#downside of working night shift is having to do crazy things with my sleep so i can actually Do Things

[blairamok]

went to bed early because i wanted to go to public skate today but then i woke up really early and man. wish they’d let me in the 7am freestyle sessions because i am not built for these afternoon public skates

[watchmegetobsessed]

SLEEPLESS

a/n: omg! it's been so long since i last wrote something for harry so it feels a bit weird but in a good way to be back. i've been spending more time offline so writing hasn't been going that fast like before, but im working on a few other stuff too! just please be patient with me, im trying my besti swear! so now enjoy this oneshot of two oblivious and stupid roommates who start sharing a bed...

pairing: Roommate!Harry x reader

word count: 8.1k

masterlist

Living with three boys has its perks but also a lot of downsides too. It’s not how you planned, you were set to move in with one of your friends from second year, but she bailed on you last minute, leaving you with no place to live when most of the houses were already taken for the next at least one year. You were bracing yourself to sleep under a bridge or something already when your heroes came along.

You went to high school with Harry Niall and Louis, but you weren’t exactly in the same friend group, just knew about each other. Then you ended up in the same Lit class freshman year with Harry and he was basically your pass into their little group. You hit it off pretty easily and you always wondered why you didn’t become friends before college. Later you had two more classes with him in the second semester and it was just all a coincidence that he found out about your living situation.

“Why don’t you move in with us?” he prompted one afternoon when you were studying together in the library.

“I’m not sharing a room with any of you, Harry,” you sighed, shaking your head.

“You wouldn’t have to. We had a fourth mate living with us but he dropped out about a month ago. You could take his bedroom.”

“Are for real? You should talk about it with the boys first, don’t you think?”

“I’m sure they wouldn’t mind it. They like you too and if I’m being honest, the place could use the touch of a woman,” he smirked and you just rolled your eyes, but you were incredibly thankful for the offer.

So after talking with Niall and Louis about it and once they gave their amens on the situation, you officially moved in with the three of them.

You’d be lying if you said there hasn’t been times when you thought about choosing the bridge, living with boys is not exactly a dream. They are messy, sometimes loud and oblivious about certain things women do and need. You’ll never forget Niall’s face when you packed the shelf above the toilet with your tampons and pads. The horror in his eyes as he examined all the different sizes and types.

“But why so many? I don’t get it why you need the large ones and the mini ones too,” he huffed.

“Because I vary them according to the strength of my flow.”

“Bless you,” he scoffed and just walked away.

They tend to leave their clothes around the house and they don’t always realize when it’s time to let some fresh air into the place either. Harry has a sixth sense wanting to use the bathroom when you’re in and Louis always forgets to get rid of his spoiled food from the fridge. Tini things that surely got you thinking if it was a good idea to move in with them. But then there are times when you can’t even imagine sharing a home with anyone else than these three idiots.

The way Harry always leaves you a cup of coffee on the counter when he has an early class on mondays and wednesdays, how Niall always waits for you to get home after your night shifts at the restaurant you’ve been working at, but he always just says he was watching Supernatural on TV. You love that Louis goes out of his way to get you your favorite pastry for breakfast on sundays when he goes for his morning runs. But the absolute best is that you never feel alone or bored with these three around. Something is always happening and they make sure to involve you in everything, making you feel like part of their little pack.

Tonight is Thursday and Thursdays are movie nights in your home. It’s been a tradition since the first week and you haven’t missed any of them. Sitting on the couch at your usual spot, you laugh as Niall growls in annoyance when you suggest to watch another rom-com.

“Not again!” he protests, sitting on the floor by the coffee table you and Harry thrifted a few months ago after the previous one was broken at a smaller party held in the house.

“Why? I bet Harry would love it!” you grin, glancing at the guy in talk who is now entering the room with a big bowl of popcorn.

“Of course he would, because he is a pussy! And the two of you always team up, dragging Louis with you so I can never watch something I enjoy!” Niall whines as Harry sits next to you, not too bothered by his friend’s cries.

“Come on, I bet you enjoyed Crazy, Stupid Love last week!” you laugh, remembering how he whined for the first part, then fell asleep at the end.

“Love, if you think that was enjoyment, I wouldn’t want to be your boyfriend,” Niall scoffs and you gasp at his reply.

“Hey!” you snap at him, but can’t help laughing. This is how it always goes with you and Niall, the non-stop bickering can sometimes drive Harry and Lou insane.

“Okay, so what do you want to watch?” Harry asks, throwing some popcorn into his mouth as he gets comfortable, an arm resting on the back of the couch behind you, the other one busy with the snack in his lap.

“There is this new horror I’ve been dying to see!” Niall’s blue eyes light up right away, but you’re fast to break that shine.

“Nah, no way. I’m not watching a horror movie.”

“Why not?”

“Because I fucking hate them and they scare the shit out of me.”

“That’s like the whole point!” he protests, but you shake your head no again.

“What are you fighting about again?” Louis asks, walking into the room after his quick shower, the smell of his body wash filling the room for a few moments.

“I want to watch a horror movie, but Y/N is a little baby and she doesn’t want to.”

“I’m not a baby! I just don’t enjoy watching people get killed or demons sucking the life out of someone!” Niall just rolls his eyes at your response.

“But it’s always what you or Harry wants to watch, why can’t I choose just this once?”

“That’s not true, we watch movies you like too!” you retort, but Niall gives you an unimpressed look. “We watched that crime thing, that was your choice!”

“That was three months ago, Y/N,” he sighs and as you do some quick math you realize that he is right.

“Hey, he has a point. Let’s just watch what he wants this one time, yeah?” Harry curls his arm that’s been on the back of the couch around your shoulder and he pulls you to his side, squeezing you gently.

“But I hate horrors,” you pout, knowing well that it’s already kind of settled, you lost this battle.

“It’s just a movie. And if you get scared in the night, you can sleep at mine,” he offers with a wink that surely makes your heartbeat fasten a bit.

If you’re being honest, you’ve always had a tiny crush on Harry, even back in high school, when you didn’t really know him. He was the cool guy, but not the douchebag type, more like the one that was nice to everyone and earned their respect and liking. Getting to know him just proved that he really is a great guy, but you figured he would never feel the same way about you. These three guys only saw you as their sister and that was in a way kinda worse than being friend zoned, but there’s nothing you can do about it, so you just decided to come to peace with your situation. But that doesn’t mean you don’t get flustered when you see him wander around the house in just his boxers or when he gets a little touchy with you, which happens a lot, because that’s just how he is. Hands on your shoulders, a little squeeze on your hips, the gentle touch of his fingers on your back, they happen all the time and they get your pulse up every time. You can only hope it’s not that noticeable.

Niall finally gets what he wants and you agree to watch that stupid horror movie. It doesn’t start off too bad, but it quickly escalates and makes you shudder every time the screen gets a little darker or the music is foreshadowing that something is about to happen.

“Jesus fuck!” you jump a little when the killer appears out of nowhere in the scene.

“You alright?” Harry asks, peeking down at you.

“I fucking hate this dude,” you mumble, rubbing your face with your hands, to get your shit together. Harry chuckles lightly next to you, his arm pulling you to his side close and you gladly sink against him, the warmth of his body giving you some comfort and a sense of safety.

Your eyes are on the screen, but your mind is dancing around how his fingers are delicately running up and down your arm, drawing circles and little shapes on your skin. It could put you to sleep easily, even with the woman screaming on the screen after seeing her husband get killed.

“Just imagine the guy with a funny mustache,” Harry murmurs, leaning closer to you so he doesn’t bother the other two guys with his comment. “Or maybe in a ridiculous outfit.”

“Like… in a onsie?” you ask, squinting your eyes at the screen.

“Could be, yeah,” he chuckles quietly. “Just imagine him running through the woods in a onsie with bunnies all over it.”

You can’t push your laughter down, covering your mouth with your hand so you don’t bother the others. Harry just smirks, giving you a squeeze as you’re still melted against his side on the couch, legs pulled up to your chest, while his are spread out in front of him.

“Definitely not that scary,” you giggle and Harry hums in agreement.

“Would you mind getting a fucking room, you guys? You have two, in fact!” Niall snaps at you playfully, when you start laughing again.

“Sorry, sorry!” you clear your throat, your cheeks heating up at the comment, but luckily it’s dark enough to hide your embarrassment. Niall is always quick to make dirty jokes and tease you in a way that makes you nervous, especially when it involves Harry as well. He has made plenty of comments about you and Harry since you’ve moved in, implying that the two of you sometimes act like a couple or that you should hook up. Harry is always quick to shake them off, that’s how you know he couldn’t even take the thought seriously.

At the end of the movie you feel like it wasn’t bad, not with Harry holding you close at least.

“Will you be screaming tonight, Y/N?” Niall teases you, making you roll your eyes at him.

“Either way it’s gonna be your fault.”

“I can live with that!” he laughs, bidding his goodbye before he shuts the door of his bedroom behind him.

You do your usual evening routine, get ready to bed and by the time you’re done in the bathroom all the boys have retired into their rooms. The hallway stands dark in front of you, only a tiny bit of light coming from your bedroom since you left your bedside lamp on in there, but you still can’t help the eerie feeling that washes over you. That movie didn’t sit right with you and now you have to face the aftermath of it.

Switching the lights in the bathroom off you sprint into your bedroom, pictures from the movie flashing in your mind of the killer just jumping out of nowhere. You shut the door and lean your back against it for a moment, taking a deep breath. Tonight is going to be long.

No matter how hard you try, you just can’t fall asleep. You’re way too alerted, opening your eyes at the tiniest of sounds around you, which is unfortunate, because your window is looking over the main street, unlike two other rooms in the house, that are facing the small backyard. Harry and Louis have the luck to have those rooms.

Every time you’re about to fall asleep something from the movie sneaks into your thoughts and you get scared to death. Soon, you realize you won’t be able to sleep on your own tonight.

Sitting on the edge of your bed, you wonder if Harry really meant that offer that you can sleep with him or not. Part of you is convinced it was just a joke, but when you hear someone shouting down the street you push your doubts aside and you quickly find yourself making your way to Harry’s room.

You knock on the room lightly, not wanting to wake anyone else up. The last thing you need is Niall seeing you go into Harry’s room in the middle of the night.

No answer comes from inside, but you won’t just leave it at that. Opening the door you’re facing another dark room, barely making out the furniture, but you already know the route by heart. Making it to the bed your eyes finally adjust to the darkness and you can see Harry lying on his side, sleeping peacefully. Squatting down you place a hand to his shoulder and give him a tiny shake.

“Harry?” you call out quietly, but his answer is just a huff. “Harry, it’s me,” you try again, squeezing his arm. He furrows his eyebrows before slowly blinking his eyes open, finding you in his sight.

“Y/N? What’s wrong?” he asks in that groggy, low voice you love hearing in the morning so much.

“I can’t… Did you mean that I can sleep here if I’m scared?” you ask, afraid that he might just have a good laugh and send you back to your room. For a long moment, he just blinks at you before nodding his head and you feel relief washing over you.

“Sure,” he hums.

“O-okay then I’ll bring a blanket and take the floor and--”

“Shut up, you are not sleeping on the floor,” he growls, grabbing your wrist and pulling you into bed with him as he scoots over, making you space on the mattress.

It’s a bit weird at first, lying in bed with Harry, especially because it’s just queen sized, so there’s not much space between the two of you, but it seems like Harry doesn’t mind it so why should you?

Your nerves are a lot calmer with Harry next to you, but maybe it’s still because of the movie or because you’re a bit anxious about the whole situation, you just still can’t relax enough to fall asleep.

“Y/N, no one is gonna kill you here,” Harry speaks up surprising you because you thought he has already fallen back asleep.

“I know, I know,” you whisper, trying to sound convincing, but you can’t fool anyone, especially not him.

He huffs deeply and before you could realize what’s happening, Harry’s arm is curled around your waist, pulling you against him, spooning you from behind, the warmth of his body wrapping your figure almost entirely.

“If a murderer comes, they will have to fight me first, alright? Now sleep,” he mumbles against your hair, squeezing you gently. All at once, you couldn’t care about killers and dark shadows around you, because Harry was right there, holding you tight and there was nowhere you wanted to be more than right there.

You slept like a baby. Harry’s closeness kept every nightmare away from you and the morning came with ease. Harry’s phone wakes the two of you up at eight, because he has a morning class at 9.30. The two of you are completely tangled up in each other, lying on your side facing each other, Harry’s arms are wrapped around you, while yours are hugging his waist. Groaning at the sound of his alarm, he rolls to his back to reach for the phone on the nightstand and then he finally turns it off. It’s bright outside, the darkness of the night finally long gone. You’re still groggy when Harry rolls back, his arm coming back around you like it’s the most natural thing in the world and in a sense, it feels like that. But as you both slowly wake up, you realize that you might be a little too close. Slowly but surely you let go of each other, rolling to your back, staring up at the ceiling.

“Hope I didn’t kick you in my sleep,” you smile at him, peeking over at him, hoping to break the awkwardness of the situation.

“No, don’t worry about it,” he chuckles, rubbing his eyes, before pushing himself up and off the bed. You follow him with your gaze as he steps to his dresser and grabs a pair of clean underwear. “I’ll put on a coffee while I shower, want one too?” he asks, though you know he could make one for you anyway.

“Sure, thank you,” you nod and he nods back, yawning as he walks out of the room, leaving you lying in his bed, a bit confused and kind of aching to be held by him again.

Two days pass by, everything is going as per usual, neither you nor Harry brings up that you spent the night in his bed that one particular time. Now it’s saturday and you all were planning to go out, but a sudden storm has cancelled your plans, so the evening turned into a cozy, lazy hangout instead of a wild party at some frat house.

Louis decided to work on a paper that’s due in two weeks, Niall has been relentlessly swiping on Tinder while you and Harry are spawled out on the couch, watching some shitty action movie that was on TV, since you both were too lazy to choose one and put it on. Deep down you’re a little happy you don’t have to spend the evening in a crowded, smelly house, drinking cheap alcohol.

Harry gets up from his seat to grab himself a drink just when Niall growls in annoyance.

“What is it?” you ask.

“They keep unmatching with me after we’ve talked a little!”

“Have you thought about the reason?” you smirk at him, knowing well that Niall probably isn’t the easiest to talk to, he surely takes it too far too soon.

“Well they probably don’t like that I ask them if I can go over,” he shrugs, making you laugh.

“You’d go over in the pouring rain?” Harry asks, returning to his spot on the couch. He puts his drink to the coffee table and instead of sitting into his previous position, leaning against the arm of the couch, he lies down, laying his head to your thigh, making your breath hitch for a moment.

“Of course not!” Niall rolls his eyes. “But I thought it would make them think I would do anything for them.”

“It makes you seem desperate,” Harry retorts, earning a questioning look from his friend. “What? It does!”

“No, it doesn’t.”

“Yes it does,” you nod in agreement. “Going over in the middle of a storm just to fuck? Sounds like you’re having a hard time finding someone.”

“Women are so fucking complicated, and for what?!” he growls, before storming off to his bedroom, like an angsty teenager, leaving you and Harry alone.

He doesn’t move, his head stays on your thigh using it as a pillow. His curls are tickling the soft skin on your thigh and you have to fight the urge to play with his hair or scratch his scalp. You stay like this for the rest of the movie and when he gets up you almost want to pull him back.

“Alright, I’m fucked, I’m gonna go to bed,” he yawns, stretching his arms out into the air as he heads into his bedroom. “Good night, Y/N.”

“Night, Harry!” you call after him as you watch his frame disappear down the hallway.

Sighing, you slide down on the couch, cursing under your breath that you’re still so hung up on Harry. You really thought that you had it under control, but lately those damn butterflies are acting up in your stomach at everything he does.

“I’m pathetic,” you mumble under your breath just as the sky rumbles outside with a blinding lightning, making you jump with a squeak. “Shit,” you huff, already knowing that falling asleep will be a pain in the ass. Again.

You’ve always hated storms, they make you think that something bad is about to happen, a tree is about to fall into the window or a lightning will blow up the building. It’s kind of stupid, you know it, but you just can’t help it.

Tossing and turning, you jump every time a lightning flashes somewhere outside and a few seconds later the thunder rips through your whole body, almost making you fall off the bed.

“Oh God,” you let out a shaky breath. You have no idea how long it is until the Storm finally stops and you’d really like to have a good night's sleep. So pushing your anxious thoughts to the side, you get out of bed and head over to Harry’s room once again.

It’s such a deja vu from a few nights ago, as you gently knock on the door you wait again, but this time you actually get an answer.

“Yeah?” you hear him call out from inside and you slowly open the door, peeking your head inside. Harry is lying in bed, his head propped up against the headboard as he is scrolling through his phone. “Y/N? What’s wrong?” he asks, putting the phone aside as he sits up.

“I just, I-I know it’s stupid, but I was thinking… I don’t know--”

“Y/N, just tell me, alright? Come on in,” he gestures for you and you slip into the room, closing the door behind you before sitting to the edge of the bed next to him. “What’s wrong?”

“I can’t sleep during storms…” you admit, looking into his eyes, hoping he gets the hint where you want to head with it. He stares back at you for a moment before he scoots over, lifting the covers up, giving you the green light to join him.

Relieved, you climb over to him, making yourself comfortable as he wraps the blanket over you, his arm immediately coming to cradle you, this time pulling you to his chest so your head is laid upon his shoulder, a hand gently placed onto his hard chest, probably right above where his butterfly tattoo is adorning his abdomen.

This is now easily your favorite place. Safe and tight in Harry’s arms, protected from anything and everything, like you’re in a little bubble as soon as you get on his bed.

Lightning strikes outside again and you shiver a little. Harry probably notices it, because he tightens his hold around you, as if it’s his way telling you that he is here and nothing bad is gonna happen. Eventually, you’re able to shut the outside out and only focus on Harry’s warmth, the touch of his hand on your arm and his even breathing. And then finally, you drift off to sleep.

This morning is different from the previous one you spent here. There’s no alarm since it’s Sunday, neither of you have anything in particular to do, so you wake up feeling rested, the Sun shining through his half drawn in curtains, no trace of last night’s storm can be noticed from where you’re lying in bed, the sky is as clear as ever. Sometime during the night you got tangled in a way where Harry is the one now cuddling you, his head lying on your chest, hugging you as if you were a giant teddy bear, his leg thrown between yours, lightly snoring against your sleep shirt. You can only see his mop of hair and the urge to play with them is back, but this time, you give in.

Leaving one hand on his back, you move the other one to his unruly locks, gently playing with one before you comb your fingers through it, lightly scratching his scalp. Harry hums in pleasure, shifting from his dreams back to reality, but he doesn’t move, just keeps humming as you massage his scalp.

“It’s not a good morning, it’s the best,” he mumbles groggily, making you chuckle at his words.

One of his hands is flat against your ribcage and the damned butterflies start dancing when you feel his fingers gently stroke your side as you keep playing with his curls. This feels so idyllic, as if you’ve been like this forever. You wish that was true.

Groaning as he stretches, Harry rolls to his back, making you instantly miss his body pressed against yours. He rubs his eyes, sighing deep as he blinks up at the ceiling a few times, then he turns his head to the side, looking at you.

Just when he is about to say something, outside his door it sounds like someone just broke a pile of plates and it’s followed by Niall’s usual annoyed growl. You both get out of bed to go and check what happened, not even thinking about how it might appear that you both are coming from Harry’s room in the morning.

Harry flings the door open and there is Niall, collecting pieces of a plate from the floor, his breakfast scattered down the hallway as well while he curses under his breath.

“What happened?” Harry asks, picking up a bigger piece from the plate.

“Fucking tripped,” he growls back, glancing up just for a moment, then back down, but then he processes that you’re standing behind Harry, in his room, in the morning. “What the fuck are you doing in Harry’s room?” he bluntly asks, quickly forgetting about the mess he just made.

“What?” you ask nervously, your pulse quickening in an instant. Harry stands up, seemingly not too bothered by Niall’s question.

“You slept in his room?!”

“She did,” Harry answers, leaning against the doorframe.

“Wait, are you two fucking?” Niall’s eyes widen, snapping back and forth between you and Harry.

“Just because two people sleep in the same bed, doesn’t mean they are fucking, Niall,” Harry chuckles, seemingly amused by the situation that’s got your stomach knotted. Louis’ door opens and he walks out, his hair a little messy, but already dressed, a mug halfway filled with coffee in his hand.

“Wha’s this circus out here?” he asks, looking around, his eyes scanning over the mess on the floor.

“Did you know these two are fucking?” Niall asks him and Harry lets his head drop back at his words.

“Are you?” Louis simply questions and you shake your head no.

“We are not. Y/N can’t sleep in a storm so she came over to mine.”

“Funny, she doesn’t come to me when she’s scared,” Niall scoffs.

“I never came to you because you don’t understand that sleeping together doesn’t mean sex,” you retort, though your ears are practically burning from the rising anxiety inside you.

“Wait, whoa. This wasn’t the first time you two slept together?”

“She was scared after your stupid horror movie too,” Harry shrugs.

“Wow, so are you guys a thing now or what?”

“Niall!” Harry growls and you’re not entirely sure what bothers you more. Niall’s shock and interrogation or the way Harry seems so cool and unbothered, like it’s no big deal. Maybe because for him it really isn’t, it’s only about the sleeping, nothing else, even though the cuddles are a little beyond the lines of friendship.

“What? I’m just asking the important stuff! Am I not allowed to tell dirty jokes to Y/N because you’ll cut my prick off?”

“You shouldn’t tell those anyway,” Louis chimes in and you nod in agreement.

Seeing that the conversation is just getting more and more awkward with each passing moment you decide to pull yourself out of it. Pushing yourself past Harry you mumble an excuse me before rushing back into your room, the three boys eyeing you curiously as you shut the door behind you, finally putting a physical barrier between you and them.

You shouldn’t be this offended, it’s not like any promises were made and you should have known better and not fall for him more than you already did. It was silly of you to think that there was anything more behind these nights spent curled up against each other, or when you woke up tangled and melted together. It was never what you hoped it to be.

Then and there you decide it’s better if you distanced yourself from him, or at least go back to how it was before. No bed sharing, no cuddling and preferably no bitter feelings.

It all goes well, because you have a pretty busy week after that day, you always have something to do and it’s not like you spent the night with Harry randomly, so it was evident that you stayed in your room so far.

But about a week later another storm was threatening to strike. The sky was gradually darkening all afternoon and now it’s only five o’clock, but it feels like eight. It’s Sunday, you’re quite exhausted since you were working until three. Niall was out somewhere with some of his coursemates and Louis went home for the weekend, won’t be back until Tuesday. It’s just you and Harry, who’s been sprawled out on the couch in only his sweatpants while you’re making yourself an early dinner so you can go to bed soon and have a good night’s sleep.

It doesn’t take long for the rain to start pouring, you’ve just gotten out of the shower when the first thunder rips through the place, making you gasp in fear. Harry’s head snaps around, looking in your way where you’re standing at the bathroom door, a questioning look in his eyes, but he doesn’t say a word. Ignoring his gaze, you just make your way into your bedroom, not even thinking about what could be on his mind. Is he thinking about whether you’ll ask to sleep with him again or he doesn’t care about it at all?

By the time you are ready to go to bed, the storm is fully raging outside, making your insides tremble every time you see a lightning or the thunder breaks the quietness in the house. You make one last trip to the kitchen, finding Harry leaned against the counter as he eats an apple.

“Going to bed early?” he asks as you pour yourself some water.

“Mhm,” you nod, avoiding looking at him.

“Everything alright?”

“Sure, I’m just tired,” you force a small smile onto your face just when a thunder rumbles outside, making you jump. Harry is watching you curiously and kind of expectantly, but you’re doing your best ignoring it. Instead, you just grab your water and head back to your room. “Good night.”

“Night, Y/N,” he calls after you, and you can feel his burning gaze on your back right until you close the door behind you.

Your plan to sleep a good ten hours goes right out the window. It doesn’t seem like the storm is about to calm anytime soon, so you’re stuck to suffer through it on your own. You’ll be damned to go to Harry’s, that would be an instant heart break and you just can’t take that right now. Long, torturous hours pass by with you lying awake in bed and part of you wants to go running over to Harry, but you force yourself to stay. It’s not happening tonight.

You fall asleep sometime after two in the morning when the thunder and lightning have stopped. Unfortunately, you need to wake up early in the morning, so when your phone’s alarm shakes you out of your sleep, you feel like absolute shit. Dragging yourself out of bed appears to be the hardest thing right now. As you make your way out, you are met with an all too familiar figure sitting at the small dining table, two cups of coffees in front of him, one obviously made for you.

Harry’s eyes snap up at you curiously, taking in your terrible looks as you head to the bathroom.

“Morning,” you mumble under your breath.

“Good morning’,” he nods in your way and though he doesn’t say anything else, you can tell he has a few thoughts about your current state.

Once you’re done with your morning business in there you join him at the table, barely able to keep your eyes open.

“Rough night?” he asks, eyes examining your face.

“Kinda.”

“The storm?”

You don’t answer, just nod your head. He remains silent, but you can feel that he is dying to ask another question.

Why didn’t you come over?

You’re glad he doesn’t actually asks you, because you wouldn’t be able to give either a normal answer or say anything without starting to cry. Instead, you just grab your coffee and head back into your bedroom to get ready for the day.

That week on Friday all four of you are invited to a party. At first you want to cancel, but some of your friends from classes will be there too and it’s been ages since you’ve been to a great party, so you decide to tag along with the boys.

For the first half of the evening you go your separate way, spending time with people you don’t actually live with and see every day. One drink follows the other, though you make sure you don’t go farther than getting tipsy. You’re not in the mood to deal with a nasty hangover in the morning.

Sometime after your third or fourth drink you run into Niall and he pulls you into their little circle that also involves Harry. When he sees that you’ve joined them, his eyes light up and goes out of his way to get next to you.

“I haven’t seen you in ages!” he whines, slurring his words as he wraps an arm around your shoulders to keep you at his side. He is definitely drunk, that you’re sure of.

“It’s been just about two hours, Harry,” you roll your eyes, but can’t push your smile down. You’d be lying if you said you’re not enjoying having him so close. Your dynamic hasn’t been the same since you stopped sleeping in his bed. Not that it was such a regular activity, it only happened two times.

“But I missed you, I feel like we haven’t… haven’t talked in so long!” he huffs, knitting his eyebrows together. “Have you been avoiding me?” he asks leaning closer, so your conversation can somewhat be private.

“That’s silly. Of course I haven’t!”

“But it feels like that,” he pouts with glossy eyes. “You’d tell me if something was wrong, right?”

“Sure,” you nod, the bitter taste of lying filling your mouth.

“Alright, cool,” he smirks and pulling closer he kisses into your hair before he engages with the rest of the group again, keeping his arm around you as if it wasn’t a big deal.

For the rest of the evening you simply don’t leave his side and not because he doesn’t let you, but because you don’t want to. Harry is not the only one missing the other, this week you’ve noticed that even though you’ve been keeping yourself busy, your thoughts always took you back to one particular, curly haired boy. Despite everything that’s been going on, he is your friend first and foremost who you love spending time with and talking about anything and everything.

Both of you are intoxicated, Harry a bit more than you, but you’re having a blast playing beerpong or ruining Niall’s chances with girls he is trying to pick up. You’re genuinely having an amazing time and it wouldn’t be the same without Harry.

Arriving back home your little group splits, everyone using the bathroom after the other and you’re the last one in line, because you always take the longest. By the time you’re finished, Louis and Niall are both locked up in their rooms, but Harry’s door is still open, some dim lighting illuminating the hallway. As you approach it, you find him throwing his dirty clothes into the hamper, but his head perks up when he sees you.

