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grilledcheeseandguavajelly · 4 years

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“All The Echoes In My Mind Cry, There’s Blood On Your Lies” - Cordelia Goode x Reader x Wilhemina Venable

Prompt: 11 - Angst Prompt List - “Don’t cry. Everything’s going to be okay” + 12 - Angst Prompt List - “Who did this? Who hurt you?”

Words: ~12,000

Warnings: Sexual assault and a LOT of overthinking. Listen, I took this angst prompt seriously. You’ve been warned.

Requested by: @darling-dontforgetme

You thumbed through your notifications, rolling your eyes.

It was just one picture. One tiny picture with one tiny caption, and it honestly shouldn’t have blown up the way it did.

Since you had checked your phone about six minutes ago, there were twenty-five new comments. Of those twenty-five, two of them were positive. One from a childhood friend, congratulating you on being so happy, and one from Madison, Madison of all people, saying a short “congrats or whatever” and commenting on Cordelia’s shirt not matching her pants.

The rest were all relatively the same, some version of “ew” or “disgusting” or “blocked.”

Your phone vibrated and you swiped to your messages. And you rolled your eyes again because Madison was being as impatient as always.

This place blows, where are you?

Almost there, two blocks away.

I’m going to kill Foxxy for making you walk me home.

Want to meet me out front?

No, let me at least finish my fucking drink.

And as another comment on your picture dinged, she texted you again.

Bouncer was easy, you should be able to walk right by him the way he caved under my spell

You typed back a quick okay and flicked back to the comments on your picture. This one was from your cousin.

Who’s the redhead with her tongue down your throat? Why have I never met her? ;)

You rolled your eyes, dread running through you because you knew he meant it in the absolute wrong way. But just as you were about to respond with something that was probably too possessive, someone rammed into you from behind.

You had stopped in the middle of the sidewalk. Not the best option on a Saturday night in New Orleans. You gave a soft apology and the man grumbled as he shuffled past you and into the crowd just ahead.

And then you pocketed your phone, comment abandoned as you zeroed in on the club across the street and made your way over.

Madison was right, the bouncer was easy. The crowds lined up and waiting to get in were not. There were too many people to push through just to get inside, and you were breathless by the time you reached the entrance.

Lord, you hated this city sometimes.

You slid past the bouncer without a second glance, shouldering the door open and wincing at the loud bass that thrummed through your skin.

It was a huge club, and honestly you didn’t know how it fit into this cramped little city. But here it was, filled to the brim with glitter and cocktails and pulsing bodies. The beat pounded at the back of your neck and you could already feel a headache coming on, so you flicked your messages opened and started making your way to what could only be the VIP lounge.

And of course, it was all the way across the dance floor.

Shit.

You did your best to push through the crowd of bodies, sticking to the outskirts of the dance mob and trying to keep your eyes pinned on the steps leading up to the roped off section of the club. But no sooner had you made it past the bar, caught a glimpse of Madison and texted her to tell her that you were there, then a hand wrapped around your arm and hauled you to your right.

You tripped over yourself, dropping your phone, and by the time you caught your footing you were halfway down a dark hallway, a red light illuminating couples writhing against each other on the walls.

“What the—“ you tried, ripping at the hand on your arm and yanking away. But you had barely gotten your hand around the fingers bruising into your skin when you heard a rough, “Calm down, it’s just me.”

And everything inside of you shot ice cold.

You looked up, terror freezing your attempts to get away.

“J-James?” you stuttered out as he spun you and slammed you up against a free space on the wall.

And he was over you in a second, mouth hot in your ear.

“James, get off of me,” you tried weakly, pushing at him. Shoving at him. But he was so heavy.

“Did you miss me, baby?” he growled, and his breath was hot and sticky and smelled of tar.

“Let me go,” you tried again as you scratched at his shoulders. “Let me go.”

His hand found your arm again and he slammed you back against the wall, hard enough that your head snapped back and the crack rang through your skull.

“S-Stop,” you said as forcefully as you could, stars blurring your vision. “Stop it James, what the fuck are you doing?”

“I know you missed me, honey,” he whispered in your ear, and you could feel his sickening smirk against your skin. “Come on. Let me make you feel good. Like I used to. What are the odds that we both show up here on the same night?”

You screamed, shoving at his shoulders harder and harder until your breaths pulled uneven and ragged. “Get off.”

“You know you want this.” And now his voice was snaking into your ears, hot and low and venomous. But you had lost track of his head, of his mouth. It was dark and the lights were flashing and your head was still spinning from the impact on the wall.

You felt his mouth ghost over your neck and you growled, kicking at his shins.

“Get off of me, James. I’m not yours anymore. I don’t belong to you. I don’t want this.”

And then the tears came, flooding what was left of your broken vision as your voice cracked and his hands slid up your waist.

“Oh, I know,” he murmured, and his mouth was back by your ear. “I saw your little post. Got yourself two girlfriends, hm? Maybe you should call them? Ask if they want to join us. The tall one seems a little stiff, but I’m sure I could loosen her up.”

There it was. The last straw. And as he slammed his mouth against yours, hot and wet and bitter, you shoved as hard as you could, pushing him off of you and smacking him straight across the face.

“Enough!” you screamed.

His hand came down across your cheek before you could blink, and you hadn’t realized he was holding a drink until he hit you square in the stomach, made you fly back against the wall, and his hand came down across your face again, glass breaking as his drink collided with you skull.

You crumpled, a shriek ripped from you, and cowered against the wall.

Small. Shaking. And helpless.

There were at least twenty people down this hallway, and none of them were doing anything. None of them heard you screaming for help. None of them cared.

You were trapped.

James’s foot came up, and you barely had time to register it slamming into your side before the breath was knocked out of you again.

“S-Stop,” you tried, and you sounded pitiful but at this point, you would beg. You would plead. You would do anything to get him away from you.

He crouched down to your level, face inches from yours. You blinked against tears and something hot dripping onto your nose.

And you gasped when his hand yanked your knees apart and slid straight between your thighs.

“This is mine,” he growled, squeezing too hard. You cried out. “And I don’t care how many women you sleep with, it will always be mine. Do you understand?”

You choked on a gasp and then his other hand was on your throat, squeezing so tightly that your vision started going black around the edges.

Instinct kicked in and you reached out blindly, hand fumbling on the ground for something, anything.

A sharp sting and you wrapped your fingers around the object, grabbed a shard from his broken glass. But before you could slam it into his skin there was a sickening choking sound and the grip on your throat loosened just enough for you to blink your vision back.

James was gagging in front of you, eyes bugging out of his head as his tongue curled back and back and back again.

His hands dropped from you to claw at his throat and his face reddened.

“What are you doing to me, you stupid bitch?” he choked out, and you pushed yourself farther against the stone wall, eyes wide as his eyes rolled back and he collapsed onto the ground.

And you almost reached out to him. Almost lost all sense and went to check that he was okay. But then Madison crouched down in front of you, eyes scouring every inch of you.

“Are you okay?” she started, pushing hair off of your forehead as she checked you over. Her hand was red when she pulled it away. “What did he do to you?”

You couldn’t find your voice, raspy whimpers the best you could manage as you shook against the adrenaline coursing through you.

She nodded like she understood you and grabbed your hands.

“Come on, let’s get you home. It’s okay, you’re safe now.”

As she pulled you out of the hallway and around the corner, pressing your phone into your hand, you glanced back behind you against your better judgement. And there he was, coughing and sputtering and lifting himself off the ground.

A piece of you broke at the fact that Madison hadn’t choked the life out of him. That he hadn’t gotten what he deserved. What you should have done, if you had remembered anything you had learned.

If you were any kind of witch at all.

~~~

You pushed your pleas at Madison as she helped you up the steps to the academy and she rolled her eyes, hands tightening as you winced and wobbled.

“I get it. Sneak you up to your room. Extra quiet. Don’t let Cordelia know.”

“And don’t tell Venable,” you finished, breathless by the time you hit the landing. “I don’t even want to think about what she would do if she found out.”

Madison paused by the door, eyes narrowing. “You’re going to have to tell them eventually,” she said softly, licking her thumb and swiping at your forehead. You had felt the scab bust when you were about a block from the house, but a tingling followed Madison’s thumb and you knew she had sealed it shut again.

“I know,” you panted softly. “But just not now. Not tonight. I can’t…”

You lost your breath, the events of the night flooding back into your mind. You shook your head, trying to find words, trying to explain, trying to ask Madison to promise you that she would let you tell them in your own time.

But before anything came out Madison nodded, wrapping her arm around your waist.

“Deep breath,” she mumbled, and then she pushed the door open.

You had barely crossed the threshold when her arm fell from your waist and you wobbled. She muttered a soft “shit”, and when you looked up your heart dropped into your stomach.

Cordelia and Wilhemina were standing at the base of the stairs, Mina mumbling something soft to Cordelia and stroking her hand. When the door slid opened they both looked up, Cordelia’s hand falling from Mina’s fingers as she locked eyes with you.

“Oh my god,” she breathed, and the blood drained from your head. The room spun, and the next thing you knew you were on the floor, Cordelia’s hands on your shoulders.

She hovered above you, hair falling from behind her ear, and she was talking to you, but as you blinked back stars all you could hear were Madison and Mina. Mina firmly asking Madison what had happened. Madison blowing her off as usual. Madison rushing up the stairs. And the tapping of Mina’s cane as she chased after her.

Cordelia’s hand on your cheek centered you.

“Oh my darling girl, what happened to you?”

You shook your head, wincing as your propped yourself up on your elbows. That blow to your side had stuck harder than you initially thought.

“Nothing happened, Delia,” you tried, throat sticky from screaming and crying and swallowing down terror. She stared at you, eyes narrowing as her thumb brushed your cheek, and you knew she wouldn’t stand for that. Knew that she deserved more than you blowing her off. So you added a soft, “I just fell” at the end. And after a moment’s hesitation, she gave you a small smile, nodding.

“Okay,” she started, but there was something behind her eyes that you couldn’t read. “How about we get you cleaned up?”

~~~

You had asked to bathe by yourself, but Cordelia had pushed just enough and hesitated in the doorway, and you couldn’t help it. You caved.

She sat next to the bathtub as you curled in on yourself, her finger tracing absent circles in the water.

“People don’t usually get this banged up from falling,” she tried again, probably the eighth way she had phrased the same question that night. But you hadn’t had time to process anything, and you wanted to at least run it through your own mind a few times before you got them involved. Before you had two other people telling you how careless you had been and how disappointed they were in you.

“Okay,” you mumbled softly. Cordelia’s brow pushed up and she made to say something, but then there was a soft knock at the door and Mina’s voice floated through.

“It’s me. May I come in?”

Cordelia flicked her free hand and the door opened, and then Wilhemina was looming in the doorway, eyes piercing through you as she shut the door behind her.

She walked over slowly, leaning her cane on the sink before sitting carefully on the edge of the tub.

You averted your gaze to your knees, tucking them further up against your chest, but not before you caught Mina reaching for Cordelia’s free hand.

You squeezed your eyes shut, dropping your head to your knees and hugging them. This was your fault. They were both so worried and it was becoming such a thing and you hadn’t asked for any of this, but you knew if you told them everything would be so much worse.

“What happened?” Mina asked, and the way her voice dropped, the softness there, you thought she was talking to you. But before you could blow her off Cordelia answered, voice breathless in that slight tell of her annoyance.

“She won’t tell me.”

Mina hummed. “Madison wouldn’t tell me, either.” She shifted, and then her finger was under your chin, pulling your gaze to hers. “Are you going to tell me, princess? Or am I going to have to get it out of you another way?”

Her lip twitched up at the corner and you knew exactly what that smirk meant, but then James’s mouth overtook your thoughts. The smell of it, the feel of it, the taste of it.

The room spun and the bath was too hot and your stomach twisted, but you swallowed it down. Forced it all down. Because they couldn’t know. They couldn’t know that you had failed so miserably in such a crucial way.

You were a disgrace of a witch, and they would never look at you the same way if they only knew just how much you had let them down.

A tear fell, and before you could swipe at it Cordelia’s thumb was there, brushing it away.

“What’s wrong, darling?” Cordelia tried again, and the way her voice shook made guilt shoot through you. “Just… talk to us. Please…”

Mina reached over and stroked her fingers through Cordelia’s hair, and Cordelia smiled sadly up at her in appreciation. And in that moment, that split second on the precipice of caving, you realized that what they had was so much bigger than you.

You had been naive before, so giddy and excited and idiotically smitten with both of them. And just yesterday you had gotten their permission to post a photo of the three of you, both of them kissing you. But as much as they spoiled you and pampered you and made you feel so special and precious in the bedroom, they hadn’t signed up for this. They didn’t need this in their lives. They had been a perfectly happy couple before taking you into their bed, and that kind of fun didn’t lend itself to this level of drama.

So you bit down on your lip, wrapping your arms around your legs and hugging them to you. Sighed.

“I told you. I fell. That’s all. It’s not a big deal.”

And after a long moment of Cordelia and Mina looking between each other and you, Mina got up, swiping her cane and skirting out the door.

Cordelia cleared her throat. “I don’t know what you’re not telling us, but it’s alright. If you say that you fell, then I believe you.”

You let out a long breath, closing your eyes and nodding.

“Thank you.”

And you meant it, because the relief of that pressure being gone, knowing they would let it rest for the time being, if not for good, was enough to pull some of the terror from around your heart and let you breathe again.

“Now, darling,” Cordelia murmured, finger lifted from the water and tracing ever so lightly down your arm, “where do you hurt?”

~~~

Cordelia’s arm twitched on your waist and you flinched, James’s hand flashing through your mind.

It had been like this for hours. You didn’t know exactly how long because you could’t see the clock on the nightstand, but long enough for both Wilhemina and Cordelia to fall asleep on either side of you, and for you to have had at least three small panic attacks after that.

They had both been very considerate, Mina’s fingers pulling skillfully through your hair as Cordelia skimmed her fingers over your ribs.

“Are they feeling better?” Cordelia asked, and you nodded, thanking her again for whatever touch of magic she had put in that water that made all of your broken bits mend up a little quicker. At least the physical ones.

But now, as you lay between these two perfect women and the world heated up, degree by agonizing degree, you couldn’t help but taste the thick air of that hallway. Every time you closed your eyes you saw the red lighting. Saw his face. Every time Mina nudged against you, you felt his hands, his mouth. And when she grumbled in her sleep, pressing a soft kiss to your head, you felt his hand come down across your face. Heard the glass shattering, again and again and again.

Eventually it was too much. You couldn’t breathe and you couldn’t think and you needed space to just be. So you crawled carefully out from under the covers and off of the bed. You tiptoed to the door, opening it, and glanced behind you as Mina rolled over, whining and reaching into the empty space. And you almost paused. Almost smiled. But then her hands met Cordelia’s side and Cordelia was in her arms in a second, tucked up under her chin and legs twined together. Like you hadn’t even been there. Like they didn’t realize you were gone.

You had been so caught up with the privilege of being between them that you hadn’t realized how perfectly they fit together without you there.

Without you.

And as you crawled into your own bed, under your ice cold, dusty sheets, you let yourself cry because you just wanted to make them proud. You just wanted to be good enough for one of them, let alone both. And you had utterly, miserably failed.

