#how long has it been since i drew an oc? jesus | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

pengychan · 3 years

Text

[Coco] Nuestra Iglesia, Pt 25

Title: Nuestra Iglesia Summary: Fake Priest AU. In the midst of the Mexican Revolution, Santa Cecilia is still a relatively safe place; all a young orphan named Miguel has to worry about is how to get novices Héctor and Imelda to switch their religious vows for wedding vows before it’s too late. He’s not having much success until he finds an unlikely ally in their new parish priest, who just arrived from out of town. Fine, so Padre Ernesto is a really odd priest. He’s probably not even a real priest, and the army-issued pistol he carries is more than slightly worrying. But he agrees that Héctor and Imelda would be wasted on religious life, and Miguel will take all the help he can get. It’s either the best idea he’s ever had, or the worst. Characters: Miguel Rivera, Ernesto de la Cruz, Héctor Rivera, Imelda Rivera, Chicharrón, Óscar and Felipe Rivera, OCs. Imector. Rating: T

[All chapters up are tagged as ‘fake priest au’ on my blog.]

A/N: Revenge is a dish best served cold, as long as poison is not in the equation. Art is by @lunaescribe and @swanpit

***

“What in God’s name did he put in that wine?”

“I… I don’t know.”

“What do you mean, you don’t know! You spoke with him, he must have told you--”

“Lower your voice!” Héctor hissed, and he had the audacity to smack a hand over his mouth. “He only told me not to drink the wine, and to tell you not to either. That’s all I know!”

Gustavo scowled, and slapped off his hand. “Ugh, whatever. I don’t care.” He grabbed the reins of his horse, and turned to the other men who’d been taken from Santa Cecilia. They all looked varying degrees of terrified and confused all rolled into one and there sure would be a lot of questions concerning ‘Padre’ Ernesto that Héctor had better give answers to, but at the moment - in the midst of absolute chaos, with about half the soldiers collapsed, another good chunk not looking to great themselves and those not looking pale as death trying to help their comrades in any way they could - they had other priorities.

The main of which was getting out of there.

“Everyone get a horse, we’ll make a run for it. Doubt they’ll notice, let alone give chase. Help is coming, but getting out of the way would be wise,” he said, and sure enough, all men got on top of a horse. Except one, of course.

One idiot who tried to turn and run on foot in the opposite direction, toward the grove where the commander had dragged the man Gustavo had believed their parish priest. Before he could go far, however, Gustavo grabbed his arm. God, it was like trying to look after a child who wanted to find out the hard way why one shouldn’t get into the pen of an angry bull.

“Chorizo, that everyone includes yo--”

“I can’t leave him behind,” Héctor cut him off. He turned back to him with a look that was somehow both defiant and apologetic, but that most of all made Gustavo want to kick his teeth in. As in, made him want him to kick his teeth in more than usual. “I have to help him.”

“You don’t have to do anything, he was a Federale and--”

“He came to help us!” he snapped. That was not something Gustavo could argue against, which somehow made him ever angrier at the bastard who’d managed to fool him for months on end. So much for just being an eccentric young priest.

“He’s probably already dead.”

“You don’t know that.”

A groan. “If you want to go and try, be my guest. But you’ll do it on your own, you hear me?” he said. Héctor drew in a deep breath, and with a stronger pull managed to get his arm free.

“If I don’t make it back--”

“You couldn’t shoot your own foot if you tried, of course you won’t make it--”

“Tell Imelda I love her.”

Jesus Christ. Gustavo slapped a hand on his forehead and groaned again, wishing really hard he was exactly the cabrón everyone claimed he was so he could just shrug, wish him good luck, and ride off to safety with the others. Unfortunately, he was only approximately seventy percent the cabrón everyone thought he was. In the end, he turned to the others.

“Ride back the way we came, fast. Don’t turn back. If you meet men on the way, tell them what is happening.”

“But we don’t know what is--”

“Federales drank a bad batch of wine, tummies hurt, come take them out,” Gustavo snapped, and smacked the rump of Francisco’s horse. It took off, and the others followed. As expected a few yells rose up for them to stop, drowned out in the cries of terror of men writhing in pain on the ground; a shot rang out, hitting no one. Gustavo turned with a scowl.

“Fine. Let’s go save the imposter before I kill you for this,” he grumbled, and when the idiota smiled at him with that stupid golden tooth he had to really fight the urge to knock it out.

***

“I told you I’d make sure everyone would know exactly what you are, didn’t I?”

De la Cruz didn’t reply, but that didn’t matter. His cries before he seemingly ran out of voice had been better music to his ears than any of his singing back when they were in the same battalion; the wheezing sound he made now, as his bloodied chest rose and fell in shallow breaths, was more of enough for him.

Santiago smiled, and finally stood to admire his handiwork. Blood was everywhere on de la Cruz’s chest; the letters he’d carved on his skin didn’t show as clearly as he would have liked and the traitor’s eyes were falling shut as he tethered on the edge of unconsciousness, but that was nothing a good splash of water wouldn’t fix. Santiago took a bottle from the saddle of his horse, and threw water across de la Cruz’s face and chest.

“Ah…!”

He recoiled and seemed to choke on it a moment, pulled back onto awareness; much of the blood washed out, and the letters showed stark and clear for a few moments before more blood welled up. But even as it began dripping into the dirt again, the word remained clearly visible and that was all that mattered.

JUDAS

“Now you can never hide again,” Santiago sneered, knowing full well Ernesto de la Cruz would not live to see the sun set that day, let alone get a chance to try hiding. But it was a soothing thought, knowing that anyone walking by his hanging body would get to read the reason why right there on his chest.

“I have sinned, he said, for I have betrayed innocent blood,” Santiago quoted, cleaning the blade of his knife before he put it back at his belt. A long time since he’d even stepped in a church, he still remembered much of the scriptures. “So Judas threw the money into the temple and left. Then he went away and hanged himself.”

A pause, and his lips twisted in something resembling a smile. He could taste something bitter at the back of his throat. “Maybe even Judas was above you, after all. You never regretted a thing, did you? You would have never ended your own pathetic life. You had to be dragged out of hiding, kicking and screaming, to be given the punishment you know you deserve.”

De la Cruz groaned and tried to move, or maybe to speak, but in the end all he could do was turn his head to the side and heave, skin clammy and ashen gray, hair sticking to his forehead. Some bile spewed forth into the dirt, and it seemed to take the last of his strength; even when Santiago kicked his side, he barely reacted.

“What is it? No more begging?” Santiago taunted, and crouched down to put the noose around his neck. There was a weak attempt at shifting away, easily ignored. He tightened the noose, glanced up to make sure the rope went over a branch solid enough to hold his weight, and stood. “No more crying? No more--”

“Uuugh…!”

The sound of someone else groaning and then throwing up caused Santiago to trail off, and he rolled his eyes. Was a little blood enough to make the delicate damsels he was leading grow faint?

“If you can’t handle this, I suggest you--” Santiago began, turning, but paused when he realized it wasn’t just one of the three men with him at the grove who looked sick.

All of them were pale, one still heaving, the other two clearly struggling to maintain composure. The one who’d just tied up the end of the hanging rope to the horse was holding onto the saddle with one hand and doubling over, holding onto his stomach; another staggered as though drunk, and leaned against a tree before slumping to the ground.

“What are you-- Rojas! Stand up, damn you!”

“Commander, I… I…” he tried to speak, but his voice broke and he doubled over, both hands over his stomach. A few meters away, again came the harsh sound of retching. When Santiago turned again, blood running cold, all three men were either on the ground or kneeling over. Something was wrong, he realized, horribly wrong.

“What the-- what’s happening!” He demanded to know, walking up to one of them. The wind picked up and as though to answer more sounds reached him, beyond the grove, back on the path where he’d left the rest of his men. There were yells, the whinnying of scared horses, a noise that sounded horribly like a grown man wailing.

“You damned us!” Rojas choked out at his feet, eyes squeezed shut and terror in every word. “You shot a priest and God punished us!”

For just a moment, Santiago believed it. He stepped back, an unknown terror seizing his heart, mind full of the tales of divine punishment he’d heard as a boy, of plagues and fire and brimstone. Everything around him seemed to go still and cold, as though the blistering hot sun above the grove had ceased giving warmth.

“In God’s name,” the gringo had cried out. “For your own soul, if not for their lives!”

And he’d shot him. He had taken out his pistol and shot him, and now… now…!

Rojas writhed on the ground, and something spurted from his mouth. Santiago was terror-stricken enough to think it was blood at first, that his men were dying as they spat out their own blood - but by then, he had seen too many men bleed out for the illusion to last long. After a few moments he realized what Rojas was spewing forth was not blood at all. It was… it was...

Wine.

He saw it now, with the mind’s eye, the scene he’d come across earlier: his men standing around a fake priest, all of them drinking from casks of wine. Red wine. Mass wine.

Blood of the covenant. This damn bastard.

With a cry of fury, Santiago turned his back to Rojas and stormed back to where Ernesto de la Cruz lay, chest bleeding and arms tied behind his back, noose still around his neck… and features twisted in a grin that confirmed all of Santiago’s suspicions. He crouched by him, pulling him up by his hair and shaking him savagely.

“You! What did you put in that wine!” he screamed. “WHAT HAVE YOU DONE!”

De la Cruz’s eyes found his own, and the despicable grin widened. His chest shuddered while he let out a sound that was hardly recognizable as a laugh, or any sort of sound a human being should be able to make. “Whatever… it took,” he gasped out, and he had the audacity to laugh again. “Todo modo... para buscar... la voluntad divina.”

“I’LL GIVE YOU DIVINE WILL!”

With another cry of anger, Santiago slammed the traitor back down against the ground and went to the horse. The raspy laughter still rang out, mocking him, but he would silence it and he’d silence it now. Santiago grabbed the horse’s reins, and pulled hard to get it to move. The beast moved, the rope grew taut, and Ernesto de la Cruz’s laugh was finally silenced.

In the distance shots rang out, but Santiago Hernández was beyond caring for anything other than the choking noises that now left Alberto’s murderer.

Let them die. Let us all die, as long as I take him down with me.

He stopped the horse, turned, and watched with a widening smile as Ernesto de la Cruz writhed and choked, hanging by his neck a few feet above the ground. His eyes bulged, his face quickly growing red while he kicked uselessly and strained against his bounds in a doomed struggle for survival. It was horrifying, a slow and painful death. It was perfect.

I told you I’d avenge you, Beto, Santiago thought, and stood there to watch, faintly wishing he had something to drink as he enjoyed revenge which had been served very, very cold.

***

“Hold the horses, something is-- stop! Everyone, stop!”

Imelda pulled back the reins, causing her horse - who had probably not run so much since the day her father had absolutely forbidden the twins to ride him - to skid to a halt, nearly bumping into José’s horse right ahead. A few paces ahead one of the women, the one who'd allowed Imelda to join, had stopped with a hand held up.

“Luciana, what is--” José began, only to be silenced by a wave of her hand.

“Listen.”

They did listen, and after a few moments Imelda heard it over her own rushing blood - distant cries and, coming closer, the beating of horse hooves. Someone was coming.

What’s going on?

As one, the men and women around her pulled up their rifles and pistols and took aim towards the bend on the road ahead. Imelda did the same, grip tight on the pistol and holding onto the reins with her other hand. Sweat dripped down her brow, into her eyes. The cries remained distant, but the sound of galloping horses drew closer.

Then several horses come over the bend at breakneck speed, ridden by men in uniform. The first man to appear saw them and cried out, pulling hard on the reins and causing the horse to rear up on its hind legs. The cap fell off his head, Imelda caught a glimpse of his face, and the finger on the trigger went slack.

The baker.

“Wait! Don’t shoot!” Imelda cried out, lowering the pistol and kicking the flanks of her horse, coming in front of José and Luciana. “I know them! They were taken from Santa Cecilia!”

As José blinked, more horses came into view and skidded to a halt. Voices rose up, frantic.

“Don’t shoot!”

“We’re not enemies!”

“We got away!”

“Gustavo sent us this--”

“It’s hell back there--”

José lifted an arm to get his comrades to lower their rifles, and Imelda quickly scanned the group. She recognized all of them, they were from Santa Cecilia all right, all twenty-eight of them. Two, however, were missing: Gustavo… and Héctor.

Fear gripping her heart, Imelda opened her mouth to speak - but José spoke first, kicking his horse’s flanks to get closer to the terrified men. “What-- all right, all right, one at a time. Gustavo sent you? Where is he? What happened?”

“Padre Ernesto-- I mean, we think he’s a Padre--”

“-- not so sure anymore--”

“-- came over with wine, offered it to all soldiers--”

“-- told us not to drink and we didn’t--”

“Did any of you listen to me when I said to speak one at a time?” José lamented, and most of them fell quiet. Only one spoke again.

“Now they’re all sick - if not all, most of them - I think some have died, I am not sure. It was chaos, the screams… It was like the plagues. I think-- I think Padre Ernesto poisoned them.”

“... A priest poisoned them?” José turned back to look at Imelda, baffled. “First you, and now… what is going on with the clergy in your village?”

Ah, that was going to be… a long story to tell. Imelda opted to cut it short, for now. “Ernesto must have gone after them with the holy wine - he clearly did something with it. Francisco-- Francisco, look at me. Where’s Héctor?”

The young man looked back at her, pale as ash. He was a couple of years older than her, and yet looked so much younger now. “He… he and Gustavo stayed behind, he wanted to help Padre-- I mean-- Ernesto. The commander, he was hellbent on seeing him dead. He recognized him, and took him away to hang him. He-- wait, was it him he was looking for in Santa Cecilia?”

Something clenched in the pit of Imelda’s stomach; once again, the knowledge she may have avoided all this by speaking out and handing them Ernesto wouldn’t leave her mind. It was a sense of guilt she would have to deal with, but later. Now, she had to get to Héctor.

And maybe also save that other idiot who thought he could take on Federales with sweet words and poisoned wine.

But he was not entirely wrong. The men are ill. Vulnerable. We have an advantage now.

When Imelda looked up to meet Luciana’s gaze, she could tell she’d come to the same conclusion. “... We will discuss this later. Their advantage was in numbers and now that they’re sick, it’s gone. We can take them head-on,” she said, and turned to the still shaken men. “How far are they?”

“No more than three miles. Just down the path at the bottom of the hill, they stopped in the middle.”

“A stupid place to stop. Any guards at the back?”

“No. It’s chaos, that’s how we got away.”

“Very well. You can go home. If any of you feel able to join us in this, do so. But lose the jacket, we wouldn’t want to shoot you down by mistake.”

As several of them did tear off the jacket, ready to follow them back, Luciana turned to Imelda again. “That’s your novio still there, right?”

“... Sí.”

“Then focus on finding him. We’ll take on anyone who fights back and find Gustavo. The idiota still owes me money,” she added, and kicked the horse’s flanks. “Onward!”

The group galloped forward once again, ten more men added to its ranks. Imelda spurred the horse, and this time she found herself galloping by José’s side. He turned to look at her as they rode on.

“Hey, do we get an invite to your wedding? I’ll invite you to mine!” he yelled. Despite everything, Imelda found it in herself to laugh. It helped to think of it, that there would be a wedding, and guests to entertain. She would bring Héctor home, and they would have all that, and a lifetime to either celebrate or regret it, tales to tell their children.

She smiled. “You’ll all be guests of honor.”

***

“I hate you. I hate you. I hate you.”

“You don’t mean that.”

“I absolutely do mean that.”

Héctor decided not to carry on the whispered argument, and they kept moving slowly through the grove, low behind shrubs, following the sound of groans. The hands holding the rifle were sweaty, which didn’t work miracles on his already shaky grip. He let go with one hand to wipe it against his jacket, and almost dropped the rifle altogether when he heard a scream.

“I’LL GIVE YOU DIVINE WILL!”

Gustavo recoiled as well, rifle raised as he tried, without much success, to look like he was all that good with firearms. Héctor may have even found it funny - maybe we’ll be the ones to shoot Ernesto in the ass after all - if not for the noises that followed moments later, nowhere as loud as the scream but bone-chilling all the same.

The unmistakable noise of someone being choked.

They’re hanging him. They’re doing it.

“They wouldn’t give me a quick death,” he had told him once, and he had been right. It was horrifying but maybe, if he made it on time, it was a blessing in disguise. He could stop it.

Héctor ignored Gustavo’s whisper to wait and just began running, holding tightly onto the rifle, following the increasingly weak sounds of a man whose consciousness was fading fast. His heart pounded, and he prayed he wouldn’t be too late.

Please don’t die. Hang in ther-- agh, I mean-- hold on. Don’t die. Please.

The choking noises had almost died down by the time he finally reached the clearing, Gustavo having fallen behind. Ernesto was there, hanging from the tree and convulsing in his death throes. Blood dripped from his bare chest, but that wasn’t the most horrifying thing; what would never leave Héctor’s nightmares was his purplish face, the way his mouth opened as he strained for air, the bloodshot eyes.

Dimly, Héctor was aware of the presence of the commander standing by and watching, of three other men groaning in pain on the ground, but none of it registered. All he knew was that Ernesto had seconds left to live if he didn’t act immediately, and so he did.

Héctor lifted the rifle, took aim for the branch Ernesto was hanging from, and pulled the trigger.

***

“Drop the weapons or drop dead!”

“Never!”

“Bad call.” Luciana’s reply was followed by a bang, and the man who’d tried to stand up and lift his rifle did, as a matter of fact, drop dead. As did several other men who tried to draw weapons, taken by surprise by their arrival as they tried to tend to their ill comrades.

Imelda hadn’t been so naive to imagine epic battles with fair play, of course. Often vastly outgunned, revolutionaries couldn’t afford the luxury of being chivalrous; even so, had those men not terrorized her village only hours earlier and taken Héctor - and tried to take her brother, and Miguel - she may have felt some measure of guilt for the attack, which struck them as they were mostly defenseless. Francisco had been right: it was chaos there.

But she was there for Héctor, and it made overlooking the death around them so very easy.

“There is no mercy in war,” Ernesto had said. “They die or you do. Until you forget you’re looking at humans.”

She didn’t quite understand, then. She did now, in the midst of a battle, ears full of screams and gunshots and galloping horses raising clouds of dust. If the idiot was still alive, she’d have to tell him as much - that he’d been right. Annoying, that.

More shots were fired as the men still able to stand and hold a rifle left their wounded and ill comrades on the ground and began to retreat towards a rocky formation, clearly aiming to hide behind it and keep shooting. Imelda slowed her horse before it stepped on the body of a groaning soldier, heard a bullet whizzing right past her head, and looked ahead to see a soldier lifting his rifle, aiming it at José as he rode to intercept some men before they could recover ammunition from a cart. Imelda didn’t stop to think: she lifted Ernesto’s pistol, her pistol now, and fired, the kickback violent enough to hurt her shoulder.

She had aimed for the head, truth be told, and the bullet hit the man’s calf, but it was enough to make him drop his rifle and fall to the ground, so she counted it as a success. She looked around, scanning every man in uniform she saw for a sign of Héctor, but he wasn’t anywhere within sight. Where had he gone? He had stayed to help Ernesto, so… where was Ernesto?

The commander, he was hellbent on seeing him dead. Took him away to hang him.

And to hang someone… well. You need a tree. Imelda turned; right by there was a smaller path, leading to a grove of trees. And just as she turned, a gunshot rang out in the distance.

A flock of frightened birds took flight against the setting sun, and she knew where to go.

***

BANG

As the kickback caused Héctor to stumble back, the noise ringing in his ears, his mind registered two things.

The first was that he’d entirely missed the branch he had aimed for; the second was that he must have hit the rope instead in a stroke of sheer blind luck which he would forever pass off as skill, because the rope was severed and Ernesto’s twitching body fell heavily to the ground.

The third was that he was in deep shit, because Commander Hernández immediately turned to see him and he was much, much better than him at using a gun - not that it took much. That, and he was even more unhinged than ever before.

“YOU!”

Mierda.

Héctor ducked behind a tree just on time before a shot rang out, taking out bits of bark inches away from his head. The horse let out a loud frightened neigh and galloped away, dragging the severed rope with it. That would have been an excellent moment to run, but Ernesto was still there, unconscious, and--

“I should have known you were harboring this traitor! Once I’m done with you both I’ll burn your village to the ground!”

Héctor clenched his jaw, and dared glance around the tree, ready to duck back. The commander was turning, rifle up, aiming it at Ernesto’s still form. Even now, knowing an armed man was on him, he was hellbent on killing Ernesto like it was a more important goal than his own survival.

Oh no you don’t.

Héctor lifted his rifle again, braced himself, and fired another shot. It missed Hernández entirely because of course it did, but it seemed enough to make him rethink the strategy of pointing his firearm at an unconscious man rather than on a much more pressing threat. He fired back, but Héctor was already hidden behind another tree and he heard him cursing before he also took cover.

Maybe Héctor wouldn’t be able to hit him, let alone incapacitate him, but at least he could keep him in a stand-off and away from Ernesto until help came. And by help he meant Gustavo. God, where was he? How far behind had he fallen while Héctor ran on… much longer legs? He couldn’t be that far. If only he could hold Hernández’s attention long eno--

BANG

Another shot rang out, much too close, sending bark flying off the tree right next to the one Héctor was crouched behind. All right, so Commander Hérnandez had a fairly good idea of where he was hidden. Time to move and make some more noise while he was at it, just to keep him busy.

Héctor drew in a deep breath and darted behind another tree, shooting blindly in the process. Two shots were fired back, and a bullet hit the ground just inches from where he’d been standing a second earlier, but he managed to get cover unscathed, heart beating wildly in his throat. He gripped the rifle tightly, drenched in sweat, and crawled behind some shrubbery.

He looked over at the clearing through the branches, hoping to catch a glimpse of Hernández, but he could only see three unconscious soldiers… and Ernesto, still motionless on the ground where he’d fallen.

No good, no good, he could shoot him any moment--

And he tried, sure enough. Something that had looked like a branch moved from behind a tree, and it was once again pointed at Ernesto. Héctor lifted his rifle, heart hammering in his chest, and shot again. The bullet hit the tree instead of the barrel of the rifle, but it was enough to make the man recoil and lower his weapon. With a cry, Héctor pulled the trigger again.

CLICK

Ah. Mierda.

As Héctor fumbled to grab the spare bullets, Commander Hernández made a horrible sound that may have, with some imagination, passed off as laughter.

“Oh, out of bullets, are we? Didn’t make sure it was fully loaded, did we?” he called out, his voice more unhinged with each word, and he stepped into view, rifle up and aimed at Ernesto. Well, that was it. No time to wait for Gustavo any longer.

With no other choice, Héctor did the only thing he could think of doing: he ran out of his hiding spot screaming like a man possessed, brandishing the rifle like a club, and brought it down with all his might.

“You bast--!” Santiago Hernández moved at the last second and the blow did not land on his arm as intended, but it did hit the barrel of his own rifle; when the shot rang out - how many times has he shot, how many has he left? - the bullet hit the dirt, several feet away from Ernesto’s head. Héctor let out a cry of victory, feeling elated for just one moment.

Then the butt of the rifle hit him in the face, and he fell back on the ground. Blood filled his mouth along with something small and hard - the golden tooth, dislodged by the blow - and Héctor’s vision swam. The commander stood above him. He’d shoot him, he knew, any second now he’d point the rifle at him and pull the trigger and--

BANG

“Agh!”

“This will teach you to run off like that, idiot! Should have let him shoot your stupid head off!”

Gustavo’s voice was rarely a welcomed sound to Héctor’s ears, but it sure was now - even sweeter than the cry of pain that left Hernández, and that of his rifle falling to the ground. As he grabbed that rifle and forced himself to stand again, pointing it at the soldier’s crumpled form, Héctor couldn’t help but think his voice had sounded almost angelic, really. Not that he planned on telling him as much.

As it turned out, he would never get the chance to either way.

***

Gunshots and cries were a clear indication that not all was well in the grove, but what really told Imelda she was heading in the right direction was seeing a terrified horse bursting out of it, dragging a severed rope behind it.

The commander, he was hellbent on seeing him dead. Took him away to hang him.

Maybe she wasn’t too late after all, but if the shots were anything to go by she didn’t have much time either. Imelda gripped the pistol more tightly and spurred the horse into going faster, down the path and into the grove, trampling bushes and pressing forward amidst trees, heart beating somewhere in her throat.

It was not the most discreet way for her to go into whatever awaited, and it made her a much easier and obvious target - she was well aware of that - but there was no time to waste. Too much was at stake; Héctor’s life, their future. She couldn’t afford to be too late.

More shots rang out and then another sound came, carried by the wind - the most unhinged laughter Imelda had ever heard in her life. It made the hair on her arms stand, but what truly made her blood run cold was the cry that followed. Héctor’s cry.

As another gunshot tore through the air, Imelda spurred her horse into a full gallop, heading straight ahead and ready to trample everything on her path.

Whatever it takes, was all she could think, and the grip on Ernesto’s pistol tightened.

“You know, I could kiss you.”

“Do me a favor and never say that again. I would like to keep my lunch down.” Gustavo snorted, rifle still pointed at the groaning man on the ground. He was curled forward, blood seeping through his sleeve. “Don’t move if you want to live,” Gustavo added, and tilted his head to his left. “Go check if the fake priest over there is still breathing. You and him both have a lot of explaining to do, you know.”

Héctor didn’t need to be told twice. He rushed to Ernesto’s side, put down the rifle, and went to shake his shoulder.

“Ernesto-- amigo, you hear me? It’s all right, it’s over, come on…” He turned him on his back, horrified by the mess of blood on his chest but relieved to see it rise and fall in shallow, wheezing breaths; the noose had loosened, but not quite enough. Héctor loosened it the rest of the way, and pulled it over his head before resting it back on the ground. God, it had been a close call, but now… now he got him. He would be all right. “There-- better, no? Breathe, come on. Just keep breathing. We’ll get you help. Just hang-- I mean, hold on--”

“Mier--”

BANG

Héctor turned, heart leaping in his throat, just on time to see Gustavo being falling back, the rifle falling from his hands. He opened his mouth to cry out, but no sound left him; he watched, petrified, as commander Hernandéz stood - his wounded arm hanging limply at his side, and holding a pistol in his other hand.

The pistol, oh God, how did we forget he had one--

The second he turned the pistol on them Héctor knew that trying to grab the rifle would doom both him and Ernesto. Instead he lifted his arms, shielding Ernesto with his body. “Please,” he managed. “You don’t have to do this.”