“Good night, H,” you sigh, quite tired and in need of a good sleep, but before you could head into your own bedroom, Harry grabs your wrist and pulls you into his. “What is it?”

“Sleep here,” he simply prompts, already leading you to the bed.

“Why?”

“Because I want you to.”

“I-I… I don’t--” you stutter, feeling flustered from his offer.

“Come on, you can’t say no,” he tells you, already crawling under his covers and then he holds them up as the invitation.

Taking a deep breath you follow him and make yourself comfortable in your almost usual spot. Harry’s arm falls over your waist in an instant, spooning you from behind as he hums pleased. But a few moments later he lifts his head, looking at you with concern in his eyes.

“You know you can say no, right? I was just joking.” Looking back at him you give him a small smile. Even drunk he makes sure you aren’t doing anything you don’t want to, but how could you not want it? You’ve been aching to sleep next to him all week, especially after the last storm when you suffered alone in your room.

“I know, Harry.”

“Alright, okay,” he nods, his head dropping back to the pillow. “I missed this,” he mumbles with a sigh.

“Yeah?”

“Mm, sleeping alone sucks,” he hums and in a split second, your heart breaks.

Harry didn’t want to sleep with you, he just wanted to sleep with someone and you were the one there. It has nothing to do with you.

You want to blame him, you want it to be his fault that your chest is now aching, knowing that it truly doesn’t mean the same thing to him it does to you, but you know you can’t. It wouldn’t be fair, so once again, you’re left with a sinking heart wrapped up into Harry’s embrace that suddenly feels burning.

“Good night, Y/N.”

“Good night, Harry.”

When the morning comes Harry is still sleeping deep beside you, an arm thrown over your waist, puffing warm air against the side of your head with every breath he exhales. Seeing him so peaceful warms your heart, but then you realize everything that happened last night, how he only used you because you were available and not because he wanted you.

You don’t want to wait for him to wake up and face him, your emotions would surely bring the best out of you. So carefully, you unwrap yourself from his hold and sneak out of his room, back into yours.

There’s no way you can face Harry right now, so before he could wake up you leave, planning on spending the day in the library, working on your assignments, hoping the school work will take your mind off of how badly you’ve been friendzoned.

Sometime after eleven Harry actually texts you asking where you went and you just tell him you have a shitload of school stuff to deal with. He asks if he can join you, but you tell him you’re with a group of your classmates, even though you’re sitting in an almost entirely empty library. He luckily doesn’t push it and leaves you to be. Hopefully he’ll be fine when you take another step away from him for a while to get your head straight and sort your emotions out.

You get home quite late, but not late enough, apparently. Because walking into the house you find the boys clearly getting ready to watch a movie.

“Just in time!” Niall beams. “Join us, Princess!” he laughs, grabbing himself a cola from the fridge.

“Oh, no, I have some things to work on--”

“Come on, you’ve been in the library all day, you can have a break!” Louis tells you and you know you won’t be left alone, they are just so persistent.

So you join them in your usual spot, which is of course next to Harry, though you’re trying to avoid his gaze that hasn’t left you since you arrived and by now you’re certain he knows you’re avoiding him. There’s a reason why he asked you last night if you’ve been doing it lately, he is not stupid, but this is not the time to deal with it.

With your inner crisis bubbling inside you, you completely forget to ask what you’re watching. A few minutes into the movie it becomes quite clear however.

“Is this a fucking horror movie again?” you ask, snapping at Niall, who just starts laughing.

“Don’t worry, I’m sure Harry will gladly let you sleep in his bed tonight,” he teases, making your whole face heat up at his comment. Harry slaps his chest before he turns to you with concern filled eyes, but you pretend like you see nothing, turning back to the screen with your jaw clenched.

You’re fucked.

The movie is a fucking shitshow and leaves you traumatized. When it’s over, you think about why didn’t you just stand up and go into your room when you realized it’s another horror. For a change, this one was filled with demons and monsters that hide in the shadows, just what you need before going to bed. In the night. In a totally dark room.

Exiting the bathroom you’re already planning on watching something lighthearted and cheerful in your room, hoping that would make you forget the movie you just saw and give you the chance to actually sleep.

Walking past Harry’s room you see that it’s still open and you catch him expectantly looking at you when you appear in the doorway as you walk down the hallway, your eyes meeting for just a split second before you disappear from his sight and shut your bedroom door without a word behind you.

No matter how many random videos you watch on YouTube, some scenes from the movie are just imprinted into your mind and they have you trembling in fear. Every shadow looks like a demon or ghost, hiding in your room, ready to haunt and kill you and you’re on the verge of actually crying. It might not be only because of the movie, more like everything else that’s been bottled up inside you, added to the fear the movie has brought to you.

Shutting your eyes closed you try to take deep breaths and for a bit it actually seems to help, but that is until you hear the door opening. It gives you an instant heart attack and you can’t keep your tears back anymore.

A whimper leaves your mouth as the door opens and you can only see a shadow entering the room, totally not recognizing Harry in the dark.

“Y/N, hey, it’s just me! It’s okay!” he quickly clears, seeing how shaken up you are. He rushes over to the bed, one hand cupping your cheek, the other one finding your hand and before you could think, you grip it hard.

“You scared the living hell out of me!” you cry out, sobbing.

“I’m sorry, I just wanted to check on you.”

Silence sets between the two of you that’s only momentarily broken by your shaky breaths as you try to calm yourself down.

“Why didn’t you come to mine after the movie if you were so scared?” he then asks, surprising you with how straightforward he is.

“I didn’t want to bother you,” you mumble, blinking the remaining of the tears away as Harry stares down at you intently.

“Why would you think you’d bother me? I like having you there.”

“But it’s… Doesn’t matter,” you sigh in defeat, but it just concerns him even more.

“No, tell me!”

“Harry, just go back to your room. I’ll be fine.”

“You definitely won’t and I’m not leaving until you don’t tell me what’s going on,” he protests firmly and you lose your patience to keep lying to him.

“You just wanted someone to sleep with yesterday, okay? You didn’t need me. And… I don’t want to depend on you more than I should.”

Harry stares back at you with a blank expression and you feel like this is going to be the end of your friendship. You have to come clean about your feelings and he’ll tell you that he doesn’t feel the same way. But then he speaks up and the tables turn faster than ever.

“Y/N, I wanted you to sleep with me last night. Not just anyone. You.”

“What?”

“I really thought we have been on the same page, but apparently, we’re not even in the same book,” he sighs, confusing you even more. “Wasn’t it suspicious how things have been between us lately? The way we slept, the mornings, did you think these are normal things to do?”

“I-I thought that… it didn’t mean anything to you.”

“Well it did,” he replies and you breath hitches in your throat. “I was trying to take it slow, see how you’d react to everything and I thought you were feeling the same way. But then last time you didn’t come to my room when there was a storm and I thought that was your way of telling me that you want to pause whatever’s been going on.”

You’re just blinking in shock, listening to his words. This is nothing you expected.

“But then you seemed like you opened back up last night and you agreed to sleep with me, thought we were back on track, but then you were nowhere to be found in the morning, avoided me all day and now you would have rather spent the night crying here alone than to come over to me. What did I do? Just tell me, because quite frankly, I have no idea what we are doing anymore, Y/N,” he sighs, clearly tired of this insane game you’ve been playing without even knowing.

“So… you did all of this, because… you…”

“Because I like you, Y/N. But there’s a possibility it’s already way more than just a strong liking,” he admits with a soft chuckle that melts you in an instant.

“Oh god, I could cry again, but not out of fear this time,” you tell him, making him laugh as you scoot closer to him on the mattress. “I feel the same way, Harry,” you softly tell him, your hands finding the base of his neck while his hands have wandered to your waist so now he is pulling you towards him until he ends up in his lap. His face is now so close, and even in the dark, you can see the cheesy smile on his pink lips.

“You’re not saying this just to keep me here because you’re scared to be alone, right?” he asks, clearly joking, earning a wholehearted laugh from you.

“No, but I guess that would be a major benefit of it.”

“I’ll protect you from all the demons and killers under one condition,” he smirks, his face already inching closer, his nose is already touching yours.

“Yeah? And what’s that?”

“I get to kiss you.”

“Deal.”

You barely say this one little word, his lips are already on yours, kissing you in a way that almost knocks all the air out of your lungs. You press yourself up against him, his arms curling around you, holding you tight as if he is already protecting you from everything that scares you, though you can’t really think about the stupid horror movies now that you’re kissing Harry.

He pulls you down with himself making you lie on your back as he holds himself up above you, his lips parting from your just enough so he can look into your eyes.

“How about I kiss you every time you feel scared?” he prompts, pecking your lips gently as you pull your legs up and his hips settle between your thighs, while your hands dance down his back.

“Alright, I’m in,” you smirk at him and for a moment he just stares back at you, smiling wide, in complete awe that it’s finally happening. Then he cocks his head to the side before speaking up.

“Are you still scared?”

“Very,” you nod. “I’m shaking.”

“Good,” he grins before his lips press onto yours again.

Thank you for reading! Please like/reblog if you enjoyed!

[mikauzoran]

Lukadrien: Your Hands Hold Home: Chapter Twenty-Eight

@lukadrien-june

Read it on AO3: Your Hands Hold Home: Chapter Twenty-Eight: Reunion

“Phew!” XY heaved a thunderous sigh of relief as he sank down onto the couch where Adrien had already collapsed. “I thought they’d never leave.”

Luka rolled his eyes, taking a seat on the makeshift coffee table facing his boys.

Adrien and Xavier-Yves had banded together to throw Luka a small surprise birthday party with a dozen of Luka’s closest friends, and the festivities had stretched well into the night, leaving everyone tired and the Liberty in need of more of a cleanup than usual.

“Thank you, guys. That was a blast, and I really appreciate you organizing it,” Luka stressed, giving XY’s foot a gentle tap with his own and then reaching out to lightly touch Adrien’s knee.

Adrien grinned through his fatigue. “We’re just glad you had a good time.”

Xavier-Yves nodded in agreement. “It’s worth it, so long as you’re happy.”

Luka’s heart warmed at this proof of how important he was to his friends.

“Thank you, Prune, P5,” he repeated. “Seriously.”

“Sure thing,” XY responded with a wink before turning to Adrien and giving his shoulder a nudge. “Hey. Let’s get started on cleanup so we can both get our beauty sleep.”

Adrien groaned, sinking further into the couch. “Ugh. The one downside to parties. Let’s get it over with, I guess.”

“It can wait until tomorrow,” Luka assured. “Don’t worry about it. Xavier-Yves, you should head home and get some rest. You’ve seriously done more than enough.”

XY cocked an eyebrow at this. “Why do I feel like you’re trying to get rid of me so you two can go have sex without me?”

Adrien broke out into a cackle fit of laughter, but Luka only scowled.

“Prune, no one is having sex on this boat,” he informed sternly.

“I think you and I are the only ones not having sex on this boat,” Adrien giggled, clearly entering the slap happy phase of exhaustion.

Luka buried his face in his hands, groaning loudly. “No one is having sex on this boat.”

“He’s in denial,” Adrien snickered conspiratorially to Xavier-Yves.

“No duh,” XY snorted. “Why aren’t you having sex with your boyfriend on his birthday, G Flat?”

Adrien clicked his tongue and gave XY a playful shove. “Why do you have to be so crass, Zay?”

“He’s not my boyfriend,” Luka told Xavier-Yves for perhaps the hundredth time in the past two months.

“Still?!” XY demanded, sounding genuinely offended. “Geeeez. Majorly un-dope, guys. Seriously. Just kiss already!”

“It doesn’t work like that,” Luka sighed, scrubbing at his face roughly.

XY caught one of Luka’s hands and gave it a supportive squeeze. “Don’t worry, Six Strings. I’ll have sex with you whenever you want,” he offered in earnest.

Adrien clapped a hand over his mouth to keep another giggle fit at bay.

Luka’s expression, by contrast, was unamused. “Prune, thank you for your kind offer, but please go home before I throttle you.”

“I mean, if you’re sure.” Xavier-Yves shrugged, leaning in for a quick smooch. “You know where to find me, if you change your mind.”

“Get out,” Luka commanded. “And text me when you get home safe, so I don’t have to waste my time worrying myself sick about you.”

“Will do,” XY affirmed, leaning in to give Adrien’s cheekbone a kiss. “Be good, G Flat.”

Adrien rolled his eyes, shaking his head fondly. “Be good, Zay.”

XY clicked his tongue as he got up to go. “I’m always good.”

“I’m sure,” Adrien chuckled just as Luka snorted, “Debatable.”

Once Xavier-Yves’s footsteps had faded into the soundtrack of the city and the gentle waves of the Seine, Luka turned to Adrien in concern.

“His comments like that don’t make you uncomfortable, do they?”

Adrien laughed, shaking his head. “No. If he were anyone else, they probably would, but Zay is Zay, so it’s just funny.”

Luka exhaled slowly in relief. “Okay. Good. I don’t…I just don’t want things to be awkward.”

Adrien nodded. “Don’t worry. It’s not. I promise.”

He gave Luka a reassuring smile, but then something shifted in his eyes, and he looked away.

Luka’s brow wrinkled as he caught the almost imperceptible change. “…What are you thinking?” he inquired curiously.

Adrien shook his head and kept his gaze averted so that Luka wouldn’t see his expression and guess. “It’s nothing.”

Luka’s frown deepened. “Uh-oh. Now I know it’s got to be bad. You usually tell me, even when you’re thinking about something unusual.”

Adrien winced, realizing he was caught. He looked up at his beloved guiltily. “I don’t want to ruin your birthday.”

“Since it’s past midnight, my birthday is technically over,” Luka reasoned. “And now you have to tell me; otherwise, I won’t be able to sleep what with this impending doom hanging over me.”

With a heavy sigh, Adrien gave in. “Oh, all right. I guess you have a point. So…you know how about a month ago I started responding to the letters my father’s been sending me?”

Luka nodded and then moved over to the couch to curl up beside Adrien. “Yeah? Everything okay?”

Adrien rubbed his lips together nervously. “He’s been asking me to come and see him.”

Luka’s eyes widened infinitesimally.

“And I decided that I’m going to,” Adrien resolutely informed, steeling himself for pushback.

Luka noted that Adrien wasn’t looking for Luka’s opinion or approval. Adrien had made a decision, and now he was telling Luka about it.

A part of Luka was extremely proud of how far Adrien had come. Another part was extremely worried.

“…You don’t like the idea,” Adrien observed.

Luka winced. “No, not really. I mean…he’s… He’s not someone…”

He took a deep breath and tried again to articulate his concerns. “I’m not sure what expectations you have, but I’m afraid he’s just going to disappoint you and hurt you again.”

Adrien looked down into his lap at his hands and began to wring them. “Yeah. I’m kind of afraid of that too,” he admitted, “but…I also kind of need the closure? I’ve got questions that only he has the answers to, so…”

Luka nodded, wrapping an arm around Adrien’s shoulders. “I can understand that.”

“And, I mean, maybe he’ll surprise me. From his letters, it sounds like he’s thinking about things and maybe regretting how some of it went down.” Adrien attempted to further justify his decision. “You never know.”

Luka gave Adrien’s arm a comforting squeeze. “Adrien, if you want your father in your life, that’s for you to decide—no one else—and I support you.”

Adrien blinked several times in succession. “You do?”

“I will always support you,” Luka stressed. “I’m here for you.”

With a soft smile, Adrien leaned in and rested his head on Luka’s shoulder. “Thank you, Middle C.”

“Any time,” Luka assured. “Do you know when you want to go? Do you need me to go with you?”

Luka could feel Adrien wincing.

“Don’t feel hurt…but I kind of already talked to Marinette and Nino about this, and they’re going to go with me.”

Adrien lifted his head to meet Luka’s eyes. “I’m sorry I didn’t come to you first. I just needed someone I’m not so infatuated with to bounce ideas off of. You have too much influence over me because I care too much about what you think, and this really needed to be something I decided myself. Doctor Katsuragi said so too.”

Luka’s expression softened, and he blew out a breath, his hurt feelings going with it. “It’s okay. I get it. I’m proud that you’re thinking for yourself like this. I’m just kind of hurt that you’re only ‘infatuated’ with me. Am I just a phase to you, Perfect Fifth?”

An impish grin spread over Luka’s lips, and Adrien rolled his eyes, smacking Luka’s arm. “You know I’m crazy about you. Stop fishing for compliments.”

 “Can’t you just pace like a normal person?” Juleka grumbled as she poked her head into Luka’s cabin. “That incessant plucking is giving me a migraine.”

Luka frowned up at his sister. “It’s a hammered dulcimer. There is no plucking.”

Juleka rolled her eyes, flipping her hair back over her shoulder to emphasize her exasperation as she sighed loudly.

She opened her mouth to sass her brother, but something in the main cabin caught her eye. “Hey, Adrien. How’d it go?”

Luka nearly knocked over the hammered dulcimer and his sister in his haste to get to Adrien who was in the act of slumping on the couch.

“Are you okay?” Luka demanded, taking in the pallor of Adrien’s cheeks.

Adrien brightened up a little and laughed as Luka hurried to his side and set about inspecting him for damage.

“Orpheus, I’m fine. Just exhausted,” Adrien assured, submitting to Luka’s mothering. “Mentally and emotionally exhausted.”

“Let me get you some water. Are you hungry?” Luka fussed, starting to stand.

“I’ll go get the water,” Juleka intervened. “You keep fretting over your boyfriend.”

Luka didn’t bother correcting her. Instead, he focused all of his energy on Adrien.

“Just the water is fine. Thank you, Juleka,” Adrien replied over the back of the couch at his future sister-in-law. He then looked back at his intended. “Luka, I’m fine. Seriously.”

“How did it go?” Luka hesitantly pressed, handing the glass of water from Juleka to Adrien.

Juleka politely slipped out of the room, giving them some space.

Adrien took a deep breath. “Pretty well? I think.”

Luka gaped at Adrien in amazement. “Yeah? He was…not awful?”

Adrien grimaced. “I mean…it was obvious he was trying not to be.”

“But he didn’t say anything cruel?”

Adrien shook his head. “No. He was actually on his best behavior. It was kind of surreal.”

Luka nodded. “Well, that’s good. I’m glad.”

“Yeah. Yeah, it was good,” Adrien agreed, sipping at the glass of water. “I was surprised. I thought he was going to try to manipulate me or make me feel bad for abandoning Maman or…I don’t know. Something.”

Luka shifted in closer, putting an arm around Adrien’s shoulders.

“It wasn’t like that, though,” Adrien continued in a soft, reflective voice. “We just kind of talked. He told me about prison. He’s reading a lot. He hates the food. He misses Nathalie. …He said he missed me.”

Luka bit the inside of his cheek, holding in the question, “Do you think he was telling the truth?”

“I told him about living here,” Adrien narrated. “He seemed concerned about your mother’s influence on me.”

Luka burst out laughing. “But of course.”

“I told him you guys were actually really good for me,” Adrien snickered. “I don’t think he believed it, but he kind of seemed grateful that you’d taken me in and were making sure I ate.”

Adrien scrunched up his nose. “It was weird. He’s never expressed much concern about my general wellbeing before, but…it felt genuine.”

Luka nodded. “That’s…good. I’m glad this was a neutral-to-positive experience?”

“Yeah,” Adrien confirmed. “I…”

His eyes dropped to the floorboards.

“I hope you don’t mind, but…I told him I’m going to marry you if I’m ever able to convince you,” Adrien confessed, a faint, cherry blossom-pink blush dusting his cheeks.

Luka’s entire being flushed until he resembled a sunburnt crab.

“O-Oh?” he choked. “And…what did your father have to say about that?”

Adrien smirked. “Nothing at first. He pulled all kinds of faces, and his complexion turned rainbow colours. There were a few false starts where he could only find parts of words, but he eventually got there. He asked if you were worthy of me.”

Adrien looked up with a coy smile. “I told him I was more worried about me being worthy of you.”

Luka rolled his eyes, leaning in to nuzzle Adrien’s hair. “You and your self-esteem issues.”

Adrien turned his head to nuzzle back. “He wants to meet you. You don’t have to,” he was quick to add. “Only if you feel comfortable. Only if you want to. Please don’t do it for me or anything like that because I only want you to go if it’s something you want to do. I told him I’d ask once I convinced you to be my boyfriend to buy us a little time so you can think about it.”

Luka chuckled. “You didn’t tell him that I’d be your boyfriend the second you were ready?”

Adrien shook his head. “I didn’t want to explain how messed up I feel to him, so I’m letting him think that I have to win you still or something.”

Luka hummed thoughtfully. “If you keep going and he keeps behaving, I’ll meet him.”

Adrien pulled back to gape at Luka. “You don’t have to. You don’t even have to make that decision right away.”

Luka winked conspiratorially. “I think I need to properly meet my future father-in-law at least once.”

With a pleased blush, Adrien looked away, leaning back into Luka and resting his head on Luka’s shoulder. “Thank you.”

“Absolutely,” Luka whispered, giving Adrien’s hair another affectionate nuzzle.

[slashingdisneypasta]

Slashers x Reader(Mostly Chucky and Michael) || Oneshot

Title: Sometimes Its Best Not To Decide //or// She Will Always Unlock The Door

Notes: 

Chucky is in human form here. 

This is a strange ass AU where all the Slashers live in the same time(Including billy and Stu) that caters to my needs to write this shot. 

Plot: 

You want a normal life, but you will always let the dark in. Even if you don't want it. 

