#fun fact he was my prom date that year

[rosicheeks]

1. What did you dream about last night?

Uhhhm I’ve been having these weird dreams about this dude I knew senior year of high school.

[mygnolia]

to weave my love ⭒ n. riki

⭒ SYNOPSIS -› Riki is good at many things- dancing, making fun of his friends, playing it cool (debatable.), Hell- he’s even good at saving people from falling buildings without getting whiplash. But the things he’s bad at? Well, it’s asking you out to prom, and trying to balance the shared assignment he has with you…while being Spider-man.

⭒ PAIR -› spiderman!nishimura riki x fem-pres!reader

⭒ GENRE -› fluff, banter, action ⭒ TROPES -› classmates to lovers, idiots to lovers ⭒ WC -› 17k (i’m sorry idk why either.)

⭒ INCLUDES -› SPOILERS FOR GREAT GATSBY, cursing, non-graphic injuries (reader discretion advised), yes i made the patching up with first aid kit trope SUE ME!! takes place in a busy city similar to new york never specified, reader is rich, jake and heeseung are seniors and riki’s a junior, is riki stupid? yes… jake reveals stuff because he is also a little silly, reader wears a red dress!

⭒ GREAT GATSBY -› basically jay gatsby has this weird amt of money but no one rlly knows how he got it (nefarious reasons) and hes been in love with this girl daisy for five years but then she got married to tom buchanan but he gets rich so he can get the house across from her and wistfully watch her and he pines after her like CRAZY but he dies at the end

⭒ REN SAYS...special huge fat kiss to thena @sensitively-taken you will be in the will when im a millionaire THANK YOU for helping me with so much of this I WUV U AND I WLL BE WAITING FOR UR HUENING FIC!!! | LIBRARY

NISHIMURA RIKI MIGHT DIE FROM PRE-ADULTHOOD STRESS, IF THAT’S EVEN A THING.

What exactly does Riki have to worry about as a seventeen-year-old junior in high school? Right now, his most daunting responsibility is catching up on the chapters of The Great Gatsby because the only thing Riki’s actually read from the novel is that the main character shares a name with his best friend and senior, Park Jay. His second most daunting responsibility is handling the fact that with the new seating chart in his Literature class, it means he’s sitting next to the object of his very subtle affections, you. 

See, the problem with having a crush on you is that Nishimura Riki’s committed to thinking that you’re way out of his league, and unfortunately, the boy believes that almost too well. Not only are you minted beyond his wildest dreams (having seen your posts on social media), but you’re hardworking, helpful, and dedicated to your role as student body treasurer. He’s already understood that you’d never go for a guy like him. Maybe someone more like Park Sunghoon, whose parents’ salary matches yours. If Riki lived in a rural estate with generational wealth, handling the whole ‘Spider-Man’ thing might be a bit easier for him, considering he wouldn’t have to try so hard in school. It might even change the fact that Riki dealt with some alleyway criminals last night and is currently catching up on lost sleep, as your English Literature teacher goes on and on about a project on the book you’re reading. 

In class, and even sometimes outside of the classroom, your small tendency to not pay attention to your surroundings has landed you in some awkward situations—like now. 

“I don’t really tell anyone this, but I hate Daisy.” And instead of getting a response, you glance over to see Nishimura Riki slumped on the desk. Without trying to make preconceptions about what could land him in a situation like this, you poke his arm, stifling a smile at how his eyes widen when you’ve caught him rubbing the very obvious sleep from his eye. 

“Sorry,” he whispers, still fighting the post-nap grogginess, “Did I miss anything?” 

(Nope.)

Shaking your head, you return your attention to your teacher as he continues to answer questions. The second Mr. Yoo assigned a report, you wanted to die even more considering the work you had to do on top of the impending due dates. But for it to be partnered? And for you to get seated and paired with the one boy who's known for not caring about school? Maybe things are a little stacked against you, but there has to be a reason why Riki’s somehow still passing all his classes…right?

Considering it’s the last assignment about the book, you’re glad that you already read it so many times to know what you want to put into words. And in retrospect, answering a few open-ended questions about it can’t be that hard—the hardest part would be getting your partner to stay awake in class. 

A small tap at your side makes you turn to face Riki, who you see has frantically written a page full of notes about the project in the past three minutes and how he can succeed. “Can you go over the first part? Sorry…I was…y’know.” 

“It’s a partner project. And we’re partners.” You wince at the awkward wording. 

Great! Riki was caught sleeping and that was your first impression of him for your paired assignment? Riki feels so stupid in front of you right now—in front of your meticulous notes with annotations and proper highlighting. He wants to curl up into a ball when he sees you glance over at his haphazard attempt to look like he was paying attention when, in truth, he was trying to remember the dream he had just ten minutes prior. When you offer him a small smile and nod, leaning over with your notebook in hand, he sighs in relief, thanking whoever it was that let him get away with his naps without the consequence of irritating you afterwards. 

The bell rings when Mr. Yoo stops talking, and you pause, startled by the sound. Instead of leaving, however, you pack your bag and shuffle to his side of his desk, continuing to parrot details about your report in hopes that it all makes sense. You need to make sure he knows what he’s doing. 

“I think one of the questions he mentioned was like ‘Is Gatsby a good person?’ and do you remember how in Chapter Eight…” The rest gets zoned out and forgotten in the boy’s head, because he in fact does not know what happened in Chapter Eight. He doesn’t know what happened…in any part of the book. But he agrees anyway, pretending like he understands what scene you’re trying to explain. What he notices is how thorough and dedicated you are towards ensuring he comprehends what you’re explaining, and although it could be because you don’t want him to fail you both, he chooses to believe you’re doing it because you tolerate him. 

You’re so engrossed in covering all the little details and telling him random tidbits regarding the book that you don’t realize your feet have made it all the way to the cafeteria. “But here, let me get your number. I’ll totally explain more over text.” 

Riki is definitely not freaking out when he silently grabs his phone and hands it to you with the contact page, staring a little longer than necessary at the cute smiley face you added to your name. “Thanks,” he mumbles, forcibly tearing his eyes away from the ten digits of your number, “For helping me with this, too.”

“Of course! The Great Gatsby is a fun read for me. A little hard to read sometimes because of some of the characters, but still easy to understand.” And Nishimura RIki realizes that he has to do well. He’ll read the book five times over if it means gaining your approval. 

Jake notices something a little different about the tuft of black and blonde hair when his friend walks in. The first thing is that he’s actually here, and that you’re next to him, smiling. The boy rubs his eye to make sure he’s not dreaming somehow, but when he looks up again, you’re waving goodbye and joining your friends across the room. 

“Did you get hit with something while fighting a villain that makes you more bold? I feel like I just saw you and ____ talking,” Jake starts when Riki finally joins him with his lunch. 

Riki laughs, shoving Jake’s head out of embarrassment and opening his chips. “It’s just school. Got some project in English and she says we’re partnered.” He looks over at his friend chuckling, rolling his eyes at how Jake pokes at his side and wiggles his eyebrows. 

“I better hear you two are dating by next week.” 

“Who’s dating by next week?” Heeseung places his bag of food in front of them and takes a seat, opening the fast food he got last period and stuffing a fry in his mouth. 

“Riki and ____. Let me have one,” Jake answers, reaching inside the bag. 

Heeseung looks over at his junior curiously. “You asked her out?” And the two older students hear a groan from the boy in question. 

“Me and ____ aren’t anything, for your information.” He prods at the vegetables on his tray and takes a bite before a look of displeasure washes over his face. “You’re both way too excited for two guys who do not have girlfriends.” 

“Hey! You know the girl I’m always fighting with is the reason why I’m single. I have to focus on studying to do well in school to do better than her.” Heeseung’s whining falls on deaf ears as Riki smiles victoriously, seeing how defensive the former got. 

Jake offers him a shrug of defeat. “I got nothing.”

The three of them fall into normal conversation and Riki finally explains everything that happened during English.  “So you’re telling me your plan to ask ____ out went down from 18 months to 6?” And with a nod from the younger, they both groan once more. Heeseung exclaims, “We’re both going to graduate, dumbass. Make the plan go down to like…two months? Please?” 

Jake cuts in before Riki has a chance to respond. “Make it one and a half, so we can see you with a prom date before leaving forever.” 

“You act as if you’re going to die after graduation. It’s like you’re begging to be a super senior.” 

And they’re silenced immediately. 

“Do you think the guy I was with earlier hates me?” you ask on the other side of the room. Minjeong stares at you blankly, waiting for your explanation. “I don’t know if you saw when I walked in but I was talking to this really tall guy with blonde hair and black tips. He seemed really out of it, like he kept staring at me and nodding. I think I scared him off by talking about the book too much.” 

Sunghoon, who is also listening in, opens his neatly packed lunchbox and begins mixing his noodles. “I think you did scare him off, ____.”

“Not helping,” Minjeong interjects, “Just talk to him more and maybe he’ll warm up to you. You two sit together in class anyways, so hopefully he’ll talk more?” 

“I know him,” Sunghoon comments, “Well, sort of. I’m friends with Jake who’s friends with Riki, and it seems like all that boy does is sleep.” 

“Maybe he’s really good at subconscious in-class comprehension?” you try, taking a bite of your sandwich. “I just hope it doesn’t interfere too much with treasurer stuff.” 

NISHIMURA RIKI MIGHT DIE IF HE SWINGS INTO ANOTHER WALL AT 100MPH LIKE HOW HE ALMOST DID TONIGHT.

All he’s had on his mind since school ended till now is how he should probably text you, if he really discarded the slimy acid monster from last week properly, and when the prom theme is going to be released, but there’s something amiss that confuses his spidey-senses and makes Riki much more alert. 

He snaps out of whatever train of thought he had before, focusing on the situation at hand and looking around to follow his instinct. Riki cautiously plants himself on the side of a random apartment building to get a sense of what's going on. A tingle of some sort of in the air permeates the material of his suit and leaves him shivering from the cold. 

He doesn't like it one bit. 

Moving to the side of the building to the top, the boy finally catches a glimpse of something when he gets a decent view of the city and highway systems. Riki knows something’s wrong with the bridge the closer he gets. He zips from one side of the tall, metal tower to the other, crawling down on all fours making sure he isn’t caught. He feels the electric feeling once more, only amplified. It runs up his spine and he wants to slap it, almost like a frantic, summertime bug. The air around him is charged with something he has never recognized before. With a puzzled expression under his mask, Riki continues to investigate the surrounding area. 

Riki finds a lone figure with some sort of attachment to his left arm, like a long glove made out of metal. The bulkiness of it seems to have no impact on his body as the man fiddles with the contraption, and the boy watches with bated breath as the machine fizzes and spurts with electricity. It begins to glow as power concentrates on his plated palm and the superhero sees it for the first time. It’s like a fizz, like a match striking at fire only to produce a quick burst of friction, but it almost feels liquid when he watches the person play with the flickering blue ball of electricity. It dances in the dark in a hauntingly beautiful way, with bolts jutting out from the metal as it spurts and buzzes with a life-like manner. 

A spark. 

“Hey, what the hell do you think you’re doing?” The sound of Riki’s voice from the end of the bridge causes the stranger to look up with wide eyes. Although Riki fully expects it to simply enhance strength or block damage, the immediate strike of blue that flies straight towards him is anything but defensive. With a yelp, he jumps away, this time refusing to show himself. 

What the hell was that?

He knows he should go back down there to change things and get the person and the metal pieces away before it escalates, but when he goes back down to watch, it's ten times worse. The bright blue illuminates the scarred face of the villain as he’s picked up the metal arm–but this time, it’s no longer clunky and sparking, but fused into his arm. 

Riki’s face pales at the sudden change before his body acts on its own and he shoots out a web to stop the man. 

The villain is shocked by the intrusion, but quickly yanks free from the webbing and flicks another bolt of electricity, one that flies much faster now that the metal flows into the arm instead of simply resting on the skin. It’s unlike something Riki has ever seen, something that is so controlled in motion and yet so erratic in nature, and it instills a deathly fear when it grazes his arm he hisses in pain. The sharp feeling springs Riki into action as he jumps away. He’s lucky another bolt isn’t sent his way, seeing how the villain’s too busy marveling at the power of his new gadget.

“You know that fucking hurts, right?” He yells out, cupping his wound. “Maybe leave the gadgets to the kids!”

The man scoffs. “It better have hurt. I sacrificed half my body for this to work.”

“But why?” All Riki wants is answers. Some sort of explanation.

The man charges up yet another bolt, almost like a laser gun is built into the machine. “Less talking, more running, Spiderman.” 

That scared the shit out of him. 

The boy doesn’t have time to think as he jumps out from the dark tunnel to the bridge and up the metal towers—he hates having to fight with people right below. The villain follows in pursuit, almost crumbling the metal with his engineered arm as he hoists himself quickly. Riki continues to jump between the structure to avoid the flashes, trying to get out and apprehend the man as quickly as possible. When he reaches the top, however, he feels death is near as he glances down at the villain below who’s quickly gaining on him. He shoots out webs to slow him temporarily, letting himself fall and swing from the side of the tower to escape. 

What he doesn’t see on the way across the bridge is the flash that misses his cheek and hits his thigh instead. It burns, and mid-air, Riki gives the wound a quick assessment before he lands on the metal, immediately forcing his body to climb. While dealing with his wound, he fails to notice the villain swinging from the bridge support lines to meet him. 

He needs to end this fast before he becomes burnt toast.

Riki doesn’t often rely on instinct to carry him, but he can tell that the villain he’s facing isn’t just a criminal. 

“Land another hit, would you?” he tries to say, his voice strained from the pain in his arm and leg. It doesn’t do much to deter the man in front of him as the arm continues to destroy and bend the metal on the way up. “What are you going to do now, Sparky?”

The man says nothing, charging energy into his metal glove again before aiming and focusing on the target: him. 

Riki jumps off, not able to properly land his web in the right spot as he goes from one section of the bridge to the other. The man behind him looks enraged at the boy’s attempt to escape—so much so that he reaches out with his normal hand to try to grasp the suit when Spider-Man swings past him. Instead of the feeling of fabric, the villain feels sticky spider fluid on his fingers. Riki shoots out a web, one that curls around the villain’s wrist and drags him off the tower. Instead of being able to launch him into the surrounding waters, the man slips from the poorly shot-out webs and falls from mid air into the sea of frantic cars, including one semi truck that collides directly with his arm. In the air, the boy winces when he hears honks and shouts from the impact, hoping it’s the last time he’ll have to witness it.

With his gaze trained on the falling figure, the weakly attached web breaks, and Riki all of a sudden starts falling down as well. He curls up defensively before bracing for impact, curling into himself when he feels the metal dent and the truck driver scream from outside of the parked vehicle, the body of the villain right in front of it. 

Riki staggers, holding onto his arm and thigh the best he can before getting up. With wobbly steps and a small jump, he lands near the unconscious man, whose metal arm is cracked and fizzling—something that Riki knows is bound to leave more scars. 

“Call the police. I’ll get rid of the pieces.” Although Riki wants to figure out who the criminal is and make sure he’s properly apprehended, the gashes in the boy's limbs leave him winded and exhausted. With hot metal scraps bound together by webbing in his hands, Riki swings out and dumps it somewhere rural, trying his best to cover the pieces with the pounding headache that 

Riki revisits the secluded spot under the bridge, looking for clues to the man’s identity, and his expression falls when he notices a lanyard dangling near a trash can. 

His name, his position, and the company. FLiGHT Corp. The company name caught the boy’s eye, and he pockets the item before leaving. 

It seemed like he was a normal research scientist, but Riki’s recollection of the scars and tattered skin leaves him retracting his last thought. He heard something about the failure of a time travel machine at FLiGHT, and if the mass of the incident was anything to go by, he was in the center of it. 

No matter how many times Riki tries to get it out of his head, on the way home, all he can think about is the inexperience he displayed and the lack of response he gave Riki during the whole time. But Riki can’t bring himself to really take away someone’s life—and maybe for that, he’s a horrible superhero. 

He knows he should stop the man before it's too late, and especially with how many self-proclaimed villains there have been, it's not easy to see so many innocent people ruin their lives chasing a power that inevitably consumes them. He knows it’ll only get worse if he lets them run free.

And while the superhero has never been fully honest with himself, there are many times where Riki hates his role as Spider-Man, and wishes that he was just some teenage boy who didn't have the lives of others in his palm. He wishes he didn't have to sacrifice so much to stay behind a mask—and he wonders deep down if there’s anyone else who felt the same. 

His swings lead him across the city above hundreds of lives he has to protect, and he tries to find some semblance of peace. He thinks about how he has his homework due despite having just risked his life, he thinks about how your project is going—and about you. 

In the night under the stars, Nishimura Riki wishes for something just a bit normal. He wishes a good night for himself, but also for you, wherever you could be.

NISHIMURA RIKI MIGHT DIE FROM TRYING TO READ THIS BOOK IN ONE NIGHT.

The Great Gatsby is exactly like how you described it; a little hard to get through but fun with the plot’s eccentric characters. He’s pretty sure he could’ve just used a detailed SparkNotes explanation for the book, but having a crush can make someone do weird things. And in Nishimura Riki’s case, his infatuation has got him reading a novel about morally-skewed characters and rich society to impress you. 

When you come into class barely on time, Riki gives you a confused look when you sit down, but doesn’t comment on it any further. Instead, he takes out his book and tries to act like his eyes weren’t closing shut from exhaustion by the time Daisy was finally confessing how she loved Gatsby. 

The moment Mr. Yoo stops talking, however, Riki isn’t asleep—much to your surprise. He has his book out, pages filled with sticky notes and a whole section of his notebook dedicated to characters (written in bright red to keep him awake) and their traits. 

“I got it.” It’s the first thing he says when you two are left to do in-class work. It’s ominous, and maybe a little too enthusiastic in a high school literature class for a boy who doesn’t even care that much for school, but you’ll accept it with open arms if it means you get a helping hand on your project. 

“Continue,” you tell him slowly, leaning back in your chair to listen to him. And you don’t know why, but a small part of you thinks that the boy who sleeps every period the book was discussed wouldn’t have much to say or contribute to such an open-ended prompt, but life is full of surprises. 

What you fail to notice is how Riki is nervous and his stomach does at least twenty flips before he swallows dryly and starts rambling in hopes to impress you and redeem himself from his embarrassing slumber a few days ago. 

“So you know how our prompt is based on one character and basically all their actions?” he asks, and you nod, absentmindedly thumbing a sheet in your journal. “I’m thinking we should talk about Jay Gatsby because so much is revealed to us about him that we might as well use it to our advantage. Y’know, talking about how the theme of exploitation and secrets is veiled under Gatsby’s desire for Daisy.”

“You don’t think Gatsby’s a good character?” Riki wants to tell you that Gatsby is more relatable than good or bad, but he shakes his head. 

“I mean, not really.” He feels like with those four words, he’s completely changed the trajectory of his relationship with you from a positive slope to completely downhill—and a wave of panic washes over him. “Should I? I mean, I could see him as more redeemable if you gave me examp-“

You wave your hand to quell his worries. “To be honest, I don’t like him either. But he’s an interesting main character to write about, so I think we should go with your idea.” 

To win your approval feels like he’s won at least three fights against a villain in a row without getting any bad injuries—it feels good. And for the rest of the period, you are able to finish a detailed outline of your work for the next few weeks, mapping out sections for each other, and he even gets to see a part of prom planning on a word document you had open. He considers your shared productivity a win when he packs up and bids you goodbye before leaving for lunch. 

One wave doesn’t catch Riki’s attention from across the room. Not even two, or three calls of his name could get Nishimura Riki out of his thoughts, and Jake frowns before moving up in the lunch line. 

“Something’s caught your eye again.” Jake feigns innocence and sighs dramatically as he places the food down next to Riki’s plate. “Could it possibly be our school treasurer?” Jake laughs, leaning over to catch a glimpse of what’s got his friend so entranced and non-responsive.

Riki scrunches his nose, annoyed, but never breaking his gaze from where you’re sitting. “We talked in class–like, a lot,” is all he says, paying his friend no mind. “She’s genuinely so understanding.”

“God, I don’t think you can be any more down bad for her than you are right now.” Jake picks at his food, and despite his concentration directed towards the olives on his pizza, he’s able to dodge the flying loaded nacho that goes his way, even if he wasn’t the one with superpowers.

“Can you shut up?” Riki grumbles, laying his head on his arms as he notices you smile and point to something. “I just got pummeled into a semi truck last week. Let me have this before I die tomorrow.” 

“Very grim,” his friend notes, ruffling the younger’s hair, “I think this is exactly what all of those mental health assemblies that we get are for.” And Riki basically tunes him out, too tired to fight and too used to the teasing remarks to come up with anything useful in response. 

Riki sits up a bit, letting his head rest on his propped elbow as he looks at the school food and touches another nacho gingerly. “Y’know, I read the book for English so she wouldn’t think I’m an idiot.” 

His friend snickers, successfully pulling out yet another sliced olive from the cheese, much to the disgust of Riki. “She probably already thinks you’re an idiot.” 

The superhero debates throwing another cheesy nacho in Jake's face, before deciding to eat it instead. “Don’t say that asshole! You make it seem like I have no chance with her.” 

Jake shoots him an exasperated look that makes Riki break eye contact. “That’s because you don’t.” 

“I’ll prove to her that I’m worth her time.” Riki says somewhat wistfully, still stealing glances from a few tables away. “Maybe I’ll ask her out to prom, show up in my suit. Do that cheesy upside down kiss shit people say Spiderman does.” When his friend raises an eyebrow at him, Riki shrugs. “I will! Well-maybe not the Spider-Man thing, but prom definitely.” 

Jake continues to look at him unconvinced as he takes a bite out of a slice of pizza with mangled cheese. “You barely talk to her in class and you think you can ask her out to prom as Nishimura Riki?” And the younger grins, eyes still stuck on how your eyes crinkle and how your shoulders shake with laughter. 

“Yup.” And his fate is sealed, just like that.

“What’s your project about, anyways? Didn’t you tell me last night that she gave you her number? Must be pretty serious if she wants to text you.” Riki furrows his eyebrows and shakes his head. 

“It’s just tying the theme of the book to one character and writing about how they show it. So we did the theme of money and Gatsby, because it’s easy and mentioned so many times.” 

Jake gawks. “You must really like her,”

“I was planning to read it regardless of who I was partnered with.” 

“Okay- that’s debatable.” There goes another one of Riki’s nachos.

“Gross.” 

He thinks things are going pretty well for you two. The report is being written and your quotes are basically finding themselves, so Riki should give himself a pat on the back for pitching the initial idea for how to go about your assignment. Maybe reading the whole book offered him a few useful pointers, and he goes to sleep that night satisfied with your progress. Maybe Heeseung and Jake were right—maybe he could finally ask you out by prom. 

NISHIMURA RIKI MIGHT DIE TRYING TO SAVE THE CITY FROM YET ANOTHER MONSTER TERRORIZING THE STREETS.

He wakes up the next morning, not expecting his alarm to alert his senses to danger. It rings in his head and makes him feel delirious, trying to shake sleep off as he looks out the window for any visible sign of what's wrong. If he could hear the danger in his head then that meant someone could be hurt, and he could go to school without a few hours of sleep if he worked fast enough, right? 

Riki slips into his suit without much thought and goes to crack his window open, only to look back at his clock and read the horrific time of 6:23AM. 

Who the hell picks a fight with a teenager at this ungodly time? 

Then, he shoots from his wrists, once, twice, and suddenly, he's off, covering more ground through the air in just three seconds than he ever could while walking or running for minutes on end.

The source of his tingling spidey-sense is some large metal centipede creature that was setting off car alarms in a neighborhood near the market. Thankfully, no one was really awake to be caught in the crossfire, but he has to figure out how the hell he's going to catch that thing in...he checks his watch…twenty minutes? 

Hopefully, his instinct will help him win this time—again. 

The web he shoots out does nothing to stop the monster, and considering how it connected them both, the threads only drag the superhero to the edge of the building he was initially watching from. With some yelling and pulling, he finally detaches, and realizes that the odd sizzling feeling in his bonds must be from the same source as a few days ago; Spark. 

He had this gut feeling that a villain as strong as him wouldn’t have been destroyed so easily, but his wounds were so deep and the blood loss so bad from a few nights ago that he couldn’t have truly dumped him in the ocean without fainting or suffering something permanent, and although Riki hoped things in the universe would work itself out, the presence of the giant fifty foot insect alone is proof that things were not in his favor. 

He jumps off the building onto another, working quickly as he strings up a few webs between the houses as a wall for the monster, watching it slide and knock over cars in its wild pursuit. The monster spends a few seconds breaking down the wall of webbing and climbing over it, the many legs easily breaking through. As the superhero jumps across buildings and keeps track of the centipede’s movement, he has no idea why it isn’t going for him, and that makes his job much harder without the attention of the monster. One glance at the direction the centipede is headed in sets off another ding in Riki’s head—but this time, it finally clicks why the centipede is headed away from the boy. 

It’s attracted to the power plant. 

Riki immediately jumps and swings off of a lamp post, using the momentum of gravity and the force of his swing to propel him faster than the slithering creature. Squinting, he holds out his fist and points his pointer and pinky out, following the movement of the centipede as he aims. 

Bam. 

He sends clusters of silky white threads down precisely at the first pair of legs to pin it down. The webs stop the creature momentarily, and Riki doesn’t have time to watch how the body shrinks up and fizzes out with blue shocks as it tries to wiggle loose and malfunctions. This fight would be over soon, and the boy smiles when he jumps down to shoot more webs to apprehend the centipede. It wiggles and sends electricity out through parts of its body, trying to pry itself out. He expects it to simply be a robot of sorts following a mission considering its avoidant behavior, but as he approaches the tail, the monster suddenly swings at Riki, and its mass and speed is incomparable to the boy’s reaction speed. 

Riki lands into a tree and someone’s garage, feeling the crumbling wall falling all over him and the sudden pain blooming in his lower back. 

This fight will, in fact, not be over soon. 

With his superhuman abilities, Riki grabs onto the metal of the car beside him to hoist himself up, coughing from the dust, and jumping over the rubble to see how quickly the centipede creature can get out, without regard for his current state. The sound and rumble of the giant monster is all he needs to know that the traps are effective, but not at the previous capacity. 

The plan is simple: apprehend the legs and crush the head, where Riki assumes the decision-making and programming is taking place. But the monster’s angry and erratic actions throw a wrench in his plan. Its legs move faster, digging into the cement and leaving ruin in its wake as it continues down the road. While both the villain and superhero are fast, the distance between the power plant is finite—and only grows smaller and smaller.  

Although Riki can feel the bruises coming, he runs and swings, hearing the wind in his ears as he catches up to the centipede in no time. He tries the same tactics again–aim, shoot, stick, all the while keeping his distance. Although the monster’s body spans incredibly long, and should carry an immense amount of weight, the way it snaps at Riki’s flying body and sends shockwaves through his core leaves him shivering as his body slams into the ground, coughing. It hurts all over, and it feels like there’s weight on his eyes when he tries to open them and get up. His head is spinning as he staggers onto his knees, clutching his chest as he watches the centipede shrivel and crackle. 

It seems like the voltage produced is a double-ended sword, one that burns up the centipede body as much as it deals damage, and with the way the mutant creeps towards the electricity of the plant, Riki gets the feeling there’s a magnetic pull that forces the mutant to continue to crawl even against its instinct to stop. 

Despite his waning strength, however, Riki knows better than to half finish the job like last time. He creates a net from experience, weaving together the thickest and most durable threads to trap the entirety of the slowly approaching creature. It seems to crawl slowly up the makeshift barrier, knocking its head against the white and spreading the bright blue waves of its energy throughout. The boy watches as the thin white mass absorbs all of it and clings to the creature. It works, finally, after his attempts to nullify its movements, and he knows that despite the ache in his every step, the almost mummified centipede that hangs between several roofs for all the neighbors to gawk at is his sure sign of victory. 

All he remembers is hearing a familiar call of his hero name before his legs give out and his head hits Jake’s chest. 

Holy fucking shit is the first thing Riki thinks when he wakes up. 

He’s not out of his tattered suit and he feels grimy all over, but his body has done wonders in reducing the otherwise fatal injuries he got. No human body should be able to withstand two energy-filled blasts, but his suit and superhuman healing are of greater help than ever in alleviating the damage from his wounds. 

He knows why he’s in his bed with bandages thrown over his open wounds. He knows that every time something like this happens, it’s Jake who shoos away the concerned civilians, telling them he’s a medic. Jake is not a medic—rather, he’s a seventeen year-old boy who knows about his friend’s double life and with all the times he’s saved Riki, someone might as well dub him the greatest medic of all time. 

