#everyone talking about how Kai needs a gun

[yourlocaltripleabattery]

Dragon Rising S2 Spoiler

How is nobody talking about how Jay has a GUN!!!! THEY GAVE THIS MAN A FUCKING GUN, A STUN GUN(maybe? idk) BUT A FUCKING GUN NONE THE LESS!!!!!!!!

[rinneverse]

cw just a crumb suggestive. minors do not interact. happy aventurine release day!! hope everyone who wants him gets him in their first 10 pull :>

aventurine likes to think his jealousy is subtle.

but really, after knowing him for so long, there are tiny slips in his facade, minuscule cracks in the mask that clue you into how he’s truly feeling.

they’re not easy to spot. his character is carefully crafted to be as flawless as possible; he’s a phenomenal actor and he doesn’t like to expose his true nature.

but you know him—you know him in ways no one else has seen before. you’ve seen him come unraveled, breathless and slick with sweat. you’ve seen him on his knees for you, eyes glimmering with want as he worships you. you’ve seen the way his nose scrunches slightly when he laughs, the way his eyebrows pinch together when he’s deep in thought, the way his left hand is always tucked behind his back during a gamble.

“you so were jealous,” you jab at your boyfriend, coy smile dancing on your lips as he scoffs and turns away.

“was not. i can only listen to that angel prattle on for so long, you know.”

“no need to deny it, vennie.”

the gambler turns your way. he gives you a brief once over before approaching you. he pushes into your space, forcing you to step back until your back hits the wall. he crowds you there, arm coming up to rest on the wall above your head. you’ve effectively been trapped.

"i'm not denying anythin' baby," aventurine huffs, bringing his face to yours. his warm breath ghosts against your lips. you find yourself wanting to tilt your head towards him, to brush your lips against his.

you resist yourself. you know exactly what he's gunning for here.

(you know you won't last very long. he'll always get what he wants in the end. you don't mind one bit.)

"i could literally see you glowering at him. you're not too subtle, you know?" at least not to you. not when you've come to know him in such intimate ways.

"i was bored—and hey, let's talk about the way he was lookin' at you. i didn't appreciate it one bit. that's what has me so worked up, since you're so convinced i'm jealous."

"he was just having a conversation with me??"

aventurine gives you an incredulous look, bringing his free hand up to squish your cheeks. you let out an indignant squeak.

"that's not how i saw it, sweetheart. c'mon, indulge me here. if i were him, i'd be lookin' at a pretty thing like you the way he was too. but doing that right in front of me? ugh," he sighs dramatically. "how're you gonna make it up to me? you were givin' all of your attention to him and i just don't think that's fair."

"when do you ever play fair?"

"i am right now, aren't i?"

you shoot him a look that screams absolutely not. but you sigh anyways, bringing your arms up to loop around his neck. the hand that holds your face loosens, then slowly trails down your body, coming to rest on your hip.

with a coy smile, you let your lips brush against his, feather-light and fleeting.

"fine, fine. i'll make it up to you. my eyes are only on you tonight, 'kay?"

aventurine smiles, dark and full of sinful promise.

"good. i think i'll take my time with you."

[perksofbeingpoet]

☆ THE POETS AT THE AIRPORT ☆

CHARLIE: trying WAY too hard to be everyone's airport crush. has to be dragged out of the liquor section of the duty free shop ("but the vodka is so CHEAP"). plays a game of "trying to sneak as many metal objects past the security check as possible". when he gets a pat down he keeps wiggling his eyebrows and saying some variant of "wow no you're wayy too old for me" to the security guy (who's probably considering quitting his job). is secretly terrified of flying but tries not to let it show (grips neil's hand so hard it hurts when they take off)

TODD: literally a ball of pure anxiety in the beginning of it. SO scared he overpacked, he's constantly talking about what if his suitcase is too heavy and he has to empty it out and everyone in the queue will be watching him and GOD HE HATES AIRPORTS. calms down a bit after the security check (totally panics about what if he accidentally put a gun down his pants or something and doesn't remember), and then just chills in the perfume area of the duty free shop, trying all the scents. buys loads of snacks because you never know if the place you're going to has the good ones. tries not to think about the possibility of the plane crashing. likes watching the clouds.

NEIL: A literal kid. Is the one who ACTUALLY overpacked, and runs around with his suitcase (he'd totally sit down on it and ride it around if that was socially acceptable). spends like an hour in the shops and is suddenly convinced he needs to buy a lot of unnecessary stuff. BUT goes into airport dad mode as soon as he needs to, he has all the tickets and keeps reminding everyone of having their passports ready, he knows the gate number etc. takes the lead and gets them to the plane safely.

KNOX: has like an hour long "in case i die on the plane" video ready for chris, and they have a long phone call to say good bye (interrupted when charlie gets into a fight with a security guard - "c'mon dude, who's side are you on, the government?? like being a small little guy in power??" "Sir I'm going to repeat it one more time, I need you to take off that belt please."). if knox wasn't dating chris, he'd totally be looking at all the cute girls at the airport for like two seconds and trying to telepathically tell them they're cute (relatable, not gonna lie). Is so polite and charming to all the staff that it's on the verge of being funny, Pittsie teasing him about really being the perfect son in law. Honestly just a very chilled flyer, he has fun.

PITTS: has even more fun. has like an extra bag full of snacks that everyone makes fun of and then obviously wants some of later (pittsie gives them some because he's a bro, but they have to swear that he's the best and will get the front seat of every car they'll ride). TOTALLY has one of those inflatable neck cushions. the security guy comments on how tall he is mainly to make conversation, but pittsie is still proud of it (i think i mentioned my headcanons about pitts' relationships with his height? or did i never publish them?) and smiles for the next minute. reads the on-flight magazine. super excited at take off, he's like LET'S GOOOO while todd and charlie are on the verge of crying. freaks out about omg I forgot my passport (neil took it from him one second ago). fun facts about planes!!

MEEKS: the chillest. tries to calm todd down by telling him statistics and all that about the narrow chances of dying on a plane until charlie snaps and is like SHUT UP OH MY GOD ("'kay sir" 🫡😳). nerds out about planes with pittsie! has WAY too many tags on his bags in case they get lost. tells really bad airport puns that pittsie thinks are HILARIOUS. spends the wait by just sitting in a café and drinking way too much coffee. ONLY buys one teeny tiny little bag of m&ms and then eats like half of pittsies snacks. sits more comfortably than pitts because his legs are shorter and don't get cramped and DEFINITELY teases him about it like 'hmm i don't know what you mean, there's plenty of leg room!"

CAMERON: really excited for the flight, loves the whole experience. printed out everything twice just in case!! all his liquid items are in these little plastic bags that no one ever uses (or maybe y'all are just better than me). eats SO much beforehand to save money because the airport prices are ridiculous. runs to the gate like three times to check it hasn't been changed. has the craziest methods to keep his ears from popping.

[prismuffin]

so for my bday ficcc i have two ideas

idea number one: male reader is based on my demon oc. basically personality wise they very sassy and flirty. kinda a bitch ass ho. idc who u pair it with imma be real. it could be ghost, soap or or price. or like batman. he summons them n junk

idea number 2:

polycule ghost, soap x male reader. male reader is a smart dumbass. like they’re an airhead all of the time minus work. they’re a colonel but honestly dumb as shit outside of work. obvious as hell.

if u want more ideas i can tell u love u mwahhhhh

A/n: Hey Webbie!! Happy birthday!! (Or late birthday depending on when I get this out) decided to go with option 2 kay? also i didnt know how to end this- fight me-

Idiot Boyfriend

Poly!GhostSoap x airhead!male!reader

( summary: Ghost reflects on how he fell in love with two dumbasses )

Warnings?: swearing, mentions of alcohol, talks of guns and violence, reader being a dumbass

!-!more under the cut!-!

Ghost sighed as he watched you chase Gaz around base. He'd apparently tickled you which you saw as a threat, immediately taking off to get your revenge. Hearing a laugh beside him Ghost turned, seeing an amused Soap who was also watching your silly antics. "Go get 'em sweetheart!" He cheered you on and Ghost groaned. "Don't encourage 'em Johnny," "Why not? This is a funny sight," He smirked, sitting next to Ghost, his head instinctually falling onto the taller mans shoulder. Ghost rolled his eyes as he watched you trip, Gaz stopping to laugh at you. "Oh damn, think he's alright Lt?" Soap asked only to get silence as a response. "Lt?" Ghost had heard him, though he was too busy wondering why he was even with such an airhead anyway. He'd already been dating one headache why did he feel the need to worsen his pain with another.

When he'd first met you he was already with Soap, their relationship being monogamous at the time. Though that was more of a suggestion than set in stone. Maybe it was the fact that the first time he'd met you- you were choking some guy out with the power of your thighs alone that'd intrigued him. Either way you'd easily clicked with Soap after meeting him, and after exchanging war stories and silly jokes with the two men all day they both knew at the end of it that they liked you. Initially, it wasn't going to go anywhere but Soap was the one who suggested adding you to their little relationship. Ghost was hesitant at first, not because he didn't like you but because he wasn't sure if you liked him. You'd obviously liked Soap, romantically or not you both clicked immediately, but for some reason for Ghost it was so hard to read you on your feelings for him. Sure you were polite out of respect but could it ever go deeper than that? He knows sometimes his dark humor can fall flat and his stoic tone doesn't help either. Soap had reassured him that he had a charm that couldn't be beat, but of course he'd say that. You and him clicked so easily, you both told terrible jokes and fucked around when you shouldn't. You both had a mutual love for explosives and beer and karaoke and had this natural bond he could only wish for with you. After talking about it they sort of dropped it for a few weeks but it was clear that Soap had liked you and he could understand why. Especially after what he considers the true turning point for him. It was a pretty normal night on base, everyone asleep in their barracks, everyone except Ghost. He often had nights like these where sleep was the last thing on his mind, memories plaguing his brain as he fought desperately to think of anything else. He would wake up Johnny, tell him about the bad thoughts, but he really needed the sleep after the last mission they'd been on. So he thought to deal with it alone, going into the kitchen to hopefully find a stashed bottle whisky to drown his sorrows for the night. Only upon entering he found you, leaning against the counter, pouring yourself a freshly brewed pot of coffee. You both locked eyes, a mutual understanding flooding you both as you held out the warm pot, asking silently if he'd join you. He, of course, was hesitant but had nothing better to do. So he grabbed a mug from the cabinet and watched as you poured his coffee, black.

You'd both sat in silence for some time before you asked quietly why he was up. He told the truth, nightmares, but didn't go into much detail understandably. You hummed, replying with the same answer when he'd asked you a similar question. Your jokey manner was all but lost in this moment, at least for a second. You'd asked him to talk about his nightmares with you, saying that it'd be better than him just holding everything in all the time. He didn't expect it, but you were so easy to talk to. Just the smallest amount of convincing and he did what you asked. That night you both shared the stories of your nightmares with each other. You comforted him, gave him advice and told him things he definitely needed to hear. Him ranting only got the ball rolling as he found himself sitting on the common room couch with you simply talking about anything and everything, your company in the now silent base was warming. You'd even laughed at his horrid jokes, throwing back a few that he's now added to his growing roster of dark humor. He hadn't felt like this since...well...Johnny. As the sun rose and light cracked through the curtains he couldn't help but feel a little glad that he'd gotten to spend time with you. That night alone showed him he did have a natural connection with you. You understood him in ways he didn't even think you could. He found you also shared his insomnia episodes, his love for dogs and specific guns, his respect of stealth and going at it alone on missions. When he saw Soap later that day he nonchalantly added that he's now considering asking you to join their relationship, and he couldn't help but replicate the smile on Soaps face.

One which he held now.

"Lt?" Soap glanced up at Ghost, noticing the slight crinkle in his eye and the small indent underneath his cloth balaclava. To anyone else he'd look completely normal right now, but Soap knew that those miniscule signs meant that he was smiling. Smiling at you as you groaned on the floor. Closing his eyes, Ghosts shoulders bounced in a silent laugh before he moved to stand, Soap following him with his eyes before realizing where he was going, and moving to go to you too.

Rolling on your back, you huffed, the cold floor on your rear as you stared up at the blinding white flood lights that shone down on you. Only they were blocked by a shadow, then two, the smiling faces of your boyfriends stood over you. "Need a hand sweetheart?" Soaps Scottish accent filled your ears and you couldn't help the small smile that found it's way to your face. Reaching out with both hands you grabbed onto one of each of theirs, laughing as they hoisted you up with ease. You felt Ghost pat your back before his arm wrapped itself around you. Looking at him you noticed the small smile beneath his mask and reciprocated his action, now committing to a full side hug. You just held each other there before Soap joined in, now you held both of your boyfriends in your arms. You rocked back and forth between them, your chase with Gaz momentarily forgotten as you accepted this newer task of being held. Only momentarily though as Gaz came back into view you suddenly remembered what you were doing before this, your glare being set on his form. "Garrick!" You yelled and he ran again, you moved to chase him but the hands of ghost didn't seem to want to let you go. "No you don't, come on, we're leaving." "Awww but Simon come on-" you groaned, "I'm starving." He stated bluntly, practically dragging you away from the scene as Soap laughed at your pouting face, following the two of you to the kitchen. Ghost simply listened as you began ranting about some random show that you and Soap had been watching, allowing you to completely forget about the Gaz thing as you got distracted by your own thoughts again. He watched as you and Soap recounted a particular episode that seemingly got on your nerves as it ended on a cliff hanger, silently smiling once again as he relished in the company of his two idiot boyfriends.

----!----

( HAPPY BIRTHDAY WEB I HOPE YOU LIKE YOU BIRTHDAY FIC SEXY !!! )

Thanks for reading! Have a great day/night!!

My requests are CLOSED !!

See my DIRECTORY for upcoming fics!

Masterlist

[xoxoskai]

RKVERSE BRATVA HEADCANNONS

that no one really asked for, but everyone needs<3

Damien Orlov is Nikolai Sokolov's Godfather.

The one-slightly related to the mafia- kid that all the second-generation mafia kids are scared respect is Sebastian and Naomi's firstborn (I said what I said)

In the Morozov household, all arguments are solved through uno.

Ironically, the one with the best accuracy while firing a gun is the one with the least bloodlust in him, Gareth.

Annika is closest to Lidiya Morozova and the Orlov Princess.

Naomi and Sebastian are Gareth Carson's Godparents.

Adrian tries to homeschool his kids, but it backfires when neither of his kids let him work in peace as a sign of protest. He reluctantly lets them attend a private school with an army of bodyguards.

Kai Takeda becomes the next head of the Yakuza.

Vaughn is very good at playing video games to the point that he gets invited to play at events.

Maya and Gareth are the best at cheating while playing any kinds of board games and often defeat the rest (Killian loses because he's in a team with Nikolai who gets bored midway and tries to sabotage the game instead).

Damien is good at cooking while Kirill has a hidden talent for baking. Adrian finds the prospect of both of them wearing aprons funny until he is put on duty for washing the dishes. Wearing his daughter's purple, floral apron.

Jeremy becomes really good at lip-reading while he's trying to figure out what his parents are talking about over his head and as an adult, he's desperately trying to lose the habit around them.

The one who taught all the boys to drive a bike is Mio Orlov.

She also taught Sasha who nearly gives the Pakhan of the Bratva a heart attack when she figures out how to do wheelies with Rai cheering her on.

Kyle Hunter is exceptionally good at hide and seek and the kids could never find him whenever the Sokolovs were hosting sleepovers.

Annika has knocked endlessly and tirelessly on Adrian's office door till he let her in so she could demonstrate her pirouette the first time she had perfectly done it (Adrian had made Yan, Kolya and Boris give her a standing ovation).

Rai Sokolov is everyone's go-to Aunt for anything their own parents aren't letting them do. Asher and Reina won't send their sons to another continent for college? Enrolls her own son to go with them. The girls want to go to a concert? Sends an army of disguised bodyguards with them. One of the kids is drunk and needs to be picked up? She's already buckling into her car.

Adrian and Lia are Vaughn's Godparents.

Mia Sokolov starts giving plants as birthday presents and nearly makes Kirill and Damien bust a lung from laughter when she gives Adrian a cactus.

Karina Morozova has the reputation for giving the most bizarre gifts that the kids end up loving. Rents out an entire theater for Annika's birthday party. Buys all the game-machines in an arcade for Vaughn. Tells Maya they are going shopping for her birthday and flies her to Paris for it. Sees Jeremy reading bl when he's home from college one time and buys him an entire boxful of yaoi comics with a "I dog earmarked some of my favorites" note. She's extra that way and they all love it.

Damien, Adrian, Kyle and Kirill also have a group chat that Adrian has tried leaving multiple times. When Annika and Mia get boyfriends, Damien is laughing so hard at their predicament that Adrian reveals his daughter's secret relationship with the Pakhan's eldest son and then leaves the group. Again.

Lidiya Morozova becomes the first woman Pakhan after her uncle dares anyone to oppose her crowning with her getting backed up by four of the strongest Bratva families.

Vaughn and Kirill bond over making castles out of playing cards. They've spent lots of days, sitting cross-legged on the floor and stacking one card after another, using multiple decks. It's how he discovers his love for architecture.

Maya Sokolov is a natural at coding and hacking, but she finds it boring and even refuses Adrian's attempt to teach her to hone her skills.