Warnings: Swearing, mention of blood? mention of Sawyers?

~~~

It’s been months since I last saw them, so I figured I was okay. I could do this; I could take that last step into a normal life. My final, best chapter.

So, I took the plunge, the risk. I said yes to a nice boy, with glasses who wears a tie at the coffee shop and paid for my drink for me in the morning, and we went out earlier this evening. Everything went great, it was like a fairytale, compared to how the rest of my life has been.

When we nearly kissed is when things went downhill.

As soon as his nose brushed on mine, feather light and not heated at all - nice, -, that’s when the loud, barking knocks on my front door started. 

And I knew immediately who it had to be of course, but I still hoped it was just a really, really enthusiastic salesperson.

At 11 at night.

Of course, I was right initially, and the minute I opened that door all hell broke loose. Michael’s brought in from the rain, getting puddles of blood and water all over my damn floor and Chucky drops him on my perfect cream coloured couch. “What the hell happened to him??” I’m asking, hyper aware that he’s injured but Danial is still standing right there by the kitchen doorway, adorably confused. I round on Chucky, who doesn’t seem as concerned as he should be, seeing the situation. “What do you want??”

“Well, I tried to put him down when I found him but then he threw a fucking handful of mud in my face,” He wipes some of what’s left of the mud, off his face. “And kept trying to come here so I came along.”

“Why??” I wouldn’t have stopped the rude lilt to my tone just then if I could have. He just looks amused, at my anguish though and turns back to the bleeding murderer on my couch, which is turning red. I glance at Danial, fearing his reaction, then turn back pleadingly to Chucky. As if him and Michael leaving now will make things easier at all for my poor, now self-destructing ‘normal life’. “Can’t you just leave? Michael will be fine- Michael you’ll be fine. You always are. Take off the mask and go to Hospital- Chucky. I’m on a date.” I clasp my hands together and try to ignore the pinging guilt in my gut for trying to get rid of them, when I know Michaels in pain. But I told them, I can’t be a part of this anymore! I don’t want it; I don’t want his life!

“Aww, doll, you’re gonna abandon him in a time of need? Here I thought you were the good one.”

“Fuck you!” I am the good one, which is why I don’t want anything to do with this. First it’s Michael and Chucky, then I start getting dreams again, and Jason thinks its okay to come over when he’s lonely, I’ll get phone calls from Billy, and then I’ll have the whole fucking Sawyer clan in my home. As much as it hurts, and has downsides like leaving my friends, I cannot be connected to this anymore. I can’t say it enough! I want a normal life! And they know that! “Get out, get out of my house. And make sure to tell Drayton on your travels that this is not a stowaway home and to stop sending me letters with money, I don’t care how much he can pay me.” I put a hand on Chucky’s back and attempt to push him out of the house. I nearly succeed because he’s letting me by some miracle until he turns out of my clutches and back into the living room. Damnit!

I watch, hopelessly as he plops himself down in an armchair. And turns… to… Danial. “So, you’re the new toy?”

“U-Um, sorry? I-s that Michael Myers? Are you- “

“Charles Lee Ray, nice to meet you. Y/N tell you we’re old buddies?” A devious smirk reaches his lips, and he really is a concerning picture right then. With wild hair and a muddy coat. Oh crap, he’s getting mud on my armchair.  “No, I guess she wouldn’t. Too much of a priss to be connected to me.” A second passes and Chucky raises his eyebrows like he just remembered something. “Oh! Have you heard of Fredrick Krueger? He was on the news some years back, she’s pals with him to-“To stop him from talking, I grab a pillow and viciously hit him in the face with it.

Then I kneel down and put it under Michaels head, carefully. I guess there’s no getting rid of them now, the damage is done.

Danial looks to me, looking horrified myself even compared to his pale face. Quickly, I go towards him and try to explain. “I knew him as a kid, I don’t hurt people Danial- “What else can I say? Its best to be straight to the point and focused then to jabber on. I’ve done this all before.

Slowly, he nods. As if he understands. But he doesn’t look at my face, just the floor and occasionally he glances at either Michael or Chucky. “I think I need to go home, Y/N. I, I’m sorry.”

“No, I am.” I sigh, with a severely heavy heart as he walks past me knelt on the floor by the infamous Michael Myers, and leaves. As soon as the door shuts and the sound of rain is muffled, I turn furiously to Chucky. “You should be sorry, too.”

He levels with me, eyes going dark and smirk twisting into a dangerous grimace. “Look, Y/N, you let us in- “

“You pushed your way in! -“

“Irrelevant. You knew who would be at the door, more or less. You knew it would be one of us at least. You can try to pretend to be Plain Jane all you like, but when the wolf comes knocking on your door, you will always open it for him. Your soul is slate grey, get the fuck over it.”

I can’t agree with that because that life, is not what I want. But I can’t disagree either because the simple fact that Michaels hair between my fingers, as I comfort him mask-less makes me feel warm inside. Comfortable, in the right place.

While I get up and grab the medical kit, Chucky pulls out a cigarette and a lighter and lights up, and Michael shifts on the couch tiredly. “I didn’t come up with the Plain Jane thing, by the way. That was Ghostface boy.”

“So, this has been a topic of conversation??” I ask, sternly, half a decibel from vicious really. He chuckles, and nods, causing me to sigh heavily and start looking for Michael’s wound. Really, it could be anywhere. His outfits ripped up in places and there’s blood everywhere. Probably not all his, but it’s still very confusing.

He blows tobacco smoke into my living room. “Hehe, yep.” I find the wound and clear the area, to start cleaning it. Its on Michaels side, as if someone took a machete Jason style and wacked him right in the side with it. Not too deep, though. He’s just lost a lot of blood. I get a roll of toilet paper and get to work cleaning the area. It smells terrible. I don’t think people talk about the smell, enough. It really is rank. At least for me. So metallic, and totally unbreathable.

Quietly, I excuse my actions to them both. “I just don’t think, that because I love you,” And, by that, I mean all of them. Someone had to in this life and I guess that’s me, despite everything they’ve done. That’s what I tell myself. “That I should be taken away from my life, because of it.”

“But, there’s a part of you that loves it. The chaos and danger. Every good girl does, and yours grows every time one of us contacts you.”

“How dare you be so deep.” I half joke, carefully cleaning closer to the gash so Michael won’t move. When I’m done with that, I throw the tissues indifferently to the floor, where Chucky already tread mud. Its not like it can get any worse. Not wanting to talk about this anymore, I start sewing up Michael, feigning the fact that I need to concentrate. I know Chucky knows that, at this point, I don’t need to concentrate when doing this -I’ve stitched him and the rest up enough times to do it with my eyes closed,- but he grants me a few minutes of silence, thank goodness.

When I finish, I wipe the area quickly, but carefully to get every possibly infected spot with a medical wipe and get up. “Michael, you should be okay in the morning. I mean, I would recommend to anyone but you that you should rest for a few more days, but I know you wont. So, I’m just putting that idea out there at this point.” Wiping blood off my hands and onto my jeans -date jeans!!- I turn tiredly to Chucky who’s just quietly chain smoking away on the chair. “Are you gonna stay tonight? Cuz if you are, you’re taking a shower. You already owe me 15 bucks to get the mud out of that chair.”

“A gracious offer, but I got a hiding place for tonight.” He aims a dirty smirk at me then, hinting at something about his new hiding place that I really don’t want to think too hard about, and then pushes off the chair. He walks on by me, but before he can pass, he stops and turns to me one last time. “Think about what I said, Y/N. You’re lucky you get to live both worlds- even with us crashing into this one too often. If it were up to just Michael or Jason, or even Freddy, and definitely those crazy hick Sawyers, you wouldn’t see normal life again. You’d be kept in a basement, or a coma. Be happy with what you have, because we love you too. But not enough to respect your freedom if you go too far.” He looks down at me carefully through his hair. “Got it?”

Same old threats… “Yeah, I got it.” … But they’re getting closer to being real, I know that. Not all the love and care in the world could change their inability to handle loss without a fight. And if it came to a fight, I would most definitely lose.

A few minutes after he leaves, I check on Michael again and find he’s sleeping peacefully on the couch. If I was honest with myself, I like him there. I like having him around- I like having them all around. A musty old forest zombie isn’t so scary when you come to feel safe with him around, and nightmares aren’t so bad when they include mostly bad puns and dad jokes. Just like a crazy, possibly incestuous, definitely cannibalistic and slightly off the hanger family isn’t unbearable when they leave aside a plate of veggies just for you because they know you won’t eat human.

I love them, and I want them around. And if I was honest with Chucky, I would agree that I couldn’t survive without the splash of danger and extraordinary in my life. But I won’t, because if I do then I’m locked in, but then again if I say it isn’t true then I’m lying to myself. And he might leave and take the rest with him. So, sometimes it’s best not to decide.

Finally, I turn off the light and whisper goodnight to Michael and go to bed.

[ssixa]

Chance Encounter//Mark Tuan x Y/N

Description: Walking into the night shift at the hospital proves to keep you on your toes. Nights are left to the universe so you can only hope that tonight will be decent. What happens when you find out that one of your patients is THE Mark Tuan from GOT7? how do you try to deal with the chaos erupting from this chance encounter? and how many times do you have to tell yourself that you love your job?

Genre: fluff, slight cringe

Pairing: Black Fem ReaderxMark Tuan (though I will say there isn’t much description of black characteristics)

Word count: 4.4K

Warning: explicit language

A/n: uploading this while I’m in the middle of lecture. Nothing crazy to add though. I was trying to be more specific with the collage, but why is it so hard to find a picture of an actual black woman arm?! (this will most definitely make sense when you read this chapter lol). I really try not to use the same photos twice, but it happens. hope y’all enjoy chapter 3!

*All pic collages are made by me unless I state otherwise. Individual pictures in the collage are not mine and I give credit to where credit is due.

Chapter 3

For shifts being 12 hours long, they always seem to go by quickly. Fortunately, this shift was one of them. Nothing else crazy happened the rest of the shift. More flirting from Mr. Tuan, more me getting slightly flustered by it, got in an argument with a confused elderly patient who...well...it’s too long to explain, actually got to eat dinner, etc. Before I knew it, it was 6:50am. I was finishing up on my last bit of charting when I heard the patient phone at the desk go off. I groveled because I was hoping it wasn’t one of my patient’s who needed something extensive done. I got up and headed to the phone. I checked the screen and saw a room number I know all too well...Mr. Tuan. I answer the phone,

“How may I help you?” I question just like I do any other patient.

“Oh, I was wondering if I could get a cup of coffee” he says politely.

“Sure! how many creamers and sugars” I respond.

“Um, how about 3 creamers and 6 sugars?” he responds giddily.

“Coming right up” I speak up happily. Maybe a little too happily because all I receive is a giggle at the end. I’m just happy that the request wasn’t anything major that involved me having to leave super late like I normally do. It definitely isn’t that Mark’s face would be the last face (of my patients) I would see before going home. I head to the pantry where the snacks and juices are located. I remember the nurses mentioning making a fresh pot of coffee a little while earlier, while I prefer my red bull. I grab a little styrofoam cup, fill it up with coffee, grab the requested amount of creamers and sugars, and head to Mark’s room. 

I reach Mark’s room and proceed to knock. I make my way in and I’m greeted by a bright smile so early in the morning, the poor guy looked tired though. The one of a few downsides of night shift is having to wake up patients while they sleep. I know I’m angry when someone wakes me up from my slumber, so I try to be as polite to them when I go into their rooms at 3am in the morning. I set the coffee, creamers, and sugars down on the table and pull the table across him so it’s an easier reach; and also that breakfast would be served soon so there won’t be much to do for the people bringing the food. 

Once I set down everything, I look to Mark who just has a tired smile on his face. 

I begin brightly, “hope you enjoy your coffee Mr. Taun.”

He looked at me with such a calm look, I guess he was done with the flirting from doing it all night. He comments,

“You seem happy to see me so early in the morning”, maybe I jumped the broom to think he was done with the flirting. 

“Well I’m happy that I get to go home in a few minutes and sleep until coming back tonight. Also the fact that your request isn’t something to keep me here for a long time” I reply happily. 

“So, you’re coming back tonight? Do you ever get enough sleep?” he questions.

“I do, but luckily I only work weekend nights so my sleep schedule doesn’t get super messed up.”

“Oh so you at least get the week off, that’s good” he says earnestly.

“Well, kinda. I have another job I work during the week and on Saturday mornings. So I end up going from there, then home for a little while, then come here for the night” I reply nonchalantly.

“Do you ever rest? You must be tired a lot” he says slightly concerned. 

“Well look who’s talking Mr. Idol” I laugh.

“Yeah you have a point, but just make sure not to push yourself too much. I can at least vouch the damage exhaustion can do” he solemnly replies.

“Don’t worry, once fall starts I won’t be working as much because of school” I say. 

“You’re in school too! You’re insane you know that right haha” he laughs.

“And like I said before, look who’s talking Mr. Idol” I laugh along. I don’t understand why he’s so worried when everyone who knows idol life knows how hard and tiresome it is. It’s sweet though. I look at my watch and see it’s already 7am.

“Well mr. Tuan, I have to go now, my bed is calling for me. I’ll probably see you later tonight” I state walking towards the door. He looks at me with slight confusion,

“Are you not going to be my tech tonight?”

“What? will you miss me if I’m not?” I say sarcastically

“Yes…” I hate when he does that. He gets so serious all of the sudden and I know he’s just trying to mess with me, well not this time pretty boy.

“Oh yeah sure, I bet you’ll just miss teasing me. I only say that ‘probably’ because they could switch my rooming assignments, but to be honest, that rarely ever happens with me since I only work two shifts back to back” I conclude. For a second I thought I saw a slight smile, what a weird dude. We say our sorta last goodbye and I leave the room. Though it’s been an exciting and yet weird shift, I’m just happy to be finally going home.

~Later That Day~

Back again for another shift. Everything is the same as last night and previous shifts. When I check the census, I see that I have one less patient. I guess someone was discharged during the day, good, one less person to look after. I make my way around my rooms, happily greeting my patients who are happy and surprised to see me back again. Then I reach Mark’s room, yet again, a couple deep breaths and my knuckles hit the wooden door. I walk in and I’m greeted by a soft smile...wow...didn’t realize how I missed that smile within a short amount of time. This whole thing is still so surreal to me. 

I see that the manager’s back, but luckily no death glares this time. He actually looks at me pleasantly and I look at Mark,

“Um, Mr. Tuan, did you tell your manager something about me? He doesn’t look like he wants to kill me like he looked yesterday”I question slightly side eyeing the manager. 

“Oh, I just told him how great you were last night, even put up with my annoyingness. He found it impressive that anyone could put up with me for 12 hours straight that wasn’t him, other managers, and the members” he laughed.

“That makes a lot more sense, I’m glad then. Honestly though, I still see you as the quiet member even though there are plenty of videos that truly prove the opposite” I mention. 

“Yeah, I’m still pretty introverted though. The members really bring out my goofy side” he scoffs. I can tell that his members really mean a lot to him, it’s really in the eyes. The small glint I saw in his eyes for just a second, it was really...beautiful. y/n, this isn’t the time. I continue on with the typical routine where I get his vitals and ask the same questions. I even asked his manager if he wanted anything and he asked for a cup of coffee; no problem there. Since I wanted to get more on his good side, I decided to get it for him and add in some graham crackers with it (nice touch y/n). 

Mark watched as I gave his manager the requested item plus the bonus gift. He smirks,

“Really? I don’t recall him asking for crackers. Someone’s trying to make a good impression, but why don’t you treat me that nicely? When I asked for coffee this morning, you really only just brought what I asked” he whined with puppy dog eyes.

“First, you got me on his good side so I would love to keep it that way. Also the fact that he has to keep tabs on you and the other 6 members, I feel for him. So of course I would like to show my appreciation towards him. He must also really be worried about you...ya know” I say shyly. Thank goodness I’m wearing a mask…

“M-my y-y/n is so caring” Mark fake sobs. I roll my eyes at the over acting. For someone so quiet and yet so loud, Mark will never make any sense to me. I continue on with small talk, but excuse myself to finish up my vital roundings. I say goodbye to Mark and the manager and be on my way. 

I had a gut feeling that tonight’s shift wasn’t going to go as smoothly as last night’s. It always happens that way unfortunately. Though I had one patient discharge during the day shift, I gained two more meaning my section was close to its max. One particular new patient had some extra strength for being elderly; she would make a great teammate on a kickball team. While the nurse was trying to get her info and do her duty to get her fully admitted she started kicking and screaming. Another nurse came to help and I entered the room not long after. It was quite the sight though, both nurses having to hold down the limbs of the patient. I told the other nurse that I got it and she would be ok to leave since this technically wasn’t her patient to deal with. She nodded and I took her position holding the patient’s legs. 

An intense stare off between my new patient and I was a battle I knew I could win. I could tell by her eyes, and because I got a report on her from the nurse before she arrived, that she wasn't all there in the head. As the nurse started putting the restraints on our new patient, I slowly let go of her legs because it seemed she had calmed down a bit, boy oh boy was that a mistake. Only about a minute after letting go of her legs do I find a foot flying in my direction. I managed to shield my face with my forearm and block it, but I knew a bruise would be forming there pretty soon and my arm would be sore for a while. I wince in pain, but managed to grab her legs again until we would be able to restrain her. The nurse looked at me and began to ask,

“y/n you ok? That looked like a nasty hit” said the nurse.

“Yeah I’m fine, I just know I shouldn’t push myself for a while” I say to her. She looked and nodded in agreement. She double checks my arm to make sure nothing is out of place and deems I should be alright. I thanked her, asked if there was anything she needed me to do and she said no. I walked out and went to sit at one of the computers to try and clear my mind. After a little while I decided it was best to get some ice and some gauze to wrap and cool off my hurt arm to reduce any possible swelling that could occur. By the time I was done, I saw it was about the time for me to check up on my patients and to see if they needed anything. I made my way room to room while keeping the small ice pack on my arm. Fortunately, I was able to keep it hidden from the majority of the patients (some were asleep at this point anyways)...key word is majority. When I got to Mark’s room, I knocked slightly afraid he would be asleep and I didn’t want to wake him. He was awake, of course, and talking on the phone. When he heard me open the door he turned his head and smiled,

“Hey y/n, great timing! I’m chatting with the members, do you want to say hi?” he asked. This I was very grateful for since the last time was very much a surprise.

“Um sure, as long as I’m not interrupting anything” I say softly.

“Nah, they never do anything that important or they wouldn’t be talking to me” he laughed. The laughing quickly halted when he noticed the ice pack on my arm.

“y/n, what happened to your arm?” he questions, unable to take his eyes off my injured arm.

“Oh nothing to worry about” I smile and wave the hand of the injured arm. Big mistake. I slightly winced a bit and put the ice pack right back down on the arm. Mark mutes the facetime call and flips his phone over. He grabs my arm to bring it closer to him and again I slightly wince in pain.

“y/n...what happened?” he deadpanned.

“Honestly it’s nothing, one of my new patients just has a killer kick for being in her 80s. It’s fine, but unfortunately no bath for you tonight” I laughed, but he didn’t. He looks a bit concerned, but I try my best to brush off his worries. 

“Mr. Tuan I promise it’s nothing serious. In retrospect, I should be the one worried about you given I’m a fan” I say trying to make light of the moment. It partially works, but I know the worry is still there. 

“y/n you don���t have to worry about the bath. The doctor came by and said I could move around with some assistance so I’ll just hop into the shower chair. Luckily, I don’t think I’ll plan a shower for tonight...it’s not like I’ve done much but sit here” he laughed lightly. I smiled glad he was over it, but forgot he was still kinda holding onto my arm.

“Um Mr. Tuan, you’re still kinda holding on to my arm and if you don’t mind I would like to put the ice pack back on it before any possible swelling occurs” I laugh. His eyes grow big, fully forgetting that he has a hold of my arm. He lets go quickly and the room is filled with an awkward silence. Well, almost silent. We started hearing noises and I started getting a little creeped out because...night shift. That’s when I remembered,

“Mr. Tuan I would’ve hoped to have befriended your group members by now. You might want to show you're still alive before they think I did something to you” I laugh. He realizes the whole purpose of me being in the room was that I get to talk to his members. He flipped the phone back over and un-muted it,

“Hey~ sorry idiots, I had to talk to y/n about something” Mark started.

“Who you callin an idiot...idiot” BamBam replied almost instantly. Wow so he really is this extra even when not around fans and cameras huh.

“So are we going to get to meet her or what?” Yugyeom blurts out in Korean. I laugh a little at how childish this giant is. Mark turns the camera to me and I’m met with five faces I’ve grown to know since debut.

“Hi~ I’m y/n and I’m such a big fan! Like this is honestly crazy, though I would’ve loved to meet y’all in a different situation” I relay softly. 

“AYE WASSUP y/n!!” Jackson screams

“Jackson you’re too loud, but hello y/n it is nice to finally meet you” Jinyoung says with a sweet motherly smile. I couldn’t help but laugh at the situation, this is all super crazy. 

As I continue to receive warm greetings from the five I realize there’s someone missing. I look to Mark and whisper,

“Where’s JB?” 

He roles his eyes and proceeds with 

“He had some songs he was working on so he couldn’t join” he replied.

“Wow she really must be head over heels for JB huh?” I hear Jackson comment. I panic slightly,

“I was just wondering where he was, I would’ve wondered the same about any of y’all if a person wasn’t here!” I ramble. 

“...wait, but how---Mr. Tuan you didn’t!!” I look at Mark with daggers that're sharper than any needle. He raised his arms up in defensive mode quickly and rebutted,

“I promise I didn’t say anything! I learned my lesson last time so I kept my mouth shut I promise!” he said hysterically, but trying to laugh away the situation. I keep the daggers on him until I hear someone speak up in Korean 

“JB was actually texting us and bragging about how he’s your favorite member and your favorite idol overall” Youngjae speaks up laughingly. I look at Mark and he translates what Youngjae just said, but I find it hard to believe. 

“Jackson is Mr. Tuan translation right or will I have to make his hospital stay longer?” I said evilly.  

“No, his translation was right, JB was bragging about it in the group chat” Jackson said irritatedly. I was shocked, like I can’t believe my bias was this excited that I’m one of his fans. 

“But on your favorite list, what place am I on there sweetheart?” he smirked. Really, this again? And paired with the smirk too...Lord help me.

“Umm~ are you sure you want to know?” I question.

“You and I are tied Jackson. She’s been a fan of Markson so you can tell she’s been around for a while” Mark interjects.

“I’m pretty sure he asked me the question, Markipoo~”I roll my eyes

“I told you not to call me that!!” he grumbled. Laughter filled the room from me and the boys on the facetime call.

“OMG she knows about the nickname!!” BamBam exclaimed. All the boys had tears welling up in their eyes. I couldn’t help but laugh along too, though I had to keep my voice down. Not that I would get in trouble, but I’m at work so I don’t want to seem like I’m just hanging out too much. Then again, I’m done with all my duties for a while so it’s not too crazy to stay here for a little while. 

“But, Mark is right. JB is my favorite member, but Mark and Jackson are tied for second. Even then, apart from JB being my favorite member that doesn’t mean I love y’all any less. I think I would equally pass out if I met any of y’all in real life” I mention.

“Well?” Jinyoung questions

“Well...what?” I asked back confused.

“You’re not passed out” Yugyeom finished.

“Haha, well at this point I don’t think I could be surprised by Mr. Tuan anymore” I laugh tiredly. I could tell they wanted me to continue given their curious looks. 

“Well, first I didn’t even know it was this Mark Tuan that was my patient last night. He also tended to be a big flirt and joker throughout my shift last night. Then, though I was grateful, he rudely surprised me with a video call with JB. Then I came back in here, but fortunately he at least offered to tell me ahead of time that I would get to talk to you all. So though I’m still a bit nervous getting to meet y’all, I’m beyond the moon right now” I conclude. Wasn’t sure if all I just said made sense, but luckily Mark jumps in to translate to the members that are less fluent in English. Thank goodness to Mark. A chorus of ah’s made their way into the room when Mark finished explaining which signaled an understanding. 

The conversation continued on naturally until I heard the intercom come on, 

“Hey y/n room 123 needs some assistance whenever you’re available” the nurse said.

“Okie dokie, thanks. I’ll head there now” I reply. 

“Well looks like duty calls, it was so nice meeting you all finally!” I continue on happily.

“Awe, bye y/n! Hope we can meet again soon!” Youngjae says. The boys follow with similar melodic phrases as we both said our goodbyes. 

As I was walking out, I say my last goodbye to Mark and that I would be back later when I made my rounds for vitals. 

“Okay, see you later sweetie” Mark joked.

“Yeah yeah whatever” I roll my eyes, exiting the room with a smile. That boy is such a headache sometimes, I swear. Welp, I better go help this patient. I know exactly what this patient’s deal is so I know to hurry because they need to get up to use the bathroom. 

*Mark’s POV*

“Sweetheart huh?” Jackson raises an eyebrow.

“Oh shut up, Jackson. That’s how I’ve been messing with her this whole time, though it seems like she’s used to it by now” Mark speaks up.

“Yeah~ sure, but we’ve never known you to flirt like that especially without other fans and cameras around because at that point you would be forced to. Does our Markipoo have a crush?” Jinyoung taunts.

“You would think I would get more respect as the oldest” Mark sighs

“Haha nope, never” BamBam grins.

“But really Mark, you sure you're not seeing y/n any other way. Your eyes seem to tell something different” Jackson brings up.

“I promise it’s nothing, being here is really boring so y/n is just simple entertainment. Really, you should’ve seen her reactions when we first met” Mark says laughingly. 

“Ok bro, just checking to make sure” BamBam replies. 

*y/n’s POV*

The rest of the shift goes by not as eventfully as the earlier in the shift, but what shift goes by without a bit of craziness. I reach the end of the shift and I’m sitting down at the computer catching up on some back charting. 

“How do I always get caught in this situation? Ugh, I’m going to be here for a while” I mumbled under my breath. Next thing I hear is the patient phone ringing. I cringe just knowing very well it’s one of my patients...it always is. I head to grab the phone and look back at the screen to see the room. 

“This boy is amazingly attentive” I laugh to myself. Of course it’s Mark calling. I pick up the phone and answer in my best customer service voice,

“How can I help you?” I answer.

“It’s almost like you wait for my call, do you wanna hear my voice that much?” Mark says. 

“Mr. Tuan did you need something?” 

“Oh ok, I just wanted another cup of coffee” he says in a small voice. 

“Haha ok coming right up, 3 creamers and 6 sugars right? ” I question.

“Yup, good memory” he laughs.

“Why thank you, sir” I laugh and hang up the phone. Yet again happy that the request isn’t too crazy, I head to the pantry once again. I grab the coffee, creamers, and sugars once again. I think to myself that maybe the manager will be back again like yesterday evening so I decided to grab another cup of coffee. I head to Mark’s room and knock lightly. I leave one cup outside the door in case the manager wasn’t there (I know I could just give Mark the other cup, but nah). As I make my way in I’m met with pleasant smiles from Mark and the manager as well. I take a slight step back to grab the coffee I have sitting outside the room and handed one to Mark and the other to the manager.

Both faces were garnished with bigger smiles than when I walked in and it was honestly satisfying. Not gonna lie, nothing more satisfying then making people happy. I greet the manager and he greets me back. Mark sparks up the conversation while instead of me leaving to finish up my charting, I sign into the computer to finish up (thank goodness for this system sometimes). Mark continues,

“So how was your night?” Mark asked curiously

“Good, that new patient that gave me the wicked kick didn’t cause me any disturbance last night” I laughed. 

Staring down at my arm, Mark asks “Oh yeah! Speaking of which, how is your arm?”

“Still hurts a bit, but nothing a little otc (over the counter) meds can’t handle” I reply.

“That’s good, I hope you don’t push yourself too much with that arm,” he says thoughtfully. I smile to myself, also thankful that I’m yet again black and wearing a mask because Mark would see how red my face would be. Sometimes I hate how he’s still able to mess with me even when he doesn’t intend to intentionally. 

“I won't, I won’t, thanks for the worry though” I say with a small smile.

“This is your last shift right? I remember you telling me you only work weekend nights” he brings up. 

“Oh yeah it is, but as I tell all my patients on Monday mornings, ‘if I don’t see you next weekend, it was very nice getting to be your tech and I surely hope you’re not here when I’m back because who would want to be stuck in a hospital?’” I remark. 

“Haha nice, but I’ll miss teasing you. Besides that, you’re very good at your job so props to you” he relays kindly.

“Hahaha thanks, but you know what I would really love? Is to see you boys at a concert! A sis too broke to get good seats AND plane tickets along with everything else” I fake whine as I sign out of the computer being happy that I’m done with the charting as well. Mark laughed understanding how it could be frustrating, but also knowing he doesn’t have the ability to decide where the group tours. 

