#he finds Danny first and decides ''oh yeah he's perfect to cause some chaos''

[faithblob-says-things]

Dp x Dc prompt 3

(probs Eldritch and or Ghost King! Danny. whatever suits your taste)

Danny goes on vacation to the dc universe, only to vibe and do nothing else. He'll let the heroes in this universe deal with whatever. He doesn't plan on doing any hero work or getting involved in any of their nonsense. Every magic user however is scrambling and panicking over the overwhelming amount of death magic that just entered their universe and is just sitting there menacingly.

[tsrookie]

Always In My Heart

Pairing: Ethan Ramsey x F!MC (Dr. Alyssa Brooks)

A/N: On today’s episode of ‘I have no idea wtf I’m doing’, we have something that I cooked up because I had terrible WiFi and no other app but Google docs would open up.

Trope: Fluff, but a tiny bit of angst?

Rating: General

Word Count: 2.3K

Warning(s): Mentions of character death

Summary: Their son has a very important question to ask.

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The delicious aroma of chicken and rice wafted through the Brooks-Ramsey household. The couple worked side by side in the kitchen as they had all those years ago, the only difference being that it was now a dinner for five and not just two.

Allison Dolores Brooks-Ramsey came into their lives nine years ago, and while it was earlier than they would have wanted, they didn’t regret a second of their lives ever since they first heard her voice.

The twins on the other hand, were planned, but nothing had prepared them for the chaos that Nathan and Natalie would bring. A new broken object every week, a dozen fights for the TV every day, and yet were nothing short of tiny tornadoes when they joined forces.

It couldn’t be more perfect.

“What time did Jackie and Emilia say that they would bring the girls back?”

“6:30, I think.”

“Ah. So we have time till 7:00.” They shared a knowing smile. Two aunts taking their nine and six year old nieces to the mall meant a complete raid of the toy store, and a new guitar.

“You need to stop letting everyone spoil the girls just because you have a soft spot for them, Ethan. Ally’s grown old enough to understand that she has her daddy wrapped around her finger, and we don’t need Nat coming to that realisation as well.”

“I don’t- I can’t believe you would accuse me of not loving all my children equally!”, he exclaimed in mock offense.

“Mhmm. So why did I have to come up with an explanation to tell Nathan why his dad wasn’t on board with ordering dessert when he asked for it, but relented once his sisters kept bugging him for another five minutes?”

He opened his mouth in protest, but decided against saying anything for his own good. “Well what can I say? They’ve inherited their mother’s persuasiveness. And I can’t really say no to you, can I?”

Alyssa’s lips curved upwards at that. The playful look in her husband’s eyes caused her to finally break into a grin. “At least you’re self-aware.” Stuffing the rice into the bird she added, “But I can’t exactly tell our son that his dad is too in-love with his mom that he sees her in his daughters and hence can’t say no to them. He’d gag in disgust.”

He chuckled and wrapped his arms around her, resting his head in the crook of her neck. “That he would. Alright I’ll try a little harder to resist their charms. Wouldn’t want my only son to end up hating me.” He said it without a hint of worry over it becoming true someday. Over the years, he’d learned to put aside his fears of not being a good father, and with the help of some therapy, and Alyssa’s unwavering love and support, he’d locked up his insecurities in a box and let it sink to the bottom of the ocean.

They took the stuffed chicken and put it in the oven, washed their hands and plopped down on the couch for some rare downtime.

“Crap.”

“Everything okay?”

“Fred’s mom got called in, so she’s dropping Nate off on her way to work.”

Ethan sighed. “There goes the hour I planned to spend with my wife, who I barely get to spend enough time with these days.”

“I swear, you were never this busy when you were chief. I have no idea why my workload’s ten times bigger.”

“I do.” Ethan smiled with pride. “One usually does have a lot of work when they’re at the front lines of the battle for making free healthcare accessible for every single person in the country. My brilliant wife, though she could choose to leave most of the work to her very competent team, opts to take it all upon herself. So that’s probably the cause behind all the extra workload she complains about.”

She smirked and perched herself onto his lap. “Well your very brilliant wife also knows that you called my team very competent just to avoid hurting my feelings, and that you and I both know that they’ll be running around like headless chickens without me taking care of things.”

“I know, love. But you can still make them do a little more instead of working yourself to the bone while still making sure that you have at least one meal with the kids every day.”

She sighed. “Yeah, to make sure that they don’t forget what I look like.” She leaned in closer. “Besides, are we really going to spend our last few minutes of peace talking about work?”

Just as she uttered the words, the door burst open, and Nathan kicked off his shoes and jumped onto the couch as Alyssa slid down from Ethan’s lap. She shot him a look that very clearly meant What did I just say?

Ethan gave her an apologetic look and ruffled his son’s hair. “Hey buddy. How was your day at Fred’s? I know you wanted to spend more time with him.”

“I did, and we were just about to open his new LEGO set when Mrs. Watson told us that she had to run up to her office for some emergency meeting.”, he pouted. “But it was a nice day. We watched Thor: Ragnarok and Luca, and we would’ve watched another movie if his dad didn’t tell us that two movies were enough for a day.”

Alyssa shot him a mildly stern look. “Well he was right. You’re too young to have movie marathons just yet. Two are more than enough, unless you want to have a headache.”

“But mom, I’m not too young! I’m a big boy! I can swing along the monkey bars at the park faster than Natalie, and soon I’ll swing across buildings just like Spider-Man!”

“Well Spider-Man got bitten by a yucky spider before he swung across buildings. Do you want to be bitten by a gross and poisonous spider?”

“Mommy, not all spiders are gross and poisonous. Dad told me that when I was four and got scared of them at the zoo.”

She rolled her eyes. Leave it to her husband to convince her kids that insects were anything short of creepy and disgusting. In reality, they were, but as someone who ran a mile away at the sight of a butterfly, she wasn’t going to accept that.

“That’s right, Nate. Some of them are certainly very poisonous and dangerous, but that doesn’t mean that you should be scared of them. If you maintain your distance and admire them from afar, there should be no problem at all.”, he said with a pointed look at Alyssa, who just huffed in annoyance.

Nathan giggled, his brown eyes lighting up with amusement. He loved watching his parents playfully bicker. It was way better than seeing them- ugh, kiss.

“We were pretending to be superheroes and Fred used his full name for his pretend name cause it sounded cool, and it is. Fredrick Anthony Watson sounds like something from that show you and mom watch with the guys in the stuffy suits.”

“When did you see us watching the show with the guys in the stuffy suits?”, asked Ethan with a slight hint of concern. Whatever he and Alyssa watched on their free nights was definitely not kid-friendly.

“I don’t remember. Maybe a few months ago.”

Their year old puppy, Ivy, woke up from her nap and bounced into the living room to jump onto her favourite person. Nathan squealed with joy as the fluffy hair of the dog tickled his nose.

Ethan and Alyssa smiled at each other. Getting another dog after Jenner was a decision that took a lot of convincing, but their kids were responsible enough and it was impossible to say no after two years of constant pestering.

“Fred told me that he was named after his great-grandfather William, and that he was this really cool guy who saved a bunch of guys from getting mugged in a dark, dark alley.” He turned to look at his parents as Ivy snuggled into his lap. “Who was I named after mom?”

The question caught her off guard, and she glanced at Ethan for backup.

When they knew that they were having a boy, they immediately knew what to name him. They hadn't, however, anticipated Nathan Daniel Brooks-Ramsey to ask such a question this soon.

Seeing his wife at a loss for words, Ethan spoke up. “C’mere Nate.” He pulled him closer and pressed a kiss atop his head. “We once had a friend named Daniel. He worked at the hospital as a nurse, and he was close to your mom and Aunt Sienna when they were interns.”

Having found her voice, Alyssa joined in. “He was an amazing friend. He was the only nurse in the hospital who helped me out when things got messy, and cheered up Aunt Sienna when no one else could. He’d join us for picnics and movie nights, and you could always count on him if you needed something at the hospital.” She took a deep breath, and Ethan nodded. “Things were going well, but then in my second year, something really bad happened.”

“Oh no.”

“There was this bad guy, who wanted his revenge on another bad guy, and he was ready to risk his own life, and the lives of everyone around him to do so.”

“That’s horrible! Who would want to do something like that?”

Ethan smiled wistfully. “A lot of people in this world actually do. You’re a good person, so you know that it’s wrong. But some people aren’t, and they don’t care about other people getting hurt because of their actions. That night at the hospital, Danny tried to tell the bad guy that it was wrong, and to think things through. But he didn’t listen, and did something that hurt both himself, Danny, Uncle Raf, another friend of ours, and your mom.”

His little eyebrows creased with worry, Nathan asked, “What happened then?”

“He… he died. Along with our other friend, Bobby. Do you remember what we once told you about an autopsy?” Nathan nodded his head. “Well Danny asked for his body to be autopsied, and thanks to him, we were able to find out what was wrong with mom and Uncle Raf.”