“Ah, but I do.” The man bared his teeth in a smile that looked so much more like a snarl. “That man is a murderer, and I promised Alberto he would be avenged. Get out of the way, and I may even let you take your other friend to safety.”

Behind him, Gustavo groaned. He tried to lift himself on his elbows, but immediately fell back in the dirt. “Liar,” he gasped out, voice full of venom. Hernández barely glanced over at him, then looked back at Héctor, who hadn’t moved. He didn’t think he could move even if he wanted to, frozen on the spot between predator and prey. Deaf to everything but Ernesto’s laboured breathing and his own thundering heart, he failed to hear something else - a quickly approaching horse.

Hernández didn’t look up, either. “A poor choice,” he scoffed, and Héctor closed his eyes.

I’m so sorry, Imelda. Miguel--!

For the final time that day a gunshot tore through the air, echoing into Héctor’s head. He kept his eyes shut and waited to feel the pain, wondering how bad it would be, how hot it would burn and for how long. And he waited. And waited.

And still there was nothing.

Slowly, he opened his eyes to meet the gaze of Commander Santiago Hernández. He staggered back and stared at him, eyes widened as if wondering how come they had both come to be there. He let the pistol drop, all strength gone from his hand, and looked down.

Across his chest blood was seeping through the uniform, spreading fast. He opened his mouth, tried to speak - but a gurgle was all he managed before his eyes rolled back and he fell heavily, dead before his body even hit the ground.

“... I had aimed for the groin.”

Héctor turned slowly. Behind him - above him, atop a horse - was Imelda. Her head uncovered, her robes gone, a pistol in hand. A vision from Heaven, and for a moment he wondered if he was dead after all. He smiled breathlessly. That sure was a lovely way to be welcomed in the afterlife. “Te amo,” he told her.

She stared at him for a moment, then smiled back. “I sure hope you do. I hear that helps in a marriage.”

“So-- will you marry me?”

“Of course I will.”

A short distance away Gustavo managed to make a noise that sounded a lot like ‘bleagh’, and it was enough to snap Héctor’s mind back to reality. He lifted his head, alarmed. “Gustavo! Imelda, he needs--”

“I’ll check on him. You make sure the other idiot doesn’t die.” Imelda climbed off the horse, practical as always now that the moment had passed. She ran past the commander’s corpse straight at Gustavo, and Héctor focused on Ernesto again. He still breathed, and that… that was good, surely. It had to be good, he told himself, brushing some hair off his forehead.

Imelda, however, did not have good news. Héctor could tell as much the moment she called out for him, her voice somber. He turned to see she was cupping the back of Gustavo’s head; he was ashen pale, eyes rolling back, blood all over the front of his uniform.

And despite everything, he still spoke. “If you let-- Chicharrón bury me, I swear to God-- he’ll do a shit job just to spite me.”

Imelda looked down at him, something akin to a small smile on her lips. “You need not worry. Chicharrón hasn’t actually dug a grave in years.”

“Heh. I-- knew it. The cabrón-- should have got him-- fired,” Gustavo gasped, and dropped his head against her hand again with a groan. Imelda turned to Héctor.

“The final rites,” she said. “He needs it now.”

Oh. A weight in his stomach, Héctor left Ernesto to rest and stood. It felt surreal, like it couldn’t possibly be happening and he was watching an event from someone else’s life through a foggy glass. “I… I don’t think I can. I am not priest, I--”

“You are the closest that there is to one right now. It will have to do.”

She was right: as soon as Héctor approached he could tell that the wound to Gustavo’s stomach was devastating, and he was fading fast. Too fast. He wouldn’t live long enough to see a real priest. They had never been friends, quite the contrary, but something clenched painfully in Héctor’s chest as he approached. He’d never wanted such a thing to happen.

He knelt by the dying man, trying to ignore a bizarre urge to apologize if the attempt at befriending him as kids had hit a nerve, if he had done or said something wrong, if he had never tried to extend the olive branch again. All along, he’d been their link to the revolutionaries, and now he’d saved his life too. He deserved better than dying in the dirt.

“There is no mercy in war,” Ernesto had said. “They die or you do.”

But he could extend mercy now, at least; without even anointing oil, it was all he had to give. So he rested a hand on Gustavo’s forehead, and began murmuring the prayers required. With a rattling breath, Gustavo opened his eyes and looked up at him.

“Now you’re… really trying… to piss me off, Chorizo,” he managed, and it took the last of his strength. His head fell back again, his gaze grew dull, and his chest rose in yet another breath before stilling, just as Héctor whispered the last amen.

It was over. Héctor let out a long breath, feeling entirely emptied out. Imelda laid a hand on his shoulder, a warm and welcome weight. He reached up to cover it with his own.

“... Maybe we’ll tell others he had something slightly better to say as his last words,” he said.

She squeezed his shoulder, closing Gustavo’s eyes with her other hand. “Yes. Let’s do that,” she agreed. They knelt a few more moments before standing, and tending to the living.

Away from the grove, the battle was over.

***

“What in God’s name is this mess!”

Well, that was not an encouraging thing to hear, but then again doctor Sanchéz wasn’t new to outbursts, and it wasn’t every day he had two severely wounded men carried at his doorstep. The gringo had been at death’s door - still was, lying unconscious only a few feet away - and Ernesto was in no better shape.

Sofía’s eyes wandered over the congealed blood, the deep cuts on his chest, the dark bruise around his neck, the ashen color of his skin, his utter stillness as he remained unconscious. She remained outwardly calm, but something within her trembled.

Idiota. What have you done?

Of course, at that point she knew the answer; word travelled fast as soon as the first few men returned galloping into the village. Between that and the fact Chicharrón had confirmed their stock of rat poison had disappeared along with the wine, Sofía knew exactly what he had done. She may have admired the sheer guts of it, and the fact it had helped win the battle, if not for the detail it had turned out so horribly wrong for him.

That, and even if he pulled through the game was up and the village knew, or at least guessed, he was no priest at all. Coming up for a convincing explanation was going to be a bitch and a half, but she’d think about it later. One problem at a time.

“... Well, doctor, surely there must be something you can do,” she said, and Sanchéz groaned, rubbing his forehead.

“I’ll clean the wounds, stitch the worst and wrap them up,” he muttered. “But he lost a lot of blood and Hell knows for how long he was left hanging by the neck. There is nothing I can do about that. Either he wakes up or he doesn’t. If you ask me, he doesn't have many more chances than the gringo does.”

“We’ll be praying for them. We already lost a member of our parish today,” Sofía said quietly.

Sanchéz would have normally snorted at such a comment, but this time he sighed. He looked tired, too, and gestured for his assistant to bring over the alcohol and a small basin of warm water. “... I’ll do what I can. You may want to come up with some sort of story to tell, if not the village, at least outsiders. In case anyone comes asking. And we’re going to need at least one real priest alive, for Gustavo’s funeral.”

“Our… friends know one who will come over from San Luz to do it. No questions asked.”

“... That’s good. You may go, sister. We’ll try our best here.”

Sofía nodded and, with one last glance at Ernesto - try to pull through, you idiot, you and the stupid gringo both because God knows you deserve each other - she took her leave, stepping out of Sanchéz’s home and into the street. The bell was once again ringing to a death knell, announcing the death of their parish's sexton.

Just as she stepped past the threshold, with doctor Sanchéz’s attention entirely on Ernesto, Father John Johnsons shifted imperceptibly and almost, almost opened his eyes.

***

“Padre Raúl will be here within a couple of days for the funeral - three at most, I swear. Us too, it’s the least we could do.”

“Wouldn’t you prefer to stay for a few nights?”

Grabbing the reins of his horse, José smiled. “Tempting, but we have all those Federales to keep an eye on. They’re still writhing about, but they’ll live. Whatever was in that wine couldn’t be nearly enough to kill so many men.”

Héctor swallowed before speaking, thinking back of Alejandro, of other men who so clearly were not in the army by their own free will. “... What will you do with them?”

“They’ll get a chance to join us. A lot of them do - Gabriel was one.” José shrugged, and grabbed the reins of his horse. They were standing in the churchyard, Imelda holding tightly on Héctor’s hand. “If not, well. We have someplace where they can be locked up for a time. Between us, I got word from the north and I think Huerta’s days are numbered. Once he falls, the Federal Army itself is sure to follo--”

“HÉCTOR! IMELDA!”

A loud, wonderfully familiar voice cut José off, and Héctor turned just on time to catch Miguel in his arms. He was a shrimp of a kid, but he almost knocked him over. “Hola, chamaco. How--”

“Why did you do it!” Miguel cried out, face pressed against his stomach. His shoulders shook, and he began sobbing. “Stupid, stupid, stupid…!”

“Miguel…” Héctor began, not quite knowing what to say next. In the end he needed say nothing at all: Imelda crouched down to hold onto Miguel as well and he clung back, a hand grasping her blouse.

They kept holding onto one another for a very, very long time.

***

[Back]

[Next]

#pixar coco #hector rivera #imelda rivera #ernesto de la cruz #coco #fake priest au

34 notes · View notes

taetaespeaches · 4 years

Text

“I don’t know where we go from here, Dear.”

jimin x reader (or oc) genre: fluff; angst word count: 1.8K

a/n: the time has come... JIMIN IS GETTING HIS GIRL BACK!!! This is the first time they see each other after he shows up at Dear’s place in, “Yeah, I’m drunk. And you’re wearing my t-shirt and I fucking love you.” So yeah, thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy!!!

p.s. This is sorta kinda inspired by “Until the Sun Comes Up” by Gabrielle Aplin. So yeah, do with that what you will.

YOUR hand was nearly shaking as you adjusted your seatbelt across your body. The last time you saw Jimin was a week ago when he came to apartment looking for a way to go back in time. When he asked to see you, you expected a simple dinner date or a walk along the Han River, but you had been sitting in the car for over thirty minutes now and the city was beginning to disappear behind you.

“I haven’t been this nervous since our first date,” Jimin admitted shyly, you looking across the cab at him. “Or that whole time between, you know, our first time and first date.”

You couldn’t help the grin that formed on your lips at his admission as well as the memory of how shy he was for those two days between the first hook up and first date. You were both nervous, but he was more obviously so. At least for a little while.

You went from friends to lovers overnight. It was hard to even remember what you and Jimin looked like before the extra label was added to your relationship. It was even harder to comprehend what you looked like now.

“I was nervous too,” you told him, Jimin taking a quick glance from the road to you, obviously surprised. “And now.”

“Really?”

“Of course,” you smiled. “I just hide it better.” You hid a lot of things better. Your love and your heartbreak for starters.

A tense quiet settled inside the car, the low hum of Jimin’s music buzzing throughout the cab. You let the silence persist as you turned your attention to the window as Jimin drove you both to an unknown destination.

It was a little over a month ago that Jimin broke up with you over a text. It was so unlike Jimin it scared you into action before you could even take in the purpose of the text. You desperately called him but every effort went to voicemail. After a text to Taehyung to have him check on your boyfriend, and Tae assuring you he was ok considering the circumstance, you got angry. And you refused to speak to the man until he showed up at your apartment drunk, sad, regretful, and desperate.

For weeks you wanted to blame him for the whole thing. But you knew you were to blame as well. You had been pushing him away for months before the breakup, letting your own personal struggles affect your relationship. You didn’t want to push him away, but how do you simply let another person into the fucked up hell space that is your mind? You had never before wanted a person so badly during those months as you wanted Jimin, but it was like you couldn’t, or wouldn’t, allow yourself to reach out for him. And that made him feel very insecure and unsure. He felt unloved.

As Jimin drove further and further from Seoul, completely losing the city skyline, you turned to him in confusion.

“Where are we going?” You asked, turning to look at him.

“Away,” he grinned cheekily.

You let a small chuckle slip as you looked at the road ahead of you. “Away where?”

“Away from ourselves.”

You looked back at him in response to his words. You scrutinized his face as he stared ahead, eyes focused on the road but his mind wandering through a million loud thoughts. “There you are being a poet again,” you teased, Jimin’s lips quirking into an amused smile.

You slowly looked away from him, staring ahead, waiting to see the final destination for your date or whatever it’s called when your ex-boyfriend/best friend takes you out of the city in his bid to win you back.

Several minutes passed in silence before Jimin called to you gently, “Dear?”

You hummed, looking over at him, the pet name sounding so natural coming from him.

“Do you think people have to be ok before they can give themselves to someone else?”

The question should have taken you by surprise but you knew Jimin well enough to know he often had these deeply personal and sometimes troublesome questions swimming around his mind.

You thought for a moment before shaking your head. “No,” you started, Jimin looking from the road just for a small moment to peer at your face. “I’ve started thinking lately that if you’re lucky enough to have someone and its real, you have to give yourself to them even if you’re not ok.”

He forced a small smile though his eyes became glassy in the dashboard light. “I’m not ok.”

You nodded in understanding, keeping your gaze on him as his face became less clear through the tears that gathered along your lower eyelid. “Yeah, me too.” He looked over at you to see you beginning to cry and his face scrunched up as his own tears increased. “Jimin,” you whimpered.

When he sniffled you reached out to touch his forearm. “I fucked up, I kept pushing you away—”

He adamantly shook his head, telling you, “no, no, this is on me—”

“No, you needed me. And Jimin, I needed you, fuck, I wanted you, I just couldn’t—”

When a sob wracked through your body into the otherwise quiet car, Jimin quickly pulled over to the side of the road as an oncoming car sped by you.

“Dear,” he started, turning to you and pulling your hands from your face where you were wiping tears, simply holding them. “I broke up with you over a text.” He didn’t say anything more, letting his words sink in as proof to why the whole situation was his fault. You both knew he wasn’t the only one to blame, but at this point, did it even matter?

“Why did you send the text?” You asked him through your tears.

“I don’t—I don’t even know, baby, it’s—I get so insecure sometimes and I was driving myself insane on tour thinking about you and whether you love me and I just—I get so scared sometimes that you’ll just walk away.”

“I could never just walk away,” you told him defensively, but also to assure him. “I hate that I made you feel so insecure and unloved because I just love you more than anything and I should have been pouring all of that love into you.” Tears fell down Jimin’s face at your words as his hands squeezed yours tighter. “It’s going to take a while for me to forgive myself for that. A lot longer than it’s gonna take for me to forgive you.”

“Can you forgive me?” He posed, looking into your glistening eyes with his own.

“You know I can,” you whispered. “But can you forgive me?”

He didn’t answer immediately. Instead, his eyes scanned your face. Then he brought your hand to his lips and feathered kisses to your knuckles. “I already have,” he mumbled against your hand.

Fresh tears burst from your eyes at his confession, Jimin gently placing your hands on the console just before they met your face, gently wiping your cheeks with his palms. You leaned into his touch, bringing your hands to grab his wrists.

“I don’t know where we go from here, Dear,” he softly admitted. “But you were my best friend before all the extra and I’m not giving up on us.” He paused for a moment, both of you watching each other carefully. “Even if you want to go back to just friends.”

You scoffed at the statement, Jimin pulling his eyebrows together in confusion to the sound. “Chim, we were never just friends. I don’t want to go back, I want to fix this.”

Jimin let a small smile greet his lips, the sight making you return a small one of your own. You leaned forward, dropping your head to his shoulder as his arm wrapped around your upper back, his hand finding your tricep. His palm and fingers soothed over the muscle as he told you, “We should probably get back on the road, we still have like an hour until we get there.”

“Jesus, did Taehyung show you some spot out here or something?” You asked, though you didn’t dare lift your head to look at him, afraid of losing his touch.

Jimin giggled. “Yeah, he did actually.” You fell into laughter, Jimin laughing with you as he shifted his position, his hand finding your chin and directing you to sit up and look at him.

“I don’t want to drive anymore, I just want to be here with you,” you told him and his thumb gently ran along your jaw. “Wherever we are right now, I just want to exist here with you and lose ourselves or whatever you said earlier in your poetry recital.”

He flashed you a stunning smile and nodded. “Ok, but,” he started, craning his body to reach for something in the backseat, “do you still,” he sat back in his seat holding a couple of long thin plastic packages up for you to see, “want to play with these?”

You reached for the packages in realization. “Oh my god,” you giggled, inspecting the sparklers. “Of course I do.”

Within a matter of seconds, you and Jimin were out in the cool air as Jimin used a lighter to ignite the ends of your sparklers. As they fizzled with sparks, you both backed away and began waving them around.

You were spinning and laughing as Jimin giggled and drew shapes. Several cars drove past but neither of you took notice. He gave several attempts to spell your name before the sparks faded out, but he could never complete the word in time, letting out yells of playful frustration.

It felt like a dream, and he was burning so brightly in the night air, carefree for the first time in months. He was beautiful.

By the time the sparklers burned out, you were both breathless, standing a few feet from one another, staring at each other. He walked toward you and when he was close enough, you gripped the material of his shirt and pulled him to you. Wrapping your arms around his waist, his secured themselves around the back of your head.

You didn’t know how long you stayed like that, but it was the closest you felt to him in months, and him you, and neither of you wanted to let go of that. Only time would tell how long it would take for things to feel normal, or whether normal was even a possibility. Maybe a new normal was in the making.

All you were certain of was you were willing to travel through the unknown, as long as he was by your side. And you weren’t letting go of the night. Not until the sun came up.

331 notes · View notes

jinterlude · 4 years

Text

Protecting Each Other

↳ Header created by the amazingly talented @kimtaehyunq from the BHQ’s Banner Request Board.

—Pairing: Seokjin x OC (Sumin) —Genre(s): The Last of US!AU, Zombie Apocalypse!AU, Fluff, Romance, Angst, Fantasy, Slight-Action, & Slight-Humor —Warning(s) / Rating: zombies, semi-graphic description of violence (mainly shooting and killing zombies), weapons (guns and a sword), light graphic description of injuries, blood, brief mentions/hints of deaths of a loved one, light suggestive moments (mainly making out), & swearing / 18+ —Word Count: 16K —Summary: In just one year, the virus swept the planet, destroying everything and everyone in its path and drastically changing the world. However, at least one thing is for certain—Seokjin & Sumin will always have each other.

—A/N: The moment you guys have been waiting for! It is the release of my BB Summer Collaboration Fic! Cue the cheers and confetti! I’m quite proud of myself with how this turned out! I would like to thank my soup friend and forever my number one supporter, Jey @softjeon. It is because of her that this story even came to be the way it is, so this story is dedicated to her.

↬ It is also dedicated to my amazing people: @jinned, @hobiance, @j-sope, @mindays, @ppersonna, @miamorjoon, @parksfilter, & @mygsii. Thank you guys for supporting me and just cheering me on when I needed it. You are truly one of a kind. ↫

» Feedback is always appreciated and thanks for giving my story a chance!

Destruction. That single word echoed in Sumin's mind frequently—on an endless loop. The faint smell of burnt and decaying flesh invaded her poor nostrils as the exhausted young woman carefully maneuvered around the lifeless bodies. Her eyes surveyed her current surroundings, noting how colorless the world had become. How the suffocating silence circled her, engulfing her entire body. Oh, how she missed the times where the sounds of laughter and lively chatter greeted her like a dear old friend. Instead, it was either the painful silence or agonizing screams that said, "hello," to her.

No longer did she see the vibrant colors that caught her attention before the outbreak began. Shifting her gaze downwards, she noted her attire. A faint yet amused smirk formed on her lips as she thought about the irony of her previous observation. She, too, no longer wore bright colors. Now, she wore all black from head to toe.

Her leather jacket? Black.

Her shredded jeans? Black.

Shoes? Black.

Every article of clothing that covered her bruised and wounded body was dark. Well, at least she'd be ready to pay her respects if someone close to her tragically died.

Now, standing in front of a man, who's currently crouched down catching his breath, Sumin remained on high alert. Her right hand gripped the hilt of her Japanese sword to the point that her knuckles turned white. Meanwhile, her left hand held the trusty semi-automatic pistol in front of her. Her index finger rested nicely on the trigger—ready to pull it back at even the faintest snarl heard. She needed to be prepared to fall into action. She couldn’t afford to falter because if she did, then it would cost her significantly. Her hesitation would cost her the life of the person who was the keeper of her heart. She would lose her long-time companion—Seokjin.

Protecting that man was the reason she needed to stay alive. Sadly, he was her only reason to do so. Her family and friends had tragically died one-by-one over the years. To be exact, it was ten years. Ten fucking years since this outbreak came into the picture. Ten fucking years since the zombie attack destroyed any ounce of normalcy she established since she was a child. Then, in a blink of an eye, it was gone, vanished with a snap of someone's fingers.

Only her boyfriend remained by her side, and the protective young woman prepared to do everything and anything to ensure it stayed that way.

As Sumin continued to stare into the fog, searching for any strange shadows, her eyes picked up a faint sound. Her breath hitched as she clutched her weapons, prepared to attack at any second. Suddenly, she felt a presence behind her. Then, out of the corner of her eye, she noticed a hand. Without a second thought, she swiftly turned around, pointing her pistol at the person's forehead. At the same time, the blade of her sword pressed into the intruder's neck.

But then, she dropped her weapons, both of the lethal items dangled by her side. A long sigh of relief exited her lips as the exhausted Sumin gave the person a dirty look.

"Jesus, Seokjin. I could've easily slaughtered you. You know that right." She scolded the young man, who only chuckled in response, which further irritated her.

Seokjin wrapped an arm around her shoulder, pulling her close as he planted a sweet kiss on her temple.

Sumin grimaced and pushed him away, "Ew. I'm all sweaty and bloodied up, Jinnie. No kissing until you and I shower," and just as she finished her statement, she dreaded it instantly. This sense of mischievousness twinkled in his eyes. His lips formed this playful smirk.

Oh, boy. Those two features never made a great combination in Sumin's book. If anything, what came next always left her either a blushing mess that couldn't string a coherent sentence together or chasing the idiot and threatening to punch him.

Silently, she prayed it would be the latter. Sumin wanted to make sure that she could still punch an undead person.

"Jinnie..." She began, forcing a sweet smile on her filthy face, "You better choose your next words carefully or else."

Seokjin's smirk grew, "I don't know what you're talking about sweetheart," He took a step forward, "I was about to suggest something that any loving boyfriend would do for his wonderful girlfriend." He shrugged as his eyes flickered towards Sumin for a moment.

Sumin's breath hitched but soon composed herself.

"Oh, so that's how he wants to play. Game on, Jinnie boy..." She amusingly thought, nodding her head slowly as an alluring smile crept on her face.

Without any warning, Sumin turned the pistol's safety on and tried to fire the gun as a precaution. She then tucked the firearm away in her thigh holster. She secured her prized weapon in its confinement, whistling softly to herself.

As she did that, this unsettling sensation washed over Seokjin's body. His heart raced as if he ran away from a hoard of starving zombies. He suddenly felt parched as Sumin continued to instill fear in him. Her body crouched as she tightened the shoelaces on her boots. How completely still she was as she did something so minuscule. His eyes continued studying her body language, noting how completely balanced she was. He subtly tilted his head, hoping to get a better look at his princess.

"Speaking of ass..." His eyes drifted down Sumin's back, but he forced himself out his unholy thoughts, "Wait, now is not the time to be checking out your girlfriend, Seokjin." He shook his head furiously. His ears perked up at the random sound Sumin made as she stood up. She dusted off her torn jeans before turning her body towards him. An overly sweet smile greeted the scared man.

Seokjin flashed a smile, chuckling nervously at her as he swallowed his saliva; his Adam's apple bobbed a few times. Sadly, it only made him thirstier.

His tongue swept the bottom of his dry lips. Then, he spoke,

"Princess," He began, clearing his dry throat, "Are you preparing for another battle with the undead?" A nervous chuckle escaped his lips, "You know, the more you whistle, the more anxious I become. Do you want that, Sumin? Do you want to be dealing with a nervous boyfriend while we fight for our lives? I think not!" He finished his rather dramatic yet short monologue.

Sumin's face went poker-faced as she nodded her head slowly. No words escaped her lips, maintaining the eerie silence that surrounds the environment. Her eyes narrowed as she homed in on her target. She cracked her neck, releasing the tension in her muscles as she took a step toward the poor man.

As she stepped forward, Seokjin stepped backward. The attractive couple continued this rather odd dance for a few minutes until - suddenly - Seokjin grabbed his pack and bolted away from the menacing young lady.

Sumin bolted after him, shouting at him to stop being such a coward and face her like a real man. Though, she was careful not to alert any enemies of their presence. The last thing she wanted to deal with, on top of Seokjin behaving like a child, was a mob of ravenous zombies.

Yup...definitely not on her nonexistent to-do list.

With her lungs practically begging for air, Sumin refused to let that man escape her grasps. She easily dodged the low hanging branches while keeping her eye on the prize. The prize of closing the gap between her and Seokjin, so she could punch the living shit out of him. What made the situation funnier was that Seokjin taunted her endlessly. Each insult that spewed out of that gorgeous man's mouth fueled her desire - that competitive drive - to tackle him to cold hard concrete.

Then, as if God answered her wish, Sumin's eyes gleamed with excitement as she focused her attention on his perfectly still body.

"HA! I knew you'd stop being such a little bitch and take my punch like a mature adult!" She exclaimed as she jogged up to him. Just as she drew back her fist, she swiftly caught on to Seokjin's odd expression. No longer did he wear this playful mask but now dawned an emotion that Sumin thought she'd never see again.

Complete and utter disbelief.

Carefully, Sumin placed a warm hand on the young man's broad shoulder; her eyes dripped with concern.

"Jinnie..." The concerned lady began but was soon interrupted.

"Do you know where we are, Sumin?"

"I...uh..."

"Imagine everything lit up. The entrance sign lit so brightly that blinded anyone who dared to stare directly at it. Now, add the sounds of the arcade and carnival games going off every second as loud chatter mixes in with the lively atmosphere. Children that scattered all over the fairgrounds as they ran towards their parents, screaming from excitement as they begged their parents to win them yet another gigantic stuffed animal."

Sumin still didn't quite understand what Seokjin was talking about until he said,

"Look at the broken-down stand in the far-right corner," He pointed in that specific direction, "You see those beaten up stuffed animals?" He asked as he intertwined their fingers together. He then guided the two of them towards the row of carnival games. The unhappy pair carefully maneuvered around the fallen debris, planning their steps accordingly. The last thing they wanted to do was deal with one of them having a broken ankle.

The more Seokjin and Sumin adventured down the row of destroyed carnival games, the more Sumin's face became solemn as sadness washed over her entire body. Her jaw clenched, and her breath hitched. She couldn't believe it. She took in every single torn down - practically shredded - dull banners as she passed the poorly maintained game stands. The same game stands she and Seokjin used to frequent every summer and the reason she came home with a massive pile of stuffed animals. It was thanks to that lovesick fool that she no longer had space in her closet for her cuddly friends. At the same time, it was because of those soft stuffed animals that got her hooked on Seokjin's charms in the first place.