“Yeah, yeah, we’ll have to see,” he laughs. I laugh along as well, but it struck me that this would be the last time I would get to talk with Mark. It was expected obviously, but could you blame a girl. This isn’t a new feeling because it tends to happen whenever I get close to patients, Mark just so happens to be one I’ve known for years, even if he had just heard of me Saturday night.

We say our last farewells since it was 7am. It’s unfortunate, but it is what it is. I head towards the door and turn around one last time. A slight smile graces both Mark and I’s face,

“Have a good day Mr. Tuan” I say.

“Have a good life y/n” he replies with a soft smile. 

Previous/Next

[writethehousedown]

And The Livin's Easy, Chapter Three (Multi) - Zyan

a/n: hello! welcome to chapter four of zyan tries her best to juggle all of the characters. i think we’re pretty much done as far as introductions go? so here’s where things start to get interesting. hope you enjoy! my sideblog is @chachkisalpaca - and frey is an angel for beta-ing.

“Is that a hickey?” Jan asks during their improvised breakfast.

It’s still early, so there aren’t many people at the beach just yet. The Sun is up and shining bright, and Gigi is so sleep deprived she forgot about the purple spot in the crook of her neck.

Gigi shakes off the tiredness and blinks repeatedly, her cheeks getting as red as a tomato when she notices all of her friends are staring at her. She decides that there’s no point in lying and sets down her plastic cup with steaming hot coffee Jackie somehow managed to prepare.

“I had sex with someone last night,” she simply says with a shrug. The screeches from her friends hurt her ears, but she had seen them coming.

“What? When did your hoe ass get a hook up?” Brita exclaims, “Did you download fucking Tinder again, sneaked out when we were all asleep, and came back?” Gigi laughs at Brita’s incredulous tone, though she’s nervous and her cheeks are still red.

“Ew, no, you know I don’t do dating apps. That’s how my ex happened,” Gigi says, matter-of-factly, “You see, Nicky was hoarding the tent with her inflatable mattress—”

“Hey! I did ask you if you wanted to sleep with me!” Nicky complains, folding her arms, though a laugh fights to escape her mouth.

“Yeah, and I told you my name’s not Jackie,” Gigi deadpans, and both Nicky and Jackie shut their mouths. She smiles cheekily and goes on. “Anyway, as I was saying; I left the tent, walked along the beach, found this girl all alone, talked a bit, and I guess it just happened.”

She purposely leaves out that the girl was no one other than Crystal, and they entered the sea, floating near the shore until, much like Gigi predicted it, she fell off the board and Crystal had to drag her back to the shore. The fabric of her tank top stuck to her skin, making her shiver like crazy, and Crystal tried to help her warm up, she really did — but one thing led to another, and before Gigi knew it, Crystal was sucking on her neck as her hands pinned her down.

The girls holler, not believing what they’re hearing. All of them say some sort of variation of there’s no way your game is that good, and Gigi just lets them talk as she sips on her coffee.

Her phone rings in her bag so she aims for it, juggling to unlock it. She bites back a smile when she sees the notification from Instagram.

@crystalandmeth has started following you.

Gigi wants to smack Crystal for having such a handle. No wonder she couldn’t find her when she searched her up after that night at the bar.

*

Scarlet vaguely scans the pool; it’s just opened and it’s still fairly early, but there are girls sunbathing, taking pictures, and some children playing by the edge of the tiny pool, splashing each other. She smiles at that. Sometimes she even likes the kids - when they’re not pushing each other into the big pool and Scarlet has to prevent a child from drowning, that is.

The hotel is medium sized, but since it’s the summer, there’s not a room that’s not booked. She knows. Her mothers have owned it for the last twenty years. She grew up running around the halls and with the noise of the tourists settling in their rooms, dragging their suitcases with big smiles plastered across their faces.

Though her mothers have insisted that she didn’t have to work at the hotel during the summer if she didn’t want to, Scarlet had decided to fill the position of lifeguard for the morning shift until they find someone else. It’s not as if she minds, anyway; she has nothing better to do, since all of her friends traveled outside the country for their vacations, leaving her stuck in the island. That’s the downside of being friends with stuck up rich kids, she supposes.

She tells a few kids to stop running, brings back a volleyball that ended up landing on the deep side of the pool, and that’s about it, for the most part. The morning shift is very laid back; the pool usually gets crowded during the afternoon, but that’s Adore and Courtney’s problem.

Lunch time rolls around before she notices it, and she closes the pool with a relieved sigh, immediately going to the cafeteria.

Scarlet picks a frozen burrito and asks one of the ladies working at the cafeteria if they can pretty please heat it up with the nice microwave they have in the kitchen. Belinda rolls her eyes with a playful smile and squeezes Scarlet’s cheek before complying with her wishes.

“Damn, I didn’t know we could ask to use the good microwave,” a voice pipes up from her side. Scarlet giggles and turns around to look at whoever said that.

She’s met with the sight of a gorgeous woman with pink wavy hair. Scarlet licks her lips before answering.

“Oh, no, that’s uh, that’s staff privilege.” She shrugs, and the woman clicks her tongue, visibly disappointed. Scarlet looks at her plate and cocks an amused brow when she sees the bland vegetarian sandwich. “I don’t think you’ll need the microwave now, though,” she points out, nudging at her plate, and the woman stifles a laugh.

“Ah, that, yeah. This is all my stomach can handle right now — one of my friends got a little too carried away doing the drinks last night,” she comments, shifting her weight from one foot to another. Scarlet chuckles, she knows the feeling.

“Hangover food? Been there. I’m a little bolder though, I prefer French fries with a lot of ketchup,” she replies, just when Belinda hands her back her burrito. Scarlet blows a kiss her way and turns her attention back to the woman, slightly biting her lip before speaking. “D’you wanna sit together? I mean, unless you’re waiting for your friends.”

“No, it’s fine, I’m not waiting for them, I’d be stuck here for hours if I was,” she dismisses it with a wave of her hand and laughs. Scarlet thinks she has a pretty laugh. “I’m Yvie.”

“I’m Scarlet,” she introduces herself with a shiny smile.

*

Crystal sighs as she juggles her phone, struggling to put it on speaker as she currently is trying to make a decent lunch — never mind the fact it’s four p.m. and she skipped breakfast to sleep in.

She finally manages to put it on speaker and Vanessa’s voice fills the room, her tone far too annoyed and one Crystal’s grown to know all too well.

“Can you believe it, Crys? She’s but a child, and the bitch is almost thirty! I’m disgusted,” Vanessa rants, and Crystal almost snaps her optic nerve with the way she rolls her eyes.

“Vanj, hold the fuck up. Plastique is twenty two, in case you didn’t know, and Brooke is still twenty seven; the gap isn’t that big,” Crystal says. “’Sides, you two broke up last year, it’s obvious that she has moved on. So why don’t you focus on your hot bodybuilder girlfriend before I steal her off you.” She smiles cheekily when Vanessa gasps offended on the other side of the line.

“Hey! Plastic, Plastique, or whatever her name is, looks like a fucking teenager. How was I supposed to know?” She defends herself; Crystal can almost see her folding her arms with a childish pout. “Kameron is doing some gigs in California, photographing for an ice skating tour or some shit. She’s busy, but I did invite her for the competition.”

“Ajá.” Crystal is more focused in her lunch, making sure to cut the pepper as thin as possible. She knows it would’ve been easier to just order takeout, buy a soda from the drugstore around the corner, and settle in the couch and watch some garbage TV, but sometimes she misses the taste of a home cooked meal.

Vanessa goes on, talking her ear off about Kameron and how happy she is with her. She rolls her eyes; for someone in a happy relationship she sure talks a lot about her ex.

“…But that’s enough ‘bout me. What happened with you last night? Jaida came back way before you, bitch, and you reeked of sex. Like, you could barely walk straight, and you weren’t that shit faced. Spill, Glass,” Vanessa changes the topic, and Crystal nearly cuts her finger with the knife.

Her cheeks heat up when she remembers what happened at the beach with Gigi. Crystal doesn’t know if telling her to take off her soaked clothes on a whim had been a good or a bad idea, but she doesn’t regret anything — even if she still has sand in her scalp.

She clears her throat before speaking, glad that Vanessa can’t see her awfully red cheeks.

“Well, uh, remember Smoothie Girl?” she begins, throwing the pepper in the cooking pot. Vanessa musters an affirmative response. Crystal breathes in deeply. “So, like, Jaida and I finish our thing, and she tells me we should stop sleeping around, and I got excited, thinking she wanted to go on a date or something like that. But no, she actually meant that in a literal way, and naturally, I had already embarrassed myself,” Crystal rants with a groan. Vanessa just listens, “So, she left and I just. Stared at the water I guess. Then Smoothie Girl appeared out of nowhere, shit happened, one thing led to another, and suddenly I was pinning her to the ground.”

There’s silence on Vanessa’s end for what seems like an eternity, and Crystal proceeds to cut the chicken in tiny cubes, trying to not let her nerves get the best of her. She expected Vanessa to screech so loud she’d end up deaf.

“So, what you’re tryin’ to tell me is that your cheesy ass got ditched, and instead of moping around for a week, you went and slept with someone else right after?” She inquires slowly, as if she’s talking to an infant. Crystal rolls her eyes.

“Yeah.”

“Bullshit, Glass,” Vanessa declares calmly, “There’s no way in hell. You’re bullshitting me. You’ve been chasing Jaida Eleanor Hall’s ass for two years now—”

“Hey! That’s not true. It’s been a year and a half,” Crystal defends herself.

“—a year and a half, and you didn’t feel the least bit heartbroken? Really?”

Crystal shrugs, but soon realizes that’s stupid; Vanessa can’t see her.

“Vanj, you act as if I was in love with Jaida, to begin with,” she points out, perching herself against the countertop for a moment. “The girl was hot, I won’t deny it, and the sex was great — but, like, I told you I didn’t think we’d ever be something serious. I don’t hold any grudges against her.” And it’s true. Crystal’s disappointment at the moment had been magnified by the fact she made a fool of herself by misunderstanding what Jaida meant, and the alcohol usually made her a more sensitive person, if that was even possible.

Vanessa stays silent for a moment yet again, until she hears a loud sigh and some rumbling. Crystal frowns as she throws the chicken to the cooking pot, turning up the flames.

“Alright, I believe you, Glass. Now tell me, you and Smoothie Girl…?” She leaves the sentence hanging, prompting Crystal to complete it.

She laughs shortly, before checking her phone and seeing a notification from Instagram. She grins cheekily, wondering if Gigi had waited so long to follow her on purpose.

*

Jaida takes a spoonful of ice cream, trying not to choke with laughter at Monique’s re-telling of the previous night. She’d been gone for a short while, though apparently that didn’t prevent shit from going down.

“You should’ve seen Vanessa’s face when Brooke left with Plastique, oh my God, it was priceless,” Monique tells her, as enthusiastic as ever. Her ice cream melts more and more with every second that passes, but she can’t bring herself to care. Except when Monét tries to steal some of it, apparently. “Girl, had I known the bitch was that bold, I wouldn’t have invited her. I’d like her to still be alive by the end of the week.”

“Hey now, it’s not her fault Vanessa isn’t over Brooke,” Monét cuts in, “Plastique hardly knew any of y’all. She may not even know Brooke is Vanessa’s ex.”

Jaida hums in agreement, her mouth still full of ice cream. The three of them are staying at the same hotel, and they’re lucky enough there’s a good ice cream shop around the corner, so they decided to take the day off and just hang out. Not that the hangover allowed them to do anything else in the first place.

“Also, Vanessa’s a grown woman; I don’t think she goes around pitching fights because her ex’s over her, she’s better than that,” Jaida adds, wiping the rests of ice cream off her face.

Monét and Monique agree with her, and the conversation drifts to various topics, though Jaida notices they’re making an effort not to bring Crystal up. She appreciates it, because right now that’s a can of worms she rather not open.

It’s not that she regrets being with her, it’s more like she hates herself for dragging their thing for so long, and by the way Crystal bit her tongue and nodded wordlessly when she told her she rather stop this, she can tell she hurt her — at least to some degree, because the rest of the night she’d acted as if nothing happened and everything was cool. Jaida doesn’t know if it was faked or not.

Monét and Monique start to argue about something, probably about how they’re not going to be easy on each other just because they’re girlfriends now; they go way too fast for her to catch up, especially since she’s still eating her frost mint ice cream and can’t be bothered about their relationship right now — she hears about it on the daily, anyway.

Jaida brings the spoon to her lips when she looks past Monique’s shoulder, looking at the entrance of shop, and she freezes for a moment. She blinks repeatedly, until she knows for real this is not her eyes deceiving her; the same woman as last night is seating near the entrance with someone else, chatting and laughing and looking even prettier in the daylight.

She squints, trying to remember her name; Jen, was it? She’s pretty sure she heard her friend say it, but she can’t remember that well.  

Jaida pulls her gaze away when she realizes she’s staring, and tries to focus on whatever Monét and Monique are talking about. But soon she feels someone looking at her, and she steals a glance at the girl out of the corner of her eye; she finds that she’s staring back at her, but she quickly withdraws her gaze.

Jaida smiles against the spoon. She doesn’t question how is it possible she ran into her again, especially considering the island is big and the chances of seeing her again were slim. Perhaps it’s a coincidence.

“I’m telling you, ‘Nét, this bitch had an edgy phase!” Monique exclaims, tugging at Jaida’s arm, causing her to accidentally throw a good chunk of ice cream on her blouse. Monique stays still for a moment as Jaida fumbles with the tissue paper. “I’m sorry, girl,” she says, with her tone so high pitched and full of regret, Jaida finds it hard to get mad at her.

She sighs dramatically, leaving the tissues aside and standing up. “Don’t worry, sis, it’s no big deal. I can wash this, anyway.” She shrugs. “Though I’m expecting you to buy me a pina colada next time we hit the bar,” she teasingly says before leaving to the bathroom.

She can hear Monét’s laugh and the smack Monique gives her on the arm, pitching the blame for Jaida’s ruined blouse on her. Sometimes Jaida swears neither one of them knows the volume of their own voices.

She wets a tissue and gets the ice cream off her skin before it gets sticky. The bathroom is tinier than she expected, but at least there’s no one else.

Or so she thought.

“Sweet baby Jesus, Nicole, how did you manage to burn the eggs?” a voice speaks from one of the stalls, and Jaida jumps a little.

A woman comes out from one the three stalls, holding her phone in the crook of her neck as she washes her hands. Jaida stiffs a little when she notices it’s the girl from the beach. Jen (or Jan), apparently, remembers her too, because she stops for a moment when she sees her, biting her lower lip before speaking again.

“Nicks, just, don’t touch anything else from the kitchen. Jackie and I will come back in a moment — please don’t listen neither Gigi nor Brita, they’re as bad cooks as you, 'kay?” She hangs up and sighs loudly, drying her hands before putting the phone back in the pocket of her shorts.

“That’s quite an interesting daycare you got there,” Jaida comments lightheartedly, throwing the tissues to the trash. The woman chuckles, turning to see her.

“Keeping toddlers in their twenties alive is my passion,” she deadpans, playing with the hem of her shirt. Jaida laughs shortly. “I’ve heard they’re easier to take care of once they’re thirty,” she comments with a cheeky smile, making Jaida laugh again.

“I wouldn’t have my hopes up if I were you,” Jaida replies, checking herself in the mirror and making sure she’s wiped off all the ice cream

She sucks in a quick breath, looking back at the woman, who’s perched against the sink, texting someone.

“Hey,” she says, catching her attention. “This probably sounds crazy, but is there any chance you were at O'Ahu beach last night, looking for a ball, maybe?” Jaida wonders, and almost right away she sees Jen (or Jan) cheeks lit up.

“Oh, Jesus, I was hoping you wouldn’t remember me. That was so embarrassing. I’m sorry.” She covers her face with her hands and Jaida laughs softly, coming some steps closer.

“Girl, it’s fine, for real,” she assures her, and Jen (or Jan) slowly uncovers her face. The rosy tone in her cheeks makes her look cute. She bites her lower lip before continuing. “I did mean it when I said I can’t be mad at a pretty girl.”

Jen (or Jan) smiles sheepishly and laugh, tucking a strand of lose hair behind her ear.

“Well, I meant it too when I said you’re not so bad yourself. I didn’t mean to finger gun you, though.”

Jaida laughs, and for a moment she forgets she has to go back to Monét and Monique. They strike up a conversation, and Jaida learns that her name is Jan and not Jen, and that she blushes a deep shade of red whenever she compliments her in any way. Jaida thinks she’s the cutest girl she’s ever met.

[zen3to5]

J/H 7-20: Gimme Shelter

I've said all along that this rewrite is only concerned with the Jackie/Hyde material, especially for everything post-Season 5. That's going to be relaxed from here on out; with Season 7 serving as the series finale in this timeline, there are more adjustments to be made, and they start here with changes to how Eric arrives at his teaching career. But there's Zen here too, as the mess that was Jackie's graduation party gets replaced with something else...

(We assume that 7x18 and 7x19 play out as we know them from the show in this timeline.)

FF.Net AO3

***

SHOW TITLE   MUSIC NOTE: “Oh Well” by the Rockets.   INT. FORMAN BASEMENT - NIGHT   The gang hanging out. HYDE and FEZ rummage through the deep freeze, JACKIE writes in a notebook in Hyde’s chair, ERIC and DONNA share the couch, and KELSO sits in the lawn chair.   Jackie finishes off her writing with a firm dotting of a period and sets her pencil and paper down.   JACKIE: And – done! That’s my last high school assignment. I’m all set for graduation this Friday.   ERIC: I can’t believe I graduated a year ago. It’s like, I feel like I’ve done nothing. Man, time really flies when you take two naps a day.   DONNA: Well, I wouldn’t say you’ve done nothing. I mean, you’ve... wow, you’ve really sat on your ass.   Hyde and Fez emerge from the deep freeze, popsicles in hand.   HYDE: Yup, Forman, we’ve all passed you by. I’m running a record store, Donna’s a DJ, Kelso’s a cop – even Fez has a job now. (to Fez) What is it again, man? Uh, shower girl? Make-up lady?   FEZ: Shampoo boy!   HYDE: (beat) Eh, I was close.   He crosses to his chair and pats Jackie on the back. She stands up, lets him sit in the chair, and sits in his lap.   ERIC: Wait a second – does this mean I’m the loser of the group now?   KELSO: You are the one that’s still living with your mommy.   ERIC: Man, you’re still living with your mommy.   KELSO: Not for long. Me and Fez are looking for apartments. Then the only time I’ll see my mom is when she’s doing my laundry, cooking my meals, taking me to the dentist...   He trails off there.   JACKIE: Oh, Eric, I feel kinda bad. I mean, you wouldn’t even be thinking about this kind of stuff if you weren’t caught in the blinding light of my bright future.   FEZ: You know, the scary thing is, if one year went by this fast, imagine where Eric is gonna be in ten years...   He looks up, the camera tracks in, and we transition to:   EXT. FORMAN DRIVEWAY – DAY   FANTASY SEQUENCE.   TITLE CARD 1: Eric’s crappy future.   TITLE CARD 2: Ten years later.   The Vista Cruiser comes into park. A grinning Eric steps out in full Mr. Spock costume, complete with ears. A thoroughly done Donna, in Uhura costume and wig, steps out from the passenger’s side.   ERIC: Thanks for going with me to the Star Trek convention – Uhura.   DONNA: You can call me Donna now.   Without another word, she walks down the street.   CUT TO:   INT. FORMAN BASEMENT – NIGHT   Back to reality. Fez giggles at his scenario, as does everyone but Eric.   KELSO: That’s good, Fez. But I think it’s gonna be more like this...   He looks up, the camera tracks in, and we transition to:   EXT. FORMAN DRIVEWAY – DAY   FANTASY SEQUENCE. The Vista Cruiser comes into park. A grinning Eric steps out in full Luke Skywalker costume, complete with lightsaber. A thoroughly done Donna, in Leia costume and hair, steps out from the passenger’s side.   ERIC: Thanks for going with me to the Star Wars convention – Leia.   DONNA: You can call me Donna now.   Without another word, she walks down the street.   CUT TO:   INT. FORMAN BASEMENT - NIGHT   Back to reality. Kelso grins at his scenario, as does everyone but Eric.   HYDE: Nah, man. You’re both wrong. Actually, it’s gonna go like this...   He and Jackie look up, the camera tracks in, and we transition to:   EXT. FORMAN DRIVEWAY – DAY   FANTASY SEQUENCE. The Vista Cruiser comes into park. A grinning Eric steps out in full Luke Skywalker costume, complete with lightsaber. A thoroughly done KITTY, in Leia costume and hair, steps out from the passenger’s side.   ERIC: Thanks for going with me to the Star Wars convention – Leia.   KITTY: You can call me Mom now.   Without another word, she heads back into the house.   CUT TO:   INT. FORMAN BASEMENT - NIGHT   Back to reality. Hyde and Jackie nod along to the scenario, as does everyone but Eric, who scrambles over the back of the couch.   ERIC: Whoa!   DONNA: Eric, they’re joking around. It’s funny.   ERIC: No, Donna, it’s not funny! In fact – it’s completely  possible!   He turns and races up the stairs.

MAIN CREDITS   ***   INT. FORMAN BASEMENT - DAY   The next day. The guys play cards while Donna reads in the lawn chair. Hyde, Eric, and Fez share the couch while Kelso sits backwards in Hyde’s chair.   KELSO: (to Eric) So, gonna be a chiropractor, huh? All right, every chick patient that you have, you have to tell her the problem is her tailbone. That way, you get to grab around on her butt.   ERIC: Kelso, I’m doing this ‘cause I wanna help people. A handful of ass is just a perk.   The basement door opens and Jackie enters, box in hand.   JACKIE: Hello, everyone. It is I, the light of all your lives and the newest arrival to the glorious world of adulthood. (sets box on coffee table) Michael, I remember how much you like playing with my equestrian figurine collection, so since I’m a mature woman now, these are for you.   Fez reaches inside the box and lifts up a plastic toy horse. The guys all glare at Kelso, who shifts in his chair.   JACKIE (cont’d): God, I cannot wait to graduate tomorrow. Classes are done and I finally know everything. Now it’s nothing but dinner parties, LoPP fundraisers, summers in Morocco, holidays in Paris...   DONNA: Um, what about earning a degree, paying the bills, finding a place to live – you know, the responsibilities of being an adult?   JACKIE: Okay, Donna, you’re forgetting one very important difference between most people and me – I grew up rich. I get things.   Donna rolls her eyes as Jackie crosses to sit on the back of the couch behind Hyde.   Kitty enters from the staircase, a newspaper in hand.   KITTY: Michael, I circled some apartment listings for you and Fez. (to the gang) I found a great apartment for Janet Myers after her divorce. It has a murphy bed for when her kids come to visit. They never do. She’s in AA.   She exits up the stairs.   Kelso reviews the circled listings.   KELSO: Look at all these places for rent. I hope we can find one that’s got everything my baby needs.   FEZ: Oh, Kelso, you’re always putting me first.   KELSO: Not you, moron! Betsy, my daughter. It’s amazing how one tiny person has changed my life so much.   FEZ: You changed mine, too.   Kelso’s out of insults; he just gives Fez a long stare.   ***   INT. FORMAN KITCHEN – DAY   The next morning – the day of Jackie’s graduation, before school. She and Hyde eat breakfast on the island as RED, Kitty, Fez, and Kelso do the same at the table. Breakfast is eggs for everyone, with plates of toast and sausages in the middle. With one sausage left, Red and Fez both reach for it with their forks. Fez takes it.   FEZ: Too slow, old man.   KELSO: Fez, if you’re not polite, he’s gonna figure out you’re living here.   Red drops his fork and glares at Fez.   RED: You’re living here?   KELSO: Oh, great. You blew it, Fez!   KITTY: Red, he has nowhere else to go.   Red stands.   RED: (to Fez) Well, know this, Pele: you gotta sleep some time. And during the war, when they were sleeping – that’s when I got ‘em.   He exits out the patio door.   KITTY: (to Fez) Well, that wasn’t too bad. He called you “Pele.” He is a terrific soccer player.   She takes her plate, stands, and crosses to the sink.   Fez and Kelso lean in toward each other.   FEZ: What do we do now?   KELSO: I don’t know, man. That apartment was the only one we’ve found that’ll work for you, me, and Betsy.   FEZ: We could try that room above the barber shop.   KELSO: No, we can’t.   FEZ: Why not?   KELSO: Because there’s no way Mr. Lucania’s gonna let out a room to the guy he found hiding in his daughter’s closet. Or the guy he found in her bed. With her. Five times, senior year.   Jackie, who has been watching and listening with Hyde throughout the scene, sits up straight.   JACKIE: Wow. You guys are really struggling with all those adult responsibilities Donna was talking about. And Michael, you’re good-looking, but it doesn’t seem like it’s helping you at all.   KELSO: Yeah. I’m afraid you’re gonna find as you get out into the real world that there are some things a bitchin’ bod just won’t fix.   JACKIE: (gasps) Oh, God!   She clasps a hand over her mouth. Kelso nods gravely and turns back to his conversation with Fez.   ***   INT. FORMAN BASEMENT – DAY   Still morning, still before school. THE BRADY BUNCH plays on the TV. Hyde sits in his chair with Jackie in his lap while Donna remains on the couch, her neck still crooked. Eric retrieves a popsicle from the deep freeze and moves to join her on the couch.   ERIC: (to Donna) How’re you doing, my little buttercup?   DONNA: Great. The Brady Bunch is so much funnier sideways.   JACKIE: Oh, God, Eric, you ruined her. Donna can’t even stand up straight now. And that’s real important for a lumberjack.   ERIC: Hey, it’s not that bad. I’m sure chiropractor Forman can tend to my crooked little flower here.   DONNA: You know, Eric, calling me cute little nicknames doesn’t make up for what you did.   ERIC: Hey, whatever you say, my little crazy straw.   JACKIE: Wow, this disaster just came out of nowhere, didn’t it? I mean, one minute Donna’s fine, the next some scrawny would-be quack’s turned her into a human pretzel. And Eric – Eric thought he found a career he’d be good at, which he obviously isn’t. (to Hyde) What if my TV show goes the same way? What if I’m no good? Or what if something awful happens to me out of nowhere, like a car crash or a gray hair? Donna was right – there is a downside to being an adult. Why was I in such a rush to grow up? I’m so short, I could’ve kept passing for a kid for years if I hadn’t talked such a big game about becoming an adult!   HYDE: Look, Jackie -   JACKIE: No, Steven! The graduation ceremony is in three hours, and I’ve just realized I’m not ready at all! I can’t do this!   She lets out a scream and dashes into Hyde’s room.   HYDE: (to Eric) Red still got that crowbar in the garage? ‘Cause that’s the only way we’re getting her out of there.   Eric gives a sarcastic shrug as Donna rolls her eyes.   ***   INT. FORMAN BASEMENT - NIGHT   That evening. Eric sits on the back of the couch on one end, Fez sits in the seat on the other, and Kelso sits in the lawn chair.   KELSO: Well, Red convinced Fenton to give us the apartment!   He and Fez share a low five.   FEZ: Yeah, and Red seemed so happy. All the way home, he just kept looking at us and laughing.   KELSO: Yeah, I’m pretty sure Red told Fenton that we knew a lot of chicks, ‘cause Fenton kept checking me out, like he could tell that I knew a lot of chicks.   The door opens, and BOB leads Donna inside. Her neck is still crooked.   BOB:  Eric, I can’t believe that you crippled my angel, my pride and joy. It kills me, seeing her like this.   ERIC: Then why are you bringing her over here?   BOB: Oh, I got a date. I met a lady at the open house. She’s got crow’s feet, but she works in the sandwich shop, so I bent the rules.   He exits. Donna crosses to sit by Eric on the couch.   ERIC: Look, Donna, I’m so sorry about what happened. You know, I’ve been thinking about it, and I don’t think I ever really wanted to be a chiropractor. I was just, you know, grasping at straws.   DONNA: I’d nod in agreement, but... you know, I’m paralyzed.   KELSO: Eric, you know what I’m realizing about you? You’re not good at anything.   FEZ: That’s not true, Kelso. Don’t forget butt-wiping.   ERIC: Oh, you know, just once, it’d be nice if, after you get all your burns in, you guys actually tried to help. I mean, that’s what I do. I mean, I’m the one who was looking out for Hyde when his mom split. And Kelso, I was your math tutor in high school. And Fez, remember when you wanted to learn how to kiss, and I taught you by sticking M&Ms to the mirror?   Donna and Kelso’s jaws drop. They look to Fez, who shifts in his seat.   FEZ: That never happened. I know how to kiss. Ah, shut it, Eric!   DONNA: (to Eric) You know, the only reason you ended up stuck like this was because your one chance to go away to college, you gave up to take care of your family after your dad got sick. You really do try to help.   ERIC: And I love doing it. I wish that could be a career.   DONNA: Right. You just need a career that combines a desire to help people with a high tolerance for irrational and childish behavior.   ERIC:  Or... just children. Just kids. Like at a school. Like a schoolteacher. Guys, I think I could make a good teacher!   Before he can elaborate any further, the basement door flies open. Hyde enters, carrying Jackie in his arms. She has on a graduation cap and gown, carries her diploma in her hand, and wears a massive, spacey grin.   JACKIE: Hello, adulthood! I’m Jackie Burkhart, and I’m ready for ya!   DONNA: Hey, looks like someone got over her little panic episode.   HYDE: Well, after you left, I went to talk to her and told her everything was gonna be fine and she was ready for graduation. But that didn’t work, so I broke out my best stuff. She’s been flying ever since.   Jackie sweeps out her hand holding her diploma, pops one foot out, and kisses Hyde on the cheek.   HYDE (cont’d): You should’ve seen her give the valedictorian address.   DONNA: Jackie, you’re not your class valedictorian.   HYDE: That’s why you should’ve seen it.   ERIC: That’s great, Jackie. You know what? This has just been a great day all around. Jackie graduated, Kelso and Fez found an apartment, and I’ve decided I’m gonna be a teacher. That’s right, you are looking at a future Mr. Forman.   JACKIE: Mr. Forman? Oh, well –   She swings herself down from Hyde’s arms and stumbles over to Eric. She steadies herself by slapping a hand down on his shoulder.   JACKIE (cont’d): Since I’ve already graduated, I can tell you now – my last essay? Yeah, everything in it, I stole from Donna doing the same assignment last year.   As well as she can, Donna turns to give Jackie an incredulous look.   JACKIE (cont’d): Hey, I’ve got my diploma, I’ve got a TV show, I am woman, and I’m ready for more!   Eric, grinning, shakes his head. Donna, Fez, and Kelso chuckle. Hyde also shakes his head and walks over to lead Jackie to his chair.   FADE TO BLACK

[evanescent-art]

❝ Heard But Not Seen ❞

                      - - ┈┈∘┈˃̶༒˂̶┈∘┈┈ - -

                       ❝ Heard But Not Seen ❞

                       - - ┈┈∘┈˃̶༒˂̶┈∘┈┈ - -

                ─── ･｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ｡. ───

   ───✱*.｡:｡✱*.:｡✧*.｡✰*.:｡✧*.｡:｡*.｡✱ ───

      ┊　　┊　　┊ 　 ┊    　┊　　┊　　┊

      ┊　　┊　　┊ 　 ☆    　┊　　┊　　┊

      ┊　　┊　　 ✬ 　 　    　✬ 　   ┊　   ┊

      ┊　　★ 　　　 　 　    　　　　★　  ┊

      ☆ 　　　　　　 　 　    　　　　　　   ☆

                                  。＼｜／。

                                    。／｜＼。

                    ══════•••══════

                                    。＼｜／。

                                ❝ᴅɪsᴄʟᴀɪᴍᴇʀ❞

          ɪ ᴅᴏ ɴᴏᴛ ᴏᴡɴ ᴛʜᴇ ʀɪɢʜᴛs ᴛᴏ ᴀɴʏ ᴏғ ᴛʜᴇ                 ᴄʜᴀʀᴀᴄᴛᴇʀs ʏᴏᴜ sᴇᴇ ʜᴇʀᴇ ᴀsɪᴅᴇ ғʀᴏᴍ ᴀ ғᴇᴡ            ᴏʀɪɢɪɴᴀʟ ᴄʜᴀʀᴀᴄᴛᴇʀs. ᴀsɪᴅᴇ ғʀᴏᴍ ᴏɴᴇ ɪɴ            ᴘᴀʀᴛɪᴄᴜʟᴀʀ ᴛʜᴀᴛ ᴅᴏᴇs ɴᴏᴛ ʙᴇʟᴏɴɢ ᴛᴏ ᴍᴇ.

                                    。／｜＼。

                    ══════•••══════