He fell silent for a moment, remembering the horrors of the day, and how eternally grateful he was to Danny for being the reason he didn’t lose everything. He couldn’t imagine a life without the love of his life and his children, and he wouldn’t have either if not for the sacrifices that were made.

He looked up at Alyssa, and she squeezed his hand in support. “We’ll tell you more when you’re older, but to make it short, you’re named after a hero too. If it weren’t for him, I wouldn’t have you, your sisters, or mom here with me.”

Nathan wriggled out of his dad’s arms, and set Ivy down so he could hug his mom as tightly as he could.

“Well… if you can hear me Mr. Daniel, I just wanna thank you. Thanks for saving my mom. I love her so much and I’m so thankful that I got to meet her because of what you did. I wish I could’ve met you, you sound like a really cool person, and I’m sure you were. So yeah, thanks. A lot.”

Alyssa’s eyes glimmered with unshed tears, and she held her son as she expressed her silent thanks along with Ethan.

What they had was precious.

Fifteen years had passed since they first met, and yet each day they fell in love a little more like they did when they held hands for the first time in the dim light of the NICU watching over little Ethan, or when she finally got to see the real him the first time she visited his place; the first time in years he let someone know a little of the worries residing deep in his heart.

With all the odds against them, it was a miracle that they survived, even more so that they managed to raise three perfect children who had more love to share than they could ever comprehend.

And they’d never forget all the reasons that made it possible for them to survive.

Ding!

The timer on the oven went off, and they got to their feet to get the chicken.

“Was he a good cook dad?”

“I… don’t really know, Nate. Your mom knew him better than I did.”

“Well there was this one time where he helped Aunt Sienna bake an amazing cake, so I guess he knew his way around the kitchen.”, Alyssa recollected fondly. It was for Jackie’s birthday, one of the few nights where the competition was completely forgotten about.

Nathan’s face melted into a glowing smile. “I love cake. So I guess I really would’ve loved him.”

She mirrored his radiant expression. “You definitely would’ve.”

“Why don’t you go play with Ivy while mom and I get the food ready? You can help us with the dessert later.”

“We’re having dessert?!”

Ethan grinned at his son’s excitement. “You bet we are.”

“Yay!” They watched as Nathan ran off to go play fetch with Ivy in their enormous backyard.

Ethan pulled Alyssa in for a sweet, lingering kiss as soon as he was out of sight.

“You’ve been wanting to do that for a while now hmm?”

“Something like that.”, he murmured as they broke apart.

She could see the ever-increasing strands of silver in his brown hair, and the faint wrinkles along the sides of his forehead, but his clear blue eyes were just as loving and devoted as she remembered from over a decade ago.

“We have a pretty good life, don’t we?”

Ethan kissed her again. “No, we have the perfect life.”

——————————

A/N 2: Aaaand I’m going MIA again. Honestly though, to everyone who’s read so far, thank you so much for sticking around. Means the world💙

P.S: I finally chose Chyler Leigh as my face claim!

Taglist: @whimsicallywayward15 @aleynareads @starrystarrytrouble @dxnicaramsey @decadentwinnerjudgedream @ilikemenbutonlyethanramsey @rookiefromedenbrook @eramsey28 @the-pale-goddess @ohchoices @wellhelloramsey @mvalentine @swiftlydarcy @utterlyinevitable @akshara16 @sushiharrington @drethanramslay @lion-ess24 @whippedforethanfreakingramsey @drariellevalentine @perriewinklenerdie @blossomanarchy @stateofgracious @takemyopenheart @open-heart-ramseyyy @maurine07 @udishaman @queencarb @ethanramseylover @rookiemarsswiftie @aworldoffandoms @lsvdw-blog @n03lia @openheartfanfics @choicesficwriterscreations @openheartfan @jamespotterthefirst @senseofduties

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[neondrawsthethings]

Uhm... Hey everyone lol. And welcome to my Danny Phantom & Flynn Fenton story.

I am alive, I’ve just been so busy with personal stuff and college. I mostly wanted to post this because I am an avid fan of Danny Phantom and I absolutely wanted to talk about the video Butch put out a few days ago with Danny having a “mysterious older brother.”

This has actually inspired me to write for the first time in a millennia and while I’m a bit late to the party and very nervous, I really wanted to make my own version of the story on top of expressing my opinions. So here we go!

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I don’t like Butch like most people in the Phandom but I just want to preface this by saying that I think that his idea for a mysterious older sibling for Danny isn't a bad one, but the execution of it was very poor. The issues I mostly have of it is that it messes up some consistencies with the show, it has plot holes and instead of making Jack and Maddie slightly incompetent with people's safety, it makes them out to be negligible criminals.

A Summary Of The Original Story:

The original story went that they had 3 kids, Flynn Fenton (who's age was not disclosed but he might have been about 10), Jazz Fenton who was 4 at the time and Danny who was 2. Jack and Maddie had created a uncompleted Ghost Portal that Flynn had turned on, wandered too close to when it somehow started working and was subsequently grabbed by a mysterious ghost from the other end. The portal suddenly stopped working afterwards. Jack and Maddie found out about this after reviewing security footage in the lab, which they coincidentally didn't have when Danny had turned into a ghost.

After the whole incident, they hid the fact that Jazz and Danny had an older brother for years and take their time getting the portal to work again so they could save their son. Years pass and Jazz suddenly has a dream about Flynn and eventually confronts their parents over what happened and they tell their kids everything.

As for Flynn, Butch goes off in a tangent about a ghost who was responsible for the uprising and rebellion against Pariah Dark. I forget her name, but it was edgy and she honestly looks like a cartoon concept design for Thor's sister in Ragnarok, but if she had a Spiderman appeal to her.

Anyway, once Pariah was sealed away in the Sarcophagus of Forever Sleep, she wanted to rule the ghost zone fairly and with justice. Or something. However chaos ensued now that the ghosts were free to do as they please without Pariah's wrath hanging over their heads. Over time, trying to keep balance in the Ghost Zone took a toll on “Thor’s sister” and she one day stumbled across and open portal and saw Flynn on the other side. She essentially kidnapped him and raised him to be her soldier for justice. Like the Winter Soldier.

The logic for this was that humans have ghost powers in the Ghost Zone. I mean, yeah they can fly and phase through things, but it was never actually mentioned whether or not humans had super strength in it. But go off Butch. Then he goes on to explain that in some reference to the Ant Man movie, over time Flynn just sort of gained powers as he became "one with the Ghost Zone" and became a powerful protector called "Exodus." Then Fartman went on to mention it was a reference for a machine in the Halloween episode.

So yeah, eventually Danny finds him and they've kind of got that dynamic of "I think you're the bad guy in this situation" when they aren't and duke it out until Danny eventually convinces this dude they're related. Oh yeah and Flynn had no memories of his human life.

Gonna be honest, I might have misremembered a few things but it’s honestly close enough.

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The issues I have with this concept are as follows:

⦁ Jack and Maddie have essentially been the direct cause for 3 people being harmed (and sorta killed) in some way by their Ghost Portal experiments. This doesn't even border on negligible at this point. It basically is, especially considering they should have learned not to let Danny near their experiments after losing their first son.

⦁ They come off as criminals considering they hid all traces and knowledge of Flynn from Danny, Jazz and most likely all family members and didn't even report his disappearance. They even had cameras in their lab and that honestly puts across the idea that they disabled them in case one of their other kids gets hurt.

⦁ There's already a ghost who considers himself to be the law of the Ghost Zone and it would appear that Butch forgot he created Walker for that exact purpose.

⦁ The female character who was responsible for putting away Pariah Dark honestly isn't well fleshed out. She can imprison the most powerful ghost in existence but is essentially useless at stopping lesser ghosts from causing chaos? Even if she did have help, how exactly was she capable of such a feat to begin with?

⦁ This messes with the cannon a bit considering there are some plot holes that can't really mix well with the established story.

I saw some of these concerns were also mentioned by the Phandom. Giving Butch the benefit of the doubt here, I don't hate the concept but I think it needs to be worked on more. I've read about what some people's opinions were and at least the ones that gave real critiques had some good ideas. Like maybe making the sibling either Jack's or Maddie's and it would have helped with their obsession of ghosts.

I have my own plot hole filled ideas with how this could maybe be told better. I'm not a storywriter and this might come off a little edgy, but man I love coming up with ideas. So here's mine:

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My Story:

After the incident with Vlad, Maddie and Jack decide that their ghost hunting days are over and resolve to live a normal family life. They have their first son Flynn, who had solidified their decision to quit ghost hunting and settle. After a few years, Jazz and Danny were eventually born and it seemed they had the perfect life.

One day while vacationing in a wooded area (location can change), Flynn had wandered not too far from the camp. Then a flash of light suddenly burst in front of him and he could see a whole other world. Jack and Maddie were alerted to the sound and ran towards where it came from. They gasped at what they saw and knew exactly what Flynn was staring into; a ghost portal. 