God, the more she reminisced about her countless summer spent at this fair, the more she became depressed. However, she couldn't stop thinking about those specific moments in her life. After all, those days led her to the man that she absolutely could never imagine living her life without him.

"I wonder if this place was the first to go?" asked Sumin, voicing her innermost thoughts as her doe-like gaze switched to Seokjin. She noted how tight his jaw was as if he tried his hardest to maintain his composure.

"I hope not..." He trailed on as he continued to survey his surroundings, "Though, it wouldn't surprise me if it was since the annual summer fair always drew in a massive crowd." He finished, letting out a soft, airy chuckle.

The corners of her lips curved upward as Sumin read his mind.

"Yeah. Kind of how it drew us together for the very first time, right?"

"What do you mean, kind of drew us together? It matched two beautiful people together."

Sumin's face fell, "Are you sure? Because I remember our fateful meeting quite differently."

Seokjin gawked. He couldn't believe the words that came out of his princess' mouth.

"Oh, do tell how that day went, then, Minnie

"Gladly...!" She exclaimed with an intriguing twinkle in the corner of her eyes.

Seokjin scoffed playfully, "Oh, I can't wait to hear this."

The petite young female shot an irritated look at the attractive man before beginning her tale.

"Well, as you know, it started on that Friday evening. You had just gotten out of her last class of the week and..." Sumin trailed on. Her words echoed in the back of Seokjin's mind as he, too, recalled their meeting so vividly.

For the twentieth time that evening, Sumin checked her appearance using her front-facing camera. Her trembling hands ran through her beach curled hair, positioning it in a way that made her look charming yet radiated innocence. It wasn't every day that she was set up on a blind date by a good friend of hers. However, she wasn't a stranger to the dating scene, so why did she feel so damn nervous? Why did her heart pound against her chest as if she ran from her house to the fairgrounds?

Suddenly a look of complete and utter dread washed over her face as this horrendous thought implanted itself in her frenzied mind. Without a second thought, Sumin subtly smelled herself, praying to every God known to man that her sweet rose perfume still lingered around her body. She sneakily raised her arms and took a quick whiff under her armpits.

"Oh, thank God. My tropical fruit-scented deodorant is still working." She thought as this massive sigh of relief exited her lips. She dropped her arm, and as she raised her head, her eyes went round. Her breath hitched as this feeling of embarrassment hit her like a tidal wave.

"Please don't be my blind date. Please don't be my blind date." She repeatedly chanted as a drop-dead gorgeous man started walking up to her. With every footstep, he slowly closed the gap between them, and as he closed that distance, Sumin's anxiety increased. The butterflies in the pit of her stomach flew into a flurry, which only caused the poor young girl to smile nervously. She also chuckled softly as she awkwardly waved her hand.

"Great. Now, that handsome fellow is going to think I'm this huge doofus." She mused as she quickly mustered the sweetest smile and introduced herself.

"Nice to meet you, Sumin. I'm Seokjin, but my friends call me Worldwide Handsome." The handsome fellow greeted back, playfully winking at her as he displayed this thousand-watt smile.

Sumin became lost for words. She slightly parted her mouth as she wrapped her mind around the fact that this attractive man seriously said that his friends called him "Worldwide Handsome." Her eyes flickered with annoyance before switching back to politeness.

But before she could ask him if he was serious, Seokjin beat her to it.

"I'm kidding. My friends don't call me that," Another wave of relief washed over Sumin, but once she heard Seokjin's next sentence, that moment of peace was over, "I call myself that. I've been spending my entire high school career trying to get my tasteless friends to admit that I'm good looks are enough for me to hold the title of 'Worldwide Handsome.'"

Out of nowhere, Sumin felt a slight twitch in her right eye. Her body heated up. Her breathing grew heavy as her nostrils flared slightly.

Yeah, they didn't even get past the formalities., and his words ended the date right there.

As the irked young lady opened her mouth, ready to apologize to him that she wanted to end the date, a high-pitch noise emitted from his lips. It was almost as if she activated her car's windshield wipers.

"Oh, my God, I can't keep this charade up any longer," He paused, continuing his fit of laughter. The laughter grew too much for him as he clutched the sides of his stomach. "Congrats, princess. You passed." He vaguely announced, further irritating Sumin.

The serious honey-brown haired woman stared at the tall immature man through slit eyes. Her mind battled if she should ask him to clarify or not. Part of her - scratch that - most of her wanted to go home, but, sadly, the curious side got the best of her, so she asked Seokjin what he meant by his strange words.

The towering, well-dressed man cleared his throat, "Well, my young and surprisingly beautiful princess, what I meant is that you passed the, 'can this potential girlfriend handle my arrogant side and be honest with her reaction rather be fake?' test." He answered, keeping this calm tone of voice.

Suddenly, Seokjin shot Sumin with a playful wink, as he dug out his wallet from the pocket of his light pastel blue zipper hooded sweatshirt. A faint, "ah-ha," escaped his plump lips as he waved his black leather wallet in front of the unamused female.

Sumin raised her brow, finding Seokjin's actions odd and silently berating herself for not going home yet. She couldn't quite put her finger on it, but something in the back of her head told her to continue humoring the princely idiot.

Her conscience had better be right.

"Is that your hint that you want me to pay for our entrance tickets?" inquired Sumin as she prepared to dig for her wallet in her cotton candy-colored purse. However, as her fingertips grazed the zipper of the wallet, Seokjin gently grasped her wrists. For a split second, a single strand of electricity shot up through her right arm, igniting the nerves that laid beneath.

The longer Seokjin touched her wrist, the more Sumin's cheeks became heated. Just this once, Sumin was glad that it was Summer. She could easily blame the heat on her flushed cheeks, and not the fact that she felt this unspeakable spark between them.

Not wanting to become a blushing mess, Sumin gently tore her hand away from his grasp—much to Seokjin's dismay. Unknown to her, but he felt that spark as well. Never in his years of dating other women did he feel the same that Sumin did. The kicker was that she didn't even know that she had this hold - this magnetic pull- over him. Seriously. She could ask him to tell his friend Jungkook that he sucked at bowling, and he would gladly do it even though it was a death wish in doing so.

Wait, what happened? Where did those thoughts come from as he usually would never think about that, especially towards a woman he had just met? Pushing the confusion away, Seokjin lightly shook his head and plastered a sincere smile on his attractive face.

"Anyway, since we are losing daylight, why don't we go inside the fairgrounds, and yes, I'm gonna pay for your ticket. Don't argue with me on that, okay?" He kindly suggested as he maintained the wicked smile that caused both men and women to swoon over him.

Sumin chuckled, "Alright, you can pay for my entrance ticket, but I'm gonna pay you back by winning you a stuffed animal, cool?" She said with a sunny, innocent smile.

Seokjin's body slightly froze as he thought, "Okay, she might have beaten me in terms of having a smile that caused hearts to skip a beat," He quickly pulled himself back into reality and agreed to Sumin's suggestion.

Though, it wouldn't result in her trying to win him a stuffed alpaca. An hour into their date, Sumin wanted to succeed at winning him that cuddly stuffed alpaca but kept losing at the ring toss. Refusing to give up, the stubborn young lady shelled out another ten-dollar bill and slammed it on the wooden counter.

"Alright, Seokjin, prepare to- wait, what are you doing?" She questioned as Seokjin took the tiny plastic ring from her dainty hands.

The equally as determined man positioned himself in front of her and said,

"I'm gonna win you that alpaca, princess," He stretched his right arm, warming up his muscles, "So, prepare to be amazed by my professional throwing skills!" He announced; his voice was almost loud enough to be overheard by every single person at the carnival.

Sumin giggled softly, shaking her head playfully. Then, a brilliant yet bold idea popped into her mind.

With a seductive grin painted on her lips, Sumin stood on the tips of her toes and courageously planted a kiss on Seokjin's cheek. On the outside, Sumin appeared calm as a clam. However, on the inside, it felt like there was a tornado in the pit of her stomach. Then, a feeling of regret followed, but Sumin pushed it away. A good friend of hers told Sumin that she needed to be confident and more flirtatious. Now, she hoped that her friend's advice paid off.

"I'm sorry if that was too forward, I thought you could use a kiss for good luck?" Sumin quickly apologized, averting her gaze. Her cheeks became flushed as the bashful woman messed with the hem of her dress.

Then, a hand clamped over hers before the cold sweat from her hands left an embarrassing stain.

Sumin's eyes trailed upward and soon widened with how close Seokjin's face was. He was so close that their noses were merely inches away from bumping into each other.

As the doe-eyed Sumin parted her mouth to speak, Seokjin gently pressed his right index finger on her lips. Sumin's gaze flickered to his hand, noticing the plastic ring hanging on his pinky.

"First, thank you for that sweet kiss. It granted me all the luck in the world needed to win these rigged carnival games," He removed his index finger and stood up straight, "Second, now I'm even more determined to win you that alpaca so that I can get another kiss. Perhaps, this time, maybe on the lips?" He flirted, winking at her before he turned his back towards her and prepared to play the ring toss game.

Sumin mustered enough courage and composed herself.

"Let's talk after you win me, RJ."

"RJ?"

"Yeah, that's going to be the name of our cuddly stuffed animal."

Seokjin chuckled at how adorable Sumin was.

"Okay, RJ, it is."

Sumin cheered as she shook her hands in excitement, eager to hug the alpaca.

Her cheers faded into the back of his mind as Seokjin gently pulled himself away from that beautiful memory. It honestly felt so real to him. The smell of deep-fried food lingered around his nostrils while the sounds of Sumin's cute protests echoed in his ears. A reminiscent smile formed on his gorgeous face as he recalled the events that happened after he successfully won her RJ. She dragged him around each food stand and paid for any item that they wanted to try together, though Seokjin offered to pay for the more expensive food items. However, being the stubborn woman that she was, Sumin swatted his hands every time he reached for his wallet.

To this day, he could still feel the stinging sensation on the backs of his hands. Who would've thought that his princess had some strength to her?

"Why are you rubbing your hand, Jinnie?" Sumin's voice pulled Seokjin away from his thoughts. He glanced down and low and behold; he did rub his hand as if she smacked his hand a few minutes before. He ceased his odd action and then threw a warm and loving arm around Sumin's shoulders and pulled her close.

"Don't worry about it, princess, but I still think that you told some aspects of our first date incorrectly." He teased with a lop-sided grin. "If I remember that night correctly, it was I who tried out the ring toss stand first," He playfully tapped Sumin's nose, "And it was you came to my aid like the breathtakingly goddess protector I know you are." He finished before innocently pecking her sweet lips.

Sumin playfully rolled her eyes as the corner of her mouth curved upward. She then lightly shoved her foolish boyfriend, creating space between them.

"Anyway, where should we go next? We still need to find these so-called, 'Fireflies,' if we want any answers on this cure." She asked, surveying the abandoned fairgrounds. Her eyes flickered from every direction, ensuring that there weren't any abnormal shadows nearby.

A faint hum emitted from Seokjin's mouth as he, too, looked around. Then, something captured his attention as he was about to finish his search. He quickly focused his gaze onto the Ferris-wheel as he annoyingly pushed Sumin, repeatedly telling her to look into the distance.

The annoyed honey-brown haired girl lightly slapped his hand away, demanding that he stop being weird.

"I can't help it. You just make me a fool for you, Minnie." Seokjin flirted, causing his girlfriend to gag.

"I swear you are too much sometimes," She readjusted the strap that held her Katana, "But, when you want to, you do spout some intellectual things," She smiled brightly at Seokjin, "Let's head towards that Ferris-wheel and use it as our vantage point." She suggested, which of course, Seokjin agreed as he laced his fingers with hers. Then, the two hiked over to the gigantic wheel, hoping that it could give them some form of a clue.

Minutes later, the duo arrived in front of the rusty Ferris-wheel. The curious young woman broke away from her boyfriend as this strange magnetic pull forced her to step towards the poorly maintained ride. Her fingers grazed the rough cold metal as Sumin noted both the rust and vines that surrounded the wheel.

"It's so strange..." muttered the shocked girl as she stepped back.

Seokjin slowly nodded, unsure what to say next as specific memories plagued his mind. Thoughts of him and Sumin passing by this very Ferris-wheel as he begged her to go on it with him. Whenever he explained to Sumin why they had to ride this attraction, he always told her that it was part of the book of romance. Naturally, his sweetheart demanded that she sees this book so that she could see that so-called rule. The more he thought of that event, the more he chuckled.

His princess was always the skeptical one, but that made their relationship refreshing. They never behaved like any other couple, and he wouldn't want it any other way.

As he forced himself away from his beautiful memories of his lovely lady, he noticed Sumin doing something strange in the corner of his eye.

"Uh...sweetheart? What are you doing?" questioned Seokjin as he continued to watch his girlfriend with curiosity.

Sumin hummed as she glanced over her shoulder, "Oh, I’m gonna climb the Ferris-wheel and use it as our vantage point." She explained as she undid the belt that held her Katana and shrugged off her leather jacket.

"I see...I see..." Then, her words finally registered in his mind, "I'm sorry? Did you say that you were going to climb the Ferris-wheel? Miss ‘I'm afraid of heights’?" He asked with a quizzical expression on his face. The longer he thought about his girlfriend climbing up that poorly maintained carnival attraction, the more he became concerned. It didn’t help that those worries conjured up every worst-case scenario known to man and flooded his mind with them.

Yeah…

He definitely did not want Sumin climbing up there, and just as he shrugged off his jacket, Sumin spoke,

"Yup! Now, stay down here and keep watch, okay? You have my sword if you need an extra weapon." She said with a cheerful smile, reassuring her worried boyfriend. It was as if she read his mind and wanted to wash away his unnecessary concerns.

Seokjin looked utterly stunned. Every time he opened his mouth to say something, Seokjin swiftly closed it as he knew that he couldn't stop his headstrong princess from doing something if she already made up her mind.

Letting out a defeated sigh, Seokjin quickly hugged her and placed a warm kiss on her temple. As he pulled away, he told her,

"Remember what I told you the first time we rode this together?"

"Yeah...don't look down."

Seokjin uttered a quick, "good," as he released his loving hold on Sumin and watched her start her journey up the rusty fair ride.

His eyes remained glued on her body as he watched the love of his life climbed up the ladder of the neglected attraction. Seokjin's mind drifted to the first time he successfully got his princess to ride the Ferris-wheel as he stared at her fading backside, slowly becoming one with the sky.

Crossing her arms underneath her chest, Sumin blinked a few times. She tilted her head slightly as she tried to comprehend the fact that her boyfriend of almost two years wanted her to go to the Ferris-wheel. Also known as the fair's local death trap.

A short yet heavy sigh escaped the hesitant woman as her gaze focused on Seokjin, who currently nibbled on his bottom lip. A cute little habit that Seokjin had whenever he was deep in thought. That was one of the many quirks she learned about him over their two years of being together. The fun part of that sentence was that he always had her learn something new about him every day.

That was one part of their loving and entertaining relationship that she would never trade for the most expensive diamond in the entire universe.

Seokjin was priceless, and Sumin was incredibly lucky to be with someone like him.

Speaking of which...

"Okay, I got the ultimate bribery for you, princess!" Seokjin piped up, pulling Sumin away from her loving thoughts.

The corners of her lips turned up as curiosity burned in Sumin's eyes.

"Oh? And, what are you exactly going to bribe me with, huh, Jinnie boy?" She asked with hints of playfulness in her words.

Seokjin chuckled, "I'm glad you asked, my curious kitten," He then pointed at the nearby cotton candy stand, "If you go on the Ferris-wheel with me, I will buy you all the cotton candy your heart desires!" He exclaimed with eyes practically pleading Sumin to say yes.

A hum escaped her lips as Sumin lightly tapped her chin; her bottom lip jutted out as she "seriously" thought about his offer.

"I don't know, Seokjin, you know well enough that I'm deathly afraid of heights, you're practically asking me to risk my life just for tonight since you want to see the 4th of July firework show at the top of the wheel," Sumin lightly shook her head, "You're gonna have to do better than that, Jinnie." She stated, shrugged her shoulders.

Seokjin's eyes narrowed on her as he mentally cursed at how argumentative Sumin could get—when she wanted to be. He made a mental note to make sure that his princess never hung out with a particular headstrong friend of hers. If he didn't know any better, he knew that Sumin's good friend more than likely told her about his romantic plans for their 4th of July celebration.

"That pain in the ass..." He muttered to himself, rolling his eyes.

Unfortunately, for him, Sumin heard his words and assumed that he called her that. However, she knew better not to start a fight with him over an assumption. She learned that lesson the hard way after an evening of arguing with him over a hunch that almost caused them to break up just before the night of their big first-anniversary date. From that night on, Sumin learned to always ask for clarification. She vowed never to feel that devastating heartbreak again.

Mustering an innocent smile, Sumin eyed him accusingly, "I'm sorry, who's 'that pain in the ass'?"

Seokjin nearly choked on his spit. His body tensed. He then slowly focused his gaze onto the woman that not only made his heart skip a beat but also instilled fear into him. There was nothing in between those two feelings.

The nervous young man opened his mouth to speak but soon closed it as he had to pick his next choice of words carefully. Having a full-blown fight with her was certainly not on tonight’s romantic agenda. Instead, he wanted to share the most magical kiss with his princess and then confess how much he loved her.

While, yes, they had been together for almost two years, Seokjin and Sumin never said, "I love you," to each other. Their mutual friends told them that they took their relationship a little too slow for their liking. Still, Sumin wanted to make sure their feelings towards each other were genuine, and Seokjin respected that.

He wanted her to know that he was just as serious about them as she was.

Which motivated the handsome fool to say,

"Not you," He gently took Sumin's hands as complete and utter adoration burned in his eyes, "Which is why not only will I give you an endless supply of cotton candy, but I will bestow you the most romantic kiss ever known to man, if you agree to go on the Ferris-wheel with me," He quickly glanced at his watch, "We have exactly an hour to wait in that line, get on one of those carts, and slowly ride up to the top of the wheel where we will stop and enjoy the firework display," He smiled warmly at her, praying to every God out there that she would say yes, "So, how about it? You and me? All alone in that surprisingly roomy compartment?" He finished, eager to hear Sumin's answer.

Sumin remained silent as she glanced up to the Ferris-wheel, pondering for a moment. Then, after what seemed like an eternity of waiting, she opened her sweet lips and said,

"Yes. I will ride the Ferris-wheel with you."

Sumin suddenly shrieked, followed by this soft laughter as Seokjin abruptly picked her up and twirled her around. Bystanders would've thought that he just proposed to her, and she said yes. That was how ecstatic Seokjin was for finally getting Sumin to agree to ride the wheel with him, especially since he knew how afraid of heights she was.

That was true love right there, and it solidified the never-ending devotion he bore for her.

Gently placing his princess on the ground, Seokjin softly pecked her nose before intertwining their hands together.

With a sincere smile painted on his lips, the handsome young man guided the woman, he absolutely adored, towards the semi-long waiting line to get on the ride. The happy couple passed the time by talking about everything and anything popped in their heads. They talked about how their college courses went the past Spring Semester. They spoke of how goofy their group of friends was, especially when two of their friends sabotaged each other's audition for the theater department's Spring musical.

Sumin still couldn't believe that Jungkook and Hoseok became infatuated with the same girl, who auditioned to play the main heroine in the play.

Slightly shaking her head, she cuddled up to Seokjin as she wrapped her arms around his waist, covering her goose-bumped riddled arms. She buried her face in his chest, inhaling the addictive scent of his cologne.

Seokjin peered down with an amused smirk plastered on his face.

"I'm starting to think that you only restocked my cologne with this scent because you personally like it," He shuffled their bodies up to the front of the line, "Not so much that you think that it's a scent that works well on me." He teased, chuckling at how precious Sumin was as she vigorously shook her head.

She then looked up with her doe-like gaze, “I bought it because you said that you personally liked it and it worked well for you,” She untangled himself for her but only for Seokjin to wrap his arms around her waist and rest his chin on her shoulder, “Don’t pin it on me, mister.” She stated as the ride operator asked if they wanted to ride alone or together while the cart slowly stopped in front of the couple.

Seokjin quickly answered that they wanted to ride together before Sumin had the chance to say some sarcastic remark.

The ride operator nodded and waved them over, allowing them to cross the safety line. The carnival worker politely helped Sumin into the cart then helped Seokjin afterward. The worker quickly did the safety check, making sure everything worked properly before pushing the start button.

The second the cart moved upwards, Sumin’s breath hitched. Panic settled in the pit of her tummy. Her breathing grew sporadic as the carriage continued going higher.

Out of the corner of his eye, Seokjin noticed how tense his princess was and reached over to grab her hands. He gently caressed the backs of her hands as he whispered words of encouragement and peppered her faces with kisses.

“I know it’s too late to say this, but don’t look down.”

“Oh, you’re damn right it’s too late to say that!”

A low whine escaped her mouth as she continued to resist taking a peek down below. The extremely stressed out girl flailed her legs as if she hoped that maybe her kicking her legs would speed up the ride. It didn’t, but a girl could dream, right?

Sumin whined, “Ah, how much longer to the top, Jinnie?” She asked, her voice shaky as she placed a trembling hand on her chest. She felt how her heart practically hammered against her chest, and then it suddenly stopped.

Slowly prying one of her eyes open, Sumin saw Seokjin’s hands tightly holding hers. That explained why she suddenly felt this warmth transfer to her cold hands. However, she began to feel more than just his body heat; she started to feel his courage. The longer he held onto her, the more she felt safe with him. With Seokjin by her side, whispering words of encouragement and showering her with all of the admiration he bore for her, she felt invincible.

Seokjin challenged her by facing her fear of heights. He showed her that while yes, it terrified her to no end, she still had a courageous side to her that needed just a little shove.

Ah, Sumin hated when he unknowingly proved a point to her… God damn it…

Gently opening her other eye, a faint gasp escaped her gentle lips. Her eyes widened at the marvelous view. The city lights twinkled like the stars in the night sky as tiny streaks of red and white gradually passed by the fairgrounds.

What she currently saw, at that moment, was the epitome of a brand-new world—and she owed it all to Seokjin.

Without a second thought, Sumin grabbed Seokjin’s face and kissed his cheek sweetly, letting out a giggle as she pulled away.

A boyish grin appeared on Seokjin’s princely face, “What was that for, princess?” He lightly questioned.

Sumin maintained her loving smile, “For always pushing me to be better,” She said, resting her head against his broad shoulder, “You always know me better than I know myself.” She added as Seokjin rested his head against hers.

“Well, think of it as me returning the favor. You constantly pushed me out of my comfort zone, so naturally, I’d do the same for you.” He stated with a meaningful expression as the Ferris-wheel momentarily came to a halt.

Sumin’s brows furrowed as tiny creases formed on her forehead. Curiosity washed against her body but soon evaporated as the couple heard loud booms followed by flashes of colorful lights.

The easily enamored young lady stared into the night sky in complete awe. Her eyes sparkled like the fireworks that lit up the sky. It was during that moment that Sumin briefly forgot that she was an adult with responsibilities. Responsibilities that came with being a college student who enrolled in a full course load of classes. She forgot about the endless pile of assignments, group projects, and presentations.

For only tonight, the only thing - the only person - she needed to focus on was the attractive fellow that sat next to her.

Which reminded her…

Taking a slow, deep breath, Sumin emptied the nerves that riddled her body. She repeated that action a few more times until she felt weightless. For the past few

months, unknown to Seokjin, she practiced how to confess her love to him. After all, this would be a gigantic leap for them in their relationship.

With a final deep exhale, the shy brunette turned her body towards her boyfriend as the fireworks continued to decorate the black canvas that covered the town. Flashes of color illuminated the Ferris-wheel as Sumin slowly leaned in with rosy-colored cheeks.

“Seokjin…?” She softly called out to him, causing the boy to hum in response; though, his eyes didn’t leave the firework show.

“Can you look at me for a second? I need to tell you something.”

“Oh, that is not something any boyfriend wants to hear coming out of their girlfriend’s mouth.”

“I’m serious, Jinnie!”

“I’m serious too, princess! The moment any girlfriend says that to their significant other, it’s—”

Seokjin’s lips were captured by Sumin’s. Her hands slowly reached up to his neck, gently grasping it as she pulled him closer. Their chests pinned against one another as the couple gradually became lost in each other’s embrace. Seokjin’s hands rested on Sumin’s thighs. At the same time, her fingers entangled themselves in between locks of his hair, gently tugging at them as their kiss grew more fervent.

Tiny moans floated into the air, mixing with the powerful booms from the firecrackers, as the two battled for dominance; neither one of them allowed the other to win, as Seokjin and Sumin remained in their tight embrace for what seemed like an eternity.

Reluctantly, Sumin pulled away as she remembered why she called for him in the first place.

“As I was saying before we passionately kissed each other,” She smiled brightly, chuckling as she wiped away her remaining lip gloss off Seokjin’s swollen lips, “I need to tell you something, and no, I’m not confessing a relationship sin nor am I breaking up with you, you dramatic doofus.” Sumin paused again, soothing the butterflies that fluttered in her tummy, “I wanted to tell you that…I’m in love with you…” She finally confessed with bright red cheeks as passion burned in her eyes.

A massive sigh of relief escaped her lips as she finally and courageously announced that she was utterly head-over-heels in love with him. Now, she didn’t expect Seokjin to say it back since they both agreed, at the beginning of their relationship, that they would say, “I love you,” at their own pace, but a part of her felt afraid. Scared that maybe she said it a little too soon for Seokjin’s liking and now scared him off.

Oh, great. Here came the regret of announcing her love too early, hitting Sumin like a massive tidal wave as her boyfriend remained silent with a straight face.

Sumin sucked in air between clenched teeth, nodding her head as she scolded herself for confessing her love. Slowly, she turned her body, and as she was about to create space between them, she felt a pair of hands cup her cheeks and pull her into the most mind-blowing kiss ever.

Her eyes fluttered close as she became lost in the kiss, and during that heated exchange, she heard Seokjin say in between pecks,

“I’m…in…love…with…you…too…”

With one and final kiss, Seokjin pulled away, though he would instead continue kissing her as he showed her just how much he loved her. As he unraveled himself from her body, he couldn’t help but smirk as he noticed how flushed Sumin’s cheeks were.

He wasn’t going to lie, seeing his princess, a total blushing mess boosted his confidence as this sense of pride surged through his body. He unknowingly puffed out his broad chest as he flung a warm around Sumin’s chest while the Ferris-wheel slowly resumed operating.