                                    。＼｜／。

                                   。／｜＼。

                   ══════•••══════

                                   。＼｜／。

Throughout the years of her life, 'Faceless' had become an insult to her. A slur, almost. Had she had the guts to stand up for herself? No. Did she pretend that she was okay about it? Yes. She acted happy throughout the day, at least, her tone had to sound happy. nobody could see a mask if she were to put it on anyways. It got pretty lonely when nobody knew how you felt. They don't bother to ask. But, she didn't blame them. To be honest, she didn't blame anyone. She knew if it had been the other way around and she could be seen, she wouldn't bother with the other person either, as bad as that sounded she knew it was true.

But, Hagakure had a face. It just couldn't be seen - that was all.

Beneath the invisibility, there was a face that showed many emotions. A face that had lips that scrunched up when she was annoyed, eyebrows that knit together when curious, eyes that went wide when she was shocked. It was all under there, she knew. But she felt like the only person in the world that knew that, and again, the feeling of loneliness would overtake her. But she had learned to deal with it, and instead had taken it upon herself to always look on the bright side of the situation. She was really good for Halloween, she always helped when it came to spying on people for favors (which she was ashamed to admit she did often), and nobody could ever see her coming from behind or from the front. But there was a whole list of downsides to being invisible that were too many to count on her hands. One of them being that she got her feelings hurt to often from accidental eavesdropping. She couldn't list how many times when a group would think she wasn't there when she was, and the ending to all of those were obvious and needed no description.

She could go on and on, but it would only take her mind to a dark place. That dark place that she had always been afraid of. She went there every night already when she was laying down to go to sleep at night, or every time she attempted to look in the mirror. So, her mind was trained to dodge anything that could send her mind to that dark place. She avoided makeup, she avoided dressing up, she avoided mirrors, and set avoided tending to her looks at all. After all, looks didn't matter to her. They never had, so why should she take care of herself?

"I'm glad you made it. Come in and don't waste my time."

Hagakure swore Mr. Aizawa had given her the wrong address. She stood in the door frame taking in the run-down condition of the small apartment, noting to herself every leak and every stain that she saw on the carpets. And creepily enough, there were mirrors everywhere. She opened her mouth, about to question if she had been the woman she was supposed to meet, but she quickly closed it when the woman impatiently gestured for her to come in, like she truly had been waiting for her a long time.

"You're late." The stiff woman informed her after a moment of tense silence. She noted the woman looking her up and down and briefly wondered why, there wasn't much to see other than her clothes.

"I'm sorry," Hagakure apologised, shifting uncomfortably on the hard stool apologisedas she paused mid-sentence. It creaked beneath her weight, and she shifted her eyes to the dirty counters. "I thought I had the wrong address."

The woman just took a sip of her black coffee, shifting her eyes away from the floating clothes to stare at a blank wall to think. Hagakure guessed that maybe she was debating on what to say next, or maybe finding a way to intimidate her. She couldn't tell exactly, but the second one was really working if that's what she as trying to do. She didn't mean to think that way, it was just that the appearance of this lady seemed to get to her. Her pointed nose and chin, her long face and sharp grey eyes. She had her dark brown hair pulled back into a tight bun. It seemed that her appearance was the only thing that she kept up with, almost as if her apartment was second priority. But she wasn't speaking, so once again Hagakure decided to break the awkward silence.

"You're Ms.Shirou, aren't you?" She asked, folding her hands in her lap neatly. She made a not not to touch anything while she was here.

"That I am," Shirou answered after she seemed to snap from her daze. She set her coffee mug down and pushed it aside to once again stare at her invisible form. If Hagakure didn't know better, she would have to say that this lady didn't seem to happy to be bothered. That would explain why she possibly never hired a cleaning service. "Be lucky that I'm personal friends with Aizawa. I wouldn't have taken to training a stranger."

"Training?" said Hagakure in a rather disbelieving tone. She didn't mean for it to come off that way, but it sort of slipped was all. Though to make her point more clear on why she thought this way, her eyes flicked over Shirou's form. Not that Shirou could even see it, but the tone indicated enough for her to guess what she thought on the matter. How could this woman train her in something she knew nothing about? She wasn't invisible. She could be seen. She could be both seen and heard.

"Yes, training." Shirou seemed to detect a bit of sarcasm and disbelief in the younger girl's tone. She didn't take too kindly to that, as she was known to have a low tolerance level with many people. She crossed her arms over her chest and raised an eyebrow at Hagakure. "Did Aizawa tell you differently or something?"

"No, but-"

"Then you knew I would be training you." Shirou cut off whatever she had been about to say with a single hand in her direction. Hagakure went a bit stiffer, but she refrained from asking what this woman would possibly teach her. Well, almost. She was a bit impulsive, and couldn't help but blurt it out.

"I don't know what you know that could teach me." Was all she said before she closed her mouth. Maybe that had been a little bit rude, especially when speaking to an authorize figure such as Shirou. But Hagakure had been told by many that she could be rude sometimes, even when she didn't mean to be.

The stiff lady narrowed her sharp eyes in her direction. She had no problem with just jumping to the point. It wasn't as if they had all day anyways.

"I know a lot more than you damn well do, that's for sure." She snapped. She stood up, then gestured for Hagakure to do the same. "Lesson number one, looks can be deceiving. Don't believe everything you see. Sometimes looks can be everything, sometimes they can be nothing."

The questions in Hagakure's mind just kept rolling in at this point. She questioned why Aizawa sent her here, she questioned how this woman would be able to teacher her anything, why this woman was so stiff and rude, why this woman was telling her of all people what looks meant when it meant nothing to her, and she could keep going on, but she had only been here less than twenty minutes and already she wanted to give up and go home. She closed her eyes and shook her head, wanting at least something about this to he clear to her.

"I can see that you're confused. Let me show you what i mean." She stepped back and started to unbutton her shirt. Quickly, Hagakure covered her eyes with her hands as she felt her face heat up.

"What are you doing?" the invisible girl exclaimed in a rather hoarse voice. "You're supposed to be training me what are you-"

"Would you calm down and just look?" Hagakure heard Shirou scoff, as if her thinking that a mentor stripping their clothes in front of a stranger was something that was done everyday. She wasn't even sure that she wanted to take a chance to open her eyes. But, slowly, she did. But when she did, the woman was gone, and below where she once stood was a pile of discarded clothes that covered up half of a stain on the carpet. Perplexed, Hagakure looked around to see if maybe this crazy woman who had clearly lost her mind was just hiding naked behind a dirty counter or something. She looked at the clock, seriously counting down the seconds to how crazy things got as the time ticked by. It had been twenty five minutes she had been here and she was apparently already at second base with this woman.

Then, someone tapped her shoulder from behind, causing her to flinch. Again, nobody was even there for the first five seconds she stood there staring. Until slowly, from down to her feet to the tip of her head the dark haired lady stood there once again, as if she had just appeared in some sort of shadow shift out of thin air. It left Hagakure's head spinning slightly, as this was all happening too fast for her to keep up. That added another question to her growing list.

"How did you-"

"My will," Clearly people had asked her this enough times for her to know it before it came out of someone's mouth. Already, Hagakure had developed a very strong opinion about this woman, who seemed to be walking around as if she were used to being naked or something. That was until she grabbed her clothes and pulled her skirt up, then started to button her dark blue long sleeved shirt. Hagakure was silent through the whole thing. Then, Shirou turned to her and asked, "Are you good at science?"

She was so taken off-guard by the whole thing that she took a second to even reply. She had to gather her thoughts to even form an answer.

"I - guess I'm good," Her voice was quiet now, staring down at anything and everything but the woman that stood in front of her. "I got an A, if that's what you mean. In class."

This seemed to be the wrong answer though, as Shirou just shook her head with a rather fraustraited glance in her direction. For a moment, she brought her fingers to the bridge of her nose and closed her eyes, taking a deep breath of the soiled air around them and then blowing out. Hagakure made another note of this woman - she wasn't used to being calm and working with people. She wondered why she had even accepted Aizawa's request to train her if all Shirou did was question his capability. Though, the invisible girl thought it wise to just wait for her to speak again, to not speak unless spoken to. This seemed to set the woman off a little bit.

"Perhaps, your life would have been easier if you dug deep into your science." was all she said. She opened her eyes, turned, and went into the back room, leaving Hagakure standing there waiting once more in silence. That's okay, she thought to herself, she didn't even want to move anyways. Unless it was to just go home and call this as waste of a night. But all she could do was question what this woman meant by that. Sure, everyone knew that science played a big part in quirks, for example Bakugou Katsuki always smelled sweet due to his quirk, or how Kaminari once had a seizure due to people attempting to charge many devices on him at once, similar to a power outage. But she had never seen the science side of her quirk. She never bothered, she was just invisible and that's all that she understood. She'd be lying if she said that she hadn't tried to dig once or twice for answers, but it always came up empty because she never knew where to look. And not only that, she found it hard enough to talk to people when they couldn't look her in the eyes. And there was something about never being looked in the eyes that took its toll and effected her.

Sometimes on the darker days, she wished she would have been quirkless than have the quirk that she had.

She had no time to dwell on it though, as her head snapped up from where it was locked on the carpet at the sound of a pretty heavy slam. And there, on the counter, stood a heavy amount of books that no doubt were all labeled science. Biology, chemistry, all except for physics of course. After staring at the stack of books, she turned to Shirou who for once wore a proud expression upon her face. It was as if science was the only thing that made this woman happy apparently.

"You want me to read," She paused for a moment as her eyes attempted to count the books, maybe even guess how many pages they each had. But she gave up and continued. "All of these?"

The woman rolled she eyes, as if finding the question to be ridiculous. Hagakure was beginning to think that every question she asked was something this woman already knew the answer to somehow or someway.

"Not in one night, no. I'm not unreasoable, don't mistake me for Aizawa," Was all she said; and she pushed the books closer to her on the counter. Hagakure didn't reach for them just yet, but instead looked at Shirou, deciding to risk asking another stupid question.

"How can you do that?" She asked. It had been what she had been wondering for the past forty minutes or so since the woman had just vanished into thin air in front of her very eyes and came back again. Shirou would have ansered coldly if the question didn't seem to seriously look to effect the girl, as Hagakure's voice seemed to waver just a tad bit while asking. "How can you just, be seen, and then not when you want to?"

Shirou stared her down as her mind searched for a proper answer. Normally she wouldn't mind being rude, and although this girl was nothing like how she was when she was her age, one thing that they did have in common was the fact that they had both been invisible at one point in their lives to the point where it was unable to be controlled to a literal sense. That's what she could say. While this girl was seemingly sweet and unintentionally rude, she had been blunt, snappy, sarcastic and all of the above when she had been younger.

"I used to be invisible, too." She replied, attempting to make her voice soft but was unable to. But at least she was trying, she gave herself points for that. "Until I learned my science."

"What do you mean by that?" She pressed further. "You keep mentioning science like it has some significance to our quirks."

"Oh it has huge significance. Don't you know anything at all?"

And just like that, Hagakure felt as of she had no choice but to trust her now. At first, she saw no reason as to why she should be here and now at the snap of one's fingers she this woman had managed to give her the hope that she hadn't felt in what seemed like forever. The hope that had been lost when she was just a little girl. She wanted to speak, but seemed afraid to. She had questions, obviously, but was so stunned with her brain all scattered in different directions that her mind wouldn't process how to put it into words. The woman seemed to be god sent to her now. And from this point forward Hagakure knew that her hope was in the hands of this mysterious woman that she had known for less than an hour. Maybe breaking down to Aizawa about her problems and taking a huge blow to her pride had something good to come out of it, maybe the severe depression that had been eating her alive for the past two months would finally have some sort of miracle to come out of it. Though, her depression backtracked to as long as she could remember. After all, spending your whole life without being looked in the eye messed with your head in more ways than one.

Hagakure forced the thoughts from her head, though as her focus shifted back to reality, she could see Shirou still staring at her like she was was still in deep thought herself. Possibly thinking about how someone like her could have been accepted into U.A, but she didn't bother to ask. The silence was killing her, but it seemed like this woman was so used to it. She didn't dare to speak. She waited for her to continue speaking, and when she did, it was the words she hadn't expected to hear.

"Sit here and read those books for the next two hours. I'll be back." Shirou stood, and Hagakure sputtered at her and stood up herself.

"Wait, you're just going to leave me here?" The invisible teenager asked her, perplexed. She glanced at the books on the counter as if they were poisonous. Maybe she could read a chapter or two, but she doubted she could learn anything without Shirou here. She was more of a hands on learner.

"Surely, this isn't above your capabilities, is it?" She raised an eyebrow at her, and Hagakure clamped her mouth shut. The older woman grabbed a coat from the hanger and opened the front door, but not before she added; "You aren't a baby. Again, read a chapter and I'll be back to explain."

                                   。＼｜／。

                                  。／｜＼。

"You said you'd only be gone for a couple of hours."

"I lied."

"It's been five hours!" Hagakure threw her invisible hands in the air in frustration. She had been left to read for five hours straight, with some obvious distractions here and there, with no indication where this woman had gone either. Shirou set the boxes down onto the counter without answering for a moment.

"You want something to eat, or not?" She calmly asked the girl with a roll of her eyes. She slid the box of bento over on the counter towards her, and Hagakure scrunched her nose slightly, not trusting any food that's touched the air in this apartment. But nevertheless, her stomach was aching for food. She quietly took it. She watched as Shirou calmly opened her own bento and quietly started to eat her food without much else to say in her defense as to why she had been gone for so long. Hagakure stared at her, as if waiting for her to say something. She didn't. And she gave up getting an answer and started to quietly eat her own food in silence.

Hagakure hated silence. If being invisible wasn't bad enough, silence was worse. Sound was the only way she had been able to be noticed. It was how she got around this world. Yet, this woman didn't seem to understand that. As a woman that was once invisible herself, she expected her to at least understand as well. But of course as always, Shirou said nothing helpful.

"Did you learn anything?" The older woman finally asked in between bites of her meal. Hagakure wasn't sure how to answer. What could she say? All she did was read a book in which she couldn't even understand what they were saying. It was as if she couldn't process the words. The only thing she remembered was 'the mitochondria was the powerhouse of the cell' and that was about it. She had read the biology book first, and had learned nothing. Or at least, she had already forgotten. She tore her shameful gaze from the woman and went back to her meal, now causing the tables to turn. Shirou couldn't help but turn her attention to the girl upon her silence and study her for a moment. There wasn't much to study, of course, but it was as if the silence felt tense enough that she could infer that whatever answer the invisible girl was going to give her she wasn't going to exactly be jumping for joy. She called this to attention; "I'm assuming that your answer will not satisfy me?"

"It's not my fault." Hagakure didn't turn to look at her. It wasn't like Shirou could even tell if she did anyhow, but she felt the need to defend herself, "I'm a hands on learner, i can't focus with books."

"Hands on, huh?"

Shirou couldn't say that she was the same way. Or had been at her age. She had mostly adapted to books, while this girl couldn't seem to even focus on one measly chapter by herself. She pressed her lips together tightly. This ruined her plans somewhat, but as life had come to teach her long ago, nothing ever went as planned. But she, oddly, found herself caring for this girl. She did because she knew something that Hagakure didn't. She had been through things that she had yet to even comprehend the idea of. And she had realised it all too late. Here she sat in a dingy old apartment because depression had decided to step in front of what little hope she had for her future. Everyone said that looks didn't matter, but it did. It did when nobody could ever look at you, when it messed with your head and caused every motivation to be worth nothing deep down. That's how Shirou had lived for theory five years, feeling as if nothing was worth putting the effort into. It wasn't as if anyone would recognise something and someone that wasn't even there. She realised her ability when it was too late for her. Sometimes, a quirk was a curse rather than a gift. She wouldn't wish this fate of psychological torture on her worst enemy.

She slid off of the stool and tapped the girl's school uniform for her to get up. Hagakure was about to object because she didn't want to leave the door she had been craving for hours, but she stopped herself at Shirou's expression. She instead allowed herself to be pulled in front of one of the long floor mirrors. She had always avoided mirrors. There was nothing to see anyways. The only thing she saw in this morrow at the moment was a floating school uniform and shoes and socks and a woman with her hands on the shoulder blades. She frowned, not that Shirou would notice.

"You are in this mirror." Shirou told her. Hagakure rolled her eyes, it wasn't as if she ever had to hide her disrespect or her emotions towards other people, thus why she was considered unintentionally rude most of the time. But Shirou sensed her silence as an indication if disbelief or hesitance. So she repeated herself, "You are in this mirror, whether you want to believe it or not."

"Oh."

"Take a deep breath and relax. Shoulders down, close your eyes, and slow your mind."

Hagakure didn't object, she didn't have a reason to, so she did what she was told. She didn't realise how tense she was until her shoulders unclenched, her eyebrows seemed rise up and her jaw seemed to relax. It felt a lot better, but didn't make her feel emotionally better. She didn't see how this woman could help with the helpless depression she was in, because this all seemed to be ridiculous. Yet, she stayed silent out of hope. The hope that She was feeling for the first time in so long that maybe she could get what she was wishing for. Her thoughts were interrupted by Shirou's voice.

"Now, try to picture the blood in your veins slowing down. Try to picture the particles of your skin, slowing down and connecting with others. Try and make your body become connected." Her instructed to the girl. Yet, Hagakure wasn't exactly sure how to do that. She could picture all the blood in her veins slowing, she could picture the particles of her skin slowing down and connecting with others, but she could never make her body become connected. At least she it was 'never' until she learned how. She could only infer that Shirou meant some cliche 'inner peace' sort of thing.

"How do I do that?" Hagakure sounded as if she were pleading.

"Do what?"

"Feel connected. Or, make my body connect." The invisible girl continued. Her face scrunched up once more as she struggled to comprehend, but relaxed when she felt a hand on her face that we as clear indication for her to relax all over again. She took deep breaths to assist her, but the frustration was building up. Nothing was helping, and the very little bit of hope that she had been feeling prior was starting to dwindle. She hated this. She'd rather be quirkless than feel like this anymore, like no effort was worth it. She felt a tingling sensation, of someone whispering in her ear just then.

"I can feel you. You are physical. You are here, which means, you've got something that has the possibility of being seen." Shirou whispered. She felt as if raising her voice in any way above her current tone would just cause stress for the girl. "You have a shadow that follows you in the morning, and abandons you at night. Let your shadow remind you that you are something physical."

Hagakure felt her heart speed up. It wasn't like she was trying to be tense, but she couldn't help it. She thought about her shadow. She did what she was told, and repeated the words in her head over mad over again to desperately cling to the last hope that she had running in her. Her shadow, to remind her that she was here. She was trying to relax, she had no choice because the woman kept her hands on her shoulder, as if ready to strike her or something the second that she gave the indication that she wasn't doing what was asked of her. Typical. She was getting sick of this. Shirou may be smart, but she couldn't read her mind. Or see her facial expressions. Her body was relaxed, and in a moment of sheer desperation she started to do everything at once that she had been asked of - picture this, picture that. Feel this, feel that. Like the holy ghost possessing someone's body, or when jealousy stepped in front of someone's conscience.

That's what she felt, she felt a tingling sensation go through her body, more so the surface of her skin, if she had any. It made her shiver a bit, and suddenly she felt a little cold. She scrunched her nose up slightly in distain.

"Oh, yikes." Shirou mimicked the girl's expression as she looked in the mirror. Hagakure grew confused at her words.

"What is it?" She asked, her time focused, "What's wrong?"

"Open your eyes now."

And she did. When she opened her eyes, she had expected to see the same person standing in the mirror as before. Shirou and some floating clothes.

But there was a new girl there.

Right before her eyes, she stared into the mirror, and for the first time in her life someone stared back. Hagakure had never seen this girl before. The new girl was wearing her uniform though. And she looked an absolute mess. There, staring back at her - were a pair of light grey crystal-like eyes, paralyzed and locked onto her with enormous amount of curiosity, but most of all, fear. The girl had very short and blindingly pale pink colored hair, butchered completely, because lord knows Hagakure had given up on her appearance years ago, and had butchered her invisible hair as to make combat easier for her. It wasn't like it mattered. She saw the palest skin she had ever saw, light, with traces of skin irritation here and there. She had big ears, a round face with medium sized lips, and a rather innocent complexion, yet eyes that held mischief. The girl looked tired, worn out, scared, and depressed. In her eyes, though, it looked as if she had seen color for the first time in her life. And she had - her own. While everyone else that may have seen her would say that this girl looked like she had just gotten out of a mental institution and hit by a car, Hagakure thought she was the most beautiful girl she had ever seen. For the first time, she saw her own tears fall from her own eyes.

Ever so slowly, she had stepped forward, reaching out towards the glass in front of her and lightly touching it with a flinch. She struggle to breathe, and every sob that tried to come up got caught in the back of her throat for a moment until she was forced to choke it all up. Her knees met the floor, and Shirou watched from afar and didn't stop her, but had a knowing look in her eyes. Hagakure grabbed at her heart, crying out hysterical 'Ow!'s from her lips as she felt the pain beneath her chest. The overwhelming sensation was too much for her to take, and she struggled for consciousness as her vision began to blur with her tears. Why did something that felt so good, cause so much physical pain?

Because the first person to look her in the eyes was herself.

Then, before she was ready, the girl slowly vanished once more. She couldn't see herself anymore, and panic started to take over her body as Hagakure's hands desperately gripped the mirror, her subconscious wishing she could grab back what was hiding behind the glass of her invisible reflection. She felt two hands pull her back gently, and Shirou knelt down to her level as silence had fell back once more into the apartment. The once again invisible girl went limp, and her head went down to the ground as her words of agony refused to pass from her quivering lips. Shirou spoke not in a whisper, but a firm tone that was loud enough for her to assert some kind of authority, and a bit of knowing trust that could be ensured.

"Do you trust me now?" She asked Hagakure.

More than anything, the girl wanted to say. I owe you my life for this, she wanted to add. I could never repay you properly, she screamed in the back of her head shakily. But she could only muster up the courage for one word that was difficult as ever to pass from her lips.

"Yes."

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[monsters-under-the-willowtree]

My God, They Were Roommates

A Story about New Places, New Faces, and a New Roommate that wasn’t originally in the advertisement but a welcome surprise nonetheless

Ungendered Ghost + Ungendered Reader 3000 words

Holiday wasn’t exactly the kind of town that you expected to end up in after college but it was better than where you’d come from. That much was certain. For one it didn’t have all the drama from where you’d come from. And for two it was gorgeous.

There was so much greenery, old and new growth just bursting from every seam. Charming old homes that might as well be estates and new town houses, ancient taverns with plaques boasting their history and cute modern boutiques all mixing nicely together to create this inviting and unique atmosphere that had drawn you in the moment you’d stepped out of your car.

Plus it was actually affordable here, in spite of the drive it would take to get literally anywhere.

And now here you were, putting away the last of your things as autumn leaves danced past your window. The last cardboard moving box finally stashed under your bed with the others. Technically this was just a studio apartment above an old antique shop but the owner of the shop hadn’t had so much luck with the business and had closed the doors a couple of years back. It was quiet and private and since you didn’t even have keys to get into the shop itself the inanimate housemates on the first and second floors didn’t bother you one bit.

It did have the downside of being lonely though. But you were sure that wasn’t going to be a problem forever. You just needed to meet some people in town, that was all. And in the meantime you could call your family and talk to them when the loneliness got to be unbearable. That was the plan, anyways, but with a whole town’s worth of new places and unpacking and turning the bare attic-type space into a homey spot arranged just how you wanted it to be there hadn’t been a whole lot of time for it just yet.

That and... some little strange occurrences had been happening too. Nothing terribly odd but just inexplicable enough to make you just a bit uneasy. Like this morning, you think as you look down at your thumb. The pad of it had a little smiley face drawn on it. And you had absolutely no memory of putting it there. Boxes had tipped over by themselves while you were unpacking. Two mornings in a row now you had woken up with a shoe balanced on your forehead. And strangest of all, there was a little toy ghost that you hadn’t remembered packing along with you that kept moving itself around your room every time you would leave the house and then return later.

This was the kicker that got you really thinking. In fact you were currently sitting on the edge of your bed looking at it with your chin in your hands. Was it possible that there was a ghost in this building? It hadn’t done anything mean or malicious or creepy yet. But the idea was still a little disturbing. Would you need to get a curtain or something if you needed to change? Would it obey a set of house rules like “no messing with the water while I’m showering” and “no creepy stuff that will give me nightmares?”

After an afternoon of deliberating you finally decided that waiting for it to come to you wasn’t going to be the best way to go about this. So instead.... you went shopping. Nothing extravagant, you didn’t really have a whole lot of funds to put towards much of anything at the moment. But a few things. And then it was time to go to work.

The first thing you did when you got home was tie some fishing line to your shoes and attach that to a shoe box up high on a shelf that you filled with feathers. The first little ghost toy got a second little toy friend to sit next to. And finally a little cheap video camera that you balanced on your dresser on the opposite wall in an effort to capture your prankster in the act.

And then you went to bed. It was difficult, but eventually you managed to drop off to sleep.

In the morning you awoke gently. It was Sunday and you had no alarm, one of your two blessed sleeping-in days. But as soon as you shifted even an inch there was the sensation of things tumbling onto you, things thudding dully against your bed and body, and you shrieked in surprise. Flailing wildly against your attacker, there was a bit more din and ruckus. When all finally came to a stop you stared, wide eyed and breathless, at the shoes, feathers, and shoe box that were now haphazardly resting on you, your bed, and the floor beside you. It took a moment for your brain to catch up with what had happened.

And then you started laughing.

The laughter only grew louder as you dared a glance over at the video camera and noticed the two toy ghosts beside it, arranged like they were holding it up where it stood, now pointing at you instead of at the door where you kept your shoes usually. So your ghost had figured out the prank and had pranked you right back. Classic. The feathers were going to be a pain to clean up but right now that annoyance was nothing more than a fleeting thought as you scurried over to the camera and flipped it over. It was still recording.

Flopping back on your bed you stopped the recording and then played it back, quickly realizing that just watching it straight through was going to take forever. So the laptop was pulled out, memory card inserted, and then the fun really started. Dragging the pointer across the progress bar you started fishing through the data until bam! Feathers everywhere! You rewind by a minute or two and then watch, nose practically pressed to the screen, to see how it happened.