Kyle is really good at magic tricks. Almost all the kids (minus natural cheaters, Maya and Gareth) fall for it even though some of them don't want to (Jeremy and Killian, they know it's a trick, but they can't prove it).

Naomi is not approving of Damien until she actually talks to him and realizes he's just a bakayaro.

Mia Sokolov is really good at escape rooms while Nikolai spends half the time going "That was a clue?"

Ilya Levitsky is only accepted into the family after he goes through extensive torture and lives on to say, "You can't keep me from her". He wins Kyle's respect with that.

Lia discovers that she's really good at drinking games when she's having a girl's night out with Sasha, Mio and Rai. She can throw darts with her eyes blindfolded.

The Volkovs have movie nights on Thursdays where the movies are decided based on a game of jenga. Annika swears she's not shaking the table (she is).

The Morozovs host the best sleepovers. We're talking Princess Diaries level of sleepovers with mattress surfing, vending and claw machines in the house and treasure hunts across the entire property.

The Orlovs are the best at throwing parties and love any occasion to do so. Cherry blossoms are blooming? Throw a party. His daughter got an A on her dictation? Throw a party. Someone bumped into Damien and he didn't kill them? Throw. A. Party.

The Carsons are the best at pretending they have no ties to the Bratva. You saw an army of bodyguards leaving their house? Must be the new interns Asher is hiring. Their oldest nephew has tattoos at the age of 11? But he loves drawings. Reina's twin is AWOL the whole time? She's just shy.

The Weavers are horrible at pretending they aren't related into some shady business.

The Sokolovs' house is synonymous with a common playground. Especially after Mia's kidnapping. If she's scared to go out and meet anyone else, ofcourse the rest of them are gonna come over at all times and spend time with her, it's only natural.

_______________

Don't even wanna promise a part two when I know I never commit but here's to hoping?

[berylcups]

Could I maybe request SDC +Dio with a s/o that gets their work hours cut in half, and maybe they go scare the manager or smthn? Idk I'm not creative with prompts lmao. Thought it would be funny, thank youuu!!

SDC + DIO x Reader with their hours cut

CW: Death mention, horny old people,

Notes: hey! Sorry it took so long! I really tried with this one. 😭 I hope you like it! I’m still fleshing out their personalities. I’m still getting used to writing new characters. Even if this sux I hope you and everyone else can find some sort of enjoyment from this! 💜 Beryl

*also for my non-murican’ readers Target is a like a smaller scale Walmart but pretends to be bougie 🥴

Joseph

-Platonic-

“Why ask for xtra hours when you can get an allowance from your greatest grandad ever???”

-Romantic-

“Who needs a job when you got a sugar daddy ??? 😘”

SEND THAT HORNY OLD BASTARD TO THE NURSING HOME 🏠

——————————————————

Richie McRichardson doesn’t realize that you need to build a good resume. 🙄 or the fact we live in the real world where we have to make our own money.

Well no friend of his is going to get their hours cut! He’s going to use hermit purple to fuck around with electronics section and manipulate the tvs to make them glitch out and act possessed.

“GiVe Y/n FuLl TiMe HoUrS aNd BeNeFiTs…. Or ElSe. GiVe ThEm A pAy RaIsE ToO…”

“AlSo… ClEaN uP oN IsLe 6…”

Jotaro

“Good grief. Do I really need to get involved in this? Fine. Let’s go.” He sighed as he cracked his knuckles.

Your boss might die today. 😬 tell him to hold back a bit kay? I don’t think the Speedwagon Foundation wants to bail him out for getting into a onesided fist fight with a Target supervisor.

Thankfully he doesn’t have to do much. All he has to do is stare your boss down menacingly.

“I heard you were cutting Y/Ns hours. How about you fix that?”

Your supervisor is literally pissing their pants. 😰 He doesn’t leave until you get all your hours. Then he’s gonna smoke INSIDE the damn store because he’s disrespectful. If anyone tells him there’s no smoking allowed in the store he’s going to tell them to go fuck themselves 😭

Kakyoin

He’s going to use his charm to get his way. He’s gonna get you your hours back. If his charisma SOMEHOW doesn’t work he’s going to use Hierophant Green to string himself out so the boss and other employees keep tripping over what looks like nothing. 😂

The boss is freaking out getting slapped in the face and his ass whipped and has no idea what’s going on.

“Was this store built on a fucking graveyard?!” Your boss panics.

“You should really watch where you’re going sir.” He says smugly.

The boss finally gives in to your demands after they get clotheslined by HGs tentacle limb 🥴

Avdol

“Hmm? You're not getting any hours? That’s not according to YOUR fortune habibi/habibti! 😉”

He got some tricks up his sleeve. He’s going to get you your fortune…as told by his fortune! 🔮😅

“I have seen your fortune! You’re in grave danger. According to the ___ card it means you are going to lose all your wealth, health, and happiness!”

Your boss somehow believes this. Who wouldn’t believe a charismatic self assured middle eastern man in ornate robes and jewelry??? That’s a person you won’t forget!

To add some extra razzle dazzle he catches your bosses hair on fire. 🔥

Now he really thinks he’s cursed.

“Tell me mysterious customer! How do I fix this?! 😭😭😭”

Return the slab— “Give Y/N their hours back! And give them all the benefits and pay raises they need to live comfortably!”

Your boss gives in and does everything Avdol says. You’re officially getting paid as much as your boss now in fear of getting “cursed” again. …and to prevent 3rd degree burns 🥵

Polnareff

Your boss is about ready to taste some metal and I’m not talking about guns.

“Hey—! What gives?! First you don’t give my amour their hours and now your toilets are filthy and broken as hell! They won’t flush! 😤”

He’s already a menace for clogging the toilet. 😬 he’s going to go Karen mode on your boss.

“What the hell kind of economy do you think we live in pal?! I demand you give my baby all their hours! What do you expect them to live off of? Ramen noodles?! Not on my watch buddy!” He’s loud af and poking him in the chest.

If he back sasses the mighty Polnareff he’s going to have to sword fight Silver Chariot with a pool noodle from the outdoors section. 😅

He uses his craftsman’s swordship to slice the bosses belt and pubically pantses him 😂

He has no idea how he was able to air sword fight and cut his belt but he did and that’s why you have all your hours and why Polnareff is banned from every single Target ever in existence. Like that’s gonna stop him 🥴

Dio

“Why work such a meager job when you can work for me and kill the joestars instead ~?”

Because we don’t want to get our asses hospitalized and we live in the real world asshole. 🙄

Very well~. Dio is a generous partner, he will gladly solve your employment problem. 😈

But first—shopping spree~ 💅 he’s gonna fill up on some hair gel, green lipstick, sunscreen, and other unnecessary Knick Knacks. Yes he has a Live Laugh Love poster decoration in the basket. 🤢

“So I heard from my lovely Y/N that you aren’t giving them enough hours. How about a compromise? I’m in a good mood today so I’ll let you live if you give them all their hours back plus a raise.”

Your boss can’t believe you had the audacity to bring in a metrosexual bi vampire to scare him into getting what you want! He’s not gonna take you crazies seriously and tell you to take a hike!

“Oh ho~…” he has a mischievous glint in his eyes. Well you can’t stop him now!

“The World!!!” He summons his stand and takes his shopping cart.

“Road roller at target!!!” He laughs like a mad man as he runs over your boss.

…I think he’s dead ☠️

Dio somehow uses his charm to make you the new boss of Target. You still do the same job you usually do— you just get the pay and title now while everyone else does the hard work…. Honestly I don’t think you even need to go to work anymore. You’re just getting paid just to be paid!

[lambtotheslaughterr]

Rise -- Part Four

A Rafe Cameron Series

WC: 4.8k

Dividers provided by @firefly-graphics

PART THREE | MASTERLIST | PART FIVE

note*: a reminder that you must be following me & interacting with the work you want to be tagged in regularly to remain on a taglist. this will be my final warning about it. thank you.

            It was decided that you would move north. Adrianna had shared with the group that Tobias told her that before the virus completely wiped out communication, that there was possible word of a fortified community where the virus hadn’t struck yet. Of course, it couldn’t be guaranteed. That’s what Adrianna was told. But it was more than you all had before arriving at the base.

            The car was quiet as Sayyed led the way in the dark. Taking the back roads was necessary again as all the highways were overtaken by abandoned vehicles. There were a few stops to collect more gas but other than that, the focus was to get as far north in the next 24 hours. You were on the brink of falling asleep, soothed by the sounds of your friends combined soft breathing in the back seat. Though the drive was tense at the beginning, no thanks to the brewing fight between Sayyed & Rafe, everyone had calmed down enough to focus on what mattered.

            You weren’t sure how long you slept for when the sound of a door slamming shook you awake. You leaned forward in your seat, rubbing the sleep from your eyes as you blearily looked around. The headlights were still on. In front of the wrangler was a forestry. You looked over your shoulder & watched as the others in Rafe’s truck began to climb out. Nuha, Millie, & Micah were still asleep.

            Sayyed returned to the car, opening hid door to nod at you, “We’re staying here for the night.”

            “Where’s here?”

            “If I followed the directions of Adrianna’s map well enough we’re somewhere north of Charleston.”

            You sighed to yourself when he turned off the car. It was the middle of the night & you were in the middle of nowhere. This wasn’t exactly the best time to set up camp, especially when everyone was tense & sleepy. And grieving. Severson’s gun going off flashed through your mind. You winced, blocking out the image of Luka.

            “Guys, wake up.” You shook Millie. She groaned but opened her eyes. It was Micah who shot you a heated glare.

            “Guess we’re camping out here for the night.” You informed them before slipping out. Before you shut the door, you heard Micah mutter a complaint to Millie.

            You began helping the others as they started gathering camping gear. Fortunately, the vehicles were parked in a clearing so there would be no hiking in the dark. After fifteen minutes, tents, a canopy with the food & dry goods underneath it, & a fire was all set up. Rafe disappeared quickly, crawling into his tent at the edge of the clearing, furthest away from the rest of you.

            Millie & Micah were heating up a large batch of soup, Nuha was talking quietly to Kai near the fire, Adrianna was writing in a leatherbound journal, & Bear was taking a piss behind the cars. You were about to head to your own tent, wanting to catch up on the sleep you had reluctantly woken up from. But Sayyed approached you.

            “I need to talk to you.” His voice was low, secretive.

            You frowned. Sayyed rarely ever sounded like so, even when the world was ending.

            He lead you back to the wrangler, opening up your door for you to hop in. He climbed in the other side.

            “What’s going on?” You tangled your fingers together in your lap.

            “It’s Rafe.”

            Oh. You fluttered your eyes closed, too tired to listen to Sayyed rant about Rafe.

            “Sayyed…”

            But he cut you off, sensing what you were already going to say, “He can’t be trusted, _____.”

            You sighed, rubbing your eyes, “Can we not jump to conclusions please? I know you think he was trying to leave.”

            “He was!” He raised his voice, but not nearly enough to garner the attention of your friends outside the car. You tossed him a narrowed look, warning him to calm down.

            “I’m sorry.” He inhaled sharply before letting out a slow breath, “But you can’t tell me that he wasn’t up to something.”

            “I think he was scared.” You reasoned, though you did recall Rafe suggesting the two of you leave back at the base, right before his predictions came true. Even though he was willing to leave behind all your friends, you clung to the possibility that Rafe didn’t know what he was talking about. He was high after all.

            “Psh. Yeah. You ever seen Rafe Cameron scared of anything?” Sayyed shook his head in disbelief, leaning onto the center console to move closer to you, “He doesn’t care about anyone but himself.”

            “Sayyed, I really don’t want to do this right now.” You told him exasperated. “Can we talk about this as a group in the morning?”

            “What? No. _____, I need you to hear what I’m saying.” Sayyed dismissed your pleas & continued opening his mouth, “If Tobias hadn’t led us out of there Rafe would’ve been long gone by the time we made it out ourselves.”

            “If we made it out…” You muttered.

            “Why should we keep him around? He’ll save his own skin before he saves any of us.”

            You rolled your eyes. You knew well enough that Sayyed, like every single one of your friends, had experienced a lifetime of trauma in just the last couple days. He wasn’t thinking straight. But you were too tired to help him get there.

            “Sayyed!” You finally yelled, “Jesus. Fucking stop.”

            Sayyed pressed his lips together, collapsing into his seat.

            “I said I don’t want to talk about this, okay?” You hissed, “And I don’t appreciate you trying to sneak behind everyone’s back to get me to listen to you. We’ll talk about it tomorrow, with everyone.” You began opening your door before you added with finality, “Including Rafe.”

            Hopping out, not wanting to wait around for Sayyed to say more, you slammed the door shut. The others were around the fire at this point, a couple paper bowls in their hands.

            “Hey, everything okay?” Millie asked softly when you sat down next to her. Behind you, you heard as Sayyed slammed his own door shut before crossing the clearing to the tent you shared.

            “Things haven’t been okay for a while now, Mills.” You sighed but mustered a sad smile.

            She nodded in knowing, reaching out to grab your hand. You were thankful she was here. Millie always kept you feeling grounded, even as the world fell apart.

            Nuha brought you a bowl of soup, which you surprised yourself with how hungry you were by practically downing it in four sloppy spoonsful. It dawned on you as you stared at the empty bowl in your lap that there may be a day where food becomes scarce. You’d have to remind yourself to eat slower & ration more.

            The six of you ate in silence. Sayyed & Rafe never emerging from their tents. After a while you made each of them a bowl to bring them. It had been a long day & you couldn’t remember either of them eating. You were about to head towards your shared tent with Sayyed first when Nuha stopped you.

            “I’ll take it.” She insisted.

            “Oh, are you sure?”

            “He’s my brother, _____. I think it’d be good for him to talk to me instead right now.” There was a protective undertone in her voice, but you couldn’t fault her for it. You had always admired their relationship, never having had siblings yourself.

            You handed her the bowl, thanking her once as she walked towards his tent. You turned on your heel, feeling apprehensive about facing Rafe. Though you mildly understood Sayyed’s concerns, especially since you knew Rafe was willing to leave everyone behind, you still wanted to give Rafe the benefit of the doubt. As you were just in front of his tent, you desperately hoped he was asleep. In which case, you’d leave his bowl back at the table under the canopy. But when you called out his name, you heard ruffling within.

            Rafe unzipped the tent, his eyes red & squinted as he looked up at you, “What’s up?”

            “Here.” You lowered the bowl of soup to him, “I didn’t want you to go to bed without eating first.”

            He eyed you suspiciously for a short second before accepting it, “Thanks.”

            “Yup. See you in the morning.”

            “Hey, can we talk for a minute?” You were glad your back was facing him so he couldn’t see you roll your eyes. You just wanted to fucking sleep.

            But you released a breath of air before facing him, “Sure.”

            Rafe unzipped his tent, opening it wider. You were expecting him to come out but was surprised when he instead gestured for you to come inside.

            “Uh.” You looked over your shoulder. Mostly everyone was in the process of going to bed. Only Kai remained by the fair, staring emotionlessly into it. “Just really quick, Rafe. I’m tired.”

            “Yeah, sure.”

            You crawled into Rafe’s tent. It was tall enough to stand up in, but you’d have to hunch your back to do so. It would be more comfortable to stay sitting.

            You watched & waited as he turned on a small battery-operated lamp, illuminating the small tent in a dim glow.

            “How are you doing? You okay?”

            What? You knew his questions were coming from a good place, but you couldn’t help to feel frustrated. Did he expect you to forget about the fact that he was doing coke while Luka was dying or that he had pushed for you two to leave together or that yeah, Sayyed was onto something when he pointed out how Rafe was already in his truck when everyone got out of the base? There was too many emotions running through your mind & you were barely hanging onto consciousness.

            “Rafe…”

            “Sorry.” He lowered his head, “I just wanted to check.”

            You narrowed your eyes at him but sighed, shaking your head, “I’m as fine as I can be. Just a lot has happened, ya know…”

            He nodded in agreement but said nothing more. It was silent for a while. His soup remained untouched behind his sleeping bag.

            “You should eat. Get some rest.” You told him before getting ready to crawl back out.

            “Hey, _____.” Rafe’s voice was nearly inaudible but just loud enough to make you pause, “I am sorry.”

            “For what, Rafe?” You knew what he could be sorry for but wanted to hear him say it.

            “For being right.”

            Shock flooded your body, followed by unbridled rage. For being right? Right about what? Luka getting killed?    

            You were about to unleash your lack of sleep & frustration on him when he shrugged his shoulders.

            “I shouldn’t have been out in the hallway avoiding it all. I should’ve said something. To all of you. Stopped it…somehow.”

            Confusion came for you next. Rafe’s voice was soft, his tone remorseful. It was a side of him you had never seen before. For now, it kept the fire inside you at bay.

            “I feel like shit about it. And I know Sayyed doesn’t trust me, the others, too.” His eyes met yours, “Maybe you too. And now Luka…”

            You opened your mouth, wanting to assure him that wasn’t the case but stopped yourself.

            “I get it. It looks bad. I don’t have an excuse for it.” Rafe pressed his lips together before he hung his head.

            “But I wouldn’t have left you.”

            It was your turn to lower your head. You didn’t know what to say, or think for that matter. You needed sleep, everyone needed to sleep.

