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#didn't tag anybody because i don't wanna be annoying lol
shannie-writes · 6 years
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Thank You...
This is in no particular order, but I just wanted to take a minute to say thank you to all the people that have been such a large part of my life so far this year and have made me happy. I may not talk with everyone on this list much these days, but just know that I think of you and hope you all have a wonderful Valentine’s Day, a day meant to be spent with those you love, whether they be lovers, family, or friends, or any combination thereof.
Thank you @pseudofaux​ and @letsblogical for thinking of me and sending me Seth content. I still have no idea how I’m the default, but I’m not complaining either.
Thank you @majiokaa​ and @forgesanddoves​ for drawing art of Willow and sending it to me. It made me so so so happy and I still look at them every day!
Thank you @astoriaclover​ for the Estrella playlist. It’s in my favorites and I am still hitting it at least once a day during work.
Thank you @sleepyfoxspirit​ for giving me that second chance. It really meant a lot to me, even though I didn’t stay for long.
Thank you @christmaswarlock for talking with me and writing that short story for me too! I look forward to you writing more in the future, because you will do such a great job!
Thank you @reneotomegirl​ for looking out for me and chatting the pros and cons of the suitors. It’s been fun being able to get to know you better!
Thank you @myotomespace​ for all the wonderful tags you put on your reblogs. They always make my day! And thank you again for sharing so much Edgar info with me, it means so much. You are always so supportive of everybody and it just makes me feel so warm and fuzzy.
Thank you @classy-mc​ for adding me and chatting with me. I know we’re on opposite sides of the world, but it’s been super fun to talk and you never fail to make me smile. I still won’t get over the shock and amusement I had when you first found my blog and liked everything I ever posted!
Thank you @littlelady-blackwell​ for the cute tags you put on my fics. You’ve been around in my notifs for a long while and it makes me happy every single time I see your name.
Thank you @jennacat84​, @edgarbright​, @narekashi​, and so many others for your support as well! It makes me smile to see so many familiar names in my notifications and the comments you add to my fics always have me floating the rest of the day.
Thank you @citizensofcradle​ for being such an amazing incorrect quote buddy. I hope college life is treating you well and just know that I am always supporting you!
Thank you @lokiiwood​ for being such a lovely friend. I love your writing and your spunk and I hope to see tons of content in the future for our mutual faves.
Thank you @serenity-writes​ for everything you do. I honestly am still shook most days thinking that I talk to you on a casual basis. You are amazing and I love all of your writing so much, your writing voice is so unique and I love it so much!
Thank you @emeraldtawny for letting me be stupid, sleepy goofy with you. You never fail to make me laugh and I always enjoy our talks together.
Thank you @razzmatash for sharing so much of your inspiration with me. I love being able to talk situations about the best otp with you and reading your work is the highlight of my day. I look forward to all the fics you post in the future!
Thank you @kashimalin for sticking with me for so long. You are the reason I started to write fanfiction and I cannot tell you how much that means to me. I love all our AUs and hope that someday I can actually take the time to breathe life into each and every one of the (currently) 60 stories we have going on.
I love each and every one of you and so many more that I know have interacted with me over the last couple months. I hope everybody is happy and enjoying life as it comes.
Love you all to Cradle and back,
Chief
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xpeachesncream · 4 years
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bands | thirteen
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[ series masterlist ]
summary: jeon jungkook has it all: the looks, the fame, the money, the women. being considered the sexiest man in the industry, he finds no complaints about the way his life is going nor does he find any reason to apologize for the way he approaches it. he is a force to be reckoned with - until he meets you.
pairing: stripper!reader x idol!jjk
genre: (18+) strip club/nightlife au, post grad au | fluff, angst, smut
words: 3.9k
warnings: cussing, mature language/implied sexual content, slight degradation, trouble stirring behind the scenes if you squint, yeonjun and soobin (txt) make an appearance but also as reg 18 yr olds lol
tags: @brightcolorsoffendme​ @min-nicoleee​ @eggbutnotyolk​ @ra-mun-e @miinoongi​ @jimidol​ @ppeachyttae​ @thebeebi​ @bluesharksandfish​ @kooafraid​ @liriaus​ @thisartemisnevermisses​ @ggukkieland​ @preciouschimine​ @sunniejinnie​ @cypheruby​ @cyb3rbab3​ @masterlists101​ @awhnamjoon​ @redhedhoseok​ @wooya1224​ @taeismydeath @jikookiekosmos​ @un2-verse​ @aynsx​ @wearenot7withu​ (please message me if you would like to be added to the taglist!)
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"BTS' Jeon Jungkook rumored to be dating stripper from nightclub!"
"Jungkook is no longer single, ladies!"
"Jeon Jungkook is dating a stripper? Why the hell is he doing that?"
"Who the hell does she think she is? I bet she's not even pretty."
"Jungkook fell for a stripper? Out of all people? Damn, and I thought he was better than that."
Jungkook has been tired, the rumors constantly being spread day in and day out. But, it still didn't mean he was gonna say shit to prove himself to people out there. He didn't need to give anybody answers. Hell, this was strictly between you and him and that's how he wants to keep it.
Fuck every single one of you who didn't wanna be behind him and support him. Don't even think about calling yourself a fan of his if that's your mindset.
He could truly care less. He was happy and he felt ten times better than he has in a really long time. It's unfortunate how people love to stay narrow minded. The only thing that bothered him was the fact that it was so unfair for you - how they stuck to that stripper image, rather than really getting to know you beneath the surface.
But it's not like anyone else deserved to know the real you, not after all this shit. And he was gonna keep it that way, and protect you.
"Hey, don't listen to any of that shit, okay?" Jungkook says as he meets you in your car in the BigHit building garage. "None of that matters to me."