~~~

You woke to your phone ringing, and you swiped your thumb over the screen before registering that it was your mother.

“Hello?” you mumbled sleepily, sitting up and scrubbing the exhaustion out of your eyes. She was ranting before you had pulled the phone to your ear.

“—and I don’t pay thousands of dollars each month for you to fall into this kind of nonsense. And with the headmistress? Really? I had no idea, honestly. No idea. But this will not stand. I don’t want you here, but you’re sure as hell not staying there. Not if that’s what they’re telling you is okay. I’m going to call your father tonight and then you’re going to be put in some sort of psych ward. It’s what we should have done in the first place. Some nice, white padded walls. That’ll sort you out—“

You hung up quickly, phone falling from trembling fingers.

No. No, no, no.

You sat frozen on your bed for a long moment, visions of your mother screaming at you, yanking you awake as you floated above your bed, the way she had practically shoved her money at Cordelia and left you shaking and fighting tears in the middle of the lobby.

But in the four months or so that you had been studying here, you had found your family. Your friends. For the first time in your life you felt like you belonged somewhere.

With them.

You shook the thought away, steeling yourself against everything that had happened the night before and resolving yourself to the fact that they wouldn’t want you anymore.

And as you felt another panic attack settling in, you slid out of bed, changing into something clean and fresh. But somehow, even with fresh clothes and a nice bath and a few hours of sleep, you still felt dirty as you plodded quietly down the stairs to the kitchen and turned on the light.

It was unnaturally early and none of the other girls would be up for at least an hour. Which gave you plenty of time to make yourself a cup of coffee and sort out your brain.

But no sooner did you have a steaming mug in your hand and were just relishing the first sleep-clearing sip, then you heard something shuffle behind you.

You whipped around, James’s face flashing through your mind.

It was Madison.

You let out a long breath, hand coming to your heart.

“Jeez, Madison. You scared the shit out of me.”

She skirted around you, pouring herself a cup of your coffee.

“You’re not going to finish this, right?” she asked mockingly, and then she was settled down at the kitchen table, knees tucked up on her chair. She looked at you for a long moment and you blinked back. “Are we going to talk about last night, or…?”

You waved her off, making your way across the kitchen. But you stopped in the doorway, guilt washing through you.

“I-“ you tried, turning to face her. “Thank you for helping me. And for letting me tell Delia and Mina.”

Madison made a face, and you mentally scolded yourself because you knew she hated those little nicknames. You cleared your throat.

“Seriously. Thank you.”

She stared at you, and when she spoke her voice was flat. “So you told them?”

You nodded. A lie.

“Both of them?”

You rolled your eyes. “Madison, if one of them knows, it’s safe to assume they both do. You know how they are.”

And you chuckled softly at your own joke, but she wasn’t laughing. Her eyes searched your face. “You’re sure you told them?”

Another nod.

She hummed, sipping her coffee.

“What?”

Her eyebrows raised over her mug. “Nothing. It’s just my bedroom is close enough to theirs that I can usually hear everything you weirdos do. And it was pretty quiet last night.”

You swallowed hard. “They wanted to give me space.”

“Oh, I’m sure.”

And you relaxed for a split second before she spoke again.

“And that’s why you went back to your own room, right?”

You snapped your eyes to hers and she was challenging you, all wiggled down in her seat like a snake that was about to strike.

“That’s none of your business,” you tried weakly. She smirked.

“Alright.”

And your brow furrowed as you nodded. “Alright.”

~~~

You walked down the street, bundling your coat tighter around you and stuffing your nose into your scarf. It was cold, despite everything, and the icy wind was doing wonders to clear your head.

You had volunteered to go on errands today, and insisted that you go alone when Cordelia offered to go with you. She hadn’t pushed, and you had been grateful. But the two or three stops you were planning on making had turned to seven, the mindless shopping and browsing doing wonders to clear your head. You were grateful for the space. The privacy. The ability to get away from Cordelia and Mina for a day and just breathe.

It had only taken a fraction of a second. One man that got a little too close to you as he passed by you in an aisle.

And suddenly you were acutely aware that you were utterly alone. Unprotected. Vulnerable.

After that you saw him everywhere, tall and solid and looming. His brown hair bobbing through crowds, his face in strangers that passed by you.

You rushed to the grocery store, desperate to get the last of your errands done and swearing that you could feel his gaze on you. Hear his voice. And as you pulled fruits and vegetables and all of Madison’s ridiculous requests into your bags, you realized that he could be anywhere. Anyone. You could run smack into him on the street and he could drag you away and no one would know what had happened to you—

Stop.

You forced a deep breath in as you handed your groceries to the cashier, foot bouncing. Cordelia would always find you. Cordelia would always be there for you. Cordelia wouldn’t let him hurt you again.

Except she didn’t know he had hurt you in the first place.

Except now everything was different.

And you were alone.

The fear racked its way back up your throat as you walked determinately back to the school, heart hammering faster with every step. And as your pulse quickened so did your steps, until you were practically running from the ghost of his memory. Sprinting as far away from the idea of him as fast as you could.

The pounding of your shoes on the pavement morphed into the pounding of the bass in the club. The light from the setting sun tinted too red as you remembered the flashing lights. And his hands. His hands everywhere…

By the time you reached the school you were out of breath, cheeks wet from tears you hadn’t realized had fallen. You yanked the gate open, not bothering to shut it behind you as you blinked around your blurred vision.

You could feel him behind you, even though you knew he wasn’t there. Could feel him breathing down your neck.

You ran up the front steps to the academy, pushing away thoughts of him wandering the city. The fact that you could run into him at any point on any given day. The fact that you weren’t safe.

The doors to the house swung open as you hit the landing and Kyle greeted you with a small smile, but it quickly melted off his face as you pushed by him and forced the doors shut.

“I’m fine, Kyle,” you said in response to his unasked question. But the way your breaths were coming out of you, ragged and short and strangled from running, you knew it didn’t sound believable.

“Can you take these to the kitchen?”

His eyes caught your shaking hands as he took the bags from you and he frowned, but you brushed him off, heading straight for the stairs.

You just needed a minute to catch your breath.

And you almost made it.

You were only three steps away from the staircase when Wilhemina’s fingers gripped around your arm, pulling you back against her.

“Where do you think you’re going, sneaking upstairs before saying hello?” she murmured against your ear, and your knees went weak because oh lord, there was no air to breathe in this room. You swallowed around your dry throat, forcing steady breaths out of your lungs. Schooled your features.

But you didn’t turn around.

“I need to go to the bathroom,” you lied. And you should have known better. She could read you like a book, especially when you tried to lie to her. But after a brief pause, fingers twitching on your arm, she let you go.

“Alright little one, just don’t be too long.” Her voice was low and it floated up behind you as you made too quickly for the stairs. “We missed you terribly and Delia made your favorite tonight.”

And you nodded as you fled, retreating to the safety and privacy of the bathroom and forcing deep breaths down as you blinked at yourself in the mirror.

And that’s when the tears came. Hard, heavy, and fast.

You didn’t realize how long you had been crying in there, curled in on yourself and shaking, until one of the girls knocked on the door and told you that dinner was ready.

~~~

They both stared at you through dinner. And it was probably your fault.

For one thing, you hadn’t sat next to either of them, too afraid that if Mina slid her hand over your knee or Cordelia pushed a strand of hair out of your face you would lose it in front of everyone. So you situated yourself safely between Madison and Zoe, whispering with Madison that yes everything was back to normal, and thanking her quietly for not asking too many questions.

Cordelia ate quietly, laughing softly with some of the girls. But you could feel Mina’s eyes on you like a knife, could feel the heat of her gaze with every twitch of your brow or quirk of your lip.

At one point you gathered the courage to look up at them, but neither of them were paying you any attention, Mina’s eyes on Cordelia’s lap as Cordelia whispered in her ear. She nodded slowly as Cordelia slid her hand over Mina’s, and you saw Cordelia’s brow furrow, just so.

~~~

Cordelia caught you after dinner, sidled up against Madison and drying the dishes as she washed them.

“Can I see you in the greenhouse for a moment?” she asked politely, her voice hitting that pitch that it always did when she was around the other girls.

You hesitated, licking your lips slowly before nodding.

And as you left, Cordelia’s hand skating over your lower back, Madison called out, “You don’t have to ask so politely, Foxxy. We all know you’re going to bang her brains out.”

~~~

Wilhemina hit her cane on the stone of the greenhouse floor and you flinched in Cordelia’s arms. She squeezed you tighter to her and you pulled yourself down as small as you could in her embrace.

“You don’t keep secrets from us, princess,” Mina tried again, something like regret flicking across her features at your reaction. “Understood? Just tell us what happened and everything will be okay.”

“We can’t help you if you don’t talk to us, darling,” Cordelia tried, pulling away and holding you at arms length. She searched your eyes and you ducked your head.

“Nothing happened,” you said for the millionth time in the last twenty minutes.

And Cordelia released you this time, eyes finding Mina’s behind you as she swallowed.

“Alright.”

~~~

You planned on changing in the bathroom that night, brushing it off on the fact that you wanted to shower. And this time, when Cordelia offered to join you, you refused.

The water did wonders to clear your head, letting the past days, the past week, the constant nagging, wash off your back as you scrubbed yourself down with soap. And when you stepped out of the tub, wrapping the plush towel around you and swiping the steam off the mirror, you let yourself smile at the fact that you actually felt clean.

You pulled the comb through your hair slowly, relishing the quiet of the bathroom and the sheer space around you. No one pushing in. No one asking questions. No one’s eyes boring into your back as you tried to mind your own business.

But when you reached for your pajamas and your hand hit air, you frowned. You must have left them on their bed.

Shit.

A deep breath, and then you steeled yourself, tucking the towel tightly around yourself and plodding back to Cordelia’s room.

You passed by Coco on the way and she looked you up and down, biting down on a snort. “Someone’s getting lucky tonight, huh?”

You faked a smile, hand frozen on the doorknob. “Go to bed, Coco.”

“Will I be able to sleep? These walls are thinner than you three think.”

“Go to bed, Coco,” you tried again, rolling your eyes.

And then she was off, grumbling something about how she would have already been in bed if you hadn’t taken so long in the shower.

You knocked softly on the door and waited for Cordelia’s muffled “come in” before turning the knob and entering.

She was siting on the edge of the bed, Wilhemina standing next to her as she pulled the pins from her hair. And from the scowls on their faces they had clearly been in some sort of deep conversation.

They both looked up when you entered, Mina dropping her loose pins into Cordelia’s outstretched hand.

“Well, well,” Cordelia started, smirking as her eyes raked over you. “To what do we owe this pleasure?”

You cleared your throat, hugging your towel closer to your chest. You ignored the way Cordelia’s smirk faltered. “I left my pajamas in here. Sorry.”

She shifted on the mattress, crossing her legs as Mina leaned up against the post of the bed and looked at you through lidded eyes. Her brow raised.

“Why on earth are you apologizing, princess?”

And you gaped around words, because you really didn’t know.

“You know,” Cordelia drawled, glancing up at Mina and smirking at the unspoken words between them. “Mina and I were just thinking that it had been quite some time since we spoiled you.” Her hands skimmed down her thighs, fingers playing with the fabric of her nightgown. “And we’ve missed you ever so much.”

James’s voice flooded your mind, making you flinch.

This is mine.

Mina pulled herself off of the bedpost, stalking towards you. And you knew that look. You knew those predatory eyes. You knew what it meant when her fingers twitched on the head of her cane like that. And with every tap against the wood, James’s words rang in your ears.

“You know, you really don’t need that towel.”

Did you miss me, baby?

“Not when you have the two of us to keep you warm.”

I don’t care how many women you sleep with.

“To make you feel good.”

It will always be mine.

“To make you forget about whatever is worrying that pretty little mind of yours.”

Do you understand?

And she was almost to you, just out of arms reach, when you ducked around her and fled to the edge of the bed, scrambling to scoop up your pajamas.

“I-I think I’d rather sleep in my room tonight, if that’s okay.”

And when Cordelia frowned you mumbled some excuse about feeling ill.

“Do you need me to get you anything?” Cordelia tried, hand reaching out to catch your arm as you passed.

But you dodged her too, throwing a “no, it’s alright” behind you as you practically ran from the room.

~~~

“Did you and Foxxy break up?”

You rolled your eyes, flicking to the next page in your book.

“I’m trying to read, Madison.”

She sauntered over, perching on the edge of the couch. “I’m just asking.”

And as she snatched a cigarette out of the holder on the coffee table and lit it, you let your curiosity get the better of you and put your book down.

You sighed. “Why are you asking?”

She shrugged, dragging on her cigarette. “You took the Instagram picture down. You know, the gross one where Venny was practically licking your face.”

And you rolled your eyes again, half at her attitude, half at the nickname. “Not that it’s any of your business,” you started, shifting on the couch and crossing your legs under you, “but no. We didn’t break up.”

She let out a soft “huh”, blowing another puff of smoke. And just when you thought she had let it go and went to grab your book back, she spoke again. “Why’d you take it down?”

And your eyebrows raised in frustration as you looked over at her. “Because I felt like it.”

“That’s bullshit.”

And you flinched at her tone. “What?”

“I said that’s bullshit,” she tried again, dragging the words out sarcastically. “We both know you caved to your awful mother.”

And this time you actually froze. “Madison, what are you talking about?”

The only person who knew anything about your mother was Cordelia, and potentially Wilhemina. Cordelia had met her briefly and whether or not she remembered the woman enough to discuss her with Mina, you couldn’t say. You were definitely careful not to bring her up in conversation. And honestly, they never really asked about your home life. No one did.

There was an unspoken “no pry” policy between the girls, and it made it easier to forget the past and concentrate on your studies.

Madison flicked her cigarette, leaning back on the arm of the couch. “I heard Foxxy talking to her on the phone the other day. Damn, that woman can rant.”

You blinked at her, trying to find the right words. But all you landed on was, “Cordelia was talking to my mother?”

“Yeah, and taking some pretty detailed notes.”

You were off the couch in a second, heading straight for the door. But Madison caught your wrist, cackling.

“Jeez, I was kidding. Relax.”