            “It’s been a really shitty day, Rafe. Right now, we just need to sleep. Tomorrow, we’ll figure it out.”

            He raised his head to look at you but didn’t appear convinced.

            “Unless I’m gone by the time you all wake up.”

            At that, you shot him the same warning glare you had given Sayyed in the car. Rafe chuckled. It was short-lived but it was… nice.

            You ignored his morbid joke, shaking your head, “Eat your soup & get some sleep. We’ll talk in the morning.”

            “Okay.” Rafe nodded, finally reaching for his soup, “And thanks for this.”

            “It was Millie & Micah who made it.”

            The two of you traded looks once more before you unzipped his tent, climbing out. You were reaching for the zipper to close his tent for the night when his hand accidentally touched yours. You hissed at the brief electric shock, bringing your fingers to your lips.

            “Oops. I still got it, I guess.” He half-smiled through his pitiful flirtatious comment.

            For a split second, it was like it had been before. All your friends hanging out, talking, having fun, bitching about finals. The boys & Adrianna wrestling, Millie & Nuha watching on in horror. You & Sayyed happily laughing along.  

It was the first time you had smiled all day, “Just go to sleep.”

“Night, _____.”

“Mhmm.”

You crossed back to yours & Sayyed’s tent, but not before you noticed Kai was still alone at the fire. You were tempted to go sit with him. Though you had all lost a friend, Kai lost his best friend. He needed all the support right now. But sleep was nicking at you, desperate to take a hold.

You promised yourself you’d spend some time with him in the morning.

Crawling into the tent, Millie, Micah, & Sayyed were already fast asleep. You were relieved you wouldn’t have to talk to anyone for the rest of the night. All you wanted was to go to sleep & hope the world you woke up to was the one with your friends alive & smiling.

Sayyed was staring at Rafe. His face hardened, brows furrowed. He was the only one, too.

“So what, you guys trust him then?”

You all had been talking about the Rafe situation for the last ten minutes now. And it was not going how you knew Sayyed wanted it to.

“We’re not abandoning him, dude.” Bear added, siding with Rafe.

“No one’s saying that, Bear.” Nuha jumped to Sayyed’s defense, “But he’s right. Rafe was going to leave us.”

“I wasn’t.” Rafe said. He had been saying it the whole time. You still weren’t sure what to believe. You honestly wish you could just turn back time, make it so none of this happened.

“You were just in the truck waiting for us, yeah you said.” Sayyed replied sarcastically. “You weren’t even there when Luka died! We could have all been dead.”

“But you’re not.” Rafe replied swiftly.

“Rafe…” It was Millie. She was practically standing between the guys as you all stood in the clearing, “What were you doing? Honestly?”

He looked at her. Millie’s face was calm, the opposite of accusatory that of which Sayyed reeked of. Rafe sighed heavily, shaking his head. He shrugged his shoulders, slapping his hands against his legs, “I knew what they were going to do to Luka.”

You felt your chest tighten.

“What the hell do you mean?” It was Kai this time, his voice pitched with anger.

“I told _____.” Before he could give any context, everyone’s eyes flashed to where you stood. “I told her that telling Severson was a bad idea, that they were going to kill him. It wasn’t like I knew for sure, but you guys heard from him yourself the night before. What he did shouldn’t have come as a surprise! You guys are the ones who voted to have Severson be told, you guys are the one who followed in Sayyed’s lead. Luka was murdered because you guys let it happen. I wasn’t going to be next.”

You felt Sayyed staring at you wide-eyed, “Why didn’t you say anything?”

“Me?” You asked incredulously, “Did you not hear Rafe?” Your eyes bounced around your friends, “We all heard what Severson said. Rafe’s right. We did this to Luka. We made the wrong decision, we trusted the wrong people. It was our fault. But Luka would still be dead right now, & you all know that. I can’t even believe were talking about this.”

How the conversation shifted from talking about Rafe’s possible expulsion to how you were getting partially blamed for Luka’s death was ridiculous. Nothing was normal anymore. No one knew how to respond the ‘right’ way.

“She’s right.” Micah spoke. His eyes meet Sayyed’s, “Luka would still be dead. And Rafe was… surviving.”

Rafe nodded thanks to Micah who sided with him next.

“I can’t say I wouldn’t have done the same as him.” Micah finally added, “There’s only so much one person can do, Sayyed. And if you think you could’ve saved all of us… well, you’re just wrong.”

Sayyed was silent. His face wasn’t as hard, but he was still distrustful of Rafe, that much was obvious.

Adrianna jumped in then, her voice even, “As much as we have to look out for each other, we also have to look out for ourselves. That’s a hard truth we all have to accept. You especially, Sayyed.”

One by one, it was clear that everyone was beginning to see the fault in Sayyed’s push to remove Rafe. You couldn’t help but agree.

“You won’t be able to protect all of us.” You said softly, looping your fingers with Sayyed’s.

He looked down at you, his eyes sad. You knew he was scared. All of you were. He was just trying to protect everyone. Sayyed always put a lot of pressure on himself to be the altruistic leader.

“Okay.” He nodded once, his voice low.

“We good, man?” It was Rafe. You looked between them as Rafe stepped forward, holding out his hand.

Sayyed cocked his head, his eyes staring at Rafe’s extended hand. You almost thought that for a second he wasn’t going to meet him half-way. But to your relief, he finally reached his own hand out.

“We’re fine.”

They traded silent looks, not fully trusting the other. But it was the start of something. And it was necessary for the whole group to survive.

It was late evening. The decision was made as a group to camp out in the clearing for one more night. There was no need to rush. A plan was loosely in place: look out for each other’s symptoms (Adrianna would be keeping track in her journal), & slowly you all would move north. Adrianna had said the community Tobias mentioned was somewhere in Massachusetts.

You had walked away from the campsite, finding a small murky pond a few yards away. Sitting on a rock three times your size, you pulled out a pack of cigarettes, lighting one. You hadn’t had a cigarette since you took a shit ton from the convenience store. It was relaxing. Tobacco wasn’t really your flavor, but at this point, you’d be happy with any sort of vice to relax in the hell world you & your friends found themselves in.

You were in the middle of your second cigarette when a twig snapped behind you. You spun around, gasping.

“Jesus.” Your hand was on your chest in surprise.

“Sorry.” Rafe chuckled lightly as he walked towards you. You watched warily as he joined you on the rock, his shoulder brushing against your own.

“So,” You began, “you weren’t voted off the island.”

“Yay.” He replied unenthusiastically. “Do you think I should’ve been?”

You stared at him. Of course you wouldn’t have supported kicking him out & leaving him behind. It was inhumane. He was also your friend. But it was always hard to tell what the truth was & what was a lie when it came to Rafe.

“No.” You looked away, taking another drag, “I wouldn’t have let anyone leave you.”

Rafe was silent, but you could see a subtle smile on his face in your peripheral.

“You mean that?”

Inhaling sharply, you adjusted yourself, so you were sitting straighter, “Yeah. Promise.”

“You’re better than me, than most of them back there.”

You frowned but said nothing.

“Sayyed was ready to pick a fight with anyone who disagreed with him.”

“He’s scared.” You defended, “He thought he was acting in the best interest of everyone. That’s more than you can say.”

The energy between you shifted, the air growing slightly tense.

“I told you last night I wouldn’t have left you.”

He had, but now that he was saying it again, you felt your gut turn. It felt like he wasn’t referring to you as a group, as a whole, but you as in…you. You didn’t want to know which he meant, scared of the answer.

“I know.” You lied. Unable to stand the tension, desperate for just a bit of normalcy, you did something bold. Something you might regret.

“Do you still have it?” You glanced at his jacket pocket.

Rafe looked confused for a moment, but when your eyes met his, he knew what you were asking for.

Reaching into his jean pocket, he pulled out the small baggie from when you all had been camping. He must’ve added to it from the sandwich sized baggie he carried.

“That’s more like it.” He commented as he poured some out on the fatty part of his hand. You ignored him, leaning forward to take the bump.

Immediately, you felt the effects. You knew it was likely because of the surreal circumstances of your life now, but you wouldn’t have had it any other way. Rafe smiled & watched as you grinned widely.

He made another one for you that you happily took.

Rafe did a couple himself, & after what felt like twenty minutes & three more bumps later, you were leaning into Rafe, enjoying his warmth. He was talking but you weren’t making out his words, just feeling the vibrations of his chest as he spoke, staring at the reflection of the trees in the water ahead of you.

You could’ve stayed like that for hours. Just sitting there, blissfully unaware of the world, feeling better than you had in a long time. Imagining yourself just out on a hike with a friend, talking aimlessly about nothing & everything. It was just out of reach, but you could feel it.

“Hey, hey.” Rafe bumped your shoulder. You looked at each other & smiled.

“I know what would make this even better.” He shared. You bit your lip in excitement, nodding in anticipation.

“Beer.”

“Yes!” You gleamed.

Rafe hopped off the rock, offering you his hand for you to do the same. You took it, jumping down jovially & skipping ahead. Rafe laughed lightly behind you as he followed. You were almost to the clearing, nearly forgetting the way of the world when Adrianna appeared, her arms crossed as she cut you two off.

“Wow.” She shook her head, judgement rolling off her, “You guys are coked out of your minds.”

“Oh, shh!” Rafe responded playfully, “No one needs to know.”

“They do actually.” Adrianna bit, “Because we’re having a group meeting. Now.”

Your high was slightly dampened, knowing you’d have to face the others, Sayyed especially. But your high kept you from caring too much.

“Fine.” You shrugged, glancing back at Rafe. He mirrored you, barely bothered.

Adrianna lead you two back to the clearing where everyone else was waiting. Their stares were obvious. Sayyed was fuming once he got a good look at you. You stayed across the clearing from him, choosing to stand beside Rafe. At least you weren’t alone in their collective upset.

“We’ll talk about that later.” He gave a pointed look towards you & Rafe. You forced yourself not to smile.

“But we’ve made a decision about what we’re doing next. We won’t be moving north.” Sayyed shared with the group, gesturing between himself & Adrianna.

“What? Why?” Micah questioned. Ever since the world ended, he had a never-ending sour look on his face.

“Because the community that Tobias told me about isn’t a community at all.” Adrianna added, “It’s not small or in the middle of nowhere like I thought it would be. It’s a city. Like two hundred thousand plus population. I either heard Tobias wrong or he didn’t know what he was talking about."

"How do you know that?" Bear asked next. Adrianna raised a map in her hand, “Maps don’t lie.”

“That & it’s close to Boston. So, regardless of Worcester’s size, it’s still a dense area. The chances of a safe, virus free community living there is low. Adrianna & I agreed it’s not worth the trek north. We should stay where we’re familiar, settle down & ride this out.”

“’Ride this out’?” Micah scoffed, “Like this is temporary?”

“It’s the best thing we can do.” Adrianna responded, her tone matching Micah’s, “We have the temporary cures. We just keep doing what we’ve been doing. We check for symptoms daily, we look out for one another, & we find a place to stay. Either until help comes or until we can sustain ourselves for when it never does.”

“And you two made this decision?” Bear jumped in a second time.

“Yes.” Sayyed nodded, “It’s what’s best for all of us.”

“What about our say?” Micah threw out, “This isn’t a dictatorship, we should be making these decisions as a group.”

“And we are.” Sayyed said, “Right now.”

Sayyed’s eyes passed over everyone, his eyes briefly lingering on yours before moving on, “We’re not going to have a repeat from earlier. No one will be getting kicked out. I was… wrong for that. I know that now.”

There was silence so Sayyed continued, “But we don’t want to tell you what to do. We’re all in charge of ourselves & what we want to do. So, if you want to find a place to lay low at, stay. If you want to continue north, then do it. But I’ve made my decision.”

The group was quiet.

You were honestly too high to fully grasp what was happening.

“I’m gonna go sit by the fire.” You said, unsure if your voice was even loud enough.

Bypassing your friends, you sat in a chair by the fire, pulling your knees to your chest. The sun would set soon. It’d be dark in no time & you were looking forward to going to lie down like the sun.

You were staring blatantly into the fire when someone came to stand next to your chair. You glanced up. Sayyed. Though he looked unhappy, you couldn’t help but smile up at him.

“Hey.” You said softly, your voice almost melodic.

“Hey.” He crouched so he was more eye-level with you. You knew what was coming. He was going to give you shit for getting high, especially with Rafe, but you didn’t care. You might care tomorrow when you’ve sobered up but right then, you couldn’t.

“Sayyed, I know what you’re going to say, & I’m begging you to please not.” You looked away from him, “Just don’t.”

He sighed beside you but said nothing. Then he grabbed your hand gently, “I’m sorry, _____.”

You turned to him, wide-eyed.

“I’ve been so concerned about the group as a whole that I haven’t been there for you.”

You frowned. You didn’t fault Sayyed at all for that. You were raised to be tough & independent, thanks to absent parents, but you didn’t want Sayyed to pressure himself to take care of you. You could take care of yourself.

“I’m not mad that you did coke, let alone with Rafe.” Sayyed added, “I was just shocked. But I am sorry for not being there for you.”

“Sayyed, don’t.” You shook your head, tangling your fingers with his, “I’m okay. I mean, I’m not okay, but I’m… surviving, ya know. That’s all we can do at this point.”

He nodded in agreement, but said nothing more.

“Thank you for looking out for all of us. I know some of them don’t see it that way, but I know your heart. And they do, too. Whatever they decide is up to them, like you said.”

“What about you?” He asked, “What are you going to do?”

You hadn’t realized that he thought it was actually possible you’d leave him. There was no way in hell you’d leave him. You loved him.

“Where you go, I go.” You told him, pressing your forehead to his, “Always.”

Sayyed smiled at that, leaning forward to kiss you. The kiss sent you to the heavens. It felt like you hadn’t kissed him in ages. When you two pulled away, you traded smiles.

“I love you, _____.”

“You.”

What was coming next was unknown. The world would never be the same again. But as long as Sayyed was by your side, & your friends were there all together, you thought to yourself that maybe the new world wouldn’t be so bad…

kind of a filler chapter before a brief time jump in the story. the next chapter will also be a filler chapter but after that, shit will start happening for real. this is a slow burn series however so dark rafe will not appear until later, but he's definitely got his focus on reader.

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5- Loo Loo Land: Best Frens 4 ever

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Can you lift your feet up please?" You leaned against the broom.

Loona rolled her eyes then lifted up her legs. You swept underneath her and then turned to get the other side of the room.

"Y/n! Come here!" Blitz sounded annoyed. You sat the broom down and dusted yourself off before entering Blitz's office.

"Yeah?"

Blitz put the phone on speaker, "Alright Stolas, she’s here."

Oh jeez.

"Why hello Y/n, haven't heard from you in a while. How come you're not picking up my texts?"

"Y/n lost her phone privileges, now what do you want?" Blitz said impatiently.

"Why did she lose her privileges?"

"Stolas, why the fuck did you call?" Blitz got closer to the phone.

You let out a sigh of relief.

"I'm taking my daughter to Loo Loo Land, and I was hoping you brave little Imps would accompany us!"

"We're assassins, not bodyguards, 'kay? Don't invite us to shit unless someone's gonna die."

"I'm a janitor." You groaned.

"Trust them on this one, she got hurt trying to run away from a woman with big tits and a shotgun."

"Because I'm a janitor!"

"Don't fight darlings. But i'll pay you-"

"Pay me what?" Blitz interrupted.

"Moneyyy-"

"Done!" Blitz happily slammed his phone down and grabbed out a megaphone.

"Blitz I don't know how to fight."

"I doubt he needs us but hey, money!" He started talking through the megaphone.

"M&M get in here! We're going to Loo Loo Land!"

Moxxie opened the door, "Loo Loo Land?"

Millie practically threw herself in the office, "Loo Loo Land!"

"Loo Loo Land!" Blitz harshly grabbed your shoulders and shook you.

~~

Everyone somehow managed to fit in Blitz's van. They all got out and stretched since it was so cramped in there.

Blitz walked over to Stolas, "Now, remember: this is work and work only. Me and my crew are not here to satisfy your perverted bird needs, alright?"

Octavia tried to get her dad's attention but Blitz interrupted her. "If you try fuckin' my little ass and make Y/n watch in that park, I swear to--"

"You are so cute when you are serious!"

Blitz huffed and watched you tap your foot up and down.

"Nervous?"

"What? No. Last time I joined you guys I got hurt."

"I told you I didn't mean to choke you until you passed out-"

"Not that you retar-... dumbass. I twisted my ankle and couldn't walk for two weeks."

"Oh right. Well try not to hurt your weak wittle ankles." He teased.

Millie was excitedly telling Moxxie about this place. She was jumping up and down and pointed at the things she remembers when she was a kid.

You smiled at Millie before turning your attention to Octavia and Loo Loo the mascot.

"This place reeks of insecure corporate shame." Octavia gagged.

Loo Loo turned to Blitz, "That chick's creepy, huh?"

"Eh, wait till her dad tries to diddle your holes, and then make you watch him diddle your best friend's hole."

You pinched the bridge of your nose out of annoyance. M&M was looking at some crazy expensive merch from this place.

"That much for a novelty cup that you use one time?"

"Cause it's Loo Loo Land!" Millie cheered.

"Listen to your hoe, Mox." Blitz took a swig from the novelty cup.