“You know, I don’t think our future anniversaries are going to top this one.”

“Yeah. I think you might be right, but I’ll still love you even if our next year’s date consists of us chilling on my roof and stargazing.”

“Huh. I think you just gave me an idea for our annual Autumn dates!”

Slowly opening her eyes, a faint smile graced Sumin's face as Seokjin's words echoed throughout her mind.

And true to her boyfriend's word, he did set up a stargazing date for their yearly Autumn dates.

It still baffled her mind that he was always consistent whenever he suggested something unexpectedly, but that was something that made her fall more in love with Seokjin.

Speaking of love…

Peering down with an exciting twinkle in her eye, Sumin took a deep breath before shouting,

“If I recall that night correctly, I did not confess my love to you until the week after!”

Not even a minute later, Sumin heard Seokjin’s fake laughter, causing the amused young woman to genuinely chuckle as she shook her head, slowly climbing down the Ferris-wheel. There was no point in staying up there if she didn’t see any abnormalities in the shadows.

As the fearless lady descended the ladder, Sumin could hear Seokjin make a few jabs at her memory—or lack of one.

“And another thing, my gorgeous yet always wrong princess! How could I’ve told the story wrong when my memory is ten times better than yours!? So, there! I win!” bragged Seokjin, completely forgetting the fact this booming voice could easily attract a horde of the undead.

A low growl escaped from the annoyed girl’s lip as she paused in her steps. Her gaze drifted upward as the anger bubbled within her chest. Her grip tightened on the rusty metal of the ladder; her knuckles turned white, which meant that the poor girl was seconds away from punching her oh-so-charming boyfriend.

Was it too late to leave Seokjin behind while she journeyed off to find the Fireflies? After all, her boyfriend could easily manage a bunch of zombies on his own.

Forcing out a sigh, Sumin continued her journey down, loving yet hating the fact that she could never leave him behind.

She loved him too damn much…

Little by little, Sumin gradually closed the gap between herself and the sweet ground that she wished her feet stepped on as opposed to the tiny stairs. As much as she didn’t mind heights anymore, she would rather be on the floor if she could help it. More comfortable to defend herself and Seokjin if necessary.

“Ah, I hope he’s doing….” She mumbled to herself, stopping abruptly when her eyes picked up something strange into the distance. She halted in her place. Her eyes squinted, hoping that it would help her vision become sharper. Then, her breath hitched as it grew sporadic. Her chest tightened as she gripped the ladder once again.

This heaviness of complete and utter dread crashed into Sumin’s body like a gigantic tidal wave that hit into a city. She slowly felt the wind knock out of her as the horrific shrieks drew near.

Then, her heart completely stopped the moment she heard Seokjin cry out to her in terror.

“Seokjin, just leave me!” She commanded sternly as the adrenaline-fueled woman rushed down the ladder, no longer caring if she fell from the ladder. Sumin was close to the ground anyway and could quickly get into a combat-ready stance while Seokjin dashed to safety.

Seokjin’s safety would forever and always be a top priority for Sumin…

As the worried young woman descended from the maintenance ladder, practically near the gravel, she heard Seokjin idiotically taunt the undead as they surrounded him, desiring so much to eat his warm flesh. However, the secretly terrified young man couldn’t let his fear consume him. He needed to protect Sumin as he could never imagine living his life without her. Since the start of this horrendous outbreak, the lovestruck man vowed to protect his beloved and ensured that no harm came her way.

He hasn’t failed yet, nor would he ever fail at keeping his promise because, just like Sumin, Seokjin’s utmost priority is his girlfriend’s safety.

Using his sacred promise as his motivator to keep fighting, Seokjin peeked into the scope and fired shot after shot with his semi-automatic rifle, readying another round of ammo as his ammunition clip emptied.

Just as he pulled out the emptied ammo, Seokjin felt something sharp swipe at his right arm, creating a gash on his bicep as blood streamed down and stained his black leather jacket; though, it didn’t matter as no one would notice it. Well, the horde of undead caught it as the addicting scent of fresh plasma enticed them even more, sending them into a frenzy.

The injured man winced as the pain grew increasingly unbearable, but he refused to stop fighting. The moment he ceased firing, they would attack Sumin and more than likely kill her.

No…

Seokjin would never allow that to happen…

Not as long as his heart continued beating…

Exhausting his last amount of strength, Seokjin suddenly stopped firing and rammed the end of his semi-automatic rifle into one of the zombies before shooting a few bullets into its decaying body. As the adrenaline-fueled protector readied to fight off more zombies, he failed to realize that he had a few rushing at him from his flank. As their growls grew close, Seokjin knew it was too late to fire a few rounds at them while five more zombies ran at him from the front.

No matter which direction he focused on, those undead bastards would aggressively claw at him before devouring his juicy flesh. However, he couldn’t let that thought deter him from his personal objective; his mission of getting Sumin to the Fireflies, so those groups of doctors could create a cure that would one day restore humanity on this lonely planet.

That’s why he had to keep fighting….

Breathing deeply, Seokjin readied his weapon, releasing bullet after bullet at the horde in front of him, ignoring the ones that rushed at him from behind.

But he also neglected his ride-or-die partner…

A loud grunt entered one ear and exited through the other, followed by the sound of a sharp object impaling one flesh after the other before bodies dropped right behind the handsome man. Their decaying, decapitated heads rolled towards the assailant’s feet before the person kicked to the side like a soccer ball.

Seokjin faintly scoffed as he glanced behind his shoulder and whispered, “And I thought it was my job to save you, p-princess…” as the last bar of his energy finally depleted. His face paled from the amount of blood that slowly drained from his arm. His eyes shuttered close as Seokjin gave in to the exhaustion that plagued him. His legs wobbled as his knees buckled in, ready for his entire body to collapse onto the pavement.

Yep…Seokjin depleted all of his energy…

However, as he was seconds away from dropping to the floor, Sumin quickly sheathed her Katana and grabbed Seokjin before he could. She then wrapped his uninjured arm around her shoulders as she hoisted Seokjin and supported his weight with all the strength she mustered minutes before.

“C-come on, Jinnie…” A few grunts left her lips, “You c-can’t give up on me just yet.” Sumin’s voice quavered as she struggled to reach for Seokjin’s assault rifle. Her fingertips grazed the strap a few times before she successfully wrapped them around the leather material and hung it around her boyfriend’s neck. Of course, she switched the rifle’s safety on before doing that. Insult to injury would be that she caused the death of her boyfriend.

“Alright…” She softly began as she surveyed her surroundings, hearing loud shrieks in the distance. Terror settled in her face, but Sumin didn’t allow it to show. No. The second she let the fear win, it was game over for her and Seokjin.

And Sumin would never allow that to occur, so she had to think of a place for them to hide.

Her mind went into overdrive as she thought of all the possible places for them to wait for the horde to lose interest in them quietly. The site also had to provide them enough cover that could not only disguise their scent but ward off the stench of blood as she patched Seokjin’s deep wound.

Sumin’s concerned gaze glanced at her boyfriend’s limp and severely injured arm as streams of blood stained his scarred hand.

Quickly shaking her head, the worried girlfriend forcibly pushed away any possible worst-case scenarios as it would neither help her or Seokjin in their current situation.

Suddenly, another thunderous, bone-chilling scream echoed in the eerie atmosphere, and this time it sounded nearby.

“Shit…!” She cursed through clenched teeth as she readjusted Seokjin’s weight against hers. “Okay, do you remember where the Hall of Mirrors was at?” She asked, guiding them away from the pile of lifeless zombies.

Seokjin groaned a few times. His eyes fought to stay open, but he found it difficult to do so. Shit, he barely registered Sumin’s question. That was how drained he was.

Sumin’s brows furrowed as wrinkles formed on her forehead. Her heart tightened from Seokjin’s lack of response.

“You know what, it’s okay, Jinnie,” Sumin forced an affectionate yet tired smile, “I think I remember where it was at,” She said, hunching her body as Seokjin’s weight slowly collapsed on top of her tired body. Still, she exerted enough of her depleting energy to keep them standing.

“Alright, let’s go.” She whispered, hobbling the two of them over to the entrance of the Hall of Mirrors. She kept her right arm anchored on Seokjin’s waist. At the same time, her left hand interlocked with his as she practically dragged them towards the entryway.

In between her grunts, she suddenly heard Seokjin let out this light chuckle. Sumin couldn’t help but giggle as her boyfriend’s delirious expression was priceless; though, she shouldn’t find his dying state hilarious. She believed the dehydration slowly crept on her emotional state and took a mental note to take a few big gulps from her canister. Just one of the many containers filled with water that Sumin and Seokjin filtered by boiling out the impurities from a river they stumbled upon a few weeks back.

But before she could dive into the hilarious memory associated with that river, a string of slurred words entered her ears followed with pain-induced groans.

Sumin forced air through her nose, “Seokjin, save what little strength you have. Okay?” She kindly suggested, though, it sounded more of a demand.

“B-But…princess…” Seokjin winced as his eyes opened slightly, “We can f-finally settle o-our bet once and f-for all.” He finished, stumbling over some words.

Sumin briefly halted their steps but swiftly resumed as they couldn’t afford to stop with a pack of starving zombies on their trails.

With a raised brow, Sumin asked what he meant by his rather vague statement as she and Seokjin finally passed through the entryway to the Hall of Mirrors. Correction. The place was now a dark, spacious area surrounded by broken mirrors and cracked glass decorated the pathway.

“I mean, S-Sumin…” He coughed twice, causing the tired girl to become alarmed and even more concerned for Seokjin’s wellbeing, “Don’t you r-remember on our fourth a-anniversary that y-you a-and I made a bet—” Seokjin let out a loud cry as Sumin accidentally bumped his injured arm against the wall as her body finally gave up on her. The two of them collapsed onto the floor, panting heavily.

“Sorry, Seokjin.” The exhausted young lady mumbled as she took a minute to catch her breath before moving his body to a more comfortable position.

Seokjin made a face before continuing where he left off.

“As I w-was saying before you c-carelessly d-dropped me,” Sumin shot him an icy glare, resulting with him swiftly apologizing before resuming, “Anyway, you a-and I made a b-bet on our f-fourth a-anniversary because neither one of us h-had y-yet to come inside here,” Seokjin repeated, hoping that something – anything – triggered Sumin to have this lightbulb moment.

Then, like clockwork, she did.

“Oh, my God…” She trailed on as she took off her jacket and tied her hair up in a pony-tail, “Are you talking about that stupid bet that you created because you were too much of a chicken to go in this place by yourself?” She questioned, emphasizing a specific word.

Seokjin gawked but let out a few more coughs, “That b-bet isn’t stupid!” He declared, wincing loudly as Sumin carefully removed the torn leather jacket sleeve from his arm. The fabric lightly grazed his gaping wound, creating an endless wave of this unbearable stinging sensation.

Sumin smiled wanly as she gently held his injured arm, assessing the severity of the wound.

“I know you’re in pain, Jinnie, but the bet was stupid, and I’ll tell you why.” She said in a matter-of-fact tone, not realizing that Seokjin closed his eyes, surrendering to the darkness that slowly swamped his mind. Sumin didn’t notice this yet, but Seokjin sadly began reacting to the virus that caused this damn outbreak in the first place.

Minutes rolled by and still no snippy remark from Seokjin. Panic settled in Sumin as she immediately shifted her focus on him. She gently cupped his marked-up cheek; her eyes dripped with fear.

“Jinnie?” She lightly tapped his face while the anxiety settled within her chest, “You gotta stay away, okay? Just stay awake for me. P-please…” She desperately begged as tears formed in the brim of her eyes. “After all, you have to travel down memory lane with me on how that stupid bet came to be…” She stated in a soft-spoken voice as she applied pressure to his wound, refusing to give up on him.

Sumin’s eyes fluttered close, slowly breathing out of her nostrils. Her mind wandered off, transporting her back to that fun evening.

Harden stares. Smug smiles. Two people proudly stood in front of each other, hiding one of their hands behind their backs. The unusual duo anchored their bodies in front of the infamous entryway to the Hall of Mirrors, calculating the other person’s next move in their fun game of rock-paper-scissors. Rumors surrounded the infamous carnival attraction as legends said that a couple of fair-goers had unexpectedly grown ill and currently fought for their lives in the downtown hospital. Knowing that only enticed every single customer to want to brave it out and check out the attraction for themselves.

But not for Seokjin and Sumin. Nuh-uh. This quirky couple would rather look like complete fools in front of the infamous fair attraction than go inside.

And this all started because Seokjin stubbornly refused to go inside the Hall of Mirrors by himself.

Naturally, Sumin called him a coward; thus, it led them to their current predicament.

With an arrogant smile painted on her beautiful face, Sumin’s stare narrowed as if she had telepathic abilities, allowing her to read Seokjin’s next move.

“Stare at me all you want, princess, but you will never defeat the rock-paper-scissors champion!” taunted Seokjin with an equally cocky smirk plastered on his gorgeous face.

Sumin snorted; her eyes briefly flickered to the side.

“You and I both know that there’s no such thing as a champion of rock-paper-scissors. You giant doofus!” She quipped in a high-pitched voice, earning her a few odd glances from a few bystanders.

Yeah. That reaction resulted in Sumin’s boyfriend doing his infamous windshield wiper laugh, causing a couple of people to stop in their tracks with a confused expression.

The embarrassed college student hung her head low. Her cheeks heated from unwanted attention.

Shyly, Sumin lifted her head, uttering a few apologies to the strangers before shooting Seokjin a cold stare as he continued cackling for a good three minutes.

The agitated brunette blew air upward from her mouth before stalking up to her hysterical boyfriend and punched him in his bicep.

Seokjin yelped but showed no sign of his laughter ceasing any time soon, which further annoyed Sumin.

Finally fed up with her cackling boyfriend, Sumin shouted, “Enough! I’ll go inside the stupid hall of mirrors with you!” She walked towards the carnival worker, dragging Seokjin by his wrist while his laughter slowly faded away. He quickly wiped away the tears that formed because he laughed so hard that his stomach ached.

Ah, he hadn’t a good laugh like that since Namjoon broke their Chemistry professor’s beaker and set off the smoke alarms in the classroom.

Good times right there…

Softly shaking his head, Seokjin handed the worker two entry tickets. Then the employee granted them entrance into the Hall of Mirrors.

Gradually, the couple walked further into the hallway. The light from the sunset faded in the background as the young pair went deeper into the creepy attraction.

Without a second thought, Sumin wrapped her arms around Seokjin’s forearm and clung to her protector. The frightened girl shuffled alongside her boyfriend, disregarding the fact that she could’ve easily tripped him. Her heart pounded against her chest as she caught glimpses of her funny reflections in the mirrors.

Tiny whines left Sumin’s lips as she cutely stomped her feet because Seokjin wanted to admire his humorous reflection.

His action shocked her tremendously since it was Seokjin’s idea in the fucking first place that they played rock-paper-scissors to see if Sumin accompanied him or not inside this terrifying place. Now, she started believing that the attractive idiot she called a boyfriend hustled her.

If that were the case, then what she was about to do next, she wouldn’t feel guilty whatsoever.

With both a devious smirk and gleam on her innocent face, Sumin turned her attention towards Seokjin, slightly tilting her head.

“Hey, Jinnie…”

“What’s up?”

“Wanna make a bet, especially since it’s our fourth anniversary together?”

Seokjin blinked a few times. His lips thinned as this uneasy silence covered them like a warm blanket on a Winter’s night.

His stare darted between Sumin’s innocent face and the random stranger squeezed by them.

The confused man opened his mouth but soon closed it as the longer he stared at his girlfriend’s doe-like eyes, the more he realized that there was a trap waiting for him.

With knitted brows and taking a step backward, Seokjin hesitantly took the bait and asked what kind of bet Sumin talked about.

“Simple, Seokjin,” She gestured to their rather cramped surroundings, “Since you and I both do not want to be in here any longer than we have to,” She then pointed towards the direction in front of them, “And judging from the bone-chilling screams that echo every five seconds, it seems that this place is only going to become even scarier.” She explained, though, not really getting her point across.

However, that was the beauty of their relationship. Seokjin always understood what went on in Sumin’s beautiful yet devious brain.

And sadly, for him, this was a bet that would result in his loss…

Looking briefly displeased, Seokjin sighed heavily before interlacing their fingers together and continuing their journey inside the spooky attraction.

“So…what happens if you lose the bet?”

“Me? Ha. That’s comical, Jinnie. Tell me. Who’s the braver one between us two?”

“Well, that depends princess on what we’re doing, you big goof.”

Sumin scoffed, rolling her eyes, “You just don’t wanna admit that I’m braver than you.”

Now, it was Seokjin’s turn to scoff.

“Uh-huh. Let’s see if you keep that mindset once we near the end of this hallway since I believe that is when we heard the most terrifying induced shrieks.”

“You’re on!”

And true to his words…Sumin freaked out first and punched one of the costumed workers in the stomach.

Yeah…

Safe to say that the carnival manager banned the couple from entering the Hall of Mirrors ever again.

Well, at least there was a positive aspect of this epidemic…

Seokjin and Sumin were allowed inside the attraction; though, the concerned woman wished it were under better circumstances…

A defeated expression washed over Sumin’s face. Yet, the anxious but determined young woman refused to allow Seokjin to succumb to the deadly virus. A few sniffles echoed slightly as Sumin maintained pressure on the wound, allowing the disinfectant to have some sort of effect on the injury.

“Come on…” The distressed girl repeatedly uttered as tears cascaded down her dirty and bloodied cheeks. Out of anger, Sumin threw the blood-soaked gauze and hurriedly applied another, cleaning and dressing the gash some more. The upset girl’s tears landed on Seokjin’s arm, unknowingly stirring the man from his pain-induced slumber.

A couple of faint groans escaped his precious lips as Seokjin’s eyes slowly fluttered open. He slowly turned his head; his gaze landed on Sumin’s.

A small smile displayed on the handsome man’s face before he started to reach out to Sumin with his injured room, stubbornly ignoring the severe shooting pains that surged through his veins.

“…n-now…why is m-my princess crying…?” whispered Seokjin as his bloodied hand cupped Sumin’s soft cheek, “Beautiful w-women shouldn’t s-shed any t-tears…” He added, successfully causing his concerned girlfriend to chuckle.

Sumin leaned into his warm touch, maintaining her solemn smile, before grasping his hand with hers.

“G-gross Jinnie…” She teased, forcing herself to make light of the situation for not only her sake but Seokjin’s as well, “I don’t want you touching me with your bloody fingers.” She added, removing her hands from his bloody one as she resumed tending to his wound. Using her jacket sleeve, the brunette carefully wiped away the tears that threatened to fall. The last thing she needed was her purposely causing more minuscule pain to Seokjin.

Seokjin tried laughing, but they soon turned into small coughing fits. The injured man rolled his eyes; though, he maintained his tiny, playful smile.

“Well, I’m s-sorry that I c-couldn’t w-wash my hands before doing t-this—” Seokjin suddenly yelped as he felt this unbearable pain shoot up his arm once again. Then, he felt a cooling sensation that followed shortly. Wondering what it was, Seokjin’s gaze followed Sumin’s arms and then noticed yet another gauze slowly soak up his tainted blood. Not even a minute later, that excruciating ache returned.

“Ouch woman!! Be a little gentler next time!!” cried the injured man, shooting glares at his girlfriend.

Sumin gawked, “You know what…I take my tears back now,” Her face became emotionless, “Since you’ll be fine now seeing as that you finally stopped stuttering caused by that excruciating pain you were in earlier.” She said blankly, blinking a few times before turning her back towards him to put away their shared medical supplies.

Tiny chuckles escaped Seokjin’s chest as he slowly sat up, examining his bandaged-up arm. He stared at his wound as curiosity slowly washed over him. His eyes trailed over to Sumin and instantly noticed that her left hand dawned a bandage. Then, it occurred to him. She must’ve fused her blood with the disinfectant and made a quick cure for his wound before the virus had a chance to completely take over.

With the corners of his mouth turning upwards, Seokjin shuffled his way over to Sumin and warmly placed a hand on her head. Love glowed in his eyes as he stared affectionately at her backside.

“Well, it’s thanks to you that I’ll be fine,” but not even a second after saying that, he winced; his hand rested on the side of his torso. “Damn, did those undead bastards get me somewhere else too?” He bitterly thought but was soon thankful that he didn’t feel any fresh blood on his fingers. However, he didn’t want to alarm Sumin yet again. He saw how anxious she became when those zombies severely injured his arm. Seokjin couldn’t put her through that heartache for a second time.

Through gritted teeth, the stubborn fool repeated that he’d be okay and that he could never die.

“As long as I’m breathing and standing before you, I will always protect you,” He pressed his plump lips to Sumin’s temple, “Again, nothing and no one can kill me.” He declared; his eyes burned with determination as if he made another sacred pact to himself.

A faint scoff escapes her lips, unbothered to show her face to him.

“What if someone is successful and does kill you? Then, what, Jinnie?” She asked; her breath hitched for a split second. “I-I can’t afford to lose you…” She added, muttering as her voice softly broke in the beginning. Then, Sumin closed her eyes, slowly exhaling through her nose as she desperately tried taming the anxiety that gradually swallowed her body. The thought of losing Seokjin always triggered it for her. There were days where she wished that she were this emotionless, ruthless killing machine immune to emotions such as love, but that wasn’t the case.

It was thanks to those beautiful emotions that Sumin was herself. If she was this robot, then she wouldn’t have met Seokjin.

And with that final thought, the uneasy young woman turned towards her boyfriend, facing him with a brave expression as Sumin swung her backpack around her shoulders and tightened the straps.

“And that is why I will not stop at nothing until I find that safe haven.” She declared suddenly yet firmly; her eyes sparked with this undying resolve for her personal mission. “You hear me, Jinnie? I will find us that secure place. I s-swear to you.” She finished, letting out a few sniffles as her eyes became glossy.

Seokjin remained speechless, unsure of how to answer Sumin’s question. He was also taken back from Sumin’s sudden declaration; however, his mind soon drifted back to her earlier question.

Truth be told, he never thought about his death since that was something, he couldn’t afford to even imagine it.

No.

The moment he thought about someone killing him, it would be game over. His body would succumb to the fear that Seokjin channeled countlessly into courage. He needed to be strong for him and Sumin.

He just had to…

Tapping his chin, Seokjin hummed in response before wrapping a warm around Sumin’s shoulders, pulling towards him. His chin now rested nicely on top of her head while his courageous girlfriend finally broke down and sobbed in his chest, dampening his shirt. She could only hold that brave face for so long.

“Aw, Minnie…” He cooed, softly rubbing her back and sweetly kissing her head, “You don’t have to worry about keeping me safe, and do you want to know why?” He asked softly; his eyes blazed with absolute devotion and admiration.

Sumin nodded her head but remained glued in his broad chest as more tiny sniffles escaped her precious lips.

Seokjin couldn’t help but chuckle in response, finding his girlfriend extremely cute at that moment.

“Well, the reason why you don’t have to worry about keeping me safe is that I’m already safe, princess.”

“Huh? How’s that possible, Seokjin?”

Then, he grinned widely before answering,

“Because I’m always safe whenever I’m with you, sweetheart.” He happily stated, earning himself a light shove and angry stare from Sumin. “Ah, that tiny push was worth it since you’re no longer upset and shedding your beautiful tears when they aren’t necessary.” He added, smiling brightly. His smile was so vast that his cheekbones practically touched his eyes, causing them to disappear.

Sumin made a face, “Unbelievable…” She trailed on, walking away from him, “After all these years, you still manage to become cheesier than your last attempt!” She shouted over her shoulder, wearing this amused yet teasing smirk on her face.

Seokjin shook his head, forever enjoying their endless game of cat and mouse.

“I swear, I must be a masochist…” He humorously thought before chasing after his woman.

Inch by inch, Sumin peeked her head out; her gaze flickered toward every single direction, making sure the close was clear before leaving their hiding spot.

Seokjin’s breath fanned the back of her neck, creating goosebumps to appear. Tiny giggles emitted from her lips as Sumin hunched her shoulders, hoping that it would stop the rather affectionate man that she called her boyfriend.

However, it did not. If anything, the lovesick fool saw his girlfriend’s protests as a challenge. A challenge that he’d surely win.

Without a second thought, Seokjin wrapped a protective arm around Sumin’s shoulders, pressing his chest against her back. Then, he slowly lowered his head; his plump lips hovered over her ear.

“So…is the close clear?” He whispered; his hot, breathy tone caused the poor girl to become flustered as a small, yet enticing moan escaped her innocent lips.

Then, seconds later, a loud smack echoed throughout the dark, empty halls of the destroyed carnival attraction.

Seokjin grunted, rubbing the area where his girlfriend smacked him.

“Did you really have to go for my chest? You know how sensitive I am in that area.” He whined, pouting cutely as he continued rubbing his injured chest.

Sumin scoffed, ignoring his rather cute complaints, “Obviously. Why else would I slap you in your most sensitive spot beside your humongous ego.”

“Ego? That’s a weird name to call my—”

“Finish that sentence and no sex once we find the safe haven.”

Seokjin flinched. His face tensed from the mere thought of not being intimate with his girlfriend. Then, he hung his head low, “I’ll behave, princess.”

The triumphant young lady uttered a quick, “good,” before placing an innocent peck on his scratched-up cheek. She then gestured towards the exit, announcing to him that it was safe to run towards the fence that faced the abandoned, ruined mall. During the couple’s attempt at escaping the hungry horde, Sumin noticed a destroyed wall in front of the mall that she and Seokjin frequented for many years.

“You ready? Do you have enough energy to dash towards that gate?”

“I think I can manage, sweetheart.”

Tightening the strap that held her sword in place, Sumin slowly inhaled then released the pent-up stress and other frustration through her nostrils.

With a look of determination on Sumin’s smudged up face, the fearless woman charged out of the entrance; her gun fired round after round, emptying the clip before she quickly inserted another ammo clip. She briefly took note of how many clips she remained before she completely ran out.

Running behind her, with an infinite release of ammo from Seokjin’s semi-automatic, the protective yet still injured man guarded his girlfriend, protecting her like a royal knight for his princess as he safeguarded her from any harm. He shot down any undead bodies that rushed at Sumin, finding it a bit therapeutic as killing those zombies was another form of revenge for him.

Funny, huh?

Gradually, the abandoned mall became large as it appeared in the running couple’s sights. Their hearts drummed against their chest as they felt the adrenaline deplete from their bodies, but they couldn’t give up. Not just yet. They needed to find a safe haven and restore humanity to this rotting planet.