You paused and seriously considered yanking your hand from her grip and smacking her across the face because honestly. But you took a deep breath instead, setting your jaw as you flopped back down on the couch.

“You’re a fucking prick, you know that?”

Madison hummed. “What are you so afraid of? That your perfect girlfriends will learn about your deep, dark past?”

You sighed. “I don’t have a deep, dark past. As boring as it may sound.”

She scoffed. “Exactly. So what’s the issue?”

You huffed, pushing your hand to your forehead. “She threatened to pull me out of here. Throw me in an institution somewhere and lock me away.”

“Shit…”

You glanced up at Madison, all traces of playful banter gone. She actually looked pale.

“What, no witty comeback?”

She shook her head slowly, studying you. “You know Cordelia would never let that happen, right?”

You waved her off.

“No, I mean it. Even if you weren’t screwing her. You’re one of us. And she would never let that happen.”

And you hated that tears were pricking your eyes. “Maybe before, but not now.”

“Now…?” Madison prompted, swinging her legs over and sliding down onto the couch with you.

When you spoke again, your voice was thick with unshed tears. “I failed, Madison. I couldn’t even defend myself from one stupid guy. I don’t deserve to be here. I don’t…” You swallowed hard. “I don’t deserve them.”

And she actually laughed. “You’re kidding, right? Do you think I knew how to choke a person out after only being here for a few months? You’re not supposed to know how to do that yet. Or really at all, I guess? I don’t know, I stole one of Foxxy’s books a while back.”

You chuckled, tracing the fabric of the couch and picking at it softly. “That’s all fine and good, but—“

Madison cut you off, waving her cigarette in your face. “I swear if you’re about to say that you’re ‘damaged goods’ and whine about how sorry I’m supposed to feel for you, I’m leaving right now.”

You groaned, smacking her hand out of your face and falling back on the couch. “What the hell am I supposed to do, Madison?”

She snorted. “You’re asking me for advice?”

You cackled, scrubbing your hands over your face. “Now do you understand how desperate I am?”

And as she leaned back on the couch and propped her feet up on the arm, dragging on her cigarette, she reached her hand out to you. When you took it, she squeezed. “You can start by saying ‘fuck the haters’.”

You quirked your brow, looking up at her. But she sure as hell looked like she wasn’t joking, and you were willing to do anything at this point. So you cupped your hands around your mouth, dropping your voice a few octaves.

“Fuck the haters.”

“There you go,” Madison laughed, and the two of you went back and forth, saying “fuck the haters” louder and louder as you giggled and smacked at each other.

You didn’t see Cordelia watching you from the doorway. Didn’t see her brow push up as you laughed. Didn’t see her nose twitch against tears as you fell back on the couch, legs kicking at Madison.

Didn’t see her bite her lip as she turned, sighing.

You didn’t see her.

~~~

A soft knock. And you knew she was expecting you, so you weren’t surprised when the door opened of its own accord.

You lingered in the doorway.

“You wanted to see me?”

Cordelia looked up from her desk, pushing the hair off of her face.

“Come on in, beautiful.”

You smiled at her, closing the door behind you. But you couldn’t help the slight tremble in your hands because somehow, in some way, you felt like you were in trouble.

She gestured across her desk. “Sit.”

And yes, you were definitely in trouble, because you hadn’t sat across her desk in months. She always had you sit in her lap. Pushed you against the wall. Sat you up on her desk.

You squirmed in the chair, fingers twitching in your lap. “Did I do something wrong?”

She shook her head, waving you off as she finished writing out some paperwork. She stacked the pages together and set them aside, and then her hands were folded on her desk and she was leaning forward, and you couldn’t read the expression on her face.

You could tell what Mina was thinking by the way she inhaled. Knew the language of Cordelia’s fingers twitching better than speaking. But this past week had proved more difficult, all of their actions and decisions shrouded in some sort of secret code that only they could decipher.

You were utterly lost. And it terrified you.

Cordelia cleared her throat. “I had initially thought that it was Madison that hurt you—”

“What?” you started, but she held her hand up.

“I had initially thought that it was Madison that hurt you, and that’s why you wouldn’t tell Mina or I what happened.”

You shook your head. “She helped me. It wasn’t her fault at all.”

And Delia hummed. “I see that now.”

You nodded softly. Cordelia’s eyes narrowed as she studied you. And after only a few moments you found it difficult to breathe.

It was different on this side of the desk. She was intense. Intimidating. You had never doubted her power, but you had always wondered how this woman who was always so soft and open and pliable with you and Mina could command an entire coven, let alone fight in wars against warlocks and voodoo queens and witch hunters. But now, sitting opposite her and very distinctly feeling like you were in trouble, not to mention that rooted gut feeling that you had let her down and the guilt of having lied to her — your skin was vibrating and your heart was pounding and you suddenly realized precisely why she was the Supreme.

She was power personified.

A powerful presence, a powerful love. A powerful voice. Powerful magic.

She could snap her fingers and make the entire human population bend to its knees. Or maybe it was just you. The other girls didn’t seem to be afraid of her.

“Your mother called me.”

Her words snapped you out of your thoughts. You swallowed.

“Oh?”

A nod. “Do you want to leave this coven?”

Your heart sunk into your stomach, and when you spoke, your voice was smaller than you would have liked.

“Please don’t let her take me.”

You heard the way it came out of your mouth, weak and broken. You saw the way Cordelia’s eyes softened and her brow pulled together. Watched her fingers twitch.

But where she normally would have reached for you, pulled you into her lap and kissed you until you were giggling, ravished you with reassurances, she only cleared her throat and leaned back in her chair.

“Alright. That will be all.”

You blinked at her for a moment, stunned, before standing and thanking her. And as you turned to leave, fighting tears at her casual dismissal as you realized that she was already done with you, that she had already stopped caring, she called your name.

You spun, hope flaring in your chest, but she wasn’t looking at you.

“You should thank Madison. She covered for you well.”

Cordelia dragged her pen through the air as she spoke, waving absently toward the door.

A soft nod as you swallowed, fighting yourself on whether or not you should answer. But Cordelia was already buried back in her paperwork and she clearly didn’t have time for you, especially not when she had already given up. Before she even knew how broken you were. Because you had lied to her. Over and over again.

This was all your fault.

So you turned, wringing your hands as you pulled the door to Cordelia’s office open. You paused in the doorway, working against your better judgement and looking back at her once more.

Nothing. You doubted she even realized you were still there.

You shut the door behind you with a soft click, leaning back against it and steadying your breaths out in the empty hallway, hands shaking against the wood.

That night, for the first time in months, you slept alone in your room without telling either of them where you were going. Without making an excuse. Without any sort of explanation.

And no one came looking for you.

~~~

The next day was impossibly long.

Cordelia and Mina were both out on errands, and they wouldn’t be back until the afternoon. You and Zoe has been left in charge of the girls, but while Zoe led the lessons, all you could do was watch from the corner, mind churning over the past week on an endless loop.

And by the time both women returned that afternoon, you had resolved yourself to studying alone in the kitchen. Cordelia would go straight to her greenhouse if you knew her, and Mina almost always went right to her study to get off of her feet and file whatever paperwork she had collected on their run.

So you startled when one of the younger girls scrambled into the kitchen, bouncing on her toes and looking around nervously.

“Millie?” you tried, putting your book down and walking over to her. “Are you alright?”

She nodded. Shook her head. Nodded again.

“What’s wrong?”

And when she spoke, the words tumbled out of her mouth like she was afraid if she paused they would bite her.

“Ms. Venable said she wants to see you in her room right now and if you’re not up there in two minutes she’s going to come find me and make me scrub the toxic ooze out of the bottoms of Cordelia’s rose pots with no gloves to protect my childlike hands.”

You couldn’t help but smile fondly, because it was honestly adorable how terrified everyone was of Mina. And you could tell Millie was repeating her words verbatim.

“Alright. Thank you, Millie.” You gave her a reassuring pat on the shoulder as you made to leave the kitchen. Paused as you heard her panting softly behind you. “And just so you know… Roses don’t produce ‘toxic ooze’. And you don’t have childlike hands.”

You saw her glance down at her fingers, nodding slowly, and then she scrambled out of the room as quickly as she had come.

~~~

It was less than two minutes by the time you made it up to their room, but when you opened the door, Wilhemina and Cordelia were standing in the middle of the space like they had been waiting for hours.

“We need to have a talk,” Mina said, and you braced yourself for what you knew was coming.

“You scared the hell out of Millie,” you deflected. Neither of them laughed.

Instead, Cordelia reached forward and took your hand, pulling you over to the bed and sitting you down on the edge of it. She drew back, fingers falling from yours, and her and Mina exchanged a look that you couldn’t read.

Cordelia wedged her thumb between her teeth as she looked you over, hand on Mina’s arm. And just when you started to brace yourself for your universe to split to pieces as they told you that this was over, just as you started building hard steel walls around your heart, Cordelia spoke.

“Who hurt you?”

Oh.

You almost groaned, annoyed at the fact that they wouldn’t just let it go. But you told yourself that maybe if they were still stuck on it after all this time, maybe it meant that they still cared about you. Maybe you had been wrong. And you certainly weren’t going to jeopardize that now. So you lied. Just like you had hundreds of times in the past week. And you hated the fact that it was almost getting easy.

“No one, Delia. I fell.”

All it took was a glance from Cordelia and Mina stepped forward, fingers twitching on her cane.

“Don’t lie, princess.”

“I’m not lying.”

She scoffed, hard and loud as she tapped her cane down. “See but we think you are, little one.”

And Cordelia hummed, moving to sit next to you on the edge of the bed. “Why have you been avoiding us, darling?”

“I-I haven’t,” you countered weakly, swallowing hard.

Mina tutted, walking over and tipping your chin up. “Lying again. What a naughty girl you are.”

You whimpered, fingers curling in the sheets as Mina’s hand moved to your throat. And she wouldn’t have known. Couldn’t have. But everything inside of you tensed, and you fought to keep yourself grounded in the moment. Refused to let your mind wander to that stupid red hallway.

“Looks like we’re going to have to do this my way,” she continued, tapping at your ankles with her cane. “Over Delia’s lap. Now.”

But Cordelia held up her hand, the heat of her gaze raking over you. You saw her eyes narrow and her brow furrow, and then her fingers were on Mina’s wrist as she pried her hand off of your throat.

“No,” Cordelia said firmly, tugging Mina down onto the bed next to you. “We’re going to do it my way this time.”

A look was exchanged between Cordelia and Mina, and Mina nodded, just so. And then Cordelia was running her hand over your shoulder, fingers pushing and massaging and working their way up to the base of your neck.

“Do you want to tell us what happened?” Cordelia tried again, and you went to protest, but something stopped you.

Cordelia hummed, brushing a strand of hair behind your ear.

“There we go,” she said softly, encouragingly, and your eyes went wide as Mina’s hand found your knee.

“Delia what did you mean when you said—“

Mina cut you off, shushing you and pressing a kiss to your temple.

Something pricked at your nose and you flinched, fingers twisting in the sheets at your side.

Cordelia stroked her hands through your hair, fingers leaving warmth in their wake.

“It’s alright darling, just relax.”

Mina hummed, adjusting herself on the bed. Your eyes fluttered shut at the tap of her cane as she shifted.

“You’re safe here,” Cordelia continued, and you felt Mina’s thumb brush over the dip of your knee. “We just want to help you. Now tell us what happened, beautiful.”

You had barely registered her request when the words pushed out of your mouth.

“I didn’t fall. He hit me,” you started, and your eyes went wide as you dug your teeth into your lip. Cordelia’s brow creased and Mina’s fingers tightened on your knee.

A pause as they looked at each other.

“Who hit you?” Cordelia asked.

“My ex.” Your teeth came down on your lip again, harder this time. You tasted blood.

“And why did he hit you, princess?” Mina’s voice was low. Steady. Surprisingly calm.

“Because he was—“ you started, the words snaking past your teeth before you bit down on your cheek. A deep breath. “Delia, what are you doing to me?”

Her smirk twitched up at the corner, tugged up with her brows as her fingers strung through your hair. “Why did he hit you?”

“Because he was trying to—“ And this time you covered your mouth with your hand, determination locking into your features.

Cordelia furrowed her brow and shook her head, just so. “Don’t fight it honey, it’ll be so much easier if you just tell us what happened.”

“I don’t want to.” And now tears were pricking at your eyes because you knew what she had done. And you knew that you had driven them to this. And you knew that there was no way you could fight it.

“Why not?” It was Mina, thumb brushing over your cheek.

A sniffle. A shaky breath. And then you couldn’t hold onto it anymore and the truth fell out of you.

About how you had failed them, how you had failed as a witch. How he had pushed himself on you. Had hit you over the head with his glass. How Madison had saved you and defended you and covered for you like you had asked. How you were a disappointment. How you understood that they wouldn’t want to be with you anymore. That they didn’t sign up for this.

At some point during your explanation, Cordelia had vaulted off the bed, pacing the room as Mina’s hand rubbed slow circles on your back.

They let you go, let you talk, let you stumble over your thoughts and squeeze every last detail from your memory. And you weren’t sure how long it had taken, but by the time you finished the sun had set and a cool chill was billowing the curtains.

You finished your explanation with a soft “I’m sorry”, more a breath than a final statement. And your body deflated as Mina pressed a kiss to your temple, the weight of the week and the pressure of keeping a secret from them finally lifting from your shoulders as sobs pushed up your throat.

You thought that maybe you had done the right thing, letting everything go. That maybe, somehow, everything would fall back into place. But while Mina’s touches were soft and her mouth was warm as she pressed kisses along your hairline, Cordelia had hardened and a cold energy poured off of her.

“What’s his full name?” Cordelia’s voice was as firm as you had ever heard it, pitched deep and low.

You wiped sloppily at your cheeks and sniffed hard. “James Conroy.”

Mina hummed, and it was almost a growl, but when you looked over at her she smiled reassuringly. “You’re doing great.”

“And his address?”

“I-I don’t know,” you tried, your brain pulling every piece of information you had on him to the forefront of your mind. Pushed the words onto your tongue. “He used to live by the French Quarter, but he might have moved.”

“His full address, Y/N. Now.”

“I—“ you tried, but your voice broke because you really didn’t know. Your mind was blank. Your mouth was empty. There was no other information you could present.

“I said now!” Cordelia whirled on you, fire in her eyes. And Mina’s hand froze on your back.

“Delia,” Mina started, voice low. “She said she doesn’t know. Let it go.”

Cordelia flicked her hand up. Wilhemina’s fingers sprung off of you and flew to her throat, and you watched in horror as her mouth moved around silent words. As she clawed at the soft skin under her jaw, brow creased and hot eyes on Cordelia.

But then your head was whipped back to Cordelia, heat pressing in on your cheeks as you were held in place by an invisible force. Frozen in time.

“Address,” she said again, voice thick and deep.

“I don’t know.” The words left you before you had decided to open your mouth.

“Last known residence.”

“I don’t know.”

“Workplace.”

“I don’t know.”

And your throat was heating up with the rapid fire questions, cheeks pressed in firmly to keep you still as your hands dug into the bedsheets. Found Mina’s thigh and squeezed. You heard a gasping sound and glanced over at Mina, saw her jaw set as the gears turned in her head.

“Physical description,” Cordelia continued, fingers twitching on the outstretched hand holding Mina’s voice in place.

“B-Brown hair,” you choked out, and tears flooded your vision when you felt pressure constrict on your throat. It was starting to hurt, your brain working faster than you could fathom, swimming with information you thought was long forgotten. You could feel Cordelia digging through it, digging through your memories like a hungry animal.

“Eye color.”

“Brown.”

“Height.”

“S-Six foot.”

And her fingers twitched at her side as the invisible fingers on your throat tightened.

“Build.”

“A-Average. Broad shoulders,” you choked out, gasping around the crushing of your windpipe. And then James’s hand was there, pushing you, pinning you, choking you, sliding between your legs.

You gulped down air, struggling to breathe, struggling to think. Tears streamed down your cheeks as you sobbed and snot ran past your lips. It was too hot. It was too much. And your eyes rolled back in your head as every nerve was set on edge.

It all happened so fast.

The world swam in black and red, thoughts and memories whipping across your vision faster than you could comprehend. Cordelia’s voice cracking as she yelled at you, something about not being good enough. Not being enough. And the pieces of her chastisement that you could hear made you scream because you were trying for Christ’s sake. The sound got stuck in your throat, fire against the words that were trying to fight their way out of your mouth. A growl from Cordelia that fell straight inside your brain. Your lungs constricted as everything was pulled from inside of you. And then the sharp rap of Mina’s cane cracked through your mind.

It hit so hard it should have split the wood, and in that second, you were released.

“Enough, Cordelia!”

You gulped down air as your vision came back, and the relief of having the pressure pulled from you made you feel like you were hovering off the bed.

There was a long silence as you sobbed, choking on snot and air and tears. And it wasn’t until you tore your eyes from Cordelia that you realized Mina had an arm across you, blocking you with her body and pushing herself between you and Cordelia.

Cordelia froze, blinking. “I—“ she tried, voice raspy. And her eyes went wide as tears welled. “I…”

She must have still been holding some piece of you, however small. Because in that moment, whatever spell was still on you broke and you crumpled in on yourself, doubling over Mina’s arm and curling against her side as you gasped and sobbed into your knees.

And when Mina spoke again, you could barely hear her low voice through the sound of your sniffling, your face buried too far into her shoulder.

“That’s enough.”

A long silence stretched. You felt Mina move softly with her breaths, hand stroking your thigh. But she was stiff. Too tall. Challenging.

And after what felt like an eternity you heard the heavy click of heels, a soft “Mina…” Felt Mina shake her head slowly. And then the door slammed.

Mina took a deep breath, shoulders falling just so as she sighed.

“Alright, princess. It’s okay. She’s gone. It’s just me.”

She pressed a kiss to the top of your head and then she was pulling her arm from your grip and sliding her hand across your cheek, tugging your face from behind her shoulder.

“Come on, little one. Look at me.”

You sniffed, leaning into her touch as you let her pull your face to hers and press a soft kiss to your lips. Your eyes fluttered open, vision blurred by tears that were still falling.

“No no, princess. Don’t cry,” she started, brow furrowed as her eyes searched yours. “Everything is going to be okay.”

You sniffed, wiping at you cheeks. And the way she was looking at you, so worried. So tenderly. She had only looked at you that softly once before, after the first time she had used her cane on you. You wouldn’t have even noticed if you hadn’t squinted your eyes open that night after she thought you had fallen asleep. But as much love as she normally poured over you, this look was something different.

And suddenly you felt very small and very, very stupid.

You straightened, clearing your throat and sniffing against more tears.

But Mina knew what you were doing and her fingers were instantly in your hair, scratching your scalp in that way that always put you straight to sleep.

“Shh, princess,” she cooed, tipping your chin up. And you fought to avoid her gaze, but her fingers twitched and she whispered your name, and when you met her eyes she smiled. “You don’t need to do that.”

You shook your head, brushing her off, but her fingers tightened on your chin, just so, and your eyes snapped back to hers. “You don’t do that with me, okay?” A pause. “Ever.”

You gulped, sniffing as fresh tears welled in your eyes.

And when Mina spoke again, her voice was low. Hoarse. “Please don’t do that with me. If you’re not okay, tell me. If something happens, tell me. You scared the hell out of us.”

You choked on a whimper, sobs pushing up your throat. “I’m sorry,” you whispered. But she cut you off.

“No, no. Don’t apologize.” A soft kiss to your forehead. “Just don’t shut us out. Okay?”

You nodded softly. “Okay.”

“I love you,” she said softly, brushing a strand of hair from your eyes. “And Delia loves you, too. That’s the only reason she lost control.”

You sniffled at her words, and this time when the tears fell onto your cheeks you weren’t sure if they were fresh or bottled up somewhere from before.

“You’re not going to leave me?” Your hands fidgeted in your lap and you picked a point on Mina’s dress to study, too afraid of what would happen if you were looking her in the eye and she said yes.

“What? I—“ Mina cut off, trying to catch your gaze. “Who told you that? Was it Madison, because I swear—“

You shook your head, swiping at your tears. “No, I just... figured you wouldn’t want me if I was...” A sniff, and the words got caught in your throat but you pushed them out. “If I was broken like this...”

Mina’s eyes went wide as her brow furrowed and she let out a soft “oh, no no” before licking her lips and swallowing.

Her hand fell from your chin and she shifted, patting her lap. “Come here.”

She helped you lean over, still shaking from the vice grip Cordelia had on you earlier, and you rested your head on her lap, curling up on the edge of the bed. Her hand was back on your thigh in an instant, tracing soft circles as her fingers carded through your hair and over your scalp.

“Relax, little one.”

And you barely had time to nod, to sigh against the love her fingers were pushing into you, before your eyes grew heavy and you were lulled into a deep sleep.