"I know, but Kook." You look at him. "Your career, BigHit literally might not even want me here and-and—"
"Then I'll make sure they understand it's not an issue, because it's really fucking not." He says, getting irritated only at the thought of the company giving him issues over you. He watches as you slightly frown, causing him to sigh and soften his own facial expression. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to get worked up like that. It's just annoying how people are narrow-minded. This has absolutely nothing to do with you." You give him a small smile. "Come on, I'll walk you." You silently nod and hop out of your car. You follow beside him, your stomach in knots having to meet with their performance director. This meant you'd also most likely run into the rest of Bangtan.
In which happens to turn true pretty quickly.
"Jungkookie!" Hoseok says loudly down the hallway as he approaches the both of you. He does nothing besides smile, curiosity definitely filling his eyes.
"This is Y/N. Y/N, Hoseok hyung." He holds out his hand for you to shake, his head tilting ever so slightly because you know he's familiar with your face. He's just trying to remember from where. Or, he has recognized you, but he's trying his hardest not to say anything.
Cause they have seen all of you, especially in that fishnet bodysuit.
"Hi! Nice to meet you! You can call me Hobi for short. Are you meeting with someone?" You nod.
"Yeah." Is all you can reply with as you shyly tuck a strand of hair behind your ear.
"Nice, goodluck!"
"Is everyone else here?" Jungkook asks, making Hobi nod.
"Yeah, but they're still running through some stuff in the dance studio. I just ran off to take a break."
"Okay." Jungkook looks at you. "Follow me, he's in one of the private studio rooms." You both part ways from Hoseok, the need to clutch onto Jungkook's arm immensely strong right now. You hold yourself off though, because even with passing a few female staff members, you catch them looking at you oddly with the way you're walking side by side with Jungkook.
Nope. Don't even think about it, Y/N. It doesn't matter.
Jungkook knocks softly on a door, the middle of it being made up of entirely frosted glass so it's difficult to see inside. Their performance director opens the door swiftly and welcomes you in with a warm smile, stepping aside to let you in.
"I've got it from here, Jungkookie. Thank you." Jungkook nods but tries to peek through the door to get one last glimpse of your face before he shuts it fully. "How are you doing, Y/N?" He sits in front of you, leaning onto his knees with his hands fully clasped together.
"I'm good. How are you?"
"Good, tired." He chuckles. "Thanks for taking my call earlier and for meeting at such short notice on a weekend. I had a couple of things come up and didn't want to push things off until later." You smile.
"It's no problem."
"Jungkook tells me a lot about you."
"Does he now?" You chuckle and tilt your head to the side.
"Says you're a really good person. Super hardworking. Told me a little bit about your situation with your brother."
"Mmyeah, it's a little complicated."
"It's alright, no need to get into the details." He smiles before letting out a small sigh. "It's incredibly rare for me to hear Jungkook speak like that. In general. He's usually very closed off, doesn't like to let people in much. He really respects you, you know? Cares about you a whole lot." You slightly blush.
"I'm still getting used to it." He chuckled.
"Look, I know you've been worrying because of where you've been and all that, but I want to reassure you that none of it matters. I don't like to focus on all that. You're here as you, not her." He says, putting another pronoun to your stripper persona.
"Thank you, I appreciate it." He nods. There's a small pause before he begins to speak again.
"I could really use some help around here if you're still interested? The boys are becoming a lot for me to handle."
"Ah-uh, yeah! Of course I am." You found yourself stuttering at the sudden offer. Was this fucking real?! "But, you are aware of where me and Jungkook are at, right?" You ask, trying to be completely transparent and honest about their relationship. He nods and waves his hand out.
"As long as you keep it professional here, right?" You nod.
"Right."
"Come, let me show you around really quickly and have you formally meet the boys." You swallowed the lump in your throat. Fucking great. He definitely didn't know they've all seen your titties and pussy out during Yoongi's birthday, and now here you were - about to meet them again in this environment. Hobi was awkward enough even though he tried not to be.
Surprisingly, Jungkook wasn't waiting outside in the hallway like you thought he would be, but the tour commences and the PD is taking you around pretty quickly. You feel even more awkward and somewhat alone [even though you weren't] without Jungkook nearby, but you chug along and say your hello's to the people you're introduced to. He finally brings you into the dance studio, where there's loud ass music blasting, Jungkook, the boys and some backup dancers in front of the mirrors fooling around.
"Aye boys, come here real quick." You and Jimin lock eyes and your body suddenly gets tense. The room feels 10x hotter than it already is, especially when he slowly walks over and clenches his jaw. He is literally seeping with hate right now, maybe actually disgust, and he doesn't even try to hide it. Most of them for sure recognize you, but they seem to brush it off and give you a big wave/smile anyway.
"Last, that's Jimin - Jimin, Y/N." You give Jimin a fake smile, and the only thing his ass can reciprocate is the smallest, tight-lipped smile you have ever seen. You've never even seen your mom do that when she got mad or upset with you.
"Hi." Is all you can say.
"Sup." He looks at you before turning on his heel and walking away.
"Ooookay?" Namjoon furrows his brows as he watches Jimin walk away so rudely. "The hell was that about?"
"I knew that was Kookie's girlfriend! Maybe Jiminie remembers seeing her titties and shit too, needs to walk away before he gets his ass beat by him." Yoongi says lowly behind Namjoon.
"Yeah, like you're any better." Namjoon says, looking at Yoongi weirdly.
"I mean, we did see her practically naked." Jin says, chiming into the discussion.
"I touched her." Yoongi's mouth slightly hangs down. "I touched her."
"Go ahead, say it louder so Kookie can hear you." Jin nods sarcastically. "Go, say it!"
"No, stop." Yoongi's cheeks turn red while shaking his head and laughing. "He'll literally launch me out the window with one hand."
"Good."
"You asked for her to sit on your lap too, bro!"
"I was joking, and it's not like she did it anyway!"
"Whatever, I'm keeping my birthday deep in my memory storage."
"Clean slate for her so it should be for you too, my guy." Namjoon says as he has enough of their conversation.