The clock on his bedside table has only served as a bearer of bad news. He looks over to see how it’s practically midday, and he’s missed yet another day of school from fighting crime. He’s in no condition to get up or get his bag, seeing how his hair is frizzy and his cheek has a cut that would warrant questioning. It seems only fair that he stays absent, and before he falls back asleep, he only prays you aren’t too mad at him for leaving the seat next to you empty.

But you aren’t mad, just worried. The soreness in his muscles doesn’t go away though, and he groans when he sits up in his bed, with bandages around his arms and an ice pack discarded next to him. 

He’s most definitely not coming to school like this. 

While you bore holes into the clock hanging off the wall, that doesn’t speed up the time. Two minutes pass, then another minute. As your classmates find their partners and begin discussing, you notice how the room gets louder with the due date looming near. It’s the first time you’re alone without the familiar boy beside you, and something hangs low in your chest when you put in a pair of earphones and open your laptop. 

Riki’s absence should have no effect on you. After all, you’re both just high school students who’ve talked once or twice, and yet you still look over at the empty chair. Staring doesn’t make Riki appear, though, and you return to your edits. It feels empty without his insight, or without him asking you to help him with a passage. Riki was your solution to all things boring. If he wasn’t doing his work, then you two were laughing at something on his phone. And if you agreed to both do something other than the report, then you could ask for an extra opinion when deciding prom details. There was something freeing about working with him that attracted you. Riki knew how to lighten the mood on days that weren’t so good for you, but he also worked hard and let loose at the same time. There was a perfect balance in Riki’s life that you aspired to have; it was a good mix of playful, dedicated, and fun all in the same vein. 

The words blend together on your screen. Jay Gatsby this, Tom Buchanan that, it all looks monotonous the more you keep trying to read and comprehend what exactly you’re talking about. 

Before class is dismissed, Mr. Yoo steps to the front of the classroom to gather everyone’s attention. He introduces your new novel for the next month, explaining yet another large assignment associated with the text. 

Truth be told, you don’t pay attention to any of it. 

The only thing you remember to do is to grab extra copies of the printed graphic organizers, as you get out of your seat and rush out when class ends in pursuit of one specific boy. 

“Sim Jaeyun!” The call of his name diverts Jake’s attention from his phone to your waving arm as you weave through the students and finally reach him. 

“You can just call me Jake,” he explains, “what’s up?” 

You begin to reach into your backpack, trying to feel for your folder, and pull out a few sheets. “These are for Riki.” 

Jake cheers internally for his friend who’s busy recovering at home. “What, you got a crush on him or something?” 

He tries to play it cool by teasing you, but the smile you bite back leaves the boy questioning if there really is anything going on. Jake knows better than to tell you anything about Riki’s feelings, and opts to instead grab the papers and to thank you for looking out for his friend. 

“Is Riki okay?” You have to know, just to make sure he’ll be here tomorrow to cure your boredom. 

What Jake says is much different than the nonchalant wave and half grin he gives you. “He’s just bedridden.” 

“That’s pretty serious! Did he come down with anything?” He seemed fine yesterday, so what’s the catch?

He blurts, “He just got badly hurt.” 

Immediately, Jake knows he’s fucked up. 

Your confusion and silence answers him far more than words ever could–he basically hears the gears turning slowly in your head.

Jake weakly defends, “His parents had a fight with him because he hit his head or something. He’ll be fine by tomorrow. Just bedridden from sadness, y’know?” 

The look you give him is unconvinced, but when Heeseung pats him on the shoulder and waves to you, the boy realizes that maybe staying quiet would’ve been the better decision. 

“I’ll see you later, ____.” And he’s off, waving half-heartedly and dragging a very confused Heeseung out of the cafeteria. 

NISHIMURA RIKI MIGHT DIE TRYING TO WAKE YOU UP AS GENTLY AS HE CAN.

Ever since March started and flowers began to bloom, your energy seemed to do the opposite, dwindling until Riki catches you mirroring his frequent in-class action: sleeping. And it worries him beyond belief, because you’re not the type to fall asleep like… ever. However, Riki does not have the heart to wake you up, even if it’s with a little nudge that you probably barely feel with how light he taps. It breaks his heart to have to ask you to review what he has done, because the bell is about to ring and the teacher might just send you to detention if he catches you off-task. 

The allergies always make Mr. Yoo irritable, and Riki knows not to get on his nerves. 

Your eyes flutter open to the pokes and prodding from none other than Nishimura Riki, who gazes at you softly when you adjust to the bright classroom setting once more. 

Panic settles in. “Wait- how long was I sleeping for?” 

He shrugs and scrunches his nose, not giving you an answer as he finishes scribbling something in his notebook. 

“Oh my god, I’m so sorry.” Your hand squeezes into a fist at the frustration that you’ve let your partner down. 

And yet, Riki seems to be unfazed, frowning when he sees you stressing out. “Don’t ever sweat the little things, yeah? If there’s anything you ever need to talk about–trust me, I know what it’s like to have a lot of pressure on your shoulders.”

Smiling at him, you respond with, “Thank you, really.” 

Being treasurer is daunting in the spring. It’s full of requests, forms, and small tasks that leave you spent by the end of the day. “But,” you glance at the clock to see just how much time is left, “how’d you know?” 

He motions to your open computer with a now dark screen. “I saw your document pulled up. ____’s tasks or else she will be kicked out of student government,” he taunts, snickering when your eyes grow wide with embarrassment and you lightly nudge his shin with your foot in warning. 

“It’s not polite to snoop,” and although you say that, you catch something in your peripheral vision. It’s a few drawings of a figure and gadget drawn, shaded from rigid shapes with small descriptions pointing to different places. You weren’t sure what was more surprising; how good the drawings were, or the subject of his imagination. 

Weird. Inherently, there was nothing wrong with Riki drawing a villain, and you chalked it up to him being creative. Nothing more, nothing less. 

He puts his hands up in surrender at your last comment, his grin showing anything but. Just one look at the boy makes you realize that everything you’ve just thought about is foolish. 

There’s no way he’d have time to be a villain and a student. With one final thought, you let your raging thoughts rest and focus on the present; him. You’ve seen his hair messy, especially after his naps, but when Riki tries to style it like how he did today, you pay more attention to the streaks of blonde and how he often hides behind his bangs and scrunches his nose. It’s cute. He’s cute.

The truth is, you enjoy being around him like this, joking around and never worrying too much about your responsibilities and expectations. It’s refreshing. Being around Riki gives you the feeling that things will be okay in the end. 

You snap out of your thoughts to see that his desk is empty, while your’s hasn’t changed one bit.

“You’re going to sell prom tickets now, right?” He makes small talk before leaving for lunch, closing the notebook you were suspiciously eying before slipping it into his bag. 

“Yup,” you answer, popping the ‘p,’ “I’ll see you later,” and you two part ways.

All the long lines and constant distribution of change doesn’t allow much wiggle room for you to daydream. As time goes on, the ticket-selling line grows smaller and smaller, but the only thing you truly care about is eating the lunch your parents packed you. Your sandwich is probably sad and soggy now that there are only a few minutes of lunch left. When you finally sign off one last time after triple checking the forms are all correct, you let out a sigh, leaning back and finally getting a break. 

Then, it hits you that you’re not even sure if the boy you’re fawning over is attending the biggest event of the year, and you feel stupid for forgetting to ask. 

-

Yesterday was a rookie’s mistake–today, you’d make sure you get an answer from him.

“Are you going to prom, Riki?” is the first thing you ask when he sits down, grabbing his book and laptop with a little too much enthusiasm. 

“I’m thinking about it.” Yeah, whatever confidence he had when convincing himself he’d ask you out isn’t serving him well at this moment. Quite frankly, Riki feels lame as ever trying to be nonchalant around you. “You?” 

“I’d have to set up, so I would be there, yes. But whether or not I have a date is another story.” You smile to lighten the mood, but Riki watches you and nods, focusing back on signing into his laptop and getting his notes for the new book you’re reading. 

“Well, you’re not the only single one here.” And he wants to reprimand himself for saying something without thinking. “If someone asked, would you say yes?”

You think about it carefully, really because you don’t have anyone in mind when it comes to prom if Riki’s not planning on going. “It’d have to be someone I know—someone I talk to somewhat regularly. I’d be nice to be with someone who doesn’t make it awkward.”

Nishimura Riki might die from over-thinking if he keeps on wondering whether or not he fits that description to a tee.

RIKI'S TO-DO LIST BEFORE PROM

☐  talk to ____ regularly 

☐  don't make it awkward 

☐  be..cute? 

The boy decides that his superhuman responsibilities might be easier to complete than any of those three things. 

He switches the subject to stop his head from hurting too much. “Did you finish the report?” 

You still, and Riki’s question reminds you of the report looming over your head. In your defense, you two hadn’t brought it up much in the past week, and he didn’t seem to worry over how much of your time was spent emailing teachers or making spreadsheets. Although caught off guard, you’re quick to respond with, “What did we have to finish? I thought we were done since last week, but if there’s anything else-” 

“Sorry,” he rushes out, biting his lip, “I meant, if you finished reading it.” And the answer is no, you haven’t read it since your last edit on it three days ago. 

Within a few clicks, you find the document and scroll to the bottom, seeing the small note that Riki left that said ‘let me know how it looks.’ It’s sweet to know he thought about your input as much as you did his. 

“While some can agree that Gatsby’s rise into high society was sketchy, Gatsby still retains the same reserved character from years ago, and doesn’t manipulate others into success or use his money for nefarious purposes. It’s not like he changed after his wealth, and it could be argued Gatsby loved Daisy until his last breath and was willing to die as long as she was happy, emphasizing the theme of sacrifice. 

So, is Jay Gatsby a good person? The question targets the morality of a character who many can empathize with. Those who are charmed by his overwhelming love for Daisy would say that he’s committed textbook crimes, but focus more on the intent behind it. To pine after someone from a distance isn’t easy, but to pursue her after years of separation is even harder. It’s universally agreed, however, that love as a driving force doesn’t nullify what he’s done to others and the dirty schemes he’s enacted to gain the power he has. Therefore, Gatsby makes for an interesting main character, and highlights just how twisted a system around money can be.” 

The last page is–for the most part–his writing, and your admiration for him grows when you finish reading and scroll to hit your Works Cited page.

“It’s good,” you tell him wholeheartedly, “Didn’t think you had it in you.” 

Riki cracks a smile at your light teasing, soaking up your praise. 

“Now you know.” He shrugs. And he can only hope that you like him as much as you like his literary skills. 

NISHIMURA RIKI MIGHT DIE WHEN HE COMES TO THE REALIZATION THAT HE IS EXACTLY LIKE JAY GATSBY,JUST WITHOUT THE MONEY—DESPERATE FOR THE GIRL OF HIS DREAMS, DYING YOUNG, AND A FRAUD HIDING BEHIND SECRETS.

Nevermind the last one, he has to hide when he has an identity to protect as the city’s only superhero, but Riki feels his heart sink to his heels when he read a few weeks ago how much Gatsby simply adores Daisy. When Gatsby died, he scoffed, closing the book with a sudden disinterest. If he were the male lead, he wouldn’t have been laying in a pool for target practice. Maybe being a superhero teaches you how to avoid being easy bait for all your enemies, or maybe Gatsby was too carried away with love to think straight. 

Fighting crime gives you insurmountable experience with sneaking around, but it wasn’t something he could just teach to anyone. When he gets this horrible gut feeling that something’s happened to you, he just knew something was wrong. He might not be easy to catch, but for anyone else? Definitely.  

For everyone else, prom was a month away, but for you, it was three weeks of talking to your advisor and president, arguing with your other board members, and sitting behind that damn money box for another five days to sell tickets. For you, it was realizing that you were supposed to buy streamers and balloons yesterday on your way home from school. It was the thinly veiled disappointment in your board member’s texts when they told you they were at a loss for words. ‘I’m sorry, and I know you’re busy, but how could you forget? Prom is so important for all of us. What if they don’t have what you need anymore?’ It all repeated in your head as you bit your lip in frustration and slipped on the first pair of shoes you could find. Although it was dark and dangerous, you could care less if it meant avoiding the passive aggressive comments you’d get tomorrow during your meeting.

There it is again: that little tendency to not pay attention to your surroundings. 

You yelp when you feel someone grabbing your wrist and pulling you in, muffling your screams as he pulls you along. To see him on the news was worrying, but to see Spark in person with your life on the line is even worse. 

Tears spring to your eyes as you struggle against the metal to no avail, and you curse every previous moment you spent worrying about balloons rather than your safety.

Spark suddenly stops, shoving you against the wall before his hand grabs a brick with his metal arm, beginning to climb. “Don’t let go.” And you don’t think twice before holding on.

The city view would be beautiful if you weren’t hearing your heartbeat in your ears or if you weren’t dangling from the railing of some company building, trying to wiggle yourself free of the rope around your wrists. 

Spark speaks up, drumming his fingers on the railing next to you. “You wouldn’t happen to know where your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man is, would you?” And you furrow your eyebrows, genuinely questioning for a moment if he really knew how the superhero operated. 

A voice from across the street puts a temporary hold on your thoughts, and you glance up to see a flash of blue and red soaring through the air, followed by a groan and a beam of light next to you. Seeing Spark’s powers right in front of you spurs you into action, yanking at the rope and trying to take tiny steps away from where they were fighting.

“From what I’m seeing, you wanted to hold someone hostage because you’re not feeling too good, huh?” Spider-Man shouts as he shoots out webs and blocks hits. You shake your head in partial disbelief of how unserious he is, but also how unbelievable all of this seems. “You tried to take a potion or something? I’m going to tell you this now, but these usually don’t work.” 

Riki’s assumption is right, and considering how Spark now has a leg and arm from metal instead of just the arm, the procedure for the additional limb couldn’t have been easy. The superhero still proceeds with caution, making sure to pay attention to anything new as he dodges and fights back. 

The villain immediately gets back up, stumbling for a moment before he regains his stance and runs towards the boy. You hear the clanging of fist hitting metal from their fight, and considering the difference in height and build, you’d expect Spider-Man to be easily flung to the side, but he holds his weight in battle. 

Riki aims for around the left shoulder, where an abundance of stitches cover the skin and fuse the metal into muscle. He lands a hit, and almost another one, before a punch to the side knocks him from his momentum. The boy wheezes when his back makes instant contact with the ground, rolling and getting up before Spark has time to shoot. 

He notices how quickly the gadget generates electricity now. Before, the beams took longer, and were easily predictable, but now, it glows bright for a moment before it fires directly in Riki’s path. The boy dodges the first, but the second one almost hits the top of his head before he ducks and creates distance. 

From the roof-top, Riki scans his surroundings before making the split-second decision to jump. 

He swings to the other side of the building, keeping you in his peripheral vision as he works on apprehending the villain in front of him. They spring into yet another fist fight, with Riki’s agility easily letting him avoid punches and land precise hits to make the previous injuries even worse. 

You think Spider-Man has the upper hand in this, seeing as how none of Spark’s punches seem to slow down the superhero, but you hear something loud before you can register it. 

You figure out what happened after Riki stumbles and suffers a blow to the stomach, sending him tumbling to the edge of the building. Spark knew that Spider-Man was avoiding his left arm—he knew that one wrong move paired with the tungsten material would have a lasting effect on the superhero’s fist. 

Riki coughs from the impact before his spidey-sense rings, pulling him back into battle as he runs as fast as his body can take him. 

You. He still needs to save you. 

With renewed vigor, he continues to avoid the flying sparks as he ducks between structures and uses the terrain to his advantage. He can tell, though, that the villain is slowing down. The shots are less accurate–a telltale sign that the enhancer Spark tried is working against him. 

Between all of the chaos, Riki finally lands a proper web, yanking as hard as he can to pull Spark to the ground. He stumbles, grasping at thin silk before Riki lets go on his side. The villain’s balance is off, giving the boy an advantage as he closes the distance, hopping over a thrown slab of metal and landing a solid kick into Spark’s ribcage. As he stays down, Riki continues to aim for muscle and flesh, his head spinning as he packs punch after punch to keep the villain apprehended. 

Spark’s body–curled into itself to absorb the hits the best that he can– hides the growing blue flash that he’s slowly charging up with his remaining power. The moment it escapes from under his abdomen, Riki directs his efforts towards avoiding the electric glimmer. The villain rolls over, his body tattered from the consistent injuries, and he fires what seems like an intense bullet of energy. It zips by the boy’s cheek, cutting the mask and leaving blood to run down in its wake. Time slows down as the superhero tries to process the unlocked speed of the burst, and Spark loses focus marveling at his new abilities. Never before had either of them seen power so concentrated, and it inflicts both fear and excitement. 

He lifts his arm, the other holding it up for support, and Spider-Man notices the fizzle of bright blue. Riki’s about to jump out of the way, preparing for yet another high-speed bullet, but before Spark fires, something clicks. The arm doesn’t directly point to Riki–but it skews off to the right.

Except, he’s no longer aiming for Riki in the split second that the boy blinks. He’s suddenly aiming at you, where your hands are tied to the railing and your feet are dangling from the bent metal that holds you precariously over the edge, leaving a fifty foot drop in its wake. When you see the blue energy in the villain’s palm growing slowly bigger, you pull at the rope desperately with zero regard to the tender rawness of your wrists. 

In your attempt to somehow break the rope, your cry of fear snaps Spider-Man into action. 

Riki pushes his sore body to jump as quick as he can, leaping across the rooftop to the building over. He easily avoids the metal railing, grabbing onto your arm as he yanks hard on the rope, the force of it separating a piece of metal from the railing. He immediately jumps, sending out a web to swing him back up. It all happens in a flash–first, you were bound to the edge about to fall to your death, and all of a sudden, you’re tightly pressed against Spider-Man’s chest with your bound wrists still attached to the metal. Shutting your eyes, you trust Spider-Man entirely, closing your eyes to avoid seeing just how far up you were. Wind rushes in your ears and leaves your stomach fluttering with butterflies until the superhero sets you down on a secluded rooftop. 

“Please,” he begs, “don’t leave. I’ll be right back.” 

You’d be a fool to do anything but wait. 

Riki checks on you one last time before diving down, springing himself back up with another web. The damage from the blasts is recognizable even from far away, and yet, he notices the reflective shine of a metal arm on the edge of the building before Spark lets go. 

To Riki, Spark is dead after dropping from a fall having taken that much damage, but he hears no impact. Making haste, the boy fails to find any figure no matter how hard he looks, but Spark’s laboratory has to be here somewhere. The badge from a week ago was stuck on Riki’s mind, and he could only imagine the reasons why he pursued this life. Was he recreating something? If he needs to power some sort of machine, then the heart of the city is a perfect place to harness the electricity for any large scale project. As much as he wants to dedicate the rest of the night to searching the city for some sort of clue, the fact that you’re still stranded on that rooftop after having just experienced a life-changing event blares like an alarm in his mind. 

He quickly leaves, returning to where you’re seated.

Without the fear of falling to your death from earlier, you were able to focus on undoing the knots from the rope. Red scratch marks and irritation bloom on your wrist, and the reality of it all happening still hasn’t settled in. Despite not being harmed once, the fear and incessant pounding of your heart overwhelms your senses, and it leaves you heaving with confusion. 

A pair of footsteps only become apparent as Riki walks closer, taking a seat beside you and letting out a large sigh. He stares at the stars silently as if he doesn’t have a cut on his cheek and bruises waiting to paint his skin purple–as if he isn’t hiding his true self under a facade. 

“You’re not hurt, are you?” You shake your head, grateful that Spider-Man was the reason you got away without a real injury.

“Thank you, really, for saving me. I don’t know how you manage to do it.” 

Riki chuckles under the mask. “Eh, you get used to it,” you hear Spider-Man say. “You fight a couple bad guys, get over a fear of heights and eventually you get the hang of things.” 

Scoffing, you gently rub at your wrists to ease the redness. “Easy for you to say. I haven’t been taught a crash course on how to avoid being supervillain bait just yet.” 

“Maybe you should learn it sometime,” Riki responds absentmindedly, “someone like you shouldn’t have been out so late doing whatever it could’ve been.” 

Sighing, your mind drifts off to think about the balloons and streamers that are not in your hand. “I had stuff for my upcoming events.” 

He knew about all of it when you’d explain your cryptic reminders and notes on your computer, but he still feigns curiosity. “What upcoming events?” 

“Just prom,” and he hears just how strained it makes you. 

Riki tilts his head in faux confusion. “What do you have to do for prom?” 

He notices how you immediately slump, as if the mere mention of prom deflates your happiness. “It’s only a few weeks away, and I was supposed to get decorations for our venue yesterday. I just wanted to slip out before my parents noticed.” 

Despite the fabric over his eyes, Riki’s expression shifts from surprise to pity when he understands your stakes. “You still need to be careful. Is your student council strict?” 

“Not strict necessarily, but judgemental–I ran for the position because I thought I could help my school raise funds and find more opportunities, but it just feels like no one truly wants to try anything new.” You wave it off as if it’s not that important, as if it isn’t the reason why you find yourself stressed so often. “I just don’t want to disappoint or give people something to talk about.” 

Despite not being involved with school the same way you are, the boy next to you resonates with the fear you currently face. The fear of letting people down was a large part of why Riki continued to put on that mask and step into the most dangerous situation of his life; he never wanted to sit down to hear the news that Spider-Man quit. 

So he keeps doing his job, even if some days are harder and some fights aren’t worth winning–just like what you do. 

“Yeah, I get that,” he tries to console, “You must be doing a lot for everyone around you, and I’m sure a lot of people appreciate what you’ve done. Don’t beat yourself up too much, yeah? You’ll always have me.” He smiles, but he knows you don’t see it. You’re looking at the stars, trying to calm your mind and return to your life before everything happened. 

You glance over at Spider-Man, wondering if he’ll truly be around for you when you need it. “If I need to talk to you, should I step out of my house past 8PM again?” 

Riki chuckles, watching clouds slowly dim the moon’s glow in their path. “If I’m not fighting crime, I’ll show up at a moment’s notice.” 

There’s no way he means it, but you grin, feeling a lot of the pressure and stress of earlier slowly wash away. After all, nothing happened to you–Spider-Man made sure of it. Maybe things really were going to be okay. 

“Let’s get you home, yeah? Don’t you have stuff to do anyways?” 

You shrug, nothing really coming to mind. As you get up, you remember having to run a plagiarism check on your work, and how Riki told you to text him when you got home after your student government meeting. 

Riki. Spark. Spider-Man. 

“Wait,” you tell Spider-Man, sitting back down on the cement, “I need to talk to you about something else, too.” 

“It’s not like my dinner’s getting cold,” the superhero mumbles quiet enough that you can’t hear. 

“There’s this guy,” you start, paying no mind to how dirty your clothes are getting when you cross your legs. 

Spider-Man scoffs, looking off into the distance, and it makes you believe he has to be your age or older. “You have a crush on him, or something?” And a whole tidal wave of deja vu hits you in the chest. 

‘He must be badly hurt’ isn’t just something people say. People don’t just draw insanely detailed drawings of Spark’s arm and machines without notes to follow unless they knew. People wouldn't just randomly miss school without any impending signs. You’re sure of it–the tired naps in class, the random drawings of superheroes and superhumans alike, or how awkward he could act–it all makes sense.

Your classmate, aka Nishimura Riki, aka the guy who you’ve questioned if you had a crush on for the past few days, might be a villain. 

The swirling feeling of trepidation in your stomach leaves three words running around your head. 

What. The. Fuck. 

Although you tried so hard to stop thinking about it, Jake’s comment from before rubbed you the wrong way. It was sometime last week where you couldn't get your mind off of the implications of his words, but that feeling was brushed underneath your responsibilities. 

Until now. 

“Yeah, there’s this guy,” you breathe, feeling your chest constrict, “Nishimura Riki. I think he’s Spark.” 

His blood runs cold. 

“You think this…why?” 

You take a deep breath, trying to organize all your thoughts. “Well, first, it was his friend, Jake. He said that Riki was badly hurt, and I was really confused at first, but tried to let it go.” 

Riki was going to strangle his best friend. 

“And then, I was looking at him in class, right? And keep in mind, he’s pretty cute, and we sit next to each other, so I just noticed how good his hair looked that day, but his notebook was out, and I saw all these drawings of Spark. Like, the arms, the metal things, even the projectiles! Who would know the ins and outs of that thing if it wasn’t Spark himself?”

He didn’t know what to think about first; the fact that you gushed about him for the first time, or if he should even tell you that Spider-Man would know those things, too. 

“And sometimes, I notice he’s a little awkward around me. I can’t explain it. It’s like he’s paying attention to me. That must’ve been why he captured me.” He wants to laugh at how damn close you are to figuring it out, but in reality, nothing is funny about the situation. 

Nishimura Riki is actually listening to this, right now, as Spider-Man–not Spark. The awkwardness, though? It was his crush on you, and was not superhuman related in the slightest.  

“I don’t know,” he attempts to divert, pretending to focus, “I saw a badge for FLiGHT. You know the company that’s been making time traveling machines? I saw a glimpse of his name and face. It’s not that guy you mentioned.” 

You raise an eyebrow. “And you haven’t gotten him caught?” 

“Villains aren’t easy to find, y’know. It’s not like playground hide and seek,” Riki defends, crossing his arms. 

You shrink in your spot, feeling sheepish for questioning a superhero so bluntly. 

“Plus,” he continues, “Spark has never had a hostage. Wouldn’t it be pretty mean of that friend of yours to kidnap a girl from his class?” 

“Yeah—that makes sense. Thank god,” you breathe, closing your eyes momentarily. “Then what do you suspect all that evidence leads to? Maybe he’s a secret agent?” 

“I think,” Riki continues to keep up his clueless facade, “Your friend might just be clumsy. Or creative. I mean, maybe he went through a break-up?” Nice one, Riki. 

You shake your head. “No, there’s no way he has a girlfriend. You’d think I like guys who are taken?” Scoffing lightly, you then remembered that Spider-Man really would have no idea who any of you are. 

He shrugs and stands up stretching before motioning for you to follow him. “I have no idea what you high school kids do. Come on, let’s get you home.” 

As you hug him tight, the cold air whips around your body and leaves goosebumps in their wake. You barely open your eyes from the fear of seeing yourself inches from hitting a building or up in the air. Spider-Man only yells his confirmation after asking how to get you home, finally placing you on the ground outside of your large gate. 

“Thank you for saving me tonight.”

“Anytime. Figure things out with that friend of yours, and don’t go out late, okay?” You nod and take his words to heart. 

“Goodnight, Spiderman.” 

—-

Nishimura might die. One, because he has this horrible guilty feeling in his stomach, and two, because of a villain. 

Yesterday, he ignored the salmon and rice bowl that waited for him back at home, choosing to follow the coordinates he saved on his phone after he took you home. It led him to a seemingly harmless auto-shop, with an arrow on his GPS pointing to a garage that was shut down completely with nails and blocked with boxes. The exterior pointed to it being abandoned, but Riki suddenly saw some light coming from a makeshift above.

The boy scaled the wall as quietly as possible, glancing into the source of the whirring. He caught small glimpses of something–metal, glowing, blue. 

Or at least, for a few seconds it was on until the power went out. 

The voice that complained from inside the room sounded identical to the man Riki fought. Spark grumbled, turning on a flashlight and quickly waving it around. Riki ducked from the window and held his breath, waiting for the man to suspect something. 

Nothing. 

One lightbulb slowly flickered back on, and then the other dingy light followed. The space was cramped with the metal equipment in the middle, resembling what Riki had seen in the news. 

He was right–it was the same time travel portal that was ruined from a few months ago. 

Spider-Man continued to observe the man as he worked and drilled, plugging certain wires or pausing momentarily to read from a journal. To anyone, it’d seem peaceful, like some sort of renovation project. But in reality, it was so much more than that. 

Riki searched for any sort of information about the machine, trying to see what exactly was left to do until his gaze landed on something. 

There was some sort of date on a bright pink sticky-note, and Riki’s eyes widened when he finally comprehends it. 

The machine was scheduled to be completed tomorrow. 

-

A street lamp next to Riki dies out—which was a clear sign that something was powering up. From the dark, he hears the metal from the same place as last night moving again, and he knows that Spark has left. His presence sends anyone down the street and immediately running, leaving the area for only them two. 

Riki finally sees the completed metal build. Half of his body is wrapped in or replaced with metal parts as he sets down the metal portal, beginning to push it in the direction of the power plant. 

A truck or car would make things much easier, but whatever.