Before they could yell for him to stay away, a hand suddenly reached out and pulled Flynn in, the portal immediately closing as soon as he entered. Maddie and Jack were devastated. No one believed them when they explained what happened to their son, and this incident became the catalyst for them to start their ghost hunting careers again.

They worked tirelessly for years to get the portal to work again. Jazz had eventually chalked up their obsession to being a coping mechanism because they couldn't handle the guilt of losing Flynn and were in denial that he was gone. Danny was more of a social outcast than ever because people assumed his parents had something to do with Flynn's disappearance.

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Now with regards to why Flynn was pulled into the Ghost Zone, I would actually like to think Clockwork played a hand in it. I watched the Blood of Zeus recently and I kind of wanted to play around with an idea that inspired this next part.

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Clockwork knows that Dark Dan was never going to stay imprisoned forever. The fact that he still exists, even outside of time, was an omen he needed to heed. So maybe he meddled with a few future possibilities. Maybe he tried to get Maddie and Jack to realise Ghost Hunting was something they shouldn't mess with after hurting Vlad, which led to their decision to settle for a family. Maybe... He wanted Flynn to exist for a purpose.

He was the one who pulled Flynn into the Ghost Zone. Clockwork told Flynn that he would be the key to saving the future from Dark Dan, but withheld information on who he really was until he was old enough. He taught him everything he needed to know on how to defeat Dark Dan and trained him over the years in combat.

Going off the idea that Danny is kind of really average in comparison to the rest of his family, Flynn is a technological prodigy. He created weapons that Vlad could only dream of creating and can utilise technology that puts Tucker to shame. Once he was old enough, Clockwork finally revealed who Dark Dan was and how he came to be.

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As for the fighting portion of everything, I'm honestly not too sure how I could go about writing it. Obviously they team up to destroy Dan for good and Flynn gets reunited with everyone. He might actually prefer to stay in the Ghost Zone and be Clockwork's assistant. Idk.

This is as far as I can go with regards to the story and it was super fun to write. Hope you guys enjoyed reading it too!

[dream-a-little-bigger-x]

Greaser Serpents | Part 1

A/N: Currently, I am infatuated with Sweet Pea from Riverdale and I have no clue why since he wasn’t in season 3 that much (also season 3 sucked, just saying), but I can’t seem to get this Serpent out of my head, so I decided, why not start writing imagines and one shots and fanfics about him? So, since I would LOVE to see Riverdale do Grease, I decided to write a mini-series myself. Where OC Luna Simmons, a clean-cut, dutiful Northsider is cast in the school musical as Sandy and the loyal, Northside-hating Serpent is cast as Danny. Somewhere between all the hate between the two, suddenly grows a little love too. 

Pairing: Sweet Pea x OC

Words: 2150

Warnings: none? 

Situated: somewhere during season 2, instead of Carrie: the musical. 

“I’m directing Grease for this year’s musical,” announces Kevin when they’re all sat in the lounge together before classes start. They all look up at him, a small smile playing on each of their lips. Between all the chaos of the black hood and the red circle and everything with Hiram Lodge, the gang could use some good news. Something to focus on outside of the drama.  “I so love you for that,” Luna says with a wide smile plastered on her face. Luna Simmons isn’t new to the gang. She’s lived in Riverdale from the day she was born, next door to the Coopers on Elm Street. She’s been through everything with these kids: Jason Blossom’s murder last year, Veronica joining the gang, the drugs going around, the Sugarman, the Black Hood. And now, when Southside High School has been closed down and Jughead is back at Riverdale High, so are some other troublemakers. To say she can’t stand most of the Serpents is the understatement of the year. Toni Topaz is the only one she can stand. The pinkhaired lady greets her in the hallways, and they sit together in English class. But for some reason, she really cannot stand Sweet Pea nor Fangs. They seem too aggressive for her liking. They always need to solve every problem with violence, and it’s just not Luna’s forte. Musicals, however, and especially Grease, is her forte.  “When are auditions?” Betty asks her best friend.  “No auditions needed, just tell me who you want to play, and I’ll think about it,” Kevin replies, knowing how talented all of his friends are. “The Serpents are doing sets and decor, Toni is doing choreography,” he explains further, sending a shiver down Luna’s spine just thinking about working with the Serpents.  “Per Weatherbee’s orders, I assume?” Veronica retorts. A chuckle erupts from Luna’s body. Kevin nods his head while scrunching up his nose.  “Oh yeah,” he replies. Luna already thinks about what she’s going to do when she’s playing either Marty or Frenchy. Because, let’s face it, she won’t get the role of Sandy. That one has Betty Cooper written all over it. But Luna would be grateful to play an iconic character like Marty or Frenchy. 

“Patty Simcox? Who the hell is Patty Simcox?” Cheryl screams when she sees the character line-up for the musical Kevin had posted on Monday morning. Luna, who just happened to pass by when Cheryl cried out, decides to take a look, just to see whether she got the role of Marty or Frenchy. But, when her eyes fall upon the top of the page where her name is written behind SANDY. Her eyes widen before they glance down to DANNY. Upon seeing the name of Sweet Pea, her stomach churns and her face heats up to the point of nearly exploding. She rips the paper off the board and storms into the lounge where she finds Kevin, Betty and Jughead on the sofas.  “I THOUGHT THE SERPENTS ONLY HELPED WITH SETS?!” she screams at the director, pushing the paper into his chest aggressively. “You know I can’t stand them, Kev, and you still paired me up with fucking Sweet Pea of all people!” she paces the room in a petty rage, instead of being happy she got a leading role.  “Listen, Lunes, I lacked a couple of actors and let’s be honest, Sweet Pea would be a perfect Danny,” Kevin reasons with her, staying calm.  “Kevin is right, Luna,” Betty agrees with him and Luna stops in her tracks to look at the girl-next-door. “Sweet Pea would be one hell of a Danny.” Just at that moment, Sweet Pea and Fangs enter the lounge too, stopping upon hearing the Serpent’s name. Luna makes eye contact with him, suddenly seeing him as Danny. Fuck, he would be a great Danny.  “Wait, what?” the boy asks, tilting his head a little.  “I casted you as Danny for the musical,” Kevin tells him and stands up to hand him the paper, “But since our Sandy over there ripped off the paper in a rage, no one really knows,” he points at Luna, glaring at her for a second.  “I’m not playing in a fucking musical,” Sweet Pea snarls, pushing the paper back into the director’s arms. “I said I would work on sets, not actually play in your stupid play.” the boy growls and walks over to the vending machine for a snack.  “It’s either this or being suspended, Sweet Pea,” Jughead warns him from his spot on the couch next to his girlfriend.  “Fine,” Sweet Pea growls, “But I’m not rehearsing any shit with her,” it sounds bitter coming from his mouth as he sends a glare towards Luna.  “The feeling’s mutual, dickhead,” Luna snarls before grabbing her bag and leaving the lounge, leaving her friends behind, still enraged. “I can’t believe that prick,” she mutters as she passes Toni in the hallway who just happened to pick up on that. She enters the lounge, finding the others, still a little agitated about what had just happened.  “Did a bomb explode here, or what did I miss?” she asks them with a chuckle.  “Sweet Pea landed the role of Danny Zuko,” Fangs explains with a proud smile and a proud pat on his best friend’s back, only to get a glare in return.  “I thought Serpents were only doing sets?” Toni asks, grabbing the character sheet from Kevin to see if she landed a role too.  “I lacked some actors, okay? I had no other choice,” Kevin answers, getting annoyed by everyone’s reactions to him enrolling some Serpents too.  “I’m playing Frenchy?” Toni asks, her eyes sparkling, “Dude, she’s iconic! Thank you!” that was the first grateful response he’s had since he posted the cast list.  “Did you give me a role too?” Fangs asks, grabbing the sheet from Toni.  “You’re Sonny,” Kevin replies with a little smile.  “Because I’m tiny?” Fangs asks, raising an eyebrow. Kevin opens his mouth, wanting to say something, but Fangs beat him to it, “I’m kidding, bro. Thanks!” he gives Kevin a toothy smile before handing him back the sheet.  “When’s the first rehearsal?” Betty asks.  “Tomorrow after school. I hope to see you all at the auditorium at four,” he says when the bell rings, signaling class will start soon. All of them scatter to their classes after bidding brief goodbyes. Some more genuine than the other. This is going to be interesting. 

