning how to prioritise your reading.
This OpenU primer on skimming is a bit condescending in its simplicity, but it gets the point across well. You're going to want to skim oh, say, 90% of the reading you're assigned. This is not me encouraging you to be lazy, it's me being honest. Not every word of every published article or book is worth reading. The vast majority of them aren't. That doesn't mean the things that those texts are arguing for aren't worth reading, it just means that every stupid rhetorical flourish included by bored academics hoping for job security and/or funding and/or awards isn't worth your precious and scarce time. Make sure you get the main thrust of each text, make sure you pull out and note down one or two case studies and move right the hell on. There will be some authors whose writing will be excellent, and who you will want to read all of. Everything else gets skimmed.
Prioritisation is the other big thing. You're going to have shitty weeks, you're probably going to have lots of them. First off, you're going to need to forgive yourself for those now — everybody has them, yes, even the people who graduated with distinctions and go on to get lovely £100,000 AHRC scholarships. Acknowledge that there will be horrible weeks, accept it now, and then strategise for how to get ahead of them. My personal strategy is to plan out what I'm trying to get out of each course I take, and then focus only on the readings that relate to that topic.
I took a course in Lent term that dealt with race and empire in Britain between 1607 and 1900; I'm a researcher of the Scottish far left from 1968-present, so the overlap wasn't significant. But I decided from the very first day of the course that I was there to get a better grasp about the racial theories of capitalism and the role of racial othering in Britain's subjugation of Ireland. Those things are helpful to me because white supremacist capitalism comes up hourly in my work on the far left, and because the relationship of the Scottish far left to Ireland is extremely important to its self definition. On weeks when I couldn't handle anything else, I just read the texts related to that. And it was fine, I did fine, I got my stupid 2:1 on the final essay, and I came out of it not too burnt out to work on my dissertation.
Here is where I encourage you to learn from my mistakes: get yourself a decent group of people who you can have in depth conversations about the material with. I was an asshole who decided I didn't need to do that with any posh C*mbr*dge twats, and I have now condemned myself to babbling incomprehensible nonsense at my partner because I don't have anyone on my course to work through my ideas with. These degrees are best experienced when they're experienced socially. In recent years (accelerated by the pandemic, ofc), universities have de-emphasised the social component of postgrad work, largely to do with stupid, long-winded stuff related to postgrad union organising etc. It's a real shame because postgrads end up feeling quite socially isolated, and because they're not having these fun and challenging conversations, their work actually suffers in the long term. This is, and I cannot stress this enough, the biggest departure from undergrad. Even the 'weak links' or whatever judgemental nonsense are there because they want to be. That is going to be your biggest asset. Talk, talk, talk. Listen, listen, listen. Offer to proofread people's papers so you get a sense of how people are thinking about things, what sort of style they're writing in, what sources they're referring to. Be a sponge and a copycat (but don't get done for plagiarism, copy like this.) Also: ask questions that seem dumb. For each of your classes, ask your tutors/lecturers who they think the most important names in their discipline are. It sounds silly, but it's really helpful to know the intellectual landscape you're dealing with, and it means you know whose work you can go running to if you get lost or tangled up during essay or dissertation writing!
You should also be really honest about everything — another piece of advice that I didn't follow and am now suffering for. The people on your courses and in your cohort are there for the same reasons as you, have more or less the same qualifications as you, and are probably going to have a lot of the same questions and insecurities as you. If you hear an unfamiliar term being used in a seminar, just speak up and ask about it, because there're going to be loads of other people wondering too. But you should also cultivate quite a transparent relationship with your supervisor. I was really cagey and guarded with mine because my hella imposter syndrome told me she was gonna throw my ass out of the programme if I admitted to my problems. Turns out no, she wouldn't, and that actually she's been a super good advocate for me. If you feel your motivation slipping or if you feel like you're facing challenges you could do with a little extra support on, go right to your supervisor. Not only is that what they're there to do, they've also done this exact experience before and are going to be way more sympathetic and aware of the realities of it than, say, the uni counselling service or whatever.
Yeah so I gotta circle back to the notes thing... I really do not take notes. It's my worst habit. Here's an example of the notes I took for my most recent meeting with my supervisor (revising a chapter draft).
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No sane person would ever look at these and think this is a system worth replicating lol. But the reason they work for me is because I also record (with permission) absolutely everything. My mobile is like 90% audio recordings of meetings and seminars lol. So these notes aren't 'good' notes, but they're effective for recalling major points in the audio recording so I can listen to what was said when I need to.
Sorry none of this is remotely organised because it's like 2330 here and my brain is so soft and mushy. I'm literally just writing things as I remember them.