Riki wants to cry from fear and run away. He wants to leave and pretend he never saw anything from last night. 

He’s going to die fighting Spark and he will quite literally a) never finish highschool and get that stupid diploma, b) finish explaining how Gatsby is not a good person and is naturally selfish, and c) he’s never going to tell you how he’s had a small crush on you ever since he saw your cute campaign video as to why you should vote y/n l/n for student body treasurer last spring. 

“You sure that thing works?” Riki asks, jumping into action as he sends webs to immobilize the machine. 

“You’re annoying, you know that?” Spark sends a projectile in the superhero’s direction, hitting the wall behind him instead as Riki jumps out of the way.

With another duck mid-air and the roof of a flying car dangerously close to his nose, Riki thanks the dance practice he does for his flexibility as he shoots another web and swings away. 

Spark is uncontrollable by now, sucking the light from street lamps and fizzing wires in his wake. He has no idea how he’s supposed to get in contact with the villain like before. The body of his suit fizzes with bright electricity that sizzles and pops. It illuminates Spark’s figure, making him easy to spot, but not so easy to defeat. It’s an overload of power, causing the voltage to escape between the joints and gaps of the metal pieces in his suit. And Riki can feel it; the air is heightened and so are the stakes of this fight—and with how the man that stands in front of him looks upgraded and menacing, he knows only one person can make it out of this fight alive. 

“You injected the city’s ‘Gas and Electric’ into your system or what?” Riki calls out, making light of the situation. If he’s being honest with himself, he’s scared out of his wits seeing the six foot figure with blue and white shooting from every crack, looking like a nightmare to touch.

Riki avoids a few more angrily thrown objects, using the momentum of his jump from the side of the building to zip from the top of a yellow fire hydrant to go from one side of the street to the other. “You’re slow!” He taunts, tucking in his legs to avoid a shot of electricity directed at him. 

The screech of metal from the nearby hydrant can be heard as the top flings off, making Riki lose his anchor/ Before he can process it, instead of smoothly landing on the building, he crashes into it faster than expected, groaning when his back makes contact with the glass and he tumbles into the living room of someone’s apartment. 

“Fuck,” he curses, fighting his aching limbs to get up once more. 

And the solution hits him. Literally. 

When he steps out and quickly attaches a web to the top of the building, he’s met on the way up with a splash of water from the hydrant to his face, and Riki splutters as he wipes his mask, regaining focus as he lands on the concrete and hides behind the ledge. 

Water. If he can get it in contact with Spark and pour enough water on the right spot, the excess of electricity blazing from his mechanical body should work against him. 

“Too scared? You should know better than to run away.” The superhero rolls his eyes, crawling away silently to avoid being seen by Spark. Riki does his best to look around for something, and finds a black flower pot in the corner, using a web to grab it before he scales the side of the building and runs away while Spark is distracted as the villain also climbs the wall to face him there. But when Spark climbs the ledge and scans the premise, Riki is nowhere to be seen. 

Instead, Riki swings across the street and fills the pot with water, heaving the extra weight as he shouts out from the sudden pain in his side. He stumbles on the pavement, crying out from the injury as the pot falls with his whole plan. 

Maybe this is where Spider-Man dies. 

He sucks in a deep breath before rolling from his back onto his knees, ignoring the wound to pick up the flower pot. The hydrant still shoots out water, and the superhero rushes towards it, causing Spark to follow. He narrowly avoids another shot from behind him, reaching the yellow hydrant before dropping the pot on the ground. Spark is th 

While Spark has always been intelligent, Riki could tell that the man didn’t fear the water, believing he’d be invincible to the elements now that his suit was perfected. There was something off, Riki could tell, and he would make sure to use it to his advantage. Spark was uncontrolled, and his powers drastically decreased the more he used them. There’s no way his body isn’t in overdrive with how recklessly he’s been letting himself get hurt. 

Riki uses a web to get himself on higher ground instead of fighting, waiting for the supervillain to follow. If he could get Spark off the edge and fall into the growing puddle of water, it should slow him down. 

Spark scoffs. “Run away, then. Like you always have.” Riki hears the wall crumbling under the villain as he climbs within seconds, immediately preparing to fight when he makes it onto the rooftop. But Spider-Man was also prepared, jumping from his crouched hiding position and attempting to catch Spark off guard. 

All he can focus on now is pushing him off. There’s no way it’d be easy, considering he had to focus on his touching any of the electricity off of his suit. Riki delivers a kick to Spark in the ribcage near his heart, where he’s fused metal into flesh. The villain coughs before taking a step back, his metal arm reaching for Riki’s outstretched leg. He grabs it, twisting with anger before the boy meets the ground in a violent throw. Not only is the slam greater because of the enhanced strength, but the power seeps into Riki’s skin, leaving it hot from the energy radiating off of his palm. 

The boy groans, flipping to his side to avoid a fatal hit to the chest. He reaches for Spark’s normal arm, swinging the villain’s body away with as force as he could to create distance between them. 

Riki has been in enough fights to simply know when to run, even if he doesn’t know what’s coming. He could feel the tingle of the charge as it powered up, and with its energy so unrestrained and its user so unstable, the large attempt to hit Riki sends the villain stumbling back from the force. The more Spark uses his powers, the more likely he’s going to end up dead. 

“Your skin can handle that anymore!” he shouts, getting ready to swing himself closer as a plan manifests itself in his head. “You’ll die like this!” 

Spark seems to know that too as he wipes his mouth and recovers from Riki’s attacks. 

“You think I care?” He shouts, desperately pressing his wounds to stop the bleeding. “You think I have anything else for myself?” The vulnerability of his character shines through as he clutches his bleeding wound without regenerative powers to help. “You think I didn’t know that when I did it to myself--what they did to me?” 

Riki doesn’t respond, grimacing as he continues hand-to-hand combat. Although he takes a solid punch to his jaw that’s forming a deep purple bruise, he manages to trip Spark onto the ground.

The man stumbles back from the head injury, the pounding from earlier not letting him to think straight. Riki doesn’t try to injure him anymore, but he instead blocks an incoming punch and tries to force Spark towards the edge. 

The villain barely notices how much space there is left, and the boy lunges with full force. They tackle each other into the ground, and Riki gets off after apprehending him once more. 

The city's a mess, and Spider-Man’s eyes want to shut down so badly, but he takes a few steps in Spark’s direction, pushing him off the side of the building as quickly as he can. Riki hears the thud before he peeks over the edge, seeing the water erode all of the engineering from the machinery. He slowly descends from the rooftop. 

“You were in the accident, huh?” Riki shouts on top of the plethora of sounds. Pain, buzzing electricity, splashes of water as he lands next to Spark; it all echoes in his ears as he pours the water from the pot on Spark’s body. “Why did you try it? Why did you want to go back so bad?”

“If I could go back,” Spark coughs, trying to get away from the large pool of water, “I could’ve prevented the accident from taking the lives of the people around me. I could’ve saved them.” 

Spider-Man understands loss, and he understands the regret that comes with failure. He understands how the man in front of him feels after having everything taken away from him, but his emotions could never justify his actions. 

“You know you can’t change things,” Riki responds, “You tried your best, Spark.” It’s the last thing Riki tells the villain before his body slumps and police sirens grow louder and louder. It’s the last thing that he continues to think about, even if the medic quickly assesses the severity of his wounds. 

“I’m fine- really,” he pushes away the hands of a concerned woman as she holds a roll of bandages. “There’s something else I need to do.” 

Riki knew he had to tell you about this–he couldn’t just let you confide in him about..well, him, without your knowledge. And Riki wasn’t morally perfect, but he knew an explanation would be the only way to fix things.

Your house looks different when jumping over the fence instead of standing in front of it. When he realizes he has no idea what room belongs to you, he racks his brain, suddenly remembering how yours was the only one with a gray balcony over the pool. And so he climbs, slipping from the exhaustion creeping into his body. 

You’ll understand after he explains everything, right? 

“____, a little help?” And what the fuck is Nishmura Riki doing outside of your door? You go to investigate the muffled sound, inching towards the curtains and pulling them back to expect him there. When you hear a half yelp and a hissing sound that follows right after, without a person anywhere in sight, your heart drops to its stomach. 

Do not say it’s true. 

“Riki, where the fuck are you?” you ask, traversing out when you don’t see him anywhere across the glass. 

“Down here.” You run in the direction of the voice, and your eyes grow comically large and you gasp, staring down at the sight before you. 

“Holy shit.” 

There Nishimura Riki is, with his mask half burned off his face and his blonde and black hair messy and matted to his forehead with sweat. The suit is ripped in multiple locations with gashes and purple replacing the healthy skin underneath. His face is in more of a grimace, as he holds onto the web with both hands and one foot planted on the stone of your balcony—read; the bottom of your balcony. 

“A little help?” And you see his sheepish emotion through the tattered fabric, embarrassed after you had to find him in such a compromising situation. “I’m a little worn out and I think my webs are getting weaker.”

You’re a little frustrated with him for being out so publicly, but more scared and worried for his condition. Your gaze narrows on the mask, tattered and covered with scratches, but clearly visible. It was Spider-Man’s mask. The material gives way to a familiar face, and your mind almost blocks you from putting the pieces together. It’s impossible, almost horrifying to think of the implications of what it means to wear the blue and red suit. 

Instead of being the villain, Riki is, in fact, the savior.

The harsh truth is that your classmate, who you spent the last month working on a project with and suspected was a villain, is the same superhero that went out and risked his life every night fighting crime. It’s jarring to see him like this, breathing heavy and straining against the stone of the balcony, and his cough snaps you out of it. “What the fuck do I do?” 

Riki tries to put his hand up in surrender and shuts his eyes at your harsh tone. “Okay, okay, I get-“ and he cuts himself off with a yelp as his footing slips. 

He holds out his hand, and you immediately bend over the smooth railing to grab it, leaning back on the heels of your feet to help him up the most that you can. You’re filled with confusion when the boy hobbles over the cool surface of the balcony and lets his head rest on the stone, not saying much as he catches his breath. You watch the rise and fall of his chest and how his right arm goes to nurse the left side of his ribcage, wincing and sucking in a pained breath as he assesses the smear of red on his fingers. 

Sitting there with your mouth agape, you’re not really sure what to think about first; to check if RIki’s alright, to think about how your city’s greatest superhero is your English project partner, to yell at him for going to your house instead of his house to fix himself up, or to think about how good his side profile looks in the moonlight. Maybe you should’ve just been relieved that the boy you started to like wasn’t a fear-inducing villain.

“Okay, first of all, we need to have a huge talk. But I’m not a medic Riki- I’m going into accounting for fuck’s sake.” He hears the amount of curses flying from your lips as you ramble, and sees how stressed you look watching him sit against your railing. 

“I don’t know how to help you. And also,” you lower your voice and scoot closer, looking around at the large property to really make sure no one’s listening. “you’re Spider-Man?” 

The information all hitting you at once is worse than when your history teacher told you your essay was horrible. At least then, in her office, you could process everything. But here? You’re about to faint. 

“I’m pretty cool, huh?” And of course Nishimura Riki says such a thing, taking deep breaths as he shallowly presses on the blossoming bruises on his skin and wipes the sweat from his brow. 

“Pretty fucking stupid is what it is, Riki.” You cross your arms and try to take a look at where he’s been hurt, hoping that at least he has some sort of regeneration ability that helps him heal much quicker—because there’s no way he could deal with all of this on top of school. 

“I have my reasons,” he says, his voice quiet. 

You pause. “For being Spider-Man?” 

“No,” he shakes his head. “For coming here.”

“What could possibly make you want to come over to my house instead of the nearest hospital? What’s that important to you?”

“I really want to ask you to prom.” 

You simply stare at him, surprised. 

“You came to my house, even though you’re like, a punch away from passing out, to ask me out? And you couldn’t have, I don’t know, asked me anytime during the classes we have together?”

Riki somehow finds it in himself to frown and shrink from your angry piercing gaze. “I can’t because talking to you makes me nervous–so yeah, I’m sorry I’m half conscious on your balcony in my suit instead of at your door with a poster.” 

You’re conflicted, your mind still reeling from the recent discovery and your flood of emotions. Ever since you questioned his identity on top of your feelings for him, you had a hard time really knowing if you could like Riki if he turned out to be a villain, so to know that he proved both of your theories wrong leaves you quiet as you think. If possible, the color in the boy’s face drains even more when you go back inside, but the door stays open, and he thinks he hasn’t ruined things after all. You emerge with a bottle of isopropyl alcohol, a bowl of warm water, and a pristine white towel. 

“I’m not mad about that, you idiot,” you reprimand him, setting everything down as you examine the cuts on his face. You squeeze the towel and start to dab at his skin, avoiding the cuts as you clean it. “Who does this for you if not me?” 

“Jake.” 

“Seems like a pretty good friend.” Riki nods in response. 

 “I’m sorry,” he sighs, sitting up to properly address you, even if you weren’t able to meet his gaze. 

“For what?”

“For putting this on you–all of it. Not just the whole Spider-Man thing.” He knew he’d have to tell you at some point, or else it’d eat him up inside to know he kept all of it from you. 

“Look at you, saving me mid-air and talking to me as if you didn’t know who I was.”

You notice a flash of regret through his wince as you clean up a cut with antiseptic. “I meant it when I told you I knew what it was like to have a lot of pressure.”

“Guess I wasn’t so far off, then. If we never talked, would you have told me?” Riki shakes his head, and the simple motion leaves you somehow disappointed. 

“How do you ever tell anyone you’re…y’know, Spider-Man?” Even if it’s a hypothetical, you shrug, not being able to answer.

“How’d Jake find out?” 

Riki chuckles and hisses at the same time before trying to remember. “I think I just kicked his window in after a nasty poison got hold of me. He was a little too excited to have Spider-Man on his bedroom floor, and less excited to know it was me. I’m not really supposed to tell anyone, though.”

“Then why’d you tell me? You could’ve just gone back to your friends.” 

“I felt guilty–I know, I know, it sounds stupid. I’d definitely get my identity revealed at this rate.” You shake your head. 

“Not stupid. Keep going.” 

“I didn’t care that you suspected me, or if anyone else did, because I knew it was never true. But I felt so bad knowing you were sharing to me how you felt without even knowing it was me who was listening–like I was holding something from you.” 

You admire his honesty, and when you look at his furrowed brows and his lip that he’s been gnawing from worry, you can’t even imagine what he’s had to hide and do for this. In a way, you look up to him more, for trying his best even if he’s gotten all odds stacked against him. Riki’s commendable in your eyes–he always had been, ever since you woke him up in class. 

“I like those things about you, Riki. That you’re honest with yourself and the people around you as much as you can be, and you try to help others when you can. I’m glad we got to know each other more this past month.” Talking to him feels different than talking to Spider-Man from a few days ago; it feels raw, like you’re not just confessing something to a brick wall anymore. If none of this ever happened, you doubt you’d get the chance to tell Riki any of this properly. 

The boy stays silent, taking deep breaths while processing what you’ve told him. “I’m glad I could help you out.” 

You furrow your eyebrows. “I hope you know I don’t like you because you help me out. I like you because you’re attractive, and because you’re genuine,” you blurt. 

Riki laughs despite his ribcage hurting everytime he does so. Riki nods and mumbles a ‘thank you,’ also glad to truly get to know you. While his crush was more of an infatuation with your hard work and amiability, the past few weeks really opened his eyes to who you were. You never wanted to disappoint, and even if your recklessness left you in some dire situations, Riki could see how much effort you really put into things. 

There wasn’t anything else he needed to tell you–you were smart enough to see how much he cared about you.    

You’re so close, your lips glossy with lip balm as you watch him carefully. You hear and see it all; the heavy, labored breathing from his body healing itself rapidly, and the way his hand is full of rough cuts and calluses as his fingers intertwine with yours. But your eyes catch a glimpse of his mask tossed to the side, the blue shining in the corner of your eyes as you’re reminded of who he is right now, and what role you play. You are still ____ ____, but he’s a superhero.

It makes you momentarily forget whose suit you're peeling away, whose skin you're cleaning. It reminds you that he’s just the boy in your English class that you fell for. “What does that make us?”

“Prom-goers,” he answers with a slight nod. 

You smile, wiping a cut before placing the towel back into the bowl for the last time and getting up. “We can be prom-goers, yeah.” 

You’re not sure if you’re ready for anything, and you’re thankful that he understands that, too. As much as it warmed your heart to see him again and hear his confessions, the blaring truth still hangs over your head. You grab his mask, finally looking at him before handing it back and grabbing your things. His secret identity wasn’t something you could just ignore. 

“Go home, Spider-Man,” you turn your back on him, and time slows when you falter before sparing him one more look. “I want you as Riki, not like this.” 

MAYBE NISHIMURA RIKI DOESN'T NEED TO DIE–OR ALMOST DIE–ANYMORE. 

He went home that night with his scars somewhat cleaned and his bruises miraculous healing on their own, and even if slipping through the window left him clutching his side in pain, Riki silently jumped up to celebrate his multiple victories before slipping out of his suit and finally getting some rest. 

Riki’s scared of how he’s affected your relationship. He’s worried you’ll avoid him in the halls, and he’s worried you’d never want to see him again after putting you through all of it. As much as he'd understand how upset you'd be towards him, he hopes he did the right thing by telling you.

But you see him on your way to English, and you call his name. His eyes search for yours in the crowds, and you two see each other before you crush him in a hug. 

Riki isn’t sure how to feel at first, but eventually wraps his arms around you as relief settles in his stomach. 

“Thank you for saving me, Spider-Man,” you whisper, loud enough for only him to hear. 

He smiles at you, ruffling your hair as you go to English together. “Anytime, ____.” 

NEVERMIND, NISHIMURA RIKI MIGHT DIE WHEN HE SEES YOU IN YOUR RED PROM DRESS.

But first, he has to try something out. 

He curses to himself when silently zipping from a tree outside your family property to the top of your house, staring past the ledge two and luxurious stories to your well decorated porch light and door. He just prays that Google Maps is  right about how secluded the area is, so no one can see him pacing around your rooftop, with flowers elegantly wrapped in his hand (courtesy of your mother’s sleek envelope from a few days ago). 

“Fuck it,” he says to himself, shooting a web and dangling himself down. Riki’s upside down figure watches swirled window frames and meticulously designed accents as he descends, and he wonders what kind of shady business your parents could’ve done to afford something so grand. 

He faces your door—hanging down instead of rightside up, but he’s still here on time like he promised. 

The door opens at 6:00PM like he instructed you to, but what he didn’t tell you what to do was shriek and slam the door. On his nose. With a loud yelp, Riki clutches his nose, rubbing the spot you hit and trying to apply pressure to alleviate the pain. 

When the door slowly creaks open again, you face with the image of Nishimura Riki, aka your boyfriend, aka your English partner, aka Spider-Man, curled upside down in the fetal position as he cradles the sore spot on his face and swings slightly from the breeze. 

“You scared me, dumbass! How was I supposed to know it was you? It was so hard to see!” 

Although muffled, Riki’s able to mumble, “You have a porch light for this reason, _____,” and a jab at his stomach from you follows his sarcastic remark. Finally, his nose feels better, and he straightens out to finally look at you. 

Pretty, pretty, pretty, and the boy wonders how you look even more stunning with a glittering red dress and perfectly done make-up. “I like the red,” he says, trying not to freak out over your beauty. “Reminds me of a certain neighborhood superhero.” 

“I have some blue spider earrings to match.” With a beautiful smile, you turn to show him the little accent, and it melts his heart. “Are you okay, though?”

“I’m fine. I should’ve probably put more thought into that.” 

You snicker, sliding into your heels and closing the door behind you. 

“One of us is better at romantic gestures, it seems.” It warrants a scoff, and Riki brings a gloved hand to poke at your forehead teasingly.

“Let me have a do-over, then?” And the way your lips curl up into a bright smile leaves him quiet and in awe. 

“What, were you going to kiss me? Very original, Spider-Man.” With the way the fabric shifts over his features, you can tell he’s pouting. 

“I thought girls liked this.” 

You shrug, pretending you aren’t swept off his feet by the effort he’s put in. Taking a step in his direction, your hands reach up to gently pull the mask over his chin, ears, and then his nose. 

Whispering quietly, you ask, “You’ve kissed other girls upside down?” 

Riki’s quick to shake his head. “You’re the only girl I’d withstand a head rush for.” And god, you just can’t stop yourself from grinning at his sweet, genuine words.

You lean in, placing a small kiss on his nose as a silent apology. Then, you close your eyes and lean into him once more, feeling his hands carefully holding the side of your head and his lips on yours. Your kiss with Riki is saccharine and slow, making you pull away when the urge to beam at him is too much. Your cheeks definitely hurt by how romantic he’s being, and you can’t resist kissing him once more.

“I’m not gonna lie,” he starts, finally letting himself down, “It feels weird.” 

“You ruined the moment.” And he really didn’t, but you enjoy his subtle reactions to your light digs at him. 

“Whatever.” Riki laughs. “Stay here, I’ll be right back.” 

You nod, sitting down on the porch and dragging a manicured nail over your lips with the ghost of his affections, thinking about how you literally just kissed Spider-Man. 

Riki comes back, dusting off his suit and smoothing out the wrinkles, with a large bouquet of red roses and one blue one snuck in there. Your lips stretch into a grin and you accept the bouquet, keeping a mental note to read the card in there.

“You never cease to amaze me, Riki.” It’s the last thing you mutter to the air before you loop your arms around his neck, urging him to lean down as you kiss him once more—this time rightside up, but still as sickly saccharine as the one before it. Your heart is fuzzy with fondness and your eyes glitter with adoration. 

“So, which kiss was better?” he asks when you pull away, a little breathless and dizzy.

You swat his arm and walk past the gates, seeing the sleek limo waiting by the curb. “I don’t know, Spider-Man. Maybe show up in your suit and we’ll try it again.” 

REBLOGS AND FEEDBACK ARE ALWAYS APPRECIATED AND ALWAYS READ!

RIKI FIC DONE!!!! ngl y/n u were right there how did u not know riki was spiderman but whatever idc she's a hard worker not smart LMFOAOAO. my first ever action fic so i hope you enjoy! also i hate the ‘oh he pined after her for 4 years she liked him for 2 months’ bs because I WAS IN IT. and it sucks so i tried to deviate from it :)

꣑ৎ permanent fic taglist (TAGGED IN TEASERS, FICS, HEADCANNONS, DRABBLES, ETC.): @dimplewonie @minleeeknow @heeheesang @mintpjzroll @llvrhee @firstclassjaylee @in-somnias-world @rairaiblog @suneng @mavlogist @sensitively-taken @sumzysworld @simpjay @moons-v @riksaes @txtari @jungwonscatcus @tya0 @sasfransisco @woorcve @shypen @pinkriki @rikisluv @saranghaohoshi @lilifiedeans @wonmyheart @k1ttyluvr @nikisgfff @ramenoil @laurradoesloveu @lvcky-g1rl-syndr0me @ikeulims @missychiefs1404 @qwonyoung23 @yangjungwonnie @onementally-unstabel-kid @microwvdstrawb3rri3s @blooqz @anormieee hi permies hope u enjoy! kith

[7oji]

imagine you run into an ex-boyfriend after a night out with toji 🎀

◞⁺⊹ toji fushiguro/fem!reader ──── fluff. established relationship. jealous toji ofc. 800+ words.

A sober Toji takes you by the hand to head out of the club after you have had too many drinks. He was having a lot of fun seeing you all red and tipsy, but you would probably blame your hangover on him the next morning.

The deal was that he was supposed to be taking care of you. And he did. He only leaves your side to walk over to the valet.

Those few seconds are enough for your gaze to wander into the crowd before it stops to recognize a guy walking your way.

“That’s my ex...” you blurt out.

Toji returns at the perfect moment to see you tense up. He follows your eyes and his own narrow slightly as he spots a guy your age waving in a friendly manner.

“Is he a problem?” he questions in a low tone, locking his hand around yours.

A bit of alcohol probably drained out of your system, not so much about being trapped without a car and being forced to interact with someone from your past, but more about the fact that Toji grabbed every opportunity to pick out a fight if it was about you. He looked like he enjoyed scaring guys away from your drunk dancing all night.

“He’s okay. We only dated for a while in high school,” you reply after a long breath.

Worried about what you will see in his eyes you avoid looking at him. Instead, he feels a gentle squeeze on the hand before you wave back.

“Heeey,” you greet him as only a drunk girl could. “Long time no see.”

The guy’s expression changes from excitement to a startled look when he notices the large figure beside you.

“This is my husband, Toji,” you introduce him, immediately satisfied at the stunned reaction to that title.

Toji nods at the boy in acknowledgment, ignoring the hand reaching out to him. You swallowed worriedly and try ignoring it too.

A few polite questions are exchanged, all while Toji looks over at the guy with a careful stare, unaware his hand clenched your own in a fist.

“I’m glad you are doing okay,” you finally say after spotting the valet coming closer with your car. “And this was nice, but we really need to go! We have to get back to our kid.”

Easy like that, Toji’s demeanor becomes just a little more serene at the mention of your boy.

You make your way to the car, nudging Toji’s hand in an attempt to stop him from doing much else, but he manages to give the guy a last look with his mouth curling into a mean smile.

“Take care,” he says in a tone that made everyone question if it really was a well-wished farewell.

Your husband turns around to get the keys from the valet. He takes his wallet out and offers the worker a chunk of bills that was large enough to make all people around notice his generous tip.

Toji finally gets into the car in a seemingly carefree manner but finds you already inside trying to contain your laughter.

“What?” he raises his brow.

“You really have a way of making guys sweat, you know?”

He snickers at your words. Not a hint of remorse in sight.

“I suppose I just have a way with people.”

“Oh man, so many memories are coming back…” You give a final breath of relief as you slump on the co-pilot seat.

“Yeah, I’m sure you had plenty of guys following your trail,” he huffs playfully while starting the car. “You were probably one of the prettiest girls in school, right?”

Probably because of the alcohol, but a wistful gleam appears in your eyes.

“Yeah, right. I was lucky to even get that guy as a date for prom.” Remembering how you felt about yourself during those years put you in a sentimental mood, more so in your current state. “You probably wouldn’t even have looked my way back then.”

Toji chuckles when he finally understands why that guy back there had a stupid look on his face when seeing you. It also explains why you didn’t keep pictures of that time, or at least showed them to him.

A bit of nostalgia spreads across his own face as he goes back to his younger days as well. But one look your way makes an affectionate glow replace the melancholy in his eyes. You were a beautiful woman now, and you got all dressed up for him tonight.

“You’re crazy. I would have noticed you instantly back then,” his smile grows a little kinder the more he speaks. “I’ve always been an expert at picking out hidden jewels.”

If you had each other back then, maybe things would have turned out differently. Or maybe not, but you were grateful to be together now. Dewy-eyed at the thoughts, you lean into his side.

“You always know the right thing to say,” your words come out slurred by this time. You start to doze off right then and there.

Toji chuckles and places a kiss on the top of your head before starting the drive back home.

[woneuntonzz]

greatest comedian ≈ s.es, o.str

popularguy!eunseok x afab!reader x bestfriend!shotaro

“god must be the greatest comedian I know.”

contains: angst, fluff, comfort, cursing, pining (ig), mentions of alcohol, slightly suggestive jokes, humor (lmao)

wordcount: 10.8k

a/n: i'm back :0 (kinda) i'm gonna try and get to my asks soon pls wait for me :<

songfic inspired by:

“You’re funny!”

He’s heard it countless times. And he truly was. Truly, he was a delight to be around. He reveled in the laughter and amusement of others. Your image of him was no different from everyone else’s. You’ve always thought he was funny. But somehow he’s never made you laugh. Well, all he’s ever done is bring your self-doubts to afloat, and served a great part in creating this big barricade in your academic life that you’ve been trying to get through for over a year now. 

“You still like that guy? For real?” you breathe out a chuckle to your friend’s query, in harmony with the sounds of the keyboard’s clicks as you make yourself busy.

“Yes, Natty.” your voice was soft as you replied and as you did you felt Natty’s hand landing calmly on your shoulder. 

“Ever thought of confessing?” —I have, I do all the time— you say to yourself. “I mean, who knows, he might like you too.”

You almost guffawed, but Natty would only lay her head on your shoulder and she’d snap her head up at you when you answered, “On another universe, maybe. I don’t exist in his little theater show.”

“What a way to refer to someone’s blooming social life.” you darted your eyes at Natty’s poking, turning the both of you into a bundle of laughter. 

If only he could hear the melody that sounded from your lips. “Why’d you say it like I don’t have a social life?”  