You look at Jungkook who is silently standing there, looking like a big dork with a huge smile on his face and his thumbs up. You give him the tiniest nod before proceeding to follow the PD out.
"So?!" Jungkook dashes to meet you in their waiting room area, where an abnormally large picture of Jimin posing oddly hung up.
"He said he'll send me all the info and papers and stuff!" You respond excitedly as Kook hugs you and quickly swings you around.
"See, I knew it would work out!" He puts you down. "Are you gonna tell Kai?" You shook your head.
"Not today at least, it's his birthday and I don't wanna take away from that. It's his day." Jungkook smiles at you.
"Text me when you've picked him up? I should be home by then."
"Okay." You blush and back away, making Jungkook look at you with confusion. "I have to keep it professional here, duh."
"Ah I see." He chuckles. "That won't last very long."
"Jungkook." You whine.
"There's a lot of private rooms here and—"
"I'm not listening, sorry. I think Kai is suddenly calling me." You cover your ears as you begin to walk away, giving him one last smile before leaving him to the rest of rehearsals and whatever else they're doing. He laughs to himself as he waves you off, excited to get through the day so he can just spend time with you and Kai.
As the hours go on and it's about time for you to pick Kai up, you quickly stop by the store because you're a procrastinator and didn't buy Kai's birthday gift any earlier. You felt bad you weren't able to find the shoes he wanted, but you at least snagged the video game he had been talking about for a couple of days now. Before walking into the arcade, you made sure to write your birthday card and slip some more money into it before shoving it in your bag to give to him later.
"Your pretty sister is here." Yeonjun grabs Kai by the shoulder as he finishes up a game.
"Yeah, and you're too young for her."
"Age is nothing but a number. It's only like.. 6 years apart."
"Besides, she's taken, dude. Sorry." Kai snorts as he watches Yeonjun's smile fade. "You would have never had the chance."
"You're mean."
"I'm mean, or you just have really high, unrealistic expectations?" The rest of their friends laugh as they follow Kai over to you.
"Hey!" You smile at all his friends.
"Hiiiiii Y/N." They all say in unison, some waving in awe, while the others shyly dug their hands into their pockets. "Birthday boy, you all good to go? Got some good Loco Moco waiting for you."
"Yeah, I'm good."
"Happy birthday again, Kai! Get online later!" Soobin yells out.
"Yeah, yeah." He says, waving them off as he follows you out to your car.
"You guys run through the entire arcade?" Kai laughs.
"Pretty much." He sinks into his seat, legs damn near touching the glove compartment with how long he is. "I'm honestly so excited for Loco Moco. It's been years!"
"It has not been that long." You laughed.
"You're right, it's been months." Kai looks out the window. "Wait, you're passing the road to get to our go-to shop though?"
"Cause I found a better place."
"How is there a better place when that one was already supreme?!"
"Hey, trust me on this okay?" You laugh. Kai starts telling you about his day and how so many people he knew from school had been messaging him happy birthday. He truly looked his happiest today and it was all you could ask for. Though at the same time, your heart slightly sank at the fact that he'd be going off to uni soon and staying at the dorms. He was just growing up way too fast, and you wanted to spend as much time as you could with him now before he was too occupied being a college boy.
You slipped yourself past Jungkook's security, parking in the one guest spot they have in the garage that's closest to the elevator. Kai doesn't really question it and hops out anyway, his hands in his pockets as he follows you into the elevator and onto Jungkook's floor.
"You ready, kid?"
"Is this some like, Michelin Star Loco Moco restaurant?"
"Ah, I guess you could say that." You knocked on the door, hearing music playing in the background. Jungkook opens the door and Kai's eyes widen.
"Oh shit, that's Jungkook?" Kook laughs and steps aside to let you both in. "Sis why—what—how come you didn't tell me we were seeing your boyfriend? I look like a mess!" He says lowly.
"You don't!"
"Hey Kai! Happy Birthday!" Jungkook says smiling, making Kai actually blush. He's cheeks are tinted with a rosy color and he suddenly gets all shy.
"Thanks."
"Your brother's tall." Jungkook looks at him up and down.
"Looking at an 18 year old 6 footer."
"Must be nice."
"Go sit." Kai silently nods as he sits awkwardly on Kook's couch, while you go and check in on him in the kitchen.
"Is he always that shy?"
"No. Just with you, apparently. He's not even that shy around girls." You chuckle as he places a quick kiss on your head. "Need my help?" You still ask even though the plates are neatly prepared already.
"Not really." He smiles down at you. "You hungry though?"
"Starving, actually." Your eyes light up at the plates. "Ouuuuuu, yum."
"Honestly, I think this batch might be better than my first."
"Still honored to be your guinea pig." You carry a plate over to Jungkook's coffee table in the living room.
"Oh shit, that looks amazing." Kai says, slipping himself down from the couch to the floor so he could get a good whiff of the plate. "Thank you."
"You're welcome." Jungkook hands you the remote before walking into his room. "Pick something."
"Here, birthday boy. Help me choose."
"Let's watch Soul on Disney+." At this point, Jungkook comes out of his room with a wrapped present, his eyes locked on the TV.
"Ooh, I keep seeing this everywhere! Niceeeee." Jungkook says, smiling with Kai nodding and already digging into his plate. "By the way, this is for you." You shoot him a look as he sits on the floor by you, watching as Kai unwraps the present. Kai's eyes light up as he sees a shoebox underneath the wrapping, quickly flipping the lid open to reveal those blue Air Jordans he wanted.
"Kook?!" You say lowly, making him smile at you and gently pinch your side.
"Holy shit!" He holds out a shoe, only for him to immediately shake his head and close the box again. "Jungkook, I can't take this." Kai says.
"No, it's your birthday."