"When did you get that?" You pointed.

"When you weren't looking. How 'bout Y/n and I take the first watch while you two have a little fun." He winked.

Millie jumped up and down. "We gotta do my favorite ride!" She picked up Moxxie and started running to "The Lawsuit" roller coaster. You cringed at the sight before looking over at Blitz.

"Stop staring." He tossed the cup. "Now let's go protect this horny owl."

The two walked with Stolas and his daughter. Blitz had his gun ready while you were walking in front of the royal family.

Should've brought my broom. You laughed to yourself.

"It's quite thrilling to see you two on the job. Especially you Blitzy~"

"Why not Y/n?"

"Weapons turns me on." He whispered to Blitz, but you and Octavia could hear him.

Stolas gasped, "Look Via! You used to cry such tears of joy at this show!"

"Oh no." She panicked.

"Fizz is a robot?" You asked, with a confuse look on your face.

"Not exactly." Blitz scoffed.

You know nothing about the discord between Blitz and Fizz. You knew that Fizz got hurt real bad because of the news, but doesn't know the drama between the two.

"Oh Blitzy! I need my bodyguard please!"

Annoyed, Blitz shoots the imps that was trying to take him and he carried Stolas inside the tent. You were in front of Octavia to "protect" her since you have no idea on what you're doing.

Blitz groaned as he saw Robo Fizz enter onto the stage, but you were smiling ear to ear.

"Why do you look so eager?"

"I haven't seen him since...my addiction got bad." You whispered.

"That's not him, you do know that right? Did the meth make your brain smooth?"

"Shut the fuck up Blitz." You gritted through your teeth. "I know it's not him, but...he was like a brother to me." You frowned.

Blitz was going to bring it up again about your past addiction because he's upset and got hurt by you. He knows that you know this, but for some reason he wants to keep reminding you even though it hurts him to do so, but he doesn't know that he's indeed hurting you.

"Oh how delightful!" Stolas clapped at the end of the song.

Another imp tried to stab Stolas, but Blitz quickly shot him.

"Oh, my! What aim you have, Blitzy!" He flirted.

"Ugh! I can't do this anymore!" Octavia shouted before running away, Stolas followed her and kept calling her name.

You were feeling weird about this situationship although you agreed to partake in Blitz and Stolas' fucking, but it seems as if Stolas is liking Blitz more. You're actually fine by that, but you can't keep your head around it. You've been best friends with Blitz for the longest time and even grew up with each other. You left him for your own selfish desires, haven't called him/checked up on him since the days before the fire. Then 15 years later you're living with him, as well as having to fuck an owl prince.

You snapped back into reality whenever you saw Blitz shooting Robo Fizz.

"Oohoohoo! Someone's salty! Real or not, though, people lo-o-ove me! Does anybody love you... Blitzo?"

You looked at him, waiting on his answer.

"No. But, I'm really good with guns now. Dance, bitch!"

You knew that was going to be the answer. You huffed then abruptly got up and left the tent, dying to get your hands onto some stimulants.

A loud explosion was heard as you felt heat rising. You quickly turned your head. "Oh shit."

The fire spread to all corners of the park. "Blitz!" You shouted out of fear and not out of anger this time.

You saw Blitz and Robo Fizz fighting and relaxed a bit before shrugging. I'm sure he can handle this on his own.

You started walking towards the van to drive it a tad bit further away so it won't get caught on fire. Instead of leaving, you just stayed in his van, rummaging through the trash and looking in the dash board.

"Come on Blitz...you gotta have something."

You found a wadded up piece of paper in his dashboard before unfolding it and slouched in the drivers seat.

It was a poorly drawn drawing you gave to him whenever you first joined the circus. You drew Blitz on a tight rope that was holding you up with one hand. The words at the top was written in crayon and said "Best frens 4 ever!"

Tears welded in your eyes. "He still kept it?" The van doors abruptly opened.

"Drive!" Blitz yelled as he got in the passenger seat. Moxxie and Millie quickly jumped in the back and slammed the doors shut.

"Where's Stolas and Via?"

"Going to some store I said drive, bitch drive!"

You balled up the paper and stuffed it down your shirt, slamming on the gas to get out of this park.

Why did he keep it?

[skzpixiekaifei]

Taglist: @mynameisnotlaura, @palindrome969

Kai: Hey, you want some leftovers?  Minho: What's that?  Kai: You've never had leftovers???  Minho: No, because I'm not a quitter. 

-

Chan: I drink to forget but I always remember.  

Kai: You're drinking orange juice. 

-

Kai: Can we talk about that mass email you sent?  

Changbin: Why? It was important.  

Kai: All it says is, "I'm back on my shit".  

Hyunjin, shrugging: The people need to know. 

-

Kai: *pitches an idea*  

Jeongin, impressed: Huh, there might be something here!  

Seungmin, under their breath: Yeah, a lawsuit. 

-

Kai: You know the sound a fork makes in the garbage disposal? That's the sound that my brain makes all the time. 

-

Kai: Twilight Sparkle was the main character because she represented the element of friendship—  

Hyunjin, tied up: PLEASE, I JUST WANT TO SEE MY FAMILY AGAIN!

Kai: I'M NOT DONE!  

Kai: And Rainbow Dash was the sporty girl— 

-

Felix: Coca Cola can remove rust from metal, imagine what it’s doing to your body.  

Seungmin: Pfff, getting rid of the rust, idiot.  

Felix: THAT'S NOT HOW IT WORKS!  

Kai: Hmm... I've been drinking soda and my body's rust free... not sure where you're getting your facts from... 

-

Jeongin: Don't have a bookmark? Try ketchup instead!!  

Kai: What makes you think I read? 

-

Kai: Christmas lights?  

Chan: Check.  

Changbin: Thermos of hot cocoa?  

Chan: Check.  

Felix: Santa suits?  

Chan: Check.  

Kai: Shovel?  

Chan: Check.  

Minho: Alibi and bail money?  

Chan: Check- wait, WHAT?! 

-

Han, taping a knife onto a Roomba: Be free, my child.  

Kai, entering the room with a small cut on their ankle: Who the f- 

-

Changbin: I love you.  

Kai: I love you too. I've waited so long to hear you say that.  

*Kai and Changbin kiss passionately*  

Minho, to Seungmin: You owe me 20 dollars. 

-

Seungmin: Changbin, I don't like you.  

Changbin: What did you say?  

Seungmin: You heard me!  

Changbin, internally: And it turns out I actually didn't hear what the fuck you just said. 

-

Chan: WHOEVER CAUSED THIS MESS IS GOING TO-  

Felix: It was me...  

Chan: ...Is going to be forgiven because everyone deserves a second chance. 

-

Felix: We call that a traumatic experience.  

Felix, turning to Seungmin: Not a "bruh moment".  

Felix, turning to Kai: Not "sadge".  

Felix, turning to Han: And DEFINITELY not an "oof LMAO". 

-

Jeongin: You use emoji’s like a straight person.  

Kai: That’s literally the worst thing anyone has ever said about me. 

-

Hyunjin: What do you think Kai will do for a distraction?  

Han: She'll probably, like, make a noise or throw a rock. That's what I would do.  

*Building explodes and several car alarms go off*  

Han: ...or She could do that. 

-

Kai: Am I a boy? Am I a girl? It doesn't matter. I'm going to burn your house down. 

-

Kai: *cocks gun* Go to Bed. This is no longer a request, This is now a Threat. 

Hyunjin: I’m not stupid, you know.  

Kai: Well, you’re doing a really good impression of it! 

-

*Kai and Felix texting*  

Kai: Come downstairs and talk to me please. I'm lonely.  

Felix: Isn't Hyunjin there?  

Kai: Yes but I like you more. 

-

Jeongin, referring to Han and Felix: Those guys are dorks.  

Kai: Yes, but they’re my dorks. 

-

Seungmin: Is anyone going to tell me what's going on in here?!  

Changbin: It's kind of complicated, but Kai- 

Seungmin: Got it. Forget I asked. 

-

Seungmin: Hey do you wanna hang out this weekend?  

Kai: Generic excuse.  

Seungmin: I can’t believe you said that out loud, to my face.  

Kai: I can. 

-

Felix: CHARACTER. FLAWS. ARE. FUCKING. IMPORTANT.  

Kai: Me when someone tells me to stop eating mayo packets like they’re gogurt tubes. 

-

Changbin: If you want my advice-  

Han: No offense but you’re the last person I want relationship advice from. You tried to kill your significant other. Multiple times.  

Changbin: First off, that was before we started dating. Secondly, they’ve also tried to kill me.  

Hyunjin: It’s true. It was mutually attempted murder. 

-

Kai, singing to the tune of I Kissed a Girl: I killed a guy, and I liked it-  

Seungmin, whispering: Should we call the exorcist?  

Hyunjin, also singing: The taste of his cherry chapstick.  

Chan, appalled: Call the exorcist. 

-

Kai: What’s your name?  

Changbin, whispering to Jeongin: Can I tell Her my real name?  

Jeongin: No!  

Changbin: I’m… Jeongin.  

Jeongin, whispering to Himself: The ONE TIME he gets my name right… 

-

Kai: The shadow realm? No, I’m sending you to Ohio! 

-

Hyunjin: Subs are so fun to play with. All you have to do is hint at what you might do, back them into a corner with a look, or grab their wrist in a certain way and they're a wide-eyed mess.  

Kai: What the fuck kind of Subway are you going to?  

Han: Substitute teachers deal with so much shit.  

Seungmin: Guys. 

-

*at 3am*  

Felix, holding the vlogging camera: *runs into Changbin’s room and turns on the light* Wake up sleepyhead!  

Changbin: *wakes up* Dude!  

Felix: *cackles*  

Kai: *sits up from where they were sleeping behind Changbin* What the fuck, Felix?  

Felix: *jaw drops* Wait WHAT- 

-

Kai: Clownery. Tomfoolery. Absolute fuckery, I am going to revoke your life privileges. 

-

Changbin: Stay foxy.  

Han: Die lonely. 

-

Kai: How many children do you have?  

Chan: Biologically, legally, or emotionally? Because there is a difference. 

-

Chan: Hey, Changbin? Can I get some dating advice?  

Changbin: Just because I'm with Kai doesn't mean I know how I did it. 

-

Kai: “Ladies and gentlemen” is unnecessarily gendered, overly formal, lengthy, and honestly, I’m falling asleep already. “Cowards” on the other hand, is inclusive to all genders, to the point, and dramatic. 

-

Kai: Hey guys, I’m making french toast sticks in the oven. I’m gonna take a quick nap, so wake me up in 5 minutes to flip them over.  

*5 minutes later*  

Jeongin: Kai it’s been 5 minutes, time to flip your sticks.  

Kai: snnnzzzz...  

Jeongin:  KAI YOUR STICKS! 

-

Han: Life is like Kai. It's short. 

[callsigns-haze]

Pretty like a crime

Chapter 12

Pairing: Agent Jake 'Hangman' Seresin x Singlemom! Agent Y/n 'Cobra' Y/l/n

Summary: Cobra is finally back on the agency and is finally back in the job. With Kai at home she has to jumble being a mother and a agent. She's sent to her first U.C mission but never thought that she would meet a blonde, green eyed Texan...

Warning: Mentions of gun use, ptsd, mentions of death, mentions of shooting, flirting, mentions of abuse, description of dead body, death, blood, undercover work, alcohol use, smut, kissing

Prologue/ Part 1/ Part 2/Part 3/ Part 4/ Part 5/ Part 6/ Part 7/ Part 8/ Part 9/ Part 10/ Part 11

You held him in your arms. Funerals. You hated them but at this point you've built up an immune system to the tears and pain. On the outside of course, never the inside. Your arm was wrapped around Jake's waist and you put your head on his shoulder. You looked down at the ground.

Javy.

You see, Jake loved Javy like a brother. You know? Hangman and coyote the ultimate duo. Yep, that was them, that was the two lads we were talking about. They knew that one day they'd be gone but never expected it so soon. Jake also felt guilty. He brought Javy out that night to seek satisfaction in revenge upon Matthew and yet that cost him Coyotes and Justin's life along with Matt's.

You stayed there a little bit after everyone walked away. Jake needed his moment. Honestly, how do you say goodbye, to someone who's been with you for your goddamn life. Who gave you some of the best laughs of your life and flashes a smile when he looks at yours. Jake never wanted this to end, Coyote was one of his closest friends.

Along with Bob. Bob and Hangman were rough but never strangers. He was like a younger brother to Jake, always there if he needed a hand, always helping him hunt someone down. Calling him a baby or dummy was a way of expressing his love because he expressed it through his cockiness and Bob knew that, he always did.

Phoenix. She was the 'man'. Jake always teased her about running as fast as she could but she only wanted to prove that she could be as fast as a man. And Jake was so sick of men coming at her again, because if she was a man, she'd be a man.

Fanboy, he was sweet like candy, in his veins. Surrounded by all the horrible things of the day. He was like lightning in a bottle, happiness never leaving because it was all that he thought of. All he did was strike people with the heart of electric love. He strikes with that electric love.

Payback, he was calm. His eyes are godlike and voice and tone approved. He was patient and timing with a bunch of happiness underneath the prince-like features. He was composed but with Jake he was wild.

Jake loved each one of them. They were his family. And now they were all in the stars. The six feet made it feel so far. Jake felt alone between the heavens and the embers. Oh, it just crushes him so hard, stabbed him like a knife in the back for a million different reasons. They built and shaped his heart and now a part forever stopped beating.

You whatsoever love the daggers equally as much but one man today had a special feeling upon you. Justin. He was your brother. Your love for him beats deeper than the ink of your matching tattoos. You both went through similar trauma and that's the truth. You may have grown apart, lived different lives but heaven only knew that somehow you'd find your way back to him.

And Matthew. He may have been your ex but still. He was the man that rocked your world solid while it lasted. He was the love of your life or what you thought he'd be but not anymore. It still hurts for a million different reasons, he was the light in the dark and now it suddenly dims. He took a piece of your life and now you stay here not knowing how to respond honestly.

You allow Jake to have a moment and walk over to Bradley and your little boy. As soon as Kai notices you walking over, he speeds out of Bradley's reach and runs to you. You grab him mid flight and lift him up into your arms, placing him upon your hip. You give him a delicate kiss on his forehead and walk back over to Bradley.

"Is Jake okay?" Asked Bradley, he worry about his only friend who managed to survive this murder attempt. You look over where your boyfriend stands and simply sigh. You didn't know what was going to happen from now on. There was nothing left for you here, no proof about your past existence and no survivors to tell on your tale.

Kai rests his head in the croak of your neck as you rub his back up and down and finally answer Bradley's question. "Honestly, only time will tell."

He simply nodded and asked, "And you?"

"I'll be fine." You will be fine, with time obviously. You just needed time like every normal person would.

You all stand in silence until Kai lets out a little pep in your ear, a sort of whisper, is a better way of describing it. "Can I go to Jakey? He seems sad, I don't wanna see Jakey sad."

You tried to stop your tears from welling up in your eyes and you kissed your son's forehead and nodded a simple yes and put him down on the ground. The second those little booties collided with the ground those feet took off in Jake's direction. God bless for your boys.

-------

You have just placed your son in bed and tucked his covers up tight to his chin. The two of you were telling stories, just like every single night. It was a story followed by a melodic bedtime song. You have just sang the last note as Alfie strides in with his golden fluff, slipping across the floor like a mop. You give him the lightest rubs as he gets up onto Kai's leg bed space.

You know Kai is a comfort now. He has the best guard to watch now and you could finally take two steps back before closing the door.

Jake decided to go to Javy's place to just get some last things and say a last proper good, goodbye. You knew it was a while till he would get your plans done and dusted and Bradley still was coming up to collect work papers soon.

All you have to do now is wait. Rest and wait, that's all you got to do now. You slide down to the couch with a bottle of wine in hand. You weren't even bothered to get glasses for this, you were drinking it damn straight from the bottle. You needed it for after today and the night that only sparked.

You needed to stop that November flash as it filled your eyes once again. It was like a cure. This place was once a madhouse, decking the halls with light and life. One for friendship, two for love, three for you never letting go. But too bad you're messed up in the head, nobody would even notice you're dead.

You lie there for a while, half a bottle done. How did you feel? You felt like you were going to die. You rolled your head back on the couch. Bradley would be here soon and you were far from sobber. You lay like that for a while longer, eyes closed and head tilted up to the ceiling as your last breath was long and clean before a rag covered your mouth and nose with a hand over your eyes.

Current taglist:

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@callsign-dexter

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[the-ninjago-historian]

I'm feeling sad today, so FLUFFY COLE X VANIA HEADCANONS TIME!

FEAST YOUR EYES UPON MY HALFBAKED SHIPPING IDEAS!!!🤣🤣🤣 Lol. I need something to cheer me up. These or Pixane usually does the trick. Also, I wrote most of these well past my bedtime. So you KNOW it's gonna be fun! Lol! And I have a little post-series stuff thrown in too. So these headcanons aren't canon to Dragons Rising. Just wanted to make that clear. Anyhoo, let's go!

1: Vania fell first. Cole fell harder.

2: They like to go hiking and spelunking ALL the time. They're the cutest little adventure duo ever! They've discovered all sorts of secret places in Shintaro's mountains. And even some ancient artifacts and cave paintings from Shintaro's past!