“Miss Y/n, I did not say that at all. You’re delusional!” your friend gave you a light push, your arms crossing on top of one another on your chest. 

“I am not delusional!” you kept the kid in your tone whilst appearing offended. 

In fact, you truly weren’t. While as a youngin you’d hope every coincidence bore meanings, you grew up to face reality, though not accepting it entirely. A part of you hoped there was a small spark that went off every time you met his gaze, that he was just as withdrawn with you as you were with him because he was shy, that he only pretended to not care about you because he liked you too. But a view of him from afar —how his life was a movie in itself— told you you’d be nothing more but a mere extra in the extravagance of his daily proceedings. 

So when prom came around, while everyone else scurried around to find their dates, you just stood still —more accurately, sat and waited for anything interesting to happen in your life— and watched the pretty girls being picked out by men of all kinds like flowers on a nice green field. You just hated that by the end of prom night, this nice field of tamed green grass will turn into a rowdy, muddy mess stepped on by those men —if you could even call them that. The view wasn’t as sweet to you like how everyone else saw it, but perhaps it was because you were bitter. 

“Aren’t you excited for prom night? I heard Jacob will DJ this year, I bet it’s gonna be awesome.” you shrugged at your friend, unsure if you were even gonna go to prom. 

“I bet you’ll have loads of fun.” your friend was quick to pick up on your masked expression, much to your surprise.

“Hmm, is this about…” he looks you right in the eyes,“Bingo! code Eun—”

“Shh!” you bit your lip after shushing him, containing the laugh that threatened to escape from you. “Keep it down!”

“Oh, sorry.” a jesting evil chuckle was evoked from him making your face scrunch up. He laughs at you and motions like he’s about to pinch your face. “But, hear me out. Why don’t you ask him out?”

You sighed as an array of reasons popped up in your head. “Even if I had the courage to do that did you really think he’d say yes? To me?” your friend snorted at your tone, and again, looks you right in the eyes. 

“Why not?” you raised your brows as a way of asking him if he was being serious, “Look, just being for real here, you’re pretty enough to overthrow those ‘popular girls’, your cute, your talented, your actually interesting —I mean what’s there not to like?”

You gave yourself a second to think and your eyes followed the lines separating each tile on the floor, and from the distance you saw him. You were in the cafeteria, and for some reason not with Natty. Some guy named Eric had asked her to meet him in some classroom, you’ve heard from some of his friends that he was asking Natty out to prom and planned a surprise. Meanwhile your dream date was sat five tables away from where you were. Laughter filled the table he and his friends occupied. He must be so funny then.

“Y/n?” Your friend’s voice was all it took for you to avert your eyes from Eunseok. “It’s kinda rude to just stare at your crush and daydream mid conversation, just so you know.”

You can’t help but laugh, at your friend’s jovial banter and at yourself for being so pathetic. “Sorry, Sho.”

“I was kidding, it’s totally fine Miss scared-of-confrontations.” you playfully rolled your eyes at him. 

“I’m not scared of confrontations.” but his words took you a step back and you thought maybe you truly were scared of confrontations. 

“Yeah? prove it! prove it! prove it!” and he kept repeating it like a kid and you had to shush him again. “Ask him out!”

“Shotaro, I've never wanted to punch someone this bad in my life before, just stop.” and he just laughs at you again. You look to your side, and coincidentally right into his eyes. It would’ve been the highlight for your day, the best day of your week —your life even— if not for the flowers he held in his hand. And no, they weren’t for you. You thought they could never be for you. He held them in his hands whilst he wore that grin that drew everybody in his presence. You looked away, not wanting to see the events waiting to unfold before you. 

“Let’s go, Sho.” you took hold of Shotaro’s wrist, dragging him out of the cafeteria with you. Once you were out of the bustling atmosphere, you started sprinting, still not letting go of your friend.

“Where are we going?” and then suddenly you stopped. 

You could see Natty holding hands with Eric from the other end of the hallway, and some of Eric’s friends tagging along from behind. 

“Oh, so that’s where Natty’s been. No wonder.” you hear Shotaro utter quietly from behind you. 

“Yeah. No wonder.” your lips spread to a small smile, seeing how happy Natty actually is. You just hope Eric isn’t just another guy.

“Hey, Y/n, why’d you pull me out of the cafeteria? I was trying to skin the fried tofu with my tee—”

“Sorry, I just didn’t want to see it —them, I mean.” your friend just stared at you, confused, and it showed on his face. A soft, but bitter laugh came out of your mouth. You figured Shotaro might’ve not seen what you saw, or maybe he didn’t care. “‘You-know-who’ was gonna ask some lucky girl to prom.”

“Really? Lucky?” he promptly shakes his head, and now you’re confused. “I don’t even know why I asked —anyways, I saw Mr.’Funny-Guy’ holding a bouquet. You know, for a second I thought you became Flash and just gave him those and asked him out to prom at ten times speed.” you laugh, and in all honesty just wanting to look past everything you saw, and everything that might’ve or did happen after the two of you ran off.

“Yeah. Very lucky.” Shotaro shook his head again, keeping his eyes on the smile that he could recognize from all the times you have found yourself on a disappointing stand. 

“I’m sorry to say this, but, Eunseok isn’t all that. You can have fun without him. You have Natty —or maybe not her because she’s probably gonna spend time with that guy— me! you have me! and Minji, though I’ve heard someone had asked her out, that's probably why she’s not around right now…”

With pursed lips and crossed arms, you searched for the sense in his words, and when you had found it he was already looking back at you. Tilting your head to the side, you hum, a nod following shortly after. Shotaro was once again confused. 

“Shotaro, how do you feel about going to prom with me?” you almost guffawed when he shrugged.

“Well, my plan was to just stick by you the whole night so we could have fun, so, technically…” he was suddenly stuck. “We’re best friends and all…”

“Yeah, but like, I’m actually asking you to be my date. Since we’re best friends and all.” you mimicked the tone that displaced his playful one when he spoke earlier. He scrunches his nose at you as some sort of counter-attack. 

“Okay. That’s great.” he mirrors your pose and crosses his arms as well, and you both tilt your head at the same time —and it was soon followed by laughter.

Osaki Shotaro is probably the third funniest person I know, or, should he be second? —you jot down on your notes app. You now lay on your bed, just a few nights away from prom. Your notes app became a little get away for you as it was easier to type than to write things down. You swear that the world will burn once someone has seen the things you’ve very diligently typed in the app. It was your safe space, locked away from everyone. Even from Natty. Even from Shotaro. I wonder what I should wear. I wonder what he’s gonna wear, what his date would wear. She for sure said yes. Who wouldn’t? I would, a hundred percent. I’m gonna have to make sure we don’t wear the same dress, not even the same color. What’s a rare color? —your thoughts were a river with no end. It just flowed, especially when you lay alone in your room paying mind to nothing with being in such a secluded and quiet place. You were there, the cold air against your exposed skin, but you would feel nothing of it. You were deep within the depths of your perception. You itched to know. Who was the girl? —and if you were being honest, you missed any signs of him being infatuated with someone else. Who am I kidding? It couldn’t be me.

For the days that followed, you kept your mind on what to wear. Of course, not without crossing paths with Song Eunseok. He seemed his usual self —if not happier. You refuse to see it that way, to accept that whoever she might be, she’s making him twice the smiley guy he is. You’d reunite with Natty and Minji eventually. They asked if you were attending prom night because they’ve heard of the news. It had seemed as if everyone saw it coming. Maybe they are a match. Maybe they just look that good together. Maybe they’re made for each other. 

“Maybe he just asked out a friend, you know, for a friendly date of sorts. Like you and Taro!” as sweet as Natty could be, you just truly wanted to avoid conversations regarding you-know-who. You’d just smile, not sparing her a look.

It was your way of telling people to stop talking about something that upset you, and Shotaro noticed right away even though you were late to catch up on your sides pressed against each other when he scoots closer. “Natty’s right.” he was regretful of that reply, so he’d quickly avert from the topic of you-know-who. “By the way Y/n, what are you gonna wear? the color and stuff, we can match.” your head snaps up, being reminded you should’ve been getting ideas for your outfit instead of being dazed over a boy that has never even bothered to acknowledge your presence. 

“I don’t know yet. I don’t have ideas right now. Do you?” you finally look over to Shotaro, and for a second you’d jolt seeing the tip of your nose and his only a little over an inch from touching. 

He backed away almost instantly with a swift reply of, “I don’t have any either. I mean, it’d be fine by me to take charge if we didn’t have to follow an attire.”

Smack. Timely, you both gasped hearing such a loud sound coming from one of your friend —Minji, who was looking a little more enthusiastic than usual. “I have an idea. Let’s all shop together. Natty and I can work on both of you.”

Natty’s beam infected you when you looked over at her because you knew they got your backs. And that was one thing off your checklist of worries. Only a few hundred more to tick. 

“My mom said she wanted to help you get ready for prom night.” —and with a few flips of a textbook you were already off and walking back home with Shotaro, like usual.

“Really? I mean, I suppose it’d be easier if I was there, then you wouldn’t have to pick me up.” you reply with a slight pout, giving his offer —or rather his mother’s— serious consideration.

“I mean, it could be that or you join us for dinner tonight. I kind of figured Auntie would prefer it if she was the one who helped you, you’re her daughter after all, aren’t you?” your hand came to catch the laughter from your lips as he spoke. A laugh, and a sneeze, to which Shotaro responds with, “Ew.”

“Don’t ‘ew’ me!” his giggles slid through your ears, filling it up with his sweet melody. “Ew.” and of course you had to bite back. 

“What? 'ew' what?” and he kept giggling.

You could only chuckle to yourself, biting down on your bottom lip. “Nothing” you breathe out. 

It couldn’t be just nothing. Or at least he hoped. And so like every rational and mature man, he snatched the hairpin that held your poorly cut bangs from your face and ran. He was lucky it sled off easily. You chased him whilst calling out for his name, threatening him with actions you would never do. You could never. All while he giggled to himself like a little boy. 

♪ ♪ ♪

[A week ago…]

Everyone tends to only consider what’s on the surface of the water, unknowing of the storm that lies underneath the seas.

“What about Shotaro?” “Forget him.”

No apparent aggression, but betrayal could be sensed with the constant fall of his intonation as he continued to speak, “He chose her over us.” and his breath falls along with his hands that got done with smoothing out the wrinkles on his uniform.

“I mean, you would too. Isn’t that why you two got into a fight?” he shrugged at his friend.

And then laughed.

“What’s so funny?” The friend had furrowed eyebrows as he inspected the demeanor of the man before him.

“He’s talking to her everyday now. Me on the other hand?” he looks to his left, the body-length mirror of his room. “I’m so close, yet so far. I don’t even think I amuse her.”

“Why not? you’re Song Eunseok, the funny —and insanely hot guy, come on now.” 

“Yeah. That’s the problem. Funny, insanely… hot?” 

The two laughed in chorus. 

“What’s the point of being so admired by so many people if the one I’ve been admiring doesn’t even give a flying fuck?” Eunseok shook his head as he spoke, facing his mirror and checking his reflection. “If anything she probably hates —no, not hate, but she doesn’t like me. For sure.” he straightens the collar of his shirt. 

“The popular guy stigma.” he laughs at his friend’s sigh, and he replies,

“It’s true for some people. I could see why she might think I’m like them.” he smiled but his movements would be a complete contrast to it as he kept fixing nothing and dusting off nothing on his uniform. “Say we weren’t friends, and you’re a transferee, how would you see me?” he turns around to face his friend who was flummoxed with his sudden question. 

“Well, I’m an extrovert myself, so I’d probably ask you to hang out first and foremost. You’re fine as hell, you’re quite the character.” Eunseok’s eyes traveled to the ground after hearing his friend’s response. He couldn’t quite tell if it was genuine or was just a guise to amuse him. This friend was not like the ones he once had in his life. Not like Shotaro. Not like you. 

“Character?” Eunseok chuckled to himself. “I wonder if this… character was why we grew apart.” 

“You and Shotaro?”

“Yes, and no.” Eunseok’s heavy sigh almost startled the other boy. “I’m talking about the girl.” a silent ‘oh’ was exuded from the boy’s mouth as he watched the other who moved to take a seat next to him. “I don’t get how moving schools cut our ties. Shotaro and I were still friends after I moved. I mean, we were neighbors. But still. Did she really not care about me?” 

“Probably. Girls do that, don’t they?” Eunseok laughed again, with knitted brows this time.

“No. We’ll never know.” he says, running his tongue over his top lip before he continued, “We’re a bunch of dicks. How would we know?”

And they guffawed. 

“Just ask her out to prom. Before Shotaro does.” Eunseok nods at his friend. “I bet you fifty bucks you can get her to say yes empty handed.”

“Dude, it’s not in me to not give her anything.” 

[Present Day]

If I can make you laugh, you’re going to prom with me.

It would’ve been raining diamonds if he was able to carry out his plan. He would make her laugh then she’s all his for prom night, and hopefully for the days that follow. 

But now he stood —oddly quiet— with his friends in a corner shop near school buying whatever shit they had to buy. “Hey nice guy! What's up? Is your mouth glued shut? stapled?” 

One of his friends had laid their arm over his shoulders, tightening his hold when Eunseok didn’t answer immediately. “I’m fine. I think the store ran out of condoms.” the other snorts at his answer, a poor attempt at a joke.

“Do virgins eat condoms?” a loud ‘tsk’ would follow after, “If you’re getting fucked it’s by something up there in your cranium. Tell me.”

Eunseok sighed as he mustered up the guts to tell. “I didn’t get the girl.”  

Surprised, and quite perplexed, his friend removed his arm from him to look him in the eyes saying, “What do you mean? I thought Gaeul said yes?”

“It was never Gaeul.”

“Then who?”

“You.” Eunseok grabs his friend's face, pretending to pull him in for a kiss. His friend —like every straight man— would counteract his actions. 

“Ew dude, I’m not fucking gay, for the last time!”

“It’s always been you.”

Eunseok would let go of his friend hearing another one of their friends approaching as she laughed. “Hi nice guy!”

“And hi to you too, Miss Korea.” the girl giggles at Eunseok’s reply. 

“Is it true? You and Heeseung have been sleeping together?” Eunseok smirked, hearing the girl’s jesting.

“What?” Before Heeseung could speak again, Eunseok butts in with a quip. 

“Oh, yes! But he hides it, he must be ashamed of me —ashamed of loving me!” dramatic, and exaggerated, still it was one for the titters.

“I hate you, Yuna. Have a nice fucking day.” and Heeseung walks out whilst the two continue laughing amongst themselves. 

The cackles died down once the two were left alone as their friends continued to roam the shop.

“Hey, not to be nosy or anything, but did you seriously not mean to ask Gaeul? sorry I just heard —I promise I wasn’t actively listening in.” Yuna even waved her hands in front of her face to dismiss any misinterpretations. 

And with a small smile, Eunseok breathes in to reply to her. “It’s okay. We weren’t exactly being discreet about it at all.” his eyes shifted along the shelves that sandwiched the two of them. “But yeah. I asked Gaeul because, I don’t know, why not?” 

Yuna nods at a broken pace for a couple of seconds as she tries to understand, getting caught up in some holes as she went through what he told her one more time before asking, “So, then, who were you meant to ask?”

“Doesn’t matter. She’s got a date already anyways. I got a date, she got a date, you got a date, everyone gets a date. It’s gonna be fun.” he displays a wide smile, but it was almost robotic in a way that made Yuna huff trying to get over how ridiculous he looked at the moment. “Do you mind me asking about your date Miss Korea?” 

“Well, I was hoping this guy would ask me. But I don’t think he had me in mind at all. But yeah, I’m going with Sungchan, you're going with Gaeul, we all have dates. Let’s be happy.” Eunseok chuckled at the way her voice imitated his in some way. 

“Yeah. Let’s be happy.”

♪ ♪ ♪

It’s been an hour or two of Natty and Minji flitting around the boutique to find you and Shotaro some nice outfits for prom night. The theme? “Retro romance.”

“It’s fun but I feel like there could be better themes. There’d be dozens of polkadot skirts, I can already see it.” Natty mumbles in between picking out a few dresses for you to try on. She holds out a shirt dress, yellow with hints of white in a gingham pattern. “This is pretty retro, right? we could pair it with a belt and a skimmer hat with a purple ribbon.” Natty scans the piece of clothing, moving closer to you and holding it out next to your figure. 

Your head snaps instantly when you hear an utterance next to you, “It looks cute.” Shotaro was a bit taken aback with how all three of you stopped just to look at him just because of his short little comment.

Minji approached, coming from a section of the boutique just a little farther from where the three of you were. She came walking with a few items at hand. It was a plain long sleeve shirt, white, a plaid suit vest —in the same color as the dress Natty held—, and some flared trousers in a darker shade of yellow, just a little muted. 

“Oh my god, oh my god, you guys need to get into the fitting rooms right now!” you giggled at the way Natty gushed and rushed to get you and Shotaro on your feet. 

Her giggles were all it took for you and Shotaro to speed to the fitting rooms. Once the dress went over your head and the skirt settled against your bare legs, your hands traced the shape of your waist seeing how perfectly the dress fits and hugs your body. You loved how the color complemented your skin. Like a perfect painting, freshly polished. You walked out of the fitting room, eyes glued to the flow of the skirt. Once your feet have crossed the line that separated the fitting room from the rest of the boutique, your eyes land on the floor. Your lone feet were now joined by another pair dressed in white Nike air force 1s.

Looking up to your right, smiling eyes greet your own. “Sho, you look dapper!” your exclaim lifted the corners of his mouth to their highest point. 

“Wait till I get my hair done.” he says with his chest up and then playfully biting his lower lip. 

You laugh at his face, slightly shoving him from where he stood with a light push. He —very gently— bumps his shoulder onto yours, causing you to tilt a tad. With a little chortle, you tell him, “You don’t really need to get it done. It looks good the way it is.” as you ruffle his hair.

He lets out a giggle, so soft and gleeful. “Whatever you say, pretty.”

Walking back to your friends, from a distance, their eyes welcomed the two of you. Their compliments almost fell from the end of their tongues. A gasp leaped over Natty’s words, her hand rushing to catch her breath. “You look cute together!” and you almost gagged from all the cooing. As opposed to you, Shotaro just smiled, his eyes were smiling too. Smiling at you. It wasn’t anything out of the ordinary —you’d convince yourself. But your cognition went offbeat when you met his eyes, and yours would hastily look around for something, anything to subside the feeling that was simmering from within you. 

You were thankful that Minji made her comment before anyone noticed. “You look like twin bananas.” your face would scrunch up, and she’d slightly repel, speaking again, “I was trying to say the colors looked cute!” you hear Shotaro’s giggle again. Instinctively, you peered at him. Your best friend.

He used to be your best friend too. 

“Y/n?” 

You shook your head, your lips forming the best smile you could pull out of your blues. You raised your brows at your best friend who had called you out of your thoughts. “I like these outfits. Let’s get them, yeah?”

“Yeah. I like them too.” he nods along with his words. “Told you you’d look great in anything!” he gently nudges at you when he spews the acclaim.

Just days before he assured you that finding a decent outfit would be no problem, emphasizing that “you already look good with just our school uniform on.” —you’d dispense a hearty cackle, though, you knew he must’ve been sincere with it all, you only intended to humor the situation. All for the sake of not having to foster thoughts about everything he’s said to and done for you for the past two weeks after the ‘you-know-who incident’. 

All the while ‘you-know-who’ feigned folly. It was the only way he could ever allow himself to overlook the facts that unfolded from across the street in front of him. The fact that her happiness radiated in high magnitudes. The fact that she laughed with someone else, wore stupid banana-colored matching outfits with someone else —that she laughed with that guy as if he was the greatest comedian she knew. It was the fact that she was happier without him, and that he could never make her laugh like whilst she held on her tummy as her face formed creases of joy. She was only on her way out when he saw her. It’s the happiest he’s ever seen her. No matter how much he loathed the cause of your glee, seeing her smile, grin and giggle made him float to the skies. He daydreamed about what it could sound like, her laughter. Must be delightful with how tightly the other guy had clutched onto her hand. Eunseok looked away before he could fall any deeper. He crossed the road, and her too. He caught a whiff of her almond saffron perfume, and he fished for her gaze only to be met with the eyes he despised the most. “Osaki Shotaro pisses me off.”

Eunseok was now in a cafe to meet up with Gaeul for the first time ever since asking her out to prom —impulsively. She was yet to arrive, so he got on the phone with his dear friend Yeonjun. “We know, we know. But if you’re that competitive why don’t you make moves huh?” Eunseok breathes out a scoff after hearing Yeonjun’s taunting.

“If you knew me at all, you know i’m all but competitive.” Eunseok kept his gaze on the bell above the door, any moment from then it could sound Gaeul’s arrival, not that it was enough for him to pay mind to. 

“Yeah, you’re all that, aren’t you?” Yeonjun tittered from the other line. He calmed himself down at an instant when he realized that Eunseok was shut quiet. “You know, Sungchan told me something about his sister, Y/n.” Eunseok had parted his lips, but was unable to utter his next words —those which he had trouble finding— so Yeonjun spoke again, “He said she liked one of her best friends back then. It could be you or Shotaro, but what if it’s been you all along?”

Foot tapping at a pained tempo, Eunseok almost choked holding back a guffaw. “Me? Was I the one she’s been hanging out with? was I the one by her side when her dog died? or when she received such a shitty exchange gift when she had spent loads of time and money for her gift?” Eunseok swore he could see Yeonjun with pursed lips. 

The bell sounded just as Yeonjun replied, “It’s not entirely impossible—” *phone beeps* Eunseok ends the phone when Gaeul greets him with heart eyes. Like every girl would. 

It didn’t make sense to Eunseok. Every other girl liked him, stared at him for too long sometimes. You were —in his world— every girl. You were the girl that laughed at him when he skinned his knee while he raced against the wind with his bicycle. You were the girl that gave him your frosted animal crackers when he left his lunch box at home. You were the girl that hid her face when she cried after he had told her that he was moving away with his family. You were the girl that pretended not to recognize him at the themepark when he came around to visit again. You were the girl who continued to shun him everyday now that you were in the same highschool. You were all that —and more— to him. You were every girl in his life, in his story, in the little sit-com he lived in.

“So, what do you plan on taking for college?” he stared at the girl who queried him, though it was not clear to her —nor to himself what exactly he was staring for, or at rather. 

Eunseok clears his throat, digging around in his mind for the answer, “I plan to take a b-a —uh, public relations.” he chuckled seeing how she fought the grimace from spreading throughout her face. “Sorry if i’m not the computer science or architecture typa guy.”

Gaeul quickly wards off any misunderstandings by hastily shaking her head as she utters, “Sorry, I just haven’t heard that from anyone before. In fact, I'm quite unfamiliar with it.” he leisurely nods, his teeth subtly digging into his bottom lip at the last rise of his head. “Would you mind explaining it to me? your career path and all.”

He raised his brows, a low chuckle, barely audible, was trapped behind his pressed lips. “No, not at all.” maybe, just maybe, he could get his head out of the past, the memories of you. You. Maybe after he’s gotten to know this girl that actually acknowledged his presence and seemed to be genuinely curious to seek for what’s beyond his social persona. The talk was definitely long enough for their lava-hot coffee cups to run cold. And surprisingly for him, there was more gained than said.

♪ ♪ ♪ 

Prom night came around, but before it did you made sure to avoid crossing paths with him, or taking turns at the wrong corners and run into him and Gaeul —again. You were never able to be verbal with how grateful you were that Shotaro had been sticking to you ever since you’ve gone to the boutique. His puns and your exchanged banters drew your attention away from Eunseok. 

At prom night, Shotaro picked you up with his dad’s car. You scrambled around looking for your purse when you saw him from outside your living room window. He leaned his back against the driver’s seat door, waiting and anxiously fiddling with his fingers. You released a deep exhale once you were faced with your front door. Shotaro stared at the door mat, and when he saw that bright yellow skirt flowing with the cold wind of the night, he gazed up. His eyes lit up as if they had sparklers in them. He had seen you in this dress before —at the boutique, but somehow the atmosphere and the anticipation of taking your hand in his and dancing with you on the dance floor all night made him feel like it was his first time ever trying to catch your eyes behind that beige skimmer hat you wore. 

With only a few five steps distancing the two of you, you greet him. “Hi.”

“Hello.” after a minute of —unnecessary— loud silence, you both burst out laughing. “I’m Shotaro, and this pretty girl’s name would be?...”

Your hands settled on your waist, tilting your head —and finally locking your eyes with his. Your lips would curve into a small smile, giving into his little roleplay. “The name's Y/n.” you hold your hand out for a handshake, and you receive it in no time.

“Well, good eve Miss Y/n. It’s my first time seeing you around here, perhaps you’re from out of town?” you suppress your giggle, lips pursed as you composed yourself.

“I could say the same about you.” he chuckles at you, eyes all smiley, like always.

“It doesn’t have to matter pretty, would you dance with me tonight?” he asks with raised brows, and a voice silk like whiskey. 

Though his voice caused a short stagnation with your breathing, you cleared your throat, hoping that would ease the one-sided tension. Then suddenly, you gasped, “And for you to expect me to go out with a stranger? how bold!” and very dramatically too.

His eyes dilated, again, laughing against his lips. He gradually pulled his occupied hands from behind his back at the same pace at which he spoke. “Maybe, a little gift would change your mind?” and by then, a bouquet of chocolates —your favorite kind— was being waved, just slightly, right in front of you. 

“What? I thought you were saving up? those are expensive!” a hefty load of air went through your nose, taking in the sweet scents of cocoa and sugar.

“Not really expensive, just pricey—”

“Same thing!” Shotaro’s chest was struck by your gentle hand, and he’d hold it there. Your palm was pressed against his heartbeat. You kept your eyes on your hand as you felt for the thumps on his chest. It was paced and certainly not calm. “Sho… you okay?”

With your gaze up at him and a flick of your lashes, his hand found its way on top of yours. And for a while, he’d clasp onto your hand, his grip growing tighter with every count of a second. He gently guides your hand off his chest, lowering it on level with your waist. “I’m taking that as a yes, pretty.” he utters softly as he guides you to the passenger seat of the car. 

Once you were seated, you stared straight ahead, not minding Shotaro who went around again to get into the driver’s seat. You anxiously fiddled with the fabric of your skirt, and once you heard the driver’s seat door close, you patted down the cloth and smoothened it with your hands. 

“Are you okay Y/n?” the boy beside you asks, and you —obviously— had thoughts running in your head by the looks of your eyes alone. 

“Yeah, it’s just…” you were quite embarrassed to admit, “I don’t get why I’m like this either, but…” but it’s nothing Shotaro hadn’t heard from you, right? “I don’t know if I’ll enjoy it if I saw him there with another girl. I’m sorry, Sho.”

You watched as Shotaro’s hands took grasp of the wheel, his thumb grazing against the leather ever so slightly. “Prom is not about Song Eunseok. We can very much enjoy it without seeing him at all. How about we just pretend he doesn’t exist for the night? how’s that sound?” He was calm, and so sweet sounding. He held out his hand with his palm facing the sky, offering to ease your worries. 

You took this offer, just for the sake of feeling better and getting your mind off of who wasn’t there for you, and who hasn’t been for eight years. “Thank you, Sho.”

Now his thumb grazed over the skin of your hand. “Anytime. You know I love you, right?” 

“I know, you’ve been telling me that since we were kids.” you giggled at each other, before the engine started and you were both off to prom night.

♪ ♪ ♪

For most of the night, you stuck by Shotaro —as promised— and you two danced, even though you were quite the dancer yourself, he urged you to join him. It was fun, even more so for him. He was so kind to you tonight, so gentle. Well, he’s Shotaro, and he’s made you smile, giggle, titter with his little jokes, his compliments, his smile. 

“Thank you for tonight.” you were sitting at an empty table. You had laid your head on your date’s shoulder as your eyes wandered around the scattered bunch of attendees dancing the night away.

Prom king and queen were to be announced after the current song, you heard from one of the other attendees. “Thanks to you too. I had loads of fun.” the back of his hand gently bumps against yours. You caught the signal, placing your hand on top of his palm. He closes in on your hand, and opens it again, then closes, and opens again, “Look, it���s an alligator.” he giggles right into your ear, continuing the closing and opening motion as he brings your entwined hands to your face. 

“Sho!” you breathe out as a laugh follows shortly. “Hate to break it to you, but that’s not what an alligator looks like.”

“Oh, okay then.” he removed his hand from underneath yours, and soon your palms touched each other. You very carefully lift your head from his shoulder, and your eyes land on his face, observing the way his nose scrunched up when he started playing with your hands. “How about this?” he lifts your hands to your face again, showing the little alligator he had created with your joint hands. 