They just had too…

Skidding towards the open gate, Sumin held it up, widening the gap so Seokjin could fit in the hole. She breathed heavily while her eyes homed in the rushing horde that slowly closed the distance between them. With her free hand, she aimed her gun at the dead crowded, firing a few times. The frightened girl landed head-shots and permanently killed them.

“Come on, Sumin!” hollered Seokjin as this wave of anxiety washed over him as well. Being on the other side of the fence did not sit well with him whatsoever—scratch that. Not standing right beside Sumin did not sit well with him at all.

Just as the worried man readied his weapon, Sumin scrambled through the hole, earning herself a small cut on the back of her hand.

Seokjin instantly noticed, grabbing her uninjured hand, and pulled her towards the ruined building. The exhausted boy tapped into any reserve energy he stored. At the same time, Sumin addressed his wounds earlier as they continued their mad dash for the broken mall building.

With the entrance doors in sight, Seokjin practically shoved Sumin inside before following after. He swiftly scanned his surroundings, looking for anything that could be used as a barricade. Seconds later, his eyes focused on a pile of pipes.

“That should work…” He frantically thought as he grabbed a couple and stuck in between handles. For added measure, he rolled over some of the fallen metal trash bins, completely ignoring the surging pain in his right arm. Even though Sumin wiped away the virus from Seokjin’s body, his gash still remained and gradually reopened.

A few winces escaped his plump lips, instantly alerting Sumin. She tucked her pistol in its holster before helping him push the trash bins.

Playfully shaking her head, Sumin gave him a look, teasing him in the process.

Seokjin rolled his eyes, scoffing before flashing her a boyish grin.

“You know I could’ve rolled that by myself.”

“Uh-huh. Sure,” Sumin pointed at his injured arm, “And that’s why your wound reopened, doofus.” She stated before maneuvering the metal bin in front of the door, securing its position.

Seokjin jokingly mocked her as he felt a slight tug on his wrist. He obediently followed Sumin, sitting down when instructed to. His eyes trailed up, noting how breathtaking his princess was despite the many cuts, bruises, and dried up blood that decorated her face. Soon, the corners of his mouth curved upwards as he continued watching Sumin redo his bandages. He couldn’t quite explain it, but he felt like he transported back to the day he first fell in love with her.

And it all because of the angelic smile that graced her beautiful face…

“Okay, all done.” Announced Sumin, tightening the knot on the bandage. “Next time you reopen up your gash, I’m gonna let it get it infected.” She warned with an overly sweet tone before placing an innocent kiss on his cheek.

Seokjin chuckled, jokingly saluting his woman before standing up. He grabbed his weapon and flung the strap around his shoulder, allowing it to lazily hang beside him as he and Sumin journeyed deeper inside the empty mall.

Walking past broken glass displays, where only a few shards remained hanging on the wall, Sumin mumbled the name of each storefront. Suddenly, she halted, tugging on Seokjin’s jacket sleeve.

Seokjin peered down, asking her if she was okay, and why they stopped in their tracks.

Without saying a word, Sumin simply pointed at the storefront. The concerned young man followed her finger and soon gasped.

“Is that—”

“Yup.”

Sumin took a step forward, walking towards the broken counter. She observed the discarded plastic cups and open cash registers. She clicked her tongue, devastated seeing one of their favorite food places utterly destroyed. She turned her head but quickly looked away after seeing the bloody hand prints that decorated the door that led to the kitchen.

The bottom of her lip disappeared as Sumin closed her tear pooled eyes. A few drops trickled down her cheeks, alerting Seokjin. He placed a comforting hand on her shoulder before pulling her body towards his. He wrapped his arms around her, resting his cheek against her head as he whispered loving words, hoping to soothe away her sadness.

“It’s just not fair, Jinnie.”

“I know, princess, but at least we have each other.”

Sumin sniffled before mumbling, “Kind of like how Hoseok had Lainey?”

Jinnie chuckled at her sudden lighthearted comment as he pulled away from his now smiling girlfriend.

“No. I think you’re thinking of Renae, sweetheart.” He corrected. Though he secretly could be wrong as he too couldn’t remember which girl, he and Sumin successfully paired Hoseok up with for his third blind date.

Quickly wiping away any remaining tears, Sumin cleared her throat a few times before speaking,

“I don’t think so, Jinnie. It could be this one girl. Oh, what’s her name…?” She trailed on, snapping her fingers in hopes that it’d help her remember. Then, it finally clicked. “Ah! Bunny, I believe, was her nickname!”

Seokjin shook his head briefly humming before correcting Sumin yet again.

“Nope. Wrong again, princess. She ended up with Jungkook, remember?”

Sumin lips fell slightly open, silently berating herself for having the worst memory. Granted, she and Seokjin busied themselves with saving the human race and fighting off countless undead hordes, so that played into her favor.

With her brows knitted together and her lips thinned, Sumin thought long and hard on who the fuck ended up being Hoseok’s girlfriend. Alys? No, she remembered that she wound up with Namjoon. Kenzie? That was also another no since she ended up with Jimin—or was it her good friend Lindy? Oh, my God. Sumin drew a fucking blank on the name as she swiftly ruled out another friend of hers, Bean, who ended up being Yoongi’s adorable girlfriend.

“Fuck!” She mentally cursed as she gnawed on her bottom lip, desperate to figure out who ended up with Hoseok.

Seokjin, on the other hand, laughed at how serious yet adorable Sumin looked. He found it especially cute when her cheeks puffed out as the frustration slowly washed over her face.

Should he be a good boyfriend and help her? The amused young man quickly weighed his options, finding both the pros and cons to helping Sumin out but decided to assist his poor, agitated girlfriend.

“It’s Nina.”

“Nina? Oh! Nina! I’m a dummy. I can’t believe I forgot her.”

Seokjin gave a lop-sided grin as he wrapped a loving yet protective arm around Sumin and repeated, “It’s okay,” and “I still love you, stupidity and all.” He then guided her away from the ruined food court and resumed their journey inside the mall.

Laughter echoed throughout the three abandoned floors of the humongous building. For that brief moment, Sumin and Seokjin were simply two lovebirds on a simple date.

The loving couple recollected all the times they ended up at the mall after an extravagant dinner. Seokjin gently caressed the back of Sumin’s date, releasing a chuckle or two as she recalled the time Jungkook stole a black leather jacket.

“I’m still trying to figure out why he thought it was wise to steal the mannequin as well.” Sumin laughed, smiling brightly as she oddly felt relaxed.

Seokjin shrugged, “I have no clue, but with Jungkook, I never do. That boy has always been a strange one.” Suddenly, sadness clouded his handsome features, halting his steps, the more he thought about Jungkook and the rest of his close friends. He had yet to receive any news on their whereabouts. The last time he heard anything was 7 years ago.

7…long…years…

Before he could dwell on his friend’s untimely demise, he felt a warm hand cup his dirty cheek. His solemn gaze trailed down and met Sumin’s loving and comforting stare.

“Hey. Think positive, Seokjin.”

“How can I? For all I know, they could be long dead, and I wasn’t there for them, like the older brother I was supposed to be for them.”

Sumin sighed but quickly validated his feelings. Shit. She felt the same way about her close friends and family, and she allowed the guilt to eat away at her conscience. However, it wasn’t until the 3rd year of this pandemic that she turned the blame into resolve and swore that she would avenge everyone she loved.

Softly rubbing Seokjin’s marked up cheek, Sumin plastered a sweet smile and said,

“Once we find that safe haven, we will go look for your friends, okay? I mean, they have Namjoon and Yoongi with them, so the rest of them can’t be dead. Alright?”

The distraught boy nodded his head as the corner of Seokjin’s mouth twitched.

His princess always knew what to say, especially to light a fire underneath his depressed ass.

He sweetly pressed his lips against her forehead and muttered a quick, “thanks,” before taking her hand once more and resumed their exploration.

The completely smitten couple journeyed to the third floor, both of them finding it humorous that they actually walked up the broken escalators. Years ago, when it worked properly, the duo always rode it up to their designated floor. Even when it became evident that walking up the escalators were so much faster. However, they didn’t care.

They were proud to be called the “lazy” couple within their group of friends. Shoot. Sumin secretly found it amusing that they were dubbed that since she and Seokjin studied medicine before this horrific pandemic began.

Funny how everything turned out for the two of them. Seokjin became her protector, and she carried the cure that could potentially reverse humanity back to its original state.

Jogging away from Seokjin with a mischievous gleam in her eyes, Sumin peered behind her shoulder, enticing her boyfriend to chase her. Soft laughs escaped her sweet lips as she picked up the pace, wanting to increase the distance between their bodies.

“Be careful, princess!” advised Seokjin, feeling the anxiety slowly settle within the pit of his stomach. His worried gaze remained on Sumin’s retreating backside as the gap grew wider with each passing second.

Out of frustration, the concerned fellow ruffled his hair before running after his woman. Within minutes, Seokjin closed the gap between them and protectively wrapped his arms around Sumin’s torso as he shouted,

“Gotcha!”

Sumin laughed, smiling radiantly as her boyfriend peppered her face with soft kisses and whispers of adoration.

“You know that I love you to the sun and back, Sumin. Right?”

“Of course, Jinnie,” She turned her body, though, she was careful to not whack him with the hilt of her Katana, “And you know that I love you to the moon and back. Right?” She said sweetly and softly.

Seokjin hummed in response as his brows furrowed together.

Sumin gawked, lightly slapping his chest, and pulling away from him.

“I’m kidding, princess! Please come back! I need you in my arms, or else I’ll die.”

“Oh, my goodness. You’re such a drama king, Jinnie.”

“Well, yes, but that’s beside the point! Please give me a hug?”

Now, it was Sumin’s turn to playfully think about it. Then, not even a minute later, the stubborn young lady simply shrugged and walked up to her pouty boyfriend. She cupped the back of his neck, locking her fingers into place, and gently pulled Seokjin’s face towards hers. Their noses lightly bumped into each other as their dirt-stained foreheads pressed against one another.

The two of them, dawning warm smiles, remained lost in each other’s gaze for what seemed like forever until something captured Seokjin’s attention.

“Is that one of those luxurious contest cars?”

Sumin perked up her brow as she peered behind her shoulder. Her eyes widened as she untangled herself from Seokjin and ran up to the car, much to his dismay.

Curiosity got the best of her as her calloused fingers traced the cold metal of the car. She couldn’t help but admire how beautiful the car still looked despite its surroundings destroyed.

Well, until she heard a loud smash, causing the poor, unknowing girl to flinch as Seokjin swung his assault rifle back to its original position, blissfully unaware of Sumin’s death glare. He then carefully reached through the broken window and tried to feel for the door lock. His fingertips grazed the car door handle a few times before finally latching over the lock. Seokjin pulled it towards him, the two of them heard a click before swinging it open.

Like the gentleman he was, the attractive young man gestured towards the door, politely bowing his head at Sumin.

“Your chariot, my lady.” Joked Seokjin in a poorly imitated British accent.

Sumin chuckled lightly as she shook her head, brushing her shoulder against his.

“Why, thank you, my good sir.” She played along before removing her Katana from her back, making it easier for her to maneuver inside the vehicle.

Using the sleeve of her leather jacket, Sumin carefully brushed off the broken window shards from the car seat.

“You know, I’m thankful that the car battery died because you would’ve definitely attracted a crowd of zombies to us, you impatient dork.” She quipped, shimming her way towards the backseat. The exhausted lady let out a massive sigh of relief as she rested her head against the leather seats. Through a tired, cloudy gaze, Sumin squinted at the door and then realized something.

“Hey, Jinnie.”

“Yes, sweetheart?”

“You’re a jerk for having me shimmy my way towards the backseat,” She then reached over the backdoor and unlocked it, “When you could’ve just reached even further and unlocked this door as well.” She finished, opening it up and flashing him a knowing smile.

Seokjin rolled his eyes as he teasingly closed the door on her before finally entering the car. He quickly placed his gun on the passenger seat and then put both hands on the steering wheel.

With a boyish grin written on his face, Seokjin glanced over his shoulder and asked,

“Where to, princess Sumin?”

A soft chuckle escaped her lips as she leaned in her seat and poked her head between the two front chairs. With an alluring smile painted on her lips, Sumin hovered her mouth over his ears and whispered sweetly,

“To the stars…” Before grabbing his shirt and pulling him towards the back of the seat. Though, it was a bit difficult at first given how bulkier and taller he was than her.

A faint grunt exited his lips as Seokjin found himself plopped next to the love of his life. His eyes bore into hers as he couldn’t help but admire how breathtaking she was despite going through hell and back.

Without a single thought in his head, the utterly smitten young man cupped his girlfriend’s stained cheek, gently caressing it. Then, slowly, the two of them inched their faces closer. Their eyes flickered from each other’s loving gaze to their lips before the gap finally closed.

A gentle moan escaped Sumin’s lips as she entangled her fingers in Seokjin’s hair. She slowly massaged his scalp, resulting in a low moan from Seokjin as he anchored one hand against the door-frame and the other against Sumin’s hip. He slowly lowered her body onto the seat, careful not to accidentally bump her head against anything.

“I love you, Kim Seokjin,” Sumin whispered, briefly breaking their passionate kiss.

Seokjin, slightly panting, simply smiled before capturing her precious lips once more. He poured all the love he bore for the woman underneath him and hoped that she knew how much he loved her.

For that single moment, Seokjin knew that actions spoke louder than words. Releasing her addicting lips, he trailed fiery kisses down the side of her face all the way to the base of her neck. His teeth lightly grazed her soft skin, causing a few moans to leave Sumin’s mouth, further igniting Seokjin’s hormones.

His hands buried itself underneath her shirt, the warmth of her skin contrasted the coolness from his hands. Seokjin’s fingers lightly trailed upwards, and just as his calloused fingers grazed the fabric of her bra, they heard a loud, terrifying shriek.

The couple instantly broke apart, fixing up their disheveled appearance as Seokjin promptly peeked through the window. Now on full alert, he hurriedly scanned the area; his ears picked up even the tiniest of sounds. Then, the thunderous, horrific cry echoed throughout the mall once more.

Not wanting to chance it, Seokjin quickly instructed – well more like demanded – Sumin to run for cover while he provided covering fire.

Her mouth fell open while her eyes went round. Did Sumin hear him correctly? What Seokjin planned was a suicide mission as the hordes would easily overwhelm him. Still, deep down, Sumin knew that as she studied his overall body language. The frantic young girl vigorously shook her head, rejecting his idiotic idea with her entire body.

“Well, do you have a better idea, princess?” Seokjin asked, giving her a look.

“Yes, you run beside me, and we protect each other,” Sumin paused, cupping both sides of his face, “Like we did every single time we faced these undead bastards and will continue to do until it’s no longer necessary.” She finished in a courageous tone of voice.

Seokjin was rendered speechless but soon composed himself. Sumin was right because if he ended up dead, then who would protect her in his stead? No one worthy of her that was for sure. He needed to remain alive for her sake.

And she needed to remain alive for his sake…

Taking a long, deep breath, Seokjin’s eyes sparked with fearlessness as he stared at Sumin. He gently took her hand into his and quickly pressed a sweet kiss on the back of it.

“Okay, as soon as I open this door, you better be running right beside me. Got it?”

“I should be telling you that, Jinnie.”

Seokjin snorted, ignoring her comment as he pulled on the door-latch and opened the car door. He quickly grabbed his weapon from the passenger seat before diving out of the car. He readied his semi-automatic and peeked through the scope, looking for any scouts. Luckily, he saw none, but they needed to hurry and find cover. Then, his ears picked up a soft grunt followed by a string of swears.

With an amused grin, Seokjin glanced to his side, noticing Sumin rubbing her chin.

“Let me guess you hit yourself with that Katana.”

“Shut up and run.”

Sumin repositioned her sword and began running with her pistol out and ready to fire. Seokjin quickly followed behind, mimicking his sweetheart's every movement. This continued for a few more minutes until they found a suitable hideout and ducked behind the concrete wall. The two lovers seized that relaxing opportunity and calmed their irregular breathing. The last thing the two of them needed was to pass out while fighting a raging crowd of zombies.

Slowly, the loving couple inhaled the sweet oxygen through their nostrils and exhaled it through their mouths. With each breath they took, Seokjin and Sumin felt both their physical and mental strength restored.

They were ready to fight once more…

Slightly tilting his head, revealing this lazy smile, Seokjin gave Sumin a quick glance-over, making sure she didn’t have any secret injuries.

“So, are you ready for round 3?” He jokingly asked.

Sumin snorted, “Round 3? It’s more like round 5 at this point, Jinnie.”

This time it was Seokjin’s turn to let out a quick snort as he stood up with his assault rifle ready to fire at any given moment. The second he stood up, the blood-curdling shrieks grew near. Seokjin gave those undead gnats about ten seconds – give or take – before they swarmed their position.

“Careful, princess. People might think you’re talking about our sex life.” He joked, shamelessly winking at her as he pulled the trigger, firing a few rounds at the undead horde.

Sumin rolled her eyes as she unsheathed her Katana and shot up from her spot.

“What people?” She quickly gestured at the two of them and then at the never-ending onslaught of zombies that approached them, “In case you haven’t noticed, Jinnie, we’re the only ones here, so you have nothing to worry about.” She bluntly stated, completely missing Seokjin’s sarcasm, before impaling one zombie and decapitating the second one before raising her gun.

Sumin then cocked back her pistol and aimed it at the enemy, emptying the clip as she landed head-shot after head-shot. She hurriedly reached for another ammo clip and loaded it into the pistol.

Meanwhile, with Seokjin, the poor boy shook his head as he observed how frantic Sumin slowly became. He swiftly focused his weapon on her direction and fired at the zombies that threatened to swarm her.

“With you around, sweetheart, I will always worry.” He announced as he quickly fired at the zombies that rushed towards their direction. He then spun around and fired at his original path.

Sumin’s face reddened but soon composed herself, though her cheeks remained rosy.

She quickly cleared her throat before speaking,

“And to think, I thought you couldn’t get any cheesier.”

“Only for you and always for you…”

116 notes · View notes

alonely-dreamer · 4 years

Text

The Valuable Sun | Chapter 22 (The End)

Summary: Witches never die.

Pairing: Eric x OC

Warnings: 18+

A/N: Please, note that I am French so there might be some mistakes here and there.

Words: 6228

Masterlist

Adapting to being a vampire wasn’t so hard for Brooklynne. Perhaps because she wasn’t really a vampire, but rather a vampire-fairy hybrid who, aside from being immortal, was as human as she used to be.

She didn’t fear the sun, she ate human food and didn’t have to rely on blood to survive. The hardest part of her transition was that everything was heightened. Her sight, her hearing, her strength… She was faster than lightning, and, since apparently it was a hereditary talent, she could fly, like her maker. A talent she’d have to learn to control, and a talent which Pam was jealously unequipped with.

To the rest of the world, Brooke was just another mortal, weird like her sister, maybe gifted with telepathy for those who believed in those sorts of things. But to her family, to her loved ones, she was the strongest creature on Earth, and, therefore, the weakest.

Eric’s worry was loud and made him even more unpleasant than before. With other people, that is. He took extra care of Brooklynne, who felt like a little girl again, who wasn’t allowed to leave her house because she’d get too distracted to even remember her own name.

Fortunately for her, Eric could not control her days, which she spent with her sister at Merlotte’s. It had been a week now, since she had become a vampire, and the only abnormal behavior she showed was an extreme appetite. She could not stop eating, and she almost emptied Sam’s kitchen, not that he would ever complain about it.

“Look at you,” Arlene said as she walked behind the bar to grab a bottle of alcohol. “You wouldn’t be expecting a happy event, would you?”

Brooklynne almost choked on her chicken wing and Arlene laughed as the hybrid coughed and wiped the mess she had made.

“What? No!”

“I’m just kidding ya. I know you can’t get pregnant. Not while you’re with that vampire of yours…”

Brooklynne watched the waitress walk away and disappear in the hallway, leaving a wave of disapproval behind her.

“Fuck you too,” she mumbled under her breath.

“What was that?” Sookie asked, approaching her with a plate she put down on the bar.

“Nothing.”

“What did Arlene want?”

“To make sure I knew how much she hates my kind.”

“To be fair, you’re the first and only one of your kind.”

“Wanna join me?”

“No, thanks,” she swiftly dismissed the mere idea, “hey, isn’t Eric supposed to be here already?”

“Yeah. I guess there was an emergency at Fangtasia. He’s not answering my texts.”

“Well, that’s weird.”

“Not really,” she shrugged. “It’s Halloween. He says there’s always some shit happening on Halloween.”

“When did you start using those words?” Sookie sighed. “You weren’t always so vulgar.”

Her sister laughed. “Sorry. I’m just repeating what he said.”

“Anyway, I have to take out the trash before I leave, want me to drive you?”

“Sure, why not? I’ll join you outside.”

Brooklynne finished her plate, then her drink in one go, before leaving some cash on the bar. She walked across the restaurant and exited through the back door. There, she found her sister and Holly talking about Marnie. Brooke rolled her eyes.

“What’s going on?”

“Hey, Brooklynne.”

“What’s up Holly?”

“Oh, nothing, honey. We were just talking about… well… we just have a bad feeling, is all.”

“It’s probably nothing,” Sookie waved it off.

“Yeah. We’re just spooked because it’s Halloween and all.”

Screeching tires drew their attention towards Tara’s car who had just parked in a panic. Brooklynne didn’t know if it was the previous spooky talk, or just Tara’s look as she ran towards them, but she was starting to have a bad feeling as well.

“Tara?” Sookie called. “Tara what is it? What happened?”

“She’s back!”

“Who’s back, honey?”

“Marnie.”

“Marnie’s dead,” Brooklynne rolled her eyes. “I should know, I killed her myself.”

“She killed Jesus,” Tara started crying. “I think she’s inside Lafayette.”

Sookie turned slowly towards her little sister, who oddly appeared to stand taller than her for once.

“Don’t look at me, I’m no witch. I wouldn’t know the first thing about getting that bitch out of Lafayette.”

“No, Brooke… Eric’s not answering his phone.”

If Brooklynne ever doubted her heart was still beating, she sure had the answer now, as it felt like it skipped a beat as she realized what her sister was saying.

“No,” she scoffed in disbelief. “He’d kill Lafayette on the spot.”

“I’m gonna try to call Bill,” the waitress said as she took out her phone.

Brooklynne shook her head, maybe to try and throw the mere idea of Eric being in any kind of danger away, as she took out her own cellphone.

“Bill’s not answering,” Sookie said, now even more panicked than before.

“Eric either…”

“Well, do we know where they could be?” Holly asked.

Sookie took a deep breath as she remembered what Bill had told her earlier: ‘I’ll be waiting for you at home. My men will let you in.’

“Yes. We do.”

***

Vampires were supposed to heal fast. So fast that they could barely feel pain. Which is why this headache was doubly irritating for Brooklynne. Between the busy minds of her sister, Holly and Tara, whom she was riding with, her own head felt like it was about to explode. Filled with worry and incomprehension, she kept asking herself if she should just get out of the car and run to Bill’s house on her own. She’d already be there.

“You can’t. If Tara and Holly find out you’re a vampire, it won’t be a secret anymore.”

“Who cares at this point? Eric could die any second now!”

“Pam might already be there.”

“If he wanted either of us there, he’d had already called us. Which means he’s in real danger, Marnie is not kidding around, she’s aiming to kill!”

“Don’t remind me. I’m driving you to her!”

“She won’t have a chance to hurt me. She’ll be dead before…”

“You can’t kill her like last time, Brooke. She’s inside Lafayette. We need to trust Holly, she knows how this works.”

“No, she doesn’t, are you listening to her? She’s got a bag full of salt and a mouth full of ‘maybes’. What if she has no clue how to deal with this?”

“Either way, we’re not killing Lafayette.”

“If killing Lafayette is the only way to save Eric, I will do it myself.”

“Are you hearing yourself? You’re talking about killing Lafayette! Our friend! Tara’s cousin!”

“Sorry, Sook. But it’s not a hard choice. Not even a little bit.”

Brooklynne did her best to shut her sister’s disapproving thoughts out of her head, she knew it all already. Of course, she wouldn’t be happy about killing Lafayette. Of course, she’d rather Holly’s plan worked. But if it didn’t, if she had to choose between watching Marnie/Lafayette kill Eric or kill her/him herself, she wouldn’t lose sleep over it. She stopped for a second, a very brief second, and wondered if she’d had thought the same as a human/fairy. If she had been in that situation a month ago, what would she have done? She knew what she would have done. She’d have been too weak to fight off Marnie. She’d have been too weak to save Eric.

She wasn’t going to be weak tonight.

“Any of you got a mirror?” Holly asked as she did the inventory of her Wiccan first aid-kit.

“You ever done this before?” Sookie asked as she handed her a small mirror she found in her purse.

“Goddess, no,” the waitress replied as she shoved the mirror into her bag, next to the salt and the sage. “Usually, I just light a candle and ask the spirits to make sure my boys don’t end up in jail or knock somebody up.”

Sookie could hear her sister scoff and roll her eyes next to Holly, a “what did I say?” echoing inside of her head.

“But so far, that’s worked out okay.”

“Maybe you’re just a good mother,” Brooke mumbled.

“Oh, thanks honey.”

Brooklynne frowned as the mother of two gave her a nervous smile, her lack of faith in her Wiccan religion completely oblivious to her.

“Sook, you can’t let them hurt him,” Tara begged. “If Bill and Eric find out Marnie’s inside Lafayette…”

“I have a feeling they already know…”

Tara stepped on the accelerator. They were only a couple of minutes away. Brooklynne kept trying to reach her maker through their bond, but the silence she was met with only helped widening the pit in her stomach.

Tara stopped the car at the gates of Bill’s property and the four women jumped out of the vehicle, Holly, her bag of magic tricks on her shoulder.

Brooklynne, though she had been patient until then, didn’t even think twice about disappearing on them as soon as she smelled wood and straw.

“Eric!”

She found them tied up together to a pyre, half naked, silver chains around their bare chest.

“What are you doing here? You need to go, now!”

“Are you crazy? I’m not leaving without you!”

“Brooklynne!” Sookie called as she caught up to her sister, Holly and Tara behind her.

“Are you kidding me? You didn’t think to tell us you were a vampire?” Tara started to yell.

“She can’t be, she was at the bar all day long!” Holly said, confused, and a little bit scared.

They didn’t get the time to argue about it any more, however, as Marnie appeared before them.

“As your friend Lafayette would say, what goes around comes around, bitches.”

“I’m gonna kill you, you crazy bitch.”