Right, so: theory is a big thing. Lots of people cheap out on this and it's to their own detriment. You say you're doing humanities, and tbh, most of the theory involved on the humanities side of the bridge is interdisciplinary anyways, so I'm just gonna give you some recommendations. The big thing is to read these things and try to apply them to what you're writing about. This sounds so fucking condescending but getting, like, one or two good theoretical frameworks in your papers will actually put you leaps and bounds beyond the students around you and really improve your research when the time comes. Also: don't read any of these recommendations without first watching, like an intro youtube video or listening to a podcast. The purists will tell you that's the wrong way to do it, but I am a lazy person and lazy people always find the efficient ways to do things, so I will tell the purists to go right to hell.
Check out these impenetrable motherfuckers (just one or two will take your work from great to excellent, so don't feel obliged to dig into them all):
Karl Marx and Fredrich Engels (I'm not just pushing my politics, but also, I totally am) — don't fucking read Capital unless you're committed to it. Oh my god don't put yourself through that unless you really have to. Try, like, the 18th Brumaire of Louis Napoleon for the fun quotes, and Engels on the family.
Frantz Fanon — Wretched of the Earth. Black Skin White Masks also good, slightly more impossible to read
Benedict Anderson — Imagined Communities. It's about nationalism, but you will be surprised at how applicable it is to... so many other topics
Judith Butler — she really sucks to read. I love her. But she sucks to read. If you do manage to read her though, your profs will love you because like 90% of the people who say they've read her are lying
Bourdieu — Distinction is good for a lot of things, but especially for introducing the idea of social and cultural capital. There's basically no humanities sub-discipline that can't run for miles on that alone.
Crenshaw — the genesis of intersectionality. But, like, actually read her, not the ingrates who came after her and defanged intersectionality into, like, rainbow bombs dropped over Gaza.
The other thing is that you should read for fun. My programme director was absolutely insistent that we all continue to read for pleasure while we did this degree, not just because it's good for destressing, but because keeping your cultural horizons open actually makes your writing better and more interesting. I literally read LOTR for the first time in, like February, and the difference in my writing and thinking from before and after is tangible, because not only did it give me something fun to think about when I was getting stressy, but it also opened up lots of fun avenues for thought that weren't there before. I read LOTR and wanted to find out more about English Catholics in WWI, and lo and behold something I read about it totally changed how I did my dissertation work. Or, like, a girl on my course who read the Odyssey over Christmas Break and then started asking loads of questions about the role of narrative creation in the archival material she was using. It was seriously such a good edict from our director.
Also, oh my god, if you do nothing else, please take this bit seriously: forgive yourself for the bad days. The pressure in postgrad is fucking unreal. Nobody, nobody is operating at 100% 100% of the time. If you aim for 60% for 80% of the time and only actually achieve 40% for 60% of the time, you will still be doing really fucking well. Don't beat yourself up unnecessarily. Don't make yourself feel bad because you're not churning out publishable material every single day. Some days you just need to lie on the couch, order takeout, and watch 12 hours of Jeopardy or whatever, and I promise you that that is a good and worthwhile thing to do. You don't learn and grow without rest, so forgive yourself for the moments and days of unplanned rest, and forgive yourself for when you don't score as highly as you want to, and forgive yourself when you say stupid things in class or don't do all of (or any of) the class reading.
Uhhhh I think I'm starting to lose the plot a bit now. Honestly, just ping me whatever questions you have and I'm happy to answer them. There's a chance I'll be slower to respond over the next few days because my dissertation is due in a week (holy fuck!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) but I will definitely respond. And honestly, no question is too dumb lol. I wish I'd been able to ask someone about things like what citation management software is best or how to set up a desk for maximum efficiency or whatever, but I was a scaredy-cat about it and didn't. So yeah, ask away and I will totally answer.
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seokiloquy · 4 years ago
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Patient Growth - Yaku Morinosuke
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Soulmate AU: Red String (the string on your finger points in the direction of your soulmate for about 4 inches of length before disappearing, only to make a full string connection when in each others range of sight)
Requested
Tags/Warnings: GN! Reader, time-skip spoilers, short and sweet.
Word Count: 3k+
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“(Y/N), why are you doing math? We had it last semester.”
Pulling the protractor away from your pinky, you looked up to Micky’s face, watching as her eyebrow pushed upwards to her sleek hairline. You clicked your tongue, mouth open for a moment as you slid your notebook in her direction.
“Pythagorean theorem. Seriously, what are you doing?”
You raised both hands off your desk in surrender as you tilted your head away from the girl’s questioning stare. “Okay okay, hear me out.”
“That doesn’t exactly give me good faith.”
“So, the red string soulmate pair has mostly died off as of the late century or so right?”
Micky sighed, swinging her leg over the backrest of the chair in front of you, sitting backwards and she crossed her arms over your desk and leaned forward. “And?”