“Okay, Summer Nights from the top!” Kevin says from his spot in the audience with his script in front of him. Neither Sweet Pea nor Luna are happy to be there, but at least they’re doing what Kevin asks of them.  “So, what you do this summer, Sandy?” Toni asks as her character while the instrumental begins to play already.  “Oh, I spent most of it at the beach. I met a boy there,” Luna says her line without gagging at the thought of that boy being Sweet Pea.  “You hauled all your cookies to the beach for some guy?” Veronica asks as Rizzo. The attitude and the sass match Veronica’s actual, real-life quirks.  “Aw, he was sort of special,” Luna replies with a little smile, acting like she actually likes the guy she’s talking about. In her mind, she was scoffing at herself. Sweet Pea? Special? No way. He was just some plain, aggressive boy that thinks he could intimidate girls with his tough looks.  “Please,” Veronica hauls Luna from her thoughts, “There ain’t no such thing.” “Oh, you haven’t met this boy. It was really romantic,” she turns to Toni who had come to sit next to her, hitting her marks Kevin had given her perfectly.  “Woah, woah,” Sweet Pea then goes as Danny when it’s his turn on the other side of the stage, “You guys really want to hear all the horny details,” Luna rolls her eyes at him absentmindedly, earning a giggle from Toni and a glare from Kevin. The boys surrounding Sweet Pea all cheer. Luna nearly vomits as she hears them speak, until the Serpent begins to sing his part. That’s when she internally melts. His voice sounds like Elvis Presley’s voice. Rough and sultry, causing her toes to tingle.  “Summer lovin’, had me a blast,”  “Summer lovin’, happened so fast,” Luna sings in time, shaking herself out of her gross thoughts. His voice might charm her, but him as a person certainly doesn’t.  “Met a girl, crazy for me,” “Met a boy, cute as can be,” she gets up from her chair now. Her knees nearly giving away as the two harmonize at the next part.  “Summer days drifting away to uh all the summer nights,” they sound so good together. Kevin is proud of himself for casting those to as main characters.  “Tell me more, tell me more,” the girls sing together while doing the choreography Toni had taught them in earlier rehearsals.  “Like does he have a car?” Betty sings as Marty, her voice sounding better than ever. Maybe Betty would be a better Marty than Luna ever could be. Maybe she should be happy with the role she got. And to be fair, even doing this number all week long is actually fun. Seeing it come all together, becoming better and better every day they rehearsed. It’s something Luna could’ve only ever dreamed about. Hell, she dreamed about being Sandy all her life since she first saw the old movie classic with Betty when they were younger.  The music slows down as the cast is nearing the end of the song, Luna hops off the table she was sitting on and Sweet Pea gets off the stands he and the boys were dancing on.  “It turned colder, that’s where it ends,” Luna sings softly, her voice sending shivers down Kevin’s spine as he smiles up at her, proud of his friend.  “So, I told her, we’d still be friends,”  “Then we made our true love vows.” “Wonder what she’s doing now,” Sweet Pea sings, looking out into the distance.  “Summer dreams, ripped at the seams, but ... oh... Those summer...” both sing together, harmonizing perfectly and then even hitting the high note perfectly. “Niiiiiiiights”. Luna wraps her arms around herself, panting a little after using most of her breath intake for that one note. Kevin’s applause rips her out of her thoughts, and she glances over at Sweet Pea, who’s already looking at her with a soft smile on his face.  “That was amazing, you guys! Chills, literal chills!” Kevin says from his spot. “Let’s take that from the top one more time!” and they did. They rehearse that exact scene for a couple more hours until Kevin finally calls it a day. The entire cast is exhausted from all the dancing, but they’re quite chuffed with themselves as it sounds better each and every time. “Hey,” a voice makes Luna snap out of her thoughts as she’s packing up her stuff. She looks up to find Sweet Pea standing in front of her. In place of that intimidating glare he always put on, he now has a sweet, tender smile on his face and his eyes look a little lighter for once. A little less dark. “Just wanted to tell you that you did a really great job,” he compliments, stunning her a little. She didn’t expect that. Not from him anyways. Not at all. Luna Simmons is at a loss for words all at once. Only from one simple glance and one simple compliment. “T-Thanks,” she stutters, “Uhm, you too, Sweet Pea,” she fires back with a little, confused smile. The boy in front of her chuckles, his eyes glancing at the hardwood floor beneath their feet for a split second before looking up to her again. “Maybe we should uhm, you know, rehearse together sometime,” he suggests, pointing his script at her in an awkward and weird way. At least she’s not the only one feeling awkward about this entire interaction. She looks at him for a moment; did he really just ask her that? “Uhm, yeah, sure,” she replies, her eyebrows tugging together for a moment in confusion. “See you around, Zuko,” she bids her goodbyes with a little smirk at the nickname. Sweet Pea laughs lightly, causing Luna’s stomach to flutter for some bizarre reason. She turns around to walk away from the boy and finally head home. She’s ready for a hot bath and a good chick-flick. Maybe she should watch Grease tonight. “See you around, Sandy,” Sweet Pea calls behind her. Yep, she should definitely watch Grease tonight. She casts one last glance to her co-cast member before exiting the auditorium, excited for the next rehearsal with him. And maybe, just maybe, she should take him up on the offer to rehearse together. The boy doesn’t seem that bad after all.

[5hfanfiction]

Yes

Summary:  According to Dinah, Lauren is stuck in a rut after her break up. Dinah sets her a challenge: say ‘yes’ to everything for 24 hours. Lauren doesn’t expect that three letter word to lead her to Camila.

Or,

The one where Lauren is the worst co-worker ever.

You can also find this on Wattpad and ao3 (@HereNowReady)

Yes

“Lauren! Stop being a loser!” Dinah yelled from the kitchen, “Come help me.”

Lauren rolled her eyes, sighing as she got up from the sofa, book still in hand, “Seriously, I only have like 20 pages left to read. You have the worst timing.” She got up and wandered through to the kitchen, deciding to be nice and see what her friend needed help with.

As she strolled through the door, her eyes widened. It was chaos. Flour was coating practically every surface and ingredients were scattered haphazardly across the counter.

“So… I sort of messed up,” Dinah said while giving her sweetest smile, hoping her housemate would see the funny side and help her out.

Lauren smirked, “You don’t say.”

“I just want to get this right… It’s Mani’s birthday and I can’t let her down. This cake has to be perfect! I have no idea what I’m doing and I’m totally messing it all up,” Dinah sighed, running a hand through her hair and, in the process, adding yet another streak of flour into it.

“Hey, stop stressing!” Lauren smiled warmly, putting an arm around her friend, “Look… Mani will love whatever hideous cake you create. Want to know why?”

Dinah nodded and gave a small smile.

“Because it’s you. Dinah, that girl is so crazy about you. You could show up with the world’s worst cake, burnt to hell and she would think it was the sweetest thing anyone had ever done for her.” Lauren playfully pushed her friend, “Now, get your act together.”

“Okay, okay!” Dinah grinned, “Thanks for the ego boost.”

“You don’t normally need it… Need to take a selfie to make yourself feel better?” Lauren suggested, grabbing a handful of flour and smearing it on Dinah’s face, “There. Now, you’re looking perfect.”

“Screw you, Jauregui.” Dinah yelled, throwing a fistful of flour at Lauren, who attempted to dodge her way around the kitchen and out of Dinah’s aim, “You know what? I am going to take a selfie! I still look hot.” Dinah grabbed her phone and proceeded to take at least 10 selfies, “What are you reading anyway, nerd?”

Lauren laughed, “It’s called 'Yes Man’. It’s by Danny Wallace.”

“That’s a movie, right? With that person from New Girl?” Dinah said as she scrolled through her phone and looked at the cake recipe again.

Lauren nodded, “The book is way better though.”

“Doesn’t that guy decide he’s going to say yes to everything? Like, no matter what?” Dinah asked, grabbing an egg and attempting to crack it with one hand. After about a quarter of the shell joined the rest of the cake ingredients, Dinah looked at Lauren for assistance, “Added crunch?”

“Move it, Hansen.” Lauren said, fishing the pieces of shell out easily, “And yeah, that’s basically what the book is about. He’s gone through a break up and he’s sort of stuck in a rut. Anyway, he decides he’s going to start saying yes to everything. If he gets asked a question that needs a yes or no answer then he has to say yes. So, if someone invites him for a night out or a girl asks for his number, he has to agree. It’s a real story too and he did it for a whole year.”

“That’s dumb,” Dinah snorted, “Imagine how much of a pain in the ass that would be.” She grabbed the spoon and began mixing the dubious looking mixture in the bowl. After stirring for a few seconds, she dropped the spoon dramatically, looking at Lauren with excitement.

“Oh god. I don’t think this is going to be good,” Lauren said with uncertainty, knowing all too well that the look currently occupying her friend’s face was one that usually led to terrible ideas.

“You should do it!”

“Do it?” Lauren raised an eyebrow in confusion, smirking. “Dinah, if you mean sex, I hate to break it to you but I’ve already done it with Lucy, remember?” She laughed.

Dinah rolled her eyes, “So we’re allowed to talk about 'she-who-must-not-be-named’ now?”

“Don’t be so dramatic! It’s been months…”

“Lauser, you are the one who banned all discussion of her after you guys broke up,” Dinah smirked, “Anyway, back to the point. No, I don’t mean sex. I mean you should do it… Say yes to everything!”

Lauren shook her head dramatically, “Hell no. You literally just said it would be a pain in the ass!”