~~~

Soft voices woke you from dreams of Cordelia’s hair and Mina’s hands, and you whined softly as you shifted, waiting for one of them to grab you and pull you close. Reaching for their heat.

Nothing.

You shifted in bed and noted that you had been tucked under covers and that there were plush pillows fanned around you. But you didn’t open your eyes, sinking back into that soft twilight of warmth and peace between sleep and consciousness.

At the rustling of the sheets the voices paused and you froze, face buried in your pillow. After a moment they continued, though, and you smiled to yourself at the warmth that threaded through you from those voices alone. The sense of safety and security that the sound brought with it.

“You need to eat.”

“I’m not leaving her, Mina.”

“Then let me bring something up—“

“No, I’m… No.”

A pause, a dissatisfied hum, and Cordelia spoke again.

“Where was he?”

You frowned.

“Madison found him scrounging some bar. She might not be much, but she sure can pick an asshole out of a crowd.”

A soft chuckle, and then a long silence.

“What’s wrong, little duck?”

Cordelia took a shaky breath.

“I feel like I failed her…”

You heard Mina’s cane tap, heard fabric shuffle.

“You found him, you did everything you could do.”

When Cordelia spoke again she sounded so small. Her voice wavered. “But I wasn’t there for her. I— We weren’t there for her, Mina. Our girl. She was scared and she was hurt and she was alone—“

Her voice cracked and you heard shuffling, and you propped yourself up in the bed as heat flooded your cheeks.

Cordelia sat in the plush chair by the window, sunlight streaming in and turning her hair to gold. Her head was buried in Mina’s stomach as Mina smoothed her hands over her back, shushing her and cooing at her and holding Cordelia against her. Cordelia’s shoulders shook and you heard a soft sob catch in her throat as her hands tightened over Mina’s arms.

And watching your Supreme, so small and helpless and broken. Because of you. Because she felt like she had failed you. After you had been so worried you had failed her.

Something broke in your chest and you sniffed against tears as they dripped down your cheeks.

And Mina, ever present and always impeccably observant, caught the sound. She looked over at you and a soft smile played across her lips, eyes softening.

“Good morning, little one.”

You gave her your best smile, eyes flicking back to Cordelia as your brows pushed up.

“Delia…?” you tried softly, and in an instant she had pushed herself off of Mina, wiping hastily at her eyes and schooling her features. She smiled at you, clearing her throat as her nose twitched around the ghost of tears.

“Hi, darling. How are you feeling?”

She gulped, and you watched her throat bob, and then you couldn’t help it. You climbed off of the bed, drawn to her like a magnet despite everything that had happened. Because she had just been trying to help. She had been doing the only thing she knew to keep you safe. To protect you. You had hidden and lied and locked them both out. And they both deserved better than that.

Cordelia deserved so much better than this guilt that slumped her shoulders and pulled the light from her eyes. She had been there for you when you wanted nothing more than to block her out. Desperate not to lose her. And now it was your turn.

Mina stepped back as you approached, and you slid your hand over Cordelia’s as she offered you a weak smile.

“Feeling better?” she tried again, but you only laced your fingers together, pulling her arm around you as you curled up in her lap and rested your head on her chest. Her free hand stroked through your hair on instinct and you felt her brow furrow. “What are you doing?”

You nuzzled your face into her chest, humming. “Thank you.”

She tilted her head and her hair fell into your face, tickling your nose. “What?”

Mina chuckled behind you, and you heard her cane tap as she perched herself on the edge of the chair. You looked up at both of them, trying to push the love and gratitude that was threatening to burst out of your chest through your eyes and into them. Mina smiled at you knowingly, fingers playing absently through Cordelia’s hair.

You reached out and took her free hand, squeezing their fingers as you spoke.

“Thank you. Both of you. For everything. I’m sorry I kept all of this from you.”

They both murmured soft reassurances matched with warm smiles, but you felt like it wasn’t enough. So you brought both of their hands to your lips, kissing their knuckles.

“I love you both… So much.”

“You know we love you too, darling. That’s why we needed to know what happened.”

You nodded. “I know.”

“I’m sorry that I hurt you,” Cordelia continued, and her voice went from sultry to strangled in a second.

You shook your head. “You don’t need to apologize.”

“Neither do you,” Cordelia countered, nails scratching lightly against your scalp. “Not one bit.”

“But I lied to you.” You shook your head, gaze dropping to your lap. “To both of you. After you have been nothing but kind to me. After you let me in and let me love you… And I—“

“No no no,” Cordelia tried again. “I should have never lost my temper like that—“

And then she squeaked and you whipped your head up. Mina was leaning over you, kissing Cordelia deeply, and it shouldn’t have made you squirm, especially after everything that had happened. But it did.

Cordelia giggled as she felt you shift in her lap and she broke away, looking down at you knowingly.

“Are you alright, darling?”

You cleared your throat. But before you could speak, Mina’s hand was on your cheek and she looked between you and Cordelia.

“We’re stopping this nonsense now. Understood?” She arched a perfect brow. “You’re both sorry. You’ve both apologized. And you’ve both learned your lesson. And if you haven’t, well then leave that bridge for me to cross.”

And the look in her eyes as she smirked at you was so predatory that you couldn’t help but whine.

“Alright, little one?”

You nodded, mouth gone dry.

“Little duck?”

And Cordelia nodded, clearing her throat. When you looked up at her, her cheeks had flushed pink, and you knew it was because she still wasn’t used to being so exposed in front of someone other than Mina. That little name got straight under her skin and it never failed to make you grin.

“Good,” Mina continued, squeezing your hand in hers and pressing a kiss to the top of your hair. “Now how about we all go get some lunch?”

Mina helped you slide off of Cordelia’s lap, untangling your arms and untucking your legs. And as you followed her to the door, Cordelia’s fingers ghosted hesitantly over the small of your back, over your waist, like she didn’t want to touch you but couldn’t fathom doing anything else. You glanced back, slipping your hands over hers and guiding them around your stomach. And the smile she offered you made your knees go weak.

“Oh, and Delia?” Mina threw over her shoulder, reaching for the doorknob. “If you even think about going that hard on her again, let alone taking my voice, I’ll cane you in the foyer in front of everyone. Understood?”

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raleigh-ocean · 5 years

Text

first meeting w/ coco

this is the same reader as in her other ‘first’s! this time i’m bringing you circus performer!reader and I’m digging it so much? I hope you enjoy it!

how could Coco feel this way for someone she just met?

while holding you in her arms, covering as much as she could so you both didn’t stand out much, she thought she was nuts

and Cordelia was going to kill her for sure

however she kept holding her umbrella better with her free hand to shelter you both from the night rain

it all started when some of the girls wanted to go to a circus that arrived in town

a different plan than stay at the Academy in their free day

so Coco, Mallory and some others got tickets easily after talking with Cordelia for permission

once they got there, they didn’t expect to feel such strong magic flowing around the whole tent

it confused them and for a moment they thought the magic it was theirs

but when Coco laid her eyes on you, she knew they weren’t the source of such power

come on, it wasn’t even possible that a regular human being could do that

watching you jump and move, always as if you were in some trance, made her heart squeeze

by the time the whole function ended, all the witches knew for sure that it wasn’t possible nor normal that someone could bend themselves that much nor actually breath fire without any trick

and then they caught in time how one of your fellow had to hold you, all feverish, before what it seemed your boss shoved you behind the curtain with an angry face

all of them decided to take the matter in their hands

Coco was so afraid at the moment? she kept being in silence while the rest were deliberating what to do

they all decided to go find Cordelia

Mallory, in exchange, frowned for a second before telling them to go ahead while them - Coco and her - stayed there, standing guard

‘c’mon Coco, we are getting them out of there’

‘but we-’

‘if we wait for Cordelia maybe we won’t have a chance anymore’

one would think Coco was the one getting both in trouble, but Mallory was always the one coming up with the plans

this involved using concilium in like five performers and telekinesis in the director, which was beating you for ‘putting up such a shameful show’

and that’s how Coco was trying now to hold you against her body, following Mallory to get the fuck out of there as fast as you three could, in case the spells didn’t work as well as they two thought

‘who are you’ your voice is weak, both tired and hurt, but you are holding onto Coco as if your life depended of it (kinda it does) ‘why are you doing this’

Mallory, which seemed to not care about the rain, only turned her head enough to give a quick look at Coco

‘we witches have to have each other backs’

‘now you are safe’ Coco mumbled that, both trying to make you believe it and herself too

you looked at Coco as if she was an angel that came down on Earth to safe you

you, out of all people

you, that always thought nothing was good in your life

you, that passed out in the arms of an angel

Coco panicked when you went limp in her arms tbh

but she did her best to keep holding you

with Mallory’s help, the three of you managed to arrive to the Academy after they took turns to piggyback you all the way

oh boy Cordelia is beyond furious

more for the thought of anything bad happening to Coco or Mallory

but at the same time she is really proud of how quick on their feet they were

unconscious, you skipped the biggest scold ever given under the Academy’s roof, with Misty trying to help you lower the fever + trying to heal as many the wounds as you had

once you woke up fully the next day around night, feeling like crap in an unknown place, everything feels like a dream

maybe it was or maybe you were dead and that’s was your heaven

that Coco was by your side, reading a book, didn’t help at all with the thought of you were in heaven

i mean, how can possibly be that such an angel was by your side

‘where am i’ it’s barely a whisper, trying to move your tired and beat body, but Coco put her gentle hands on you to keep you in place

‘home’

another soft whisper

one that you believe in right away

Coco didn’t know why she said that, it just felt right

your face was one of pure relief upon hearing that one word, before breaking in a sobbing mess

something inside Coco breaks and ache, but she tries to comfort you by stroking your hair with care

something else start to grow, barely a baby sprout, one that make her promise herself that she was going to protect you

and let me tell you

Coco’s promises are forever

#coco st. pierre vanderbilt #coco st. pierre vanderbilt x reader #coco x reader #ahs imagine #ahs imagines #ahs coven #ahs apocalypse #american horror story #how would be

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randomahsposts · 5 years

Conversation

Pet Shop

Cordelia: GIRLS NO RUNNING STOP PUSHING EACH OTHER NO WE ARE NOT GETTING A TURTLE I ONLY AGREED ON GETTING A PUPPY

[Misty holding up a snake with ears taped to its head]

Misty: Delia can we take home this puppy?