And then your eyes meet. Your smile was so soft, as well as your eyes. He thought he was going to melt into a puddle. He just hoped nothing would ruin this serene view. You’re so delicate and beautiful. The night went exactly like how he planned —for the most part. You two were all smiles and laughs when your sides were pressed against each other or when your hands were connected. But one instance of you separating to get drinks for both you and him, he wasn’t expecting you to come back with tears brimming at the corners of your eyes. It was his instinct to always be there for you, and so he rushed to take you in his arms. It hurt him that you weakly tried to fight off his embrace, but then you broke into a sob and meekly laid your weight onto him. His hand encloses yours as he takes you back to the car. He thought about driving you home, so you can rest and feel better. But he took a turn away from where you lived.

“Where are we going, Sho?” your dainty voice pricked his heart.

“Just, somewhere.” 

He didn't let go of your hand till he took you home, but until then, you both sat by the riverside with juice boxes and convenience store sandwiches. 

“What’s wrong with me? he doesn’t even care about me, or you —at least not anymore.” you munched on the cold sandwich salted with your own tears as you spoke. 

“Well, at least he doesn’t hate us, right? and look, I’m pretty sure if you asked him for help, or a favor or something, he won’t refuse.” Shotaro had his eyes on you only, even if he had asked you to take a breather and watch the river flow. He sighs softly, seeing your gloomy eyes blinked continuously to fight off the tears. “Friends grow apart, it really isn’t his fault he found friends he enjoyed being around with more than—”

“More than us. Yeah, I get it.” a bitter laugh escaped your lips, and you gulped as a single tear trickled down to the side of your face. 

Shotaro was quick to not let it run down to your neck, wiping it off with a gentle touch to your face. You took a hold of his wrist, calmy removing his hand from your face and moving it to let it settle on his lap, but before you could let go of him, he brought your hand back in his with one swift motion. Your eyes grew wider than before, blinking a few more times as you held eye contact. 

“Can I ask for a favor?” you blinked one more time at his question. 

“Yes Sho.”

“I know you like Eunseok —still, and I know you don’t have it in you to just forget him, especially when we used to be the best of friends.” 

You took a stuttered breath, eyeing Shotaro’s fingers as he drew shapes on your hand. 

“But please, forget him.” and another stuttered breath. “It doesn’t have to be now —what I’m trying to say is, if he managed to stop looking out for you, I won’t. No matter what happens.” your eyes soften, keeping it locked with his. “Even if you say no to my favor.”

You raised your brows, visibly confused. “Isn’t the favor to forget about him?”

You felt his grip on your hand tighten, and you could see the movement in his throat as he gulped. 

“Y/n, can I court you?”

♪ ♪ ♪

[Earlier that night…]

“And now, for prom king…”

It was undoubtedly,

“Song Eunseok!”

Great. Just great. Eunseok badly wanted to just drown in the crowds of people, but instead he allowed himself to be pushed onstage by his friends. And there he stood, next to the prom queen —thankfully, it was Yuna, and not just some other girl. The girl seemed to be ecstatic, giving Eunseok a high-five. Still, after being crowned and a brief photoshoot session, he hurried back to his date who wore rosey cheeks and a shy smile. 

“Hi prom king.” She greets him as he gets closer.

Once he was right in front of her, she wrapped her arms around her neck. He wasn’t surprised, not until she got on her tiptoes to place her lips on his. Just for a short while. 

“I like you, Eunseok.” he blinked once, biting onto his bottom lip.

He couldn’t quite figure out what it was, but suddenly his head was brought up —just above Gaeul’s head— where from a distance, he spotted you. Looking so sweet, so flawless in that yellow shirt dress. He loved how you just walked around with that smile he’d always daydream about. In those five seconds of him marveling in the sight of you, he never realized you were looking right at him, then at the shorter girl in front of him. And with a blink of an eye, you were gone. 

“Eunseok?” he cleared his throat, finally looking back at Gaeul. 

He ponders for a while, and he looks up again. Then he meets another pair of eyes. It belonged to the arms that held you that night as you sobbed. 

“I like you too.”

It was all too late, wasn’t it? There was no way Shotaro hadn’t already planned to ask you out after tonight. Right?

[Two weeks later…]

“How’s it with Gaeul?” Eunseok shook his head at his friend’s query, almost laughing at the tone of his question. 

“We’re fine, Chenle.” he replies with a slight sigh, which only drove his friend to question him more. 

“Yeah, yeah. But, are you really over… you know.” Chenle brought his eyes to the side.

Eunseok knew better than to look at where his friend’s eyes laid on, instead he’d just answer him, “I’m not. But it wouldn’t hurt to try. Besides, doesn’t she look happier?” 

“She does.” he almost broke into a pit of laughter with how fast Chenle responded to his words. 

“She really does.” Eunseok would repeat to himself, only very subtly looking over at your direction.

So close, yet so far. And now, completely out of reach. He watched from the other end of the hallway as you unload your locker, and right next to you was Shotaro who held everything you took out of it, filling his hands. After closing your locker, you’d take half of what he held. Then you laughed. To this day Eunseok was still curious. Did your laugh sound any different after eight years?

“Bro, don’t you think you’ve been looking for too long?” 

Eunseok finally parts his eyes from your sight, looking back at his friend with the smile he always wore around school, the one that no one could ever really tell whether it’s superficial or genuine.  

“What do you mean? It’s only been eight minutes.”

And eight years. 

♪ ♪ ♪

Highschool went by like a fly, so irritating that it lingered for a while. But you were happy that even though you’ve taken a dozen bites, you were still able to be the luckiest of the lucky. Especially with him by your side. Maybe it was too early to speak on things, but you are in your second year of college now, and he’s never stopped looking out for you. So you did the same for him. 

“Hey Sho?” you spoke into your phone after the ringing stopped. 

“Hi Y/n! sorry I can’t join you for lunch, but for dinner we’ll definitely—” he was cut off by your soft chuckle, finding himself freezing up for a second.

“I know Sho, you told me last night. So that’s why—” you took the steps up to his department’s building, stopping by the glass doors. “I’m here to drop off your lunch.”

“Lunch? Wait, I’m running down right now!”

“Entrance two.”

“Entrance two, got it —what did you get?”

“I cooked!”

“You cooked? holy shit, okay.”

You purse your lips as you suppress your laughter, and within under a minute, you see him running from the inside towards the transparent doors. He rushed out of the doors, greeting you with a hug. You were both giggling against each other. 

“Sho!” you almost dropped the lunch bag when he spun you once. 

His eyes smiled at you —like always— once he’s let go of you. You wore a wide smile, biting your lip as you extended your arm to give him the lunch bag. “This is way better than take out.”

You chortle and shake your head. “How would you know? you haven’t even tasted it yet!”

“I’ve tasted your ramen!”

“Instant ramen doesn’t count!” 

You wished you could just bask in each other’s little banters and laughs, but eventually he had to go back to finish what he was working on. 

“Natty will join us for dinner, she and Eric had another fight.” you tell him as you fixed his collar a bit. 

“Again? What's going on with Eric?” you shrugged at him, finally smoothing out his shirt. 

“Nobody knows.”

You understood why people fought, that sometimes, even the smallest things on the surface could indeed be plunged deeper than the depths of the oceans. Now all you could hope is for the couple to reconcile. You knew them both well enough by now to tell that both of them mean well at the end of the day and in some way are just trying to protect each other. 

That’s why at dinner, you were all eyes and ears for Natty as she went on with the details of how everything went down, and you held her hand seeing that it was difficult for her to let it all out. By the end of the day, she’d thank you and Shotaro, and the two of you would be left in the confines of your apartment complex. The talk lasted for longer than what you’d expect —not that you mind— and when you looked out the window, the sky was black and blank. The street lamps were all lit, coloring the streets amidst the darkness. You breathe in once, turning around, only to be met with Shotaro who was getting ready to go home. From what you can recall, he wasn’t gonna be busy for a while. 

“Sho?” his head snaps up from his shoelaces that he was only getting started to tie back up. He hummed you a reply, smiling so dearly and letting his eyebrows rise a tad. “Can I ask you a favor?”

He was a bit taken aback at your question, but he could never say no. “Yeah, of course! "What is it, pretty?”

That feeling you felt back at that old boutique was coming back to you, and in its fullest form. No longer something you would ward off and ignore, but something you wanted to accept and embrace. You thought maybe you were somewhat a bit standoffish, not being able to see through your best friend’s compliments and cute little nicknames —not to mention everything he’s done for you. You thought it was kind of funny. Then, it only took you eight seconds to spot Eunseok within a crowd, but it took you eight years to realize that your bestest friend of all saw you more than a best friend. Funny how you’ve kept Eunseok name at the top of your ‘funniest people I know’ list when no one had ever made you laugh as much as Shotaro did. You made a mental note to yourself to edit that later on, but for now,

“Stay for tonight. It’s quite late.” you glanced over to your wall clock. “A quarter till twelve.”

His eyes shifted around for a while, like he was looking for his answer around the space of your home. “If it’s fine with you, I would —but really, I can go home just fine. I can call you while I walk home.”

You chuckled, taking in his wide open eyes and slightly parted lips. You subtly chew on your bottom lip for a second before telling him, “I want you to stay, Sho.” 

He was a frozen stick of butter by the time those words left your mouth. And he’d let himself melt when you came close to remove his scarf off of him. He removes his shoes, then his coat. And for a while you both stood in front of your door, just staring at each other before laughing at each other's faces —with no particular reason. He takes both of your hands, keeping them warm with his own. 

“Now, about the favor…” your eyes shy away from him as he tilts his head.

He fishes for your eyes, asking, “Wasn’t this the favor?” a soft giggle escapes his mouth just as he finishes speaking. 

You can’t help but giggle too. This time you look him right in the eyes. “Sho, we’ve been best friends for fourteen years.” he gulped at your words, feeling a little nervous with the way you spoke. “And you’ve been courting me for two years.”

“And a half.” he sheepishly adds. 

You breathe out a laugh, “And a half.” you mumble as you intertwine your fingers with his. “I think we should stop being best friends.”

You can’t help but laugh at the way his face contorts at what you said. “Wait, what?” “Wait, what I’m trying to say is…” you both utter at the same time, still being mindful of your volume —you had neighbors after all. 

“Can I be your girlfriend already?” 

You were smothered with a hug, tiny pecks and his sweet giggles. The next thing you know, you were laying on your bed, all cuddled up against each other. He caresses your hair, something he’s always wanted to do. 

“You know we can be together and be best friends at the same time, right?” he whispered to your ear, holding you closer to him. 

You only hummed a reply to him, feeling too tired to open your eyes or speak up. You’d hear one last giggle and feel strands of your hair being moved out from your face before you drifted to sleep. 

♪ ♪ ♪

[Eight months later…]

It was a busy day. You were lined up to seize an opportunity of a lifetime, and you haven’t even graduated college. You were hopeful that they might consider your talents. A wise man by the name of Shotaro once said, “Fashion design is your thing, you can do it! I bet twenty.” you really hope you’d lose that twenty bucks. 

“Y/n?” you were spooked for a second, it’s a familiar voice. “Hi!” and a very familiar face.

“Gaeul?” your eyes dilated at the sight of her. 

She’s just as pretty as the last time you saw her. “Long time no see!” she opened her arms, inviting you in for a small hug, which you accepted gleefully. “How have you been?”

That single question brought you to lunch with her, and of course you had to bring Shotaro along. 

“I’ve always thought you two looked cute together, I’m glad to see the both of you happy.” she gives both of you a soft smile. 

“Thanks, well, how about you? still with Eunseok?” you quietly gasp, stilling yourself in your seat but still knitting your brows at your boyfriend. 

You felt that neither of you were really in the place to ask about her love life. “No, it’s okay!” Gaeul’s assurance helped calm your nerves. “I’m single.”

The two of you just nod, and you found that it was best to not pay much mind to it anymore. You engaged in constant conversation throughout your whole time eating, it was all very wholesome, and you were happy that Gaeul was making steps to achieving her dreams just like you were. The talk about relationships seemed to have sinked, well, not until Shotaro had to excuse himself in the bathroom.

“We were never together —at least it didn’t feel like it.” Gaeul’s utterance caught you off guard. You fell silent all of a sudden, and she noticed. “It never felt real. I cut ties with him after three weeks. And then he told me that—” she flicked her tongue over her top lip for a short while, “He liked you.” 

You took a second to take a sip of water, gulping like you were drinking thick sand.  

Despite parting with smiley farewells, her words dropped a heavy load on you. You carried it till you got back to your apartment and got settled on your bed. It was so heavy that you dropped it all on him, at a seemingly random moment. 

“She said he had a picture of me from our 8th grade yearbook in his pocket.” 

What you had shared with Shotaro struck him like livid thunder. He didn’t expect that Eunseok’s feelings for you would persist. He just wondered if it’s still there. But he could only hope for the best. Even after the whole conflict of two best friends liking the same girl —who also happened to be their best friend too— Shotaro still cared for Eunseok, even if he seemed entirely indifferent to him.

But it didn’t have to matter anymore. You chose him. He’s the one in your home, on your bed, always by your side, never to leave you.

♪ ♪ ♪

[Eight years later…]

What was once a small, dull colored room with faulty curtains and ugly flooring became a shared bedroom, in your shared house with the love of your life. Where the sunshine seeps at dawn, and the moon peeks at your dreaming bodies at night. It felt wonderful. Love felt so wonderful. Shortly after moving in together, you adopted a dog. You didn’t get that opportunity with that one clothing line back then, but now, you owned a line of your own. Your life couldn’t be anymore complete. 

Even if it wasn’t perfect. The flaws only proved your happiness to be real. After a night of too much alcohol at your highschool reunion, Shotaro would tell you exactly why he stopped talking to Eunseok. He cried about it all, saying that he knew all along that you two liked each other. But you were all over it now, and it was Shotaro who’s been by your side. Not everyone was able to attend that reunion —because apparently they were too successful to be there.

Yuna, you knew she was a friend of Eunseok. She approached the two of you at your table, greeting the both of you with a warm smile. “My boyfriend’s having a stand-up show this saturday, I was hoping the two of you could come. In fact, he wanted me to invite you guys.” then you were given two tickets for the venue. 

There weren’t any other details, the ticket was white, with not much but the title of the show. 

The next morning, you’d discuss it with Shotaro on the dinner table. You were sitting next to each other, his arm wrapped around your waist and his head resting on top of yours. “The time is pretty tricky, I have work scheduled at that time.” he plants a kiss on your temple before continuing to speak, “You should definitely go though! I’ll pick you up after, then —remember that dog cafe I told you about? we have to visit it after.” 

You giggled, looking up at him. He couldn’t resist by then, and would lower himself a bit to kiss you. And it wasn't a short one, more like a twenty-minute film. Nonetheless, it was beautiful, and you’ve never felt so loved. 

That Saturday, you went to the venue alone, but not without having the sweetest breakfast of your life with your lover. Pancakes with chocolate syrup, whipped cream and a few berries, and of course, a cup of coffee before proceeding to your own schedules for the day. 

You took the bus on the way there since Shotaro had to leave earlier. The show was a little later in the afternoon. 

When you got there, you looked for any familiar faces, but it was only when you got seated that Yuna came and sat down next to you. You two greet each other with inviting smiles, and a few minutes before the show starts, you’d converse and catch up a bit, after all, it’s been eight years.

“Gentlemen.” a voice echoed throughout the room. 

When you looked up at the stadium, “Gentlemen, may I have your attention —and ladies, I know I already got you.” 

What a surprise. And it was a pleasant one at that. He fits this line of profession. He seemed to enjoy being up there, talking and joking about whatever. It was just like meeting him all over again. He’s just being himself up there. Your best friend from childhood, that sadly didn’t even make it till middle school. Now, you were finally able to laugh at his jests, sometimes stopping for a while to process what he was saying. Still, the atmosphere was light and fun. The audience was truly alive, and so were you. 

At one point, he started talking about his girlfriend. Not quite hard for you to figure out since you remember Yuna mentioning at your reunion party that you were being invited to this show by her boyfriend, Song Eunseok.

“So, I finally decided to do something about it. I bought one of those electric blankets. Problem solved, right? Wrong. Now, our bed is divided like the Korean Demilitarized Zone. She’s over there toasty warm, and I’m on my side sweating like a marathon runner in a sauna. But you know what? I wouldn't trade her for anything. Because at the end of the day, it just gives me another reason to hold her close and keep her warm. And that, my friends, is how you win brownie points with your girlfriend.”

You can’t help but share a laugh with Yuna, letting her hold on to your shoulder as she titters. 

Eunseok saw you, how could he not when you were sitting next to his girlfriend. He was only a bit curious about Shotaro’s absence.

You’d explain it to him at the end of the show, “Sho’s got work, but he’s coming to pick me up.” you both stood just outside the venue, at the side of the building with a little less people going around.

“Sho? What happened to Taro?” Eunseok raised a single brow, and you’d chuckle. 

“Because you used to call him Taro.” you reply with a slight smile.

“Right.” he nods, his pace decreasing gradually as he tries to reach for something at the back of his tongue, “I’m just curious, did you actually hate me back then? like, when I moved and stuff.”

You chuckle a little louder, leaving him puzzled. “I liked you. I just avoided you. I just thought you didn’t care anymore.” you answer so simply, shrugging towards the end of your sentence.

“I thought you hated me, that’s why I wasn’t talking to you.” you took a sharp breath through your nose when he finished speaking. 

Then suddenly you both snort at the whole thing.

“It’s funny.”

“It really is.”

As your laughter died down, he’d clear his throat to ask you, “So, are you and Taro married?” you could see his eyes locked on the ring on your finger. 

“Engaged.” you nod, and he imitates your action. 

“Wow. I should propose to Yuna right now.” your eyes widened an inch, he could be joking, but you wouldn’t be surprised if he actually did. Besides, you could tell how much he loved his girlfriend just by that one ment he did earlier at the show.

“So suddenly?”

“Yeah, so then we’d be even!” 

It reminded you of a time in your childhood where you’d share your food with him because he forgot his lunchbox. You usually gave him more food, just cause you could, but then he’d give some back to you and he’d say, “Now we’re even.” it pulled on your heartstrings, but now you kinda wish you gave him just a piece or two of your animal crackers —and maybe two sips of your apple juice when the weather’s nice. 

“I’m afraid I'd scare her off and she’d say no.” 

“Really?” —you truly were a bit shocked that he was worried about being rejected. “Well, I believe she’ll say yes.”

“Really?” he imitates you again —the tone of your voice, “What makes you think that?”

You gave yourself a few seconds to think about what you were gonna answer to him. Suddenly you remember what you’ve written in your notes app. The funniest people I know. 1. Osaki Shotaro, 2. My dad, 3. Natty… he was off the list, but now, maybe it was for good reason. He was always known for being funny, now he has built a career out of it. Maybe, he was the greatest comedian of all. 

“You might just be the greatest comedian I know.” 

He laughs at your declaration of his greatness with his hands in his pocket, “I’m probably the only comedian you know.” —and more laughter.

He appreciated that you thought he was the greatest comedian. But as he looked back on the past, a past that was once painful, full of regret and missed opportunities, where you missed each other and realized only later in life. That period of your life would still prove to be pivotal. Right person, wrong time? maybe, but what else could it be other than silly memories when you find yourselves laughing about it. You’ve already settled for a love that you both deserve, a love that mended your hearts. It was all for the better, no matter how downcast all of it may seem. Worth a laugh, and a good story. 

The story started with oblivion, and a bouquet of flowers you never received, but it ends with two pairs of engagement rings, and two pairs of smiling hearts. That’s four people —in case you missed it. 

God did a great job writing their fate. And to Eunseok, God is the greatest comedian of all.

End.

cheers to a hundred peeps!! :3

[luvangelbreak]

Deprived | Sixteen

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Part 9 Part 10 Part 11 Part 12 Part 13 Part 14 Part 15 Part 17 Part 18 Part 19 Part 20 Part 21 Part 22 Part 23 matthew sturniolo x layla venita (female!oc) summary: everyone knows the story of the bad boy and the good girl but what happens when the school's most popular boy, Matthew Sturniolo, and the girl who notoriously is never there, Layla Venita, cross paths. warnings: swearing, drug use (weed), mentions of drugs (cocaine, weed), suggestive, NOT PROOFREAD!! word count: 4.8k a/n: dramaaaaaaaaa. i was really on a roll with this chapter it’s so long LMAO

pov: layla

"You doing anything after school?" Matt asked me as he stole some of Nick's fries, causing his brother to hit him on the arm and I shook my head.

"No, but you are," I pointed out and he furrowed his eyebrows for a moment, "Training, Matthew."

"How did you forget you have training when you have been playing hockey for the last 5 years but she remembered?" Nate chuckled in disbelief from across the table and Matt shrugged.

"Oh Layls!" Allie chirped up from beside me, interrupting her own conversation with Mia who was sitting on her right, "Do you have a dress for prom yet?"

"Uh, I'm probably not going," I told her honestly and her face dropped sadly.

"What? Why not?" she asked, disappointment clearly in her tone and I shrugged.

"It's just not my thing," I answered honestly and she pouted slightly.

"Come on, it will be so fun! I can help you pick out a dress and everything," she pleaded with me and I gave her an apologetic look.

"She doesn't wanna go, Allie. Drop it," Mia grumbled from beside her, making my face drop at the rudeness of her tone.

"I'll think about it, okay?" I said kindly and her face lit up again before nodding, "Are all of you going?"

"Yeah," Chris nodded, clearly seeming unimpressed but agreed to go nonetheless, "No thanks to Al."

"You could've said no," Allie shrugged, smiling at him widely and he smiled, shaking his head and I leaned over, placing my hand under Allie's chin.

"How can you say no to this adorable face?" I asked sarcastically and Allie tapped my hand away lightly, a snicker falling out of her mouth.

"Shut up," she rolled her eyes playfully and Matt nudged my thigh with the back of his hand, making me look at him.

"You wanna come over after training?" he asked and I pursed my lips, giving him an apologetic look.

"I can't. Maybe tomorrow though," I told him and he nodded before turning his attention back to the group, "Nick, we still need to get our suits."

"I can't get mine till Allie tells me her fucking dress colour because we have to be matching," Chris chimed in again and I looked at Allie with raised eyebrows.

"You are going together?" I asked and she nodded happily.

"He said the only way he'd go to prom is if I agreed to go as his date that way he isn't stuck with anyone he doesn't like," she laughed and I smiled, nodding my head before I glanced at Chris.

"Matt," Mia chimed in catching not only Matt's attention but mine, "Remember your tie has to be red because my dress is red."

I felt a wave of jealousy pulse through me and I looked at the table before me. I had no right to be jealous, Matt and I weren't together in any capacity and he and Mia had been friends for years. It was just the fact it was Mia he was going with that pissed me off.

Of fucking course he's going to prom with Mia.

"Right," Matt nodded, seemingly ignoring Mia for the majority of the day. My brain had been wracking what they could've talked about to make him give her the cold shoulder like he was, I wanted to know if I caused it.

I didn't care about Mia but I knew Matt didn't want to lose her as a friend. So instead of starting an argument or causing a fight, I remained silent and chewed at my lip.

"Nick," Nate spoke up again catching Nick's attention and I pushed my food away from me, suddenly losing my appetite completely, "Are we matching too or what?"

"I thought you were going with Gemma?" Nick asked, clear confusion on his face and Nate shook his head, taking a sip of his water.

"Decided not to. Would rather be with you guys," he shrugged and Nick nodded in response.

"Why don't one of you take Layla?" Allie spoke up and I turned my head to look at her with a frown, "That way she also has a date because we can always bring someone else."

"Allie, I don't even know if I'm going yet," I responded and she shrugged, looking at me as she sipped on her iced tea.

"Just as a backup plan," she answered and I chuckled with a shake of my head.

"I was planning on bringing Jake since Nate said he was already going with Gemma," Nick answered honestly and Allie raised her hands triumphantly.

"Great! Nate, you can take Layla that way we all have a date!" Allie cheered and I looked at Nate, studying his reaction and he shrugged.

"I'm cool with that. Layls?" he asked, seemingly unbothered about whether or not he had a date.

"If I'm going, then sure," I shrugged in response and he nodded, taking another sip of his water.

"What colour dress are you thinking?" Allie asked, whipping her phone out of her pocket and I gave her a deadpanned look before her gaze met mine again, "In case you want to come! Nate is buying a suit regardless so might as well match it to a colour you like if you do come."

"Probably black," I shrugged, not wanting to argue with her and she nodded, tapping away on her phone.

"Makes my life easier," Nate shrugged, an amused smile on his lips and I smiled at him, both of us finding humour in the situation.

"What about this?" Allie leaned over, shoving her phone in front of my face catching me off guard as my eyes adjusted to the screen. It was a sparkly black strapless dress and I shrugged. I looked at the price and my eyes widened.

"Allie, I can't afford that," I answered quietly and she dismissed me with a wave of her hand.

"Don't worry about the price. I'm looking for dress styles you like," she answered quickly before tapping away on her phone again. Matt tapped my thigh once again before leaning over.

"Are you really gonna go with Nate?" he asked and I turned my head to look at him, a small expression that showed he was displeased written on his face.

"I don't know if I'm going at all yet. This is Allie's doing," I shrugged and he hummed, looking down at the table again making me smile as I leaned up to whisper in his ear, "Now who's jealous?"

"What about this one?" Allie once again leaned over, showing me a photo of a black halter neck dress that seemed to be a silk material. I shook my head knowing the shape of the dress would look awful on me, "Okay we need to figure out what kinda dresses you like."

"I don't wear dresses Allie," I gave her a half smile as Matt wrapped his arm around my shoulders and she nodded.

"Even more of a reason to find a dress you actually like," she announced as she went back to her phone making me smile in amusement.

"You could just not wear anything," Matt whispered into my ear and I punched his thigh making him groan.

"Don't be such a guy," I rolled my eyes, a smile still on my lips as I looked up at him. He shook his head, a slight smirk on his lips. He placed a kiss on the side of my temple.

"What's going on here?" Nate asked causing us to turn our heads to look at him.

"Oh, Matt didn't tell you guys?" Chris asked, a malicious smirk on his face and I let my smile drop.

"Chris," Matt said in a warning tone but Chris, as per usual, didn't listen.

"They fucked last night," Chris said casually and I threw my hands to my face, my cheeks lighting up red.

"What?" Allie gasped next to me and I didn't dare take my hands away from my face.

"For fucks sake Chris, don't say that! We didn't!" Matt protested and I curled closer to him, the embarrassment making me hide like a child.

"So you didn't sleep there last night?" Chris retorted and Matt sighed, running a comforting thumb up and down my arm.

"Yes, I stayed there bu-"

"And you said that you did stuff," Chris taunted further and I sighed, not wanting to look at the judgment on their faces yet.

"Chris, shut the fuck up," Matt mumbled through gritted teeth and I finally pulled my hands away from my face. Nate's face just looked surprised and Allie looked somewhat happy but Mia had the biggest scowl on her face I'd ever seen.

"Are you fucking serious?" Mia screeched causing Matt to whip his head to look at her, "You had sex with her?"

"I didn't!" Matt said in the same tone and I closed my eyes, heads turning to look at us from all around the cafeteria.

"And I'm supposed to believe that? Look at you!" she replied loudly motioning between us and I looked at Allie who was frowning at Mia.

"Mia, calm down. It's not the end of the world," Nate raised his eyebrows at her and she scoffed, rolling her eyes dramatically.

"I guess whoever wrote that shit on your locker was right. You are a slut," Mia mumbled so quietly I almost didn't catch it but when I did, my blood ran cold with nothing but rage.

"Mia, what the fuck?" Allie said in disbelief of her best friend saying such a crude thing.

I took a moment to think whether or not it was worth it to fight her and get myself expelled. I had been trying so hard to keep up with school and I wasn't going to throw it away for her.

So instead, my mind travelled back to when I saw the locker and looked around the room. I never once saw Mia and I know Matt had gotten rid of it by the time I went back to get my things for English.

"Hey, Mia?" I said, grabbing her attention and she looked at me with annoyed eyes, "How do you know what was written on my locker?"

"I saw it," she squinted her eyes at me and I nodded, leaning forward so Matt's arm slid off of my shoulders, now wrapped around my lower back.

"When did you see it exactly? Because I didn't see you anywhere when I first walked into the school," I raised my eyebrows and she stilled for a moment, "Did you guys see her when I went to the bathroom?"