“Oh, come on! Since Laucy ended, you’ve been so boring!!” Dinah threw her hands up, causing some flour to fly through the air, “This is just what you need! You need to have some fun.”

“Saying yes to everything is really not my idea of fun…” Lauren replied, shaking her head once more.

Dinah rolled her eyes, “Whatever, Lauren. But you’ve been avoiding things way too much. Plus, you said that guy started doing it after a break up. It’s perfect. I’m serious! When you’re not at work or class, you’re stuck here like a loner. You never come out with us anymore. You need to have fun again!”

“Reading is fun!” Lauren insisted, picking up her book in an attempt to both stop the conversation and prove her point all at once. After a few seconds, she looked up and saw Dinah still staring at her, “What?”

Dinah attempted to use her best puppy dog eyes to break her friend’s resolve, “You know what. C'mon, Lauren… You just have to say yes!”

Lauren sighed and put her book down on the counter yet again. Maybe if she just agreed, Dinah would shut up. Dinah wouldn’t even know if she stuck to their stupid deal anyway. Maybe she’d bend the rules a little and just say yes to most things. “Fine. But I’m only doing it for 24 hours.”

Dinah squealed and punched the air in victory, “Yes! I didn’t think you’d agree. Okay, so your 24 hours start at midnight.”

“Why midnight? Why not now?”

“Because shit always starts at midnight in stories and stuff. Duh.” Dinah grinned and happily went back to her recipe, grabbing the ingredients with far too much enthusiasm for Lauren.

Lauren picked up her book, determined to finish it without Dinah interrupting once more. As she began to read, she wondered what the hell she’d just gotten herself into. Surely nothing too crazy could happen in 24 hours, could it?

—

The day started just like every other Wednesday. Lauren showered and got ready for her lecture, stopping off at her favourite coffee place on the way.

“Would you like to try our new blend of coffee today?” the barista asked after Lauren had ordered, smiling way too much for that time in the morning.

Lauren was about to say no, when she suddenly remembered her deal with Dinah. Did she actually want to try this new blend of coffee? No. She liked the one she always had. But she figured this was an easy yes, nothing too dramatic. Maybe the new blend would be better, she told herself unconvincingly, “Erm, yeah. Sure.”

“And would you like to upgrade to a large coffee this morning?”

Lauren cursed inwardly then attempted to relax herself. More caffeine might be helpful. After all, she was still pretty tired and her Wednesday morning lecture was one of her more boring ones. She smiled politely, replying with the only response she was allowed to use, “Yes.”

The barista smiled warmly, “Wonderful. Can I get you anything else? A breakfast bar?”

Lauren took a deep breath and prayed that this would be the last question the barista asked her, “Sure. I’ll take a breakfast bar as well.”

Lauren seized her opportunity to end the conversation, swiftly handing over a ten dollar note and waiting for her change

She wandered to the end of the counter, waiting for her order patiently and clutching the breakfast bar that she didn’t really want. She went back to the same thought she’d had last night when Dinah had suggested this whole thing… did she have to say yes to everything? After all, Dinah wasn’t around… She would never know. Lauren sighed at herself, she knew she was too competitive for her own good. Now that she’d started this deal, she knew she’d have to stick to it. After all, if she was going to do this, she was going to do it properly.

Anyway, Lauren reasoned with herself, it hadn’t been that bad so far. So she’d ended up with a slightly larger (and slightly different) coffee and a breakfast bar. That was no big deal. She took her first sip of coffee, smiling unexpectedly as she realised the new coffee blend was actually pretty good after all.

Feeling more positive than she had 5 minutes ago, Lauren opened the door and continued on the way to her lecture, taking a bite of her breakfast bar as she went. She had a good feeling about this whole saying yes thing. Maybe it wouldn’t even be that hard.

That thought had barely finished playing in her mind when her phone rang.

It was her boss.

“Hello,” Lauren said - her positivity only slightly ruined as she attempted to balance her breakfast bar and phone in one hand, while her coffee was clutched in her other.

“Hey, Lauren. Sorry to bother you on your day off but I was wondering if you could work tonight? Jacob’s called in sick.”

Lauren ran her hand through her hair in frustration. Wednesday was karaoke night at the bar and she hated working on karaoke night. As someone majoring in music, she found the whole thing frustrating. Anybody with any real talent sang on a Friday at Open Mic Night. Wednesday’s karaoke night saw so many songs being murdered that it was practically a crime against the music industry. Her boss knew how much she hated it and she knew that he wouldn’t be asking her to work unless he was desperate.

“Can you make it?” her boss’ voice rang in her ears, making her realise she was yet to answer.

Lauren took a deep breath and prepared herself for the answer she knew she had to give, “Yes. Yes, I can make it. Shall I get there for 9?”

“That’s perfect! Thanks so much, Lauren. You’re a lifesaver,” he thanked her once more before hanging up the phone.

Lauren was quickly beginning to hate her deal with Dinah. She decided to take out her frustration on the girl that had caused all of this in the first place.

Lauren: I hate you. Thanks to you, I had to say yes to working tonight. I thought you said saying yes would make me have more fun.

Dinah: HAHAHA!

Lauren: You’re an asshole.

Dinah: You love me really. Maybe something awesome will happen tonight and if not you’ll have extra money. It’ll be worth it, you’ll see. Any good yes experiences so far, Lauser?

Lauren: I have a large coffee instead of a regular… and a breakfast bar. Did I mention I have to go to work tonight now too?

Dinah: Ooh a breakfast bar. Damn. I’m hungry now.

Lauren: Oh my god, you’re so annoying.

Dinah: Love you too!

Groaning in frustration, Lauren shoved her phone into her pocket. She prayed that the rest of her day would be uneventful and devoid of more irritating 'yes’ moments.

—

It was all going so well. The most eventful moments of the rest of her morning consisted of Lauren having to lend someone a pen and move up one seat for somebody. She reasoned that, in the grand scheme of things, she’d got off pretty lightly. Her bad mood was fading and she was beginning to feel hopeful again that things wouldn’t be so bad. That was until she overheard a few of her classmates discussing where they were going to get lunch.

She made the fatal error of lifting her head in their direction, a subconscious movement as her head followed the new sounds around her. As she made eye contact with one of them, she instantly regretted it.

“Lauren!” Brad said, smiling far too much for Lauren’s liking. He’d been trying to get her to hang out with them since the year had begun and it was quite clear he had a crush on her, “Do you wanna join us for lunch?”

She vaguely knew Brad, and he was harmless enough, but she had no interest in having lunch with him and his friends, especially when she knew he had feelings for her. But now, thanks to Dinah Jane Hansen, she was stuck.

“Uh…” She took a deep breath and prepared herself as she wondered if there was any possible way to word her reply so that it wasn’t a definitive 'yes’. She knew she’d already paused for too long, “Actually, yeah. But, don’t worry if not. I’d hate to crash.”

Brad was clearly caught off guard, not expecting her to say yes at all. It only took him a few seconds to flash a smile at her, “Great! I mean, yeah, you can totally join us.”

Lauren smiled weakly then turned away, gathering up her things. She clenched her fist quickly, her knuckles turning white as she tried to relieve some of her aggravation. She had a tendency to get easily frustrated. That was just her temperament. She counted to three slowly in her head, unclenched her fist and tried to convince herself that this wasn’t so bad. After all, she was hungry. It had been a long time since she’d finished that breakfast bar. Food wouldn’t be so bad. She could make this work.

—

A couple of hours later, Lauren was smiling and waving goodbye to her classmates. Sure, Brad had been a bit annoying but the rest of the people there were actually really nice and, since there was a fairly big group of them, she’d successfully managed to avoid talking to Brad much at all. It occurred to her that perhaps she should have made an effort to get to know them sooner. She headed to her next lecture of the day, trying to forget that she had to work later on.

The rest of the day, thankfully, passed uneventfully. Lauren had a few more 'yes’ moments but nothing overly annoying. Grateful for her easy afternoon, she headed back to the apartment to grab some food and get ready for work.

Just as she was about to leave, she heard the front door open and Dinah’s voice echo through the apartment.

“Lauren! You still here?”

“Yeah, hang on, I’m coming,” Lauren yelled, putting her leather jacket on, grabbing her phone and heading into the main room.

Dinah smiled, “So, how’s it going?”

Checking she had everything in her bag, Lauren replied, “Actually, not that bad. I think it could have been worse. Apart from having to work, I’ve been pretty lucky. I had lunch with some people from my lecture and it was actually…”

“Fun?” Dinah finished her sentence, her face practically screaming, 'I told you so’.

Lauren rolled her eyes, “Just because lunch wasn’t awful it does not mean you’re right about this saying yes thing, Dinah. If I wasn’t doing your dumb challenge, I wouldn’t have to work.”

“I’m telling you, it’s all going to be good. I have a feeling about this.”

Lauren groaned, picking up her bag and heading towards the door, “You would. You’re not the one saying yes!”