At 2:47 AM all seems quiet. Nothing unusual. Except that, wait... you pause, rewind by 10 seconds, and look harder when you push play. There’s a movement. By the door. Not something you can truly see but just barely detectable nonetheless. And your shoes lift slowly into the air. The box above tips over and a shower of neon pink feathers rains down from above. They don’t exactly land on anything in particular but they do seem to almost bump against and then slide off of something invisible. The shoes drop and some gust of indoor wind sends a bunch of them flying into the air. The feathers fall gracefully to the ground.

And then... nothing. For minutes. You skip ahead carefully, squinting, until you catch a frame of your shoe floating above your bed. Scooting back through time you watch as feathers start lifting themselves back into the box. The camera moves a minute later, changing angles so that it is now pointing at you instead. And then your shoe is lifted, floating silently across the room. It’s balanced on your shoulder and then there is nothing again for a moment. The other shoe is brought over and balanced carefully on the first. Then the box of feathers floats over and is balanced on the side of your head. The ghost toys dance through the air, growing larger in the frame until they are right in front of it. Maybe a little too close, they’re rather blurry. But definitely there on purpose.

You can’t help but notice, while they hang there in the air, that one is very slowly rotating in place towards the other, who is looking directly at the camera. Then moving closer. And then leaning in. The hands on the little toy ghosts can’t move but the one who moves closer to the one staring into the camera tilts, the little hand sliding behind the first until the two ghosts are touching in a juvenile form of embrace. They float there in that position for maybe ten minutes, most of which you click through rapidly. Apparently your ghost wanted to send a message and didn’t want you to miss it. And it was so sweet you can’t even be the smallest bit upset that now you have pink feathers all over your bed.

Your ghost wanted to be friends.

It was such a crazy concept that you didn’t really know what to say or do for a while. Ghosts were real? How was that possible? How could you be friends with someone who was invisible? Could they talk? Were they watching you? How would you communicate? How would you know if they were there? How did they die? Why were they here?

Mustering up a bit of gumption you track down some paper and some pens and leave them out on your dresser with a little note on it.

Hello Ghost! I hope you aren’t upset that I’m living here. I’d like to be friends. Can we talk soon? I want to meet you!

You signed your name, put the box of feathers by it, and then headed for the shower. It seemed like they hadn’t really been doing much around the apartment unless you were out or asleep so you thought that maybe they were shy or were trying to be nice and not spook you too badly. Which was awfully considerate of them, you probably would have screamed if they had just popped out of the woodwork and offered their hand to you. But now that you’d had a little time to think about it you were actually pretty excited to meet a friendly ghost.

It was hard to take your time, anticipation was bubbling in your stomach like soda pop fizz, but you really wanted to make sure that the ghost had enough time to find the note, read it, and reply back. If they were even around. Maybe they were hanging out in the antique shop downstairs? Did they only come up at certain times of the night? You hadn’t really had enough time to learn their patterns yet. But you hoped. And eventually when you were nice and pruned you could finally check.

There was... no reply. And it stung a little. You did try not to be too disappointed. But... wait. The pages had definitely been disturbed. Some feathers weren’t in their box anymore. And... now that you got looking, your favorite pen was missing too. Well, you mused, maybe they just wanted some more time to work on their answer. Maybe writing was hard to do as a ghost? In any case, it looked like they had seen your note and were going to maybe reply back to you on their own time.

With that in mind you went about the rest of your day, still a little bit anxious but trying to be patient. It took ages to fall asleep that night. So long that it was early morning before your eyes finally started to droop. And that was when you heard a little scratch at the door. Just once. And even if your eyes popped open you stayed still, not totally sure that you actually had heard anything. But your suspicions were confirmed moments later when a piece of paper floated across the room. You gasped and immediately the paper dropped to the floor, along with a rattling ting that told you the ghost had been holding your pen too.

“Wait!” You sat up and jumped out of bed, holding your hands out in some vain attempt to feel for them in the dark. “Wait, don’t go. I’m sorry, I just couldn’t sleep. Are you still here?”

Nothing moved, no matter how long you waited there in the dark. With a sigh you shuffled over to the paper and picked it up, turning on a light so you could actually read it. Although once you got there you decided that maybe “read” was a strong word. It was a hand-drawn comic page. No words. But you studied it carefully anyways.

The first panel was a dark room. It took up the width of the page. Big and empty and heavily shadowed and with a dramatic angle to showcase the small bedsheet-type ghost sitting in the middle of it with a frown. Below it were three panels. Side by side views of the little ghost with an “o” mouth and wide eyes peeking around corners at the sight of a person carrying boxes.

Then the bottom panel, again using the full width of the page, showed the same room as above now filled with boxes and music and light and a person (one you had to guess was yourself) with the little sheet ghost grinning enormously.

It was adorable and even at the late hour it warmed your whole heart. You immediately pulled apart an old picture frame and put the page inside of it, snatching up the two little ghosts and putting the two of them next to each other beside it. Maybe the ghost was illiterate and couldn’t read? Couldn’t write? Or maybe they spoke a different language? Had they been an immigrant from another country and couldn’t read the language you were writing?

Whatever the case was, they were a lovely artist and you wanted to make sure they knew you had understood the message. So you grabbed another piece of paper and with what little artistic skill you had tried your best to answer back. Yours was a very basic four panel comic with stick people, the first showing a person standing alone. Then in the second one it showed the first person with a big grin and their hands in the air at the appearance of a simplified sheet ghost. The third showed the ghost and the person with word bubbles and little squiggles inside. And then the fourth was your very best attempt at drawing the ghost and the person hugging. You didn’t really know if ghosts could hug but it was the best way you could draw the hope that you could be friends with your new roommate.

You left this drawing nearby the first, looking around the room for any sign of your ethereal roommate for a few moments before deciding that maybe they weren’t around anymore. It would have been nice to finally see them or sit and chat with them, learn their name or find out if the two of you even spoke the same language. If not then the sooner the better, you had learned a few words here and there in a few other languages but if you were going to need to learn a whole new one well enough to be conversational then you kindof wanted to get started.

Exhaustion pulled you under quickly after that, a small blessing considering that you had to be up for work the next day. It was impossible to concentrate, and sleep was only one small factor in that problem, and the end of your working day could not come soon enough. The comic had given you an idea and even if you were definitely planning on more little pranks in the future you were glad that you hadn’t gone too crazy just yet. That show of restraint had given you a couple dollars left in your wallet to head back to the store and pick up some art supplies. Nothing fancy. Just some cheap acrylics and a pack of plastic bristle brushes. Next paycheck you might be able to afford an array of the small canvases they had for sale but with your last $5 not claimed by groceries or gasoline you purchased two small ones that would at least give your ghost friend something to do with their time while you were away at work.

“Hello?” It felt a little strange to call out to an empty studio as you came bustling in with your plastic bags and keys jangling noisily. But now that you had a ghost to consider it felt rude not to greet them, wherever they might be. “Ghost? Hello? I bought something for you!”

Settling everything on the small folding table you eventually arranged the art supplies in such a way, an old sheet as a tablecloth and toy ghosts supporting the package of paint brushes over their heads, that hopefully the ghost would catch your meaning.

“Listen, I don’t know if you can hear me or if you’re here or not but these are for you! I figured maybe you might like to try painting, since the little comic picture you drew yesterday was so cool. It’s not much but it probably beats wandering around this old place all alone all day. I don’t know if ghosts can paint but it’s worth a shot, you know? Uh…. Anyways… I guess I’ll just leave these here. You can take them somewhere else if you don’t want to paint in, like, the middle of the room or something. Just take the sheet with you so you can keep the floor clean, I suck at trying to get stains out of stuff so I won’t be much help if it gets into anything.”

You looked around again, hoping to see some sign that they were around. Nothing really jumped out at you but you could have sworn the curtains shifted just slightly. Or maybe that was just the air vents. “I have to go out again for a bit, I’m all out of food for the week, but I hope you like this stuff. I’ll see you later? Maybe? I mean I’d like to see you later but it’s cool if you want to stay invisible a while longer. I get being shy and all that. Anyways… uhm… later!”

And though it was still maybe too early to tell but the air just to your left felt abruptly cool as you gathered up the plastic bags and keys, cracking open the paints and brushes for them as an afterthought. How strong were ghosts really? Were there things that you could do to make life (or rather death) easier for them? These thoughts and a cold breeze followed after you as you scuttled back out the door again, still unsure if you were really doing the right thing but pleased enough with your efforts that the consequences of befriending a ghost felt worth the risk that maybe this would be the best thing to ever happen to you in your whole life.

[northsidefabray]

Take Your Time

Who: Quinn & Carlisle @northsidecarlisle

What: Carlisle tells Quinn about his sexuality

When: Oct 14, Evening

Where: At Quinn’s place

Notes: Hilarious miscommunication

Carlisle

This was probably the most nerve wracking thing Carlisle has ever done, telling Quinn that he's bisexual and was the closeted guy that Aiden was pretending to date her for was way more terrifying than when he invited Aiden over that night. But he was right, it's only a matter of time before Quinn figured out who it was and she wouldn't care anyways, so it was better if Carlisle told his sister himself. Soon enough, it was 6 and they were already seated and eating. "This is great, Quinn, though I'm not surprised, you always were the better cook."

Quinn

The only thing that Quinn could think the entire afternoon was that Carlisle had questions for her about the things that Aiden figured out the previous night. Her heart thudded in her chest about how to explain the fact that yes, she was involved with two men. At the same time. Together. It was certainly not behavior that was befitting a Fabray. But until he asked, all she could do was wait in nervous silence. Smiling up from her plate, Quinn said a small thank you. "If it's one thing I appreciated about mother never cooking for us, it's learning how to at least make some kind of meal." She crossed her ankles as she sat at the table across from him. "How's work been going with dad? Is he driving you crazy yet?"

Carlisle

“Not crazier than usual. I’ve been able to get some more time off recently, get some writing done, other personal stuff.” Personal stuff like his hookups with Aiden, but he wasn’t really ready to say that yet. He had to get over his nerves soon, just say it before he gets too nervous. Besides, she is with Hunter and Sebastian, that really can’t be easier to talk about than him liking guys and sleeping with Aiden specifically. “How about you? I hope work’s going well.” Easy conversation first, and hopefully by the time they’re halfway done with dinner, he can tell Quinn.

Quinn

"That's good. I know how intense he can get." As much as Quinn felt like this wasn't what Carlisle wanted to do, she had made a promise to herself a long time ago to be supportive. If this is the life he wanted to live, she would support her brother endlessly. Spearing one of the green beans, Quinn popped it in her mouth and chewed it while thinking about her answer. "Oh, yeah. It's been going really well. I mean, for the most part. There are some things that make me want to pull my hair out but it'll be a lot easier when I can run against the mayor and take the seat for myself." Shifting a little in her seat, Quinn couldn't help but think Carlisle looked uncomfortable. He had to know something was going on with her- Maybe he thought what she was doing was wrong, or disgusting. Biting her bottom lip, she looked down at her plate and then, unable to help herself, she put her fork down and leaned forward slightly. "Car, I know what this is about," she said. "And I know that you probably think it's unconventional or wrong or something, but it's not. It's perfectly normal."

Carlisle

He nodded, even though their father wanted Quinn to be a good housewife with kids, he was glad she was doing what she wanted. That was a lot more than he could say for himself, since the family business was the furthest thing from what he wanted to do. And even though he was sure we figured that part of his lies out, she was supportive anyways, and he would always be supportive of her and her want for being mayor. Carlisle was in the middle of chewing when Quinn said she knew what this was about. Of course she already figured it out, that’s the downside of having a sister as smart as she was. “You do?” He asked once he swallowed,  putting his fork down, “I keep hearing that but it’s still been extremely hard to tell you. Or anyone, for that matter. I’ve kept it a secret for a reason.”

Quinn

"Of course I know," Quinn said, standing up from her seat. This wasn't going to be an easy conversation. In fact, she had never truly considered the probability of what was happening between herself, Hunter, and Sebastian until it actually happened. Carlisle was her brother and he probably wouldn't want to hear any of this. Shock hit her with his next comment. "You've-- kept it a secret? You mean you knew before Aiden told you?" Quinn had been so sure that her recent fake break up resulted in all of her secrets coming to light that she hadn't considered the possibility that her brother already knew. "How long have you known?"

Carlisle

Carlisle nodded, a little surprised she didn’t realize he kept it a secret. “Aiden didn’t have to tell me, I’ve known for years. It was pretty obvious during high school.”  He told her, “When did you figure it out?” If she already knew, what if other people figured it out too? Aiden said that he didn’t know but what if other people knew and he was just kidding himself about being in the closet? That sounded like his nightmare scenario, everyone knowing he’s bisexual while he’s swearing up and down that he’s straight.

Quinn

Quinn slid her hands along the back of her chair, feeling a little confused by his reaction. "Years?" She shook her head slightly. "But.. all of this is new?" As she thought about it, Quinn started to wonder if maybe he had picked up on more than she thought. "I mean, technically, sure - there were a few times in high school. I fooled around with Hunter and Sebastian was my first, but we never were together-together like this back then. Not physically at least." She shrugged, "But yeah, I guess you could say we've kind of always been.. together, in a way?"

Carlisle

As Quinn was talking, he was going to ask what Hunter and Sebastian had to do with him knowing his sexuality. But by the time she finished talking, he realized they were talking about two different things. “I wasn’t talking about you, Hunter, and Sebastian.” Carlisle finally said, though there was a moment where he considered chickening out and pretending that he was talking about their...relationship or whatever was happening between the three of them the whole time. But he needed to tell her. “Aiden told me about that yesterday but I wasn’t planning on talking about it tonight.” Carlisle took a sip of his drink, his throat was suddenly feeling dry now that he knows that Quinn actually has no idea what he wanted to talk to her about.

Quinn

A flush suddenly caught Quinn's face as she realized with his words that they had been talking about two very different things, and she'd just told her brother the details of her past relationship with her two closest friends. "Oh.. I- oh." Her mouth slammed shut like her body was telling her that she really needed to learn when to talk and when to listen. "That's.. only really embarrassing. Nevermind. Forget I--" She cleared her throat and then looked up at her brother, realizing that if he wasn't talking about her, he had been talking about something else she hadn't picked up on. "Wait, then what did you want to talk about?"

Carlisle

She wasn’t the only one who was feeling embarrassed about this whole conversation, he had gotten way more details than he wanted about the three of them, but now it was his turn to actually spill what he wanted to talk about. “I’m bisexual.” Carlisle finally said, bringing his hand up to his hair and messing with it a little, something he usually doesn’t do. “And,” he paused, this was the harder part, telling her this part was harder now, because she wasn’t the first one to know and that was making him feel a little bad, even if it was accidental, “and I’m the closeted guy that Aiden wanted to keep a secret by fake dating you.”

Quinn

A silence fell between the two siblings, and Quinn didn't do anything to stop it. Carlisle was bisexual, and he was the reason Aiden had wanted to fake-date her in the first place. He'd just gone off on her for being involved with his brother when all along he'd been involved with hers? A strong desire to call Aiden and yell at him hit her but just as her fingers itched to grab her phone, Quinn found herself actually hearing what Carlisle had told her. He was bisexual. Despite all those endless times that he swore he was straight, he discovered something deeper about his sexuality. Quinn let out the tension and sudden anger at Aiden, her shoulders slouching slightly. Walking around the table, the woman stepped up to her brother and wordlessly wrapped her arms around his neck, enveloping him into a big hug.

Carlisle

The silence was deafening, and Carlisle’s mind started racing with all kinds of thoughts like ‘what if she actually does have a problem with it?’, ‘what if she was mad that he didn’t tell her?’, and all sorts of other bad scenarios. He didn’t look at her long after telling her, looking back at his food like it was the most interesting thing in the world, but when she wrapped her arms around him and hugged him, he hugged her back. “I’ve wanted to tell you for so long but I was worried, and then I got drunk and texted Aiden to come over and next thing I knew, he had a plan to pretend to date you so that it wouldn’t be suspicious if people see us together. Then we almost ended it last night after he found out about you three and I said I would tell you before you figured out it was me.”

Quinn

"You're such a dummy," Quinn said, not wanting to let him go. Everything they'd said during their miscommunication was replaying in her mind. He'd known since high school and he hadn't felt safe enough to admit it. Or maybe he hadn't wanted to. But whatever the reason, she didn't care. It wasn't the important part. "You're my brother," she said, pulling back so she could look at him. "I love you, no matter who you love or want to be with." A minute later, she shook her head, "I could kill Aiden though. He went off on me when he found out about me and Hunter and this whole time, he was hooking up with you." Giving his arm a squeeze, Quinn said, "Dad won't like it but that doesn't matter. You have me always, you know that?"

Carlisle

Carlisle let out a small laugh when she called him a dummy, “I love you too.” He nodded at her comment about Aiden. “He seemed pretty hurt when he found out about you three.” With her question, he nodded again, their dad will definitely not like it, that’s part of why he’s been deep in the closet for as long as he has. “I know, just like you have me always.” He responded, “No matter what, there’s nothing that can happen to make that change.”

Quinn

"I really don't understand why he was hurt. He literally went into this whole fake-dating thing so he could be with you." Oh she was going to let him have it when she talked to him. But the fact that it was Carlisle made everything make more sense. Dating, he would spend more time around her and her family, which gave him the same opportunities it had given her. Sitting back down in her chair, Quinn smiled at her brother, feeling closer to him than she had. There'd been something weighing on him for a long time but she'd never known what it was until now. "So.. are you going to tell me about it? You and Aiden?" Her brow perked curiously. "Do you love him?"

Carlisle

Carlisle shrugged, “He didn’t want to get into it and I didn’t want to push him when he brought up ending things between us.” When she sat back down and smiled at him, he smiled back. It was insanely difficult to tell her, but now that it was out, he felt a lot better. And part of him was thinking he should have done this way sooner. With her question, he laughed and shook his head, “It only started two weeks ago, and we said last night that we weren’t looking for a relationship.” Though Aiden was definitely special, and obviously really hot, he wasn’t sure if love or relationships was where he was going with him yet, and they also said that they were fucked up enough for each other, no need to worry about a relationship yet.

Quinn

"I'm sorry if anything I did lead to that, to him wanting to end things with you. It sounds like it did." Quinn shook her head, looking down at her food. "I guess I kind of messed things up, huh?" But maybe it wasn't so bad after all because in the end, she was the one lucky enough to have this lead to her brother telling her about himself. "I'm proud of you, you know that? Being able to tell me, to be honest about who you are. It's not easy to do that." She admired him for that. Carlisle had found the strength to be honest about who he was and what he liked or wanted. Quinn still struggled with that and appearances. "Well, wherever it goes, I hope you know that if he breaks your heart, i'll break his neck."

Carlisle

“I think it was just that it would be harder to hide it since you didn’t know about me.” Though he wasn’t sure on that, it was better to think it was because of him being closeted instead of something Quinn did. Hearing her say she’s proud of him made him grin a little, “You’ve done that, wanting to go into politics instead of Dad’s housewife plan.” Carlisle nodded at her warning for Aiden, “I believe it, but I promise he won’t. He’s going to keep sleeping around with whoever he wants and I’m going to keep telling others that I’m straight.”

Quinn

"Listen. I know that Aiden wants nothing to do with me right now but when you talk to him, if he wants to keep our fake relationship going so that you two can still be seen together, I don't mind." Quinn had her own sordid relationship that she was enjoying and needed to figure out so continuing what they had been doing wouldn't be an awful idea - if Aiden could stand to look at her for not telling him about her and Hunter. She smiled when he mentioned her politics. "I'll tell you something from experience. Even after you tell dad, he'll continually pretend that it's just a phase and something you'll grow out of. Get used to a lot of that. But you know that you don't have to keep it a secret if you don't want to. You're a Fabray. You can like whatever you want to like, and if anyone has a problem with that, they can take it up with me."

Carlisle

Carlisle nodded, “I’ll let him know, but I won’t count on it, honestly. If the fake dating doesn’t work out and I still want to keep it a secret, I’m sure we can sneak around well enough.” He was sure their dad would say it was a phase, some ‘mid-20s experimenting’ before he realizes that he’s straight and finds a perfect housewife or something like that. “When you talk like that, you make me forget I’m the older one sometimes.” Not that he hated her threatening to break Aiden’s neck or saying whoever has a problem with him being bisexual can take it up with her, it was nice she cares that much. “Maybe I’ll tell other people at some point, but I’ve been keeping this a secret for so long now and since I panicked about two people knowing, I’ll probably wait a bit.”

Quinn

"I'm an old soul, what can I say?" Plus, Quinn thought, she'd had to always act older. Their father was good at manipulating them to get what he wanted. There only way that she could handle him was by out-thinking him. "Plus, you're my brother, and the only one I have. You know I'd do anything for you." She almost thought that she couldn't imagine having a secret like he did but nothing Quinn had lived through compared to feeling the need to keep your true self secret. "You can tell people whenever you want, or not tell them at all, but if you need my help with anything, please tell me, okay? You don't have to keep it from me. I'll help you however I can, I promise."

Carlisle

He grinned, “That you are.” Carlisle nodded, knowing he would do anything for her too. And at her other sentence, he nodded again, “Okay. I promise I’ll tell you if I need help with anything. Anything you need my help with, I’ll be there.” Aside from their major miscommunication earlier, this dinner was going a lot better than Carlisle was expecting it to.*

Quinn

"Good," Quinn's face lit up, feeling much closer to her brother than she had in a while. They both had such busy lives, especially with him working to take over the family business and her focusing on her political career. Life was hardly easy at times, and having the expectations they did usually made it hard to be as close as they should, but moments like these reminded her that no matter what, her parents disappointments didn't hurt as much if they stuck together.

[adventuresloane]

you still got that story, tell it every morning

Read on AO3

As always, she woke with the sun. That wasn't a dryad thing, had nothing to do with the fact that she had a sixth sense--and a seventh and an eighth--about the natural world nowadays. It was a her thing. Hurley had been in the habit of it long before everything that had happened. It just so happened that now, when the honey-colored light of dawn dripped in through the blinds, she felt flowers unfurl around her head, and the sap beneath her skin ran warmer.

Her mother used to call her Sunshine because of it. Sloane still did, but only in Elvish. Aure. Though that was only when she felt particularly generous. Mostly, she called Hurley crazy for getting up so early on purpose.

Aside from the sunlight, Sloane was the first thing she saw when she woke. Of course, she was still sleeping. She was never the first up if she could help it. (And if she was, it meant she was still reeling from a nightmare.) One of her arms was at her side, the other stretched above her head and sprawled over the pillow. Hurley smiled as she saw the new day's soft rays touch her cheek and give it a sheen like that of polished walnut. Sloane's chest did not rise and fall, because none of them needed to breathe anymore. (That had taken some getting used to. In the first few weeks after the change, panic had risen like water to fill up the cavity in her chest every time she woke to find Sloane not breathing. Then she would remember.) But Hurley saw her feathery lashes twitch and flutter as she dreamed.

She couldn't resist moving aside some strands of hair that had fallen over Sloane's right eye. Sloane's nose wrinkled as she lightly brushed against it. She sniffed, made a ridiculous noise in the back of her throat like something halfway between a groan and a purr, and nestled her face deeper into the pillow. Hurley breathed out the quietest laugh she could.

Before, she would have been out of bed by now, already dressed for a jog. These days, she lingered in bed, in the shared warmth of two bodies. She stayed long enough to watch the golden, molten rays of dawn solidify into the sharper, brighter light of day. When, at last, she decided to get up, she shifted her body slowly until she was out from under the covers, careful not to make the mattress squeak.

She had one foot already on the floor when she felt a hand in hers. Turning around, she saw Sloane peering at her, eyes half-lidded and still cloudy with sleep. Hurley smiled and went over to her, touching their foreheads together. She felt Sloane's contented sigh against her lips when they kissed. "Good morning, beautiful," she whispered after they pulled apart. "Sorry if I woke you."

Sloane brought their lips together once more. The kiss was languorous, her eyes still closed, and she was slow to pull away. "Babe," she mumbled, "come back to bed."

Hurley chuckled and gently touched her nose to Sloane's. "Nah, I'm gonna get some exercise." Then she added with a smirk, "Unless you want to come with me."

"Ew," she answered, voice heavy and sluggish with exhaustion.

Hurley snorted. "That's what I thought." She pecked Sloane on the forehead one last time before turning away. "Then I'll see you in a bit."

Before Hurley could fully sit up again, a pair of long, thin arms wrapped around her waist and yanked her back down. She landed on the sheets with a soft whump and, before she could protest, had her cheek smushed unceremoniously against her girlfriend's side. "Sloane!" she screeched in between the giggles that bubbled up out of her. "Come on, let me up!"

Sloane nuzzled her neck, which was already flushed with laughter. Hurley noticed that her skin, at the moment, did not have the rough feeling of the bark that sometimes grew over it. Instead, she felt more like the new wood of a young tree, flexible and supple. "Stay here," she said in an almost-whine, squeezing Hurley to her like a teddy bear as she settled back onto the pillow. Hurley would bet every cent in Goldcliff's bank vaults that she was playing up her sleepiness for sympathy.

"Why?"

"Still tired."

"So go back to sleep."

"Can't, unless you're here."

Hurley rolled her eyes, still jittery with laughter. "You don't need me to go to sleep." She squirmed out of Sloane's grip and tried to move away again. "Anyway, you know I can never go back to sleep again once I'm awake. Now I'm--Sloane, seriously, don't--" And like that, three times her weight's worth of half-elf flopped over on top of her and successfully pinned her to the mattress. "Oh, you fucking asshole."

Above her, Sloane chuckled. She felt the laughter resonate inside herself. "I let you get away with murder," she grumbled, grinning.

"You always did."

Hurley turned back to look at her. "Listen, if I'm staying in this bed, we're going to do something more fun than sleeping." To her satisfaction, for the first time all morning, Sloane's eyes snapped open fully. All of a sudden, they looked awake.

She turned onto her back so she could look up at Sloane more easily. Smirking, she reached one hand up to rest on the back of Sloane's neck. The other slipped under her lover's waistband, her finger trailing lazily along the line of fine hair that started at her navel and ran down. Sloane shut her eyes slowly and let out a breath that shuddered slightly.

And then, while she was distracted, Hurley wriggled out from under her and scurried out of the bedroom. "I win!" she called lightly from the hall.

"Hey! That wasn't fair!"

Hurley laughed as she walked away. It was, in fact, a little unfair, but she would make up for it later. They both appreciated delayed gratification.

She stepped into the kitchen that they never used. Neither of them had any reason to eat, and food lost all its taste on their almost wooden tongues. She stood for a few minutes in the square of sunlight cast from the window onto the tile. Energy tingled in her limbs and leaves sprung from the tips of her fingers.

She glanced at the couple of small, potted saplings sitting near the windows. They were originally cuttings from the towering tree in the city center--their tree--that Hurley had magicked into growing up quickly. It hadn't taken them long to realize that, as dryads, they would become weak if they spent an appreciable amount of time away from the ever-blooming cherry. She and Sloane had taken one look at each other and one look at the threads of dusty road that stretched miles into the desert and had known that wouldn't work. They got creative. So long as they were near a living part of the tree, or an offshoot of it, they would be fine. (Sloane had figured that out, but she had asked Hurley to use her powers to make the cuttings grow.) They always took a pot with them when they went out in one of the wagons, and by now had almost gotten over the silliness of strapping a tree into the backseat. Another stayed in their house, which they had selected specifically because it was in a quieter area of the city, away from the bustling center at the meeting place of the rivers.