"Yeah, but isn't this expensive? You've already done so much for me and my sister, I-I don't want to—"
"Kai, it's cool. If it's one thing you can do to repay me, it's to take my present." You literally want to cry at how sweet Jungkook is being with your brother. He had been good to you, no doubt, but this was one thing you didn't expect from him at all. Quite frankly, you had forgotten you mentioned the shoes to him. The fact that he actually remembered and kept his word.
"Okay." Kai says, gently setting the box down aside before looking at Jungkook with a small smile on his face. "Thank you. I really appreciate it. Like, even with the food and everything. It means a lot to me."
"You're welcome." You give him a soft smile before digging into your food while Soul was already off to a start. Kai and Jungkook devour their food together, with you following shortly behind as Jungkook brings over a small ice cream cake from his fridge for Kai to blow his candles on. After the boys had helped themselves to a good serving of the cake, they started getting hyper and pulled up Smash Bros on Kook's Nintendo Switch [as if Kai hadn't played enough games today]. It started to get intense; the boys jumping and yelling everywhere, bouncing off of the walls, with you getting pulled into the competition every now and then. Even though you knew you'd lost over and over again, you happily joined in anyway, seeing how excited your brother was - plus, it was always a bonus to hear Jungkook's loudly obnoxious, nerdy laugh.
"I WIN!"
"Hey, hey, hey. I let you win because it's your birthday." Jungkook said, making Kai laugh as he crashed to the floor.
"Sure." Kai huffed and puffed. "Crap, I'm tired. What time is it?"
"Almost midnight. We should start heading out, bubba." You patted Kai's chest gently.
"What? No, it's late. Why don't you two just stay here?" You suddenly remembered you've had Kai's shit in your trunk since you dropped him off at Yeonjun's this morning. You didn't have any change of clothes, but that could easily be fixed with Jungkook's closet.
"Only if the queen wants, she's driving."
"It's late, baby." Jungkook says to you softly. "No way I'm letting you two head out there."
"Okay." You give him a small smile before handing your keys. "Can you do me a favor?" He chuckles.
"What is it?"
"Kai's duffle bag is in my trunk." He nods and takes your keys.
"I got it. Kai, you can take the guest room or my office room." Jungkook says with his 3-bedroom apartment having ass. "I have my computer in my office room though, and a pull out bed. I don't know how comfy you'll be."
"It's cool, I'll just take your guest room. I always bring my laptop and switch whenever I sleep at my sister's." Kai says getting up. "Thank you."
"You're welcome." Jungkook says, toothlessly smiling at the both of you, completely endeared at how alike you two were - even down to the fact that you both said thank you for every little thing. If this was a result of Kai being close to you and having you as pretty much his mother figure, then Jungkook wouldn't know what to do with his feelings. He felt butterflies every time he thought about how cute and sweet you were, and he was always excited to be around you.
Jungkook does a quick jog to your car, grabbing Kai's Nike duffle from your trunk before jogging back to the elevator and back to his apartment. He walks in to see Kai helping you clean up the remaining dishes in the sink, tidying the rest of the things in his kitchen.
"Thank you." Jungkook says himself, a little unfamiliar with saying such a thing to be completely honest.
"You're welcome." You say softly, wiping your hands on his hand towel. "Off to bed, or are you gonna go online with your friends?"
"I'll see what they're up to, but I'm pretty beat. Today was fun." Kai smiles at the both of you. "I really appreciate it." You ruffle his hair a bit before gently pushing him towards his bedroom for the night.
"Bathroom's right over there, help yourself to anything you need."
"Don't stay up too late."
"Only if you aren't too loud." You gasp while Jungkook laughs out loud.
"Kai!"
"Hey, I'm just being honest. Please remember that I'm right in this room."
"Oh my god, go to bed." You shove him inside the room and shut his door. "Don't even say a word." You look at Jungkook shyly as you hurriedly brush past him to get into his room - even though Jungkook is literally right behind you with those long ass legs of his, making every stride so much easier for him to catch up to you.
"What's your outfit of choice tonight, pretty lady?" He shuts his door behind him as you start to make your way into his closet.
"Hm, I'll just wear this plain black--" You unfold it. "Balenciaga? Okay, I definitely can't just wear this to sleep."
"Why not?"
"Because this is like, name brand and everything."
"So?" He shrugs. "Just wear it, babygirl. It's not gonna make much of a difference, you're wearing it either way." You do a slight pout before you start to slip out of your clothes to get into his shirt. You make his way to his bathroom to take a little tinkle when you notice another toothbrush sitting next to his. A pink toothbrush, next to his blue one.
"Why do you have two toothbrushes?" You wash your hands as he comes in to the bathroom to start getting ready for bed.
"That's yours." Your eyes light up at his statement.
"Mine?"
"I figured since you'd be over more, it'd be easier for you." He furrows his brows lightly. "Unless.. you didn't want--" You press a kiss against his lips, his hands resting on your arms to keep you close.
"No, I did want that. Thank you."
"Of course, baby." He pecks your forehead.
"By the way, way to make me look like such a bad sister!" You say as you start getting your toothbrush ready.
"Why? The shoes?"
"The shoes, the Loco Moco, the games, the ice cream cake." You laughed. "I literally got him a video game and some money."
"I mean, he is turning 18. I wanted to help make it as memorable as possible."
"I appreciate you a lot. Really."
"I appreciate you too." Your eyes widen as you brush your teeth.
"Waaaaow, say thaht wun mohr tiyme." You say, pulling a Jungkook while brushing your teeth.
"Eye apprushiate yoh toh." You giggle. The both of you finish getting ready for bed before slipping into his warm sheets. Jungkook never goes to sleep early, however, he makes sure all the lights are off and that the show he's watching isn't too loud. You have no idea what's going on in his show, but you lay on his chest to watch for a little bit until you feel yourself getting a little more sleepy. He's holding you close, his hand brushing through your hair softly, causing tingles to ripple through your body.
"Kook."
"Yes, baby?"
"You make me happy." You say sleepily as you hung him tighter. He smiles down at you, your eyes now shut close as you slowly start to drift into a deep sleep. He presses a light kiss against your head, fingers still in your hair.