“And, because a lot of people have no need to know about tricks for the red string we were never taught. A lot of people have tattoos nowadays so I get it, don’t teach about every soulmate history, that’s fine.”
“Get on with it.”
“Okay, okay.” You spun your notebook around for Micky to see it straight on. “After some research, I discovered that people used to use the Pythagorean theorem to find the exact location of their soulmate using the angles of the string attached to their hand.”
“Okay cool, so why are you doing this instead of our English essay?”
Clenching your teeth, you looked away from Micky’s brown eyes to the tiled floor of your classroom. “Well, to be fair I have finished the essay.”
“We were assigned it yesterday.”
“I said it was finished, not good. But besides that. I’ve done five separate calculations, but the angles I’m getting don’t change at all, I’m getting a straight line. No triangle, no location.”
Furrowing her brow, Micky leaned back against the desk behind her, large fluffy hair tickling the back of another classmate’s neck, making them giggle. “Oops, sorry.”
“Don’t worry about it.”
Mickey leaned back toward you, fingertips pulling at her ends. She sighed, “Have you considered that they might be so far away that 100 metres doesn’t give you enough clear information.”
Reaching for the thread that tied to your pinky, you spun it between your fingers, leaning back as you watched the string fade into invisibility mid-air. “I considered it, but that must mean they’re really far, and I didn’t want to admit that to myself.
“Well, hey. You’ll meet your soulmate eventually, everyone does. So for now, how about you focus on yourself and maybe clean up your essay.”
“Ya, ya you’re right.”
Micky sits for a moment, staring into empty space as your pen slowly lowers back down to the unfinished calculations on the paper. Sighing, she lifted her hand and placed it over yours, stopping the scribbling. “(Y/N), stop. You’re not ready to meet your soulmate if you’re searching for them.”
With a furrowed brow, you clicked the pen close and set in on the table. When you looked up to meet Micky’s eyes the yellow lights in the ceiling dimmed around your vision. “What do you mean by that.”
“Seriously (Y/N). if you spend all your time searching for your soulmate, what are you going to do when you finally meet them? Tell them about the length you went to, to hunt them down? Search for someone else?”
“Of course not—”
Your head shot forward slightly at the smack she landed on the back of it. “Then what?” you didn’t even seem  to move. “What do you want to do in the future?”
Picking the pen back up you flipped it between your fingers, spinning it recklessly before it slipped between your digits as they slowly clammed up under the weight of her stare.
“Do you have any clue?” She looked at your notebook before grabbing it from beneath your arms and flipping over a few pages. Slamming it back onto the desk, the sight that met you was one of a completely cluttered page, filled to the brim with words and doodles. “What about this? Art. Writing. You love comics and stories. Why not—”
“It would never last. Starving artists, you know?”
“Get out of that damn mindset. That’s all a hoax, sure it happens, but art and story’s make culture colourful and interesting.”
You sighed, flipping the notebook closed as the beginning of the lunch bell rang. “You say that as if I’d have a giant impact on society.”
“Who says you wouldn’t?”
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Russia’s snow was no joke. It made the shorter male shiver to the bone till he managed to get into the building’s lobby. Though, it did persist until he got a hand on the apartment’s doorknob.
Yaku peaked over his model friend’s shoulder, slowly shrugging off his long thick coat before walking back to the coat hangers at the entrance. “You read?” he asked, moving the red string on his finger as it wrapped around one of the hooks. 
Lev’s home, shared with his older sister, was a lived-in picture of modern architecture. The flat white walls and smooth stone countertops matched the square windows and minimalist paintings. The rent hardly put a dent in their wallets. Rich people. 
Despite the money available, no books shelves in the home were used for actual books, just plants and picture frames. This made the sight of Lev holding a bound stack of paper all the more outlandish. He kicked off his shoes, slinging on the available slippers.
“Huh oh, not often. But Alisa heard that this book blew up and was getting translated into a bunch of different languages, Russian and Japanese included. So we got both and we’re sort of jumping in between the versions for practice, you know? Oh, Alisa’s buying groceries, she’ll be back in time to watch the game though. How was practice?”
Yaku paced over to his friend's sleek kitchen and grabbed a glass, filling it with water. “Pretty good. I'm still getting used to the language, but I’ve gotten a better hang of it. What’s the book about?” The shorter man, two glasses in hand, walked over to his friend and offered one.
Lev gave Yaku a large smile and graciously took it, sipping for a moment before setting it on the coffee table. “It’s a mid-century fantasy, filled with magic, monsters, flying trains. No soulmates though, so you don’t know if the main character’s relationship is platonic or romantic. Not that it’s the main focus of the plot. And the Protagonist is this 18-year-old with no magic but somehow has to stop a magic war from happening between two rival empires. It’s really cool.”