She could hear the potted plants. They whispered with voices like wind hissing through long grass. Trees told stories all the time, quietly recounting all that they had seen in their many years. She had learned that, since the change. She shushed the saplings gently, and they quieted. The ability to understand plants didn't bother her, but Sloane disliked their murmuring. One late night, she had told Hurley, not making eye contact, that the Sash had sounded the same way. Susurrus.

Footsteps padded up behind her. "Hey, you got up!"

Sloane came up next to her, and Hurley had to bite back a laugh at the overdone pout on her face. "That really was a dick move," she grumbled. But she still stood close enough to Hurley for their arms to touch.

Hurley was about to make a retort when she looked back at Sloane and saw the scale-like patches of bark growing on her body. They would form a tough outer layer for protection, only there was no clear danger here. It was an expression of anxiety--she knew her lover well enough to know that. It was just like Sloane's other, equally subconscious habit of wrapping her arms around her belly when she got nervous as though to shield her core. She was doing that now, too. A defensive gesture, albeit one that would have no effect against the threat of her own thoughts corroding her from the inside.

"Are you okay?"

Sloane did not respond for awhile, simply furrowing her brow at the window. Outside, the city had woken fully. Bits of muffled conversation could be heard over the constant din of footsteps on the sidewalk and carts rolling in the street. Without warning, she blurted at last, "Are you happy?"

"Yes." Hurley's response was instantaneous.

"I was just thinking...you didn't have much of a choice in all this. Up to and including being, you know, immortal. Well, sort of immortal."

"Alive as long as the tree's alive. Which--" She paused to tap her knuckles against her head. "--it will be for a very long time."

"Did you just 'knock on wood' by knocking on yourself?"

"Too much?"

"Terrible. That was maybe your worst joke ever." Nonetheless, Sloane's lips, which had been pressed into a thin line, loosened into a smile. "What I'm saying is our entire lives changed in a literal flash, and now you're spending sort-of forever as a lady with tree powers, and you didn't really have a say in your whole fucking existence being turned on its head."

"Being a tree-powered sort-of immortal is objectively pretty fucking rad, you know."

"Has its downsides," Sloane murmured. "You know that."

"So did my old life. And I can't even explain to you how happy I am to leave that behind."

There was quiet for another few long moments. She almost thought that Sloane was ready to drop it when she said, in a near whisper, "And you're okay being stuck with me all that time?"

"What?"

She took a deep breath and went on, "We're sort of...bound, I guess? We're going to go through our whole lives being connected, since we're both tied to that cherry tree. And that's...I know that's what I want, definitely, but it's kind of a lot to ask of you..." She trailed off. Hurley stared at her for awhile, at the long and dextrous fingers that still set her off tingling when they brushed her cheek, at the downcast eyes that were the same color as the leaves peeking out through the dark hair.

Then she shook her head a little and playfully shoved Sloane in the chest. "You dumb lesbian, I drove off a fucking cliff for you. Did you really think I wasn't in this for the long haul?"

Sloane laughed, loudly, partly out of something like relief. Her expression relaxed instantly. Hurley grinned and wrapped her arms around her, standing on tiptoes enough to bury her face in Sloane's chest. More quietly, Hurley continued, "Listen, what you're saying isn't true. I made the choice to change my whole life when I decided I wanted us to be together, way before any plant magic. And gods, Sloane, you have no idea how happy I am that everything in my life got turned around. I...sometimes I just stop in my tracks and think about whether it's really possible that I can be this lucky, or if I'm imagining it. I never even thought we'd be able to live together and be open like this, let alone have all the time in the world to enjoy it. It's like it's too good to be true."

"I think that too," Sloane said.

"I know." And she did. She sometimes ribbed Sloane over how clingy she'd gotten since the incident with the Sash. How, whenever they were in the same room, they had to be touching. How she became disappointed even when Hurley left the bedroom in the morning. It seemed that, for Sloane, feeling Hurley solid against her was like pinching herself to ensure that she wasn't dreaming, that both of them were, really, still there, despite everything. Hurley knew, because she felt the same way.

"Well, it is true," Hurley said. She held on a little more tightly. "I've got you now."

(Thanks for reading! Reblogs and comments help me a lot!)

[kimnamjooonz]

London Calling - Chapter 1

Cambridge 

Okay, this is my second project. I started writing it in early 2017, one week after I heard about Seb for the first time (yeah, I know I was late). He stole my heart in fifteen minutes and I started writing stuff like this.  So... this is it. 

Songs that inspired this Chapter: 

Piece of my Heart - Janis Joplin

It’s My Life - Bon Jovi

And basically any Queen Song from the first Greatest Hits album.

Summary:

After getting bored of the academic life at the University of Cambridge, young Celine Cadwallader moves to London trying to find new challenges. Meanwhile, international movie star, Sebastian Stan keeps trying to expand his horizons. They will cross paths in a way either of them know.

Cambridge, England. March 2016

It was Celine's last night in Cambridge and her friends had decided to make a special farewell party to her. And that meant drinks, snacks, a bonfire and Charlie's crappy covers of Oasis songs. She had spent the last ten years in Cambridge, nine of them getting two doctorates and the one left working as part of the Faculty of History's Research Team. Life was decently good. She had her friends, a little flat and the perspective of maybe being successful in the field of History. She had two PhDs after all. Well, all of her friends had at least one. But Celine was ambitious and in the last months she had started to feel a bit stuck in Cambridge and had decided to expand her horizons. London seemed to be the best place for a historian. The only downside was that none of her friends were joining her in her adventure. ''I hope you don't end up working as a guide in the Tower of London'' commented Joel, one of Celine's closest friends. ''Explaining stuff to school children''. All of them laughed. It was widely known that Celine wasn't at all fond of kids. ''I already have a job'' she commented, while devouring a couple of Maltesers. ''I'm an assistant at the Spanish Embassy. Better than the school children''. ''And do you have a house?'' asked Amy, another of her friends. ''If you want to call it a house... I prefer to call it 'shoebox' ''. ''In every movie I saw the London adventure doesn't start this way'' added Alize, another member of the group. ''Because life is not a movie and I can't afford a house in Notting Hill or Covent Garden. I guess South London will be my Kensington. At least I can stay in a place with a roof. That's something''. Everyone was very used to Celine's dark sense of humour. ''Promise one thing'' said Charlie, who had stopped strumming his guitar. ''That if you fail in London you'll be back here with us.'' ''Thank you for your faith'' she said with sarcasm. ''But yes, I can promise if by March next year I haven't moved to a nicer place and made at least one friend and gotten a promotion, I'll be back''. ''And also a boyfriend'' added Joel. ''Shut up, idiot, that's out of the question.'' Celine's love life had been completely nonexistent with the exception of a boyfriend she had had nine years ago. They had lasted a week and had gone to only one date. Not that she cared. ''Do you even know where Danny is?'' asked Charlie, referring to Celine's old boyfriend. Honestly, Celine had no idea. She had even forgotten how he looked like. ''I know.'' said Joel, who knew everything about everybody. He was Cambridge's King of gossip. ''He graduated and now he's a doctor in County Durham. And he's married''. ''BORING'' shouted Celine and Charlie. ''Yeah, because is so much better to live in a room in South London'' debated Amy with sarcasm. ''And being a proud member of the Fellowship with no Rings, that you invented and has three members: Charlie, Joel and you''. ''At least is exciting'' Celine defended herself. ''It's London, baby. And my Fellowship is great''. After that the conversation shifted to some other topics like the government, the upcoming Glastonbury festival that they were not attending and the next nerd movies they were going to see. Celine wasn't included in the last topic as she was clueless about almost everything that was trendy. ''...I can't wait for Captain America: Civil War'' said Amy. ''Captain America vs Iron Man. That movie is going to destroy Batman v Superman''. ''Sebastian Stan!'' yelled Alize. ''I'm in whatever team he's in''. ''Team Cap, of course'' said Joel, rolling his eyes. As Celine didn't know any of these people she just stared at the fire. Thankfully the conversation switched to football. ''If Real Madrid gets to the Champion's League final, we'd go to London and see the match together. Like in 2014'' proposed Joel. Celine's eyes lit up. ''That was the most crazy and best day ever''. ''It's getting cold'' moaned Amy. ''I guess we should make Joel pay his bet and let's go inside and sing some karaoke'' said Charlie. Between them they were all the time betting and the loser had to have his or her underwear burnt in the next bonfire. Celine was glad that she had never lost one of these bets. ''Celine, if you want to do the honours...'' Joel threw his underwear at Celine's feet. ''You're leaving tomorrow. Damn, this is painful. I'm talking about the underwear. They're Calvin Klein''. Charlie laughed. ''Yeah, Calvin Klein that you bought on the street market''. ''It's what this humble Doctor in astrophysics can afford''. he sounded affected but he obviously wasn't. ''Celine, make sure your London boyfriend that you don't have yet wears real Calvin Kleins not this pitiful imitation'' Charlie remarked. Celine just rolled her eyes and grabbed a stick to throw Joel's underwear into the fire. There was no way she was going to touch it. ''This is for never growing up!'' yelled Celine, throwing the underwear into the fire. The other four cheered her.

Half an hour later they were far from tired and all them were into a karaoke competition. It was Celine's turn and she was 'singing' Janis Joplin's Piece of my heart with Joel who was singing the backing vocals. ''OH COME ON, COME ON, COME ON, COME ON AND TAKE IT, TAKE IT! TAKE ANOTHER LITTLE PIECE OF MY HEART NOW, BABY OH OH BREAK IT! BREAK ANOTHER LITTLE PIECE OF MY HEART, DARLING, YEAH, YEAH, YEAH, HAVE A! HAVE ANOTHER LITTLE PIECE OF MY HEART NOW BABY! YOU KNOW YOU GOT IT IF IT MAKES YOU FEEL GOOD!'' ''This may be the best musical duet since John Travolta and Olivia Newton John in Grease singing You're the one that I want.'' Charlie commented to Alize and Amy. ''They are going to leave me deaf'' complained Alize. ''It could be worse.'' said Amy. ''I'm not saying that Celine is the next Beyonce but she sings better than she cooks. Charles, I'm worried. I don't know how she's going to survive out there with such poor house skills. The woman has two doctorates but she can't feed herself properly''. ''Relax, Amy. She'll be okay. Celine's made of iron. Apart from that if the London adventure doesn't work out for her, she'll be back with us''. When Celine and Joel finished their song, it was Charlie and Amy's turn. ''I promised I was not going to drink but I don't think that a beer will do much damage'' she told Joel and Alize. ''You know what you're doing, Celine Elizabeth'' Joel smiled and handed her a beer. ''Remember you're leaving early tomorrow'' Alize warned her. A beer might not have been much to a normal person but for Celine it was like drinking a bottle of vodka. She had alcohol intolerance and a sip of a strong drink could leave her singing on the table with no shame. That was something that had happened many times before. They finished the night dancing to Charlie and Amy's horrendous karaoke version of Bon Jovi's It's My Life.

The next morning it was clear that Alize had been right and Celine shouldn't have drank. At nine am she was standing in the platform of the train station with the rest of the group, ready to leave to London. She looked terrible, pale and had to wear sunglasses to cover the bags under her eyes and a hood to cover her messy hair. ''Okay, I'll see you guys soon.'' the only thing she wanted was to be on her seat and sleep. The trip wasn't very long unfortunately. ''We're just 50 minutes away, it's not that you're leaving to... Manhattan'' said Charlie. ''Don't be a jackass'' warned her Amy. ''If you meet Tom Hiddleston by some chance, hook up with him and tell me all about it'' said Alize making Celine roll her eyes. ''Get a boyfriend!'' yelled Joel and she showed him the middle finger. ''Goodbye, idiots!'' shouted Celine. ''See you when I'm a millionaire!''

50 minutes later she was taking a taxi from King's Cross to South London. She had been in London many times before so she knew exactly where everything was. Pr almost everything. The neighbourhood where she was going to live wasn't exactly very nice but at least it wasn't a red zone. And it had a Greggs a block away. Brilliant. After paying the cab she went towards the building. It looked very similar to the Number 12 of Grimmauld Place in the Harry Potter series. Except from the magical stuff. In less than ten minutes Celine met the landlady (a lively Scottish woman with a thick accent) who guided her to her 'flat'. It looked more like a room with a bathroom with a bed and small table that had a kettle. At least it had a window. ''Darlin', the kettle and the mattress are brand new and they are yours to keep. When you move you can take them with you''. A free kettle and a mattress. Sweet. ''Thank you so much Mrs. Donaldson.'' ''Anytime, Doctor Cadwallader''. After she left her alone, Celine started tiding the place and placing her few belongings wherever she could. She had left more things in Cambridge with the hope that Joel would take good care of them for the moment. She made the bed, put her clothes under it, stored the bathroom with some essentials, placed her Macbook beside the kettle and stored some snacks and cookies in any place she could. Yeah, it wasn't so bad. It wasn't very different from the first dorm she had had at Cambridge. It was good for starters. She had been lying face down on the bed for quite a while when her phone rang. It was Joel who was texting her. 'Celine Elizabeth, if you fail in London your underwear is burnt in the next bonfire'.

The Cast:

Sophie Skelton from Outlander is more or less how I imagine  Celine. She looks strong and smart at the same time.

Ben Hardy aka Bo Rhap’s Roger Taylor as Joel

Alberto Rosende aka Simon in Shadowhunters ( I LOVE him) as Charlie:

Mandip Gill aka Yazmin (from the latest season of Doctor Who, that is awesome btw) as Amy.

And Freema Agyeman aka Martha Jones from Doctor Who (I loved Martha and Doctor 10 so much my heart hurts) as Alize.

I don’t know why I do stuff like this but  I love casting people.

And I’m just setting up the story so I won’t introduce Mr. Stan yet because it’ll make no sense. I’m sorry but you’ll have to wait a lil. 

P.S- If someone wants to be tagged, just ask me. 

Tag: @delicatecapnerd, because you askem me ;)

Just comment, like if you want and thanks for reading.

[atenementfunster]

all the more reason, chapter 2

ao3 link here!

Roger Taylor, dead as a doorknob, and his best friend John Deacon (also dead) meet some blokes who are decidedly NOT. Dead, that is.

(aka that ghost au that no one asked for, featuring Gay Panic™, John’s sass, and Brian being too endearing for this world. the overall vibe of the fic is not sad, if that’s a concern for you!)

It’s not enough.

Roger can’t stop thinking about him. The feel of fingers on his skin like a livewire, ready to ignite any waiting spark. Warm eyes, sloped back, every inch of him delicate, like he’s worried the world around him is a breakable thing. Torture, basically, is what Roger is currently experiencing; want over something he might not ever get. Plus, the dead don’t sleep, so that level of reprieve is non-existent.

Someone else would call this infatuation. Roger just calls it - well, it’s a bit of an infatuation, actually, but his reasoning is sound. He’s not crazy, he’s just normally an invisible man among those still enjoying the luxuries of everyday life. The fact that one of said people can see him? And didn’t run screaming for the hills?

Roger’s allowed to be just a little bit in love with him.

The professor at the front of the hall shifts her lecture from ecological interactions to biomechanics, and Roger rises from the floor with a grunt. University is usually a good follow up to a long night (full of brooding, as John rudely put it), but even the core marine biology lectures can’t keep his attention. He’s wandering halls he’s only known the past year, going through doors he’s never touched. It’s a reminder, and not always a painful one; sometimes it’s nice to realize he can go wherever he wants with no penalty. Not being chained to one major, learning what he wants on his own time, and no deadlines as far as the eye can see? The only downside is he had to be literally dead to experience it.

It’s raining, which of course doesn’t matter, and Roger makes his way from the science building over to the design hall, hands in his pockets and eyes cast to the sky.

“How is it,” a voice says behind him, “that you barely made it to class while you were alive, but now that you’re dead you can’t stay away?”

“I liked sleep,” Roger says, deadpan, but chases it with a grin. “Come off, I was a good student. Don’t be jealous.”

Crystal ruffles his hair, bangs pouring over into his eyes. Roger swats at him and kicks his ankle.

“You look like an angry tomcat,” is the reply as Chris Taylor steps to the side, gracefully avoiding tripping over the curb. Roger sees it, and still manages to stumble a bit as he straightens his hair.

“And whose fault is that anyway?”

“Yours you twit, shoulda cut it when you had the chance.”

Roger shoves him further into the street, then fluffs his hair with a saunter. “Looking a little green there, Chris.”

“You wish.”

They walk in amicable silence, the rain easing up to a light mist. Students and professors alike brave the slick sidewalks, some with their bags over their manicured hair, others just bothering with their upturned collars. For a time, reflex caught Roger doing the same, but he’s long since moved past it. Now the chill is only imagined, and if he closes his eyes, sometimes he can pretend he can feel the moisture as it tickles his cheeks.

When he opens them, he sees a striking head of damp curls, and walks into a pole.

“Forget how to walk through ‘em, mate?” Crystal says on a laugh, hand out to steady him. Roger, holding his aching face, spins and hides behind the closest thing he can find, which is a post box.

Crystal now, naturally, thinks his friend had lost his mind.

“Also forget the part where they can't see you?”

“Shut up,” Roger grouses, but doesn't rise. “Of all the bloody odds.” Is the man stalking him? Can you die twice? Is he legitimately insane?

While Roger is enjoying a spiritual and emotional crisis, Crystal calls out over his head, “oh, hello, John. Ignore him, he’s off his rocker today.”

Roger stands up so fast his hair gets in his mouth. “Deaky!”

Said man is staring at him with one delicate brow arched, hands on his hips as he looks at him with thinly veiled judgement. Before he can speak, however, Roger steamrolls over him.

“It's him! With the hair, and long fingers!”

Too much, and too high-pitched.

“Oh, so it is. Small world.” He sounds like Roger's just told him a fun fact about marsupials.

“Damn it, John!” There is zero shame in stomping his foot in a situation like this.

“Okay, someone planning on filling me in?” Crystal asks, waving his hands for emphasis.

“See that student over there, mess of curly hair?” John points him out as he hops the curb and makes his way over to the quad, indifferent to the drizzle overhead. “Looks like he’s going to the library, Roger. That's perfect.”

“Nothing about this is perfect.” He resolutely turns his back on the man, arms crossed and feet planted.

The look that John gives him is withering. “Rog here has an admirer.”

Crystal blinks. “That bloke's dead? Looked pretty alive and well to me.”

“He does indeed.”

“Listen, the two of you,” Roger all but shouts, turning on them with a glare. “If I have to hunt him down and prove to you that what happened yesterday was a fluke, then fine.”

John waves his hand in front of him, a beckoning gesture of royalty. “By all means.”

The noise that comes out of Roger's mouth is, quite frankly, inhuman, but away he goes. John and Crystal follow, the former a picture of calm and the latter of confusion. The head of hair and long legs they're following has a quick stride, but they see him duck into the uni library easily enough. Roger manages to walk through the door and not into it, so that's helpful at least, and soon they're face to face with the familiar Imperial London College library.

“He's over there,” John says, pointing over Roger's shoulder. Sure enough, he’s at an old mahogany desk, pulling papers out of his waterlogged bag.

Before either of them can saying anything more to piss him off, Roger walks toward him, doing his best to ignore the butterflies beating hell on his ribcage.

“Uh, hey.”

Roger would like nothing more than to sink into the floor.

The man looks up, mouth slightly ajar, eyes lighting up in recognition after a moment’s pause. “Oh, hi,” he says, tone light with mild surprise. There's dots of dew still clinging to his curly locks, haloing his head like so many stars.

Roger stares, licks his lips, and says absolutely nothing. He can still see him. He can still see him. John is right, or maybe Crystal is, maybe he's insane. Maybe his eyes just aren't working right, or he just died recently and doesn't know he's dead, god, wouldn't that be tragic -

One thought cuts through the chaos, errant but demanding. It means something.

“Just,” Roger blurts, a little too loud for the setting, and a little too delayed for normal conversation. “Wanted to apologize for yesterday. Saw you from the biology section and figured I should, y’know. Was a little off, yesterday, felt stupid.”

Every word comes easier, and by now the bemused grin is natural.

The man, whose expression had been rather locked tight, eases. He smiles, a little thing, and says “no harm done. You alright then? Seemed a bit shaken up.”

“Yeah - yeah no, I'm fine,” Roger says quickly, tucking one hand deep in his pocket. “Weird day is all. Got a bad habit of not looking where I'm going half the time, drives my mates nuts.” Under normal circumstances, anyone bumping into him like might've resulted in a fistfight on a bad day, a brash insult on a good one. But those weren't exactly those sort of circumstances.

“I'm Roger, by the way, Roger Taylor.” Holding his hand out over the desk is one of the easiest and hardest things he thinks he's ever done. Simple, but the fear of rejection has never been so poignant. What will he do, if his hand just keeps on going, passing straight through?

“Brian May. A pleasure.”

His grip is soft and warm, and Roger makes sure to let go before it becomes awkward, even though he never wants to. His fingers tingle as his hand drops to his sides. To keep from saying something ridiculous like how are you so pretty or thanks for touching me, he asks, “I don't think I've seen you around, what do you study?”

“Oh,” Brian says, eyebrows up as he looks down at his notes and the two big books they're resting on. “Astrophysics. Interplanetary dust, actually. Got the midterm coming up, so,” he adds, waving a hand at the notes. Roger is only half listening, thoughts still focused on the feel of his hand in his.

“Right,” Roger says. “Mine are too.”

He hears a muffled “oh Lord” behind him, and it takes everything in his power not to turn around and glare. “Should probably get back to it, actually,” he says, raking a hand through his hair. “Hopefully I'll see you around?”

“Definitely. Good luck on yours,” Brian says with a sweet smile. His downcast eyes don't really feel like a dismissal, especially when, as Roger turns, he looks back up at him and quirks another smile, almost like a secret.

Roger is incredibly fucked.

[asimpleclosetwriter]

Chapter I part II

She woke up in the middle of the night, her back and head soaking wet from a nightmare she couldn't remember. She assumed she'd been dreaming of the dark man, so she decided to light on her lamp, but the power seemed to have been cut. Damn it. She fumbled around in the dark to try and find her phone. When she finally reached it, she switched on the flash and using this make-do torch lamp, she got up and went out of her room. She got down to the kitchen and poured herself a glass of water. As she was looking for something to eat, she saw two small and bright circles in the corner of the room.

“No, not circles”, thought Melody as she studied them closer. Eyes. Wait, eyes? What could they belong to?

She heard a deep rumble and checked the window to see if a storm was breaking out outside but she saw nothing of the sort, it was a calm night. She felt a drop of water fall on her finger. Then another. Then another. It kept going until she was completely covered by a layer of raindrops. The rain followed her movements as she moved her arm and took a step. She knew she should've felt wet with so much water surrounding her, but as she touched her skin with her other hand, she felt dry skin with no water around it. She looked back up and it wasn't one pair of eyes that stared back at her, but dozens of them, one on top of the other. She heard howling, and suddenly the rain fell, dripping on every inch of Melody's skin. Terrified, she went back running into her room and crawled to her bed as she fell. She heard loud banging and howling through her door, and she closed her eyes trying to make it go away.

Then... She woke up. Soaking wet again, her heart beating so fast and so strongly she thought it was about to pierce through her chest. A she got up, her knees started shaking from her nightmare, she saw her legs were wet too, like in her dream. Confused and scared, she went into the bathroom and took a towel from the pile on the side of the shower. As she dried herself, the smell of morning dew invaded her senses and her mind bringing her to a world at peace with a beautiful sunrise. She shook her head and tried not to think about how the dew-smell fitted conveniently into her dream. She went back to bed to sleep a bit more, since she still had school in the morning, but she couldn’t forget all of the different feelings and emotions that had filled her: the peace as she was surrounded by the rain then the genuine terror that had overtaken her when the dew had fallen. She tossed and turned and fussed for half and hour but finally managed to get some sleep, undisturbed by nightmares or dreams until her alarm clock rang and she had to get up.

She yawned as she stretched her arms as she always did in the morning, and then cracked her fingers. She opened her eyes to meet with an odd vision: a blue tint covered the tips of her fingers, as if she had dipped them in paint then tried to wash some of it off. She sat up and blinked three times to check whether she was still asleep or not, then pinched herself to double check. He fingers didn’t change: they stubbornly kept their light blue shade. Melody couldn’t help but think this must’ve had something to do with her dream and the morning dew smell that still stuck to her skin this morning. She got up and walked to her mirror and saw that her hair tips had also faded to the same unusual color. She tried to arrange it in a way that could hide it, lifting it in all sorts of ways, but her tips always found a way to make themselves visible. In the end she gave up and got dressed in her usual grey outfit, but decided to change for a blue grey hoodie to try and blend her hair with her clothes and make it less noticeable.

She anxiously got down, a bit scared about how her parents were going to react. They seemed to notice the hair — good, she wasn’t going crazy then — but not the fingers — ok maybe she was going crazy —.

“What’d you do to your hair honey?” asked her mom.

“Oh, uh, I put a bit of color on it to celebrate a great grade I got on an essay. I got an A with more bonuses for later papers. Is that ok?”

“Well even if it wasn’t, it’s done now.” said her mother with a smile. “But of course it is, honey. Just as long as you don’t dye it all…” added her mother with a warning look.

“Yeah, no, I know the rule mom.” answered Melody.

“Good! Then I have nothing to add, except, why is there a puddle of water in front of the sink? I thought there might’ve been a leak…”

“Oh, uhm, yeah sorry I got up in the night and I dropped my glass but I was kind of asleep I think.”

“Right… Well, no worries, no damage done, just don’t forget to take a bottle next time ok? Less work for me.  Now, get to school you! Oh and don’t forget you paper!” said her mother as she pointed to Melody’s essay, sitting on the kitchen table.

“Thanks mom! Bye!” said Melody as she grabbed the essay and left the house.

                                                             ***

So, apparently Melody was cool now.

Having colored hair had lifted her social status and people were now asking to sit with her at lunch. Many asked her how she’d done it and if her parents knew about it or if they’d be mad when they learnt, and hundreds of other questions that Melody had to lie through. Every kid in school stared at her in the corridors or whispered to their friends, never taking their invading stares off her. Unused to this kind of attention, Melody sought refuge in the girls’ bathroom where she locked herself in one of the toilets and sat down.

She relaxed her tense shoulders and took a few deep breaths while closing her eyes. When she was feeling better she grabbed her bag, and searched for a specific item: a black beanie she always kept in he bag in case the weather changed drastically in the middle of the day. She shoved it on her head and tucked her hair in it, hoping this would at least attenuate the staring. She unlocked the door and closed her eyes again for a few seconds, standing in front of the door. As she opened it, the door almost hit three girls that were standing in front of it, obviously spying on Melody. They quickly moved away and let Melody pass. She sighed: it seemed the beanie wasn’t going to do the trick since everyone on campus already knew her. She bitterly took it off, walking towards the bathroom’s mirrors as the three girls silently watched her every movement. She gave them an exasperated look and they took off as fast as they possibly could. Here was a perk of being popular: authority. Maybe this whole thing wasn’t so bad after all. Then she remembered the feeling of the stares on her neck and shoulders and the whispers following her everywhere she went and decided that a bit of authority wasn’t enough to cancel those downsides. She stared at herself in the mirror and noticed another small change in her appearance. Her usually grey eyes were now lined with a small circle of blue around the edges of her irises. At least this wasn’t very visible, except if you studied her very closely. Which was what everyone was currently doing. Damn it. How was she supposed to explain that now? She thought about how weird people would think her fingers were if they could see them. Yeah that was fortunate, otherwise this whole situation would’ve been much, much worse.

She looked at her watch and saw that she was late. She snapped her finger as she shouted “DAMN IT”. A coat of raindrops instantly appeared around the hand she’d snapped as the smell of morning dew invaded her senses once more and peace overtook her as she watched the rain follow her fingers’ movements. Amazed, she snapped her other hand and watched the little raindrops appear around her second hand.

Captured in the quiet contemplation of her hands, she forgot time, school and her life. She snapped both her hands' fingers at the same time, and felt the atmosphere around her change as the rain crawled from her fingers to the tips of her hair to her shoulders, back, legs and toes. She felt her body fill with a new sensation: wholeness. She stayed in this position for an undetermined lapse of time, closing her eyes and crying dry tears, from an emotion she couldn’t quite place, that joined their sisters around Melody’s body. When she moved she felt like she was made of water, moving as a wave does in the sea. Every inch of her all the way to her core shifted with every move. She sensed the water pulsing around and inside her and her skin tingled with every breath.