Zoe: pretty sure that's a reptile

Madison: what kind of puppy hisses??

Coco: I-

Mallory: OMG DID YOU NAME HER YET?? NAME HER SALEM

Queenie: -that's the whitest thing i've ever heard

#ahs coven #ahs apocalypse #ahs #ahs imagine #cordelia goode #misty day #coco st. pierre vanderbilt #mallory #madison montgomery #zoe benson #queenie #goode day #foxxay #misty day and cordelia goode #ahs incorrect quotes

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writershapeholeonthedoor · 6 years

Text

Whatever you’re thinking, don’t stop to imagine Mallory going insane for being the only one who knows about the Apocalypse.

Don’t imagine her wanting to talk with someone about it, to take out of her chest, but deciding not to tell anyone, because she don’t want anyone else to feel like her.

Don’t imagine her crying every night because she has nightmares of the Apocalypse and can’t talk with anyone about it.

Don’t imagine Mallory answering the door everytime someone knocks wondering when it will be Coco.

Don’t imagine her missing Coco with all of her heart, even if tecnically they haven’t even met yet.

Don’t imagine her not being sure when is time to take Madison from Hell and not having no one to ask for.

Don’t imagine Mallory finally meeting Coco in the new timeline and desperately wanting to hug her, but not being able to because the girl don’t remember her.

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vintagegoddess12 · 5 years

Text

Radioactive Salvation Ch.4

[Cordelia Goode x Reader]

Chapter: 1, 2, 3

A/N: Sorry if this took too long. Also, this is one of the lengthy chapters to come up in this fic. Hope you like it. Tell me what you think ok? Love lots.

Tagging: @cordeliasflowergirl @athenamgh @stevenuniversetanzanite @germansarechill @chonisbestmistake @alurous

Cordelia’s P.O.V

I look at your familiar face and thought to myself: I have missed you so bad. I want to reach across the table and hold your hand, feel your warmth, one that I've missed so much. I miss your hands intertwined with mine. I just want to be close to you and remember how it feels to be complete once again. But I can't. You're sitting across from me at the dinner table, paying no attention to my thoughts. You used to know what I'm feeling and thinking, especially if they are so loud. Now, I'm just one of your guests that you pay no mind to. Your attention is divided between Michael and Myrtle giving you compliments for the meal. The world may have ended but you still found a way to bring food to the table and be a great hostess, one thing Myrtle and Bubbles - your mentors - thought you in the academy. "This is really magnificent, darling," exclaimed Myrtle, "how did you find this fresh seafood?" You were about to answer when Mallory, who helped you prepare in the kitchen, excitedly answered, "she used this magic that took apart the components of the nutrition cube we eat then brought them back to their original state" "That's my witch," Michael said after letting out a chuckle. His hand landed on your arms and you smiled at him upon contact. I felt Madison's stare at me so I decided to keep my reactions to myself. If I have to be honest, the gesture sent a pang of pain in my chest. The world is about to end and all I have are regrets when I used to have you. I failed you as a partner and as your Supreme to keep you safe from the dangers of the world. I feel guilty feeling this way. I was so caught up in my thoughts, I didn't even know the Antichrist finished eating. "Excuse me, ladies," Michael catching the attention of everyone in the table, "I'll leave you alone so you can catch up." He glanced at everyone then headed for his office but not before lightly touching your shoulder. I can sense that everyone is wary of his actions. "For someone who caused the end of the world, he looks too darn jolly," Madison commented not too long after he walked away, breaking the silence. Suddenly, all the attention in the room went to the woman seating in front of me. You were not bothered by all the eyes focused on you and kept on eating. "So are you like his girlfriend or something?" Madison asked, voicing out the thought every witch in the table has. Her choice of word made me wince inside. You looked up and met her gaze. "Nope," you answered and caused Madi's brow to raise. "I'm just here to pay a kind act that he did for me." "Was there anything kind that came out of the person?" Madison retaliated, her voice laced with poison. You stopped eating and focused on her, "Well, you're here, aren't you?" Your reminder of her resurgence caused the witch's jaw to drop and made her silent for a while. "I believe what she's trying to say, dear, is why are you here when you left the coven?" Myrtle tried to reach for your hand on the table but removed it and place it in your lap. "I didn't leave the coven. I simply stayed away." You answered with a weak smile across your face. "We looked for you," I blurted out loud, causing everyone to look at me. You turned your face to me, pain passing in your eyes. I somehow regret saying it. "Really?" You replied with a trace of mockery. "Did you find me?" That answer stung and I had no words to make up a reply. I wanted to say that I tried really hard to look for you. I even asked Papa Legba if you were in hell. After a few hits of cocaine, he said you weren't there. I exhausted my Power of Sight and the connection we have but I still failed. I couldn't even feel your presence, even now. I'm starting to think it's because of Langdon's magic. "I didn't," was all that I could simply say. I saw disappointment pass in your face before Coco spoke. "But I did." You instantly looked at the witch, as if waiting for the words that will come out of her mouth. Your eyes became glassy, tears forming in it. "It's still blurry to me but I remember seeing you at the academy," she kept trying to remember. I have to admit she got me hanging to her every word. "You were standing over a bed," I looked at you and your eyes were going wide. "Oh and you look like shit," Coco continued, "you were with --" You curled your fist and uttered a spell to bind her lips together, stopping the words to come out of her mouth. "If you do remember," you blinked back the tears in your eyes, "then you know what's at stake." "What is at stake?" Myrtle asked but you remained focused at Coco. "It's not like there are any more witches that will die if you let this nutrition label to speak," Madison matter-of-factly said. You looked at her, shocked. "They're all dead, thanks to this voodoo bitch." She tilted her head to Dinah, who is seated the other end of the table. "Hey, it's kill or be killed," Dinah replied, looking at you. "Oh don't worry, backstabbing bitch, you will be killed," Madison threatened. You remained silent during the exchange. Hearing your sisters die seemed like news to you. I wonder if Michael had told you what he did. If he had, you would definitely run away from him. You don't tolerate violence, never did. You were about to speak but then you were interrupted by Ms. Mead or her robot counterpart. She whispered something to you that caught your attention. You released your hold on Coco before standing up. "I'm afraid the Q and A portion of the evening are finished, ladies." You looked at each one of us. Your stare lingered a moment at me but maybe I was just dreaming. "I have some matters to attend to." You then started to walk away. I remained still to my seat, unsure whether I should follow you or watch over my girls. I want to say a lot of things to you because I'm not sure I'll walk out of this place alive. Myrtle noticed my internal crisis. She nods her head, letting me go after you. It was the push I needed to stand up and follow you. I just want to see you smile for me, one last time. --- "I have found the answer to your question, darling," Michael's voice echoed through the halls when he greeted you. "Questions," you corrected him. "They multiplied." I ran after you and it was not my intention to eavesdrop in your conversation. However, something inside me tells me to do so. I hid to the closest pillar and used a cloaking spell to hinder anyone from seeing me. "Oh my, those witches are real trouble, aren't they?" He commented to himself. "Careful," you reminded him. "I'm still one of them." "I assure you, not for long." His smile sent shivers down my spine. What does he mean by not for long? He inched closer to you before speaking. "I am not responsible for the tragic death of Ms. Vanderbilt." "So I was informed," you coldly replied before glancing to Ms. Mead. "Yes. There was an intrusion earlier. A man," Ms. Mead left the room while he was speaking, "who calls himself Brock." She returned with a scruffy looking man in chains and dragged him a few feet closer to me. You approached the man while Michael continued to speak. "He killed one of our people to gain access. Disguised himself as a guest to the gathering. Got Ms. Vanderbilt alone in her room then killed her." You stood in from of him and, unknown to you, me. Brock, on his knees, kept trying to break free from the chains that bound him but I'm guessing Ms. Mead is making it tighter for him every time. You stared him down before softly asking, "Why?" He looked back at you, still fighting against his restraints, and replied, "because she left me in Santa Monica. She broke up our relationship for selfish reasons. She allowed me to die with the rest of the world." He was catching his breath. "Because I loathe her and revenge is a dish best served cold." You closed your eyes and your fist. You only do that when you're trying to control your temper. Something about what he said sparked something in you. "Such a shame, isn't it?" Michael teased from behind you. "Your excuse for killing is all for selfish reasons too." He started walking towards you. "Sadly, all your efforts are wasted." "No, it wasn't. I killed her dead." Brock spat back. "No witch stays dead for too long, moron." Ms. Mead stated. You remain unmoved in your position. Michael is now directly behind you, caressing your hair, making you calm down. Brock processed the idea of her ex-girlfriend being a witch. "More reason for me to kill her," he hissed and tried, even more, to get out of his restraints. You shot your eyes open with his response. Your body tensed and you clenched your fists even more if that is possible. Your eyes focused only on him. "Let me handle this, darling," Michael whispered to you. "I will make sure he gets the punishment he deserves." He reached for your closed fist. "Does that satisfy you?" Michael seems different around you. His commanding presence still remains but there is more to what he is showing. More concerned. More human. "No, it won't." You shot him a look that made him step back. "I will handle this." Michael signaled Ms. Mead to step back also. Whatever you're about to do made Michael smirk. He looks proud. You raised your hand and called the fire from one of the candles. The flame rested in your palm. You stared at Brock while the light in your hands illuminates your face. There is something sinister with your expression. "You think that revenge is a dish best served cold," you knelt in front of him and looked at him eye to eye, "well, witches like it hot." With that, you closed your fist and seconds later, he was screaming and writhing on the floor. Smoke diffuses from the metal chains you're burning. A small sinister smile forms in your face. I looked for the expressions of Michael and his confidante. There they are, standing like two proud parents. I can't believe this is happening. You can't even hurt a fly. Never would you take pleasure from inflicting pain. The torture stopped as you open your fist. You walked away from him, anger blazing in your eyes. Brock lay at the floor, breathing heavily and slinging curses at you. You stopped in the middle of the room before speaking. "On the count of three, you run as fast you can," you said coldly, "and pray to whatever god you believe in to save you." With a flick of your wrist, the shackles that bind him broke. "One..." The burn marks of his torture are now evidently black against his skin. "Two..." He tries to stand, ignoring the pain of his wounds. "Three!" You bellowed. He was practically limping when he tried to run. "Why did you do that? You could have killed him right there and then." Ms. Mead asked. "Michael knows why." You replied. She looked at the figure near the stairs. His stance proves that he is indeed having fun with what you're doing, his gaze locked on you. A smirk formed in his lips before answering, "To give him hope." You raised your hands once again, this time a man instead of a flame touched your palm. Brock is limp against your grasp in his neck. "You bitch!" Brock uttered under his breath. "You really had the hate coming! Freaks!" How dare he judge our kind? Behind the pillar where I hide, I was ready to impale him using my magic but you threw him against the wall near me. His body fell hard on the floor. Before he can recover, you threw him again. "You're a murderer and you dare judge?" Your voice filled with anger. You threw him again with more force. I think I hear a bone or two broke. "Do you remember what happened to men like him?" Michael asked, probably triggering a memory in you. What he said further ignited the flame of anger inside you. "Oh, I do" You pinned Brock against a wall with your mind. I can sense that you intend to end him right there. You were never a killer, even to those who deserve it and I'm not going to let you start being one now. How will I stop you? I need to get to you. I focused my mind on everyone's consciousness in the room. I can feel three heads. I see Brock's first. It's all hazy and no straight thoughts. In the brink of death, his mind is on survival mode. Then there were two. Your's and the Antichrist's. I see darkness, in both of them. If I choose the latter, he will realize that I am here and I don't know what he will do. But how do I set you apart? I had an idea. I sent a cool whisp of air in your way, enough to trigger a response. True enough, you flinched. It caused small shock in your consciousness. I took that as an opportunity to enter your mind. It felt so wrong to be doing this. You despise the idea of mind reading, that's why Bubbles rarely use her powers around you. You would always say that no one should be privy of their most intimate thoughts other than one's self. While trying to communicate with you, the energy in the room shifted. The flames flickered. The temperature in the hall got hotter. I can feel sweat trickling down my face. The forces seem to be gathering in the middle of the room, in you. Now, what is happening? "The descent is upon us," the Antichrist seemingly answered my question. What does it have to do you?. He called out your name and said, "you know what to do." Suddenly, your thoughts focused on gripping Brock's neck tighter. I used my inner voice to talk to you. "[Y/n], don't do this." You were surprised by the intrusion in your thoughts. I was shocked however when you breathed heavier than usual. That seemed to anger you more and focus on your victim. "If you kill him, you'll be just like him," I tried to reason out in your head. You gave one last push on your hold on him before you screamed in agony. I was terrified for you that I lost concentration in your consciousness. Brock fell on the floor, breathless. So did you, as you continue screaming, in what I can only guess as pain. I tried to enter your mind again but it is completely sealed off. My instincts say that I should run to you but Michael did it first. "[Y/n], what are you feeling?" He asked as he helps you stand. I remained behind the pillar, assessing the situation. I believe you wouldn't reveal my presence to him. "He doesn't deserve to die," you exclaimed, looking at the other slumped figure on the floor. "He doesn't deserve to live either," Michael replied to your sentiment. The two of you exchanged looks as if understanding what the other meant. The way we used to. You returned your gaze to the figure, who's now trying to stand up on his own. What are you going to do? You shook free from the Antichrist's hold on you. Once again, the energy in the room shifted - going to you. You raised your hand, calling forth the wind. "Haec pro maledicto sunt," you started, a whisp of air rests in your palm. "Sit corpore separata." You pointed the ball of air as you walk to Brock, his eyes now pleading of mercy. "Sit corpus attingunt." The whisps of air are now changing color to black. His body began shaking. You stepped closer. "Mitte animam ad infernum." You stopped in front of him, beside me. You looked at your right side, knowing, feeling, that I am there. Your facial expression similar to a hurt child. Innocent yet resembles the pain of ten lifetimes. You sent the ball of black air to Brock's chest as you finish your curse. "Descensum!" Just like that, his body stopped shaking and breathing. Silence covered the hall and he remained limp on the floor. He remained dead. The silence was broken by Ms. Mead, asking what will she do now. As if this situation usually occurs. The Antichrist then answered, "hide the body but don't burn it. He can still wake up if [y/n] wants to." She proceeded as she was told. You didn't kill him. You just sent him to eternal damnation until you don't want to anymore. The next thing that happened surprised me just as much as Michael. You turned on your heal and slapped him. The echo still ringing in my ear. "How could you lie to me?" You shouted, barely a question. How could you not tell me that they're gone!" "Who? The witches," He seemed to have an idea on your sudden outburst. "Yes, the witches!" "I had to," he replied calmly. If that got on my nerve, it surely did the same thing to you. "Had to? When was killing ever a necessity!?" "It is the acceptable action so you can perform your role," he tried to reason with you. You shook your head and breathed out a heavy sigh. You faced the direction of the decontamination area and started walking. "Where are you going?" "Outside," you looked back at him. "Pray to your father that nothing bad happens to me out there or everything you've ever done will go to waste." Anger is once again evident in your voice. "Don't. You. Dare. Follow. Me." and you continued walking out.