Yaku sat in the opposite corner of the couch, chugging his glass back as he watched an animated movie play quietly on the screen in front of them. “Where’s the author from?” he asked, twirling the pinky tied red string around one of his fingers aimlessly.
“Europe? North-America? Don’t recall. But I did hear that they got scouted to work on an upcoming manga with a small group of authors. Apparently, they are great illustrators. Oh did they design the cover of their book? Ugh, let me check.” Lev reached for his phone on the counter as the door opened behind them. 
Alisa, long silver hair tied up into a neat bun, dropped the grocery bags and shook the snow off her head while kicking her coat off. “Lev,” she huffed. “I texted you to help me with the bags. Ah, Mori, you’re here. Good to see you.”
Yaku gave the older model a smile as Lev dropped his phone and rushed to pick up the brim filled bags of food. “Sorry, sorry. I was telling Mori about the books we bought.”
“Don’t worry I managed. Mori, I heard you made it onto the national team, does that mean we’re gonna have to fly into Japan to support you next year?”
Yaku laughed and waved his hand dismissively, “I won’t force you two. But I think the rest of Nekoma would like to see you again.”
Lev let out a loud snort from the kitchen, “We’re going! No doubt about it!” The tall man took a moment to poke his head out, “Oh, Yak— Alisa! You didn’t tell me!”
The childlike anger in his tone made Alisa laugh, turning around to look at her brother head-on. “Tell you what?”
“Your soulmate! Your tattoo is gold now!”
Yaku, from his position, could quickly confirm. The mandala-like flower on the back of Alisa’s neck had gone from a black to a golden shimmer.
Alisa scrambled, quickly pulling her phone close to her chest. With a swipe of her thumb, she brought the phone behind her and pushed and stray hairs up towards her silver bun. The camera clicked.
Yaku raised a thin blond brow. “Do you,” he paused, trying not to chuckle at his friend’s frantic scuffling. “Do you not know who it is?”
“Well, I can’t recall. Nothing was out of the ordinary today.” She tapped her booted toe against the mat before gasping suddenly. Removing the nail she was biting from her mouth, she grunted and pulled her coat back on. 
She began to ramble. “That damn cashier! I finally met him and she’s my soulmate? Stupid, stupid!” She stepped through the front door, turning around to give them a smile. “You boys enjoy the game, okay?”
The door closed with a dull thud and click. Lev, hands hanging like dead fish at sides, stood speechless. For a minute he stared at the closed door, not noticing Yaku’s eyes on him, before asking a sudden question.
“Do you want to meet your soulmate?”
“Hmm? Why do you ask?”
Lev stepped back into the kitchen, grabbing a bag of vegetables, silently beckoning Yaku to follow. Heeding, Yaku followed.
“Well, I don’t mean to sound negative or anything. I really want to meet my soulmate.” He trailed off.
Yaku sighed and grabbed his own item to help put it away in the fancy silver fridge. “Everyone has growing to do, and everyone grows at different paces.” He paused, stifling a sneer at Lev looking down at him with a bewildered gaze. He threw a pack of ships into his stomach. “If you never meet them, it was never meant to happen right? But soulmates are funny like that and always find their way to each other. You just got to be patient.”
Lev tossed the back onto a shelf, making the ships crunch daily when they landed. “Do you think you’ll meet your soulmate? Soon?”
“I’ve done a lot of growing, and I like how things are going. So ya, maybe.” Yaku looked back into the living room and to the book that sat in near perfect condition. “If it’s any constellation Lev, I think you’ve done a lot of growing too.”
He looked at the taller friend, immediately regretting his words slightly. Lev wore a cat-like grin. 
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“(L/N), we’re buying tickets to the Olympic games, do you want one?” Udai asked with an excited grin.
“Uh, hold on.” You pulled the glasses from off the top of your head and onto the bridge of your nose. Standing from your brightly lit desk, you walked over to stand behind one of your teammate’s shoulders to squint at their screen. “Volleyball? Oh, right you played didn’t you?”
The long-haired man laughed, making his chair creak as he leaned back. “So did Akaashi. We know some of the players on the team too.”
You sat up straight, brows shooting as close to your hairline as possible. “You know professional volleyball players?”
Udai let out an airy laugh. “Well Akaashi knows them better than I do, but ya.”
Akaashi, the silent editor that sat across the table, looked up at your bewildered face. “You’re a fan of volleyball?”
“Well, it’s not like I know the name of every player, coach, and team, but I enjoy watching sport in general. Udai, put me on the list.”
Walking back to your desk, you silently listened to your co-authors rattle on about the 3rd act of the story as you made clean lines and whether or not the main character should save the secondary one or not. Sighing, you looked at the black pen you held, before setting it down and gently tugging on your little red string. Akaashi rolled his chair over.