A sharp ringing brought her back to reality, breaking her peace and just like that, the water evaporated, leaving her breathless. This time it didn’t pour on her, but only returned to its original place in the room. It took her several seconds to realize the ringing was from the school, notifying students and teachers alike that classes were about to start. She shook herself from top to bottom and checked her watch. She’d missed 2 classes already! Melody ran out of the bathroom to her next class, hoping they would let her in, even after missing 2 hours. Fortunately, her teacher had been late so she got in right before he closed the door. She felt the stares again, but didn’t care anymore.

As she sat down, she tapped her index against her table, trying to figure out what triggered the dew and immediately saw rain cover her finger, called to her skin. She hid it under the table and tapped her other fingers around it, which instantly extended the dew to those fingers. Caught up in her observations, she didn’t hear her teacher asking her to present her essay. He had to repeat it three times before she snapped (quite literally) out of her daze.

“MISS LAVISH! Do I need to threaten you with detention or would you rather kindly hand in your paper and come back to our world?” asked the irritated teacher.

“Oh uhm, sorry sir. I was… uh… daydreaming.” said Melody as she gave her teacher her paper.

“Yes, I saw that. Do you think dying your hair blue now allows you to not pay attention in class?” answered the teacher.

“No, no… I’m sorry, it won’t happen again.” said Melody with her best contrite look.

“Good. If I catch you at it again, you will get detention this Friday.”

Melody shook her head as an answer and her teacher proceeded to collect the rest of the papers. She banged her head with her hand for being so careless, but noticed the blue tips of her fingers had grown to her first knuckle. She wondered if her hair had done the same thing. And her eyes. Were her eyes going to turn entirely blue some day? She stopped herself from continuing this line of thoughts as she felt herself drifting away again. She focused on all the small noises around her to anchor herself to reality, tuning in to the other students’ whispers, their pens clicking as they changed colors, or their legs shifting positions. All of these small sounds kept her grounded for the remainder of the day.

                                                           ***

Back home, Melody went straight to her room, excited to try her new “dew-powers” without interruption. She was about to snap her fingers when her mother knocked on her door. Melody sighed but got up to open her door.

“Hey honey, you principal called. He said you were late to three of your classes, and that you weren’t paying attention in any of them. He said he’s worried about you and asked us to check in on you to see if there wasn’t anything going on at school, maybe with the other kids… What happened today?” asked her mother, sitting on her Melody’s bed.

“I don’t know, I couldn’t focus today… I was pretty tired too.” Melody quickly invented.

“Does it have anything to do with you dyeing your hair? And wearing contacts?”

Damn it. She had noticed the eyes then. So much for going unnoticed. But Melody couldn’t tell her mom “yeah well basically, when I snap my fingers dew appears around them, I have been followed by a dark ghost and I saw dozens of glowing eyes last night”. So instead, she went with:

“I don’t know, mom. I’m not sure what’s happening to me…”

Well, that wasn’t exactly a lie.

“Do you wanna talk about it?” asked her mom, concerned.

“I don’t know what there would be to talk about, since I don’t know what’s going on.”

That wasn’t exactly a lie either. Melody hoped this would do the trick and that her mother would leave, but it didn’t.

“Is this about a boy?” asked her mom with a suspicious tone.

“A boy?” said Melody’s dad as he passed in front of his daughter’s room. “Now that’s a conversation I need to hear.” he added entering the room sitting opposite his wife on Melody’s bed.

Boy, how wrong they were. On SO many levels. But Melody went with it since it was an easy escape.

“Maybe…” she said, with a small voice, which seemed to convince her parents, who gave each other a knowing look.

“And he’s the reason you’ve been acting all strange these days?” asked her dad.

Was it really so obvious?

“I dunno, maybe…” answered Melody, giving them a performance her theater teacher would be proud of. “He’s in my English class.” True fact, there was a nice boy who had a crush on her in that class. There was also a really cute girl. But back to the boy. “He’s my age, and I think he likes me.”

Melody’s parents looked at each other as if trying to decide which one of them was going to handle the beginning of the conversation. In the end the mother was the one to speak.

“I was about your age when I met your dad, you know…” she said.

From that sentence erupted an everlasting description of how her parents had started dating, followed by an endless question time, then a long list of warnings and requirements. Finally, they said goodnight and left her alone with her own thoughts.

She played around with the dew for a few instants, or maybe longer, she still couldn’t tell as she had lost track of time at her second snap mesmerized by the raindrops. She started getting tired and checked her alarm clock to realize it was already midnight. She quickly got into her pajamas and switched off her lamp, drifting into deep and peaceful sleep.

[unstoppableforcce]

Mistake (part 2/??)

Poe Dameron x reader

A/N: thank you so much for reading and for all your feed back. Enjoy. (Warnings: mentions of sex? Sadness?)

Here he was months ago, drinking away his sorrows at the local cantina, right next to the base. The black drink in his hand continued to swirl in his glass, urging him to drink more and more, as if he needed to be told twice.

It had been a long an d stressful couple of weeks and this was among the only free time he had gotten to clear his head. But the drinks weren’t doing much to distract him, merely providing the method for him to be alone with his thoughts.

And right now, that was pretty dangerous.

So he tried to down the rest of the terrible drink and order another, if he was lucky, he’d get drunk and pass out, then he’d finally be able to fall asleep.

“Can I get another?” A soft, calm voice spoke up from behind him and he quirked his head to see one of the most beautiful women ever squeezing in next to him at the crowded bar.

He recognized her as one of the mechanics who serviced his ship but he never got a name. And there was something in his heart telling him he might as well ask for it now.

“Hey.” He said, trying to be casual as he turned to face her, before downing the rest of his drink and waving the bartender for more.

“Evening Commander.” She responded, facing him while her drink was being made.

“You’re a mechanic right?” He questioned, eyeing her up casually as she looked away to grab her drink.

“Yeah, I work on your ship sometimes.” She said effortlessly, grabbing her drinking and sipping most of it down. “I’m (Y/N).” She introduced.

“You already know my name.” He said with a smirk on his lips as she returned the eye up he had given her moments ago, this time not as casual as he had been. Or how he thought he had been. He thoughts could’ve been skewed because of the drinking but he convinced himself he wasn’t even that drunk.

“That I do, Commander.” She added with a quick laugh, continuing to down her drink with ease.

“You drinking alone tonight?” He questioned, getting his new drink from the bar tender and moving to focus entirely on her.

She glanced around him to a booth in the back where she had been drinking with two acquaintances, both of whom seem to be thoroughly enjoying each other’s lips right about now. Then she turned back to Poe with a light shrug, “looks like it.” She commented, staring up at him with her big eyes.

“Could I interest you in some company?” He said slyly, casually dragging his tongue over his bottom lip as he watch her chuckle but keep drinking.

“I could go for that.”

It didn’t take them long to drunkenly stumble back to Poe’s room, lips eagerly pressed against each other, hands free to explore each other’s bodies.

Poe let his fingers slide down her now bare back, sending shivers straight to her toes but she didn’t seem to mind, it only egged her on. She pulled at his curls, tugging his face back into hers as she took his bottom lip between her teeth, biting gently. It wasn’t long until they were in bed, her body effortlessly straddling his, every move getting her to shout “Commander.”

“Call me Poe.” He whispered into her neck and she wasted no time calling “Poe, Poe-

“Poe!” A different voice called and he was quickly shaken awake by a cold hand to his shoulder. He groggily rubbed his eyes, looking up to see General Organa standing over him, a look of concern coating her face.

“Are you alright Poe?” She questioned endearingly, resting her hand on his hand now as a soft gesture of her concern.

“Yeah, I’m fine.” He said, pulling his hand away abruptly.

“You fell asleep halfway through our strategy meeting.” She noted and watched how he shifted anxiously, looking around to see the room now empty.

“Sorry.” He released as he released a deep breath.

“When was the last time you got a good nights rest?” She questioned further, staring at him with eyes he knew could see past any lie he attempted to throw at her.

“Not for a few days.” He said casually but she raised an eyebrow and he corrected, “or weeks.”

“Stars, Poe.” She sighed out, clearly distressed by the state he was in though he had tried time and time again to urge her that he was fine. “Why haven’t you been sleeping?”

He carefully considered his words, knowing he couldn’t exactly tell his superior officer that he was longing for the touch of the woman who broke his heart, even if Leia was sort of like a mother to him.

Thankfully for Poe, Leia picked up on his hesitation and nodded in realization of what he meant by his silence.

“She broke things off?” She questioned and he nodded solemnly, adverting his eyes in embarrassment. He felt weak. He stopped being himself, stopped sleeping, eating, functioning all because a girl broke his heart. “I’m sorry-“

“Don’t be, there wasn’t much to break off apparently.” He said, charging each word with emotions he was trying to keep at bay. But Leia understood his pain and wouldn’t hold it against him.

“Let me guess, she wanted to keep things secret but you wanted to tell the whole Galaxy?” Leia pressed on, making Poe look up at her in surprise from the truth she ‘guessed’ at. “Don’t be so shocked, I used to be a young woman Poe, I know what you two are going through.”

He chuckled heartlessly and leaned back in his chair, rubbing his hand over his face, pressing in on his nose and temples.

“You know what’s crazy, I was always mad about her wanting to keep things secret. And it wasn’t until we broke up did I realize I don’t care who knows as long as I have her. But it’s a little too late for that now.” He added, trying to hold back any emotion that came with this confession.

“You need to take care of yourself Poe, even if you’re heart is broken.” Leia said, almost as an order though he could hear the concern in her tone.

“Yeah.” He sighed out in agreement but he had no intentions of making that effort.

He was pure exhaustion and couldn’t do a damn thing about it. His body was so used to falling asleep after a night with her and pretty exclusively only after a night with her. Every time he closed his eyes to sleep now, he was distracted by the stress and dark memories that plagued him before they started sleeping together. She was the one who distracted him, or more aptly, gave him something he wanted to focus on.

Since that night they met in the bar, he hadn’t been the same person. He wasn’t as stressed, now having the perfect way to not think but just do when in bed with her. He wasn’t nearly as depressed, refocusing all the time he spent dwelling in the past imagining a future for them.

Now he laid awake in his bed at night questioning everything he could, and more recently, he questioned his skill as a pilot.

Most of their missions had been cancelled because the resistance wanted to lay low, afraid that any oncoming attacks could mean the end of their fight. Which meant Poe hadn’t been back in his X-wing for a while. Another part of his regular routine that was disrupted and killing him inside.

All he wanted was to go out on a mission, be successful and come back home to find her in his bed. And the thing that surprised him most about these visions was that she wasn’t naked in bed. She was fully clothed and effortlessly beautiful and all he wanted was to hold her close and never let go.

It wasn’t about the sex anymore for him, though he couldn’t exactly call that a downside. He had been in love with her practically since she said “Evening Commander.”

And now it was all gone.

She avoided him while they were both out on the hanger floor, she never serviced his ship anymore, not that he needed it though with all flights being grounded.

He needed to talk to her, to explain everything, to convince her to take the leap and to see where her own emotions could take her.

But that was impossible if he could literally never find her.

“I’m gunna go try and sleep, thanks for the talk General.” He added halfheartedly, standing up and turning to leave. But not before the General could grab his hand and keep him for an extra second.

“I know this is hard for you Poe, but don’t let one little downfall ruin your entire life.” She urged and he nodded before walking out of her office.

It was on his walk back to his quarters that he spotted her deep in conversation with a fellow mechanic. He froze upon seeing her, frightened that he’d say or do the wrong thing because his heart was about to jump out of his chest.

And when she felt the strength of his stare from across the hanger, she too froze in the middle of her conversation. She wasn’t as bad as Poe, she was actually quite the opposite. He could tell because before she saw him, she was smiling brightly into her conversation. Did she even care that he had confessed his love and she turned him down?

The only thing he could tell was she wasn’t one hundred percent over it, otherwise she would’ve paid him no attention as she caught him staring.

She seemed to have said goodbye to her fellow mechanic before she turned and began walking towards him and he swore his heart started beating overtime. Every step she took closer to him, the more nervous he felt. Until she stopped just a few feet in front of him.

“Stop staring at me.” She ordered directly and his heart fully stopped.

“What?”

“You’re staring at me, please stop.” She pleaded, like every bone in her body was disagreeing with the words that came out of her mouth.

“I want to talk to you.” He said, after finally gathering the energy to string so many words together.

“Not here.” She spoke, surprised he would even suggest such a thing. She turned to walk away but he grabbed her forearm and stopped her.

“Then come to my room?” He begged with his eyes which she refused to look at. “C’mon, you broke my heart, you owe me a conversation.” He said. It came out more angry and distressed then he planned for it too, illustrating for her the devastating effects of her breaking things off had on her.

“Later.” She responded before ripping her arm and walking away, glancing around every so often to make sure no one was watching nor listening.

But she did end up showing at his door later that night, disobeying very rational thought in her mind.

She was afraid of what would happen.

He was angry and wasn’t sleeping but she was feeling guilty and lonely. The past weeks, she had been more alone then ever before because she felt she didn’t deserve affection or even attention from anyone because of what she did. She knowingly broke things off with a man she cared about for her career and her reputation even after he confessed to being in love with her.

That was the first time that had happened. People didn’t love people like her. She was cold and typically distant. But some how he saw past her cold disposition and feel in love with the version of herself she wished she could be more often. The early morning giggler, the woman who could fall asleep in a mans arms, the blushing babe. The innocent youthful soul she felt she had buried a long time ago in order to fights for the resistance.

It didn’t help that she worked around pilots all day either. All they could talk about was how Poe Dameron was off his game for some undefined reason. She hated hearing them talk about how he wasn’t sleeping or focusing, how they were glad they were on lock down otherwise they wouldn’t trust him to fly his own ship. She hated knowing she was the reason.

So coming by his place tonight was a way for her to ease her conscience. Or at least, that’s what she had planned it to be. She hadn’t expected for her heart to melt as soon as he opened the door, wearing casual sweats.

“Water?” He questioned but she shook her head no, so he gestured them both to sit at his table.

“You look like shit.” She commented under her breath as she stared at her hands resting on the table.

“I know. Haven’t been sleeping well. I guess my body got used to a luxury I recently lost.” He responded and she laughed gently before the room fell silent between the two of them.

“Poe-“

“I haven’t stopped. If you were wondering.” He interrupted her, also not looking up to meet her eyes, just assuming they were boring holes in his head.

“Stopped what?”

“Being in love with you. Can’t help it.” Every word that came out of his mouth sounded defeated and that hurt her even more.

She couldn’t think of a response so he took it upon himself to keep talking.

“Stars, I miss you so much. Not the sex, but you. I know I want more then we ever signed on for but I’m willing to renegotiate our terms, anything that gets you back in my life.” He begged, looking up expecting to meet her eyes only to see her looking down.

“You know I can’t-“

“I don’t care if people know, tell no one, tell everyone, it doesn’t make a difference. Not if I have you.” He pleaded.

More silence came next as she prepared her response in her head.

“There’s too much at risk for me. Everything I’ve worked for-“

“Could be gone tomorrow. All of us could be, we’re fighting a war.” He defended.

“The war is exactly why we should be focused on assignments and not each other.” She argued and he laughed in disbelief.

“I can be professional!” He argued back but this time it was her who was laughing.

“You only ever call me by pet names, you insist on ambushing me while I’m working-“

“I’ll stop all of that. I won’t even talk to you while we’re working if you don’t want me to.” He defended, he was willing to do whatever it took to have her.

“It’s not that easy, Poe, I wish it were.” She sighs out, both of their eyes lifting to meet each other’s.

“Tell me what I have to do to make it easier and I will. Babe, I need you.” He pleaded, reaching forward for her hand but she pulled back.

“That’s the thing. You talk about me like you can’t live without me.” She continued.

“Isn’t that romantic?”

“No, it’s manipulative and unhealthy. For either of us. You are amazing on your own Poe and you’re letting my ending things ruin who you are!” She argued back

“So you not wanting to be with me, you’re trying to teach me a lesson?” He asked confusedly.

“No! I just-“

“I don’t understand, you keep coming up with excuses but none of them are that you don’t feel the same way. You’ve actually never told me how you feel about me, just how you envision us together would go, and you won’t even give me a chance. If you don’t like me the way I like you, just say it!” He argued back, voice growing in both tension and volume.

“Of course I love you Poe!” She shouted, almost out of breath, quietly thanking the designer of this base for making was soundproof. “I love you and I loved what we had. But that only could work for so long. I can’t be in a relationship with you and I can’t watch you tear yourself apart because I can’t. Don’t you see how hard you’re making this for me?” She continued, not even trying to control her volume.

He didn’t say anything, he just say there silently, staring back at her. But he ended up not having to say anything, because the base shook violently, throwing them to the floor, signaling the base had just been hit.

@jessicaguerreiro07 @echointhelibrary

[searchingforaplacetocallhome]

Everything About You (Kandomere x OFC Pt 5)

Setting: Bright movie-verse

Characters: Kandomere & Topaz Bennett (OFC)

Warnings: strong language possibly

Background: Topaz Bennett was the brightest student of her class, always the hardest worker in the room and it finally landed her a much coveted spot on Homeland Security’s Magic Task Force. By a cruel twist of fate, her new ‘partner’ turns out to be an elf named Kandomere, who seems to think it is his task not only to train her as the new agent on the task force, but educate her on pretty much anything else as well.

“Now this is a story all about how My life got flipped-turned upside down And I’d like to take a minute Just sit right there I’ll tell you how I became the servant of an Elf called Kandomere”

Word count: 2239

tag list: @echoesandwhispersanddarkthoughts @xtequilaxmockingbirdx @kandomerx

If you wish to be added to the taglist, just leave a message in the comments, and I will add you from now on.

Pt 1 | Pt 2 | Pt 3 | Pt 4

Part 5 - Lady In Red

“Well that was a colossal waste of time...”

Pulling her boots off, Topaz dropped them and groaned as her feet flattened against the plush carpet.  They had spent all night in interrogation and they still weren’t even a sliver closer to finding out where the wand was and who, besides them, was all after it. If she had to take a guess Inferni were involved, but it really could be any coven, as several were represented in the Elven district here. Whatever the case, the Shield of Light didn’t seem to be involved. At least the two in custody didn’t brandish the tattoo.

“Not entirely,” Kandomere spoke as he closed the door behind them.

“We just spent like 7 hours in that shit hole trying to get those schmucks to talk, and they didn’t flinch.”

“Exactly,” he said, and smirked in that creepy way that told her he knew something she didn’t. “They didn’t flinch.”

This caused Topaz to pause, the socks she had just pulled off her feet still in hand and her toes spreading a little as they sank into the carpet. It almost derailed her train of thought. Shifting on her feet a little, she gave a curious head tilt. “They didn’t flinch,” she repeated his words, trying to catch his train of thought, and closed her eyes a moment when she realized the connection she hadn’t made before. “No flinching, because someone trained them, and I know that look. You just had an idea.”

“I do have a few ideas, but they require some preparation.”

Pursing her lips, Topaz debated whether or not she wanted to ask him what those ideas were and what kind of preparation it required, but from past experiences she had learned that Kandomere always gave her just the information he was willing to share, and asking for more only got her frustrated. “Okay. Will this preparation take long?”

“Long enough for you to rest, yes.”

Topaz let out a little sound of excitement, turning to head to her bedroom.

“Topaz...”

Pressing her lips together, she resisted the urge to give him a smart retort and turned around with an annoyed ‘what?’ look.

He had taken off his jacket and draped it over the back of a chair. His gaze went from her down to the discarded boots on the ground and back.

For real?

Balling her hands into fists, she wanted to tell him very much that if the boots bothered him, he could move them, but this was just the first day, and she had a feeling she would have to share a living space with him for the majority of the week. It was probably best not to get into a fight over something as stupid as her boots right off the bat. Swallowing her pride, she snatched up the boots and made sure he saw her flinging them into her room.

Her butt bumped the door closed, her eyes on her phone to look through her messages. Her finger hovered over Genny’s number when her phone started buzzing and her name appeared on the screen. Swiping her finger over the screen she answered the call. “You must have some crazy ESP, girl. I was literally just about to call you.”

“Oh really? I just wanted to check up on you.”

“Uh huh, sure. You want to know things, elfie things.” Topaz chuckled when Genny tried her best to deny it. She knew better though. For some reason, the more Kandomere ignored her, the bigger her crush became on the elf. “Before you hit me with the twenty questions though, I need a favor.”

“Anything, chica. Whatcha need?”

“If I wire you some money, would you mind going by my landlord later and pay my rent? She’s getting antsy and I don’t wanna come home to all my stuff out in the street.”

“Yeah, of course. Just text me when you’ve wired the money.”

“Thank you, you’re a lifesaver.” Cradling the phone between her ear and her shoulder, she wiggled her pants down her hips, Using one of her feet, she threw the garment up in the air so she could catch it without bending over. “I really need to find something cheaper, so if you hear anything, let me know, please.”

“You know, if you’re having trouble making rent, I have an extra bedroom. Splitting rent would make it easier on both of us.”

It was a tempting offer, one she was seriously considering, but she didn’t want to jump right in. She had bad experiences with roommates in the past. “Not sure you’d be able to put up with my messy ass.”

“You don’t have to say yes right away. Just think about it, come by when you get back, get a feel of the place and we’ll talk about it.”

It was a reasonable offer. “Alright. Hang on.” Shrugging her blouse off, she put the phone down long enough to toss her blouse on the chair in the corner and slip on the t-shirt she had brought to sleep in, not wanting to risk Kandomere walking in on her naked again. “Back. Okay, ask away. Just know I am silently judging you.”

“FYI, it’s not very silent when you tell me about it. So what’s it like?”

“It’s Vegas. Loud, in your face, and very superficial.”

“I don’t mean the city, I figured that much.”

“Lush carpet, too much white, amazing bed...” Topaz moaned, sinking back into the pillows and pulling the sheets up to her waist. “The view is pretty decent too. The only downside is I have to share it with Captain Grumpypants.”

“Ugh. You are so lucky. I am so jealous right now.”

“Genny, I love you, but you’re hopeless. Need I remind you he’s my boss?”

“That just makes it hotter. He’s your boss, you’re the subordinate...”

“Okay, I am gonna hang up on you. I need sleep, not nightmares. I’ll text you.” Ending the call, she tossed her phone on the bed beside her. Sinking down further into the pillows, she let out a content sigh. She could definitely get used to these assignments if she got so sleep in beds like these.

Kandomere proved once more that subtlety and tact were not his strong points, when he all but barged into her room and stated it was time to get up. It felt like she had passed out minutes before, but the clock disputed that feeling. Rubbing the sleep from her face, she dragged her unwilling body out of bed, and with toiletries under her arm, she all but sprinted across the living area to the bathroom for a quick shower.

She heard a knock on the door while she was drying off, followed by Kandomere speaking to someone. Slipping on the impossibly soft bathrobe, she tied it up and peeked out of the bathroom before she emerged. Kandomere was carrying a black clothing bag on a hanger, disappearing into his bedroom with it. What on earth was he up to?

Looking in on him, she watched him unzip the bag and reveal an expensive looking suit. Didn’t he bring enough of his own? Things just kept getting more and more curious.

“You should get dressed.”

His voice cut through her thoughts and her gaze shot up to meet his. “For what? Where are we going?”

“Elven district. Those tattoos those guys were sporting weren’t random, or some gang affiliation. There is a club where Elves go to meet humans.”

“I thought humans were servants?”

Kandomere laughed.

It clicked. She had heard about Elves keeping humans as pets before. It was some sort of fetish she didn’t understand, but to each their own. “Oh. I see.”

“We leave in thirty minutes.”

The tone of his voice urging her into action. “Right. Wait, I didn’t bring anything other than work clothes.”

Her comment got a smirk from him. “Check your room.”

Now she was convinced he was up to something. Curiosity got the better of her, so instead of asking him, she went into her bedroom to find a similar bag hanging from her closet door. Unzipping it she revealed a sea of red, her fingertips gliding over the fabric told her it was silk, not satin. This was an expensive dress.

Slipping her robe off, she struggled with the slippery fabric, getting her head through the opening only to realize she had the dress twisted. Muttering some curses under her breath, she finally got her arms through the straps correctly, smoothing out the top which fit eerily perfect over her curves. Having the dress somewhat figured out, she stepped in front of the mirror to look at her reflection.

“This can’t be right...”

The red strappy dress had a plunging neckline, the bodice form hugging, but what didn’t make it look right to her was the full length flowing skirt, with a split running way up the front on either side, so that when she stood there, not only her legs, but her panties peeked out as well. This definitely couldn’t be right.

“Are you sure this is the right dress?” she called out.

Kandomere appeared behind her, wearing black pressed pants, and a white button up shirt, which still had the top few buttons undone, a silk tie hanging loose around his neck. He wasn’t wearing shoes either, which took her a little aback. For a moment she just stared at him in the reflection of the mirror, committing the view to memory because she wouldn’t likely see him like this again.

Looking her up and down, he looked dead serious when he nodded. “Yes.”

Topaz snorted, looking over her reflection, tugging on the dress here or there. “This thing makes me look like you bought me for the night.” The gears in her mind started to work overtime, making the connections she really didn’t want to make, and her eyes went wide. “You want me to play a hooker?!”

“Escort,” he answered as casually as possible, buttoning the cuffs on his shirt like what he was telling her was the most normal thing. His eyes and the little smirk betrayed his amusement.

Her eyes were shooting daggers when she snapped her head to look at him directly, clenched fists ready to wipe the look off his face. He disappeared from view before she could act on the impulse. Growling in frustration, she snatched up one of her boots and threw it at the empty doorway.

How was this happening? Her first assignment, and she was going to be playing the working girl. This was beyond humiliating. She could barge into the other room and demand that they used some other strategy, but she knew he had a point. Her usual attire screamed law enforcement, and Elves in their own district weren’t going to even acknowledge her existence, let alone answer her questions.

So what’s bigger, Taz, your sense of duty or your pride?

Closing her eyes, she counted to ten until the urge to punch Kandomere in the face subsided. “Swallow your pride and do your job. You’ve gone undercover before. It’s just acting.” Talking to her reflection helped, and nodding, she finished up getting ready. She was almost finished when she spotted the one glaring flaw to her look. She definitely needed to wear something else.

Hoping against hope, she dug through her suitcase to find anything besides her regulars, but she found nothing. There wasn’t a snowball’s chance in hell she was going out there without underwear, undercover or not. Something told her to look behind the zipper that was lining the inside of her suitcase, and what she found made her both sigh in relief and want to strangle Genny at the same time.

When they had packed up her go bag together, Genny found a way to sneak some of her lingerie in as well. Picking up the black lacy thong, she quickly switched her panties for it, checking her reflection to make sure they didn’t peek out. Satisfied, she flipped the suitcase closed, and pushed it back in the closet.

“Ready?”

Kandomere was leaning in the doorway, now fully dressed, including a black vest and jacket, but one thing was missing. His gorget. It made sense though, it was a very recognizable item, and his reputation might precede him if he wore it. Like her work clothes, it would make the Elves suspicious and defensive.

A pair of strappy heels were dangling from two fingers and he held them out after taking in the view and nodding approvingly. She snatched them from his hand and sat down on the foot of the bed to put them on. Kandomere disappeared from sight once again. “Lord, give me the strength not to kill him.”

Put your game face on.

Standing up straight, she took a moment to get used to the heels, which were surprisingly comfortable despite being inches higher than her usual footwear. The heels did something to her, making her sashay a little, which was one of the reasons she didn’t normally wear them, but it helped put her in character now.

Her eyes narrowed, glaring at him when he offered his arm. Slipping her hand under to curl her fingers around, she let him lead them to the elevator. She could feel his gaze on her as she stared ahead at the elevator doors when they closed. 

“I hate you.”