---

Translation of the curse in Latin (thanks google translate):

Let this be a curse.

Let the body and soul separate.

Let the body be untouched.

Send the soul to hell!

#radioactive salvation #cordelia goode #cordelia goode x reader #ahs imagine #ahs apocalypse #michael langdon #michael langdon x reader #sarah paulson imagine #sarah paulson x reader #ms. mead #madison montgomery #myrtle snow #mallory #coco st. pierre vanderbilt

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sunshinedaises-stuff-blog · 6 years

Text

Lonely Ordeal Prologue

Prologue

2021

Dark brown eyes met with familiar light blue eyes. Cordelia Goode stared at her daughter with such an ardent expression that it made Myrtle and the other witches watch in complete anticipation.

Myrtle felt her heart ache as she stared at the younger witch who would call her auntie Myrtle as Cordelia used to. It felt like a lifetime since Myrtle had seen her kind-hearted niece.

Madison narrowed her eyes at the light brown haired witch that was on top of the stairs. The same witch who she considered a close friend once. The only person to have ever liked her and accepted her third chance of redemption when she was brought back...again.

Mallory and Coco now slowly regaining their memories were staring at the girl with looks of recollection. They were remembering all at the times Aurora had helped them when they had been in the academy. Coco remembered how Aurora hadn't made fun of her unique gift, and how she helped her expand her abilities as much as possible. Mallory in return was specifically remembering how good friends they had been. All the times they had spent in the greenhouse, gardening, joking, and talking about music, movies, and whatever nonsense that at the time seemed important.

Even Dinah Stevens watched the scene between Cordelia and her daughter unfold with wariness.

Cordelia's heart raced. The Supreme witch by all means glad and extremely relieved to see her daughter again and alive. However, things would have been much better (for not only Aurora but for everyone) if her daughter wasn't next to and holding hands with the Antichrist.

Michael Langdon stood tall and proud next to Aurora Goode...and he was holding hands with her. The sight nearly made Cordelia want to faint just when she first laid eyes on Michael. That, however, didn't happen.

Cordelia though felt her stomach do all sorts of unnerved twists. This was not how things were supposed to turn out. Aurora was supposed to revert back to her old-self by now. It was the right time.

Why hadn't she?

Cordelia looked at her daughter pleadingly. She hoped that by maybe seeing her again the identity spell would finally break and she would remember...but it looks like that wasn't happening yet. "Rory, sweetie it's me. Your mom." Cordelia spoke, using that affectionate nickname everyone at the academy had once called her. She felt her eyes swell up with tears. She did her best to not let them out yet. The Supreme witch needed to remain strong. Not only for her coven but for daughter as well. The daughter that she loved with all her heart.

The light brown haired girl frowned. "Rory?" She looked at her with a bewildered expression. "My name's Aurora not Rory...and I don't have a mom." She said slowly shaking her head. Her voice wavered with heavy emotion as she said this. "Not anymore. She died along time ago."

Hearing that made Cordelia's heart break. The blonde older witch immediately shifted her attention onto Michael. He was looking at her with a smug expression. Cordelia glared at him. Pure hatred could be seen on those usually soft features of hers. "What have you done?" She seethed.

Michael smirked before he turned to look at his beloved that was next to him. He gave her hand a soft squeeze causing her to look at him. Her light blue eyes held nothing but absolute love in them. Her facial features soft and radiating complete adoration for him. It was the look that he wanted to see on her since the beginning when meeting her but was only now receiving. It was definitely better than the heedful and distrusting looks she used to give him. Way better. He caressed her face with his other hand and his smirk grew when she leaned into him more.

"I simply showed her who she truly belongs with...me."

#ahs apocalypse #michael langdon x reader #michael langdon imagine #ahs imagine #michael langdon #cordelia goode #daughter oc #ahs coven #Aurora Goode #oc #madison montgomery #mrytle snow #mallory #coco st. pierre vanderbilt #dinah stevens

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7-wonders · 3 years

Note

i've never been kissed before so you volunteer but i decline, we're best friends and it would be weird, but a couple hours later i lay awake in my bed and i can't stop thinking about what it would be like to kiss you and suddenly i regret what i said x Jim 😚

This prompt was meant to be a Jim prompt 🥺 also Jim is college-aged, as he is in everything that I write about him.

An end-of-the-year camping trip with friends is, in your opinion, the best way to celebrate being done with finals. Surrounded by nature and those you care for, with good food and good laughs...there’s really nothing else you can ask for. It’s a small group, but it’s the group that you’ve known for almost two years now, since freshman year of college.

The eight of you are gathered around a campfire, roasting various foods to see how they’ll taste and throwing things into the pit to see the flames spark and crackle. Drinks are flowing, joints are being passed; you could say that the vibes tonight are immaculate.

“Okay, okay,” Xavier Plympton, an acting major with a desire to bring aerobics into the 21st century, speaks up. “Never have I ever...gotten arrested.”

A couple of groans are heard around the circle, and you watch to see who takes a sip of their drink and lowers a finger. Jim, you expected, since he told you about his arson streak in high school. You’re best friends, so of course you’ve told each other everything. The always dark and mysterious Michael Langdon, not so much.

“Really, Michael?” you say in disbelief.

He shrugs. “I was a troubled teen.”

“I want to go next!” Medina, Jim’s twin sister, yells. “Never have I ever--”

“‘Dina, that’s not how the game works. One of the people that takes a drink does the next ‘never have I ever,’“ Jim explains.

She huffs, rolling her eyes before continuing anyways. “Never have I ever gone skinny dipping.”

Most people in the group take a drink, yourself included. This is one of the only times you have drank while playing this game. It’s not that you were a goody-two-shoes growing up, or that you had strictly religious parents or anything like that. You’re just cautious, and you tend to overthink things until the moment has passed.

“Well, look who finally drank!” Of course Jim would notice that you had been noticeably absent from the game.

“(Y/N) hasn’t been drinking?” Montana Duke cries in disbelief. “Are we not fun enough for you to pay attention to?”

“No, it’s not that!” you assure. “I just...haven’t done most of the things that you guys have been saying. I’m not going to drink when I haven’t done something; that defeats the purpose of the game.”

“Okay then, your turn, since you finally drank,” Montana smirks. “Say something that will get us all out.”

“Montana, that seems kinda mean-spirited,” Mallory Howell pipes up.

“It’s fine, I’m not a pussy.” Maybe it’s the alcohol giving you confidence, or just you finally being out of fucks to give, but you toss the rest of your drink back and stare at the fire. “Never have I ever been kissed.”

The group erupts in shouts and you roll your eyes, even though you can feel your cheeks heating up almost immediately.

“You’re serious? Never?” Coco St. Pierre Vanderbilt, resident rich girl of the group, yells. She’s always super loud when she’s high. “How?”

“I don’t know. Just never felt like kissing anybody I’ve been on a date with.”

“Shit, (Y/N), we gotta get you some action,” Xavier says.

“I could be your first kiss,” Jim says suddenly, anxiously taking a hit from a joint when he feels everybody’s eyes on him. “Y’know, that way you could get it over with, and it’s not with some stranger or somebody that you don’t like.”

“That’s, uh--I mean, that’s super nice, but...we’re best friends. I think it would make things a little weird, y’know?”

“Yeah, you’re right,” Jim chuckles with a shrug. “Sorry, I’m super high.”

That dispels the sudden tension, and everybody laughs.

“Okay, Mallory, you’re next,” you say, directing the attention to the brunette. You can’t help but glance at Jim, who’s looking right at you. He raises his cup to you, and you feel unexpectedly shy, quickly looking back into the flames.

The fire’s long-since died down, everybody retreating to their tents as the chill of the night took over their senses and sent them to sleep. Everybody, that is, but you. Medina’s dead asleep next to you, snoring softly, but you’ve been staring at the red fabric of the tent for at least an hour now, unable to stop thinking about what Jim said. Would he actually want to kiss you? Or was he just saying that to be nice? You can’t help but to think about what it would be like if you had said yes to his offer. What would it feel like, to kiss Jim Mason? His lips are probably soft, and he just seems like he would be a good kisser.

You sigh, running your hand over your face and sitting up. You quietly throw a hoodie on, trying not to wake up Medina. Though, from the sounds of it, she’s not waking up for anything. Unzipping the front of the tent, you crawl out and walk towards the remnants of the fire. From the light of the moon, you can see a silhouette sitting on one of the lawn chairs, obviously having the same idea as you.

Blue eyes look up at you, and you stop in your tracks when you realize it’s Jim. “Hey,” he says.

“Hey,” you reply.

“Couldn’t sleep?”

“No. Medina’s snoring.”

“Would have thought you were used to that by now, what with you two being roommates for two years.”

“Most of the time, I am.” Jim pulls an empty chair close to his, gesturing for you to sit. “It’s so peaceful out here.”

“Yeah, it is. I wouldn’t mind living out here.”

You’re both silent for a while, taking in the nature around you. “Jim?” you say finally.

“What’s up?”

“Did you...mean what you said? About being my first kiss?”

“I mean, yeah. But you’re right, we’re best friends, it would probably make things weird.”

“Well, what if I was okay with taking that chance?” It feels like the air shifts, goosebumps rising on your skin as Jim looks at you and moves closer.

“Can I be honest?” You nod. “I’d be perfectly fine with things being weird.” His hand comes up to caress the side of your face, and you bite your lip.

“Will you kiss me?”

Jim looks from your eyes to your lips and back again, leaning in and gently pressing his lips to yours. Your eyes flutter shut; it’s everything that you thought kissing Jim would be. His lips are just as soft as you had imagined, and he kisses you so tenderly that you think you finally understand what the books mean when they say a person swoons. Jim pulls away, grinning at the dazed look in your eye.

“Was that okay with you?” Jim asks.

“More than okay.” You kiss him again, cautiously. “We should have been doing this a lot sooner.”

@dark-mei-rose @michaellangdon @xavierplympton @blakescoven @hecohansen31

#jim mason #jim mason imagine #the tribes of palos verdes #ttopv

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malloryslourd · 5 years

Text

The Coven As Things My Family Has Said | Part 2

—————

Madison: As disappointment of the family I have an announcement to make

Misty: Oh God

Madison: I got a 9 on my ACT

—————

Queenie: You're the gay one and the baby! You get everything you want!

Mallory, Whining: That's not true!

Cordelia, From Another Room: Who's making Mallory upset?!

—————

Zoe: Why is grandma here?

Coco: She isn't?

Zoe: Oh really? Well who's the elderly lady in the kitchen who just asked me where mom keeps the good alcohol?

—————

Madison: I'm the gay cousin with the good fashion sense

John Henry: And I'm the gay uncle with the good fashion sense

Myrtle: GOOD??

—————

Madison: I feel like a pilgrim woman churning butter for her village

Queenie: You're stirring a pot of noodles

—————

Misty: How old are you?

Zoe: I'm your child!

Misty: ... How old are you?

—————

Queenie: Never have I ever been a dumbass

Queenie: Oops, looks like everyone's losing a finger. You too mom

Misty: This is why I don't love you

—————

Mallory: Can I go o-

Cordelia: No

Mallory: Okay well, mom can I go out tonight?

Misty: Does it look like I fucking care?

Cordelia: MISTY!

—————

Coco: Okay so FIRST OF ALL I got out my GOOD shoes for this fucking holiday party and we're just gonna ignore that?!

Zoe: The dog has a hat bitch shut the fuck up

—————

Queenie: Has anyone ever told you they wanted to beat the shit out of you?

Madison: I mean yeah but it's usually in a sexual way

—————

Madison: Lol, look at that little bitch

Mallory: Madison she's three

—————

Cordelia: I was trying to shower what is it?!

Mallory: ... We just wanted to show you our pillow fort

Queenie: There's no need to be rude

Misty: We're taking our invite back

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zamoimagines · 5 years

Text

THIS MEANS WAR

Word Count: 1,326

Pairing: Venable x reader, Cordelia x reader

Chapters: 1

Tags: angst

Song to listen to: Storms by Fleetwood Mac

Summary: You’re sent to Outpost 3 on behalf of the coven with Coco to protect Mallory. A spell is put over you so that you forget anything you ever knew of being a witch, including all of your memories of your girlfriend, Cordelia. Without the Supreme and being confined to the Outpost after a nuclear missile launch, you feel empty for what seems to be no reason at all. That’s until a new woman, Miss Wilhelmina Venable takes an interest in you.

A/N: this is the moment you all have been waiting for! The fic addition of the Cordelia vs Venable imagine. I hope you all enjoy this, it took me a long time to get together! Please stay tuned for more chapters, and if you have any ideas to add to the plot, let me know! I may add them!