3: Whenever Cole visits Shintaro, Vania just lights up. She's happiest when she has her bestie with her.❤️

4: Vania once tried to teach Cole how to use the Shintarians Flight Packs. He was absolutely terrified at first. (Falling off of stuff trauma.😭) But Vania told him to focus on something nice so he wouldn't look down too much. He ended up looking at her. Cue mutual blushing and shy downward glances.🤣

5: Cole taught her some new dance moves. (She had been brought up on more refined forms of dance. Like waltz and such.) She wanted to try something different.

6: At first, they are both quite shy around each other. Not quite sure how close to get. But eventually once they got comfortable around each other, they became very snuggly and affectionate. Especially Cole.😊🧡🧡🧡

7: Everyone in the Ninja fam were super happy when Cole finally admitted to liking Vania. He'd always been so supportive of their own relationships. So they were happy he'd finally have a partner of his own to love.

8: Vise versa, the Geckle and Munce were very excited that the Skyfolk Queen was interested in the Son of Gilly/Milly.

9: Vania loves to chatter about her interests and Cole is always happy to listen. (Chatty Extrovert x Good Listener!😁) Vania sometimes secretly worries she's talking his ear off. She doesn't know that Cole loves just hearing her voice.🥹❤️

10: Vania is very protective of Cole. She loves him dearly. Even before they started their relationship. She wasn't kidding when she said she would bring her entire army to his aid. (As seen in Crystalized.) That being said, I think she would do anything in her power to help keep him safe.

Okay, post series ones now!

11: Cole had this perfect plan for proposing to her. Except he wasn't expecting one thing. When it finally came time to propose, Vania proposed at the same time. 🤣 They laughed about it more a good ten minutes before exchanging rings.

12: Cole ends up becoming King Consort of Shintaro. At first, the Shintarian people are a bit apprehensive to the idea of having some who isn't a Shintarian on the throne. But this changes quickly after seeing what a good ruler he is. And he quickly becomes popular with the people.

13: They have three kids. Their names are Valkyrie, Zephyr, and Collette. AKA Cole Jr.✨ More on that later.

14: Val and Zephie here are twins. But, they're aren't identical twins. Val looks more human and is the spitting image of Lilly. Except with streaks of gold in her black hair. Meanwhile, Zephyr looks more like a Shintarian. And he has the opposite. Gold hair with black streaks.

15: Cole was unbelievably excited about finally becoming a father. He'd always wanted kids of his own. When Val and Zephyr were born, he actually cried when he got to hold them. He couldn't believe him and Vania could make something so beautiful.

16: Collette is the baby of the family. She's adorable and definitely a daddy's girl. Also, this happened;👉

Jay: Hey Cole! I guess you missed out on naming one of your kids Cole Jr again, huh?

Cole: *smirks* Oh? Meet your niece, Collette.

Jay: A- *Jay EXE. has stopped*

Cole: *Dabs in victory*

Kai: Son of a gun. He did it.

And FINALLY, this funky quick doodle I did of them. It's kinda "Meh" but I tried.😅 (Vania is a nightmare for me to draw. Lol.)

On a side note, I'll probably do something like this for each of my favorite Ninjago ships. That should be fun!

(Tagging @only-lonely-stars because I know she like these two. Hope you don't mind!)

[hidingoutbackstage]

Okay so Tucker and Kaikaina in Shisno Paradox. Idk how long this is gonn be but it’s gonna go below a cut jic (and so I don’t spoil anything for June lol)

I think the easiest thing they could’ve done to make this dynamic better is just have them reciprocate each others lust from the beginning. Is it funny that Tucker gets rejected by Kai when she proposes time travel sex bc he thinks she’s talking about him? Is it funny that he fucks up her attempts to have sex with people from the past? Is it funny that he has been bragging about having done her back in Blood Gulch and that’s not actually the case (despite the fact that Kai literally says that they did during the s13 climax)? I guess? But you know what else is funny? Tucker and Kai actually going back in time and having sex with people from history. Like I feel like that has just as much, if not more comedic potential than the two of them just being annoyed with each other. I know this is the “everyone is arguing with each other because fuck friendships for some reason” arc but like it didn’t have to be.

Personally I was laughing when Kai and Tucker were talking about using the time travel gun for sex, like that was funny! The episode was literally TITLED “Sis and Tuck’s Sexcellent Adventure” and then they just drop that in favor of these two arguing. Like come on that’s not as funny at all.

They didn’t have to have reciprocated feelings (as much as I personally like them as a ship), there’s nothing wrong with characters having physical attraction to each other and acting on it. Hell up until now it was implied that they did actually have sex. I suppose the idea that they didn’t is kind of a funny subversion of expectation but the direction they go with it isn’t rlly entertaining, at least for me.

And if the intent was to get to the angsty Kai backstory, you could’ve still gotten there! Maybe she and Tucker try to do the time travel sex, but she gets tired/worn out before Tucker does and he doesn’t listen to her when she suggests they take a break from time traveling for a bit, dragging her along to the time periods HE wants to go to without considering her feelings. Still kinda sucks as Tucker characterization bc he should realistically be better than that, but it’s better than what the hell we got that’s for sure.

Anyway she could still blow up at him for being selfish and then they might argue and then later on they can have the heart to heart where she talks about her childhood and being promiscuous due to her insecurity about her own self image, and instead of saying “Tucker what you said reminded me of my trauma” it’s more of a reflection, kind of “Hey as my friend I want to let you know why I’m like this in the first place and why I was so insecure/nervous about saying no to going along with your adventure” and Tucker could still apologize and all that.

Then maybe a confession of feelings from Tucker so he gets a moment of vulnerability too, and like I said as much as I ship them I do kinda like Kai’s “I used to have feelings for you too” cuz ik this season didn’t actually care about these two as a ship, and Tucker demonstrates maturity by showing he’s okay with her rejection.

Although if they DID wanna make them a ship, there’s not a ton that actually has to change in the script for that to happen. (in my version not the version of SP we canonically got) They already get along like friends, they had sex before, and when they had an argument from Tucker being a bad friend, they worked through it. All you’d rlly need is for Kai to eventually come to the conclusion that she rlly likes Tucker, and that at some point, it stops being just as friends and she really wants him, and seeing as Tucker already has feelings for her but cares about her enough to not act on them, there might be some hesitation there but I think they’d make a rlly good pairing after that. Their sense of humor is already similar, they already get along, and they’re just so cute together ugh I’m getting distracted anyway it would make the moment everyone gets thanos snapped to repeat their timelines till infinity where he says “K I need to tell you-” all the more emotional, at least to me, bc that moment lives rent free in my brain anyway I just wanted better writing for these two is that too much to ask

[l0serloki]

can you do fluff headcannons of a soft kayo x a shy fem reader it can be anything your choice.

please and thank you!

Valorant Agents with a Shy S/O

(KAY/O, Sova, Chamber, Reyna)

CW : GN!Reader, Shy!Reader

A/N : I hope this is what you meant! If you want something different feel free to shoot me another request. This was super fun to write!

KAY/O : 

He doesn’t understand why you’re so shy,  everyone deserves to hear you!!

‘You’re so smart Y/N, don’t let those weaklings scare you’ (he tries)

He will realize that you can’t really help it and do tasks for you

He helps you order food, talks to Brim on mission reports, etc.

Overall, he just steps up to be your bodyguard 

“What’s the mission report, Y/N? Did you even get the piece?” Brim sighed, anger apparent in his voice. You knew that the mission didn’t go to plan but that didn’t mean he had to take it out on you! Your hands went clammy and you looked away, anxiety coursing through you. 

“They didn’t but it was Chamber’s fault. His gun triggered an alarm and she almost got locked in. You don’t need to be so harsh, Captain.” Kayo put his arm in front, pushing you behind him. You could only look up in awe at the man. He was talking back to Brim of all people? And for you? You could only feel your heart swell at the actions, he truly did love you.

Sova : 

He’s so so sweet and understanding

He goes out of his way to make sure you’re not put in awkward situations/conversations

‘Let’s go at your pace, dove’ - he wants you to be comfortable with anything and everything

Best at communicating and asking you how you feel 100%

“Y/N, you totally did a great job!” Raze threw an arm around your shoulder, everyone's attention turning to the two of you. You couldn’t help but feel embarrassed, shrugging her off. “I-It’s nothing.” You murmured as Sova grabbed your arm.

“They’re touched by your words Raze, but we must get back to work.” His hand squeezed yours, his breath fanning across your face. “No worries, my dove. I am always watching and here to help.”

Chamber : 

This man gets it but sees it as a challenge

‘No no, we will get you to open up a bit more dear!’ (infuriating but you know he means well)

If he notices that you can’t do something he will step in, hand around your waist the whole time

He’s totally going to tease you about it sometimes, he loves it though

“No, the screw I need is on the right. Grab the big one.” Chamber pointed towards a box as he continued tinkering away. You nodded, going to grab the item. Too bad Killjoy had left her bot in the floor, sending you tumbling down. You could only groan as you attempted to get off the floor.

Chamber’s laughs filled your ears and you rolled your eyes feeling the heat in your face. “Are you okay? That was quite an elegant fall.” You could only turn away as he continued to tease you, hands wrapping around your waist. “Is someone embarrassed now? Poor thing..”

Reyna : 

She will not let ANYONE speak back to you

‘I heard you were flustering Y/N, this is your warning’

She doesn’t know how you ended up with her considering how ‘scary’ she is but she loves it

‘We are so cute together, you are so sweet and I am terrifying. We are the perfect pair’

She loves you being shy and flustered and will do it on purpose sometimes

Reyna and you were teaching the new agents some tactics for the upcoming missions. The day had gone fine, until one of them decided to be a smart ass.

“Y/N, I don’t even get what you’re trying to say.” one of the recruits snorted out at you jumbling your words. It was hard for you to make big speeches like this and of course they had to point it out. Before you knew it, Reyna stood tall and proud. Her hand was placed on the small of your back, face smoldering with anger.

“Talk to Y/N like that again and it will be the last thing you ever do, I promise you that. You are a recruit and we are your superiors, I don’t care what you think. You will show them some respect.” Reyna’s hand patted you, your face burying into her shoulder. You loved her, but damn did she make a scene.

[violetmuses]

Part 2 of a request! - Part I ❤️‍🩹

@thomasrunner @nelo0wesker 🏷

Despite hiding around the world for quite a while, criminal Armando Aretas finally returned to Miami and would learn this brand-new chapter of life. 

To cut his grounded time in prison, Aretas would even continue working through the Miami Police Department and officially joined AMMO's squad.

No more running.

______

Staying with Detective Mike Lowrey until further notice, Armando pulled together and headed down for breakfast, not rushing to the precinct. 

“Morning, man.” Mike still wanted to greet Aretas without pushing boundaries. Their estranged relationship proved cordial at best  now. 

“What's up?” Armando offered slightly accented English before sitting down at the kitchen table. 

“Good morning, Armando.” Mike's wife Christine, a physical therapist, smiled. 

“Hey.” Armando nodded, still not comfortable enough to grin back. 

Christine also helped Mike heal throughout the shooting recovery that took place years ago. 

“Listen, we'll eat first and just get outta here, all right?” Mike spoke up. “Don't wanna be late.” 

“Kay. Who made the coffee, though?” Aretas glanced toward Mike and Christine for a second. 

“Me.” Mike joyfully confirmed. Even Christine laughed while Armando finished the meal. 

*****

“Don't worry about Marcus. I got you.” Mike almost whispered near Armando after driving the classic Porsche to work. 

Before Lowrey and Aretas could even walk inside, one voice called out. 

“Aw, Mike! Why didn't you tell me?” Sniffing through dramatic tears, Mike's longtime partner and best friend Marcus Burnett reached the curb. 

“Please stop crying, Marcus.” Mike shook his head while exiting that car. 

Embarrassed, Armando nearly shrunk in the passenger seat to hide and even veiled further by wearing Mike's sunglasses. 

“Armando dressed like you, too.” Marcus continued anyway. “Look at the gun holsters placed on his back, Mike.” 

“Stop.” Mike repeated himself while entering the precinct with Aretas and Burnett. 

_______

To make this return even more unsettling, Armando noticed that fellow law enforcement officials and other staff members wouldn't talk. 

The building neatly turned silent when everyone recognized Aretas. 

Even AMMO weapons expert Kelly and tech genius Dorn looked elsewhere. 

“What the hell’s wrong with everybody?” Marcus Burnett spoke up this time. 

“Marcus….” Mike Lowrey warns his best friend for the umpteenth occasion. 

“No, Mike. Listen, y'all. Stop tripping for five minutes, all right?” Marcus quickly defended Armando. “Focus on the job because Armando's not leaving anytime soon. You can't give up normal things just because he showed up either. He's part of our team like everybody else.”

Voices responded in all directions until Captain Rita Secada entered the precinct and headed toward that briefing room. Everyone else trailed.

_______

“We'll need all hands on deck regarding this new assignment.” Rita explained details while standing behind this podium. “Look for the witness described on screen.” 

Once Rita offered this large-scale viewpoint of that witness, Armando, Mike, and Marcus nearly froze. 

 You centered this case. 

*****

Shortly after that briefing concluded, everyone braced themselves for your arrival. Different officers would bring you to the police station. 

“Who does she want in there?” Armando offered the important point over your questioning. 

“Marcus and I have a much better chance of talking to her, man. I'm sorry.” Mike would never forget how you “woke up” after nearly drowning that day. 

“You're right. I'll wait.” Aretas nodded and walked toward his desk for the day. 

Mike and Marcus know exactly what happens next. Aretas could outright trigger your escape from this station. 

_______

“I know that you're scared right now, but we won't hurt you.” Mike repeated his vow from the wilderness as you sat in this horribly gray room. 

“He was looking for me.” You speak with Detective Mike Lowrey, otherwise there's no chance that you'll ground this case for yourself. 

“Who?” Mike sits up. 

“McGrath.” You reveal. 

“James McGrath is dead.” Mike answered. “We shut down his operation recently.” 

“I know. McGarth took me hostage right before Captain Howard was framed.” You exposed brand-new information. 

Mike's heart dropped and Marcus stood flabbergasted in the corner. 

“Hostage…” Mike Lowrey whispered. 

“Yes.” Your statement confirms the truth with each passing moment. 

Your fear. Running away from strangers. Not trusting anyone. On and on. 

“What do you need?” Mike asked, gently trying to ease the situation. 

“There's nothing else to do because McGarth is already dead at this point.” You shake your head, looking down. “Can I ask you something though, Detective?”

“Of course.” Mike locked eye contact with you for a reason and even stepped closer. 

“What happened to that criminal?” You bring up the question that plagued thoughts ever since you run in those woods. 

Shit! Mike silently acknowledged that you remembered Armando. 

“It's a long story…” Mike struggled to answer your question. 

“Is he still on the run?” You whispered over rumors from different places. 

“No.” Mike began. “The department will give Armando another chance, but you're not in danger. I promise.” 

“Armando?” You grounded the criminal's name this time. “Why…” 

You trailed off because Detective Lowrey spoke up again. 

“He's my son…” Mike cleared his throat and handed reality straight toward you. 

“Your son?” You can't believe how invisible cobwebs  tangled this place. 

One of the most well-known professionals in Miami fathered someone who lurked with darkness. 

“We didn't bring him for questions with you, but his name is Armando Aretas.” Mike continued speaking. 

Realization slapped you in the face! 

“Armando Aretas, the drug dealer?!” You shouted, almost leaving this chair. Even your voice resounded. 

“I knew she would react, Mike.” Marcus grumbled from the corner. 

“Shut up the fuck and help me!” Mike tried catching up with you, but failed. 

Within  seconds, you kicked that door open and found one of the back exits, immediately heading outside.  

“Shit!” Marcus finally realized the mistake of arguing. 

“I need backup! The witness has escaped our building. All units: respond to the situation immediately!” Demanding communication, Mike ran down this street. 

“She's not a fucking dog, Mike! What the hell are you doing?” Marcus shouted back and defended your reaction. 

Ignoring Marcus, Mike continued racing down while members of the AMMO squad emerged. 

“Armando, stay here!” Marcus noted Aretas over you just in time. “She escaped the building.” 

“No!” Armando refused to hide once more because anything could happen near you. Even sirens began wailing in the distance. “If she's mad, I'll deal with it.” 

On instinct, Armando races outside, leaving Marcus in the dirt. 

_______

“Nobody's safe!” You glance over your shoulder while bolting and realize that officers have caught up with you. “Get Aretas out of the damn building or I'm not talking again.”

“Armando won't hurt you.” Mike acknowledges you first. 

“Prove it, Mike!” You rasped, pissed off and worried at the same time. 

Moments later, Armando emerged and stepped toward you in broad daylight, not holding weapons. 

“Just tell us what happened.” Armando wouldn't stop looking at you. 

Even Mike and Marcus turned silent, waiting for the next plan here. 

“Stand down.” You took charge for once. “I can't explain everything in public.” 

Deal. Armando thought. 

******

Police tape riddled the scene while you joined Mike Lowrey's Porsche. 

While you became Mike's passenger instead, Armando crammed the back seat to dodge your glare. 

“My wife knows what happened.” Mike grounded this plan to settle everything in his home. 