“You already have,” Marnie replied with surprising calm. “Thank you for coming.”

Marnie/Lafayette raised a hand and waved it once to the left. Brooklynne felt her feet get off the floor and was sent flying across the garden where she collided with a tree.

Eric and Sookie called her name, in useless worry. She was back up on her feet in a matter of seconds.

“Lafayette!”

Tara received a deathly stare from the dead witch inside her cousin, and she gulped.

“… and Marnie. Please, don’t do this.”

“After all they’ve done to you, you protect them?”

“Killing Bill and Eric isn’t gonna make any of that go away.”

“Revenge will never bring you peace,” Eric told her.

“There can’t be peace until there is justice for me, for Antonia, for all the women you tortured and burned for centuries!”

Taking advantage of the moment, Holly started drawing a circle of salt around the pyre as Marnie had her back turned to her.

“All to repress a magic that’s older and more powerful than your very existence.”

“Marnie, what will this serve?” Bill, who saw Holly and understood the plan, asked, to help distract her. “There are millions of us, more being made every night. You cannot win.”

“I’m already dead, vampire. Thanks to you and your friends, I have nothing left to lose.”

Marnie lowered her head and raised her hands in the air as she casted three more words “incendia of sanctimonia”.

“No!” Brooke and Sookie screamed as they tried to make their way to the now burning pyre. But the fire Marnie had just started only grew bigger as they reached it. Brooklynne dragged her sister away from it as Tara joined them.

“Stop it,” she yelled. “It’s still Lafayette!”

“I don’t care,” Brooke growled as she raised a hand, a blinding light coming out of it, hitting Lafayette/Marnie in the chest, pushing them far away. It didn’t stop the fire, to her biggest disappointment.

Holly finished the circle of salt, joining them back to her starting point, as Marnie sat up, now, neither looking like Lafayette or herself, but with a painted face of some sort of creature.

“Give me your hands, now!”

Hesitantly, Tara joined the three women in a circle, taking the hand of the two sisters in her own. Immediately, they started chanting.

“Spirits who watch over us, friends, family, ancestors, guardians of the gate, with this rite we evoke thee through the veil of Samhain, we call thee forth.”

Again and again, they chanted, keeping Marnie out of the circle, however, doing nothing to stop the fire that was burning the two vampires next to them.

As the dead witch growled and the immortals screamed out of pain, spirits appeared in the cemetery near them, walking the earth once more, to join them in their battle. Sookie kept an eye open on Bill, while Brooklynne focused on Eric, doing her best not to break the circle and jump in the fire herself to get him out of there.

“Marnie.”

The summoned spirits stood in the forest, behind Marnie, calling her, only one, however, getting her attention: Antonia.

“Marnie.”

Lafayette’s face changed back to normal as the painted face of the creature disappeared, Marnie, making her way to the ghost of her former partner.

“My sister.”

“You came back to me…” she said, and the witch smiled. “I knew you would.”

Antonia’s eyes moved from Lafayette/Marnie to the burning pyre, and from where she stood blew out the fire as easily as she would have blown off the candles on a birthday cake.

“Antonia, no!”

Brooklynne didn’t wait one more second as she made her way to her maker, ripped off the silver chains tying the vampires to the still hot death trap. Eric’s knees were too weak and she caught him as he fell. However, no one was there to catch the King, who fell off the pyre and onto the hard ground. Sookie was quickly by his side.

“Are you okay?”

“Crispy.”

“Why the hell didn’t you call me? Or Pam?”

“So you could have burned with me? Not a great plan.”

“Not asking for help isn’t a plan at all!”

Off the pyre and back on the ground, Eric enjoyed the feeling of his burning bare feet on the cold grass. Brooke helped him kneel down.

“What the hell am I supposed to do without you? Don’t you dare die on me now that I’m immortal!”

“I’d rather die knowing that you’re safe, than die after watching you get killed.”

“And I’d rather die than spend immortality without you, so don’t you ever do that again!”

“Alright. I’ll try not to get burned alive by the crazy ghost of a witch again. That I can promise you.”

“Shut up and drink,” she rolled her eyes as she kneeled beside him and offered him her wrist.

The witches were still talking on the other side of the circle, and whatever Antonia was saying, Marnie didn’t want to hear it.

“All creatures have their purpose, even vampires.”

“How can you say that? They murdered us!”

“Their cruelty served its purpose: to bring you and I together. And now I am here to take you home.”

“I’m not finished yet.”

“Oh, yes you are.”

That voice. Brooklynne knew that voice. She turned her head, but whoever it was, she was hidden behind the pyre. However, Sookie could see her perfectly.

“Gran?”

“Holy Goddess.”

“Holy shit.”

Eric released Brooke’s hand so that she could get up and see for herself, Adele, her grandmother, make her way to Lafayette, put her hand in his mouth and reach down his throat. She took out a black fog which she threw away behind her. Once it reached the ground, it turned into Marnie.

“I don’t wanna go. I am not ready. Please!” she begged as she stood up.

“I was trapped between world for 400 years… lost and driven mad by my rage. I do not want that for you.”

“And what about what I want?! Nobody cares what I want! All my life, I’ve been afraid. And who wouldn’t be? With dead people murmuring in my ears, making me deliver your messages… making me into a freak! A creepy, pathetic, terrified mess muttering to herself in the corner.”

“But that is not who you are anymore.”

“No. That’s right. I’m not afraid anymore. I’ve got real power now. And you want to take that away from me?” she cried. “You want them to win?”

“Oh, Marnie,” Antonia said as she took Marnie’s face between her hands, “Marnie, can’t you see? Life is pain. But soon, all you have suffered and feared will be meaningless. You will be at peace. But them…”

“… they’ll be stuck here. Forever.”

“And there is no victory in that.”

A tear or two fell down Marnie’s cheeks as she screamed. “Oh, this fucking sucks.”

“Come on.”

Antonia took Marnie’s hand and led her down to the forest where the other spirits were waiting for her. Adele followed them.

“Gran!”

Sookie and Brooklynne called after her, hoping to make her stay.

“Please don’t go,” Sookie cried.

“I have to, dear.”

“I’m so lost without you. I don’t know what to do.”

“Yes, you do. Look at your sister. She’s got it all figured out,” she said as she smiled, proudly, at Brooklynne.

“Oh, Gran… I’m so sorry.”

“For what, dear?”

Brooklynne sniffed and shrugged, hoping her grandmother was proud of her, of who she had become.

“Answer’s where it always is. In your heart. Being alone, it ain’t nothing to be afraid of, my girls. We’re all alone, at the end.”

She smiled at them one last time before joining the spirits back to the cemetery and her granddaughters watch her leave them with tears in their eyes.

Brooke felt a hand slide on her waist, and she took it, as Eric pulled her towards him.

“No offense to your grandmother, but neither one of us will be alone at the end.”

Brooke chuckled as she wiped the tears off her face with the back of her hand.

“This is the worst night ever.”

“Well,” he said as he turned her around and wiped one last tear with his thumb, “the night is still young.”

***

Eric had no idea how right he was. Well, maybe he did, a little. He knew what was coming. For him, for Bill. For Brooklynne. They were coming for their heads.

He hadn’t said a word, but Brooklynne knew too. She wasn’t used to being able to read his mind, and it mostly just happened, she couldn’t control it. He was thinking about it, so hard, as he was drinking her blood, in Bill’s living room. She could hear her sister break up with Bill in the other room, and she just wished she could tune them out. Hearing Bill cry made her feel sick.

“Are you sure they’re coming after you too? It wasn’t your fault.”

“They don’t care. I was caught on camera.”

“They destroyed all of that footage.”

“There are witnesses.”

“Glamour them.”

“It’s too late.”

“Then we should leave. Now.”

“And go where? They won’t stop until…”

“Brooklynne.”

The vampire-fairy hybrid turned to see her sister enter the room. Her eyes were red. And wet.

“I’m going home.”

“Okay. I’m staying here, with Eric.”

“You should go with her. There’s no reason for you to be here when…”

Brooklynne shot him a look that told him all he needed to know. She wasn’t going anywhere. She’d save him. Or die trying.

“Have a good night, Sook.”

“I’ll see you tomorrow,” her sister nodded as she waved, before she walked away.

“The AVL doesn’t know I’m a vampire. They can’t kill me. It’s against their own rules.”

“If you get in their way, if you show them what you can do…”

“Eric,” she stopped him, taking a step forward and placing a hand above his, “either we’re leaving town, or we’re staying. But we stay together.”

Eric sighed, defeated.

“Like you said, neither of us will be alone at the end.”

***

Bill was back to being a cold bastard when he joined them in his living room. He sat in an armchair next to them, and they all kept a dreadful quiet as they enjoyed the last hour of their life.

Bill had nothing else to lose. He had just lost the only thing he wanted, the only thing he needed. Without Sookie, he had no reason to live. He wouldn’t fight the Authority, if they came knocking on his door with a true death warrant. Eric thought about his human life. His immortal life. Godric. Pam. Brooklynne. He thought about the life he had and the one he would never get. The life he dreamt of having with Brooklynne, and the one he could never give her. But Brooklynne wasn’t done fighting. She had barely started. She’d use all of her powers to kill them all, if need be. She felt strong enough. She never even took the time to ask herself if she could.

When the cars arrived, disturbing the silent night as they drove on the gravel driveway, they all felt like time had stopped. Like it was all decided, and they would either leave the house alive, or not at all.

Brooklynne suddenly felt like she had forgotten so many things. Her siblings. She should have said goodbye to them. But instead, she let Sookie go without even telling her she might never see her again. She was almost certain Eric was thinking the same way about Pam. But he knew if he had let her know about any of this, she’d had come, and he couldn’t do that to her. She deserved better.

At least, Bill had said his goodbye.

“This is it,” the King of Louisiana said as he straightened his suit.

“It’s been a crazy thousand years.”

Brooklynne scoffed dryly.

“I thought immortality would last longer.”

They followed Bill as he took the direction of the front door. He opened with a polite smile, a smile Brooklynne had dubbed “Bill’s political smile”.

Nan Flanagan was standing on the porch with a handful of heavily armed men and she looked pissed. She looked furious.

“Ms. Flanagan, we’ve been expecting you.”

Eric and Brooklynne appeared behind their king. It somehow seemed to make her angrier.

“Hi, Nan. And gay stormtroopers.”

Eric’s ability to make stupid jokes in moments such as this one was one of the reasons Brooklynne loved him so much.

“Perfect. Two birds, one stone,” she said as she entered the house, taking the direction of Bill’s office, followed by her guards.

Though Eric stayed silent, Brooklynne could feel his relief. Whatever Nan’s orders were, Brooklynne didn’t seem to be included in them.

The couple stepped in the crowded office, joining Bill’s side.

“The Marnie situation has been resolved, if that makes any difference,” Bill said.

“Ding, dong, the witch is dead,” Nan replied with a tone so sharp it would have given the true death to any vampire who got too close. “Yippee.”

“His Majesty showed great leadership in extremely perilous circumstances. You should be kissing his ring.”

“Why bother when your tongue’s already so far up his ass?”

Eric contemplated his options as his desire to kill the bitch grew stronger. Brooklynne was glad he controlled himself.

Nan gestured her guards to close the door and they stood before it, blocking the only exit. Brooklynne looked up at Eric who seemed to be as nervous as she was. This meant nothing good.

“I wish for one fucking night you could experience the litany of bullshit I’ve had to deal with. Then you’d have some idea of how little I give a fuck about your small-town witch infestation, or your whole backwoods kingdom, for that matter.”

“For someone who cares so little, you seem awfully pissed off.”

“Do I, Bill? Maybe that’s because I quit my fucking job!”

“You quit the AVL?” Eric asked, as baffled as Bill was.

“And the Authority.”

“No one quits the Authority,” Bill chuckled nervously.

“Quit, fired, same difference!”

“We assumed we were the ones to be terminated.”

“Oh, there’s been an order issued on your heads.”

Hearing those words, Brooklynne instinctively seized Eric’s hand.

“My last duty was supposed to be delivering the True Death to both of you. Of course, I realized I’d be next.”

She sighed, trying to control her anger. Failing.

“I have been alive for eight hundred and sixteen years. I refuse to be retired like a fat first wife!”

“Let me make sure I got this straight,” Eric said. “You’re mutinying against the American Vampire League and the Authority?”

“And you expect us to join you?”

“We won’t be alone,” she assured them. “There are factions inside the regime who have never been completely on board with the current agenda. Sheriff Northman knows what I’m talking about.”

Brooklynne frowned. So did Bill.

“What’s in it for us?” the Viking asked, undisturbed by the accusation.

Nan laughed. “Aside from surviving the night? How about your little fairy toy over there? And her sister.”

Their silence and cold stares didn’t faze her.

“Oh, come on. The mind reading, the microwave fingers? You didn’t think I knew what you were? There are at least a couple thousand vampires who would do almost anything to get a taste of your blood.”

“They’re welcome to try,” Brooklynne smirked.

In the next second, she had seized Bill’s paper knife and cut the throat of all of Nan’s human guards. Eric had wanted to do it, but she insisted, as it was her sister she was protecting.

“You’re a vampire?” Nan gasped, looking at her like she was an alien. Which… she was.

“Don’t. threaten. my sister.”

Bill armed himself with the fancy stake that was on display behind his seat, and stabbed Nan who exploded on the spot. There were pieces of her everywhere, the vampires were covered with her blood. Brooklynne took what looked like a tooth from her hair and threw it towards the pile of blood at her feet. She grimaced, then sighed.

“Can we leave now?”

***

Leaving a voicemail to his progeny, Bill didn’t help Eric clean up the mess he had made of Nan Flanagan. Brooklynne stared at the fake window as her maker made sure to get rid of any evidence that would work against them in case of a trial. Though, if they ever got caught, they would not get the luxury of a trial. Their fate was already sealed, killing Nan was just going to buy them a little bit more time. Or so they thought.

As soon as they stepped out of the house, they fell into a silver trap. They were surrounded by a dozen heavily armed men who threw silver nets at Bill and Eric. They both cried out of pain and Brooklynne’s first instinct was to help her maker, but she was quickly pinned against the wall with unhuman strength.

The soldier took off his helmet and stared at her, right in the eyes, as he said: “go back inside, sit down and forget this ever happened”.

Her eyes grew big as she realized he was trying to glamour her. She could see in the corner of her eye that they were taking them away, towards the trunk of their black vehicle. There were too many soldiers there, all wearing protection gear and weapons that could kill a vampire in a second. She did her best to put the loud voice inside her head to rest. It killed her to ignore it, it almost destroyed her to not try anything to help Eric, but she knew if she tried anything, if she showed them she couldn’t be compelled, if she showed them what she really was, they’d either kill her or take her too, and she would never be able to help anyone again.

So, she did as he asked. She went back inside Bill’s house, sat on the first armchair she could find, and watched as they drove away.

She got up as soon as she was certain they wouldn’t be able to see her follow them. She stayed far enough away, running fast, faster than she ever thought she could run. She even tried to fly, but to no avail. She followed them out of Bon-Temps and into an empty road. It was the middle of the night, so there was no one else there, but vampires.

She tried to think of a plan, of a way to get them out that wouldn’t get her and them killed. But there was no way she could free them without alerting the Authority soldiers.

But, suddenly, the black van in which all of the soldiers had gotten into took another road. It confused Brooklynne for a second, until she realized they were probably going back to their base, which meant Bill and Eric were going somewhere else. Somewhere like New-Orleans, to the Vampire Authority Headquarters.

She ran even faster now, so she could catch up to the single car, in which Eric was trapped. She positioned herself in the middle of the road, in front of the vehicle, but far enough away so that they could see her before driving into her. She rose a hand and the brightest light came out of it, blinding the driver. He immediately, out of instinct, turned the wheel, causing the car to roll over three times before it stopped in the field on her right.

She rushed towards the trunk which was already half opened. One kick was enough to open it wide.

“Brooklynne,” Eric breathed out as he crawled out, “what are you doing?”

“Saving your life? You’re welcome. Come on.”

They helped Bill out but didn’t get the time to do anything else as a vampire, whom Brooke recognized to be the driver, showed up behind them, holding a gun, no doubt loaded with silver bullets.

“Who wants to die first?”

Eric pushed Brooke behind him, screaming at her mentally to run the second she can, to not think twice about it. As soon as he turned into a pool of blood, she had to make a run for it.

But he wasn’t the one who exploded into a disgusting pile of bloody body parts.

A woman stood where the vampire used to be a second before, his spine in her hand.

“You, Hayes,” she said, looking down at the pile of blood, “you die first.”

“Nora,” Eric breathed out.

Their savior threw the spine on the ground and shook her bloody hand, trying to get the remaining pieces of Hayes off of her skin.

“I had arranged for our car to be conveniently ambushed when we hit 310,” Nora said, she had a British accent. Our attackers were going to take out my driver there. Unfortunately, wonder woman over here came 12 miles too soon.”

“Um… sorry?”

“Don’t be. It was badass.”

“Eric, you know this woman?” Bill asked.

“Yes. She’s my sister.”

Brooklynne thought she had misheard. Eric never mentioned a sister. She felt confused and… betrayed?

“Your sister? You have a sister who works for the Authority?” Bill says, both surprised and suspicious.

“I’m a Chancellor,” she replied proudly.

“I don’t understand,” Brooke said. “If you knew they were coming for Eric, why didn’t you warn him?”

“There was no time. The Guardian wanted Nan followed to make sure she carried out his orders. I saw an opportunity to save Eric, so I took it.”

“So nobody in the Authority knows about your relationship?” Bill asked.

“And they never will. We were only connected through out maker, Godric. And Godric is gone,” she said with obvious sorrow.

“As a Chancellor of the Authority, you’re taking a huge risk,” Bill continued, still not trusting her fully. “Why would you choose to…”

“Because I’d do anything for Eric.”

“And I’d do anything for you,” the Viking said as he took a step forward.

He went to hug his sister, whom he apparently hadn’t seen in decades. She smiled as she hugged him back. Brooklynne thought it would have been nice to know he had someone he cared about so much other than Pam. Though she could understand why keeping their relationship a secret was for the best, perhaps he could have trusted her enough to share that secret with her.

“And,” Nora continued, “because you did what you did protecting us from the necromancers. That we would reward you for it with the True Death speaks volume about how out of step the Authority’s current agenda is.”

So, Nan knew. Nan knew of Nora and of her relationship with Eric. Which meant Eric did keep in touch at least a little bit. Brooke tried to keep her anger to a minimum.

“I’m not alone in this belief.”

“Factions within the Authority?” Bill asked, making the connection with the information Nan had given him earlier that night.

“Mm-mmh,” she nodded. “So, who’s wonder woman?”

Nora looked at the fairy with interest, but Brooke didn’t answer, uncertain of how much she should say. She turned to Eric for guidance.

“Nora, this is Brooklynne, my progeny.”

“A pleasure, I’m sure…” Nora mumbled thoughtfully. “What is she? She smells amazing.”

“She’s…” Eric pondered. “… complicated.”

“Right…” she said, suspicious. “And I suppose that light is part of the… complications.”

“What light?”

“The light that came out of your progeny, causing Hayes to drive us into this field.”

Eric looked at Brooklynne with regret. She exposed herself to save him, putting herself in danger.

“Like I said. It’s complicated.”

“Well,” she sighed, resigned to stay in the dark, “’complicated’ is an improvement from that whore you keep around.”

“Nora!” Eric hissed, threateningly.

Brooklynne frowned. Perhaps her contempt for Pam was what kept the two apart for so long. She couldn’t help but wonder if Eric trusted any of them. She thought she knew him, but she just realized she had many, many things to figure out about him still. The fact he kept her true identity from Nora meant he didn’t trust her entirely either, or perhaps, it was just the Authority that made him nervous. But finding out about Nora’s existence that night rose many questions that she didn’t have time to ask at the moment.

“Help me turn the car around,” Nora asked Bill. “Let’s see if it can drive us somewhere safe for the day.”

Eric gestured Brooklynne to follow him and they made their way to the road in silence. She tried hard not to explore his thoughts.

“Why didn’t you tell me you had a sister?”

“We don’t tell anyone we’re related. It’s for everyone’s safety.”

“Okay. Why didn’t you tell her who I was? She thinks I’m a vampire.”

“She saw your speed and strength, she already knew you were a vampire.”

“But you don’t trust her enough to tell her the truth.”

“She works for the Authority. If she ever gets caught for being ‘against the current agenda’ she’ll get tortured and asked about everything that she knows. I told you, you can’t trust anyone.”

“So what? I’m just supposed to pretend to be a vampire now? To sleep all day? Pretend I don’t eat human food?”

“Only around Nora, which you won’t be for long.”

She sighed. “Right. So… what do we do now?”

“We do nothing. Nora will get Bill and I out of here. We’ll have new identities, we’ll be safer once we get out of the country.”

“What? What do you mean? I’m coming with you.”

“No, you’re not.”

Brooklynne gasped as she took a step back. It felt like a slap in the face.

“The Authority has no knowledge of your existence, there is no warrant out for you arrest, you can go back to Bon-Temps, be with your sister.”

“No! No way.”

“Brooklynne.”

He put his hands on both her shoulders as he looked down at her.

“It’s not safe to come with me. They will hunt me down until they catch me.”

“So?”

“So, you’ll be safer in Bon-Temps. Stay with Pam. I’ll be in touch, I’ll call, I’ll…”

“Eric, I am not going back to Bon-Temps without you. I’m not going anywhere without you. You promised! We promised.”

“The life that’s waiting for me is not worth living.”

“No life is worth living without you, how many times do I have to say it?!”

“Brook-“

“No! I have no life without you, Eric. You are my life. You gave me immortality and you better be sure I’m going to spend it with you. You will not abandon me here!”

“Brooklynne,” he sighed as he brought her to his chest.

He placed a kiss on the top of her head as he hugged her.

“This isn’t what I wanted for you.”

“I know. But it’s better than nothing.”

He backed away and placed his hands on both sides of her face.

“I love you,” he said as dark red tears appeared in his eyes.

She gave him a sad smile. “I love you too. More than anything.”

He leaned over to kiss her. His lips capturing hers like it was the first and last time they would do so. He held her tightly to him, as to stop her from slipping away.

He released her reluctantly, caressing her cheeks with his thumbs, and returning her sad smile.

“Forgive me.”

She frowned. But she didn’t get the time to express her confusion as he swiftly twisted her head, breaking it in a horrible sound that will haunt him forever.

The end… ?

**********

Tags: @thepoet1975 @nerdysandwichqueen @catchmeupimgettingoutofhere @raegan-hale @colie87 @heavenly1927 @abbey7103 @with-love-maddie

#true blood #eric x oc #eric northman #bill x sookie #sookie stackhouse #fanfic #fanfiction #imagine #oc #reader #eric x reader #pam #sookie x oc #sookie x reader #jason stackhouse #bad ending #i'm sorry please don't hate me no idk when I'll update or even if I ever will

70 notes · View notes

hysterialevi · 4 years

Text

Eitr | Chapter 12

Fanfic summary: In an alternate universe where the Raven Clan is wiped out, Sigurd ends up being rescued by the son of a Saxon ealdorman, and is tasked with being the boy’s new bodyguard. Upon meeting the boy’s father however, Sigurd soon realizes that the ealdorman is responsible for his clan’s destruction, and secretly plans for revenge while hiding behind the guise of a Norse pagan turned Christian.

Point of view: third-person

Pairing: Sigurd Styrbjornson x Male OC

This story is also on AO3 | Previous chapter

LATER THAT DAY

FORANGAL CASTLE, SIGURD’S CHAMBERS

Sigurd gazed down at his hands, staring blankly into the distance as his mind tore itself apart with guilt.

His clothes were still stained with numerous splatters of Gjuki’s blood, and even though Aegenwulf finally decided to spare his life, Sigurd remained trapped in a pit of remorse, suddenly feeling an urgent desire to return home.

...What had he done? What had the Saxons turned him into? Was his mind even his own anymore? What would Eivor think about all this?

Only a handful of weeks had drifted by ever since Sigurd first washed up on Agenbury’s shore, and yet, the man felt as if a lifetime separated him from the past. He hardly recognized himself anymore after everything that had occurred, and considering how things were unfolding so far, part of him wished Edlynne had left him at the river.

He didn’t deserve to be here, or in Valhalla. Backstabbers such as himself belonged in the darkest depths of Helheim, and Sigurd had no idea how he was going to face his brother once all this was over.

He wanted nothing more than to reunite with the fragments that remained of his family, but in light of recent events, Sigurd was now beginning to question his true motives, and how much survival really meant to him.

It would’ve been a dream come true to see Eivor’s face again, that much was true, but what would it matter if Sigurd didn’t even return as the same man? His brother was fighting to bring back the sibling he grew up with back in Fornburg, and yet, Sigurd felt as if he had become a total stranger.

There was barely anything left of the person he once was, and with Algar’s influence constantly digging deeper into the ealdorman’s mind, Sigurd didn’t even want to think about what he’d have to do to survive in the future.

Things were bad enough as it was. Any worse, and all Hell would break loose.

“Sigurd.”

Snapping out of his thoughts, the viking suddenly realized he wasn’t alone in his chambers and spotted Edric standing in front of him, trying to get his attention.

His brow was furrowed deeply in frustration, and judging by the weary look he wore on his face, Sigurd assumed he had just walked away from some sort of argument. Probably with Aegenwulf himself.

Sigurd glanced up at the man, still somewhat lost in shock. “...Edric? What are you doing here?”

The Saxon frowned in sympathy. “I apologize for intruding like this, but there’s something important you need to know. A decision was made after you left the throne room. Before I tell you about it, though... I wanted to see how you were doing first. That trial was just...” Edric sighed in disgust, “...well, you know.”

He took a seat next to the Norseman, bowing his head low in exhaustion.

“God, what an absolute mess. I knew my father had changed, but I never realized just how unhinged he was. What on earth was he thinking? Forcing two men to fight like a pair of animals. Jesus... if the Danes didn’t hate us before, they certainly will now.”

Edric turned to Sigurd, switching to a gentler tone. “I’m so sorry, Sigurd. If I had known what my father intended, I would’ve stepped in sooner. I would’ve tried to speak with him. I would’ve--”

“--You’re not to blame.” The viking replied, his voice cold with anger. “You did everything you could.”

The other man let out a breath. “Maybe. I just wish it would’ve been enough. I mean, I’m glad to see you alive, but... my God. That poor man. What was his name. Gjuki? What the hell did they do to him?”

“I feared he had already been killed,” Sigurd admitted. “But now, I’m starting to think that would’ve been a better fate.”