“You’ve just gotta embrace it, Lauren, instead of being a grumpy old woman,” Dinah smirked, “It’s only until midnight. Embrace the yes!

"If anything bad happens tonight, you’d better sleep with one eye open, Hansen,” Lauren mumbled, closing the door and heading back out into the terrifying world of potential 'yes’ moments.

—

Lauren had only been at work about thirty minutes and she was already feeling frustration rising. Every little job ended up being completed by her, because - of course - she wasn’t allowed to say no. On top of that, her ears felt like they were bleeding due to the hideous rendition of 'Total Eclipse of the Heart’ she’d just had to endure.

About an hour into her shift, Ally arrived. Lauren breathed a sigh of relief. She loved working with Ally. She, Dinah and Ally had all gone to the same high school and had been friends for years. Although Ally was older than them, they’d reconnected after high school and found themselves working in the same bar. The older girl’s enthusiasm was infectious and she never failed to make Lauren smile.

Ally joined her behind the bar, practically bouncing as she walked. Lauren felt instant relief and happiness spreading through her body. Ally smiled as she took her spot at the left side of the bar, “Hey, Lauren! Can you pass me that bucket of ice, please?”

“Yes!” Lauren said happily. It was one of the few 'yes’ moments of the night that she hadn’t found herself annoyed about, “How are you? I wasn’t looking forward to this shift at all but I’m so glad I’m working with you!”

“You’re so sweet!” Ally smiled, grabbing the bucket of ice from Lauren. As she did, the phone behind the bar began to ring, “Hey, Lauren, can you grab that?”

“Sure,” Lauren said, a tiny hint of annoyance in her voice. Why did she have to get the phone? Dan was closer to it anyway. Regardless, she answered and was quickly done and back to the front of the bar.

As Lauren made eye contact with Ally, the older girl looked away quickly. Lauren furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. What was going on?

“Could you pass me some clean shot glasses, please?” Ally asked, pointing to the stack of glasses right next to her.

Lauren was confused. There were at least twenty clean shot glasses right next to Ally. Why did she need more right now? The bar wasn’t even busy yet. Feeling irritated, she grabbed some shot glasses (after all, she couldn’t exactly say no) and held them out towards her friend. She noticed that Ally looked nervous. Far too slowly, the cogs turned and everything clicked into place.

“Dinah fucking told you! Allyson, you’ve been making me say yes this whole time!”

Ally breathed a sigh of relief, “I am so glad you realised. I am so sorry! I tried to be obvious…”

“Yeah, yeah, Brooke,” Lauren narrowed her eyes but as soon as she looked at Ally’s face she couldn’t help but laugh. The older girl looked so worried, “Calm down, Ally! How could I be mad with you? You’re like a ball of sunshine. Besides, your shitty acting meant this didn’t exactly last long.”

“Dinah told me to do it but then as soon as I started I felt so bad!” Ally’s word blurted out at the speed of light.

Lauren laughed, “Well, you can relax. Rules are that people that know about me saying yes aren’t allowed to take advantage. So, we both win. I can actually say no to you, and you don’t have to feel bad!”

Ally breathed a sigh of relief and Lauren saw her friend visibly relax. She laughed to herself and carried on with the meaningless jobs she was doing. Although she hated karaoke night, she found herself wishing the bar was a little busier. At least then she’d have more to do.

Dan had asked if she’d mind re-stocking all the fridges and she found herself saying 'yes’ with far too much enthusiasm. Keeping busy would only help make her shift pass by quicker. About half an hour later, the bar was getting more crowded. Unfortunately, that meant there were more performances to endure.

Lauren inwardly cringed as, yet another, flat note echoed through the air. Fortunately, that particular flat note was the last note of the song and Lauren exhaled loudly (for what was perhaps the fifth time in the last minute) as the guy singing left the stage - although calling those noises 'singing’ seemed pretty generous.

“Thank fuck that’s over…” Lauren mumbled to herself, rubbing her forehead to try and ease the slight headache that was forming.

Suddenly, she heard a gentle laugh coming from behind her and she quickly turned around. Embarrassingly, the first thought in her mind was that the sound of that laugh was the best melody she’d heard all night. Her eyes found the source of the sound and the strange rush that was coursing through her veins only intensified. If she’d thought the sound of that laughter was beautiful, she had no words to describe the girl sat just a few meters away.

The most intoxicating brown eyes she’d ever seen were staring right at her. Lauren swallowed, unsure of why her body was reacting so strongly to so little. Her gaze lowered and she was met with an adorable grin. Her stomach flipped uncontrollably.

“Hey, Lauren, are you alright to stay over there and serve on that side?” Dan asked, motioning to the area where Lauren’s eyes were already fixated.

Unlike other times that day, Lauren had no problem with the word she was about to utter, “Yes.”

She made her way over and closer to those brown eyes that seemed to be staring straight into her soul.

“It sounds like you enjoyed that guy’s performance as much as me,” the girl said, smirking and gesturing towards the stage.

It took Lauren too long to even process what the girl had said. She was far too distracted by her voice, her eyes, her lips…

Mentally chastising herself, she cleared her throat and attempted to bring herself back down to Earth. She ran a hand through her hair, hoping her nerves weren’t too obvious. Why the hell was she nervous anyway? Why was she losing her shit over this girl?

She needed a distraction and grabbed a glass, cleaning it as she spoke, smiling as she finally responded, “I don’t know what you mean. It was the highlight of my day.”

“Wow. The rest of your day must have been terrible then.”

The girl laughed again and, once more, Lauren found herself feeling way too much all at once. She put the glass down and made her way over to the front of the bar until she was stood right in front of the girl. Instantly, she wasn’t sure if that had been a good decision. The girl was even more stunning up close. Lauren attempted to avert her gaze, aware that her eyes had already been focused on the stranger in front of her for too long.

Lauren was trying to verbalise a response when her eyes locked onto brown ones. She swore that those brown eyes had just glanced down at her lips, but she shook it off. After all, she had to be imagining things.

Before she had chance to even respond, the girl was speaking again and Lauren felt frustration that she hadn’t even managed to come up with a decent reply. Confidence wasn’t normally something she struggled with but something about this stranger had her completely thrown.

“Maybe I can help make your day better though,” the girl with the brown eyes said softly, a gentle smile playing on her lips.

Lauren’s mouth was suddenly and inexplicably as dry as the Sahara desert. She barely managed to stutter out her next sentence, “Oh… I mean… H-how will you do that, then?”

“Well, first, I’ll order a drink and that can at least distract you from the awful sounds that are coming out of the speakers,” the girl said simply, her fingers gliding smoothly across the surface of the bar and forming small circular patterns.

Lauren grinned, “How kind of you…”

She let her sentence hang in the air, hoping the mystery girl would understand her intentions.

“Camila.”

“Camila,” Lauren repeated, letting her tongue wrap around the name as she said it aloud for the first time, “Well, Camila, what drink can I get you?”

“A vodka and cranberry, please…” Camila smirked as she copied Lauren’s method and let her sentence hang in the air deliberately unfinished.

“Erm… Lauren,” she rolled her eyes at herself as she turned away from Camila to grab a glass. Why was she incapable of talking to this girl without stuttering and stumbling over her words?

“Thanks, Erm Lauren,” Camila said, taking the drink and handing Lauren a ten dollar note.

Lauren’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion but, after a few seconds, she laughed and shot a playful glare at Camila. She shrugged, “I’ve been called worse names.”

She turned away, retrieving Camila’s change from the cash register. Before she returned to the front of the bar, she took a deep breath, steadying her nerves, “So, since you’re enjoying these performances as much as I am, what’s your excuse for subjecting yourself to this? I mean, I have no choice. I have to be here.”

The unmistakeable sound of 'Skyscraper’ began to fill the air and Lauren inwardly cringed. She’d heard that song being sung badly at least 3 times already that night.

She passed Camila her change and her stomach flipped as their fingers softly brushed together. She pulled her hand away slowly, wanting to prolong the electrifying feeling that was dominating her body due to their contact.

“Maybe I’m just a masochist,” Camila’s voice was soft and low, her eyes fixating on Lauren’s as she spoke. She winked as she said, “You know, hearing Demi Lovato songs being murdered really turns me on.”

“Demi would be turning in her grave listening to this shit,” Lauren laughed, her head turning towards the stage briefly. It didn’t take long for her eyes to return to Camila.

Camila giggled, and, as the sound reached her ears, Lauren was entirely unprepared for the sudden surge that filled her entire body, “Lauren, you are aware that Demi Lovato isn’t dead, right?”

Lauren rolled her eyes, unable to hold in a smile as her name left Camila’s lips. This time, she was absolutely sure Camila’s gaze wandered to her lips and, as she looked back up, Lauren saw her gently bite her bottom lip. That was all Lauren needed to gain a sudden burst of confidence. “Anyway, Camila, how else are you going to make my day better? You said that the first thing was ordering a drink. Do you want another by the way? You’ve pretty much finished that one.”