“I’m surprised you haven’t met your soulmate yet.”
“Are you? I’m only two years older than you Akaashi.”
“I suppose you’re right, most people just tend to meet their soulmates at the end of high school or into post-secondary. Typically if they’re in close proximity.”
“Well, I did try to figure out where my soulmate was. My friend convinced me to stop and focus on myself,” you sighed, staring at the papers in front of you. “I’m thankful for that, honestly. If I’m not ready to meet my soulmate, at least I have myself right? I’m happy.”
Akaashi’s head tilted, hair shifting under the fluorescent light as he stared at the small gold tattoo on his wrist with a smile. “Ya, you’re right.”
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The stadium, inside and out, was loud. Stacks of hundreds of people slowly making their way around the building and milling about, their conversations made it difficult to communicate.
“So you don’t know how your soul mark works exactly?” Udai yelled into your ear.
“Not entirely. Everyone is different, you know? And not many people have the red string nowadays!”
“Ah, right! Makes sense.”
“Everyone, this way!” one of your co-authors called, as akaashi and another author came back, beers in hand.
Following your group, you made your way to the balcony seats to finally sit down instead of standing among tight groups of strangers. You cast a panoramic look over the circular-shaped stadium at the filled seats that hit the vibrant vinyl colours of the chairs.
“Eh! Akaashi! Is that you?”
Two rows ahead, standing tall, and eagerly running your way was a lanky silver-headed man with a big grin. Next to you, Akaashi stood up, and to be polite you stepped out of his way standing in the stairway to look up slightly at the stranger. 
“Ah Lev, been a while.”
Unable to get back to your seat, you stood between the two men patiently.
“You’re here to see everyone right? Oh, who’s this?” Lev asked, turning his head in your direction.
“(L/N), (Y/N). I’m one of Akaashi’s co-workers.”
The man’s thin silver brows pinched together, tilting his head as he inspected your face before suddenly shooting up onto his toes. “You wrote the Rusted Wing series! I love those books!”
“Ah, ya I did.”
“That’s amazing, I-”
A man’s voice called over the speakers, echoing through the stadium. Lev, in an excited rush, insisted on speaking to you later, before running back to his seat where another silver-haired person sat.
Sitting back down, you breathed slowly as the loud conversations around you died and the players made their way onto the court with an uproar of cheers. You smiled, chanting along until Akaashi nudged your arm.
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Yaku, completely in his head about the quickly approaching game, kept his eyes on the red jersey in front of him as he walked forward. The music played loudly in his ears and mixed with the messy sound of cheers his head felt like it was floating in a cloud of complete focus on oblivion.
He stood in line, chest rising as he waited for the anthem to begin, but before they did an elbow hit his shoulder. 
Opening his eyes, he immediately caught sight of the once invisible red string making a complete line, arching its way up into the crowd where he saw your face above the strangers in the crowd.
Yaku was in a daze. Completely blown out of the water, all the thoughts in his mind seemed to escape him.
The game seemed to have started without his knowledge, and finished just as quickly. Muscle memory had done its job well. Yaku only noticed what had happened when his head was forced up to see the winning scores on a large screen.
“Fantastic work Yaku, and you didn’t even break a sweat! You were a monster out there! Absolute beast.” The head coach’s expression was one of amazement.
Yaku blinked dumbly. “If I’m being honest, I hardly remember a thing I did out there.”
“Well, you did fantastically. Conscious or not.”
When Yaku looked back to your seat, location freshly printed in his mind, you were gone. 
He followed the team back into the change rooms. Which happened to be when the rest began to point out the quickly moving direction of his thread. One compared its movements to a broken compass. 
Once able to get out of the musty changeroom, Yaku sprinted. The stadium halls were still packed with people. None paid attention to the short man sprinting though. The string had gone still and Yaku eagerly followed it like a trail of breadcrumbs. He knew his fate would be better than the two german siblings because at the end of the trail would be his soulmate and not some cannibalistic witch. He hoped.
The string suddenly shot forward, growing in length. He came to a halt, panting from his sprint; more than he did during the game.
Only a couple metres ahead, head meeting a higher point against Lev’s arm than his own, was his soulmate chatting happily in a circle while maintaining eye contact with his tall friend. The sight made his ears rumble and cheeks burn with embarrassment.
The content smile on your lips when you finally turned his way made all his patience worth it.
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I’m getting better at using ‘They’ as a gender-neutral pronoun in writing without making it feel clunky, which I’m happy about.