“No one deserves what he went through,” Edric agreed. “I still can’t believe my father would allow all this. He used to be so kind, and compassionate. He was always a firm man, but he never indulged in such cruelty. What’s happened to him?”

It didn’t take long for Sigurd to provide an answer. “Your father is no more than a pawn for Algar to use. You wish to eradicate the corruption in Wedenscire? You must get rid of him first.”

Edric picked up on his tone. “Why? Have you learned something?”

The viking nodded. “Before Gjuki drew his last breath, he revealed to me what he found in Algar’s crypt. Apparently, the man is part of the Order of the Ancients. His alias among them is The Colossus.”

Edric displayed a puzzled look. “The Order of the Ancients? I’ve never heard of them. Have you?”

“Yes, actually. Though, my knowledge on them is far from abundant. Before my clan was attacked, my brother pursued some of their members who were operating in Lunden. I also know there are many others spread across England and Norway. They worship a god whose name I’ve never heard, and their motives remain a mystery to me. I have no idea why they would be interested in your father, or how Gareth is connected to all this.”

The nobleman slid a hand down his face. “Christ Almighty. What has my family gotten itself into? I’m not familiar with this organization, Sigurd, but I’ll do whatever I can to learn more about them. If they’re as widespread as you say, there must be something we can find. Something that can put Algar down for good.”

“Just... tread carefully.” Sigurd warned. “Gjuki was on the same path as you before Algar captured him. I don’t want you to share his fate. There’s also the fact that he’ll likely be even more protective of his secrets now that someone has infiltrated his crypt.”

“Of course. I’ll be as discreet as possible.”

The viking decided to switch topics. “Well, enough about that. I’d rather not spare another thought on that bacraut after everything that’s happened. You mentioned you had something else you wanted to discuss?”

Edric sighed. “Right. You’re not going to like it. It’s... Bishop Hundwerth.”

Sigurd leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. “What has he done now?”

“He insists that you convert to Christianity. I told him it wasn’t necessary, but I’m afraid Lady Moira’s voice overpowered mine. My father’s decided that you’re to be baptized tomorrow morning, and recognized as a man of God.”

“But I already proved my loyalty,” the other man argued, his tone sharp with bitterness. “Wasn’t that the whole point of pitting me against my own friend? Or was that simply for their entertainment?”

Edric shared Sigurd’s annoyance. “That’s not how the bishop sees it. In his eyes, the only thing you proved is that you’re willing to murder one of your own if it means saving yourself. You may have given your word that you won’t betray us again, but for Hundwerth, the word of a pagan holds little merit. He’d rather trust the promise of a Christian.”

The Norseman rose from his bed, pacing around the room. “So it’s not enough that they torture my people and force me to slay them? Now I must also abandon my gods?”

The Saxon bowed his head in shame. “I’m sorry, Sigurd. The unfairness of this situation isn’t lost on me, but I’m afraid there’s not much else I can do. My words seem to fall on deaf ears nowadays.”

“...It’s not your fault. You’ve already done more than enough for me.” Sigurd placed his hands on his hips, gazing out the window. “I suppose there’s no use in fighting it now. I’ve seen the kind of punishment that awaits me if I resist. I do not wish to leave my gods behind, but...” his voice softened with heartache, “...if this is the cost of survival, then... I’ll do it. I need to get back home alive. I need to see my brother again.”

Edric’s head jerked up in confusion. “Your brother? I thought he was dead.”

“So did I, but Gjuki informed me of his survival not too long ago. He was the only thing keeping us in touch. Now that he’s gone, I’m at a loss as to how I’ll contact my brother again should the need arise.”

The young man stood up from the bed and stepped behind Sigurd, resting an affectionate hand on his arm.

“...We will get through this, Sigurd.” He whispered reassuringly. “I know it can be easy to forget, but you’re not alone in these walls. You have Edlynne, Joseph, Raedan... and me. We’re here for you.”

The viking held onto Edric’s hand and turned around to face him, finding a sense of solace in his words.

“Thank you, Edric. These are dire times, but your kindness won’t be forgotten in the days to come.” Sigurd pulled the young man close, pecking a kiss on his forehead. “I’m glad I have you at my side.”

Edric smiled in his embrace, resting his head on the man’s chest. “As am I.”

Falling into silence, the two of them simply stood there for a moment and savored each other’s company, attempting to cling onto any shred of comfort they could find. The entire castle had descended into disarray after Aegenwulf’s unpopular decision to spare Sigurd, and with Bishop Hundwerth preparing for the upcoming baptism, it seemed like peace in Forangal was naught but a distant memory.

There was arguing, debating, contempt, scorn -- and seeing as how Gjuki’s head was now displayed on a pike, Edric imagined that the war with the Danes would only erupt.

It was Hell on earth inside Forangal’s walls, but with Sigurd there to protect him from any threats, Edric was able to feel some sense of security. It meant nothing to him that the man was a Dane, or a pagan rather than a Christian. He knew Sigurd to be good at heart, and frankly, despite what he expected, he trusted him more than his own father these days.

He only prayed that the tides of fate would be merciful in the near future. If he were to lose Sigurd to the chaos that was beginning to unravel, Edric didn’t know how he would proceed. That man was the only one willing to help him look into Gareth’s death, and if his instincts were correct, then Algar was at the center of it all.