Camila nodded, her fingers twirling the straw around in her practically empty glass, “That would be good.”

Lauren wasted no time, returning with the drink in record time. Her speed was mostly due to her desire to return to Camila as soon as possible but also because she didn’t want to be forced into any more 'yes’ moments by being around her co-workers for too long.

She placed the drink down in front of Camila with a playful smirk. She leaned against the bar, bringing herself just that little bit closer to the girl in front of her, “You didn’t answer my question, Camila.”

Camila raised an eyebrow, “Surely, my amazing conversational skills are improving your day, Lauren. This is a quality chat we’re having right now, you know. I don’t give those out to just anyone.”

Lauren laughed, “Well, I’m honoured, Camila.”

“You can call me, Mila, by the way… If you want. My friends call me that.” Camila said, bringing her drink up to her lips.

“We’re friends now?” Lauren deliberately widened her eyes, maintaining eye contact with Camila as she smirked slightly and ran a hand through her hair. This time it wasn’t out of nerves, but confidence.

As she stretched her arm upwards, she could’ve sworn Camila’s eyes lowered, checking out the hint of stomach that showed as Lauren’s t-shirt lifted above the waistband of her black skinny jeans. All too soon, Lauren’s hand was lowered and the moment was over. Lauren ran her tongue along her bottom lip before she decided to continue teasing the girl in front of her. Her voice came out lower than she expected, her raspy tones even stronger than usual, “We’re moving pretty fast here, don’t you think?”

A delicate shade of pink was suddenly present in Camila’s cheeks and Lauren felt her heart soaring at the sight. Lauren took advantage of Camila’s flustered state and spoke again, “Mila? Hmm… I don’t know. I might think of my own name for you. After all, maybe I don’t want to be like your friends. Maybe I’d like to be something different.”

It was evident that Camila’s momentary lapse of confidence was over as she locked eyes with Lauren’s green ones and began to run her thumb over her bottom lip. Her thumb was quickly replaced with her teeth as she gently tugged on her own lip. After a few seconds, which was more than enough to cause Lauren’s heart to hammer in her chest, Camila spoke slowly. Each word seemed to be spoken with utter precision, each syllable beautifully accentuated, “What exactly would you like to be then?”

Lauren stuttered slightly, too distracted by the way Camila’s voice had caused her body to feel as though it was burning up. If she were to spontaneously combust at this very moment, she wouldn’t have been surprised. How was it possible for someone she barely even knew to elicit such a strong reaction? Before she’d had a chance to contemplate the answer, she heard a voice calling out her name.

She looked over her shoulder to see Ally gesturing to the queue of people at the bar, an apologetic look in her eyes. She’d clearly tried to avoid getting Lauren’s attention before but there were now far too many people for Ally to serve by herself. Lauren wondered how she hadn’t even noticed such a large queue building up. Rolling her eyes at herself, she realised the answer was stood in front of her wearing a tight black dress. Camila.

“I have to…” she gestured at the queue before asking hopefully, “Do you… I mean… Will you still be here in a few minutes? I still have to come up with my own name for you after all.”

“That’s true,” Camila lifted her glass, draining the last few drops of her drink, “Maybe.”

Whilst Lauren had found herself getting fed up of the word 'yes’ earlier, she would’ve given anything to hear that one word leave Camila’s lips right now, “Maybe?”

Camila nodded, her voice practically purring out her words, “Maybe. You better get back to work, Lo.”

Lauren raised her eyebrow, “Lo?”

“I don’t waste time. Better get thinking of that name.” Camila nodded her head in the direction of Ally, who was clearly struggling to keep up with the crowd around the bar, “You really should go. I’d hate to get you into trouble.”

Lauren walked across to the other side of the bar to help Ally. She tried to focus on the customers as they gave her their orders but all she could really think about was how she really wouldn’t care how much trouble she got in as long as Camila was the cause of it.

It momentarily occurred to her that, if Dinah heard about any of this, she would never hear the end of it. After all, saying 'yes’ seemed to be leading Lauren down a pretty good path right now.

Between the two of them, Lauren and Ally managed to handle the queue of people with ease. After about 10 minutes of constantly serving, the queue was almost non-existent. Lauren glanced across the bar and found a distinct gap right where Camila had been previously. She was gone.

“Fuck…” Lauren muttered, unaware of why she was so bothered that Camila had disappeared. After all, she barely knew her.

Ally noticed her friend’s frown, “Are you alright, Lauren?”

Lauren rubbed her forehead, shaking her head briefly in an attempt to clear her mind. Looking at her friend, she nodded but she knew it was less than convincing, “Erm, yeah. Yeah, I’m fine.”

Another song ended and there was a small scattering of applause. Lauren hadn’t even registered what song had been sung but she was sure that it probably didn’t deserve the polite applause that was ringing around the bar.

She was about to ask Ally if she’d seen where Camila had gone when her attention was diverted as the next song began to play through the speakers. It was far too familiar and not a song that she’d ever expected to hear at karaoke night. The gentle sounds of Ed Sheeran’s acoustic guitar echoed in the air. This had always been one of her favourite songs but she was used to the fact that people usually didn’t know it. After all, it wasn’t one of his famous tracks.

A few seconds later, a voice began to accompany the backing track and Lauren was sure she had never heard anything so heavenly before. It was as though everything else disappeared as the voice filled her ears. She quickly spun around, needing to see the person who was singing. Her mind was racing, already forming a guess that she knew was far too hopeful. Surely, it had to just be wishful thinking…

Without even thinking, she stepped out from behind the bar, barely even hearing Ally calling after her. As she turned the corner, familiar brown eyes looked down at her from the stage and Lauren felt as though she was frozen to the spot. Camila smiled shyly at her as their eyes met and focused fully on each other’s. Lauren’s breath caught in her throat as the sound of Camila’s voice seemed to reverberate through her entire being.

You and I  We’re drifting over the edge

Lauren found herself fixated on the way Camila’s voice twisted and turned around the melodies, effortlessly rising and falling in what sounded like perfection. Her heart felt like it was beating so loudly that the whole bar was bound to hear it. If karaoke night was like this all the time, Wednesdays were Lauren’s new favourite day.

The rest of the song seemed to pass in a blur and it took Lauren far too long to realise the song had ended. The applause around her brought her back down to Earth and, as she crash landed back into reality, disappointment began to flood through her because Camila’s song was over and, if she had one wish, she’d ask to rewind and relive the last 3 minutes all over again. It was as though she’d been soaring through the clouds and she’d suddenly hit the ground with a loud thud. She’d give anything to fly again.

“Thank you,” Camila said as she stepped towards the microphone again, her gaze never leaving Lauren. She smiled before adding, “Hopefully that helped to make a certain person’s day even better.”

Lauren was powerless to stop the massive grin that she was sure was spreading across her face. Besides, she wasn’t sure she wanted to stop it.

It occurred to Lauren that with the physical barrier of the bar gone, this was her chance to get closer to Camila and actually talk to her without a huge structure in the way. She smiled as she realised that for the first time in a long time she had a rush of excitement coursing through her veins. Maybe Dinah had been right. Since everything had ended with Lucy, she hadn’t really allowed herself to make any new or meaningful connections. She’d stopped trying.

Maybe now was the time to fix that.

Camila had sparked something inside her and Lauren knew that she couldn’t end the night without at least trying to see if that spark was worth pursuing.

Lauren moved towards the stage, reaching the bottom of the steps just as Camila began descending them. Lauren pretended not to notice Camila’s brief stumble on the second step.

Brown eyes met hers and Camila laughed, “I can sing on a stage with no problems but apparently I can’t walk down stairs without almost falling on my ass.”

“It’s alright. It was actually pretty cute,” Lauren said quietly, although, judging by Camila’s smile, her words had been heard. Exuding more confidence than she actually had, Lauren walked up to meet her halfway down the stairs, holding out her hand, “Need assistance?”

Camila looked pleasantly surprised, accepting the outstretched hand quickly. Lauren’s first thought was similar to that of a feeling of inevitability or fate. Camila’s hand felt so right in her own. It was as though they’d been doing this their whole lives. Lauren felt a blush spreading across her face at the speed of light. She hoped Camila wouldn’t notice.

“You were incredible, by the way. I loved your song choice,” Lauren said softly, hoping if she continued the conversation that Camila wouldn’t mention the ridiculously obvious redness covering her cheeks.

“Thanks. It’s one of my favourite songs,” Camila smiled warmly, “I’m glad you liked it. After all, I did say I’d try and make your day better. It sort of would’ve sucked if you’d hated it.”

They left the final step and began moving through the vague crowd surrounding the stage. Lauren realised that there was no need for their hands to still be connected, but made no move to separate them. 'What Makes You Beautiful’ began playing and Lauren noticed a smile spreading across Camila’s face.

Lauren laughed, “Don’t tell me you’re a One Direction fan?”

“I’m not even ashamed,” Camila said, shrugging her shoulders, “Come on, you can’t tell me you don’t like this song! It’s so catchy!”