I hope everyone has been having a nice holiday. - Bacon
Posted: 17/01/2021
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05. The Rich Kids
AU Grace and Simon story. Takes place in the instance that they never got on the train, but crossed paths and became friends.  Generally, these could be standalone, but this one will be sequential for the next chapter whenever I get around to posting it. 3359 Words and I will be making a masterlist when I get a chance.  Previous
Simon handled the essay for his scholarship exactly how he thought he might. He was NOT okay, but he got the job done. He started with an introduction about why he wasn’t even sure of why he would be accepted into an institution like this school when his life was so ripe with problems, and honestly admitted that he was telling them all of this “for a girl.” He described the way that he met Grace and how important her friendship and being close to her was to him. He used that as a segway of WHY he needed a close friend, being brutally honest about the things that were happening in his life when they met and the things that he had gone through since. He put heavy emphasis on his relationship with his mother and how HE was now caring for her, even though he could see in her eyes that she didn’t care for him, at all. 
He wanted to learn from somewhere that could help him to be great. He felt like a jack of all trades, but in a kingdom of shit. He wondered if he could get away with saying shit. He went back and edited it to censor it, but to make it known that she still meant shit. He ended it out with how he didn’t seriously expect them to pick him, even with his GPA being what it was and him having skills in these areas. “But, I have to be able to let my only friend in a lonely world know that I did what I could to stay beside her. This is my best.”
Whenever he submitted it, he spent the next couple of days holed up in his room. He needed recovery time and worked on setting up a scene for his portfolio. His portfolio was turning into something he really loved. He had written pieces - generally inspired by Grace, some artwork of her in various forms, photos of his best figures and the scenes that he would put them in, and other photos from him trying his hand in photography.
He made money by doing people’s homework assignments, and charged more for special projects. But, everybody in school knew that if you wanted a quality A+ project in a hurry, Sci Fi Si was the guy to go to. He wasn’t even teased as much as he used to be. Emphasis on “as much.” And his former bullies? They were terrified to cross him again… or rather, to cross Grace. Simon kept photos of her and the two of them together as a little reminder for that group and as his daily dosage of serotonin while he was stuck at school all day without access to her.
He still was considered a nerd, had a crappy home life that made intrapersonal relationships difficult and unhealthy, meaning he wasn’t great with people and only knew the right things to say for short periods of time, and he was pretty broody and sarcastic. A lot of people didn’t like that. He definitely talked to most people like they were stupid. (Most people were) and he was pretty unapologetic in his convictions. He was like the poster boy of “If you think you’re better than everyone was a person.” He credited Grace for that, to be honest. Whenever you have somebody like that in your world and they’re not only interested in who you are but they like who you are, the rest of these peasants could suck a toe. 
Plus, he was smarter than all of them. He had written several books, though unpublished were absolutely splendid, in his opinion, and not just for his age, but period. 
Oh yeah - he was cocky. 
That was another thing people hated about him. 
But, people didn’t matter to him. He did have a secret soft spot for kids, but the ones in his neighborhood avoided him and he’d even heard the rumors that whenever he was younger he killed his kid sister. It hurt at first. It sent him into a crying rage in which he destroyed everything in his path up until the moment his mother emerged from the bathroom to “smack some sense into him.” He avoided children after that. They made him uncomfortable. He wanted the world to be a safe place for them and wanted to protect them, but he didn’t think he was cut out for stuff like that, so steering clear of them was probably best. Besides, they were just… so weak. They were frail. You had to start toughening them up way too young in order for them to be great and he just couldn’t imagine having to be that for anybody. He couldn’t do it for his sister. If she were stronger, maybe she… He programmed himself not to think about her.
Now Grace, she was great with kids, but she wasn’t super fond of them. Like, yeah, she liked to see their smiling faces and generally was able to make them smile, but she wasn’t in a rush to meet any or have any, despite the fact that her dad made her take a course to learn about sexual reproduction and teen pregnancies before letting her go to school. She was horrified to learn about that entire process, especially considering that it had not once even CROSSED her mind!
She saw two married people who had a child every day and their life was nothing she wanted to work towards and certainly nothing she wanted to accidentally catch herself up in. 
If she ever did anything like that… She’d have to go through so much getting to know and getting used to someone and that sounded like way too much work, considering she already knew somebody. She knew Simon and that by itself was a lot. Having a best friend was both everything amazing and very exhausting. Her mother told her that whenever she got ready to get married, to make sure she married her best friend, and her father had quickly interjected and corrected the woman by saying to make sure that she married somebody “equal” to her… She had a feeling from both of their moods that neither of them were that for the other. But, no worries there, because she was NEVER getting married. 
She was going to dance FOR FUN, maybe open a dance school, or some kind of school, and read books in her free time and go on adventures with Simon that they currently were too stifled to go on. She was gonna be with her best friend for the rest of her life, but not in the unfortunate situation that she saw in her parents. And she knew that Simon would agree to that, because he said that they were a team.
.