I looked around the table and everyone shook their heads before I looked back at Mia who grumbled, "I saw it before you guys got there."

"Why were you there before us? You never come to school early," I pointed out and she once again stilled, her pissed demeanour turning nervous as she glanced between everyone.

"I had to do some stuff for cheer," she shrugged, trying to play it off and before I could speak again, Allie interrupted me.

"Practice isn't till after school. No one ever comes to school early for cheer, Mia," Allie deadpanned, calling her own best friend out and Mia shook her head.

"What are you trying to say? That I did it?" she asked, placing a hurt hand on her heart.

"Nope. You made that connection on your own," I told her, not letting my rage shine through at her as the guys just looked between us like a tennis match with slack jaws, "It's a funny coincidence though, isn't it? The one time you were at school early there's shit written on my locker."

"I didn't do anything!" she huffed and I hummed, nodding my head once again as I smiled at her sweetly.

"For the record, Mia, Matt and I didn't sleep together. In fact, the people that I'm rumoured to sleep with I never have. I can't say the same about you," I shoved away from the table, picked my bag up from the floor and walked out of the cafeteria without another word.

"Mia, what the fuck is wrong with you?" I heard Matt's voice yell at her as I walked out of the cafeteria doors and towards the exit of the school. I pulled my phone out of my pocket, sending Matt a quick text to say I wouldn't be at school for the rest of the day before I exited the grounds, beginning my trek home.

+++

After messaging Wes and telling him I was going to deliver for him earlier than originally planned, he agreed it was a good idea and invited me to stay for a bit.

"Why does it look like someone shit in your breakfast?" he asked as soon as he opened the old green apartment door, paint falling off at various places.

"Just had a shit day," I shook my head, stepping inside the small compound before I closed and locked the door behind me, "You wanted two ounces, right?"

"Yeah. You got the coke too?" he asked and I nodded, picking up the two ounces of weed out of my bag and throwing it on his kitchen counter before I pulled out the small bag of coke.

"He only had an 8-ball but I can get you more next week," I told him honestly and he nodded, counting up the cash before handing it to me and I placed it in my bag. I went to turn around and exit the building again but I was stopped.

"Where you goin'?" he asked and I spun around, looking at his long mop of blonde hair, "You look like you had a stressful day, babe. Chill with me for a bit."

"I don't know Wes," I trailed off, not knowing if I wanted to hang around here for too long.

"Come on. I got this new shit from Chase. It will make you see God," he said, holding up a small bag of weed and I chewed my lip, really needed some sort of a relief.

Unfortunately, I caved and said, "Fine. But I'm only staying till six."

"Fine by me," he nodded, taking the packet and throwing himself on the old leather couch. I sat beside him since it was a two-seater, not allowing much space between us but I was used to it at this point.

I'd been delivering to Wes for 2 years now and he never once made me uncomfortable, except for the time he smacked my ass 2 months ago because he was high off his ass and thought it would be funny. Since then, he'd apologised multiple times and I let it go.

"More shit at school?" he asked in regards to my tense demeanour and I nodded, falling back into the couch as he grabbed the rolling paper.

"Just some bitch saying stupid shit," I mumbled angrily and he hummed, quickly rolling a joint like I'd seen him to hundreds of times.

"Rich?" he questioned and I chuckled, nodding immediately and he rolled his eyes, sliding a filter into the joint, "Of course."

"There's this guy though," I told him honestly as he began sealing the joint with the moisture from his tongue as he looked at me with raised eyebrows, "He stayed over last night."

"Look at you! Finally getting some dick," he chuckled to himself and I shoved his shoulder with a roll of my eyes, "They grow up so fast."

"Shut up, dude. We didn't go the full mile," I rolled my eyes and he chuckled once again.

"It's a start. I don't remember the last time you told me about anyone," he pointed out and I shrugged as he picked up one of the many lighters littering the coffee table in front of us.

"Yeah well," I trailed off at he lit the end of the joint, "His friends are nice too. One of them wants to take me dress shopping for prom."

He took a hit of the joint, keeping the smoke in his lungs for a moment before he passed it to me, "I thought you hated that shit."

"I do," I replied as he handed me the joint and I took a hit before continuing, "But she really wants me to go for some reason and one of their friends said he would take me as his date if I do go."

"Why isn't Romeo taking you?" he asked as I took another hit before I handed it back to him and I let out a bitter laugh.

"The girl who's being a bitch is one of his friends and they've been planning on going together way before I came into the picture," I explained and his eyebrows furrowed in confusion, taking a moment to inhale before he spoke again.

"I'm so glad I dropped out this shit sounds way too confusing," he mumbled and I took the joint from him again, taking two more hits in a row, "Alright chill out. You're gonna green out if you're not careful this shit is strong."

"I'm fine," I shrugged, handing him the joint again as I sunk back into the couch further, the effects of the drug already hitting me, "I needed something to take the edge off anyway."

"You already finished that bag I gave you?" he asked and I nodded, rolling my head to the side to look at him as he joined me in sinking back into the couch.

"Dad took half of it so yeah," I replied and he rolled his eyes, jumping off the couch and walking to the kitchen. He returned moments later with another small bag in hand and threw it into my lap, "Wes, I don't need it."

"Take the fucking bag, Layla," he smiled down at me and I pursed my lips before nodding, sliding the small plastic-wrapped weed into my bag.

"Thanks," I gave him a thankful smile as he took another hit, sitting back down on the couch beside me, handing me the joint once again. We continued handing the joint back and forth in silence until it was down to the filter before he threw it in the ashtray on the table.

"Ya know," he started, making me turn my head towards him lazily, "You're always one of my favourite people to smoke with. We should do it more."

"Because I'm just so charming," I smile at him dopily making him chuckle, the drug taking its full effects slowly on both of us.

"You're just chill," he shrugged, sliding further into the couch and I chuckled, laying my head back on the top of the couch as my eyes began blurring in and out of focus, the ceiling seeming so far away.

"You think I should go to prom out of spite?" I asked, my words mumbled from my dry mouth the drug had created and he hummed.

"Show up hot as fuck, make her mad and make him regret his decision of not taking you instead," he laughed to himself and I smiled, nodding my head in agreement even though I wasn't sure he could see me.

"Sounds like a plan," I answered and he hummed in response, my body going limp from the strong weed, "What is this shit?"

"Blue Dream," he responded and I lifted my head to look at him, "Isn't it sick?"

"Dude," I squinted my eyes at them as they now felt heavy, "You know this shit is supposed to make you mad horny, right?"

"Oh fuck," he began laughing to himself and I couldn't help but smile at his idiocy, shaking my head in disbelief, "I had no idea. Chase just said it's hella strong."

"On that note," I leaned forward and stood up lazily, "I'm gonna go."

"No come on," he whined and I looked down at him, my eyelids heavy and my breathing laboured.

"I'm not about to stay here and watch you get a fucking boner," I laughed as I picked up my bag, "I like you dude but not that much."

"Next time we'll smoke something else I swear," he leaned forward, holding out his hand for a fist bump which I quickly reciprocated, "You gonna be good to walk home?"

"Yeah, no worries. I'll see you next time," I waved as I unlocked the door, swinging it open before closing it behind me. I waddled down the steps of the apartment, making my way onto the road where the sun was starting to go down.

As I walked down the pavement, my legs wobbled and my vision became less focused. I was used to walking around high but I'd never had Blue Dream and I could tell its effects of horniness were hitting me. I could barely focus, the wind around me swaying me as I walked. I almost tripped onto the road and I sighed, deciding to sit down on the curb for a moment.

I pulled my phone out of my pocket, realising it was already 5:30 and Matt would be done with his training by now. Through my foggy thoughts and wanting to be with someone right now, I clicked on his contact and waited as it rang in my ear.

"Hey, Layls," he answered after two rings and my fave immediately lit up, the sound of his voice bringing joy to the chemicals in my brain.

"Hey baby," I mumbled, the words falling off my tongue like honey, "Whatcha doin'?"

"I just got out of the shower. Are you okay, pretty girl?" he asked, sounding confused by my tone and I nodded regardless of if he could see me.

"I'm great! I just miss you," I whined, throwing my head down onto my knees that were pulled to my chest. A car drove past me quickly and I lifted my head, the sound startling me.

"Where are you?" he asked, his voice laced with concern but all I could focus on was the rasp of his voice, heat travelling directly between my thighs.

"On the corner of Valine and West Street," I mumbled, throwing my head back down onto my knees and I heard shuffling on his end of the phone.

"What are you doing there?" he asked, his voice still laced with worry and I sighed dreamily.

"I just had to drop some stuff off to a friend but my legs are tired. I don't wanna walk home," I whined loudly and I heard him hum, doors closing before a click.

"I'm coming to get you, pretty girl. Can you stay on the phone?" he asked and I hummed in response, my stomach igniting at the thought of seeing him right now.

"I'll do anything for you," I responded, my voice filled with seduction and lust before I giggled at myself.

"What did you take?" he questioned and I rolled my head to the side, the cold breeze feeling nice on my skin.

"Just smoked a little bit," I answered honestly and he sighed before mumbling something I didn't catch, "Can you keep talking to me?"

"I'm almost there. I'm like three minutes away, okay?" he responded and I sensed a slight annoyance in his tone but I brushed it off as I hummed, squeezing my thighs together, "Are you alone?"

"Yeah," I sighed, lifting my head and looking around at the lifeless street around me.

"Okay, I'll be there in a sec. Just don't move," he answered hurriedly and I sighed dreamily once again.

"I like your voice," I mumbled, closing my eyes as I listened to the sound of the engine revving as he drove and I heard him chuckle, my heart filling with joy at the sound.

"Thanks, pretty girl," he answered and I could hear the smile in his voice making my smile widen.

"I just like you in general. You're really nice to me," I mumbled, a dopey smile on my lips as I let my eyes flutter open and I once again heard him chuckle.

"I like you too," he answered softly and my smile widened, "I'm a minute away."

"Thank god," I let out a breath of relief, making sure my bag was on my shoulder as I began standing up, losing my balance briefly, "Whoops."

"You okay?" he asked and I hummed, regaining my composure, sliding my bag further up my shoulder as I pressed the phone to my ear. I looked up to see headlights coming towards me before Matt said, "Hey, pretty girl."

I smiled at him, despite being blinded by the headlights before I waltzed over to the car, hanging up the phone as I pulled the passenger door open, "Heyyy."

"Oh my god," he shook his head with a smile as I jumped in the car, slamming the door behind me before I clicked my seatbelt in.

"You look good," I smiled at him as I leaned over, pressing a kiss to his cheek. My eyes scanned his body, noticing that he was wearing a white hoodie, blue plaid pyjama pants and not shoes, "You didn't even put shoes on."

"Shoes weren't exactly my concern when I left the house," he raised his eyebrows at me and I pursed my lips, holding back a giggle.

"Sorry," I bit my bottom lip and he shook his head, a soft smile on his lips, "Can I be honest?"

"Of course," he nodded and I smiled up at him dopily again.

"I'm really high," I giggled, tucking my messy hair behind my ear.

"Really? I didn't notice," he answered sarcastically and I hummed, leaning over the console as I placed my hand on his jaw, pulling his face towards mine. I pressed my lips against his, the feeling of his body so close to mine making heat travel directly between my thighs.

"I missed you," I mumbled against his lips and he took that as an opportunity to slide his tongue in my mouth dancing with my own. I got lost in the feeling of his mouth against mine, my heightened sense making it feel like I was in heaven.

"Okay," he pulled away from me before placing another quick peck on my lips, "I'm not about to get into this while you're high."

"No," I whined, pulling his face to mine once again and he snickered against my lips making me smile once again before he pulled away again.

"Baby," he whispered, placing his hand on my cheek to lift my head to look at him, the pet name making my heart swell, "I'm not doing anything unless you're sober."

"But I'm so horny," I whined, leaning my head on his shoulder and I felt his chest shake with a laugh.

"I'm aware," he said through a laugh before I lifted my head to look at him with a pout, "But that's because you're high."

"Why do you have to be such a morally right man?" I rolled my eyes, a smile still on my lips and he brushed my hair behind my ear as I melted into his touch.

"You want me to drop you home?" he asked and I shook my head, my face turning sour at the thought of having to face my father.

"Can I stay at yours? I don't wanna deal with my dad," I frowned and his face softened, "I don't wanna go home."

"You can come to mine, it's okay," he began stroking my cheek with his thumb and I let my head slump against his hand, the touch making me feel calm again, "You can lay your head on my shoulder, pretty girl. I gotta drive."

I nodded lazily, moving my hand off of his hand and placing it on his right shoulder. He took the car out of park and drove down the road. I hummed to the song playing on the radio and he used his right hand to reach over the console, placing it on my thigh and running his thumb up and down.

"Don't do that," I mumbled, moving his hand further down so it was closer to my knee, "You're just gonna make me wanna fuck you even more."

"Sorry," he said through a chuckle as I closed my eyes, adjusting my head on his shoulder, "You have no filter when you're high."

"Why do you think I made you put my hand up my hoodie the first time I was high around you?" I mumbled, smiling to myself and he hummed, "Wes didn't tell me the strain until after we had it and he didn't know it made you horny."

"Wes?" he asked and I forgot he didn't know who Wes was.

"Mhm. Been friends with him for two years," I explained and he hummed, sounding slightly annoyed, "I left after he told me though. He had no idea."

"I'm sure he didn't," he grumbled and I smiled, looking up to see a frown now covering his face as he drove with his left hand.

"Don't be jealous. He's like a brother to me," I leaned up, kissing his jaw lightly making him sigh.

"Mhm," he hummed and I trailed kisses down his neck, sucking the flesh under his ear making him let out a heavy breath, "Layls."

"Yeah?" I mumbled against his skin, getting lost in the way his body reacted to me.

"I'm driving," he mumbled, his grip on my thigh tightening slightly making me smile against him.

"Then focus on the road," I smirked into him and he let out another breath, tilting his head to the left to give me more access. I continued to suck and kiss all over his neck as his breathing got heavier.

Suddenly, the car turned a corner before coming to a halt and I looked up to see we were already at his house. I pursed my lips, hiding my smile as I looked at the purple dot I had created on his skin.

"Let's go," he said, pulling his hand off of my thigh as he turned the car off before jumping out of the car and I followed his actions as he walked inside quietly.

tags:

@ilovechrissturniolo1 @leprechaunbirthdaygirl @sturnfix @lilsstvrn @sturniololol @dsturniolo @sturniolowhore @jebbie-project-blog @chrisstankyleg @lov3bug @pinklittleflower @thatcrazybitch-69 @trinity2058 @alorsxsturn

[dilemmaontwolegs]

The Aftermath || LN4 {3}

Pairing: Lando Norris x widow!reader Summary: Things are changing between you and Lando, slowly but surely pulling you further from your grief. Warnings: 18+ only, grief and loss, fluff WC: 2.3k

F1 Masterlist || One || Two || Three || Four || Five || Six || Seven || Eight || Nine || Ten || Eleven || Twelve || Thirteen || Epilogue

You weren’t quite able to pinpoint the moment things changed between you and Lando. It had been subtle and it had been soft, but there was no doubt it was felt on both sides.

Maybe it began the first day he showed up, when he had rescued you from the hole you had buried yourself in. Maybe it was the night he woke you from the recurring nightmare that plagued your sleep and he had held you until you could breathe steadily again. Maybe it was when he invited you to England and you said yes.

You were both surprised by the answer considering only a month ago you had struggled to leave the house and now you were going to leave the country. It was progress, and it wasn’t forever - just for ten days while Lando did some testing in Woking and raced at Silverstone. 

There was only one condition to your trip, and your stance was firm on it. You did not want to see him in his race car. Just the thought of it made you ill despite him having raced the other week in Austria. You hadn’t been able to turn on the tv while the race was on, in fact you had turned your phone off completely too so you didn’t hear any news about it.

What you didn’t know couldn’t hurt you. Or that’s what you told yourself when you spent hours trying to distract yourself out in the garden. The roses were trimmed terribly because you hadn’t been able to concentrate on what you were doing. You were lucky you still had your fingers intact after some of the wayward clippings you had done while your mind drifted away on you.

It was only after you knew the race had surely finished that you turned your phone back on to see dozens of missed calls from Lando, the voicemails growing increasingly more frantic as he begged you to answer him.

“Is this all you’ve packed?” Lando asked as he picked up the carry-on sized suitcase. 

“Most of my clothes are too loose,” you said with a shrug to ease his mind but you could see the worry crumple his forehead. “It’s been a while since I last went but there’s still shops in England, right?”

He chuckled as he put the bag in the boot of the McLaren René had given you. “I could get you some Quadrant gear. It would look good on you.”

“Because it’s yours or because I can make anything look good?” you joked as you pulled an exaggerated pose for an imaginary photoshoot.

His smile grew as he unzipped his bag, pulling out an oversized hoodie with his brand’s logo on it. “Let’s see.” 

He pulled it over your head and you dutifully slipped your arms in as you inhaled his scent that clung to the soft material. 

Taking a step back he tapped his fingers across his lips. “Hmmm,” he hummed deep in thought before nodding. “Both. Definitely both.”

Lando opened the car door for you, closing it behind you before walking around the car and taking the driver’s seat. “Did I pick up my passport?” he asked himself as he buckled his seatbelt and frowned.

“No,” you said with a shake of your head before pulling it out of your handbag to wave it in front of him. “But I did.”

“What would I do without you?” he swooned dramatically as he took it and shoved it into his hoodie pocket. The car roared to life and he connected his phone to the airplay since your playlists were a year out of date.

“Go out, have fun and live it up in your 20’s like you should,” you offered as he pulled out of the driveway.

“You’re in your 20’s too.”

“I don’t know how to have fun anymore and I think I age in dog years now, so really I'm in my mid-thirties. Which sucks because I’ll be due a midlife crisis soon.”

“I am going to prove you wrong,” he said as he reached over the gearstick and took your hand. “We are going to go out and have fun, promise.”

You were grateful to have Lando’s hoodie when you landed at Heathrow and saw that the summer weather in Monaco hadn’t extended to the UK. A miserable grey skyline greeted you outside the airport before a horn tooted in the pick up zone and Lando waved to his friend Max.

The footpath was slick with puddles and the rain only seemed to get heavier as you prepared to leave the shelter of the terminal for a mad dash to the car. Before you could step out into the downpour, Lando stopped you and pulled your hood up over your head then donned his own and took your hand. 

The first time he had held your hand you had been left feeling confused and guilty. It had been the first time you felt safe in a year. It had been the first time you had felt warmth in a year. It had felt like a betrayal because it had only been a year. 

You had tried to put distance between the two of you after it happened, pushing him away and rebuilding the wall around your heart that he had been stealthily dismantling brick by brick. But in true Lando fashion he had blatantly ignored your request for space and instead arrived back at your home with a large suitcase and stayed even more.

It had taken time but Lando had convinced you of what deep down you already knew, René would want you to be happy. He would not have cared that the happiness came in the form of his teammate and friend - if anything, at least you knew it was someone René had trusted and shared the same values with.

Once you were able to accept that truth and forgive yourself for the guilt you had felt, things got better. Now you welcomed the small touches, the soft kisses he pressed to your forehead and the grounding weight of his arm when he draped it over your shoulders. 

“Ready to run?” he asked as he tugged the strings for your hood, closing the gap around your face to minimise the chances of getting wet. 

“No, just please don’t let me slip and make an ass of myself.” You could see the phones pointed your way, thumbs tapping the capture button as they took photos of you and Lando. The hoodies weren’t enough to hide your identity but you had grown used to the attention over the years of dating and then marrying an F1 driver, it was just different now that the pictures were with Lando.

“Never,” he chuckled and tightened his fingers laced with yours, “only I can take embarrassing pictures of you.”

You sent him a droll stare but he just smirked before Max tooted the horn again and you both rushed out into the rain. Your shoes splashed into the puddles and soon a giggle escaped as you tipped your head back to feel the cold and refreshing droplets on your lips while Lando opened the car door for you. 

“As much as I love hearing you laugh, come on before you catch a cold,” Lando said with a smile as he placed his hand on the small of your back, guiding you into the backseat. 

“Hey, Max,” you greeted the former racer who had been in the same up and coming circles of drivers as René had been. He had become a familiar face in the last month whenever Lando jumped on the simulator in the basement and streamed with the rest of his Quadrant esports team.

“Hey, Y/N,” he nodded to the hoodie with a grin as the boot slammed shut and Lando sprinted to the front seat, shaking his hair out as he pushed his hood back. “Nice kit.”

“What’s up, bro?” Lando greeted him before following his line of sight to you in the backseat. “Looks good, right?”

“Yeah, you could totally do modelling, or be an influencer.” 

“No thanks, that sounds horrible,” you said with a roll of your eyes as you buckled up. “Plus, I deleted all my social media accounts so I have no one to influence anyway.”

Max shook his head in disbelief before focusing on the road as he pulled out into the midday traffic and headed to the hotel Lando had booked. 

“That Monaco tax holiday is paying off, smart lad,” Max joked as he pulled up at The Shard in the heart of the city. “Did you get the tickets?”

Lando’s eyes flickered your way and Max bit his lip before mouthing ‘sorry’ and Lando sighed. “Yes, I got those explicitly stated surprise tickets.”

“Do I get to know what they are?” you asked as you leaned in between their seats. 

Lando turned and booped you on the nose. “Nope, that would ruin the surprise.”

“What should I wear?” you asked Lando as you tried to phish for information on where he was taking you while you rode the elevator up to the room on the 50th floor, but he really wasn’t giving you much.

“Whatever you feel comfortable in.” 

You tugged the hem of the hoodie down lower so it hid your denim shorts and looked like you were wearing nothing underneath. “What if I’m comfortable in this?”

His lips tugged up in amusement. “Then you can wear just that.”

“Hmm, so it’s nowhere fancy, that’s a relief.”

“I would totally take you somewhere fancy in that. I especially like this part,” he said as he turned you around so your back was to the mirrored wall. 

“My ass?” you joked as you looked back over your shoulder.

“That too, or more, actually, but I was talking about this,” he explained as dragged his index finger across his name that was printed just above the hem. 

Your breath caught in your throat at the touch and you peered up at him as the temperature in the elevator skyrocketed faster than it was carrying you up the skyscraper. 

Maybe it was being out of the house you had shared with René that spurred the sudden freedom you felt, or maybe it was the culmination of touches and sweet gestures that had been building for weeks. Whatever it was, the cage you had kept the last little piece of yourself hidden in was unlocked by it.

His eyes held yours as his palm came to rest over his name and pulled you flush against his body. Your hands naturally found their way to his shoulders as you steadied yourself and you were struck by the grey that danced in his blue eyes, holding the same electric intensity of the storm you were sheltering from. But this was your true shelter, his eyes, his arms, they were your safe haven.

“Lando?” you asked shakily as your eyes drifted down to his full lips that he wet with his tongue.

“Yes, Y/N?” he asked, his voice dropping an octave.

“Will you-” Your lips sealed shut as the doors opened at the leisure centre floor and a woman in her gym gear hopped in. 

A frustrated groan nearly escaped when Lando changed his hold on you, curling his arm around your waist as he chuckled into your hair. Unfortunately the woman was only a floor below you so there was no time to pick up where you left off and then Lando’s hands were preoccupied with carrying the bags to the suite.

The space was stunning as you took it all in and your heart skipped a beat at the sight of the large bed, the only one in the suite. There had been nights when Lando fell asleep next to you, when your nightmares woke him up and he didn’t have the energy to go back to the spare room he had taken over. But this was different. 

Walking further into the living room you froze at the terrifying landscape before you, the sprawling city almost invisible beneath the blanket of clouds across the skyline. It was dizzying how high up you were with only a thin pane of glass separating you from the storm outside. 

“I’m afraid of heights,” you whispered as you took a step back and into Lando’s chest, his arms enclosing around you.

“I won’t let you fall.” His breath was warm on your neck as he kissed your racing pulse. “Now, what were you going to ask me in the elevator?”

You turned in his arms and draped your arms around his neck as your heart threatened to beat right out of your chest. “Will you…kiss me?”

You felt his smile on your skin as he kissed your forehead and you tipped your head back to tell him that wasn’t what you meant but he was quicker and stole the words right from your parted lips as he kissed you properly. 

You might have floated away on the clouds outside if it wasn’t for his arms holding you down. Oxygen no longer meant anything as you breathed him in instead, your fingers combing into his curls with desperation to keep him close. 

Both of you were reluctant to break away but with screaming lungs you pulled back with a gasp and he dropped his forehead to yours. 

“Wow,” he breathed with a soft chuckle that made you giggle. “Can we do that again?”

You answered him with a kiss as your hands drifted up under his hoodie and over the hard planes of his abs. “Mhmm, yes, please.”

Click here for part four.

Tagging: @yunnie-f1 @neiich @zendayabelova @stillbreathin @dr3lover @writerscurse @christianpulisic10 @alwaysclassyeagle

[yourmamakira]

can you do some colby brock one shots plz?😋 love you🫶🫶

Omg. You're my first request in a year 🥹YES YES OFC I WILL GIVE YOU COLBY!

"SOMBER BEGINNINGS"

C. BROCK, she/her

Set in the early Sam and Colby days. "When Reader and Colby meet at a Highschool party in the 2000s, prom night didn't start well, until the two met and changed their lives forever."

The year was in the 2000. When being a dick was a fashion trend. And unfortunately for reader, she had been a victim of one of the biggest dicks in the school.

She had been asked to the dance by Bryce, one of the most popular boys who had a history of being a dick. Matter of fact, he was the biggest dick anyone could ever meet.

Reader wasn't the ugliest girl in school but she dam sure wasn't the most attractive. She'd seen herself as very mid. So when Bryce asked her out, she wanted to believe it wasn't some prank, but she gave it a shot. People could change, right?

It was the night of the dance, the sophomore had put on her best dress for her first real dance she ever attended. She had on converses to match with her old hand me down dark green dress.

She walked into the massive gym which was filled to the brim with explosive teens and music as She looked around in search of her date.

She further looked around while walking deeper into the sweaty gym. She had gotten there kinda late and the dance had already started, but it's not like she was in any rush.

She gave up looking for a second and went over to the juice bar, she grabbed the least suspicious looking Punch and grabbed a cup hoping it wouldn't be liquor.

She took a sip and sighed in relief tasting it was normal punch, she turned around and bumped into a chest.

She looked up to be met with the most beautiful pair of icy blue eyes she had ever seen in her life, the boy looked back down at her and they were in some type of trance.

He smiled and her heart skipped a beat, his teeth were perfectly white and his hair was straight out of my chemical romance.

She was only snapped out of her spell when he spoke, "My bad, I didn't mean to bump into you, I hope I didn't ruin you're pretty dress"

She looked down at her dress and seen is was perfectly fine, "not at all, it was already crappy anyways" she chuckled nervously. He made her nervous.

He looked her up and down from head to toe, "I don't think it's crappy." He spoke with such certainty it made her heart flutter.

She looked back up at him and then back down to her cup, she was going to speak before a voice called out and joined the pair.

"Yo Colby! What are you doing brother?" A blonde with messy hair and bright eyes came over to the her and Colby,

he looked between the two before his eyes settled on her, " Who's this?" Colby looked at Sam before looking back at her.

She grew nervous as both pairs of blue eyes settled on her, "I-I'm [Y/N], I'm a sophomore, I'm in your guy's chemistry class..."

They looked between each other before smiling, Sam smiled before nodding his head, "oh yeah! I remember you, your that girl who drew that sick ass drawing, right?"

She nodded and smiled while looking down, "yeah, that's me."

They were going to speak before they were yet again cut off, a voice drew them away from her, Sam smiled before saying a goodbye and then walking away,

Colby looked back at her with that same smile she wished didn't have to leave, "I'll see you around, [Y/N]." She nodded before watching Colby leave.

She smiled to herself before one of her few friends came over to grab her,

"[Y/N]! Where have you been?" We've been looking for you everywhere!" The girl looked back to where she last seen Colby to not be able to find him.

She sighed before being pulled away onto the dance floor, she had long forgotten about her date, not thinking much of it.

An hour has passed and she was having more fun then she thought she would, and just when she Thought she was safe out of the corner of her eye she spotted Bryce, with another girl grinding up against him.

She sucked in a breath before turning back around, she held back a few tears and turned back around.

"HEY [Y/N]!"

She spun around and was met with a cup of fruit punch to her dress, she gasped and looked up to see Bryce and the girl he was with laughing their asses off.

They snickered in joy, "You really thought I would want to be seen with a loser like you?"