“Thanks.” You nodded when adrenaline stopped for good. 

******

Parking at the house, Mike greeted Christine and stepped back, letting everyone enter. 

Once Mike locked doors and food set around this table, questioning resumes without Marcus Burnett. 

“What happened just before you were kidnapped?” Mike asked. 

“It was my birthday that night.” You remembered. “Right as I'm leaving the club, McGarth cornered me.” 

“South Beach.” Mike shook his head, already painting thoughts and images. 

“Scars?” Armando refuses to eat anything until you finish the story. 

“No physical assault. McGrath didn't hurt me, but his goons patrolled.” You don't express more. 

“How long were you there?” Armando nearly whispered. 

“I don't even know.” You almost struggled. “No lights in the room.” 

“How did you escape?” Aretas pulled this big-time question to score that previous tragedy in the water. 

“Tricked someone to help me with restraints.” You answered. “By the time McGarth hijacked your federal transport, I tried swimming away.” 

Flashbacks pulled right away and Armando's heart shattered. 

Aretas realized that McGarth controlled your every move until this point and reaching that unknown water should've marked freedom. 

You would rather die just to escape hell.

[stitchlingbelle]

Watching Halo, Episode 6

We kick off with the immediate aftermath of the battle, and they do a good job of showing the human cost here—my baby Kai screaming in pain, the long, long lines of the injured and dead being carried into the base. The Master Chief claims that he’s fine and Cortana tells him he’s full of shit, which I appreciated. Makee is unconscious—sedated? I assume she couldn’t just sleep through this—and speaking Sangheili (I finally looked up how to spell it).

As everyone but Halsey is off the ship, Master Chief locks her in and gets TALKY as he threatens to murder her. I’m not gonna lie, I adored this scene. There have been throwaway lines about the Spartans’ intelligence, but this is the first time we really see Master Chief show off his specialist knowledge and problem-solving skills. He’s positively chatty in a very unnerving way as he explains how Halsey will die—if Cortana doesn’t take over his body and stop him, which she doesn’t. He doesn’t go through with killing Halsey (unfortunately, though I very uncharitably enjoyed listening to her panicked screams. A+ acting). I’m not entirely convinced that his test actually proved what he wanted it to—we know Cortana is programmed to take him over completely if needed. Is her access to that function still blocked by Halsey, or did Cortana choose not to use it? If it’s still blocked, was Halsey unable or unwilling to give that access in time to save herself? (She, or her clone, has already shown herself willing to die for her vision if necessary.) Chief seems to assume Cortana would do anything to save Halsey because she’s her creator—but is that true? What does Cortana want?

Makee, like the sledgehammer she is, is going straight past subtle and demanding to speak to the Master Chief and no one else to give up Covenant secrets. How does she even know who he is, gang? If this weren’t a 9-episode season I would have enjoyed them screwing with her by trotting out every other Master Chief in the UNSC before finally letting her talk to John, but we gotta keep things moving, instead. His tough-guy act lasts all of thirty seconds before she drops the term “blessed one” and he crumbles. If she’s so important, Chief, how did she get away? (Also, did she have star charts memorized as a kid and access to nav data as a prisoner? How does she know what the human name of this star system is? I know, if she didn’t we wouldn’t have a show, blah blah blah.) She also gets a cool new human outfit this episode, which I assume is a standard-issue thing, but appears conveniently fashionable, well-fitted, and cleavage-revealing.

Meanwhile, there’s politics and the brass backstabbing each other because their brainwashing & slavery program isn’t running as smoothly as they hoped. (No one reads history OR scifi around here.) (Are the Spartans even paid? What do they spend it on? They need a union.) Consequences are catching up to Halsey in the form of some sort of interrogation (mar dhea, as we say in Irish—as if! I’m certain she’ll wriggle out somehow). Aaaand John interrupts thirty seconds in, which is probably not how the military or the law usually works and in the real world would almost certainly be enough to get her off scot-free, to question her while Parangosky and Keyes watch virtually. “He’s going to think we’re complicit!”/ “Margaret, we ARE complicit!” made me laugh in a very dark way. Miranda slips in at one point, too.

Villain monologue! I have to say, I HATE this sort of villain more than any other. Humanity is too violent, so I, supergenius, had the ~unprecedented~ idea to make a group that’s even MORE violent! No one’s ever thought of that before! Babe, you just reinvented the military and cops, except now they have bigger guns and less connection to their home communities. When we say in PoliSci that one of the definitions of a state is “the entity that maintains a monopoly on violence”, this is literally what we mean. So other groups are now incentivized to create their own Spartan programs to compete with you, or some other arms-race solution? (And this is leaving out all the child abuse, fascism, and “who decides?” of deploying a hyperviolent solution.) Dear Halsey, your ideas are unoriginal, inefficient, do not scale well, and are ultimately ineffective. Please see me after class.

Speaking of the child abuse, holy God, the rest of her explanation was truly horrific. Flash clone kids, created just to die in pain? That’s just sick.

I feel for Miranda, who just got her entire vision of her mother as anything other than a monster ripped from her, and I appreciate that her response isn’t to make it about herself, it’s to offer sympathy to John and then snap to when he asks her for help. How much of this is also a revelation for Cortana, given that she keeps saying that Spartan records don’t exist? Whether she knew and is having that knowledge recontextualized, or whether she’s hearing all this for the first time, she’s about to have choices to make herself. John wonders how much control Cortana has over him, and I’m over here wondering how much control Halsey has over her. The other person who gets to learn all of this is poor Kai, who gets the less-than-comforting reassurance from Master Chief that they’re still Spartans, and the even-less-comforting words, “Get better, 125. I’m gonna need you.”

Back with Halsey, she faces her first-ever consequences when Parangosky reassigns her and has her kicked out, giving her lab, the Spartans, and the artifact over to Miranda. I still don’t trust it will last, but it’s nice to see her outmaneuvered at least once. (Referring to John’s very real anger and anguish as “theatrics” and laughing over the idea that anyone could possibly arrest her? Someone push her into a volcano. Preferably right after she watches Miranda comes up with some brilliant breakthrough that leaves everything she did in the dust, and more, shows it for the flawed bullshit it is.) (Can you tell I am starting to REALLY dislike this woman.)

Miranda gets the lab, which is stark and huge with giant screens, much more glamorous than her previous cluttered, normal-monitor-filled premises. Nice set design there. I’m not sure if she realizes it’s also her invitation to become as complicit as her parents. (The Spartan program is being questioned, but if it’s not shut down, how do you get more Spartans? How will she justify keeping  those pellets in the other Spartans’ backs? Or is she about to start a little rebellion of her own?) But of course, her access is immediately compromised by her mom demanding to see her. *insert Admiral Ackbar gif here*

It absolutely is a trap, as expected. I assumed it would be a bug planted on Miranda to take back to the lab, but it seems Halsey used a high-tech contact lens to copy her daughter’s retinal data. 1. I am surprised she didn’t have that already, weirdo that she is, and 2. This is why biometric data is a disaster. It sounds super fancy and science fiction-y and unhackable, but the problem isn’t your body being hackable, it’s the MACHINE being hackable. It doesn’t know where the data is coming from, just that it IS the correct data, and you can change your passwords BUT YOU CAN’T CHANGE YOUR EYEBALLS.

Ahem. Meanwhile, in terms of character work, Halsey pulls this all off by pretending to get emotional, but does it in such a weird and off-putting way that it’s believable for her. I have so many questions about this woman. Why and how did she even end up with Keyes? Why did she even HAVE a kid? (Oh god, she didn’t originally have Miranda for the Spartan program, did she? Is that why she’s so hostile towards her, because she washed out and is therefore ‘flawed’?) Telling Miranda “I’m sorry that you’re upset that I’m a sociopath” was a hell of a move.

Eventually Cortana breaks through to Halsey (who is debuting her new line of loungewear, incidentally). Interesting that Halsey takes credit for Adun’s work. Cortana, you really, really need to consider your life choices right now…

Meanwhile, there’s some drama around finding the planet Makee told them about, which gives me a bit more of the worldbuilding—they’re using telescopes to find it, not relying on previous charting missions or sending a ship in person. Humanity is still limited in its explorations and knowledge of the greater galaxy. (Could they find friendly aliens at some point? Allies against the Covenant?)

The doubt is enough to send Master Chief and Miranda running to the artifact, fortunately not with Makee in tow just yet. (John’s level of suspicion is pleasantly surprising.) Clearly Kai’s humanizing of the team worked, because Miranda is obviously worried about John as a person as they argue over him touching the artifact again. Halsey, Adun, and Cortana all watch as John nearly fries his brain—and Makee’s as she goes into an instantaneous, identical medical crisis. He inevitably remembers her words and is able to accept the power and suddenly they’re both having a vision of a ring planet of some kind. Aaand it immediately turns into a “We See Each Other” moment. Of course it does.

[waywardrose]

THROUGH A GLASS DARKLY 23

stranger things

eddie munson x reader

rated e

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for @punk-in-docs​​​

fem/witch/goth!reader, sweetheart!eddie, magic, slow burn (for me), friends to lovers, angst with a happy ending, no y/n only pet names, series-typical horror, period-typical sexism and homophobia, historical inaccuracies and anachronisms, drug dealing and use, smoking, alcohol use, masturbation, mutual masturbation, fantasizing, one-bed trope, making out, fingering, dirty talk, consensual pursuit and capture, oral sex, handjobs, condoms, piv sex, reader’s father is a dirtbag, mild spanking, magical violation, mental torture, body horror, blood, aftercare, nightmares, strict parenting, panic attack, past child abuse and abandonment, semi-public sex, break-ups, running away, guns, fist fighting, everyone survives, tags will be updated as needed

Eddie would have to wait until his lunch break to see this new, hot, weird chick. He wondered which flavor of weird she was. Art weird? Theater weird? Band weird? Weird weird? He shrugged. He liked weird. In other words, you’re the new girl in town, and Eddie is intrigued.

note: Heed the tags! 👆

23

Consciousness hit you like a brick. You shook onto your back. An open book dug into your kidney. Your hands clenched into fists. You tried to breathe. Something was wrong. You couldn’t consider the who or why as the feeling of static crawled up the tunnel of your spine.

The long silence stretched before you. It was a pit no one could climb from, a thicket no one could chop through. It was all thorns, no blooms.

That sonorous voice — Vecna — whispered to you as if to lure you. You closed your eyes. Another voice whispered over him. A voice so familiar and comforting — one you knew so well.

Hey, sweetheart, you gotta breathe.

You could follow those gentle directions. Air in brought an ease. Warmth spread across your hands and shoulders. Vecna couldn’t touch you here, you reminded yourself.

You inhaled and exhaled for four counts each until everything was calm. The book still dug into your back. You maneuvered off the book and stared at the ceiling for a minute.

Eddie? you thought.

He didn’t reply.

You blinked heavy eyelids.

Are you there?

You attempted tucking your cold toes in your pajama bottoms with little success. With a sigh, you hauled yourself to the head of the bed and curled under the blanket. Before you managed to switch off the bedside lamp, you fell asleep.

.

The morning started with repeated thumps on your bedroom door. You bolted upright, heartbeat revved. Only your father knocked like that.

“Yes?” you called.

The door whooshed open.

As if announcing a board-meeting, he said, “Breakfast in five.”

“‘Kay.”

The automatic door closer fizzed the door shut.

You brushed the grit from your eyes and startled when you couldn’t see your left hand. Then you remembered you’d taken part of Vecna’s curse. You slumped before glancing at the clock.

It was half-past seven.

Groaning, you pushed the blanket away and got out of bed. You couldn’t imagine why anyone would choose to be awake this early. Your parents shouldn’t be awake. There was no way your father was going to work today. Not after last night.

And even if he were, he wouldn’t need you in the kitchen.

Unless he did.

Unless he was going to question you about the fight with Jason Carver.

You didn’t want to press charges or sue for damages or whatever else could be trumped up. Explaining anything to your father, and later the police, would have to be corroborated. They’d talk to Heather, who you hadn’t seen at all yesterday and had no idea you’d used her as an alibi. Then came glossing over how you’d met Eddie’s friends. You supposed they were your friends now as well.

You found the pressure patch with the strap in your purse and fastened it around your head.

Nothing could connect you to the Creel house or Jason’s death, either. Except for Jason’s crony who’d run after Erica. He’d been long gone by the time the fissure opened. You doubted he’d come forward, though. He’d be unable to justify going after a middle-schooler while Jason held a gun to your head.

A gun you had in your possession. Well, Mom had, but close enough. If she kept it secret, the bullet casings in the Creel attic would remain a mystery.

You went to the first floor. It smelled like coffee, baking biscuits, and browning sausage. You paused in the kitchen doorway to inhale the perfect scent of breakfast.

Mom greeted you and said she’d already poured you a glass of juice. Your father, wearing jeans and a casual sweater, stood at the island with an open map and a highlighter. He didn’t partake in the Casual Friday trend. If he was going to work, he wore a suit. No exceptions.

You thanked her as you headed for the table. She set it with fresh placemats, knife and spoon on the right, fork and folded napkin on the left.

She was anxious.

You sat at your usual place and took a sip of juice. You took furtive glances at your father’s map, his casual outfit, and Mom’s stiff shoulders. The muted television threw light on the counter. Beyond the sizzle of meat in the skillet, it was quiet.

They wanted to leave Hawkins. Shit. You’d bet they wanted to leave today.

While you didn’t want to abandon your new friends — and had no intention to — yelling about it would get you nowhere. You couldn’t be enthusiastic about leaving, either.

Without looking up, your father asked, “How’s the eye?”

You set your glass on the table.

“It doesn’t hurt.”

He hummed to himself. “We’ll find a specialist in Cincinnati.”

“What?”

Mom transferred the last batch of sausage patties to a plate. The oven timer buzzed.

She slipped on oven mitts and said, “It’ll be temporary.”

“What about school?”

“The school’s gym’s being used as a shelter,” he said. “There won’t be classes for a while.”

“Why can’t we stay here, though?”

With a condescending sigh, he said, “I can’t do business in a town where half of it’s destroyed, while the other half is without power.” He went to the coffee-maker to refill his mug. “Besides, we need a good lawyer.”

“For…?”

He faced you, eyes sharp.

“For getting that little shit, Jason Carver.”

“I don’t want to press charges.”

“That’s not your decision.”

“So, it doesn’t matter what I want?” you asked. “That I want to stay? That I want to graduate?”

Mom brought a platter of steaming biscuits to the table, saying, “You’ll graduate. Maybe not in May, but I’m sure the high school will have summer classes.” She put a hand on your shoulder. “You haven’t gotten your SAT scores yet, either.”

That was true. You’d taken the SAT at the end of February and prepared a few college applications for when your scores arrived.

You looked between your parents as you said, “What happens when it comes, and we aren’t here?”

“I’m going to have our mail forwarded.”

“Look,” he said, sitting at the table. “This is an excellent opportunity. When we return, you can graduate, and I’ll invest with a real-estate developer, and this family will prosper.”

“Real-estate developer?”

“People will need new houses after this.”

You nodded, watching Mom set the plate of sausage patties next to the butter and jam for the biscuits. Your father was talking about profiting from the suffering of this town. The developers he knew would want to build big houses that made lots of money. Of course, residents would need new homes, but Hawkins wasn’t a wealthy town. You hoped another developer underbid them.

You then thought of one last argument:

“What if Mom and I stay here? Then you’d know how things are going directly.”

“No, I need your mother with me. And you can’t stay here alone.” He stabbed a stack of sausage patties with his fork. “I’m subscribed to The Hawkins Post. They’ll report more than either of you could.”

You looked away with a nod. That went about as well as you thought. Still, you hadn’t agreed too easily, which would lessen any suspicion.

Mom said, “Honey, things will work out, you’ll see.”

You nodded again and offered a reluctant grin. She put a biscuit on your plate to encourage you to eat.

The rest of the conversation centered on planning. Mom didn’t want you driving, but your father didn’t want to leave your car. You assured them you could drive. Your right eye was fine. Mentally, you pointed out you’d driven just fine last night to the hospital. With that decided, your father would finalize the corporate housing arrangement and box up his files after breakfast. Mom would put the house in order while you packed a suitcase or two and loaded them into your car. He wanted to be on the road by lunch.

You finished eating quickly, commenting you wanted to pack. Mom reminded you to strip your bed and throw all your dirty clothes in a garbage bag. She’d do laundry in Cincinnati. You grabbed a black garbage bag from under the sink before heading to your room.

While you planned on staying, you couldn’t act like you were.

Standing at your bed with the spell books spread across it, you remembered your dream of the net and glittering connections. One connection had been snipped, then Eddie had calmed you.

His voice could’ve been your own projection. He’d only repeated an earlier encouragement. A missing connection in the net didn’t have to mean anything, either. It was just a dream. Eddie was recovering in the hospital. Vecna remained in the Upside Down.

But what if…?

Vecna’s voice was real. His intent was very real. Perhaps Eddie’s voice had been real, too.

You didn’t know what it meant when he hadn’t responded.

There was one way to confirm Eddie was healing without calling the hospital. You opened yourself. The same static from last night — and from the first time you’d opened yourself after moving to Hawkins — crept over your bones. It made your teeth itch. You tried to swim through it to find the silver flame of his energy. The static overwhelmed you, nearly drowned you.