"You make me happy too, sweetheart."
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delaber · 4 years
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Can’t Have Your Cake and Another Cake Too
Rafael Casal x Reader
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Note: Okay, I’ll stop breaking Rafa’s heart now... Last time, I swear! Thanks for the prompts to these lovely anons. Alhough this is not a prequel to Poetic Justice (Rafa x ER Nurse), poor Rafa’s facing some of the same issues. I very loosely based this story on J. Cole’s Kevin’s Heart (don’t know why I’m always incorporating J. Cole into my fics, but apparently he’s always lurking in the back of my mind) and Phlake’s So Faded. Let me know what you think!
Words: 4.7K
Warnings: Cocaine addiction! Does not have a happy ending (nobody ODs and nobody’s dying ...Only on the inside lol)
Tagging: No one! This might not be for everybody and I don’t want anybody to feel forced to read it 😌
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It was supposed to be a great night out. The entire gang was there, and at the instigation of Diggs, Rafa was supposed to be on the prowl to get laid so he could take his mind off of his broken heart.
From his seat in the booth, Rafa had a fairly good view of the dance floor and he had already spotted a few honeys who likewise had acknowledged him by smiling and sending him a couple of long looks. One of them had even twirled her hair between her fingers while blowing him a kiss. He had the green light, all systems were go!
However, of all the things that could've thrown him off his game, Rafa would not have placed a single bet on a phone call. But the minute he pulled out his vibrating phone and checked the caller ID, both the group of honeys on the dance floor and his friends occupying the seats all around him were completely forgotten. Nothing else mattered anymore.
He stared at the screen for a while, reading the name over and over again. What the fuck was Morris calling him for? Rafa had told him to stop. Morris knew he was too weak to say no even though he had promised his girl that he'd stop for good.
...Or, you weren't his girl. Not anymore.
But Rafa was still determined to win you back no matter if you had stopped answering his phone calls or not, so he took a tough decision and pressed the decline button beneath Morris' name. He even contemplated putting his phone on flight-mode to remove all unwelcome temptations - he knew you'd never take him back if he fell back in - yet, for some reason taking himself off the grid was easier said than done, and before he had pulled himself together to actually press the little airplane button, a text from Morris had ticked in. It only consisted of two words but Rafa understood perfectly.
'New candy.'
Fuck... Rafa considered the pros and cons of accepting for a few milliseconds before he came to his senses. No, no, no. The only way he'd ever win you back would be by showing you that he could stay sober even after your break-up. Morris could fuck off! As if awaking from a trance, Rafa hurriedly put his phone back in his pocket and desperately tried to forget about Morris' enticing offer by telling himself that he was strong enough to shake it.
...although deep down, he was aware that it was already too late. That no matter what, he wouldn't be able to stop thinking about it now. And no matter how hard he tried to re-focus on the honeys on the dance floor and tell himself how stupid it was to hit Morris up, it was no use, the damage was done; he was desperate to get high!
Deeply, horribly ashamed of himself, Rafa texted Morris the address of the club and impatiently waited a couple of minutes before he walked outside with heavy footsteps. It felt as if he was walking to the gallows, the shame eating him up from the inside. You'd be so disappointed in him!
However, in order to make himself accept what he was about to do, he reminded himself that apparently, you didn't care if he was high or not. If you did, you would've returned his phone calls, and you would've reacted to the fact that he had been sober for three weeks now - but you hadn't. And with that in mind, Rafa managed to push away most of the shame as he laid eyes on Morris' sketchy Subaru parked by the curb on the other side of the road. He walked across the street with determined footsteps, carefully looking over his shoulder to check if anybody he knew were watching him approach what was clearly a dealer's car.
"What's up, bruh!" Morris called as he rolled down his window. He was wearing sunglasses, looking like an absolute turd in the dark night.
Rafa put his arms on the car's beltline and shot Morris a bro handshake through the open window, "what the fuck are you wearing sunglasses at night for? You look like a dick."
"Nah, man, it looks cool," Morris laughed, "do you like them? Hell, you should like them - you paid for them."
"What do you mean I paid for them?"
"With the amount of money you spend in my shop, I think it's safe to assume that you paid for these sunglasses and the rims on the ride too," Morris snorted.
"Yeah, about that," Rafa looked away, the embarrassment slowly creeping up his spine again, "you gotta stop calling me."
"You said that last time as well but look at you now," Morris laughed.
"Come on man, it's important that I stop."
"You don't wanna stop though."
Rafa let out a sigh, "look, I'm trying to prove something to my girlf- ...ex-girlfriend."
"A'ight, I respect that," Morris nodded slowly but then he quickly continued, "so did you just call me here to pin your lady troubles on me? Cause I have a customer waiting up on Seventh Ave."
Rafa blew out some air, embarrassed by the decision he was about to make.
"...Or do you wanna buy?" Morris continued as he read Rafa's body language.
"...you're not gonna tell Diggs are you?"
"Do I look like a fucking snitch?" Morris looked offended, "and you know me and Diggs don't talk no more."
"Yeah, alright. This stays between us, okay? If word gets out, I'm fucked."
"A'ight bruh," Morris laughed, "Now, how much do you need?"
"Just... just give me an eightball," Rafa mumbled.
Morris let out a small laugh, "an eightball? Man, you're not about to quit," he chuckled and handed Rafa a zip-lock bag with white powder in it.
"Shut up," Rafa mumbled and pocketed the baggie, "how much?"
"Rafa, you're my man, so I'mma give you a discount because I feel bad for you and your girl. Three hundo."
"Three hundred?! Last time it was two-eighty without the discount."
"Times are changing. I haven't seen you in three weeks, man. Plus, this is a good batch," Morris poked Rafa in the chest, "my contact got it shipped in directly from Medellín. Look, it got fish scale and everything!"