Simon set up the camera that he wasn’t actually supposed to touch, because it was his fathers and while he was away, Simon wasn’t supposed to go into the garage, but he was away and it would be months before they would see him again.  That was what he was doing when he heard the notification on his computer. He presumed it was something that Grace sent him, so he rushed to check, and it wasn’t. It was the Dean… setting up an appointment… because he was accepted… He hurried to get that squared away and then called Grace to let her know.
“Yayyy! Another adventure together! I KNEW you could do it, Simon!” She cheered.
“I couldn’t have done it without your idea,” he said. 
He didn’t add, “Even if it ripped my heart out to do it that way,” and she didn’t hear it in his silence; because she replied, “I think you’ve known me long enough to know that I’ve never been wrong, ever in my life, and if I have - It. Didn’t. Happen.” He laughed a little bit. “Look forward to more outstanding quotes on a daily basis, when we’re seeing each other AT SCHOOL!” She was SO excited. She had put together as many acceptable options that fell within the dress code of the uniform but also with a little of her own flair, and she worked on getting her schedule filled. Simon had to do all of that whenever he went in. because he admitted that he didn’t really know what to do and so the administration helped him out with it. 
Simon would make the trek to Grace’s every morning and ride to the school with her in the car. Four years after meeting her, he still knew her drivers better than her parents, because they either were never around or he wasn’t over when they were. She still hadn’t seen his mother at all outside of photos and every time she saw his father (a whopping 3 times in the past 4 years), he looked different. A few more tattoos, a little more or less hair on his head or face. It was still just Grace and Simon by the time they got to the academy.
The first week of school was extremely different for both of them for different reasons...
Grace found that people were apparently “naturally drawn” to her, and in an effort to not let them down, she became very popular, very quickly. She made sure that whenever she saw Simon, she made room for him though. She’d call his name and wave him over. He hated groups of people, but she had been surrounded by them since Day 1, so he had to tolerate them. 
Sometimes, if he looked like he wasn’t okay, or if they talked about a current issue he was having on the ride over, she’d tell the others, “I’ll have to get with you all later. Today is a Simon day.” It always made him feel good. Warm inside and cozy and a little fluttery… Stuff that he became severely aware of. She caused reactions in him that he hadn’t previously experienced. He always thought that she was pretty and out together nicely and smelled really pleasant, but like, now… 
Not just his brain but other parts were starting to respond to those characteristics. And, he became dangerously aware that a lot of the other boys noticed her like that too. Know who didn’t seem aware? About any of it?? Grace.
Whenever the Fall Festival rolled around, she was the girl that everybody wanted to take to the dance, even upperclassmen. She was the girl that the girls wondered about what kind of dress she’d wear. She was the girl that the dance teacher asked if she wanted to open up the dance with a waltz. “I don’t know how to waltz,” she had said. After all of her years of dance, the teacher was stunned. She wanted to teach her before the dance. She said that she had the perfect partner to pair her with. “Oh, no no no no… I only have one person that I would be dance partners with,” she’d said. 
Simon wasn’t keen on being dragged into this, BUT it did mean that some other guy wasn’t going to be dancing with her… for now. Who knew WHO would ask her to dance at the actual dance, which he tried to convince her would be boring and that they should skip it. 
She would have loved to just go to the pumpkin patch after school, pick a few pumpkins to carve and make treats and cozy up with him for a movie night… but, she had to go to this dance! There was a lot of pressure on her to go and she was fueled by pressure and the stress of letting people down. So, the compromise here was that Simon could skip it if he wanted to, and they’d do the pumpkin patch thing the next day. “Even though I’d much rather you come to the dance with me,” she said, with a pouting face. 
And everything inside of him turned into mush. Before he could think, he’d said, “Okay,” and couldn’t take it back, because her entire face lit up and she threw her tender arms around his neck, her soft hair was against his cheek and her body was pressed too close to his. He could inhale the flowers and cupcake scents of her beauty supplies and lip gloss, and everything was warm. Too warm. Hot even. He squirmed out of her arms and said, “Yeah, yeah,” ignoring her confused face about him pulling away. It didn’t last long anyway. She credited his mood to hating stuff like school dances and moved on with life. He overheard her telling people, “Sorry, I’m going with Simon to the dance, but if I get a chance and your date doesn’t mind, I’ll save one dance, just for you.” He actually heard her say that three times before she was too far away for him to hear her anymore. 
She was always doing that. Just telling the other kids whatever she thought that they wanted to hear. He figured it was because she couldn’t tell her parents “no” and so she was just used to reflexively saying whatever kept the peace. He was like that once. But now, the last thing he did was care about what either of his parents had to say. He was never home anyway. He was always with Grace, either stashed in her room, or somewhere in town enjoying life and causing mischief. Since school started, she hadn’t been able to get out as much. She would complain about homework, which she hardly had the attention span for and Simon would simply do hers to get it done, but now that she was in school, her parents would set up social arrangements for her and other well to do kids (mostly to rub elbows or have pissing contests with their parents).