Something clunked against the bannister. You blinked away the static, breathing hurried. Mom wrestled with a large suitcase at the top of the stairs. You rushed to her, partially to help and partially to block her view of the spell books.

“Thanks.” She grinned as you hauled the suitcase up the last step. “How’s the packing coming along?”

You smiled with the hopes you didn’t look rattled.

“Much easier now that I have a suitcase.”

She huffed a laugh, turning to descend the stairs. “If you need any help, just call.”

“I will, thanks.”

Once the door closed behind her, you pulled the spell-supplies box from your closet. There was someone you could call for help, or at least guidance: Tom Cunningham, the bookshop owner who’d sold you Israel’s book. You thought you still had his business card.

His card lay at the bottom, smudged with who-knew-what, but still legible.

You knew you’d hear about a long-distance charge when the phone bill came, but there was no one else who would understand. It was almost nine when you dialed the number on the card. You prayed he’d answer.

His mild voice answered on the fourth ring.

“Mr. Cunningham!” you said and introduced yourself to jog his memory.

“Ah, what a pleasant surprise. I didn’t think I’d ever hear your voice again.”

That made you hesitate.

“Why would you think that?”

“Well, my dear, your card disappeared. I thought you’d passed onto the next plane.”

So, you really had died. Vecna had killed you instead of Max.

“I…” You looked to the ceiling, lip between your teeth. “I did die.”

He hummed. “Most curious. I must assume you’re back in your body.”

“I am.”

“But that isn’t what you’ve called me about, is it?”

“No, sir, I—” You sat at your desk. “I don’t know how to explain what’s going on.”

“Give me the Reader’s Digest version, and we’ll go from there.”

With a nod, you gave him the facts: your family had moved to Indiana, you’d met Eddie, and, through him, you’d met a group who battled a psionic wizard from another dimension. You’d helped this group last night and taken a portion of the wizard’s curse. It had killed you, did something to your left eye, broken a girl’s arm, and left her unconscious.

Mr. Cunningham was quiet on the other end.

“I dreamed of a glittering net last night,” you said. “It connected everyone.”

“Indra’s net.”

“It’s real?”

“Well, not everyone believes in the interconnectedness of the universe, but it’s a hypothesis that’s been around for millennia.”

You blinked, eyebrows raising.

“There was a connection I followed that had its jewel missing. I fell into the darkness there.”

“That sounds frightening.”

“It-it was, but what was worse was hearing the wizard’s voice in the darkness.”

“So, the wizard’s alive and calling to you.”

“Why don’t you sound surprised?”

He chuckled. “You’re not the first witch to fight an interdimensional being.”

“What do I do? What did they do?”

“The tales never end well, I’m sorry to say.”

“But what if… What if I can do something? This wizard drained my powers months ago, but I regained them—”

“After dying, yes, that’s a typical reaction.”

“But the wizard was wounded, too. Like, severely.”

“Then it’s a good time to make oneself scarce.”

“What about the others?”

“Take them with you.”

“Their families won’t understand. My family won’t understand.”

“They never do, but they will — in time.”

“But my— Eddie’s in the hospital. I can’t leave him.” You shook your head. “I don’t know if he even survived. I can’t feel him. What if he didn’t?”

“Then he’s at peace, and may his memory always be a blessing.”

Your throat tightened. You couldn’t accept letting Eddie go like that.

“He deserves more than peace.”

Sounding remorseful, Mr. Cunningham said, “Bringing someone back from death comes at a steep price.”

“I understand that.”

He sighed. “I’m sorry there’s no more I can offer.”

“No, I… appreciate your advice.”

“I know you can’t take it, my dear, but I wish you every success.”

“Thank you.”

“I do have a favor to ask before you go.”

“Oh? Okay?”

“Make sure Agnes Jemimah Israel’s book goes to a deserving witch. It’s what I did.”

Tears pricked your eyes as you nodded.

You whispered, “I can do that.”

“Good. I hope to see you when you visit New York in the future.”

“I’ll come by, I promise.”

Mr. Cunningham ended the call with a kind “farewell.”

You placed the phone back in its cradle and sat at your desk for a few minutes. Your parents were hightailing it out of Hawkins. Mr. Cunningham encouraged you to leave. Maybe it was safer, saner, and smarter to leave. However, something inside said it was wrong.

.

Sunlight blasted through the car’s windshield. A soft breeze fluttered through the partially opened window, bringing with it the scent of a campfire. You waited for Mom to lock the garage door and come out the front. In the rearview mirror, your father sat in his car at the mouth of the driveway. Far in the distance, smoke plumes tunneled to the clouds.

Your packed suitcase lay in the trunk, along with the tied bag of dirty laundry. You’d stowed boxes containing your spell books, supplies, and music collection in the backseat. Your purse sat on the passenger seat. A map of Indiana, Ohio, and Kentucky your father had given you folded next to it.

Earlier, Mom had locked every window and door and closed every window covering. All the phones were silenced. The answering machine had been reset to answer on the second ring. You’d helped her empty the perishables from the refrigerator and pack them into coolers.

Now, you didn’t know what you’d eat when you returned. You hoped Bradley’s on Mulberry was still open.

Mom hustled down the front walk to her car. You unfolded the map, making a show of getting it neat on the passenger seat, and signaled to her to back out before you. She’d wanted to bring up the rear in the family’s little caravan, but you couldn’t have her tailing you. She waved and reversed to the street after your father. You followed a second behind.

Cars streamed out of Hawkins; so much so, it was difficult to navigate out of Loch Nora. At the main road, no one would let your caravan stay together. When it was your turn, you waved a few cars past. The fourth car’s driver insisted, and you waved in thanks. Three cars between you and your parents would have to be enough.

Driving passed the empty lot where the mall used to be, you recalled Eddie mentioning it burning down. Erica had said it hadn’t been just a mall fire. You wondered if it had something to do with Vecna. It wouldn’t surprise you, now that you thought about it. A good portion of Hawkins’s fucked-up-ness could be laid at his feet.

A sign stating "Swayzee 20 miles" and "Indianapolis 75 miles" came up on your right. It was now or never. At the first road that appeared to connect to the rest of town, you put on your turn signal and made a quick left.

Trees lined the road, becoming denser as you went. You hoped you’d made the right choice — or at least chosen a through road. It would suck to wind up at a deadend.

A few cars coming in the opposite direction zoomed past. That could be a good sign. Maybe? Your anxiety continued to grow as the minutes ticked by.

Then a small sign for Roane Hill Cemetery stood tall by a post-and-rail fence. You slumped in the seat. The turnoff must be a back entrance, which you hadn’t known existed. Taking a deep breath, you oriented yourself. The cemetery was south-ish of Hawkins High. If you could find the school, you could find the hospital.

With a fissure detour marked by handmade signs, you made it to the hospital in fifteen minutes. Open spots were scarce in the parking lot, but you found one near the back. It was just as well. You didn’t want your car spotted easily.

At the check-in desk, you asked after a John Doe who’d been admitted last night around midnight.

The clerk sucked in air through her teeth.

“We got a lot of John Does last night,” she said, and pulled a binder from under the counter. “You have a description?”

“Young? About twenty? He has brown wavy hair, below the shoulders. He has tattoos.” You closed your eye to remember them all. “He has two on his right arm: one on his outer forearm and another on the back of his upper arm. One on his left inner forearm. Two on his upper chest.”

The clerk paged through the binder. She frowned and hummed to herself. You hunched forward to sneak a glance. While the printed pages were neat, you couldn’t read fast enough.

She shook her head with a sigh.

“No John Does fitting that description, but—um…” She grimaced and crossed her arms over the pages to lean in. “The county coroner had to take our overflow. You might want to check with them. Once the deceased are off the premises, they’re taken out of our register.”

That didn’t mean Eddie was dead. He could’ve been identified — maybe by his uncle. However, you didn’t want to drop Eddie’s name in the middle of a crowded lobby. With how cagey that dog-walker had been last night, you didn’t know how anyone would react.

You nodded.

“How about Max Mayfield?” you asked. “Can I visit her?”

The clerk stowed the binder and turned to the computer at the corner of her desk. After some typing and grumbling at the system, she reported Max was stable and her family was allowing visitors. The clerk gave you Max’s room number on the fifth floor. You repeated it and thanked her.

On the fifth floor, Max’s room wasn’t difficult to find. You knocked on the heavy door before easing it open. A woman with curly red hair — no doubt Max’s mother — rose to her full height. She looked queasy for a second, then cleared her throat.

Max lay on the bed, her arm in an extensive cast.

You introduced yourself in hushed tones just in case she was sleeping. Lucas’s head popped around the corner of the room’s alcove. His concerned frown turned into a grin.

“She’s the one who drove us here last night,” he said to Max’s mother as he loped to you.

His arms spread. In the daylight, his swollen eye and cheekbone looked tender. It made you want to hurt Jason all over again — however impossible that might be. Instead, you hugged Lucas. You’d research a good healing spell to help him.

“Erica, Dustin, and Steve are at the good vending machines,” he said.

You pulled away and asked how he was.

“Eh, I’ve been better.”

You smiled.

“Me too.”

Lucas pivoted towards Max and led you closer. Her mother stood on the other side of the bed, arms crossed over her chest. Max looked asleep, but you feared her condition was something far worse.

“She hasn’t woken, has she?” you asked.

“No.” Her mother shook her head. “She should’ve. The anesthesia wore off hours ago.”

You glanced at Lucas, who watched Max.

Her mother added, “I’m Susan, by the way.” She rounded the bed’s corner and offered her hand. “Thank you for everything.”

Her clammy hand trembled in yours. You placed your other palm on top of your joined hands. She was not only scared, but sick.

“I’m sure Lucas told you already, but Max was very brave last night.”

“Yeah, my baby’s a fighter.” She sniffed. “I don’t know where she gets it.”

“Well, she’s not raising herself.”

She gave you a watery grin. Her eyes fluttered as she then listed. You steadied her forearm. Lucas darted around you to hold her other arm. Together, you guided her towards the couch in the alcove. She touched her forehead while thanking you both.

You offered to get a nurse, but she waved it off. She insisted she was fine. You volunteered to get her a soda. She replied she didn’t want to be a bother, which meant she’d like one. You asked Lucas to stay while you found a vending machine.

You hurried from the room, turning left, and almost ran into Dustin. With a yelp, you hopped around each other. His full hands went to his torso to keep from dropping his snacks. You pinwheeled your arms to keep from tripping. Erica ducked. You smacked Steve’s arm. He groused yet supported your elbow to stabilize you.

“Sorry,” you said and pointed at the pressure-patch covering your left eye. “Didn’t see you guys until it was too late.”

“Shiver me timbers, Captain!” Dustin said with an expectant look.

You laughed before channeling Captain Hook. “Ah, flay your shriveled tongue, Henderson!”

He giggled in delight as Erica called you both nerds.

You shook yourself out of the joke.

“Sorry, Max’s mom doesn’t feel good, and I was going to get her a Coke.”

Dustin thrust a chilled can of soda at you.

“Here.”

“I owe ye one, matey.”

You would’ve winked, but with the pressure-patch it would only look like a deliberate blink.

Back in the room, you cracked open the can and handed it to Susan. She held it with both hands to sip. You and Lucas waited for her reaction as the others entered. She nodded with gratitude and offered a strained grin.

“With all that’s going on, I…” She pinched the bridge of her nose. “Things have been hard, you know?”

You nodded — as did everyone else.

“Of course,” you said.

A knock on the door interrupted the conversation. It was a nurse holding a full IV bag.

She said, “The doctor should be here in a few minutes,” and went to switch Max’s IV bag.

Steve looked to Dustin and Lucas, then you.

“We’ll wait in the hall.”

Susan gave you an encouraging nod.

You followed the others to a small waiting area near the nurses’ station. A lone vending machine stood in the corner. You put a couple of quarters in the machine to buy Dustin a replacement soda.

“—she told me things weren’t great,” Lucas said while you handed the soda to Dustin. “But I’ve never seen her mother like this.”

You asked, “It’s just the two of them?”

Lucas nodded.

“They had to move out of their house when Max’s step-father left.”

Dustin offered Lucas one of his sandwich crackers.

The awkward silence that followed had the others eating or drinking. You touched the pressure-patch and adjusted the strap under your ear. You hated to change the subject, but without Susan around, you could talk about Eddie.

“I asked about our John Doe at the check-in desk,” you said. “And there’s no record of anyone fitting his description in the hospital records.”

Steve coughed around a Dorito.

“What the hell?”

Dustin said, “The lady there wouldn’t even look unless I ‘presented’ ID!”

You frowned.

“How would you have ID? You don’t drive.”

“I know, right! Steve tried to sweet-talk her, but nada.”

Drily, Erica said, “So much for the Harrington Charm.”

Steve pointed at the younger members despite blushing.

“Hey, I’ve still got it, okay? The date with Brenda on Friday… went well.”

“Yeah,” said Dustin. “But have you actually talked to her since?”

Steve wilted a little.

With a grin, you said, “C’mon, Dustin, he’s been a little preoccupied.”

Steve gestured as if you’d proven his point.

To Steve, Lucas said, “Maybe that check-in lady remembered you from your Scoops days. Hard to take you seriously after that, Popeye.”

You grinned, though you didn’t know what Scoops was.

“Popeye, huh? Maybe you should be talking like a pirate, too.”

Dustin flung his arms out. Cracker crumbs confettied the floor.

“Sign on, Steve, and sail this ocean of flavor with us!”

“Oh my God, screw you all.”

Steve shoved a Dorito in his mouth and chewed like it offended him.

Dustin snapped his fingers and pointed at you.

“What if John Doe’s uncle identified him? That would take him off the list.”

“That’s what I’m hoping, but…”

“It would’ve been kinda stupid to bring him up with a stranger right now,” Erica said.

“Yeah, the lobby was packed.”

“And he’ll be under protective custody if he’s been identified, so they wouldn’t tell you anyway.”

You sighed.

“Yeah, exactly.”

“Can’t you feel him?” Lucas asked. “Like…” He wiggled his fingers at you.

“I should, but there’s interference. Like TV static.”

Dustin asked, “Because of the mega-gate?”

“It was happening before that.”

He frowned in thought.

“What if there’s another gate we don’t know about?” asked Steve.

Dustin said, “I think we would’ve noticed that.”

“Do you honestly think the Commies wouldn’t have trucked whatever they pulled from Starcourt back home?” Erica asked.

Your eyes widen as you looked between her and the others. There’d been Russians and a gate to the Upside Down in the mall? The mall that burned down? You stopped at Steve, who noticed your stunned expression. He gave a mini-shrug and a look that communicated this sort of discussion was typical.

“That gate wasn’t open enough to get anything,” Dustin said. “More likely, there was a Russian spy at Hawkins Lab—”

Lucas said, “That got shut down two years ago.”

“Which is why they came back.”

“But a gate in Russia wouldn’t affect me,” you said.

“Not directly,” said Dustin. “But it’s an opening for Vecna to come through.”

“Then the static is Vecna?”

“Possibly.”

If that were true, you’d been feeling Vecna since August. That could mean he’d been feeling you since then as well. Maybe looking through the tumbler into the Upside Down had caught his attention. If you hadn’t looked, maybe none of this would’ve happened. Vecna wouldn’t have drained you and used your power to kill people—

From behind you, a tentative female voice said, “Hey, guys.”

It was Susan with bloodshot eyes and a pink nose.

“Why don’t you kids go on home,” she said. “They don’t know if—” She shut her eyes with a deep inhale. “—or when she’ll wake up, but they doubt it’ll be today.”

Dustin said, “We don’t mind—”

“No, of course,” Lucas said to cut him off. “We’ll come back tomorrow.”

Susan nodded.

“That would be great. Be with your families tonight, okay?”

You joined the mumbled agreements. Considering the bad news from the doctors, Susan probably wanted to be alone. Also, Max didn’t seem the type to appreciate a bunch of people staring at her while she was unconscious.

After Susan left the waiting area, the party threw away their empty cans and wrappers. They headed to the elevator, keeping to Dustin’s limping pace. You trailed behind as you thought of all the things you had to do.

“What’re your plans tonight?”

You blinked with a questioning hum.

Steve asked, “What’re you doing tonight?”

“Oh, I have to go grocery shopping, wash the laundry that’s in my car, research some spells. Why?”

“Do you live alone or something?”

“No, my parents—”

The elevator dinged as it arrived. Everyone crowded in before Erica pressed the button for the main floor.

“My parents left Hawkins today,” you said, elevator doors closing behind you. “Cleared out the house.”

Lucas asked, “They left you?”

“No! No, I was supposed to follow them, but I didn’t.”

Erica gave you an unimpressed look, one eyebrow raising.

“Won’t they notice you’re not with them?”

“I’m sure they have, but I’m hoping my father refuses to turn around.”

“What about your mom?”

“My mother will do as he says.”

Steve snorted. “Sounds like mine.”

Dustin brightened and held up a finger.

“Why don’t you stay with Steve? He’s got the whole house to himself.” To Steve, he asked, “Where are your folks now?”

“Brussels? Brandenburg? Basel? I don’t know. Something with a B. I’ll have to check the itinerary.” His expression remained unconcerned. “Now with all this shit going on, who knows what they’ll do.”