She couldn't hold back the tears anymore and she began to walk out of the gymnasium, she bumped right into a chest and looked up to see Colby,

His eyebrows furrowed as he looked down at the girl he hadn't seen not to long ago perfectly fine. "[Y/N]?"

She shook her head as she let out a chocked sob as she ran out of the gym and out of the school.

She walked out into the play ground and sat on the swing. She took off her shoes and broke down. She had actually fallen for Bryce's Tricks. Believing she was different than any other girl at her school.

She soon wished it Was Liquor instead of actual juice.

She sobbed for what felt like hours but was only a few minutes before hearing a set of foot steps go to sit on the swing beside her.

She looked the other way not wanting to face the embarrassment of tonight.

And just when her night couldn't get anymore bizarre a voice she didn't expect piped up beside her.

"You know, your dress isn't completely ruined."

She whipped her head up to be faced with the same Icy blue eye she couldn't stop thinking about through out the night.

She looked back down at her dress to see a deep red stain from the juice. She chuckled dryly .

"Not like it matters now..."

He tilted his head to the side, "why is that?"

She looked back at him and sadly smiled, "not like I have a real prom date anyways. Just an Unless dress for a supposed unless girl like me..." tears began to brim her eyes once more, making her eye lashes stick together in a clumpy look.

Suddenly the breeze of the night time was gone and she was covered with a blazer, she looked over to Colby and saw that smile again, he held out his hand and she looked down at it.

She took his hand and he shook it but didn't let it go.

"We never properly met. Hi, My names Colby Brock, what's your name?"

She hiccups and then sniffled before wiping her eyes dry.

She shook his hand back and kept her hold, "Hi Colby, My names [Y/N] [L/N], nice to meet you."

"Hi [Y/N], Would you like to go the dance with me?"

She gasped quietly and her cheeks began to heat up, Colby waited patiently for her answer and she looked down at their hands.

She looked back up at Colby and smiled slightly, "I would love to go to the dance with you, Colby."

He stood up from the swing and she followed suit. He raised his hand and wiped her eyes dry of the rest of her tears.

They looked into the eyes of the other and it was as if two worlds mixed with one. She knew this was the start of somthing. The start of something life changing.

And so did he, and they couldn't be more happy.

Sorry this took SO long, and this is kinda a long one but I hope you and the others like it 🥹



[thornpixie]

I am Team Jeremiah, but that doesn’t mean I hate Conrad. However, I find it very hard to feel any sympathy for him: an essay.

I truly hope Conrad finds happiness. I just don’t think he and Belly are right for each other. And no, I haven’t read the books (you can read my feelings on that argument in another post I’ve done lol), so I’m just going off the show.

I am Team Jeremiah, I make no secret of it. But that’s because he is just the better choice for Belly. Not because he is better than Conrad, full stop. They both have their flaws. Should Jeremiah have made out with his brothers ex girlfriend like that, without at least talking to him first? Hell no. But come on - the guy tried to resist. He tried so hard. Belly kept pushing. And let’s remember what Conrad said to Belly at the start of the season after they kissed - ‘Do you want to be with him?’ ‘Being with you is all I’ve ever wanted.’ ‘Okay so be with me then.’

Belly choosing Conrad over Jeremiah was all that mattered back then, not how it affected anyone else, even though she was quasi-dating his brother for most of the summer. He didn’t give a fuck about Jeremiah and if it wasn’t for Belly saying no, he would have flaunted her immediately, even knowing she had kissed Jere a few times. When he asked Jeremiah for his blessing, I don’t believe he did that for any other reason than Belly would continue to distance herself from him until she believed Jere was over it. Conrad did not go to Jeremiah to make sure he truly was okay. He was ticking a box for Belly. Jeremiah was quite obviously not okay with it but Conrad chose to ignore that because he wanted Belly. We saw that in what he told Belly about it afterwards. He took the parts of the conversation that suited his narrative and the outcome he wanted, and he ran with it. And it worked. Jeremiah got hurt, and Conrad didn’t care, because he had Belly.

Their relationship wasn’t this epic love story. I still don’t understand where it came from. I understand Belly’s crush. But when and how and why did Conrad start loving her? The writers of the show seemed to just say ‘he just does’ and we are supposed to say ‘okay yeah sound makes sense.’ I just don’t understand the timeline. Besides that though… Look, I understand and empathise with the fact that his mom was dying while they were dating, and that he was struggling with his mental health. It was a lot for an 18 year old to deal with. (Of course, Jeremiah was dealing with it, too, but Conrad stans conveniently forget that). But Belly suffered in that relationship because of it, and no one should have to do that. To me, it seemed like she was always waiting for the other shoe to drop. Waiting for him to pull away. Scared. Maybe Conrad wasn’t going to break up with her at prom, and she jumped the gun, but it says a lot about how she was feeling that she immediately assumed that. A relationship shouldn’t be like that.

Jeremiah, though… from day one he was open and honest with her. He asked her straight up if she could ever love him like she did Conrad and she said YES. Belly said herself - Jeremiah is always there when she needs him. That’s what you need in a life partner. And fuck me, the passion they have. A perfect blend of supportive and passionate. Tie that man DOWN. He is supportive, he defends her, he speaks his mind, he is honest and reliable (the only time we saw him ‘let her down’ in any way was when he missed the dance at the Deb Ball and jeez, he had a damn good reason so no one can blame him). He makes her laugh. They can have fun together, but can also have the serious conversations. I married my best friend and I wouldn’t have it any other way. It’s honestly amazing to know you have that person who truly sees you, loves and supports you. Who is your comfort. Jeremiah is that for Belly. Honestly, I could go on and on about how Jeremiah is the perfect match for her - and the chemistry between Gavin and Lola definitely adds to it, but it isn’t the only factor - but everyone has probably given up reading by now…

Both boys have been dealt a shit hand, losing their mother. Both boys have made mistakes and have flaws. But they both have incredibly good qualities, too. Personally, I just think that Jeremiah is more suited to Belly, and they will have a happy, healthy relationship.

Also, the way she kissed him back in that episode… I’m sorry but there’s no way she’s not jumping his bones when they start officially dating. It wouldn’t make sense to me. She was smiling against his mouth and knotting her fingers in his hair, and it was ‘Wattpad level hot’, as Taylor would say. Considering she’s already done the deed, I can’t see any logical way for the writers to incorporate a ‘no intimacy’ storyline for them. Especially after that scene in particular, but also their first kiss in the pool back in season one, and the booby fondling in the car - WHERE BELLY STRAIGHT UP SAID SHE WAS NOT NERVOUS BECAUSE IT WAS JEREMIAH. Sorry, but let’s be real - there’s not a chance in hell those two are not banging the brains out of each other. And good on them. So I hope that is a change made to the books. Furthermore, show-Jeremiah cheating? I cannot see it happening. I really really hope it doesn’t.

IF Bonrad must be endgame, then please, Jenny Han, I beg of you to right your wrongs and not assassinate Jeremiah’s character to reach that ending. There are better ways to do it. But I maintain that the better choice for Belly is Jeremiah. And Conrad should meet someone new who is more emotionally mature and able to deal with his very obvious mental health problems. Someone he feels he can open up to about them. Because, as a sufferer myself, you need that support. Belly doesn’t provide that for Conrad and, as a result, Conrad doesn’t give Belly what she needs either.

One last parting thought - what the fuck happened to Jeremiah and Steven’s friendship? Jeremiah told Steven how much he cared for Belly in season one. Why did literally no one listen to him? And how did no one see it in the way his entire personality seemed to shift in season two. He’s lost his sparkle. YES most of that is because of his mom, but is everyone really that blind to him? No one notices that poor guy. He’s completely overshadowed by Conrad in every aspect. Everyone just expects Jeremiah to roll over and let everyone else have their happy ending while he gets trampled on because he’ll ‘just get over it’. Come on. WRITERS - DO BETTER. There is too much phenomenal acting talent in this show to let bad writing and tropes ruin it.

In conclusion, I haven’t written this much on one topic since I did my degree and I am obsessed with this show. Goodbye.

[dullgecko]

Riz brings Baron to prom with him just to fuck with people. This is my ?????? Baron, the child of the nightmare king, i hate them. If you look at me wrong he will harvest your organs. What's their gender? What's my sexuality? Fuck you, Baron we have to kill this guy. Don't flirt with Baron either, you die instantly.

You bring Baron to a goblin celebration and they participate very sheepishly, though. Doesn't matter what it is. They will stand nervously in a corner until told to do something.

Riz really didnt have a choice about bringing Baron. He was so deep in his feelings about all his friends having dates to prom and the fact that he'd be alone or third wheeling awkwardly that it just sort of happened. He'd passed a reflective glass trophy case on the way into the gym and suddenly Baron was there, creepy little doll face grinning as they slipped into the party with him.

He was mostly trying to ignore them, their power had waned significantly over the years so they werent exactly dangerous anymore but it was very disconcerting to have a literal figment of his nightmares hovering over his shoulder whispering the entire night. Not many people noticed Baron anyway, his friends were too busy having fun with their partners, so Riz was left to marinate alone in a corner with the nightmare child just making him feel worse as the night went on.

A few people he was vaguely familiar with had stopped by to talk with him, some even glanced in Barons direction and Riz had to gently tell them to ignore it or it would make it worse. Don't talk about it, don't question it, certainly dont ask it to dance. Despite his best efforts the whole thing gets to Riz pretty badly, and its only a multitude of saved wisdom throws that prevents him from letting Baron win and cause the chaos he desires before the nights over.

-----------

Goblin celebrations arent usually concerned so much with romance so, even though Riz is nervous there's not so much for Baron to latch onto. He just exists within the space, confused as to what's going on.

[ki-yomii]

b.d.e | ksj

➥ pairing | kim seokjin x f!reader

➥ word count | ~800

➥ warning(s) | 🔞 smut; dirty talk, orgasm control/edging, pet names, mild praise kink, wet & messy, oral (f receiving), prep, big dick Jin

➥ summary | don't you know he'll never fit if he doesn't prep you first?

➥ notes | gotta feed my lovely cinnabon wife @supertuna-sideblog 😘

💚 masterlist | inbox | AO3 💚

“Shh, that’s it - just like that, baby. You’re doing so well.”

Whining low and wounded, the sound scraped up from the depths of your raw throat, you thought - not for the first time, and certainly not for the last - how unreasonable Kim Seokjin could be.

After almost a year of (secret) dating, his ability to worm his way under your skin only flourished, and he used it to his full advantage much to your detriment.

Case in point: what initially started out as a necessity quickly became a fun little indulgence for him, and a zero-sum game for you.

Winning, losing; every time he got you on your back, you were both victor and victim.

Not only had it taken him months to put his hands anywhere below the waist.

You were half convinced he never would have taken it any further had you not pushed, pressed, prodded until he quite literally snapped one day, bent you over a counter, and fucked you so hard you limped for days afterward.

It wasn’t necessarily his fault - you said you could handle it… which was, in fact, a bald-faced lie.

His cock was thick and long and stuffed you to the brim until tears clung to your lashes. The stretch stung, settling behind your navel like a lead ball.

And even though you dripped onto the tile, it wasn't smooth. But you were so satisfied, your walls quivering and clamping down on his shaft with every jerky thrust of his hips, that you didn’t care.

In the aftermath, you loved how rough he’d been - even if your new best friend was the ice pack from your freezer - whereas Seokjin vowed to prep you thoroughly before his dick got anywhere near your nethers from then on.

He didn’t want to ruin his precious baby, after all.

At least, not in the way you begged him too.

No, the devious bastard came up with a solution all on his own. Instead of outright wrecking you on his cock until you were sore and bruised, cum dumb, and cock drunk, he preferred the more discreet, insidious path.

He wound you up: softened your resolve with butterfly kisses peppered from the apples of your cheeks to the curve of your belly, and teasing caresses of his fingers over the peak of your nipple, the back of your thigh, the dip of your belly button.

Then, when you least expected it, he’d swoop in; spread your sticky folds open with his thumbs, and wrap those pretty lips around your clit while his tongue traced your entrance, lapping at the honey of your cunt with a low hum of approval.

Meanwhile, you’d writhe, whine, wrap your hands around his broad shoulders, and claw for freedom.

He brings you right to the edge, your trembling thighs clamping down on his ears, and then he pulls away, strings of your arousal clinging to the swollen, red plush of his mouth, the flicker of his pink tongue as he licks himself clean with a smirk.

“Jin!”

Your chest flutters with every harried breath, heat pooling deep behind your navel; pulsing in time with your heartbeat. Your pussy clenches, twitches as the cool air brushes over your abused folds as your orgasm is snatched from you.

Again.

“Please - please, no more.”

Your skin feels tight, and itchy like a bad sunburn. Your hands flutter about the sheets, unsure where to settle as lighting crackles down your spine.

"Give me your cock, or let me cum."

“I can’t do that, baby. Not yet.”

“No, you can!”

A low hum rumbles from his chest, and his eyes - twin pools of heated black - dart from the tremble of your chin to the throb of your poor clit.

“No. We’ve gotta make sure your pretty little pussy can take me, yeah? You’re still too tight.”

Tears bead at the corners of your lash line, and you say, “No, ‘m not. You’ve done enough prep, I promise. It’s - it’s too much. Please just fuck me now.”

“Oh, baby,” Seokjin breathes, reaching down to smear your slick over your tender clit with the ball of his thumb, groaning when you hiccup as the little bundle of nerves jumps beneath his touch, “you know better. I don’t want to hurt you again. Now be a good girl, and let me take care of you.”

“But--”

“Shhh. It’s all right, I’ve got you. Soon, okay? I still need to play with you a little bit more.”

[luvistqrzzz]

like we're made of starlight...

Part of What Shade is our Love? Enhypen drabble series

starlight- jake x f.reader

when your lonely prom turns into your best friend confessing to you...

genre- f2l, fluffy af wc- 0.7k warnings- profanity, way too much fluff, badly written, not proofread

an- sorry in advance this isnt as good as i hoped it'd be😭😭 but i hope yall enjoy it!!

'Ma'am, may I have this dance?' A voice cane from above you as you looked up to find the smiling face of your best friend, Jake.

'D-didn't you say you weren't coming?' You asked standing up, baffled at his sudden appearence. You clearly remembering how reluctant he was for going to prom. 'Well, I changed my mind', he replied cheekily, fixing his tie. 'Now, how do I look?'

'Okay i guess', you said nonchalantly. However, you couldn't help the blood rising in your cheeks because Jake looked in fact handsome. Very handsome.

If only he was your boyfriend date. 'Don't you have a date?' You questioned, looking at his still extended hand. The boy shook his head. 'Well, go find one!' You urged him, knowing damn well how the girls were slowly starting to notice him.

'But what if I only want to dance with you?' Your heart flipped as you looked at him with widened eyes, 'Y-you what?'

'C'mon, Y/N! It's prom, our last year in this school. Once, pretty please', he made a pleading face, taking your hand. 'Fine!' You sighed giving in.

However, you wouldn't lie, you wanted to dance with Jake.

It wouldn't take a genius to figure out their feelings and you weren't dumb enough to not realize your growing feelings for the boy currently leading you to the floor as a soft tune started to play.

But you were dumb enough to not realize that Jake felt the same or the shy subtle glances he was throwing at your direction whilst you were too focused on getting the dance right. 'Here', Jake instructed, taking your hand and placing them on his shoulder and intertwining the other with his hand.

You stuttered, 'I know damn well what to-' Your voice died down as Jake pulled you closer by the waist, swaying to the beat. You were sure you had turned beat red, your stomach doing wild leaps.

'What are you doing...?' 'Dancing with my love.' The words casually rolled off his tongue, as if he hadn't just called his best friend 'love'. Your eyes widened, 'You're crazy, Jake!' You playfully shoved him, letting out a nervous chuckles. He is flirting. This is Jake! He always flirts.

Well, he does but the way he looked into your eyes, a certain intensity to soft brown eyes, it made you think otherwise. There was no hint of his erstwhile playfulness, only... love.

'You are kidding right?' You asked looking up to his face. That's when you noticed how close your face was to his, how Jake's eyes flickered to your lips before shaking his head. 'God, Y/N, you're so dense', he said in a frustrated tone before pulling you closer by the chin. His face so close to yours looking at you like you were the only thing that mattered to him. 'I like you, so fucking much. So much that I actually bought this stupid suit and came to this stupid prom, 'cus of you.'

'Y-you mean it?' You asked in disbelief, your heart clenching at the thought of all this being some cruel joke. 'Each and every word. You've been slwoly driving me crazy.'

Butterflies weren't enough to describe this feeling. The feeling when he looked at you and you gave a small nod as he crashed his lips into yours. Your grip on his shoulder tightened, melting into his touch. It didn't feel real because how the fuck were you kissing the boy you secretly loved?

It felt magical, the music floating into your ears like some distant background music and the boy before you, smiling at your face, his eyes sparkling, looking into your shy ones.

'Want to do something fun?'

Never in your life did you think, you'd be sneaking out of prom with your best friend into the night. But there you were, Jake chasing you down the sidewalk as you halted to a stop when he caught up to you. 'Leave me!' You whined before bursting into a laugh. 'Nope', Jake hugged you tighter from behind, resting his face on your shoulder.

The night was young, the stars reflecting the love Jake was carrying in his eyes. It was the best night of your life- seventeen and wild. You don't think you'll ever forget the way you moved to the beats of the song or ran with Jake's hand clutching onto yours.

'Don't you see the starlight, Y/N?' His face peeking from beside yours. 'Don't you dream impossible dreams...?'

reblogs and feedbacks are appreciated!

Work belongs to @/luvistqrzzz do not copy repost or translate

[kazumist]

EPISODE 13 ★ PROMPOSALS

FAKE IT TILL WE MAKE IT — A SCARAMOUCHE SMAU

masterpost / prev ep / next ep / timestamps don't matter

with prom getting nearer by the day, it was only natural for people at school to do promposals. 

however, you wish someone had told you that they’d be happening around you. literally.

everywhere you turn, there’s always going to be a “yes!” ringing in your ear. but honestly, it was quite intriguing to see guys make creative promposal lines along with some sort of banner. how creative they were to make these moments memorable for the both of them.

extra notes.

fun fact! yn and childe went to prom tgt last year. ik it was mentioned that they were "alone" and technically they were alone, they just shared a dance and didnt even move from their table right after

another filler erm. ep 14 is where it starts ok,, but like heyyyy on the bright side we're like kinda halfway the story now so i can start making up plans for my next smau which is a slay

synopsis.

what happens when scaramouche, your rival since the first year of highschool, had some annoying admirers on his back? easy—he (fake) dates you to shoo them off. nothing can possibly go wrong with faking a relationship with the guy you hate, right?

spoiler: apparently, a lot can go wrong.

taglist (open): @niiheng @yinyinggie @ilyuu @veekoko @motherscrustytoenailclippings @the-ghost-0f-t0m0 @akairaindrops @kichiyoshi @lxkeeeee @user11918163805279 @sketcheeee @yukiipc @kyouzki @quokkatss @ynverse @yuyumaru @danhenglovebot @sheep-from-rad @gekkow @aeongiies @scararaw @beriiov @thenightsflower @simpforsubmissivemen @sakurapeach @akxtagawaxryxn0sxke @naheana @supernova25 @mitsu-moshi @yelleloww @kiyomi-hoku @kazemiya @theblueblub @lazy-sanns @kazuuhhaaaa @sukunasrealgf @alatusorrow @ahnneyong @bubiblossom @d4y-dr3am3r @featuredtofu @dappledstars @surgeonsofazeroy @reinoodle @venusflwers @gracefulace200 @dearestranpo

[baby-alien11]

Late Prom Night (Y/N Ulrich Universe)

This is long, so grab something to eat and drink and make yourselves comfortables

taglist: @volturi-girl-imagines @dessxoxsworld @aonungsgirlfriend @ethanlandryluver @wenvierismycomfort @aliciacat20 @gabbylovesreading @nikfigueiredo

Thanks to the fact that Jack just finished filming his new movie last week he was back in town, which meant make up for the time they were separated (except for the birthday weekend and the TS concert)

The gym dates every morning were also back, so after Jack picked you from your house in his car, both of you entered the gym greeting Josh, Hayley and baby Rogue to start streaching for the workout of the day

"Y/N, thirty minutes in the treadmill", Hayley instructed next to you, "The first ten minutes at velocity three, the next ten at five, and the last ten at seven, understood?"

"Absolutely", you nodded

Placing your phone, water bottle and towel in the small table next to you, you configured the treadmill to start with your workout, at the same time that yours and Jacks workout playlist started to sound throught the speakers

While you were focused on the first part of your routine, you couldn't ignore how your phone started to sound with a lot of notifications of messagges, which you asumed they were from the groupchat with Jakob and Naiia

After finishing with the treadmill, you took a big sip of water and grabed your phone to see a lot of messages from your old high school group

'This is weird', you though while frowned, the group was dead since the graduation

Openning the group chat, you were quick to notice a lot of excited text along with gifs, stickers and memes making you smile in fun, until you saw a flyer

"You've got to be kidding me", you murmured

"Are you okay?", Jack asked aproaching you

"Remember how I didn't had a prom because of covid and ended up graduating via zoom?", you asked at which Jack nodded in response, "Well, the school is making a dance for us in two weeks"

"I would say that sounds cool, but based on what you told me about your high school experience I don't know exactly what to say"

Smiling with sweetness bacause of what he said, you were quick to tangle your fingers in his hair, which caused Jack to put his head in your shoulder

"So, what are you going to do?", Jack questioned

"I don't know, I mean I hope the two years of quarantine helped some people to be better", you rambled, "But I still friends have from there who I rarely talk lately and it will be nice to see them in person again"

"In that case, what's the veredict?"

"We are going to that dance"

"Yes!", Jack exclaimed rasing his hand for a high five which you did, "Is there a theme?"

"Hollywood Extravaganza", you responded looking at the flyer, "Babe, this is our theme"

"We are going to be the best dressed", Jack nodded

"Guys, we are happy that you're having a prom night", Josh interrupted, "But we still have to finish the training"

Laughing a little, you and Jack shared a small kiss before continuing with your routines

When Jack said to be the best dressed, you didn't expected to see two designers from the Armani team in your doorway, and even more surprised when they started to fill the dinner table with books with designs and fabric samples

"Dad, what the hell is happening?", you murmured next to him, both with cups full of coffee

"First, don't say bad words in my presence", Skeet said in the same low tone making you smile in fun, "Second, I don't know"

"Y/N", one of them called interrupting the little conversation, "We are ready to start"

Sharing a glance with your dad you aproach the table to sit in front of them, while Skeet went to his office

"We can see the confussion in your eyes, so here it goes the explanation", the other one spoke, "First, we loved to work with you and Jack for the looks for the LA premier of Avatar, and his stylist called us a few days ago about asking for some options of suits for a prom dance, and we instantly asked for you, about what you were going to wear"

"That explains why the other day Jack called me for a second asking me that", you joked making them laugh

"After he told us that you didn't even started to look for outfits, we decided to pay you a surprise visit", the first one continued, "Armani is going to dress you both, so, is there a theme?"

"Hollywood Extravaganza", you nodded

"This is perfect", one of them commented, "You are a legacy child and VFX artist in the making and Jack is a rising star"

Starting with the meeting, they show you some haute couture and ready to wear which none of them catched your attention even if they were beautiful, so the next option was to do something custom made

During the next hour, the three of you spend the time making different designs acording to the theme and looking at the fabric samples, until one of them was the chosen one

"You are going to shine with this dress", one of the designers commented making you smile, "Before we start taking your measurements, we need to disscus the shoes for the lenght of the dress, do you have any that can go with the dress, if isn't the case we can also provide them?"

"I have a pair of black Aevitas that Camila Mendes and Lili Reinhart gave me this Christmas", you answered, "The ones with the 15.5 cm heels"

"They perfect, those are kinda like universal shoes, they go with everything", the other designer said, "Can you bring them so that way we can start with the measurements?"

Nodding, you were quick to go to your room and take the shoes and return to the living room to continue with the dress making process

When the day of the dance arrived, your living room was full since early in the morning with your dads stylist who were also yours arrived to get you ready for the night, starting with some facials to get your skin ready and get your nails done during noon

At lunch time, Jakob and Naiia arrived with food for everyone before starting with the hair and make up

"Look at you, getting all glamed for your prom dance", Naiia joked sitting next to you while the team started with their work, "By the way, the dress is beautiful"

"Thank you", you smiled in response

"So, how do you feel going this late to your prom?", Jakob asked eating french fries

"It's only like year and a half later but a little nervous", you answered with sincerity, "I don't know, I haven't seen any of them in person since the pandemic started"

"And now you are returning in your way to be succesful, and with a boyfriend that we all love, and both dressed in Armani", Jakob said, "Let's hope that that girl Kira has changed in these years"

"Amen", you and Naiia exclaimed

A few minutes later, the front door was knocked which made Skeet leave his spot on the dinning room to attend, returning two minutes later with a big floral arragement

"Tornado, this is for you", Skeet announced leaving it in the center of the dinning table

"Oh my God, they are so beautiful", you exclaimed streching your hand to take the note attached to them reading the envelope, "It's from Jack"

Happy prom night gorgeous! I'm so happy that we get to do this together

I can't wait to see you in a few hours

Love, Jack

Smiling because of the sweetness of his words, you took your phone to send him a text thanking him the flowers, before taking a photo of them and uploading it to your instagram stories tagging him

"I don't know where are going to put them", Jakob commented, "This isn't the Kardashians household"

Thanks to that comment, you, Naiia, Skeet and the rest of the glam team started to laugh

"We are not the Kardashians", Naiia said still laughing

"We should have our own reality show", you joked, "Keeping up with the Ulrichs"

"Screaming with the Ulrichs sound better", Skeet pointed

Keeping with the little jokes and conversations, the hours spend quickly until the front door was knocked again, when your make up in dark blue and silver colors with your nude lipstick and hair styled like Gigi Hadid in the 2018 MET Gala were ready, and again, Skeet went to answer the door this time returning with Jack (who was completely ready) and Anna

"Hi, beautiful", Jack greeted sitting next to you taking your hand, "You look absolutely gorgeous"

"You look handsome as well", you responded smiling, "I love the flowers, they're beautiful"

"I'm glad you loved them"

"Guys, sorry for interrupting the moment", one of the stylist spoke, "But we have to get you dressed right know, but the shoes are going first"

"Okay", you nodded

With the help of the girl who did your nails, you put on the high heels adjusting the straps in your ankles in a way that they don't feel loose before walking to the makeshift dresser in the living room with Naiia and two more styilist to help with the dress and gloves

Once everything was put in place with the outfit, you along with the little crew came out of the makeshift dresser getting instant reactions for everyone

While the glam team put the silver earings and a small and simple silver chain style choker (one of Bailey's gifts for your birthday), the Armani photographers started to take photos of Jack to post later on Instagram, then it was your turn with the whole outfit, and last of both of you, and they were lucky to have two serious photos because after that, the rest were doing funny faces and silly poses

Lastly, before leaving, family photos were taken which ended up being funny because your dad and siblings were basically in pajamas

After a twenty minute car ride, your old school was in sight, also noticing some students of your generation in the entrance

"I haven't been here since march 2020", you sighed while Jack drove towards the entrance were a red carpet was placed, "It feels weird and nostalgic"

"Are you comfortable with this?", Jack asked before stepping out of the car

"Totally", you nodded, "Besides, as you said, we are the best dressed"

Kissing your gloved hand, Jack got out of the car which caused a reaction in some of the ex-students because they didn't expected to see one of the young actors of the moment in there, and they were more surprised when he opened the passenger side streching his hand to help you get out of the car and helping to fix your dress, while one valet went to park the car

Interwining hands, both of you started walking throught the carpet to the inside of the school towards the gym

"Y/N!"