But… he had a date with Grace, and his dad was at home on leave, so he didn’t have to worry too much about having to be at home. He did have to worry about formal wear, though. He groaned as he headed for class, taking out his phone to try to see where he might find an affordable formal and how much hustling he’d have to do to obtain it.
.
One thing that Simon hated about the academy that was different about his last school was that the bullies here were far more sinister and also more protected. If he got into a fight at public school, there might be a suspension and maybe some penalty for disrupting class or something. 
If he got into a fight here, the zero tolerance violence policy would get him kicked out… and yet, and yet, and yet… that did not happen with those rich boys whose parents paid for wings of the building, and had statues, or replaced team equipment… the kinds of boys that resented him for being so close to Grace, and let him know that he didn’t belong there, every single day. The kinds of boys with the most powerful commodity in the world - money.
The first week of school, someone had asked him what his father did. He answered honestly, “He’s in the military.”
“Is he high ranking?”
“No. He served for a while, got out, but reenlisted a few years ago.”
“What about your mother?”
He answered less honestly, but close enough, “She’s a housewife.”
“How did they afford to send you here?” Just… right out of the gate, huh?
“I have a scholarship.”
“For which organization?” 
“It’s an art scholarship. The Kissington one.”
“Oh.” the ‘Oh’ was enough for him to realize that it wasn’t a good one. But, they added, for good measure, “You’re poor.” And technically… his family wasn’t really POOR. They never were short for the bills, like some of the kids he knew. There was usually food, if he made a trip to the grocer. His mom was able to stay at home, not working, receive medication, and they had a cat. So, he wasn’t rich, at all, but he wouldn’t have considered himself poor, either. 
But here, anybody who wasn’t wealthy was poor. Sure, the Laurents could afford their bills, but he was never able to do anything extra if he didn’t find odd jobs. Meanwhile, Grace sometimes couldn’t see him for a few days because her parents were hosting a politician or a royal, or she had to go overseas for a few weeks, or she just really wanted to do a spa day weekend and he simply couldn’t come along because it cost too much.
There was a group of kids that had let him know that they were “on his level.” But, he didn’t spend a lot of time around them, because he was here for Grace and he had Grace, but he was aware that everybody wanted her too. The difference was he was certain that she was just a status symbol to these people, but she was his friend. 
The teachers didn’t like him very much either. They seemed to always be suspicious of him and he couldn’t tell if it was his imagination that they weren’t as lineate about objective answers as they were with some of the other kids. He knew that he was smarter than a lot of the kids who did better than him. He KNEW he was. School was less of a hell hole whenever he would worry that he might have to fight for his life. There was something so much more unnerving about fighting something that wasn’t physical, and having the disadvantage, because he simply couldn’t add up to his peers in a lot of these people’s eyes. He knew that he was more evolved than them, but all they could see was money, and he just wasn’t made up of it like these kids.
Whenever they left school, Grace would brag about all of the compliments that she got and go on about how awesome school is and wonder how it was for him. “Are you happy?” he’d ask. 
“Yeah!” She’d said.
“School is great. I mean… you’re there. That makes it the best place” She’d look at him for a moment, like she didn’t know if she believed him, her eyes sad and suspicious, but she’d smile and change to subject to something that they both loved. It was true in a way. Whenever she was there, he forgot about his problems and just soaked her in and her followers were even nice to him in those moments. A few of the girls even admitted (or maybe lied) that he was cute. But, they weren’t together the entire time and most of the time, he was miserable. But… if she was happy… I mean, that’s why you came here, Simon, he’d remind himself. Maybe it would simply take a moment for things to become normal. 
And a few months later, after he agreed to go to a school dance with her, he knew that whatever their normal was, they weren’t in it… or it had changed. He didn’t know for sure which one, but he knew that at the moment, he wasn’t enjoying it. The snide kids. The sneaky boys. The snobby girls. The suspicious staff. He was becoming increasingly angry, and wasn’t sure if Grace was still enough to quell that. She had so much more going on than him, these days. Maybe, she didn’t need him here at all, and she just didn’t know until now. Maybe the fact that SHE had a lot of money and HE didn’t, made him anxious. He couldn’t catch up, and even though they still had their inside jokes about being “the apex” like when they were kids… he felt like she was the apex, and he would have to work extremely hard to ever truly be powerful. He would have to do more to get and have money. Being intellectually and physically superior didn’t matter if there were enemies in place who could affect your personal trajectory!
This became clearest whenever the Fall Festival came around and he finally was able to actually meet the infamous Mrs. Monroe.
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