"You better not fuck me over," Rafa muttered and threw Morris three hundred-dollar bills before he turned away from him with an annoyed huff.
"Pleasure doing business as always, Casal! See you next weekend!" Morris yelled after Rafa with a small laugh, apparently not a care in the world for who knew about their illegal transaction.
"Fucking idiot," Rafa muttered to himself without turning around. He had more important things to do than to scold Morris about his indiscretion.
Rafa hurried to the restroom and carefully locked the door behind him before he frantically pulled out the zip-lock bag. He examined its contents and saw the pearl-like surface that Morris had talked about - Fuck it looked good! He opened the bag carefully but froze when he caught his own reflection in the bathroom mirror; the loving look he was sending the bag of coke was sickening. It made his stomach plummet. Had he really been reduced to snorting coke alone in a dirty bathroom of a sketchy club? He remembered when it had been a group activity. Before he couldn't control it.
Shake it off! He told himself. He had every intention of stopping after tonight. This would be the last time.
You said that last time as well, a small voice rang in the back of his head, but he ignored his guilty conscience and instead poured out a small pile of the pearl-like coke on top of the hand dryer. Quickly, he pulled out a random card from his wallet and used it to form two heavy lines. Before his guilty conscience could interfere again, he also grabbed a one-dollar bill that he neatly rolled into a small tube and put between his right nostril and one of the white lines, ready for the rush. His gaze, however, lingered on the random card he had used to break the coke into lines; it was his fucking rewards card for the small organic, artisan shit coffee house that you liked. What wouldn't you say if you knew what he was doing? In his mind's eye, he could see the disappointed look you always sent him whenever he'd come home all hyped up, rambling his mouth off. You never got angry with him and his love of coke, but somehow your disappointed demeanour was way worse. He would've taken screaming and yelling over the disappointed stare and the slow shake of your head any day.
Slowly, he removed the dollar-bill from his nostril, stood up straight and met his own eyes in the mirror again - and for a moment, he could truly see how pathetic he was. What the hell was he doing? He was throwing away his last shot at getting you back - and for what? A few hours of euphoria and confidence?
But she doesn't want you back, a small voice rang inside his head, you called, and you called, and you called. You declared yourself clean to her voicemail and she still didn't reach out. Fuck her!
"Yeah, fuck her," Rafa mumbled before he put the dollar-bill back to his nostril. Quickly, he snorted both lines of coke, shooting his head back afterwards, sniffling a bit as he cleaned his nose with the back of his hand. He knew he only had a couple of minutes before the euphoria kicked in, so he quickly brushed off the dollar-bill and the rewards card and tugged them both back in his wallet. The remainder of the coke was stowed away in his shirt's breast pocket for safe keeping.
Ready for the rush, Rafa was impatiently staring at himself in the mirror. He was thinking about how to avoid Diggs and his condescending looks for the duration of his high, when he was finally overwhelmed by the familiar fuzzy feeling. It came out of nowhere and started behind his eyeballs and continued all the way down to his toenails. It felt as if someone had pulled a large, fluffy blanket down over him, and it was slowly heating up his body, making him feel safe and secure. His pulse quickened in time with his breathing, and he had to close his eyes to get himself under control. He felt fucking powerful! Morris had not lied about this coming from a good batch. "Shit, Morris," he laughed.
There was a knock on the door, and Rafa remembered that he had occupied the men's room for a good five minutes now. He took a last look at his suddenly hazed eyes, aware that no matter how hard he tried to hide it, anyone could see that he was high as a kite. He contemplated riding out his high alone in the bathroom but also knew that with the amount of energy present in his body, he couldn't stay in the small restroom all night. He had to dance! To fuck! To fight!
With a suddenly confident bounce in his step, he opened the door, and sent the guy in line what he hoped was an apologetic nod before he confidently strode towards the honeys on the dance floor.
"Hey Rafa!" he heard someone yell behind him.
Hoping it was someone who wanted to fight, Rafa quickly turned around but was slightly disappointed to see Diggs coming towards him with a huge grin on his face. Shit! Rafa realised that he had to act nonchalant around his best friend. Diggs absolutely couldn't know about the coke in his breast pocket, or he'd be all up in Rafa's face about it.
"Diiiiiggs! My man!" Rafa yelled overly excited, clearly very, very high.
Diggs shot him a look at his weird behaviour before he continued, "where've you been, man? I've been looking for you everywhere."
"R-r-r-r-r-r-r-rrrrrrrestroom," Rafa laughed, he was too happy to pretend otherwise.
"Why are you saying it like th-" the huge grin was slowly slipping from Diggs' face, "...hey, Rafa - look at me," Diggs suddenly sounded all serious as he took Rafa's face in his hands, carefully examining his features, "Rafa, look at me."
Rafa let out a low chuckle, "Diggs, you know I think you're handsome and all that, but I don't like you that way," he joked.
"You're being weird," Diggs furrowed his eyebrows, "- and your pupils are huge. Have you been doing lines in the bathroom?"
"Maybe," Rafa laughed, unable to stop himself from revealing his dirty little secret, "why? You want some? I still have a few hits left," he padded his breast pocket.
"You know I don't do that shit anymore..." Diggs let go of Rafa with a sigh and looked away from him.
"Oh yeah, I forgot you're a fucking saint now," Rafa said a bit more harshly than he had intended to. Ever since Diggs had met Emmy, he had been boring as hell.
Diggs chose not to comment on Rafa's low blow, and managed to keep his calm, "I thought you'd stopped, bruh."
"Morris made me an offer I couldn't refuse," Rafa laughed in an accent halfway between Tony Montana and Vito Corleone.
"Yeah well, I'm not the only one who thought you were done fucking around," Diggs said seriously. He was having none of Rafa's jokes, "I just saw your girl downstairs. She wants to talk to you."
It took a few seconds before Rafa understood, but when he finally grasped Diggs' words, he felt the blood drain from his face and his mouth run dry, "what? No, you're kidding me..."