You heard someone screaming your name, which caused both of you to turn in that direction

"Sarah!", you exclaimed with excitement

Happy to see one of your friends in person after months, you almost run towards her which ended up in a hug, while Jack stayed a few steps behind smiling

"I thought that you wouldn't come", Sarah said breaking the hug but still holding your hands, "That dress is amazing"

"I contemplate about coming or not, believe me", you laughed, "Your dress is also amazing, and I want to introduce you to someone"

Being his cue, Jack stepped closer taking your waist

"This is Jack, my boyfriend", you introduced proudly, "Jack, this is my high school best friend Sarah"

"Nice to meet you", Jack smiled with a hand shake

"It's nice to see my best friend happy", Sarah responded watching your face, "Let's go to the gym, almost all our group is in there"

Interwining your free arm with hers and Jack now holding your small purse, the three of you walked towards the gym now decorated as if it was from an award ceremony

"This remind me of the Critics Choice", Jack commented

"But with more space between tables", you joked remembering how small the space was

"One of you has to invite me to a future premiere or event", Sarah spoked with fun, "I want to experience that world"

"Dude, you went with me and my dad to the season one premiere of Riverdale", you pointed with fun

"Yeah, in 2017", she reminded

Laughing, the three of you continue walking throught the gym until a table with familiar faces for you and Sarah, ending in an excited reunion with hugs and meetings, before taking seats

"Dude, I'm going to be honest with you", Noah, another friend of the group spoke towards Jack, "I was scared of you in Scream"

"Thanks, I guess", Jack laughed with his arm in the back of your chair

"You went all psycho killer", Abby, one of the girls of the group said, "Y/N, you nailed your five second cameo, I actually went to see the movie multiple times just to spot you"

"Abby, I love you, you are the sweetest", you said with sincerity, "So, what is everyone doing?"

"Studying fashion design in New York", Scott said

"Training to be a cast member at Disneyland", Abby continued

"Studying law at Standford", Sarah spoke

"Gamer in twitch", Noah finished, "What about you?"

"Practicing to be a VFX make up artist", you answered proudly

"She is awesome at that", Jack exclaimed showing some of your early works making you blush, "Like, this looks so real"

Before anyone of your friends could say something, one of your former classmates stopped by the table interrupting the conversation

"Y/N, hi!", Diana greeted at what you get up from your chair to hug her since she was polite and friendly during your school years, "I'm so happy you are here"

"I'm also happy to be here, I missed you girl", you responded breaking the hug

"Me too, I'm glad that you changed your mind and actually came", Diana smiled making confussion in you and your group, "See you around"

Waiting until she was far, you turned facing your group

"First Sarah told me something similar, now Diana", you pointed taking a seat in your chair, "What the hell is happening?"

With a hand signal from Scott everyone inclined in a way to be closer and listen

"I heard from Irma, who heard it from Daniel, who heard it from Bethany, that Kira said that fame just got to your head and you felt superior to any of us", Scott explained leaving you shocked, "Kira actually tweeted it"

"Is she fucking for real?", you yelled-murmured, "I'm not the egocentric one, she is"

"She has always been ridiculous and jealous of you", Abby pointed, "Like, starting rumours about you is pathetic"

"Here is the tweet", Noah gave you his phone with the tweet on screen

Recieving the phone you read the tweet that only had two likes, but what caught your attention was the username

Leaving the phone on the table you reached your phone which was on one of Jack's jacket pockets unlocking it to enter to your saved tweets

"I thought you quit them for there", Jack frowned looking at the hate tweets from two months ago

"I forgot to do it", you responded finding the ones with the user name, "For context, two months ago I found hate tweets towards me, some of them were from the user name ReginaGeorgeHeir"

"That's Kira's username", Sarah exclaimed

"Yeah, two of them were 'she isn't that pretty' and 'she's a nepo baby, you know how they are'", you read with anger in your voice

"Fucking bitch", Noah exclaimed noticing movement at the entrance, "Speaking of the devil"

Hearing that sentence, the six of you turned towards the entrance of the gym to watch how Kira and her minion Bethany entering

"Wait, that dress looks familiar", you pointed with narrow eyes

"I think is the same one that you wore to the Los Angeles premier of Avatar", Jack said remebering were he had seen it

"More like a dupe", Abby commented

"Girl, if you want to let go your Billy Loomis side on her we won't blame you", Sarah spoke in your direction, "We will help you hide the body and be your alibis"

"And if they ask where we were, let's say we where at econ", Jack joked, "It worked for me"

After that reference joke, your whole table started to laugh incontrolable gaining the attention of people next to you, including from the mean duo

"I give you an advice", Scott talked after the laughs calmed, "First, what are you wearing?"

"Custom Armani", you answered

"Girl, you already won the one sided battle", Scott continued, "I mean, your dad is an icon, you are starting to gain more fame of your own, you are wearing Armani to your prom, you and Jack are the IT young couple of the moment, Kira is the girl who peaked at high school and stayed mean because is everything she has"

"Scott, is right", Sarah nodded, "So let's forget about her and have some fucking fun!"

Agreeing with her, the six of you continued to talk and update about everything, taking pictures, even the boys imitated Jacks "chad face" for some pictures, doing tik toks and sharing the snacks the school provided

When people started to fill the asignated dance floor, your group did the same founding a spot for the six of you

During the next hour and a half, the time was spent dancing the popular songs of the moment that the DJ played and having fun with each other, until a slow song "Love On The Brain" by Rihanna started to sound causing the couples in there to start dancing slowly

"Are you having fun?", Jack asked with his arms circling your waist

"Lots", you smiled with your arms around his neck, "I'm glad that we came"

"Me too", Jack smiled in returned, "And your friends are really cool"

"I think they like you more than they like me", you joked making him laugh

"I actually think that they are testing me to see if I'm good for you"

"You are perfect for me"

Following that small conversation, both of you shared a small kiss that was followed with smaller ones accompanied with giggles from both of you

A few more slow songs followed after the music was stopped causing everyone to look at the stage were Kira was taking a microphone and Bethany was standing in the corner behind her

"Don't tell me she's going to do a speech", Noah groaned

"Hi everyone!", Kira exclaimed

Hearing her voice made your group (and some other people in there) groan in silence

"It's so nice to see everyone here in person", Kira continued with a fake smile, "Like we all look so expensive with our dresses and suits, so as former student president I'm honnored to give a little speech, first of all, I'm so happy to see that every one of you is being succesful, some in college, some working, some having personal bussiness, others taking advantage of parents fame"

"Someone shut her up", you murmured making your group to hold back the laughs

Unfortunately, she heard that thanks to the silence in the room noticing your group a few meters from the stage

"Y/N Ulrich!", Kira exclaimed which made all the heads to turn in your direction including a light from the stage focusing in the six of you almost blinding your group, "So happy to see that your fame didn't stop you from being here with your friends and your famous boyfriend"

"Yeah, I'm not happy to see you ReginaGeorgeHeir", at the moment you said that phrase her face fell, "I know you were one of the people who send hate tweets towards me two months ago"

"I don't know what your talking about", Kira laughed nervously

"Wasn't you the one who tweeted 'she isn't that pretty'?", Abby exclaimed reading her phone

"Or 'she's a nepo baby, we know how they are'?", Scott continued

"It was a little joke", she tried to minimized the situation but you already were walking to the stage with Jack behind you

"It's not funny to bully someone, online or in person", you replied starting to climb the stairs with the help of Jacks hand on your waist and holding one of your hands, "Thanks babe"

"Anytime, gorgeous", Jack nodded staying in the gym floor

"Okey, I tweeted that", Kira admited rolling her eyes, "But everyone was doing it, I just jumped in"

"It's wrong to do that", you claimed, "You bullied me for years in person until you knew who my dad was, and it was because you saw him on Riverdale, and tried to be my friend after years of torture, that's hypocrite, and you and Bethany also torture a lot of us during school years, and know you claim to be happy to see us?"

"You need to chill", Kira replied not knowing what to say, "And if I were you, I would use my dad connections to be succesful as an actress, not singer because your voice is horrible"

"There is the bitch, and your voice is also horrible, well, all your personality is horrible", you spoked causing all the ex-students to cheer, "Fuck, it feels good to finally say this!"

"You know all this that you said people are going to twisted make you seem like the bully, right?", Kira tried to intimidate

"Actually not, I'm live on instagram!", one of your former classmates yelled with his phone up, "1,504 people are seeing this"

"See, I'm not the only one in here that you bullied", you shrugged

"So what, you are going all ghostface on me?", Kira joked

"I mean, people callme the 'Ghostface Princess', my dad was a ghostface, my uncle Matthew was a ghostface, my boyfriend was a ghostface, it wouldn't be weird", you threatened now close to her face, "Boo"

Even if that was a whispered word, she still jumped in fear a little causing everyone to laugh at her

Smiling because she now felt how it was, you started to walk to the stairs taking the hand that Jack was holding to help you

"Oh", you exclaimed turning to look at her, "Nice dupe dress"

"It's original, idiot", Kira argued trying to gain the situation

"It isn't, I know it because I wear the same dress in december, to the Los Angeles premier of Avatar", you smiled, "The original has higher neckline"

"I had it to do some changes"

"It's actually a 2009 Giorgio Armani, basically an archive piece, those are only borrowed, which means no drastical changes can be done"

Smiling and feeling powerful, you and Jack walked with your hands interwined followed by your friends who soon joined you while the rest of ex-students laughed at Kira and Bethany

jackchampion, naiia, madelyncline, and 97, 216 more

yn.ulrich succesful prom night

tagged jackchampion, sarah_woods, abbycutie, not.scott.disick, noahtwitch

jackchampion I said it before, but I'm glad we get to do this together

› yn.ulrich I love you

› jackchampion I love you more

not.scott.disick thank you mom and dad for taking us for a snack after prom

› jackchampion anytime my child

madelame shine my baby, you deserve it

› yn.ulrich thank you favourite red

[andiwriteordie]

hello! ✨sending you good vibes in this stressful month✨ (why is february Like This?)

if you feel so inspired for the valentine’s day fic prompts: byler where someone asks one of them out and the other cuts in like “he has plans” and (one the person is gone ofc) they share a cute lil moment? 💕🫂

lark i LOVED THIS PROMPT!!!! this was so fun!

here you go, have some post s5 byler set in the winter of 1989 in a not-destroyed hawkins!

—

1: take my hand, wreck my plans.

Mike hates high school.

Yeah, that much was a given, and honestly, Mike fucking hates high school. Middle school was bad enough, but then high school came around and turned out to be a million times worse—a tall order, considering the fact that middle school was full of things like the demogorgon and the Mind Flayer and then the Mind Flayer’s fleshy form.

…

Okay, technically, high school did have One and the near interdimensional war that could’ve ended the entire world. That sucked too. So maybe, high school was always destined to suck just as bad as middle school.

Or maybe Mike just has rotten luck.

That has to be it, because there’s no other reason that Mike would find himself here, waiting by his best friend’s locker and watching stupid fucking Jennifer Hayes flirt with Will.

Will, who most definitely seems uncomfortable right now, and Will, who most definitely does not like girls in a romantic way, and Will, who Mike is almost positive actually likes Mike.

Like… like-likes Mike. You know. In a romantic, more-than-friends kind of way. In the “Hey, I want to make out with you underneath the bleachers” kind of way and in the “I know we can’t because this is Hawkins, but will you be my date to prom this spring?” kind of way and in the “I don’t ever want to lose you again, so please don’t go” kind of way.

…

Okay, fine. Maybe Mike is projecting a little bit. But he likes to think that after knowing Will for over ten years, surviving all the horrors of the Upside Down with him, and coming out on the other side of all of this with a stronger friendship than ever, he knows his best friend pretty damn well.

Mike’s like… ninety-five percent certain Will has feelings for him too, which is exactly why he’s been trying to work up the courage to ask Will out for Valentine’s Day. He had planned to do it today, since the rest of the Party is busy today, and Will is planning on coming over to do homework with Mike. 

But then stupid fucking Jennifer Hayes had to come and mess all of Mike’s plans up.

Look.

Sometime around sophomore year, something weird started to happen. Girls really started to notice Will—or maybe Mike just started to notice how they noticed Will. Either way, it was like everywhere, left and right, girls were coming up to talk to girls. Will’s reputation as “Zombie Boy” had somehow disappeared in his year spent away from Hawkins, and suddenly, all the girls seemed to view him as the cool and sweet and lovable California boy. 

Suddenly, all the girls at Hawkins High wanted to date Will.

Right around the same time, Mike suddenly wanted to kill all the girls at Hawkins High.

Looking back on it, that really should’ve been Mike’s first clue (or his second… or tenth… or twentieth) that he had feelings for his best friend. Honestly, Mike knows that he’s a decently smart person (not as smart as Dustin, but smart enough), but sometimes, he can just be downright stupid.

Oh well. At least Mike knows now, and he can finally do something about it.

“Yeah,” stupid fucking Jennifer Hayes says, and she does that stupid girl thing where she twirls her hair and smiles really big at Will. “Mrs. Elliott canceled practice for the musical on Tuesday, since it’s Valentine’s Day and everything!” 

To his credit, Will smiles back at her, and to anyone else, it seems like a genuine smile. But Mike can tell that Will seems incredibly uncomfortable right now and is just looking for a way out of this awkward conversation. “Oh, that’s fun!” Will says with a bit of an awkward laugh. “I’m sure everyone was, um… excited!”

Stupid fucking Jennifer Hayes smiles widely again, and God, Mike wants to punch her in the face. “We were!” she says brightly, taking another step towards Will and leaning up against the lockers. “And um… anyways, I was just thinking about it, and well… I know this is so awkward, but I was wondering if you were maybe free on Tuesday? To… you know… go on a date?”

Mike’s going to punch her in the face.

Mike is actually going to punch her in the face, and hey, it’ll actually do some damage, because unlike little fifteen year-old Mike with noodle arms, absolutely no hand-eye coordination, and a complete inability to hold his own in a fight, Mike… can sort of do some damage now. He still has noodle arms, mind you, but the hand-eye coordination has improved (who would’ve known that he’s needed glasses this entire time) and can hold his own in a fight, thanks to many long days spent training with Steve and Jonathan and Hopper and literally everybody else in their Upside Down group.

So, yeah. There’s no way stupid fucking Jennifer Hayes is winning in a fight against him.

“Oh!” Will squeaks—like actually squeaks. He sounds like how he used to before his voice dropped near the end of middle school, and his face is bright red right now. He looks completely panicked, which is actually sort of adorable if you ask Mike. “I, um. I-I mean, I—”

“He has plans,” Mike blurts out, before he can stop himself.

Both Will and stupid fucking Jennifer Hayes turn to look at Mike, with varying looks of surprise on their face. Stupid fucking Jennifer Hayes also obviously looks a little disappointed (which makes Mike feel incredibly smug), while Will looks caught off guard but also a little pleased (which makes Mike feel even more smug). 

Will recovers first, and he smiles again at stupid fucking Jennifer Hayes. “I’m sorry,” he says, even though he’s definitely not. “I… I’ve already got plans.”

“Oh… okay,” stupid fucking Jennifer Hayes says, and she shifts awkwardly, glancing at Will then back at Mike. “That’s alright.”

Judging by the look on her face, it definitely isn’t alright. Mike fights the urge to grin at that.

Then, with another forced smile, stupid fucking Jennifer Hayes picks up her wounded pride, and she waves at Will. “I should get going,” she says awkwardly. “Bye, Will!”

“Bye, Jennifer,” Will calls faintly, though stupid fucking Jennifer Hayes is already gone, her ponytail bouncing stupidly behind her as she walks down the hall. Mike can’t help but roll his eyes.

Goodbye, and good riddance.

Beside him, Will clears his throat, and Mike flinches slightly, glancing at his best friend. There’s an amused look on Will’s face, and once Mike catches his eye, Will raises a brow. “I have plans, huh?” he says with a bit of a teasing smile.

Mike feels his face go warm, and he clears his throat, leaning his hand against the lockers. “Something like that,” he says, trying his best to ignore the way his heart is pounding inside his chest. “I figured anything’s better than having to go on a date with her.”

A soft laugh escapes Will’s lips. “Jennifer’s not that bad,” he says, rolling his eyes. “But you’re right. I definitely don’t want to spend my Valentine’s Day on a date with her.”

Once again, there’s a playful smile on Will’s face, and when he meets Mike’s eyes, Mike becomes like… ninety-eight percent certain Will has feelings for him too. 

Oh, to hell with it. Ninety-nine percent.

So, Mike just decides to take a leap of faith.

“Well… is there anyone else you’d want to spend your Valentine’s Day with?” Mike asks softly.

Another little smile tugs at Will’s lips, and he shrugs, leaning against the lockers slightly. “Maybe,” he says, just as soft. “That depends though.”

He’s teasing Mike—again, which… fuck, is driving Mike absolutely crazy. Will’s always been a little bit mischievous, but now, over the past few months of settling into their friendship and finding peace after the mess of the Upside Down, it’s like he’s become more and more comfortable to do little things like flirt with Mike more openly.

Mike absolutely loves it.

So, all he can do is grin back at his best friend. “Depends on what?” Mike asks, and Will’s eyes crinkle as he smiles again.

“On what these plans are that you were talking about,” Will hums, a playful glint in his eyes. “Because last I checked, Lucas had plans to take Max and El to the movies, and Dustin plans on calling Suzie that evening, so…”

Will’s voice trails off, and he looks Mike expectantly, a hesitant but shy look on his face. There’s a rosy little blush on his cheeks and a dozen different emotions in his eyes, and God, Mike just wants to kiss him.

“So… it sounds like it’s just you and me for Valentine’s Day,” Mike says, soft and shy. 

“Sounds like it,” Will agrees.

“And I don’t know… I was thinking that since it’s just the two of us… maybe we could make it a date?” Mike asks softly. 

A huge smile stretches across Will’s face, and Mike’s heart does a stupid little somersault because of it. That ninety-nine percent certainty increases to a solid one hundred percent, and  inside of Mike’s mind, it sounds like one of those game shows after someone has finally won something—like DING DING DING, WE HAVE A WINNER! YOU’RE THE WINNER! YOU DID IT!

“I’d love that, Mike,” Will whispers back, just as shy. “I’d really, really love that.”

Mike can’t help but grin like a complete idiot, and he nods, probably just a little too excited. “Cool,” he says breathlessly. “It, um… it’s a date then.”

Somehow, Will’s face turns even redder, and he beams. Luckily for Mike, he nods just as enthusiastically, so that’s definitely a good sign. “Yeah,” he agrees softly. “It’s a date.”

[scarrabear]

QUOGAN HEADCANONS PART 1

Hi hello <3 first time post from me on this account. I realized I had a lot of thoughts of my own on these two dweebs and I LOVE reading everyone else's thoughts, so I'm being brave and sharing my own. :)

Yes it's long and there will be a part 2. I talk a lot lol. Feel free to send me asks or recs if you want more :)

While Secretly Dating

They would text each other every single morning with Logan saying things along the lines of "good morning beautiful <3" and Quinn saying "good morning cutie :)". Sometimes these messages would cause them to giggle and/or blush leading their respective roommates to question what they were looking at.

Meetings at their secret hiding spots would take place nearly every morning, in between most classes, and every night. This was both of their favorite parts of the day because it's where they could talk, flirt, vent, and yes, make-out. (Michael & James notice that Logan always shows up to their first class completely giddy and when they try to tease him about it, Logan simply shuts them down with a snark comment.)

While at meals with their friends, the two would secretly try and play footsie or touch fingertips under the table.

Around the second or third month of them secretly dating (show canon: in-between Coffee Cart Ban and Chasing Zoey), they start experimenting with kissing, i.e, French kissing, necking, ear kisses, and even leaving small hickies. Quinn is the one who wants to try the latter to which Logan was nervous, excited, and turned on. Hesitant, they leave small ones on areas of the shoulder that can be covered by sleeves. Logan really likes having his ear nibbled and neck kissed especially while Quinn touches his head. Quinn realizes she loves being spoiled with kisses all over her face and neck.

Sometimes after basketball practice, if Logan is sore Quinn would insist on giving him massages.

Logan realizes how turned on he gets whenever Quinn talks about science or shares a fun fact. One day Quinn is helping Zoey fix her Jet-X and Lola almost catches him drooling.

Yes, dating Quinn doses cause Logan to improve his grades. This is something he does willingly because he truly wants to be the best version of himself for her. I imagine the first Michael & James walk in on him truly studying they are visibly shocked. Every time Logan gets an A or B on an assignment he proudly tells Quinn to which she is equally as ecstatic.

^^ Quinn also finds Logan studying hot.

They leave little notes for each other in their backpacks or textbooks.

For prom, when they agree to take different people as dates, Logan begs Quinn to tell him what color dress she plans to wear because he wants to match his pocket square. (You can see in the show that he's wearing one to match even while he was with Stacey.)

Openly Dating: JR Year Summer

Lola/Zoey and Chase/Michael/James sat Logan down separately and made sure his intentions were not to take advantage of Quinn. Both of those sessions lasted about 5 minutes until they realized that Logan was truly in love with her.

Yes, their friends (lovingly) teased them about their relationship. Lola and Zoey made sure to shut down anyone around campus that judged them or made harsh remarks.

Chase and ESPECIALLY Michael were beyond happy for them (Michael apologized for laughing in their faces when they tried to tell him they were dating months ago).

Logan cried when Quinn went back home to Seattle.

Quinn asked to take one of his t shirts with her back home to which Logan requested one of her jackets.

They spoke on the phone every single day, usually in the morning and at night. Quinn liked to fall asleep to the sound of his voice.

Quinn works as a camp counselor for a science day camp for children.

Quinn visited Logan (Malcolm Reese & Chauncey remembered her which made her happy) mid June for a week to which she got to meet Lyric (age 5-9 years old) for the first time.

Quinn brought Lyric a few Magic Tree House books and a mini science kit as a gift.

While in California, Logan, Mr. Reese, and baby Lyric showed Quinn around Los Angeles (movie sets, Disneyland, museums, and shopping.)

Logan and Quinn take Lyric to see Kung fu Panda in theaters.

Lyric is immediately fond of Quinn and wants to be as smart as her. She even draws a picture of Quinn as a scientist and gives it to her before she goes home.

It makes Logan's heart all fuzzy and gives his stomach butterflies seeing Quinn and Lyric interact.

Malcolm and Chauncey catch Logan drooling over Quinn multiple times and never fail to tease him.

Logan takes Quinn on a romantic dinner date on the beach and gives her a heart necklace that has their initials and the date they officially started dating engraved.

Quinn gifts him a portable hand held mirror that she quinnvented before she arrived. The mirror also has his name engraved along with the date they shared their first kiss. It has adjustable lighting and various settings such as a zoom feature and background blurring to focus more on his reflection.

For 4th of July that summer, Logan visits Quinn and her family in Seattle. She was nervous at first because her house is notably smaller than what he is used to but Logan was quite happy and comfortable and assured her that he didn't care about her wealth.

Logan is nervous as hell to meet Quinn's parents and her Bubbe (she had to explain to him the meaning of the word and is surprised and flattered how much Logan wants to know about her family's history.)

The Pensky family shows Logan around Seattle and he's shocked at how cool the Washington air is. He loves the trees and the mountains. His favorite activity is going whale watching.

Bubbe teaches Logan some of her Jewish recipes. The two form a close bond.

Quinn shows Logan photos and videos from her beauty pageant days but he's more interested in seeing the collection of her childhood science experiments.

SR Year - SR Year Summer

Logan replaced the photo of himself he normally kept on the dorm wall with one Bubbe took of him & Quinn in Seattle. (They're smiling at each other while he's hugging her from behind.) On the wall next to his top bunk are a collection of smaller photos. Some of just him, some of just Quinn, but mainly solo ones of Quinn.

Quinn keeps a mini scrapbook in one of her bed cubbies that has her favorite photos of Logan and notes that he wrote her from last year.

Lola & Vince break up at some point which leads to Lola & Zoey having a moment where they are jealous of Quinn & Logan's relationship. They get over it...eventually.

Quinn is granted early acceptance into Caltech and Logan takes her out to celebrate (also they make-out in a hammock)

Logan gets into UCLA on his own accord (his dad did not buy his way in) to major in business and minor in chemistry. PCA's head chemistry teacher wrote Logan a stellar letter of recommendation. He also took a few science ACTs (and did exceptionally well) at the beginning of senior year to help boost his chances.

For Logan's birthday, Quinn gifts him his own golf club set that she quinnvented. The clubs are perfectly designed for his height, grip, and other golf terms I don't know enough about.

For Quinn's birthday, Logan rents out sushi Rox for the night and and throws a surprise party for her. He has the party end 30 minutes early so he and Quinn can have the place to themselves so they can slow dance. Michael plays the flute for them.

For their one year anniversary, they have a moonlight picnic. Quinn makes him a personalized cologne (one of you lovelies said this and I 100% agree!!!) and his own zap watch but with baby settings with their anniversary date and the message "I love you" engraved.

Logan bought her a personalized lab coat, a designer lab bag, and dozens of flowers.

They do it *stream ChloexHalle* on their anniversary weekend in Logan's dorm room (he paid Michael & Chase to stay out of the room that night).

They're both nervous at first but as soon as they're in each other's arms, love and a whole lot of lust takes over. All they want to do is please the other.

Quinn is obviously valedictorian and her speech makes Logan the proudest he had ever felt up until that point.

Logan sent Quinn's mother and Bubbe flowers for mothers day (to which he would continue to do in the future)

In the summer, Quinn visited Logan's family again for a week to which Lyric was beyond excited.

At night, the two would sneak into each other's bedrooms for intimate moments. This is when they would really discover their pleasures and what they like/don't like in bed.

So yeah. Thanks for reading if you got this far!!!!! Sending everyone love <3

[housesunstone]

tell me about the person you went on 1 date with and hit it off but kept losing contact until rematching on hinge and tinder

Okay! When i tell you this is romcom levels of bs I mean it.

So it's 2015, and this kid, I'll call him C, met for the first time when our high schools were doing a thing. We get thrown into the same group chat for a bit throughout the day, and we hit it off. I don't use Snapchat, and Instagram wasn't a thing I used either back then, so we just drifted apart at the end of that day.

Flash forward to June 2018 and I did a victory lap in high school (I graduated in 2017 but deferred my acceptance into uni until the 2018 fall semester) I just got out of a really shitty relationship with this girl named H. H was a really bad person and I ignored those red flags for wayyyy to long (fun fact H still stalks me and after she dumped me she immediately got into a relationship with another girl who looked like me...) Anyways... H was a year younger than me, so while we were together, I became friends with some of her friends, and some of those friends chose me at the end of the relationship and not her. So as a joke my one friend K went to prom together with our other friend J, and my other friend M was at our table and her date N he went to a different highschool. The night of prom N and I were chatting since that was the first time I ever met him and he said something along the lines of "My friend met someone with the same name as you and had a huge crush on them isn't that funny" mind you we are all between the ages of 17-18 and fully not sober. So it never crossed my mind that this friend of his may be C even though I have a very unique name and no one else in my city has this name.

After prom N goes and tells C about this person who went to the same highschool and has the same name of this person he had a thing for. It took them some time to connect the dots and once they did it was too late I had left my city to go to uni.

Flash forward to March 2019, I dropped out of uni because I didn't like what I was doing. I loved where I was and the friends I made but didn't want to keep wasting money. So I move back home. September 2019 rolls around, and I start at my local college's film program. The film program is right by the IT and Pilot classes so we see them briefly all the time. EVERY SINGLE DAY UNTIL COVID C AND I SAW EACH OTHER AND NEVER REALIZED THAT IT WAS US.

Its now March 2021 we are doing classes fully online and I get hired in my field before I graduate. Still, in class, my teachers just gave me a pass since I had already been hired, and I then actually graduated in April in an online thing and never got a proper graduation. (sad but moving on)

Okay, so it's November 2021, and I decided to redownload Tinder since its been since 2018 that I've had a relationship, and I am one of those people who can't do one-night stands. The first person that pops up is C. We match. We chatted on Tinder for a bit, then moved to texting. December 2021 rolls around, we go on a coffee date. He got the location wrong (since there are two that are in our city), and I stood out in the freezing Northern Ontario winter waiting. He shows up, and we decide instead to get a coffee to go and take a ride in his car.

The date lasted four hours, and we talked the whole time; it was great. After the date, we texted more, but then the holidays rolled around, and we drifted.

In March 2022, I needed to get a new number since my ex was stalking me once more, and I also got a new phone this time and lost all my contacts... I lose C's number.

In June 2022, we match on hinge. We are talking at a great time. We don't go straight to texting this time. He gets an internship out of town, and in July, I leave my city to stand up in a wedding.

In December 2022, we match on hinge again. As we were about to set up a date for the new year, my grandma broke her ankle. Since my grandpa has heart problems and can't take care of her by himself, and I can work from home, I take care of her. Between then and March 2023, we chat on and off before both of us leave hinge around the middle of March.

In May 2023, we met again on Tinder. Again, talking is great. We joke that we keep missing each other. On July 3rd, I left my city for 2.5 months for work reasons.

October 2023, we match again... he has a death in the family, and we lose touch.

AUGUST 13 2024 WE MATCH ON BOTH HINGE AND TINDER. HIS OPENING LINE ON HINGE IS "Remember me?" AND HIS OPENING LINE ON TINDER IS "Because I didn't forget you"

Fucking rom-com bs