Lauren sighed softly, “I’m totally losing cool points but, yeah, it is pretty catchy.”

“What cool points?” Camila smirked, giggling gently.

Gasping, Lauren clutched at her heart dramatically, “That hurt, Camz.”

Camila raised her eyebrow, “Camz?”

“Yep,” Lauren nodded, “Camz.”

After a few seconds, Camila nodded her head in approval and smiled, “Not bad, Lo. I like it. Dance with me?”

Lauren looked back at the bar. It wasn’t that busy and her co-workers didn’t seem to need her but she definitely shouldn’t be abandoning them for longer than she already had. If her boss found out, he definitely wouldn’t be impressed. Then again, it wasn’t like she was actually allowed to say no… Dinah had made it very clear that their deal didn’t end until midnight and right now it was 11:45pm. Technically, there was only one response she was allowed to give.

Camila followed the direction of Lauren’s gaze and she spoke again before Lauren could reply, “I actually forgot you were working. Of course you can’t dance with me…”

But Lauren knew the rules. The question had been asked and she had to say yes. Besides, there was nothing she wanted more than to say yes anyway. If she got in trouble with her boss, she had a feeling she wouldn’t really care. Some things were worth it.

She gently placed her hand on Camila’s cheek, directing her gaze away from the bar and back towards her, “Yes, I want to dance with you.”

Lauren’s heart felt like it leapt straight out of her chest when she saw Camila smile in response. She tried to ignore how ridiculous it was that she could be so irrevocably drawn to someone she’d only met that night.

Suddenly, her hand was being pulled and she was following Camila into the crowd. Lauren looked back at the bar quickly and saw Ally giving her a thumbs up. Clearly, her friend wasn’t too bothered about her sudden disappearance. She knew she’d have to return to the bar soon though. There was no way she could get away with this for long.

Lauren couldn’t help but grin as Camila sang along and danced excitedly to One Direction (well, a karaoke version of One Direction). She was word perfect and Lauren giggled at how endearing she found this whole moment. If this was a movie, she was sure the main characters would be having some sort of slow and romantic dance right now. Either that, or the air would be filled with sexual tension and body parts would be pressed so tightly that there was barely room to breathe. As she watched Camila, she couldn’t help but smile and it occurred to her that, in her opinion, she’d take real life over the movie version any day.

Without warning, Camila grabbed Lauren’s other hand and spun her round, placing a hand on her hip to stop her after a couple of turns. Lauren marvelled over Camila’s ability to go from being ridiculously sexy with her lip biting and intoxicating eyes, to being completely adorable.

Camila smiled, catching her breath, before allowing her other hand to reach Lauren’s hip as well. Camila’s hands moved upwards a fraction and softly connected with the skin just above her hips and Lauren was on fire again.

Her head was spinning and she never wanted it to stop. Just like that, the entire room seemed to fade away and Camila’s ridiculous dancing and endearing smiles were a thing of the past. Instead, all Lauren could feel was an inexplicable force that seemed to be pulling her even closer to the brown eyed girl who was mere centimeters away from her.

Lauren was so close she swore she was about to get lost in the dark brown ocean of Camila’s eyes. She stepped forward reasoning that if she was going to drown in those eyes, she may as well do it properly.

The sudden sound of applause broke the moment between them and, as though she’d been temporarily transported elsewhere the moment Camila’s hands had touched her skin, she was instantaneously brought back to reality. Both girls stepped backwards slightly and Camila’s hands fell back and hung by her side somewhat awkwardly. Lauren ran a hand through her hair, this time because of the nervous feeling that was swirling around uncontrollably in her stomach.

Camila was first to break the silence, “Lauren…”

Looking up, Lauren was met with a tentative smile and eyes that were becoming beautifully familiar. She felt her nervousness melt away.

“I want to ask you something. I might have totally misjudged this but I was wondering if maybe…” Camila trailed off, her eyes darting downwards as she inhaled deeply. As she looked back up and met Lauren’s gaze, she opened her mouth to speak again but was cut off by Lauren.

It occurred to Lauren that perhaps, just maybe, Camila was about to ask her out. Of course, that could just be wishful thinking. But, if she was correct, Lauren didn’t want it to happen like this.

“This is going to make me sound completely crazy,” Lauren began, hoping that she wasn’t about to entirely ruin what was easily one of the best nights of her life. She saw Camila’s smile falter and quickly grabbed her hand, hoping it would reassure her, “but whatever question you were about to ask me, could you ask me it in 9 minutes time?”

Confusion filled Camila’s face, “9 minutes?”

Lauren nodded. She knew it was a risk, but she wanted there to be only one reason why she was saying yes if Camila asked her out. No stupid rules or dares. She squeezed Camila’s hand gently, “Yeah. I just… I’ll explain later, I promise.”

Lauren’s eyes glanced over to Ally and she saw her friend gesture towards the main door of the bar. Her boss had just arrived.

She allowed her eyes to meet Camila’s again, silently praying that the girl in front of her would still be around in 9 minutes time. She spoke quickly, knowing she didn’t have much time to get back behind the bar before her boss started asking questions, “My boss just got here. I have to get back to the bar but…” She paused, taking a deep breath before she finished her sentence, “Stay?”

“Maybe,” Camila smirked. Lauren’s face fell as she got the same response she had earlier that evening. She knew Camila could see the disappointment in her eyes. Camila grinned, “I’m kidding. 9 minutes. I’ll be here.”

“I think it’s 8 minutes now,” Lauren shouted over her shoulder as she darted back towards the bar, a stupidly large smile plastered on her face.

The clock seemed to move excruciatingly slowly and Lauren was sure that time had slowed down on purpose just to annoy her.

7 minutes.

She glanced around far too often, checking that Camila was indeed still there. Every time she was met with the same sight: Camila sat on the same bar stool as before, watching her intently, a small smile tugging at the corner of her lips.

6 minutes.

Lauren could feel the tension building inside her. It was as though her stomach was riding a roller coaster and she had no way to stop it.

5 minutes.

A customer asked for a cocktail and she found herself feeling grateful. That would waste a couple of minutes at least. She grabbed the various bottles she needed and set them out on the side.

4 minutes.

As if on autopilot, Lauren mixed the various liquids together. She had no idea how the finished cocktail ended up in front of her because thoughts of Camila were clouding her mind entirely. Nevertheless, she handed the drink over to the waiting customer.

3 minutes.

Panic began to set in. What if Camila hadn’t even been planning on asking her out at all? What if she’d just been about to ask for another drink and now she was sat there waiting for 9 minutes just to order a goddamn vodka and cranberry?

2 minutes.

Fuck. She’d totally fucked up. This was going to be so embarrassing. Lauren wiped her palms on her jeans and told herself she was being ridiculous… She only partially believed herself.

1 minute.

Camila was looking at the clock behind the bar. Lauren’s eyes darted between the second hand, which was ticking around teasingly slowly, and Camila who was miraculously still sat there waiting for her.

Midnight.

Luck was on Lauren’s side. As the clock struck midnight, Lauren looked around and found no customers waiting by the side of the bar. Well, except one.

Camila.

Running a hand through her hair once again, she took a deep breath and made her way over to the girl who had her completely and utterly enamoured.

“So… Are those 9 minutes finally up?”

Lauren opened her mouth to speak but words failed her so she settled for a nod. She took a sip of her water and attempted to speak again, “Erm, yeah. We’re all good.”

“Finally.”

Lauren felt a smile forming as her eyes met Camila’s. Suddenly, everything seemed better. She laughed softly, “Yeah, sorry about that. I promise I’ll totally explain everything.”

“Well, maybe, you could explain it on our date,” Camila’s words were so casually said that it took Lauren far too long to process them properly. During the silence, Camila spoke again, sounding a little more nervous this time, “Please tell me I didn’t wait 9 minutes to be rejected…”

Lauren’s eyes widened and, whilst before her words were non-existent, now they left her mouth far too quickly, becoming a jumbled mess, “No… Oh my god… That’s so not what is happening. Wait… Fuck…” Lauren inhaled sharply, willing her brain to allow her words to actually make sense, “Retake?”

Camila laughed gently, shaking her head in amusement at the situation unfolding in front of her, “God, it’s a good job you’re so beautiful.”

Camila glanced down at Lauren’s cheeks, noticing the soft shade of pink that was now settling there. She looked back up, fixed her eyes on Lauren’s once again and spoke softly, maintaining eye contact as she asked Lauren the question she’d wanted to ask her for far longer than the last 9 minutes, “Lauren, will you go on a date with me?”

Lauren knew that over the last 24 hours she’d had to say 'yes’ a lot. Sometimes she’d wanted to say it anyway, but knowing she had to still altered the intentions of it slightly. But now there were no rules forcing the word out of her mouth and she grinned at the knowledge that, this time, that 3 letter word was entirely her own.

“Yes,” Lauren said simply, taking a breath before continuing, “I’d love to, Camz.”

It was the best yes she’d ever said.