"Nope," Diggs sighed, "I've been running around trying to find you for fifteen minutes..."
"Shit! What the fuck do I do?" Rafa said in a panicked voice, licking his lips frantically, "I told her I was sober! If she sees me like this, she'll never take me back."
"Yeah, well you better pray that you don't run into her."
Rafa ran his hand through his hair, "fuck I'm screwed. She's downstairs?"
"Was fifteen minutes ago."
"Alright, I'm jumping out this window. You stall her, tell her that I got sick or something."
"You can't jump out this window?" Diggs said incredulously, "we're 50 feet up, if you do that, you die! Just walk out the doo- ...oh shit, dude, we're blown. She's here. She's coming over."
"Fuck! Can I still bolt?"
"Of course not!"
"Well how do I look? Alright?"
"You look-" Diggs cut himself off, "...maybe just try and avoid her looking into your eyes, okay?"
"How the fuck am I supposed to do that?"
"The light in here's paying you a favour but apart from that you're gonna have to pull yourself together. You brought this upon yourself," Diggs said harshly before his demeanour changed completely as his eyes interlocked with yours over Rafa's shoulder, "heeeeey," he smiled broadly, "look who I found."
Rafa slowly turned around and met you. Your stunning beauty - as always - immediately knocking him to the ground. He couldn't believe that it had been four weeks since the last time he'd seen you. He'd do anything to get you back!
"Rafa," you nodded formally with a stiff face. Rafa couldn't help but make a mental note on how weird it was to see you without a smile on your lips. You were normally always so happy. He had done this, he reminded himself.
"Hey baby," he whispered, the words weirdly familiar in his throat.
You briefly raised your eyebrows while looking away from him, clearly uncomfortable by the sound of your old pet name.
"Sorry," he continued, "force of habit. ...I'm just happy to see you."
Your gaze slowly found his face, and Rafa prayed that you couldn't see his coke-eyes from where you were standing.
"Well..." you said and clicked your tongue, "I'd like to talk to you."
"I'd like to talk to you too," Rafa said quietly.
"And you're sober? Like you said on my voicemail?"
"Yes," Rafa breathed, "completely sober," he lied thickly, hyper-aware of how awkward it was with Diggs shuffling nervously beside him. He was uncomfortably rolling back and forth on the balls of his feet.
"Good," you finally let out a small smile, "do you want to sit down?"
"Yeah," Rafa nodded.
"Yeah, I'll - uh - I'll leave you to it," Diggs cleared his throat and padded Rafa between the shoulder blades as a way of wishing him good luck.
"Thanks man," Rafa muttered before he followed you down to a vacant booth in the corner of the room. Instead of sitting down opposite you, he made sure to occupy the seat next to you, hoping that it would minimise the risk of you looking into his eyes. He just had to pretend that he was sober until the high quieted down. Fourty-five more minutes - Less if he was lucky.
"So, how've you been?" You said quietly as you were both overlooking the dance floor, avoiding looking directly at each other.
"Not good," Rafa said quietly, "like shit, actually... how about you?"
"Yeah, well I guess 'shit' sums it up neatly... How's sober life?"
"Oh, it's - yeah - it's - it's great!" He said, the lie thick in his throat, "I feel so much better now." He knew how much he had hurt you, and he knew how difficult it must be for you to face him after you'd said that you never wanted to see him again - which just really only made his lying so much worse. Fuck, how he hated himself for what he had done. What he was still doing.
Your eyes darted across his face before your gaze settled on a spot just below his chin. He was relieved that you weren't staring him square in the eyes. "I was so happy to hear your voicemail," you whispered, "you really flushed your stash?"
"Yes," he croaked.
"I'm glad that you're finally taking care of yourself," he couldn't make out your face in the dark but he could hear a hint of happiness to your voice that you were clearly trying to suppress. It made him feel horrible.
"Yeah, I want to stay sober for you," he said slowly. At least that wasn't a lie.
"You have no idea how happy that makes me," you said quietly, the happiness definitely shining through now.
Rafa's heart was fluttering in his chest, and he felt the coke-induced euphoria run amok in his brain, "...does that mean you'll forgive me?" All his senses were heightened.
"It's a step in the right direction" you said quietly, still not looking directly at him, "I've missed you."
"I've missed you too baby," Rafa said quietly and boldly took your hand in his.
Finally, you looked up at him, and to avoid you noticing his bloodshot eyes with the dilated pupils, he took a quick decision, leaned in and crashed his lips against yours.
Luckily, you mistook his desperation for passion and fiercely kissed him back, your hand releasing itself from his, and instead caressing his neck. In-between kisses you managed to mumble, "I'm still... mad... at you."
"I know," Rafa mumbled, enjoying the familiar feeling of your lips against his. Your hands switched to caressing his torso, and your small fingers travelled over his stomach and up his chest, coming to a halt over his heart. It was racing against his ribcage and he had no idea whether it was due to the coke or due to the heap of emotions he felt in his chest. He couldn't believe he was kissing you again. He had completely written it off no more than half an hour ago.
Your right hand moved away from his heart but came to a sudden halt when you felt a small bump in Rafa's breast pocket. Still kissing him, you ran your fingers over the bump a few times before you remembered that it was where he always kept his coke. Quickly, you pulled your lips away from his.
"Wait, no, don't take kissing away from me," he hummed, completely unaware of the discovery you'd just done.
You were looking at his euphoric face with the closed eyes and the swollen lips as you moved your hand over his breast pocket once more.
When Rafa realised what was going on his eyes flew open and he spluttered, "it isn't what you think!"
But he was too slow to react, and before he had had the chance to move away, your fingers went inside his breast pocket and grabbed the small bag from there. "You've got to be kidding me!" You said angrily as you held his coke between your fingertips.
"Baby, I can explain," Rafa said quickly while desperately grabbing your wrist.