The elevator doors opened to a bustling main floor. People waited in the elevator vestibule, some with bouquets. Steve led the way through the crowd. You and the others followed a step behind until he stopped on the sidewalk near the main entrance.

You squinted under the unrelenting sunlight and pulled sunglasses from your purse. The air still smelled of smoke. Steve handed his keys to Lucas with orders to start the car. Lucas stuck out his tongue at Dustin and shimmied his shoulders. Dustin tried to swipe the keys from his hand, but Lucas was faster. They whirled away in a flurry of feints, dodges, and smack-talk.

With a roll of her eyes, Erica crossed her arms and walked after them.

Steve put his hands on his hips.

“Only start the car, Sinclair! I mean it!”

Lucas gave him a thumbs-up before spinning to keep Dustin from snatching the keys.

You shook your head and turned to Steve, who continued to watch Dustin and Lucas. You understood why Eddie liked them for Hellfire. They were good people — and you were glad they wouldn’t be around for the next thing you had to do.

“I need to check the coroner’s office for Eddie.”

Steve looked at you, a furrow between his brows.

“You want some back-up?”

“No, it’ll be better if I’m alone looking for a John Doe.”

His lips thinned as he sighed.

You said, “I’ll be okay. The worst they can do is turn me away.”

“And what if he’s there?”

“I…” You swallowed. “I guess I’ll identify him.”

“Don’t. If he’s there, I mean. Don’t identify him. Just come home. I mean, go home. Or come to mine — if you want. There’s a guest bedroom and a working washer and dryer. It’s all yours.”

“You don’t mind?”

“Of course not.”

It would be nice not to be alone. Perhaps you weren’t the only one who felt that way. Also, Steve was a sweet guy with good intentions. It wouldn’t be a hardship to have a meal with him and sleep at his place. It would keep you hidden from your parents if they’d returned, too.

“Okay, if you’re sure.”

You found a pen and an old receipt in your purse for him to write his address. After he jotted his address and handed it over, he asked if you knew where Benny’s Burgers used to be. You surprised him when you said you did. He said Cornwallis — his street — was just around the corner from Benny’s.

“Gotcha,” you said with a nod. “One last thing: where is the county coroner?”

He turned to face the road beyond the buffer of the hospital’s manicured lawn. He said the coroner was behind the hospital, but he didn’t think they shared the parking lot. If you went out the main drive, you had to make three right-hand turns to get there.

“Where did you park?” he asked.

“At the back of the building.”

“You know, there might be a path to the coroner’s back there.”

“Okay, I’ll look.”

“If not, just circle around. Or I, uh, I can take you.”

“No, you’re the kids’ ride home. I can manage.”

He didn’t appear to like that, but he nodded.

“Okay, well, speaking of kids…” He thumbed in the direction they’d gone and stepped back. “I better go stop whatever the twerps are up to.”

“Yeah, they might be having too much fun,” you said, grinning. “I’ll meet you at yours.”

“If you get there before me, the key’s in a rock under the little tree by the front door.”

With that, you waved him off. He jogged down the sidewalk, his perfect hair bouncing with each step. You read his address again, then tucked the receipt into your purse. Steve lived with his parents on Cornwallis. That sounded like King Steve, the douche-y jock Heather had told you about on New Year’s. You watched him turn the corner before you started in the opposite direction.

If this Steve was King Steve, everyone was wrong about him. Just like they were wrong about Eddie. Maybe Steve had been a douche in high school. Eddie was an outspoken, self-proclaimed freak. They were more than these labels, though. You were more than a goth and a witch. You were you, faults and all.

You passed your car and continued to the edge of the parking lot. An informal path made of concrete pavers meandered between bushes and young trees. At the other corner, a paved drive with an “Authorized Personnel Only” sign cut into the woods.

Assuming they both led to the county coroner, you took the path. It connected to a downtown street, where the scent of hot stone and smoke increased. In the fashion of most public buildings, the brick building to your right was a generic box. Except this one didn’t have any windows, like a modern fortress.

Around the corner, a green awning undulated in the light breeze. Prismatic gold letters on the glass door declared Roane County Coroner. You took a deep breath and pulled the handle. You jerked forward as the door’s lock rattled. You pushed instead, yet the door wouldn’t budge.

They should be open. The hours posted in the window confirmed that. It was after lunch, too. Even if the coroner was out, a secretary, or someone working the front desk, would be there.

You stepped to the side and faced the street, riffling through your purse to disguise your thinking. You could open the door with magic, but that was trespassing in a government building. There might be security cameras. You wouldn’t know where to go once you were inside, anyway.

You inhaled and bowed your head. Eight energies occupied the building — none of them welcoming. Something was wrong. Yards away, two boxy, gray-green Humvees sat silent. If they weren’t military issue, you’d eat your proverbial hat.

With a look around, you frowned. It was quiet. Too quiet. Too still. The only vehicles on the street were the Humvees. You were the only person on the sidewalk.

Blue police barricades cut across the street a block and a half past the Humvees. For a fissure. The air simmered behind the barricades. That was why the scent of smoke was stronger.

People dragged the ends of the barbed-wire barrier apart. The chasm glowed orange-red, like the angry maw of a volcano. Unlike the witches who came before, you wouldn’t burn at the stake. No, they were casting you into Earth’s raging heart.

You needed to leave. Now. Before whoever was in the coroner’s office detained you. Before Vecna tore through the fissure. Before your increasing dread kept you immobile.

You turned the way you came and concentrated on putting one foot in front of the other. When no one called for you to stop, you could breathe again. When you found the path to the hospital’s parking lot, your shoulders loosened. When you stepped foot on the blacktop, you could think beyond the fissures and military presence.

To keep the phone records clear at Steve’s house, you decided to call the Cincinnati number from the hospital. You pulled the detailed note Mom had given you earlier from your wallet and walked to the payphone at the back of the building. Feeding a few of your remaining coins in the payphone slot, you dialed the number, added more coins, and waited for the answering machine to pick up.

It rang and rang before the machine beeped without a prompt. You identified yourself and said that your parents shouldn’t worry. You were okay. You ad libbed your car had overheated, but you’d nursed it to a local garage. The radiator had a leak and, with everything going on, it was going to take a few days to repair. In the meantime, you’d stay with a friend. You told them you loved them and would call again soon.

You hung up, hoping the message would afford you the weekend — maybe until Tuesday — to find Eddie, heal your friends, and kill Vecna.

As you walked to your car, you realized you’d had Eddie for an hour yesterday. Just an hour. Now, you were back at square one. You didn’t know where he was, if he was okay, or if he was even alive. The locals still thought him a murderer. Maybe you were on square negative-one, because they also now believed he was some cult leader who sacrificed teens to Satan.

This was the worst cosmic joke you’d ever experienced. For the first time in your memory, you agreed with your father’s assessment: the residents of Hawkins were country bumpkins. They were scared of the wrong things for the wrong reasons.

You touched the pressure patch with a huff. Maybe you should throw yourself into that fissure to enter the Upside Down. You’d kill Vecna yourself just to be done with the whole situation. Max would wake. Your eye would return to normal. Dustin and the rest of the party would think of a way to clear Eddie’s name. Eddie would go on to be the rock star he deserved to be. You’d find a way back to this dimension somehow. Everyone would live happily ever after.

And monkeys might fly out of your butt.

Dry heat blasted your face when you opened the car door. You rolled down the window before sitting in the driver’s seat and finding Steve’s address.

You started the car, loaded a tape into the stereo, and cranked the volume. Music drowned all your silly fantasies. You focused on what was in front of you. Nothing else mattered.

The drive to Steve’s involved another detour; this time with official signs. After twenty minutes of winding roads, you crossed Randolph, glimpsing Benny’s on the right. The woods looked familiar, of course, but you didn’t know the neighborhood on the other side of it. You slowed the car and turned down the music to read the house numbers.

Each large house sat in the middle of an equally large property. Many of the u-shaped driveways would accommodate at least six vehicles. Nothing was over ten years old, not the houses, plants, or cars. Your father would label the entire neighborhood nouveau riche. Mom would underline his assessment with the term parvenu. As if they could talk. Mom came from a middle-class family who sent her to etiquette school. Your paternal grandfather lost almost everything during the Depression — nouveau pauvre — but he made up the loss in the late ‘40s and ‘50s. You reasoned your parents were nouveau riche as well, which made you sick of leur pretentions.

The house numbers on the mailboxes increased until one matched what Steve wrote. You hit the brakes and stared at the gray box of a house. It looked like the uninteresting back of a house. The double front door was stained an orange-red. The huge slanted roof dwarfed the windows. Evergreen bushes bordered the groomed lawn.

You turned onto the driveway and followed its curve to the apex. From the parcel circled by the driveway, three younger trees shaded your car. An enclosed — and empty — carport stood between the driveway’s apex and the house. You assumed Steve parked there, yet on the other side of the house was a three-car garage.

Well, you thought, either way your car wouldn’t block him from getting in or out.

You parked and locked the car. Unfortunately, a key was not under the tree by the front door. Maybe Steve had buried it. You tapped around the mulch with your shoe just in case, but found nothing except spongy wood chips.

With a curse, you went to the front door to try the knob. It turned with ease, unlocked. Perhaps he made it here before you. While you didn’t think you’d taken that long at the coroner’s and with the call to your parents, you might have.

Then you remembered the Humvees downtown. If the military had put all the pieces together, or had Eddie in custody, they could know Steve was involved. Would they be so sloppy to break in and leave the door unlocked, though?

Hand still on the knob, you felt one person inside the house. They were idle and getting sleepy. You doubted an assassin would nap on the job.

As quietly as you could, you opened the door, slipped inside, and closed it behind you. The rock key-hider sat on the foyer console table. A pair of worn sneakers had been kicked off by the doormat. Unless Steve had a gaggle of close friends, only two people who weren’t at the hospital would know about the key: Nancy and Robin.

The open-concept interior was a touch warmer than outside. Light filtered through the sheer curtains on the double row of windows in the spacious living room. Generic geometric artwork hung on the walls. Your heels thumped on the hardwood floors until landing on a huge Oriental rug. To your left, a coordinating rug lay under the twelve-person dining table. Beyond that was a tile-floored sunroom.

“Hey, dingus, that you?” called a feminine voice from the sunroom.

You snuck around the dining table to the sunroom. Robin lay on the fluffy rug, sock feet swaying behind her, a magazine open at her elbows. The vertical blinds painted stripes of shadow across her.

“Not Steve,” you said.

She startled to her knees.

“Ah, holy shit!” She put a hand to her chest. “You scared me.”

“Sorry, you left the door unlocked.”

“What’re you doing here? Not that it’s a problem you’re here or anything. I’m assuming Steve invited you. I thought you’d be with Eddie. At the hospital. You were at the hospital, right? Is he okay? How’s Max?”

“Max’s still in a coma.”

She sat on her heels.

“Eddie?”

“Missing.”

Her eyes widened.

“Missing?”

“No one matching his description is in the John-Doe log.”

And the coroner’s office had been locked. And some branch of the military was there. And you couldn’t get to Eddie — wherever he was. And Vecna was still out there. And Max—

“Oh, shit,” said Robin.

Your eyes stung with oncoming tears.

Your voice quavered as you said, “Yeah.”

You flopped onto the nearest armless upholstered chair, dropping your purse next to it. The pressure patch was stifling and hot and too tight. Making an exasperated sound, you pulled it from your face before letting your head fall to the back of the chair.

You whispered, “Sorry. You don’t need to…”

“No, I— What can I do?”

At her soft tone, you lifted your head to look at her. She gasped. You cringed and covered the cursed eye with your fingers. It didn’t feel crusty, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t gnarly.

“Sorry.”

How many times had you apologized now?

She shook her head and knee-walked closer.

You lowered your hand.

“Is it gross?”

“No—yes? Kinda? But not really?” Once close enough, she leaned in. “It looks like Vecna’s.”

“And Max’s.”

“Her coma’s not from the physical—” With a click of her tongue, she bent her arm. “—stuff, right?”

“I don’t think so.”

The front door opened and banged shut. Steve called your name. You scrambled for the pressure patch as Robin replied you two were in the sunroom. He didn’t need to see your gross, cursed eye. You secured the patch around your head just as he entered the room.

To Robin, he said, “Hey, finally got away from your parents, huh?”

“Yeah, they’re glued to the TV, so…”

To you, he asked, “Did you find the place okay?”

“Yeah, no problem.”

“Was Eddie at the coroner’s?”

Robin balanced herself with a hand on your chair.

“Coroner’s?”

You explained the John-Doe log to her before saying, “Anyway, the coroner’s office wasn’t open.”

“No way were they playing hooky.”

“There were military vehicles parked out front.”

Robin said, “Oh, shit,” as Steve said, “Could be the National Guard.”

“At the coroner’s?” You shook your head and swiveled to face him. “But why?”

He threw out his hands.

“I don’t know. It was an idea.”

Robin asked you, “They didn’t see you, did they?”

“No, everyone was inside, and I didn’t stay long.”

“Well, it’s good you’re here. It would suck if they kidnapped you or whatever. I don’t know how we would’ve broken you out. Especially since I don’t think I could get blueprints of the building at a time like this.”

You snorted. “Yeah, I doubt those are public record.”

“Still,” she said, lifting a shoulder. “I’m glad you weren’t kidnapped.”

“Me too.” You glanced at Steve. “I wasn’t looking forward to going home alone.”

“Hey, uh, we gotta stick together, right? So, yeah, alright…” He clapped his hands, and his face brightened. “You ladies hungry?”

Robin laughed and got to her feet.

“‘You ladies’?”

“Oh, shut up. Why’s everyone giving me shit today?”

“I don’t know, Steve.” She bopped his arm in jest as she passed. “Were you addressing everyone like a circus barker?”

“What? Circus— No! I don’t sound like that!”

“Ladies and gentleman!” she said from the kitchen. “Steven Priscilla Harrington presents the most amazing lunch anyone’s eaten in the history of the world!”

“You are hilarious.” He turned to you, expression somewhere between amused and affronted. “Do you see what I put up with on a daily basis?”

With a playful hum, you agreed before saying, “Personally, I pictured you more of a Steven Eleanor,” and stood.

“Eleanor?” He sputtered, blushing. “Eleanor?!”

You joined Robin in the big kitchen. Two frozen-pizza boxes sat on the island counter. She continued to rummage through the fridge like a raccoon.

“That’s so much worse than Priscilla!” he said from the sunroom.

You flipped over one box to read the temperature setting for the oven. Before you could go to the stacked ovens on the other side of the island, another name popped into your head.

“Steven Danielle?”

Robin pulled her head from the fridge to point at you.

“I like that.”

You shared her grin.

He walked into the kitchen, hands at his waist.

“That’s better, but, c’mon.”

Robin rested her elbow on the open fridge door.

“What do you think Vecna’s middle name is?”

“What was his name before we started calling him Vecna?” you asked, rounding the island.

“Henry,” Steve said as he shooed Robin from the fridge and closed its door.

You harrumphed, “Psycho,” and turned the dial on the upper oven to 400.

Robin pulled a round pan from a lower cabinet and set it next to the boxes.

“Fuckface.”

Steve went to the sink to wash his hands, saying, “Henry Fuckface Creel.”

Robin giggled, repeating the name. A smile spread across your face. Steve snickered, which had you snorting. In under ten seconds, Robin full-out laughed as she said the name again. Steve joined a breath behind. It must’ve been contagious, because a laugh burst from your mouth. You laughed and laughed, tears gathering in your eyes. You braced yourself with a hand on the preheating oven.

In an official voice, Robin said, “I christen you, Henry Fuckface Creel!”

Steve belly-laughed and propped his elbows on the sink ledge, water still running.

You met Robin’s gaze, made the sign of the cross, and wheezed, “In Jesus’s name, we pray.”

Steve’s laugh doubled.

“Amen!”

She howled, cheeks reddening, and fell back against the counter. Her reaction spurred you on until tears ran down your cheek and gathered under the pressure patch. Steve’s shoulders shook as he struggled to turn off the tap.

When the laughter tapered off, you wiped at your face and ran a finger under the patch. Robin fanned her rosy face while Steve dried his hands with a paper towel, then blotted his eyes.

“Hey,” he said, facing you and letting out a brief chuckle. “You don’t have tele— Tele-ko—” He frowned. “Tele-whatever?”

“Telekinesis,” said Robin.

He snapped his fingers before pointing at Robin.

“Yeah, telekinesis.”

She said, “Of course, she doesn’t. Fuckface took her power.”

“About that…”

They turned to you as one.

You held up your hands.

“I never had telekinesis, but my powers are back.”

Steve and Robin high-fived. She bounced on her heels as he fist-pumped. She galloped to you and shook your shoulders.

You said, “Don’t get too excited,” though their enthusiasm made you smile.

“Why? What’s up?”

“There’s something I didn’t say at the hospital.”

Robin turned to Steve, who looked at you.

“What is it?”

“I heard Eddie’s voice last night, but I can’t find him. There’s an emptiness where I think he should be.”

“You think Vecna got him?”

“I… I don’t know. It’s like silence. And I know it isn’t Max.” You sighed. “But… but I don’t know. I can’t feel him through whatever the fuck is going on out there.”

“Shit,” said Robin and Steve.

You nodded.

The oven beeped it was up to temperature.