Chapter 1:

Everyone around you was talking, but you couldn’t focus on anything. All of it sounded like white noise to you. Your knees were hugged close to your chest. You couldn’t believe what had just happened.

All of them were gone. The sounds of screams and gunshots were still ringing in your ears. One by one, Michael Langdon destroyed every last member of the coven. It was a surprise that you, Cordelia, Myrtle, Mallory, Madison, and Coco made it out alive. Your eyes filled up with tears as you tried to wrap your head around everything.

“Y/N, you need to focus. There’s nothing we can do now.” Myrtle’s voice called out to you.

You glanced up at the others, not realizing that you were a shaky mess. Cordelia kneeled down and kissed your forehead. You could see her own tears streaming down her cheeks. Her hand cupped your cheek as she looked you directly in the eyes.

“My love… I- I know this is hard. You’re safe with me.” she murmured.

“But Delia, they’re all gone. Zoe, Queenie, all of the girls. T-They… I could’ve done something-”

“There’s nothing any of us could’ve done.” Myrtle added grimly. There was a long pause of silence between you all. As much as you didn’t want to admit it, she was right. Michael was growing stronger by the day and there was no way that he was stopping now.

Cordelia took you in her arms, hugging you tightly to her.

“Look… I have a plan. It’s the only way I can keep you girls safe.” Everyone gathered around the two of you as she took a deep breath. “Michael hasn’t interacted with Coco, Mallory, or Y/N. He knows everyone on the council, so it’s too dangerous for us. But you three… You three will have to infiltrate the outpost he’s building.”

“How in the hell are we going to do that?” Mallory piped up. “He’ll know that we’re witches the minute he smells us. There’s no way that’s going to work.”

“It will work. But… I’m afraid I’m going to have to cast a spell on the three of you that will completely erase your memory.”

Your heart sped up. Forget the coven? You couldn’t just forget the coven and live under Michael’s clutches. You couldn’t forget all the good memories you all shared. Worst of all, you couldn’t fathom the thought of forgetting the love of your life. Cordelia was your soulmate. How were you ever going to live without her?

You shook your head as you cried harder into Cordelia’s chest. “No. I won’t do it.”

“You will do it for the good of the coven!” Myrtle exclaimed.

“I will not!” You growled back. “We can’t just forget everything. That’s ridiculous, we all need to fight together.”

“Y/N, it’s the only way. If Michael thinks that the remainder of the council lives through the apocalypse, he’ll kill us before we can fix anything. You and Coco will protect Mallory and keep her safe until we can get to you all.” Cordelia explained.

Coco stepped forward, her brows furrowed. “That’s bullshit, we can’t fight Michael without you guys!”

“It’s the only way. Besides, you won’t be fighting Michael. You’ll have the same names, but different personas. You won’t even remember each other. All we need you to do is to survive in the Outpost until we can get to you.”

“And what about the council? What’s going to happen to you all?” Mallory asked.

“We are going into a deep slumber. A spell will help us to survive the detonation, but I’m not sure how long we’ll be asleep. It could be months… Maybe even a year or two.”

You couldn’t believe what you were hearing. You held Cordelia tighter and shook your head.

“I can’t! Delia, I can’t be without you! P-Please!”

Cordelia tried to smile at you as if she was calm and put together. But you could see the sadness in her eyes.

“Y/N, you have to do what’s best for the coven.” She instantly pulled you in and kissed your lips deeply. Your arms wrapped around her neck as you kissed her back. Cordelia pulled away for a moment.

“I will come to you as soon as I can. I promise you that I will find you,” she said softly, her voice cracking a little.

You tried to hold back your sobs. Coco and Mallory both were crying too while Myrtle and Madison tried to stay strong. You gazed at Cordelia, trying to take in every detail you could to savor every last minute you had with her. You kissed her one last time before getting into position with the other girls. Myrtle stepped forward and nodded to you all.

“My sisters… Be careful. Stay alive. Protect Mallory.”

You all nodded in unison. Cordelia sobbed into Madison’s shoulder as Myrtle raised her hands. She began to chant the spell, closing her eyes to focus. Before you knew it, you were slipping in and out of consciousness. As the world began to grow dark, there was only one voice you could hear; it was Cordelia’s.

“Y/N, I love you more than anything. Please remember me.”

-------------------------------------

You woke up in a cold sweat. It was that damn dream again. You relaxed back into your mattress and stared at the ceiling of your apartment. Who were all of those women? Why did you feel as if you knew them?

Suddenly, a loud buzzing sound came from your nightstand. You glanced up groggily. When you saw that the time was already 10:00, your eyes widened.

“Shit!” You exclaimed. You were late for your boss’s hair appointment.

You had recently started a job for a social media influencer, Coco St. Pierre Vanderbilt. While the other girl, Mallory, was her coffee girl, you had been hired to be her publicity manager.

“Shit, shit, shit! Where the hell are my pants?” You scrambled to find a somewhat professional looking outfit. You got dressed, pulled your hair up, and grabbed your purse and keys before running out the door.

When you got to the salon, you could see the pissy look on Coco’s face. “Here we go again…” you thought to yourself.

“You’re late! Even Mallory got here on time, and she doesn’t even have a fucking degree!”

“I’m sorry, Coco. Traffic was a little heavy this morning.”

“Well, get used to it! Traffic in Los Angeles is always heavy, you need to prepare better!”

The hairdresser shook his head as if he was judging you. It took everything in you not to say anything passive aggressive, so instead, you just nodded to her and played along.

“I’m very sorry, Coco. It won’t happen again.” You sat down next to Mallory as she handed Coco her phone back.

“I got the green detox juice you told me about, but she hated it,” Mallory muttered to you.

“It tasted like ass!” Coco piped up. “How could you recommend me something like that?”

You tried hard not to roll your eyes. “It’s good publicity, whether it tastes good or not. That company should contact me in a few days to get you a PR package which will definitely boost your platform.”

Coco smiled a little. “You don’t seem very bright, but I like you. Even if that drink tasted like horse shit.”

The bustling of the hair salon died down as a loud siren rung out. It didn’t sound like anything you had ever heard before. The television switched to the news while every phone got a notification. Coco looked down at her phone.

“Nuclear missile launch, this is not a drill. Seek shelter immediately.” She looked back to you. “Is this a joke or something?”

You shrugged to her, turning your attention toward the TV. The eerie sound of the sirens grew louder. What you all didn’t know was that your lives would never be the same again.

Chapter 2 coming soon

#venable x reader #Cordelia x reader #ahs #ahs fic #fic #this means war #apocalypse #ahs apocalypse

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holylangdon · 5 years

Text

No Tears Left To Cry (Mother!Cordelia Goode x Reader)

Request: N/A

Warnings: Mother!Cordelia x Daughter!Reader, reader is placed under an identity spell with Coco and Mallory

Word Count: 1.0k

A/N: This scene made me so sad, so naturally, I had to write my own and make it sadder

“If you have any business with Michael that I’m unaware of, girls, now is the time to come clean. I can’t protect you once you're under the spell. I can’t risk him recognizing any of you.”

Your mother’s words shook you to your core, almost with fear. She glanced over your newly enchanted locks of hair and unusually dark eyes, your freshly sun-kissed skin. Her daughter looked like a different person. One she barely recognized at all. But deep, deep within your new appearance, she saw that small glimmer of herself that reminded her who you were. And within that, who she was.

She was your mother. Without you, she was nothing. You had been the light of her life since you were born and she truly couldn't imagine her life without you. Hell, she hardly remembered her life before she had you, and to her, that was a good thing. Her heart ached when she thought of what was to come, to put you directly in harm’s way for the sake of the world. Even though she knew it was for the better, that you were disguised and camouflaged right under Satan’s nose.

But it was good that you were unrecognizable. That means that she did a good job in placing you into your new surroundings. The Supreme was now forced to say goodbye to her only child, possibly forever. You were going to be lost in the Hollywood Hills with Mallory and Coco until the Antichrist decided to strike with his nuclear apocalypse. Then, you would be rescued and sent to one of his underground survival bunkers. His grip on her coven was far too strong for you to all stay together. She had created new identities for each of you. The new Coco St. Pierre-Vanderbilt was inspired by Madison Montgomery herself. Mallory, her assistant, based on several of the many that Madison had when she was an actress. And you... Your new identity held a special place in her heart. The new Y/N Y/N/L/N was uniquely influenced by the young Myrtle Snow herself. Maybe a little bit of Zoe or Nan mixed in there, but mostly your aunt.

You were to be just like her when she was your age. Cunning and alluring, stubborn in your own right. A prodigy of many things and arts. An eye for interesting fashion, which would now be a sense for information. Discreetly determined in your unbeknownst task. Not to mention a shining young actress, which was the suggestion of Bubbles McGee herself.

To be completely truthful, it wasn’t far from your personality now. Myrtle had helped raise you a great deal until she was burned at the stake. And now, these past couple hellish years, she had been your best friend. Your educator, your second mother. She had ingrained so many of her own traits and values and beliefs into you, and for that, you were beyond thankful.

While you and your witchy sisters were under the spell, your mother, Myrtle, and Madison were going to bury themselves underground and wait out the years in the confinement of the earth. That, unfortunately, was not an option for you. You were too powerful and bold to hibernate, your powers would simply explode inside of you. You had to live it out and suppress your abilities, much like Mallory and Coco, until it was time to save the world. Cordelia would much rather you come with her, and that was a difficult reality for her to face. She was finally sending her only baby out into the world, completely human and powerless. That was not ideal for her.

A tear slipped from Cordelia’s cheek as she watched you let go of Myrtle’s hand, coming to stand in front of her. You had just finished whispering your goodbyes to your aunt when your mother called on you. She was to do your spell first, because she was damn aware that it would hurt her the most.

“I am so proud of the young woman you’ve become.” She said lightly, her eyes soft with emotion. “You... When you were born, I was so terrified that I would become my mother. That I would absolutely destroy you. God, I’m so glad to see you now. Beautiful, and strong, independent. You have everything I’ve ever wanted for you.”

“Mama....” You felt the tears stinging in your eyes as you tried to blink them away. “I love you, okay?”

“I know. I know, baby.” She pressed a kiss to your forehead, her arms wrapped tightly around your waist as she let the tears fall for a moment. Upon pulling away, she ran her thumb underneath your eye, catching the water that came from it before doing the same to her own. “Are you ready?”

You nodded, looking into her dark eyes. They glimmered with sadness, a light pink ring surrounding them from her tears. You glanced over to Myrtle, who gave you a small nod. She couldn’t be in the thread ring when it happened, much to your dismay. Your eyes trailed over Madison. Coco. Mallory. You’d said your goodbyes to each girl before you had to let go.

“We’ll be waiting on the other side.” Mallory said, her hand wrapped tightly in Coco’s as they sat on the couch. You could see a small piece of sadness in Madison’s eyes as she batted her eyelashes to push it away. She was never one for emotion, not since you’d first met her damn near a decade ago. She’d come to Miss Robichaux’s around 2012, and the two of you were instantly best friends. You’d grown up with each other and neither of you could quite imagine your lives without each other at this point.

Myrtle paused your mother’s hand for a moment by holding up her own gloved one. “You’ll know when we need you, little dove. I promise.”

And with a small nod and a blow of the silvery powder that rested in her palm, Y/N Goode was gone, replaced by a different girl.

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raleigh-ocean · 5 years

Text

first kiss w/ coco

a fine winter day at the academy

the finest with snow, every girl outside playing and relaxing

but you decided to stay inside the house, not wanting anyone to see you in such mood

sometimes this odd sadness hit you and you couldn’t help but stay in silence, minding your own business for a while

like playing a videogame?

so that’s what you did, cuddled in the end of the couch with a blanket and overall trying to be unnoticed in case they passed through the upper living room

it did work for a while my friend

until some of the girls went in to settle in the kitchen and you tried to make yourself more tiny so they couldn’t notice you there all alone if someone came upstairs to get something

but Coco noticed you when she went to her room and get changed

she always had this little radar with you

‘hey why didn’t you came with us?’

she sat by your side with more comfortable clothes and you couldn’t help but shrug a bit

‘don’t feel really feel like it, sorry’

maybe your expression gave her the little clue that you were a bit uncomfortable talking rn

and she smiled at you shyly, trying to let it go

‘it’s okay, I understand’

but she didn’t leave after that, staying by your side just watching you play in silence

not that the girls really needed her yet so why not staying with you for a while?

you literally didn’t mind because Coco had this thing that made you feel loved or at least comforted without being pushed into talking or doing something you didn’t want to

so after a few minutes, her head was resting in your shoulder and the blanket over her legs too

everytime something surprised her, letting go a little yelp or a whispered ‘oh no’ ‘oh shit’, you chuckled

it was in one of those where you looked at her, handing her the videogame console

‘come on i’ll teach you, you’re too invested now’

she isn’t really sure it’s going to be her thing but she accepts anyway

she is better than you two expected

but when it gets to a boss, one of those fuckers that are impossible, she hands it back to you

‘your turn! go, go’

she is so excited that you two are cuddling really close, her arm linked with yours and all focused in the screen

at this point you both are so invested in the game that when you finally won Coco hugged you and kissed your cheek

and when you looked at her...

...your eyes lock for a second

lean for a peck felt just right, right?

Coco didn’t think a peck was enough, going for a full kiss afterwards

‘Coco where are you!? we getting pizza!’

Mallory’s voice broke the moment and Coco yelled ‘i’m coming!’ a bit in a hurry

silently asking you if you were going downstairs too

‘go, don’t worry about me, this game won’t finish itself’

her shy smile made you cares her cheek tenderly

and she squeezed your hand lightly before rushing to meet the girls in the kitchen

(basically the gif up there was her reaction after she reach the middle of the stairs)

(Mallory knew already about her crush on you but the rest were just dumbfounded because what a fucking surprise??????)

you couldn’t help but smile the rest of your alone time

and when, hours later, Coco knocked on your door with a plate with pizza on her hand

you thought about how lucky you were to fall in love with such an angel like her

#coco st. pierre vanderbilt #coco st. pierre vanderbilt x reader #coco x reader #ahs apocalypse #ahs imagines #how would be

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wckdwinchesters · 6 years

Text

Sweet One | (part one)?

Michael Langdon x fem reader.

Summary: you’ve survived the nuclear apocalypse and now you’re stuck in a bunker. you stumble across a book and you find out you have powers. You buried them but someone comes along and knows all about you and your secrets.

Warning: none.

Word count: 3716

A/N: This is my first time writing fanfic or however you want to call it and I know it extremely long. I really don’t know how it works that much but so please enjoy this mess and send me criticism so I could get better and tell me if I should continue it!