"Rafa, you fucking idiot! Don't touch me!" You wrestled yourself out of his grip, got up from your seat, and fast-paced towards the door.
"Baby! Baby!" Rafa yelled out as he ran after you.
"Don't touch me!" You cried, attracting the attention of everyone in your path.
You stormed out the door, Rafa at your heel desperately clinging to every inch of you that he could reach. When you reached the curb outside, he finally managed to run up in front of you, stopping you in your tracks, "baby, I can explain!" He said desperately.
"You said you'd flushed it all!" You were screaming at him now, the tears running down your face.
"It was a mistake, baby, I swear I didn't mean to. I flushed it all, I promise. It's just a setback."
"When did you buy this, Rafa?" You said through gritted teeth, "how long did you manage to stay sober before you decided you wanted to throw it all away?"
Rafa looked away from you, he was so embarrassed by himself, "Morris called and I tried to say no, I really did! Baby, I tried so hard to resist it. But he was persistent."
"Well, did he force you to buy?" You hissed. You were having none of his excuses.
"...No." Rafa admitted.
"When did you buy it?" You emphasised every word, "before or after you called me last weekend?"
"After..."
"When? How long after? When did you have your setback?"
"Does it matter?"
"Yes! I need to know if you did it because you were physically craving it, because you just felt like getting high, or if you did it because you’d thrown the thought of us away when I didn’t answer you.”
"I tried to fight it, I swear I tried to fight it," he was getting choked up.
"Rafa, tell me when you bought it."
He considered shooting you a lie but he didn't want to fuck up any more. "I bought it tonight..." he finally muttered under his breath, avoiding your gaze.
"You're not serious!! You bought it tonight?" You bellowed, "are you trying to tell me that you planned on throwing away your soberness tonight? That if I hadn't shown up, you'd be high as balls right now?"
Rafa didn't say anything, he just looked at you with huge eyes, the embarrassment evident on his face - and first then did you notice his blood-shot eyeballs with the abnormally large pupils that had taken over most of the green that was normally present.
"No..." you whispered when you realised, "no, no, no..." you groaned quietly, clutching your chest, "you're high right now?" The heartbreak was evident in your voice.
Rafa sent you a pained look. He fucking hated himself.
"You're high..." You stated in a whisper, the tears were streaming down your face, "you lied."
He had broken your heart. Again.
"I - I didn't mean to," he croaked, "I was just so happy to see you. I knew you wouldn't want to talk to me if I told you the truth."
"So you planned on telling me when?"
"I don't know," he croaked, "I didn't think it through. I've been sober for three weeks. Tonight's just a small setback. Baby, I swear, I'll block Morris and I'll flush this baggie right now if I can just get you back," Rafa was begging, “I’ll stop if you tell me to!”
"Rafa, how many times do I have to tell you," you cried, "You have to stop because you want to. Not because I tell you to stop! I don't care about the snorting! I don't care that you party and get high! You've done lines of my tits several times for God's sake! But I can't live with the constant lying that has become part of it!"
Fuck, Rafa knew what you were building to. His life's biggest mistake. He had it coming, he knew it. He deserved it. He was a fucking cheating coke-head and he hated it. "Please don't bring it up," he sobbed.
You didn't listen to him. You had to confront him with it because he clearly hadn't understood. "Rafa, you fucked another girl! And you were so high that you didn't even realise it! And when you woke up the next day and saw what you'd done, you lied about your whereabouts and the fact that you'd been high as fuck! I had to learn about it through her!" You were sobbing, "...and instead of staying home and comforting me, you lied about having to go to the studio, and you met up with Morris and you got high! Again! If knowing that you're breaking my heart with your constant lies doesn't make you want to quit, I'm not sure what will."
"I want to stop!" he sobbed. He had never felt so horrible before, "I love you, I want to be with you," he sniffled and took your hand, "please give me another chance! I'll stop snorting. I'll stop lying. I'll do anything for you."
It looked as if you were contemplating his words but the look in your eyes darkened suddenly and you let out a whisper, "no Rafa!" as you pulled your hand away from his.
"Baby, please!" He pleaded desperately, "I love you."
"You love coke more," you whispered.
"I have a problem," Rafa tried desperately, "I know. I can't stop. But I'll get help. I'll do whatever you want me to do!"
"Rafa, if you stop snorting because I tell you to stop, it will never last! You love getting high!"
"That's not true... it's pathetic," he cried.
"Rafa, honey,” you said quietly, “- ask yourself this; would you be throwing away this baggie and deleting Morris' number if I wasn't leaving you because of it?"
"Yes," he croaked immediately.
You took a deep breath of air, hurt written all over your face, "Love," you sighed desperately as a fresh wave of tears started streaming down your face, "you're lying again..." you sobbed, and put the baggie in the palm of his hand and folded his fingers around it.
"I'm flushing it," he croaked.
"Do whatever you want," you whispered and looked him in the eye, "We're not together anymore. I'm done - it's over,” you said as you slowly turned around and started walking away from him.
“No, no, no! Please come back!”
“No Rafa… This time I'm serious,” you said before you started walking again.
This time, Rafa didn't run after you. He just watched you walk further and further away from him as your hands dried the tears off of your face every two seconds. He imagined you stopping, imagined the hurt look you'd send him. How he'd run over to you and take you in his arms. Imagined how he'd apologise and you'd both hug and cry and kiss it out. But you didn't stop. You didn't send him any look at all. And he didn’t run to you, he was glued to the pavement.
He stood as if frozen in time and looked after you even long after you'd disappeared around the corner. Suddenly, however, he noticed that he was still clutching the baggie in his closed fist. Slowly, he opened the palm to reveal the beautiful mother-of-pearl-coloured powder. He contemplated dropping it down the gutter next to him. It would all be so easy.
But instead, he closed his fingers around it and pocketed it right above his broken heart. It would help relieve the terrible thunder that he felt rolling over him. It brought along a storm of emotions. A hurricane of regrets. And he was desperate to get high.
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