When I imagined the end of the world often I thought of the apocalypse or the sun swallowing the earth but mankind self-destructed itself and well I guess that says more about us.

The end of the world was unexpected to say the least, one minute you’re working at your shitty job next you’re on a private jet plane with a bunch of rich assholes flying to an unknown location while watching bombs drop on the city. Honestly, when I looked out the window I felt nothing for those poor souls down there. We were killing our planet and someone just decided to pull the plug early.

18 months

18 freaking months of eating plain food, following absurd rules, playing dress up in Victorian wear and being with the most spoiled self-entitled people left in the world. I think I probably would’ve been better off having my skin bubble off with the rest of humanity and I realize just now how entitled I was being, complaining about this when most of the world is dead or dying. I think the reason I’m so miserable is because of the company I’ve been in. I mean, a bunch of rich narcissistic people complaining every single day and I can’t connect with any of them because no one is like me.

When the alerts went out I was at my job being an assistant to Coco St. Pierre Vanderbilt. I was sitting in the waiting area of the hair salon waiting for her to be finished. I went up to her and said “It’s time for your daily health post.” she blurted out “So rude, can’t you see I’m getting my hair styled? Her stylist and also her only friend named Mr. Gallant whispered to her not subtly “fire her.” I rolled my eyes and sat next to her in the empty styling chair and said “Do you want me to post an old photo of you? I really like this one you took yesterday.”

I said turning the phone for her to see when an alert almost made me drop it. I turned the phone back to me when everyone phone started going off at the same time. I looked at the screen and back to Coco and Mr. Gallant then back to screen trying to see if it was a joke then Coco’s phone rang and her father’s voice came through very rough and laced with fear. She asked her dad what was happening and midway through her sentence he interrupted her and said “Coco listen to me carefully; the alert is true and there’s a private jet waiting to take you someplace safe! Go now and take what you need. I’d meet you but unfortunately, it’s too late for us, we love you, honey.” he said and pointed his camera at their family. They had gone to Hong Kong for vacation and apparently it was too late because the nuke was already there and the camera went dark. After that she did what she was told and went to the airport and convinced me to go with her and the only reason I said yes was because I felt for some reason, I couldn’t refuse. While we were boarding Coco’s best friend/hair dresser convinced her to let him and his grandma Evie go also since she still has tickets to spare and she agreed given that her husband couldn’t make it in time and by then it was too late and we were up in the air watching nukes hit the city.

Coco surprisingly convinced Ms. Venable the person who ran the Outpost, the safe haven Coco’s dad was talking about to make me a Purple instead of a Gray. Which were the Elite and the Grays being basically the servants and I really didn’t care either way cause ever since the world ended I felt numb and it been that way for 18 months and I mostly kept to myself and distracted myself with reading or trying to learn new things like languages and I was picking them up rather fast in such a short time and it was weird cause I’ve never spoken or even seen most of these languages.

I found old books on the shelf and it seemed like dictionaries for dead languages like Aramaic, Latin or Ancient Greek and the other books were oddly weird because they had symbols and different languages in them but seemed oddly familiar, which was strange given I’ve never read or learned these languages but when I finally did learn some words I re-read the books and they said such weird things like incantations and spells. So, I’m guessing the boys school that occupied this bunker before had a dark secret and I just stumbled across one. The strange thing wasn’t the spell book in my hands, but it was the feeling of holding it that felt natural to me that was strange. I felt some part of me struggle to let loose and say the incantation but I felt another part of me trying to drown the other feeling. Turns out the part that wanted to let loose won this time and I tried saying the spell half-heartedly and nothing happened but then I tried again with more feeling into it and the room went dark and the fireplace started burning as bright as ever and I felt such a flush of pure power that I pushed a bit further and the fireplace blew out and I was knocked back by my own strength and just like that everything returned back to how it was and I was in a state of shock but also, amazement.

I felt pure energy rushing through my veins and it was the best I felt in a long time but something was still missing. I decided to not cast spells in my room anymore unless I wanted to burn down the whole Outpost and I guess that’d be the way to go but I didn’t want to be caught in my own destruction. My magic started developing on its own and growing fast that I had to hold back and restrain myself from doing something in front any of the others. It started out small like telekinesis and starting small fires anytime someone pissed me off, I had to excuse myself from the dining room and headed to my room to calm down then the strangest thing happened, I seemed to be in one place and suddenly appear in the other. I was walking down the hall and I just pictured me in bed and there I was. That’s when I started to really restrain myself to the point of pain because if someone finds out, they’d probably burn me at the stake and I survived a nuclear war and I wasn’t about to be burned alive by senseless pampered idiots. I only used my powers in my locked room but outside it felt like hell cause having to restrain myself to the point of pain everyday was torture.

It was a normal night when Mr. Gallant just snapped and said “What are you going to do? Shoot us all?!” then started to talk about the incident that happened a week ago. There had a breach in the bunker and one of the residents got contaminated with radiation or that’s what they said and well let’s just say, I wouldn’t want to get on Ms. Venable bad side. That’s when the bunker alarm started going off just as Ms. Venable and Ms. Mead went up to Mr. Gallant. Ms. Mead was like her personal security guard and both her and Ms. Venable’s face were pure confusion and a bit of fear because we’d heard rumors of the other Outposts being overrun and she probably thought somebody came to finally blow out our candle but I didn’t feel that was the case cause when she went to check on the problem she dismissed us to our rooms and it wasn’t till the next day we would find out what the breach was.

His name is Michael Langdon and is an Agent of the Cooperative. He gave off such a vibe but I couldn’t distinguish it. The others gave off vibes also and it ranged from blistering anger to utter despair and loneliness. But his was, I don’t know how to explain it but it was like he locked a cage around his emotions and didn’t let anyone see inside it. As Ms. Venable introduced him, his eyes slide around the room as if looking for something or someone then came to rest upon mine. I had to look away because I felt like he was trying to look inside me which sounds weird and was absurd to think he could do that but he felt different. As I made my way to the back of the room of the main room, he had started to talk in front of the fire pit in the middle of the room. His voice sounded rich and soothing like honey and was pleasing to listen to but I wasn’t really paying attention to what he was saying but I did catch the words sanctuary and choosing who’s going. He was graceful and bewitching to look at and made my heart danced in my chest. I was perplexed on why I felt like this about a stranger and to be honest, I really didn’t care if I went or not. It was like trading a box of rotten red apples for a box of rotten green. Most of the people who were in Outpost weren’t good, honest people who could contribute something to humanity but the ones that were rich and spoiled enough to afford it and I felt like that was a waste.

I had asked Coco what it was that he had said and apparently there’s a sanctuary with enough food for decades and the Cooperative sent Michael to choose which one of us come back with him to the safe haven now that Outpost is vulnerable to attacks and I just knew, I wouldn’t be chosen cause well I don’t have money or family name to open doors for me.

Michael had been interviewing for half a week now, interviewing both Greys and Purples alike and I was the last to be interviewed.

I had hesitated before I knocked. When I did the doors swung opened and he was dressed in black and he looked as handsome as the first day I saw him. I took him in, every detail from his long honey colored hair to the rings he wore on his hand. He hovered for a moment before motioning me to sit anywhere. I walked into the library and sat on a bench near the fireplace while Michael went to close the double doors that separated this room from the rest of the hallway. I sat there staring at him as he made his way over to sit across from me. The fire made his face and jawline appear sharper than it already was. I saw now that his eyes were like the sky after a storm beautiful and an angelic pure blue. They were alluring but dark like there was something hidden in them. I looked away because it felt the way when he first laid eyes on me. Like he was looking inside me and I didn’t know how to feel about that.

I stared at my hands on my lap for a while and I finally asked “Well, are you going to ask me something or are we going to keep being angsty and staring at each other before one of us dies of old age?” that made him grin a bit before he said “I know everything I need to know but I just want you to confirm it for me.” “And how would you know that if we’ve never spoken before? Did you look up my myspace page or something?” He laughed and said “The Cooperative does its research on its residents and I did my own digging.” I stared at him for a moment and replied with a teasing smile “You know how creepy that sounds right? I have nothing to hide anyways so ask away.”

I shifted in my long Lacey lavender dress and proceeded to stretch my legs out and waited for him to begin his questions. They started out simple. He asked my name and age and I replied “My name is (Y/N) and I’m 24.

He was talking again asking how I escaped the blast and what my old job was. His voice was soothing but firm, then he asked me something that had me taken aback and then he repeated the question like I didn’t hear it the first time. He had asked me, if I think any of these people deserved to live. I was confused not because of the question that wasn’t the thing that threw me off guard but the way he had asked it like it was the most normal question and I did nothing but stare at him not with confusion but with intrigue. He waited for my answer when I finally said “Well, it’s not up to me to decide that.” He said “Obviously, but I’d like to know your answer.” I shrugged and said “Are you trying to see if I’m loyal to these people? Cause if you are then your SOL. I’m only loyal to myself and I’m pretty sure if you ask anyone if they’d take a bullet for one another they’d probably tell you some bullshit about us being family to get you to take them to the sanctuary. This may look like a sweet place to live but you bet your ass these people would slit your throat to get something they wanted.” “And you wouldn’t do the same?”

I replied with a grin “I’d probably slit their throats just to get away from them, if I could get away with it.” I said with a chuckle to imply I was lying but I was actually being truthful. He had a smile on his face that made me think that I didn’t fool him. I wondered why he would ask a question like that and if I was the only person he asked it to. I got up to walk around the library and started tracing my finger on the bookcases and I still felt his gaze on me as I walked around the room. “I’m guessing this is where you spend most of your time.” “Better than being with those insufferable imbeciles talking about how much they miss shopping and the internet, I mean, it’s the end of the world what else could I do beside distract myself.”

I turned to look at him and he still had his eyes on me with pure curiosity but I was just wondering what he was thinking about because he looked deep in thought and he gave me a small smile. It made my heart fluttered so I gave him a small smile back and I almost didn’t notice that the fire behind him was burning brighter and I snapped out of that daze and restrained myself to the point of physical pain. He must have sensed something was wrong because I gripped one of the couches tight and he stood up to stand in front of me and I stood up straight and said I was fine and he questioned what was wrong and I replied with the same answer and he said “I can tell when people lie to me.” I gave him a small smile and said to him “It’s not a lie, it’s my truth.” I walked toward the fireplace again and I felt his gaze tracing me like a cold hand and I shivered a bit which was a bit odd being that I was standing in front of the fireplace. When I looked back over my shoulder up at him, his eyes were darkened with thought and just like that it was gone. I wondered to myself then said “Why? Why are you working for the Cooperative? Is it for survival? Why don’t you just take the sanctuary for yourself?”

He grinned at me and said “Are you suggesting I kill everyone left in the Cooperative? If you are then you are darker than I thought.” I scoffed at that and said “Dark? I’m not dark, I just rather keep to myself and not be associated with assholes.” I turned around the whole way and he was closer than before. He stood a few feet taller than me that I had to look up to see his face and he smelled like sweet roses and a light cologne.

For months before the bombs dropped I felt out of place and different like something was missing but standing this close to Michael made me felt whole but I was as confused as in why since we’ve never met but it felt amazing to be in his presence but made me vulnerable because I couldn’t read him but I felt safe with him despite that. He was all cold and collected, some may have thought he was a robot or something and there were rumors and gossip which I took with a grain of salt but I could see now that he did have emotions but he kept them closely guarded. He whispered “Do you even care if you go to sanctuary or not?” I simply replied that I didn’t know because I didn’t and I rather someone choose for me because to be honest if I went there, I wouldn’t know what to do because what would happen to me if I slip up there?

I rather stay behind and kill whoever is left and be free to do what I want. I couldn’t believe I actually thought that but it was truly how I felt. and if Michael never came I’d probably would’ve snapped and killed everyone anyways. Michael presence made that dark part of me I tried to keep buried flourish and I liked how it felt. He made every part of me tingle. He lifted his hand and tucked a strand of hair behind my ear and his hand lingered near my cheek and I closed my eyes and leaned into his touch and then that’s when the fireplace and candles burned hotter and brighter and the swell of power felt strong as he touched me.

I broke the connection between me and Michael. It felt stronger than anything I’ve ever felt and I didn’t really want to let him go. I was breathing hard and rushed to the door as I opened it Michael put a hand on it to stop it from opening any further and closed it and said “It’s okay, (Y/N). there’s no need to hide anymore, not from me.” I looked up at him in surprise and said “What are you talking about? I’m not hiding anything.” “Don’t lie to me. I saw and felt your power when I first laid eyes on you, darling.”

I stumbled back almost tripping on my own feet and dress. I leaned on the couch in front of the doors and whispered “I- don’t know what’s wrong with me, I can’t control it at times. Are you like me? how do you know?” he smirked at me and answered “I know many things and I know all about you, my sweet one.” The way he said it sounded eerily familiar and then I got such a bad headache that my vision blurred then I dropped to my knees and clutched my head and he rushed towards me and yelled my name and held me as darkness gripped the edges of my vision. I felt my lips say his name in a cry and then it was pure black.

When I woke up I was in different room, not the library but not my room either. My senses were slow to come back to me, the first one was smell and it smelled like roses. Before I came to, I had flashes of Michael with short hair and him smiling and the smell of roses. Michael was sitting at his desk staring at me in worry, I started to try to sit up when he came to help. “What happened to me? It felt like someone took a drill to my head.” Michael looked unnerved and fuming at the same time but he stiffened and said “What happened when you started getting a headache? What was going through your mind at that moment?” I sat up and said “those words you said made me think back but I felt like I hit a wall and my mind went through a shredder. Why did they sound so familiar like I heard them before?”

Michael got up and started pacing the room and only looking once or twice towards me and I felt confused because he rarely displayed any emotions so I was a bit frayed. I was getting frustrated and was about to say something when he interrupts “I know what you’re going to say, ‘tell me what’s going on or else’ am I wrong?” “How did...” He finally stopped pacing and sat at the edge of the bed and said “Okay, what I’m going to tell you is going to sound insane but you have to believe me.” After a minute of silence after he told me, I was so shocked and felt so betrayed but it was like a missing piece came back and that some things finally made sense now. I don’t remember what I was doing before being employed by Coco. Not really. But what Michael just told me made me so livid that a nearby glass shattered. I put my head in my hands because I had such a flood of emotions then finally I looked up at Michael and moved close and placed my hands on his cheeks said gently “When I saw you, you made my heart throb so hard. I was scared cause I had no idea why I felt like that. Felt like there was a missing piece of me till I saw you.”

#American horror story #sweet one #sweet one part one #Americanhorrorstory #ahs apocalypse #ahs #ahs coven #ahs murder house #michael langdon #cody fern #fanfic #imagine #ahs8

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