He would need all the help he could get in order to take that beast down, and if that meant they had to fight for just a little longer, then Edric was willing to endure it. He just didn’t know where to start.

~~~~~~~~~~

TWO DAYS LATER

ELMENHAM, EAST ANGLIA

Galloping towards the longhouse at full speed, Broder frantically stormed his way back to Eivor as rain heavily poured down from the clouds above, shrouding everything in a bleak darkness.

He had been running for his life ever since Algar cornered Gjuki at the crypt, and with the majority of their group now lying dead in the mud, Broder had no intentions of returning to Wedenscire until Eivor himself marched for the gates of Forangal.

He hated the idea of leaving Sigurd behind to deal with his troubles alone, but considering how erratic the ealdorman had become recently, Broder was no longer willing to risk it. Not on his own, at least.

He saw for himself what the Saxons did to Gjuki, and how they treated his corpse. He may have been eager to help Eivor reunite with his brother, but Broder had his own siblings to look out for, and the last thing he wanted was to end up being a mounted head for some Saxon nobleman.

He just hoped he wasn’t too late.

Yanking on the reins of his horse, Broder came to a screeching halt as the animal’s hooves went dragging through the mud, causing the steed to let out a panicked neigh. His body was aching terribly with fatigue thanks to the long journey, but even then, the viking refused to take a break. His mind had been trapped in a perpetual state of alarm ever since Gjuki’s death, and he was adamant to get the news back to Eivor.

Rushing to the entrance of the longhouse, Broder trudged through the storm and practically bashed the doors open, ignoring the curious stares he received from scattered civilians.

Even though the rain had washed away most of the blood staining his armor, he still remained quite a sight to behold and traipsed through Elmenham’s fields like a walking corpse rising from its grave.

Once inside, Broder spotted Eivor conversing with Oswald and Valdis as the three of them discussed the war, clearly devising some sort of plan. Their voices were nearly inaudible underneath the relentless howls of the wind, but in spite of the interference, their heads still jolted in Broder’s direction upon his obtrusive entrance, causing them to let out a unanimous gasp.

“Brother!” Valdis greeted with relief. “You’ve returned.” Her expression instantly dimmed. “...Are you well? You look awful.”

The man jogged up to them, doing his best not to collapse on the spot.

“Eivor...!” Broder exclaimed, somewhat out of breath. “There you are. I... I...”

“Easy, drengr,” Eivor said in a calming tone. “Slow down. Tell me what’s going on.”

Broder took a moment to get his bearings, finally recovering from the treacherous ride home.

“...Gjuki’s dead, Eivor.”

Valdis’ eyes widened in horror. “What? What do you mean he’s dead? What happened?”

Broder decided to spare them the details. “We were searching a hidden crypt in Wedenscire, not too far away from Forangal. We thought there might’ve been clues inside, and there were, but...”

Eivor urged him on. “But what?”

The other man shook his head in regret. “It was the ealdorman’s housecarl. An argr snake called Algar. He captured Gjuki and slaughtered the rest of our men. I was the only one who managed to escape.”

Oswald caught onto his last words. “Wait, he captured Gjuki? So he didn’t kill him immediately?”

“No,” Broder confirmed. “Algar took him to the dungeons.”

An alarming thought struck Eivor’s mind. “Wait, what about Sigurd? Where is he now? Is he alright?”

A dour look spread across Broder’s face. “He’s alive, but... Gods. It was madness, Eivor. When Algar took Gjuki in, it didn’t take him long to realize that he was working with Sigurd, so the ealdorman held a trial. They were willing to spare your brother’s life in spite of his crimes, but he had to do something in exchange. He had to kill Gjuki.”

Eivor froze at the news.

“...Sigurd... killed him?”

“Yes. He did not wish to, but the Saxons left him no choice. It was either him or Gjuki. He chose to comply in the end.” Broder turned to his sister. “...I tried everything I could to save him, Valdis. I did. But it wasn’t enough. I’m sorry.”

The woman crossed her arms, trying to hide her pain. “I--” she choked up, “--oh, Gjuki...”

Broder hesitated to get the last part of his report out. He hated to constantly be the bearer of bad news, but he knew it was necessary.

“...There is one more thing, Eivor. While we were in the crypt, we learned that Algar was part of the Order. There were a series of letters between him and some of the other members in their organization, but he’s burned them all now.”

Oswald paused. “A member of the Order? In Wedenscire? Are you certain?��

“Indeed. They call him The Colossus.”

Eivor mindlessly clenched his fist in response to the report and brought his attention to the king, unable to conceal the fire raging in his eyes.

“Oswald, we must march on Forangal now. We have enough allies.”

The Saxon hesitated. “You’ve rallied a decent army, Eivor, but I’m still not certain if it’ll be sufficient. Forangal is a hefty fortress armed with many defenses. If we’re not careful, it could result in total obliteration.”

“We don’t have time to forge anymore alliances!” The viking argued. “Sigurd needs us. Now. Those Saxons have already butchered Gjuki, and they have the Order among them. It won’t be much longer until my brother is the one on their chopping block. We need to get him out of there as soon as possible.”

Oswald remained unswayed. “I understand your urgency, Eivor, but we must approach this realistically. Not many people walk away from Forangal with their lives, and for good reason. We only have one chance to do this right. Better to wait a little longer and ensure we’re prepared, rather than march straight to our deaths.”

The king turned to Broder. “You were there, Broder. What’s your opinion on the situation in Wedenscire? Can Sigurd afford to wait?”

The man furrowed his brow in uncertainty. “I... I don’t know, my lord. It’s difficult to say. He’s managed to survive thus far, but his captives have become unpredictable recently. Relentless. They’ve even forced Sigurd to convert to Christianity.”

That took Oswald by surprise. “What? When did this happen?”

“Just after Gjuki died. I overheard the nobles in the castle speaking of a baptism before I left. One of them was against the conversion, but the rest decided to go through with it.”

Eivor’s expression flattened with frustration. “You see? We must go now. Before they try anything else. I’m done cowering in the shadows.”

“But what if--”

“--Eivor’s right.” Valdis jumped in. “Those people are animals, Oswald. You’ve seen for yourself what they did to the Raven Clan; what they did to Randvi. If there’s any chance we can save Sigurd from the same fate, we need to take it. We’ve idled for long enough.”

Oswald was at a loss for words. “...I really don’t know how this is going to work, you all. We have enough forces to put up a decent fight, but... assaulting Forangal Castle? That’s a completely different story.”

Broder offered his own thoughts. “Do not be so quick to dismiss the unlikely, my lord. It happens more often than you think. Those are Gjuki’s words. Not mine.”

“Have faith in our strength, husband.” Valdis continued. “We are warriors. Drengir. Children of Odin. We were born and bred for this sort of thing. We will not fall so easily to these Saxons. Let us go.”

Oswald fell silent at his friends’ arguments and sighed in defeat, conflicted on what to do next.

On one hand, he sympathized with Eivor’s eagerness to storm Forangal’s gates, but on the other, he honestly didn’t know if their soldiers could survive such an endeavor. Their army was just large enough that the plan could’ve succeeded with the help of a miracle, but despite his youth, Oswald was world-weary enough to know that battles typically didn’t favor the disadvantaged.

Anything could’ve gone wrong during this assault. Aegenwulf could’ve had more forces than they anticipated, an ambush could’ve stopped them along the way, or -- worst case scenario -- Sigurd could’ve already been dead. There was an abundance of unknowns lurking around the corner, and with so many risks obscuring the path ahead, Oswald wasn’t sure if war was the answer. At least, not for now.

Still, he feared what could’ve happened to Sigurd if they waited too long. Based on Broder’s report, it sounded like the man was going through hell at the moment. If there was any opportunity for them to rescue him from Aegenwulf’s clutches, Oswald felt complied to seize it.

Eivor did the same for him when he was taken prisoner at Burgh Castle, so it only seemed right to return the favor.

“...Alright, you three.” Oswald finally agreed. “We’ll march on Forangal Castle as soon as we are able. Eivor, summon your allies. Tell them to meet us here. When they’ve arrived, we’ll begin making our way to Wedenscire. In the meantime, the rest of us will focus on the assault. My troops are yours to command as well.”

The viking gave him a firm nod. “Thank you, Oswald. I won’t fail you.”

“I have confidence in your abilities. I just hope that it’ll be enough. As for the rest of you...”

Oswald linked his hands together behind his back. “Get some rest. And prepare as much as you can. We don’t know what sort of resistance we’ll face in Wedenscire, but I think it’s safe to assume that our forces will be stretched thin. Do everything in your ability to ensure you are ready for this assault, and keep your guard up. We have evidence that the Order of the Ancients is involved now, so Lord only knows what Algar will have up his sleeve.”

Broder stepped in. “I’ll join the assault too.”

“No,” Oswald refused. “you need to rest. You’ve been through enough.”

“With all due respect, your Majesty, Gjuki is dead because of my incompetence. Out of honor, I cannot simply sit by and watch while your people risk their lives for a mistake I made. I’m still here because of that man. This is the least I can do for him.”

The king decided to grant him permission. “...Very well, then. I expect to see you at Forangal. As for you two, spread word of the assault to our soldiers. I want them to be prepared as well.”

Eivor nodded. “As you wish.”

“Good. Then let’s get to work. Sigurd’s life depends on our efficiency, and there’s no telling what will happen once Aegenwulf realizes who’s behind the assault. From what I understand, the man is growing more and more unstable by the day. Brace yourselves for anything... and may your gods watch over you all.”

#assassin's creed valhalla #ac valhalla #sigurd styrbjornson #male oc #sigurd x male oc #ac valhalla fanfic #eitr

15 notes · View notes

gophergal · 4 years

Text

A/N: SO, this is the Michael Myers x OC story rewrite I was telling y’all about! I started it in August of 2019 around the time I started this blog. The only warning for this chapter I can think of is home invasion. I would also like to thank @bucketofcowboys for beta reading this for me. I <3 you, dude!

I’m Not Lonely - Chapter One

Word count: 2000+| Rating: M | Michael Myers x OC | M/F

Houses passing by slowly drift farther apart as the car bulleted forward on the empty road out of town. Clouds overhead obscured the moon and stars that Jean loved so dearly. Instead, the world was masked in inky blackness, save for the headlights and few porch lights left on by the sleepy residents inside. Beyond that, there was nothing, just the varying shades of black that made up the road, trees, and sky. It was a quiet night, Halloween night, she reminded herself. Seems that if you have no kids to take trick or treating and no parties to get drunk at that Halloween is just a date on the calendar. A block of black up ahead drew closer. It was her home, the house she'd inherited when her grandfather passed away. The old man had always been taken good care of her and, even after death, still kept that up.

“Thirteen dead and two injured tonight after a killing spree perpetrated, possibly, by an escaped patient of Smith's Grove Sanitarium. The suspect, one Michael Audrey Myers, is thought to have been caught in an explosion at Haddonfield Memorial Hospital, though police urge residents of the surrounding area to remain cautious until further notice,” the radio droned as Jean tiredly pulled her car into the driveway. Jean shook her head, dirty blond locks sweeping across her face as she frowned. The world's really gone downhill when things like this happen every day, she thought, or maybe I just never noticed how cruel it can be.

A shiver ran down her spine as she thought about the madman running amok, murdering innocents. Mentally, she slapped herself. Keep your cool, Jean. No way could a loony like that evade capture for long. Hell, he might even be lost in the woods, looking around wildly as coyotes sized him up for a meal. He was probably dead, or at least would wish he were. She couldn't be losing her head over something the police could handle. She was safe here. That name though- It sounded familiar.

The moon was already high in the sky when she finally pulled open her front door, kicked off her shoes on the mat, and shrugged her coat off, stretching the stiff muscles of her shoulders. It had been a late shift. That was never a problem for Jean though. She didn't have anyone waiting for her at home and everyone knew it, so she was a good choice for late nights. Not that she minded. Jolene, her co worker, liked to lecture to her about getting out there and “catching herself a man”. Well, to Jean, dating was a tiresome and pointless game, and it wasn't like she had a line of suitors waiting to sweep her off her feet. Keys clinked in the dish where they were set and Jean ran a hand through her hair, her body rapidly growing heavy with exhaustion as the day caught up to her. Thinking back on it, she'd never been very popular. No problem though. Popularity didn't matter if you didn't want it to, and Jean was perfectly happy on her own.

She slipped by the kitchen, grabbing first for an apple then, remembering granddad's lectures about “eating heartily and eating well”, prepared a sandwich instead. Lazily she took a bite, too tired to care about how it tasted. Without thought, she flipped on the radio. For a moment she stood in front of the table, knowing very well that getting ready for sleep would zap what was left of her dwindling supply of energy, but not wanting to go to bed. She would have time to read a book if she put off brushing her teeth. She'd recently gotten a copy of that book Jolene recommended to her. Some horror story about a hotel. The Shining, she thought it was called. Jo seemed to like it quite a bit, but Jean had never been a big fan of horror. She often found the protagonists a bit stupid and would reluctantly admit to being easily spooked by those kind of stories. Still, she'd wanted to give it a chance, but hadn't yet had a chance to start reading it.

With the last crumb of bread stuffed into her mouth, she grabbed her pen and pad of paper to jot down a note to buy more bread. Tomorrow would be a good day for laundry and relaxation, she thought. Sunny and warm according to the forecast, as much as early November can be. It would be a good day off, she decided. She finally surrendered to her exhaustion, the need for sleep driving her through her routine. She only briefly stopped to look in the mirror, examining the dark circles under her eyes. She sighed, flopping into bed unceremoniously and snuggling into the soft covers. Exhaustion overtook her and the comforting dark arms of sleep came easily.

THUMP. Jean bolted upright, panic flooding her veins as she became aware of her surroundings. A stone sunk in her guts as she realized that she could not remember locking the door. She groped beneath the bed for the baseball bat she kept for home defense. She cursed herself silently for not taking granddad up on his offer for shooting lessons all those years ago, Her nerves were not calmed as she slid her hand over the smooth wood of her weapon. She had a white knuckle grip on the bat to keep her hands from shaking as she padded silently down the stairs, avoiding the creaky last step with practiced ease. She kept to the wall as she entered the living room, her terror striking her mute as she beheld the sight before her. Upon her couch, covered in blood and soot, lay a strange man, the ragged rise and fall of his chest her only indication that he wasn't a corpse. He shifted, mask clad head turning to her before he sprung up to shaky feet, filthy knife held defensively in his wavering grip. Even from here she could see the shaking of his large hands.

“Woah! Woah, hold it, big fella!” She exclaimed, bat extended in the space between them, “I'm not going to hurt you, not unless you hurt me first” A stupid thing to say honestly, given that he had a great deal of height and mass over her and, even injured as she believed him to be, could likely subdue her with ease. Not to mention the fact that he was an intruder. Logic seemed to leave her when she needed it most, it seemed. She swallowed thickly as he tilted his head, seeming to consider her words. His hand came to hang at his side, the knife loose in his fist. She lowered her home defense, her gaze still shifting nervously as she searched for his eyes behind the mask. A futile effort, for all she could glimpse was the sunken blackness of the eye holes.

“Why don't you take a seat. Wouldn't want you to pass out in the middle of my living room floor. You're a bit too big for me to carry,” she said as she studied his person to see what injuries he'd sustained. Jesus Christ, she thought, has he been fucking shot? Indeed, the telltale entry wounds were present, six in total, on his chest, arms, and leg. The dark blood that had bloomed around them was beginning to dry. The man all but fell to the couch, his sudden weight making the springs creak slightly.

“I'm willing to bet good money that you've been hurt pretty badly from the look of you. But 911 isn't really an option now, not with the breaking and entering, y'know.” The intruder remained stone still, as he'd been since he sat down. Jean fidgeted, thinking of what to do next. “Since going to the hospital probably isn't an option for you, I could patch you up, if you want. I mean, I'm no doctor, but it's better than nothing.”

At the mention of “hospital” he seemed to stiffen, if only slightly. The offer to tend his wounds seemed to relax him again. Though maybe she was looking too deeply into things. “I'll go ahead and get the kit, you- well you need to strip down a bit so I can help you.” She didn't wait for an answer of any kind before she began up the stairs, her full weight coming down on the squeaky step in her rush. She was playing nurse to the strange man- strange masked man, she corrected- that had broken into her home and threatened her with a knife. The ridiculousness of the situation, the pure stupidity of it all, was not lost on her, but now she was on autopilot. Moving without thinking.

With the first aid kit and water basin now safely in her arms, she moved down the stairs purposefully, almost hoping that her unwelcome guest had left or had been a dream. Her hopes were dashed when she saw him there, partially undressed, on her couch. For how scorched his jumpsuit was he had relatively few burns. In fact, the biggest one was about the size of a hand on his left side. It had blistered, but the rubbing of cloth must have caused them to rupture, leaving them as seeping open wounds. The gunshot wounds were concerning though. They were hard to see under all the crusty dried blood, but she knew that the bullets had to go.

Drawing nearer, she saw on the coffee table sat five bullets, droplets of red pooling around them as the masked man's thick, grubby fingers set down the last one. Jean blinked, then decided it wasn't worth the shock, horror, or confusion. She just needed to tend to him, get some sleep, and wake up from this weird dream. If she was quick enough, she could let it fade from her memory with no problems. Carefully, she cleaned the wounds, watching as the water changed from it's original crystal clear state into a murky red. His wounds, however, looked better than they had before. She dressed them with ointment and bandage, every movement slow and deliberate as she treated the wounds.

She lent to him an old pair of jeans and a button down her granddad had owned. Anything would be better than those grubby coveralls. The more she thought, the more she realized that not all the blood on them could possibly be his, but she pushed it from her mind. The sooner he was out of here, the better. And that would be much faster if she cooperated. You'll regret this later, a small voice, probably her common sense, told her. Maybe I will, she thought in response, but I'll burn that bridge when I get there.

With everything being returned to it's proper place in the box and the filthy water drained into the sink, she looked to him, a slight nervous grin on her lips, “You'd better get some rest then. Those wounds won't heal up very well otherwise.” He looked in her direction in a way that her exhausted mind read as unsure, yet confused. With a sleepy stagger, she made her way up the stairs to her room. The door slammed slightly behind her as she entered the room, the sound of it echoing throughout the room. She greeted the bed readily, succumbing to unconsciousness as soon as she hit the soft pillows.

Downstairs, the man, now wearing another stranger's clothes, sat on the couch. His mind working to weigh the options at hand. The immediate pleasure of stalking up the stairs and watching the light fade from her eyes as he stripped her life from her was tempting, but this woman, she was useful to him. More-so alive than dead, he figured. And so, he would wait. He was very patient; He'd needed to be for 15 years and could wait just a bit longer for her death. The very thought of it satisfied him.

The night's hunt had been less than successful. Prey had escaped. He'd been injured. And the Doctor- he'd tried to kill him; tried to shoot him dead. Not that it surprised him. Doctor Loomis had promised him for years that he would be killed if he stepped out of line. No matter. He was free now. He could not be stopped. And anyone who tried to stop him would simply become more prey for him. There was only one that had escaped him and she would be hunted, caught like a rat, then slaughtered by his hand, and his hand alone. But first, his body needed rest.

#michael myers #slashers #slasher x oc #michael myers x oc #gopher writes #I'm Not Lonely

18 notes · View notes

k-popscenxrios · 5 years

Text

Didn’t Ask For This Pt 12 (Roomate!JK x OC)

A/N: Sorry for the longer period between updates! I had to rewrite a good portion of the next few chapters since I felt it was taking a stupid turn. I’ve fixed it to make it better, so don’t worry! It’ll be worth your time, I promise. Enjoy~

Summary: “I didn’t know you hated me so much,” he spoke as he grabbed my wrist and once again turned me around to face him, “and quite honestly, I don’t think I’ve done anything horrible enough for you to hate me to the degree that you do.” “You say that like the hate isn’t mutual,” I remarked as he shook his head. There was a bitter smile on his face as he took a deep breath, “I think you are quite honestly one of the worst human beings I’ve had to come in contact with.”

4.5k words | drama ✞ | fluff ♡

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | Finale

⇨ Masterlist ⇦

I felt like I was dying when I opened my eyes, rolling around in bed. I was completely and utterly miserable, and I could feel the heat radiating off of my body. I laid in bed, the chills rushing through my body every time I so much as felt any air against my skin that was supposed to be protected by my comforter.

I laid in bed, feeling miserable for about an hour before I finally willed myself to get up. I slipped a sweatshirt and sweatpants on to keep me from freezing as I pushed my bedroom door open.

I hurried into the bathroom to get ready before either of the guys saw me. I was in and out as fast as possible, and to my dismay, Taehyung was waiting outside the door to talk to me.

“Jesus, Tae,” I spoke, his appearance scaring me breathless. Then again, even the simple act of brushing my teeth made me breathless.

“Hey,” he spoke, his eyebrows furrowed in worry, “Why on earth are you wearing sweats? It’s like 74 degrees in this apartment.”

I felt my hands start shaking, and I wasn’t sure if it was from the fact that Taehyung scared me or not, “I don’t know. My room is fairly cold I guess.”

Taehyung wasn’t convinced as his eyes started to narrow. He pushed his body off of the wall and pressed his hand to my forehead. I silently cursed as Taehyung’s eyes widened, his hand pulling away after realizing just how hot my forehead was.

“God, I don’t know whether to be mad at you or worried about you,” Taehyung mumbled as he rushed to the kitchen to grab the materials that he needed, “I need you to get out of those sweats and into your tank top and shorts. Now.”

I obeyed him as I noticed Taehyung’s scolding has caught Jungkook’s attention. He walked out of his room and looked in between the two of us with confusion.

“What’s going on?” he asked, concern evident as I noticed Taehyung grow tense. I caught sight of his gaze as my eyes widened. I hurried to close my door so that I could change, leaving Jungkook to fend for himself. I felt myself sigh with relief, more than relieved that I remembered to cover the hickeys this morning.

“Okay, I don’t feel like I should question a sick girl, but I won’t feel guilty for scolding you,” I heard Taehyung say as I rushed to change. I stumbled all around, losing my balance several times, landing on the bed behind me to cushion my falls.

I felt my body become uncomfortably cold as I grabbed one of my blankets off my bed.

“Why the hell does my sister have a fever the day after you had one?” Taehyung snapped as I felt paranoia grow within me.

“It’s probably that she got too close to me when taking care of me, man. I don’t know,” Jungkook played if off well as I wrapped the blanket tighter around me. Should I go out there? I probably should, otherwise he might sense something was up…

I opened the door and spotted Taehyung’s glare very quickly. His gaze softened as he looked over at me, seeing me and my pathetic stature.

“Taehyung, don’t yell at Jungkook,” I spoke with a weak voice that I noticed didn’t just make Taehyung melt, but Jungkook as well. The two of them gave me the same look of worry as Jungkook started to guide me into the living room.

“You need to lay down. Taehyung’s getting you some medicine,” Jungkook spoke softly. I couldn’t help but sense Taehyung’s confusion at Jungkook’s actions, but he didn’t voice anything. I just nodded pitifully as I slowly lowered myself to the couch, wincing at my body’s aching.

Jungkook knelt down next to me as Taehyung entered the living room with the medicine I needed to take. He walked up to the two of us and handed me the cup that he had poured the medicine into.

“What flavor is this?” I asked as Taehyung shrugged and shook his head.

“Does it matter? You’re the one that bought it in the first place. Shouldn’t you know?” he asked as I frowned, glancing down at the cup.

“I can’t remember…”

Taehyung swallowed and looked at Jungkook who was still down beside be with concern burned into his features. He was not doing a good job hiding his sudden affection for me.

“Alright, Kook. I’ll take care of her from here,” Taehyung spoke as Jungkook looked up at him. I could sense hesitation in him, but something seemed to click as he was about to get up.

“Doesn’t it make more sense for me to take care of her?” Jungkook asked as Taehyung’s expression morphed into complete shock, “I mean, I was the one that got her sick. And I wouldn’t want for her to get you sick.”

“Yeah, Jungkook has a point,” I nodded, feeling butterflies in my stomach at the prospect of Jungkook taking care of me for the rest of the day. Or, at least until he has to go in to work. Speaking of work, I need to call out sick for my shift.

Taehyung looked really reluctant to nod and give in to the two of us. I didn’t blame him for his paranoia, but I was relieved that he didn’t fight us too hard.

“So you actually want to take care of her?” Taehyung asked Jungkook as he took a couple steps backwards. Jungkook looked back down at me, the smallest smile showing in his features. He looked back up at Taehyung, smile turning into a serious gaze.

“It’s the least I could do. I caused this, after all,” his voice made it sound like he was only doing this out of obligation, but the look in his eyes told me another story.

“Alright. I give in,” Taehyung lifted his hands into the air before he turned on his heels, walking away from us down the hallway. “Don’t kill each other.”

That was the furthest of my concern at the moment.

…

“Jungkook,” I called from the living room as I heard Jungkook shuffling in the kitchen. He’d been gone for a good forty minutes just in the shower, and I was getting really shaky. I thought about bothering Taehyung, but I couldn’t get over how much I loved seeing Jungkook go soft for me.

“Hm?” He responded as he peaked his head into the living room to lock his eyes on mine.

My first instinct was to say something sappy to him, but I closed my mouth before I did. It wasn’t that I cared about Taehyung hearing me, but I just didn’t want to seem as pitiful as I felt.

“You were gone for nearly an hour,” I simply observed as he raised an eyebrow. His expression softened the longer he looked at me, but when I heard footsteps coming down the hall, his expression shifted.

“I’m not your butler,” Jungkook sassed as he spun around and walked back into the kitchen, “Only call me if you need me. If you get lonely, I’m sure Taehyung would love to give you company.”

I pursed my lips at his comments, but I didn’t take them personally. As Taehyung walked into the kitchen, I just pouted his way.

“How are you feeling?” He asked as I shifted my position from laying down to sitting up.

“Like I’m sitting in the middle of a snowstorm taking place on the sun’s surface,” I responded as he let out a soft chuckle.

“Do you want to watch a few episodes of our show?” Taehyung asks as he plopped down on the loveseat.

I smiled at him before my eyes glanced over at Jungkook’s figure. He walked back in from the kitchen with a sandwich in hand as I suddenly had a slightly devious idea pop into my head.

“You didn’t make me a sandwich?” I let out the softest, most pathetic pout I could manage as Taehyung glanced back at Jungkook. He froze mid-chew as he looked at me, studying me carefully.

“You didn’t mention that you wanted one.” he defended with a neutral tone. He finished chewing and swallowed the bite he had taken as I leaned my head back.

“You didn’t offer to make me one,” I countered as Taehyung looked away from the TV and drew his attention to the two of us.

“As I mentioned before, I’m not your butler,” he rolled his eyes as I huffed.

“I can make you one,” Taehyung interfered as I glanced his way. I was about to just nod, because quite honestly, I don’t care who makes me a sandwich as long as I have food in my stomach.

“No, I’ll get it.”

Both Taehyung and I looked Jungkook’s way in surprise as he dipped out of the room, entering the kitchen with his sandwich abandoned on the dining table.

…

Taehyung and I had just gotten through with a few episodes of our favorite show when his phone started blowing up in his pocket. His eyebrows raised when he looked at the name on the screen.

“Hello? Hana?”

I felt my interest peak as I sat up, pulling my blanket around me to ensure that I would stay warm.

“Right now? I mean I… I might have time. My sister’s sick and I hate to leave her here. I already have to leave for work later tonight.”

I frowned and snapped at Taehyung, grabbing his attention, “Tae, I’ll be okay without you. If Hana wants you to do something with her, please go.”

His eyebrows knit in worry as I just continued to nod in reassurance.

“I’ll force Jungkook to take care of me until he leaves. I don’t want to ruin a potential date for you two.”

Taehyung sighed and stared at me blankly for several seconds before looking up at the clock above our TV.

“...Alright. I can go,” he spoke into his phone as I smiled. I felt my smile grow as Taehyung’s face softened while listening to Hana. The softest little smile appeared as he stayed silent while she rambled on.

“Okay. I’ll meet you there in twenty minutes.”

The call soon ended as Taehyung looked over at me with an almost sorry gaze.

“I hate to leave…”

“No,” I cut him off before he could say much else, “I told you it was okay. Don’t you try and apologize to me.”

Taehyung just let out a soft laugh as he stood up and walked over to me. My face twisted in annoyance as he ruffled the hair on my head. I let out a few whines as he did so, reaching up to fix the mess that he had just made.

“Thanks, Ari. You’re the best.”

...

The day was flying by up until it was time for Jungkook to leave for work. My fever was almost completely gone, and I could actually move around without feeling every bone in my body aching.

“Call me if you start to feel bad again,” Jungkook spoke as I just nodded obediently.

“I’ll be fine, Jungkook,” I reassured as he knelt down beside me with a slightly worried look. I was about to open my mouth to reassure him once again, but he spoke before I did.

“If you hear from Hoseok, try to let him down easy,” Jungkook swallowed as I felt my face morph into surprise. Hoseok hadn’t come up all day, yet he still ended up on Jungkook’s mind?

“I’m going to need more time than that, Jungkook,” I spoke calmly, thinking back to the sweet man that had taken me on a fantastic date yesterday, “I would feel so horrible if I let him down right after how much fun we both had yesterday.”

Jungkook couldn’t believe what was coming out of my mouth. His reaction was all that I needed to see to know that we were about to argue again. Well, the peace was fun while it lasted.

“You wanna know what you actually did after going on such a “great” date with him? You slept with me. We’re, you know, dating each other now. You’re my girlfriend, and that means you can’t go on anymore dates with Hoseok,” Jungkook rambled in anger. I tried to keep calm as I felt myself shaking yet again. To say that I was stressed was an understatement.

“I’m not saying that I’m going to go on another date with him! If he asks to go on another date with me, I’ll just use that “date” as a way to let him down easy. After all, I already feel like a scumbag for reassuring him that there’s nothing going on between me and you, only to turn around and reject him because we’re together.”

“I don’t see why his feelings should matter,” Jungkook glared, his voice slightly raising, “You’re never going to talk to him after you tell him that you’re dating me.”

“How do you know that?” I sat up, fumbling slightly because of how weak some of my muscles felt, “What if I want to stay friends after this? He seems like a really cool guy-”

“Hell no,” Jungkook laughed and shook his head, “You can’t stay friends with a guy who’s obviously into you!”

I narrowed my eyes at his words, feeling my emotions trying to get the best of me. I tried to keep my voice calm, but he was making it incredibly hard… “Jungkook… you knew this whole time that he actually was interested in me? You said so many things about how he’d never be into me, yet you knew that he already was!”

“Why does that come as a surprise to you?” he snapped, his glare slightly faltering when he realized how hurt I really seemed, “I didn’t want you to try and pursue a relationship because I know Hoseok really liked you. I also knew that Yoongi didn’t have an interest in you this whole time.”

I felt my blood boiling both from the fever and from just how infuriated I was. He was trying to sabotage my love life…

Tears that I didn’t even realize were building up began to fall as I started to wave Jungkook away from me. I didn’t want to see him anymore. I needed time to calm down over all of this.

And I sure as hell am going on another date with Hoseok after learning all of this information.

“Go away, Jungkook,” I spoke, his harsh exterior crumbling as my voice shook. He started to move closer to me, but I used all the strength in me to push him away, “Don’t touch me. I need you to leave me alone.”

Jungkook swallowed and watched me with worried eyes. I wrapped my arms around my legs in a fetal position as I used my knees to wipe my tears away. I heard Jungkook reluctantly shuffle away from me, and I felt a stab to my heart when the apartment door closed without him saying another word.

I hated how much this situation was getting to me. It shouldn’t matter than Jungkook was sabotaging my potential relationship with Hoseok because we both ended up confessing to each other… but if he’s willing to do something like that, it makes me worry about what else he might try to manipulate...

My night was agonizing to say the least. There wasn’t a moment that went by where I wasn’t thinking about Jungkook and our argument. I was so upset with him, but I hated how horrible I felt over it all. I just wanted to pull out my phone and call Jungkook to try and work it all out.

My fever was fighting me back as I could feel my body growing really weak once again. I cursed as I tried to move around the apartment to take some more medicine, struggling with the child proof lid. I hate these stupid lids!

I mumbled a few swears before I finally got the bottle open to take the stupid medication. I swallowed the substance as fast as I could manage, struggling to put the bottle back away.

I finally finished struggling when I realized my phone was buzzing from the living room. I shuffled into the living room to look at my phone, surprised to see that Hoseok’s name was on my screen.

I reluctantly answered the call, putting my phone on speaker as I slowly settled back in to the couch.

“Hello?” I asked as I heard various noises from his end.

“Ari! Sorry if this seems weird, but Taehyung told me that you were sick and home alone. I just wanted to check and make sure that you’re okay.” he sounded nervous as I felt my guilt eating me alive. How could I turn down this guy? This was going to suck…

“I’m completely fine!” I tried to sound genuine and I was pretty convincing. I could hear him sigh on his end as I swallowed, trying to push away all the thoughts of Jungkook and I’s conversation out of my head. “Hey, Hoseok. I was wondering if you would like to come over soon. I just really need to talk to you about something.”

“Oh,” Hoseok sounded surprised, but it wasn’t a bad surprised, “Of course. When were you thinking? ‘Cause I could even stop by tonight, tomorrow, or later this week if you were thinking further down.”

I felt my heart squeeze as I grabbed my phone and started pulling up a picture of my schedule, “Well it really needs to be a time when neither Taehyung or Jungkook are home…”

I felt the words coming out of my mouth like word vomit as I felt my body freeze. I could only hope that Hoseok didn’t think anything of my words, but I could only assume that he’d hit his limit with my slip ups.

“I don’t mean to pry…” It sounded like Hoseok had moved into a different room because all the noise that I heard before was now missing, “But Jungkook seems to be over there a whole lot… Taehyung almost makes it sound like he lives there.”

I just tried to laugh it off, which quickly turned into nervous laughter, “He’s just over here all the time. He and Taehyung are college roommates, you know.”

“I know… It just seems like he literally lives there. I just think it’s kinda strange that you and Taehyung would lie to me about something like that.” Hoseok sounded calm, but I felt frantic. Do I continue to lie or do I give in?

I didn’t think too hard before I swallowed and continued denying everything. I am horrible, really.

“No, he doesn’t live here. He does stay the night sometimes, though,” I felt my guilt weighing down on me as Hoseok just laughed off the words.

“Alright. You don’t have any reason to lie about something like this, so I’ll let it go. Back to when you want me to come over to talk, though.”

Shoot, I almost forgot that I said that, I shook my head as I tried to get back on track.

“Do you get off before Taehyung tonight?” I asked as Hoseok sighed.

“Afraid not. What about tomorrow?”

I looked at Jungkook’s schedule for tomorrow. Off.

“That won’t work,” I shook my head as if he could see me. I looked at Jungkook’s schedule for Wednesday, “Does Taehyung work the morning shift on Wednesday?”

“Yeah,” Hoseok responded, “But so do I. Would this work out better if we met somewhere in public?”

I looked up in thought for a couple seconds before an idea popped into my head, “You could come talk to me at work tomorrow! ...That is, if I’m better tomorrow. I work the night shift.”

Hoseok seemed pleased with that proposal, “I work a mid, so I guess I could drop by on my way home. Sound good to you?”

“Sounds awesome,” I smiled as I sat up, “I’ll be in contact with you about tomorrow. If I don’t go in tomorrow, maybe I can convince Jungkook to cover for me to ensure that he won’t be here.”

The air was silent for several seconds before my mind clicked. Good God am I horrible at this! I just keep thinking out loud.

“He comes over even when Taehyung’s not there?” I could sense the tension in his voice in that statement as I felt panic fill my shaky being. “Ari, seriously.”

“Okay,” I sighed and closed my eyes, “Okay, I’m sorry. Jungkook lives here. Taehyung didn’t want me to tell you, but that was the only reason I was lying about it. I’m sorry.”

Even in my honesty I was still lying.

“I’m not mad,” Hoseok spoke, but his voice was not nearly as bright as before. He sounded a whole lot more tense than I’d ever heard him. “I’m glad you told me. I wonder why Taehyung didn’t want me to know?” “No idea,” I answered fairly quickly as I ran a finger through my hair, grabbing at the roots in frustration. This phone call was a disaster.

“I guess I should let you go,” I could tell that he could hear my stressed out tone, but he didn’t voice his observation, “I’m going to try and sleep this fever away.”

“Alright,” Hoseok’s voice was back to being soft as he let out a soft laugh, “I’ll see you tomorrow, okay?”

“Yeah,” I let a small smile appear on my face as I took a deep breath, “Bye, Hoseok.”

“Bye, Ari.”

…

I woke up to the sound of the front door opening as I slowly opened my eyes and spotted a blurry figure walking into the apartment. I assumed it was Taehyung since he was supposed to come home before Jungkook.

I closed my eyes again to try and fall back asleep, but I jumped when I felt a pair of lips against my forehead. I was about to smack Taehyung away from me for it, but I jumped awake when I felt a familiar hand holding mine.

“Hey, babe,” Jungkook’s figure was blurry to my eyes as I looked at him with confusion. He titled his head to the side as I felt my hand grab on to his. I missed him… “I got to come home early. I asked them to send me home if it was slow so that I could be with you. I know I left with us both in bad moods, but I can’t stay mad at you…”

I didn’t say anything as I let my eyes close again. I was just content with his presence next to me as I rested. I felt his hand nearly pull out of mine, but as I opened my eyes to watch what he was doing, I realized he was just moving to sit down in front of the couch.

“What turned you into such a mushy boyfriend?” I asked with tired eyes as Jungkook just smiled and let out a small laugh.

“I might be an ass, but I take my relationships seriously.”

I felt a shiver run through my body at his words. The more that we talk about how we’re in a relationship, the harder it is to believe. I actually fell in love with Jeon Jungkook, and he’s not all that bad…

“I’m sorry for all that I said to you about Jennie,” I spoke, the words seemingly coming out of left field. The thought had been lingering in the back of my mind since our fight, and I wasn’t intending to voice it. The words just slipped out as I felt myself slip in and out of consciousness, “It’s her loss and my gain for breaking up with you.”

Jungkook softly chuckled and laid his face dangerously close to mine. I felt his breath on my lips, but he didn’t press a kiss to my lips. I would have been mad if he did since I still wasn’t completely over my fever.

“I’m sorry about everything with Yoongi and Hoseok. At the time I thought that I was doing it because I couldn’t stand you… but after I saw you hugging Yoongi’s arm the other night on our way out to our cars… I realized that I wanted you to be leaning against me.”

I smiled and pulled his hand up to my mouth for me to give a soft kiss, “I like this Jungkook. I really like how honest and open you are with me. Even if you can be a tad harsh with your honesty.”

Jungkook didn’t say anything to that as I swallowed and opened my eyes to look at him. I nearly jumped when I saw how close his face was to mine, but the surprise quickly turned into a smile. He had closed his eyes…

“You can’t sleep here,” I spoke softly, shaking him so that he opened his eyes, “I would love for you to stay right here with me, but Taehyung will most certainly walk in on the two of us. He comes home any minute now, right?”

Jungkook groaned as his face twisted in annoyance, “Why does Taehyung have to be so defensive over you? I don’t like being restricted from touching you. And it’s not like I can tease you like before.”

“Sorry?” I asked quickly after he paused, “What’s that supposed to mean?”

Jungkook stood up and plopped down on the love seat that was catty cornered from me. I was afraid that he was going to just ignore what I had said to him, but he wasn’t going to leave me wondering.

“Before I realized that I liked you, I knew I really liked teasing you. Seeing you confused and flustered under me was so… satisfying.”

“But why can’t you tease me like before?” I asked as Jungkook just laughed through his nose.

“Because I was using it as an excuse to be close to you. I don’t need an excuse now.”

I felt my face burn at his words, but I didn’t push the conversation much further. I was embarrassed enough with what he had already said.

“Jerk,” I commented as he just chuckled, glancing back at me from the couch he was on. I closed my eyes yet again, feeling my exhaustion hitting me. “Oh, Kookie?” I had no idea where the nickname came from, probably my half-conscious brain trying to keep me awake, but neither of us commented it.

“Hm?” “If I’m not feeling good again tomorrow, would you mind taking my shift?”

It was silent for a couple seconds as I felt worry fill my mind. I shouldn’t have assumed that he would be willing to take my hours.

“You don’t want me here taking care of you?” he actually sounded hurt as I opened my eyes, meeting his sad ones almost immediately.

“I don’t mean it like that,” I reached out toward him, but quickly dropped my hand as I realized how heavy my arm felt right now. “If no one else will take it, could you?”

“Of course,” Jungkook nodded and looked away from me, “But only if no one else can.”

I couldn’t help but smile as his words, nodding to myself, “Okay, Kook.”

A/N: Is it bad that my own portrayal of Jungkook has me so soft? x3

⇨ Masterlist ⇦

153 notes · View notes

princesweetpea · 5 years

Photo

I Found | Sweet Pea x Aurora Jones (oc)

All Chapters Here

Chapter: Two

Warnings: Language, mentions of friend death, mentions of family death, angst, mentions of crime (?)

READ IT ON AO3

A/N: Hello friends! I know it's been a little while since updating. Depression has been kicking my ass, but writing this has made me feel a bit better! I hope you enjoy!

“So… what’s it going to be like for you to be living in your girlfriend’s old house?” Rory chuckled awkwardly as she set a box down on Jughead’s new desk. He sighed and rubbed the back of his neck.

“I’d rather not be in this situation at all, honestly. Maybe it would be different if my mom got the money without all this drug shit, and with actual good intentions. I don’t know. The only ‘good’ thing about this, the way I see it, is that we’re no longer packed in like sardines,” He stated sarcastically, opening a box labeled “books.” Rory nodded and watched him carefully. She knew how stressful this situation was for him and Betty. He stared down blankly into the box for a few moments.

“Jug?”

He snapped out of his trance and looked up at her. He mumbled a quick apology before holding up The Nancy Drew Secret Code book. Rory shifted uncomfortably.

“Jughead, why do you have that?”

“Betty didn’t want anything to do with it after… you know,” he replied and shot her an apologetic look. “We were going to burn it, but time escaped us with Archie’s trial and everything else that started happening.” Rory honestly hadn’t even immediately thought of this as the Black Hood’s house. Perhaps her subconscious made the decision for her to only think of it as Betty and Alice’s. Jughead immediately shoved the book back into the box. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be, I understand,” she sighed and sat down on his bed, and then paused for a moment. “I never thanked you.”

“What? What do you mean?”

“I never thanked you, or Betty, for catching him… Though I don’t exactly know how to thank someone for finding out that their father is a psychotic serial killer. I know that Midge would have been grateful, too.” Rory shrugged and looked out the window. She could see Archie going at it with his punching bag in his room. He stepped back after a particularly hard swing and noticed her gaze through the window. He gave her an awkward wave as his cheeks flushed. She smiled back at him.

“You don’t have to thank us, what are you even talking about?” Jughead walked over to sit next to her. She shrugged and gave him a weak smile. He lightly elbowed her in return.

“We need to figure out how to get the Airstream over here, because you know I’m not sleeping in this godforsaken house.” Rory joked, changing the subject. Then the bedroom door suddenly swung open. Gladys’s eyes appeared slightly over the box she was carrying. She cackled, causing the teens to exchange confused glances at each other before looking back to the woman who had just entered.

“Oh, that thing isn’t coming over here. Sorry, babydoll, but it’s an eyesore.” She laughed, setting the box on the ground by the doorway.

“What… What do you mean?” Rory stammered, genuinely confused.

“There’s no place for it here. It can’t go on the street, or in the driveway. The neighborhood committee wouldn’t allow it. There is no other place for it besides where it is right now.” She stated. Rory stared at her aunt with her mouth slightly agape. She turned to Jughead, whose eyes were narrowed and his jaw was clenched.

“Can it go in the backyard, or something?” Rory pleaded softly.

“I just now got myself my first, nice backyard. There isn’t enough room to have it back there.” She insisted.

“Auntie, I really can’t live in this house…” Rory stated, her knuckles turning a pale shade of white as her bones pressed tightly against her skin.

“Oh, I never expected you to. I can’t imagine what living in your best friend’s killer’s house would do to you. I’d never get any sleep if you did, for sure.” She chuckled. Rory felt like she’d just gotten the wind knocked out of her by her aunt’s words. Gladys had just confirmed that she had indeed been hearing Rory’s screaming from her nightmares and couldn’t care less about her wellbeing, and she so insensitively brought up Midge’s death. It’s like she was trying to get rid of her all along.

“Mom.” Jughead warned lowly, standing up from his bed with his fists tightly made.

“What?” Gladys feigned innocence as she strode over to him and tucked a loose strand of hair behind his ear, then exited the room. Rory blinked a few times, practically baring a hole into the floor with her stare. She had no words for what just unfolded.

“Rory, please ignore her. I do,” Jughead offered, trying to break her from her trance. She shrugged in response. “We’ll figure it out, okay? We’ll talk to my dad.” He stated, and she nodded in return.

“Hey, look who I ran into at Pop’s!” Betty smiled as she stepped through the threshold with two boys. She carried two takeout bags full of burgers, Fangs and Sweet Pea towered behind her holding drink carriers. Rory and Sweet Pea locked eyes. He raised an eyebrow at her.

“Princess.” He addressed her mockingly.

“Can I please catch a break? Jesus Christ!” She groaned as she rolled her eyes.

“Actually, it’s ‘Sweet Pea,’ but I’ll take it.” He responded with a smirk. Jughead and Betty shared an awkward look between them, one that Rory ignored as she pressed further.

“Well it’s a good thing that I’m not a believer, because if I was, I would be fucked.” Rory laughed bitterly.

“I don’t think that would be the only reason that you’d be fucked.” Sweet Pea immediately fired back.

“You’re a fucking thorn in my side.” Rory spat.

“More like a pea under your mattress, like ‘Princess and the Pea.’” Fangs snorted, cracking up at his own joke before immediately stopping with a fake cough, due to Sweet Pea’s glare.

“He’d would be so lucky to get anywhere near my mattress,” She said sarcastically before turning to face Sweet Pea. “You’re actually insufferable. You know that, right? Why are you even –”

“Let’s eat!” Jughead interrupted, walking between the to of them over to Betty. He gave her a quick kiss before taking the bags from her.

Rory stood outside of her dad’s house, kicking gravel around before pacing back and forth. She had been ignoring all of his calls and messages, and didn’t even speak to him at the funeral seven months ago. But she had put this off for long enough. She needed to get it out of the way and finally discuss things with the only father that she has ever known. However, she’d been outside of this house for thirty minutes and still hadn’t made any progress toward the door.

“I can’t do this.” She laughed bitterly to herself before turning to walk the other direction, back toward the Cooper – the Jones’ household that was about a mile and a half away. The front door opened just as she was about to take her first step to toward her exit.

“Aurora?” Her dad called out to her. Still facing the other direction, Rory’s lips pressed together into a tight line. “Aurora, is that you?” He sounded tipsy, but not quite drunk. She sucked in a breath through her teeth before turning on her heel toward him. His eyes lit up at the sight of her as he supported himself against the doorway, glass of scotch in hand.

“Lance.” She said flatly, nodding once to him in acknowledgement. His beaming smile instantly fell and he straightened.

“Are you here to see Peter?” He asked, hopeful that it wasn’t the case.

“Yes… Yes, I am.” Rory lied. His expression seemed to sink further.

“He isn’t here… He’s with Lara.” Great. The one time she needed to use her brother as an excuse, he was out with his girlfriend.

“Oh,” She simply stated. They stood in silence for a moment. Rory began to panic. “Well, see you later.”

“Wait!” He pleaded. “Would you like to come inside and wait for him? He’ll be back in a bit. They’re both coming here after they finish their dinner.”

She nodded curtly after a moment, trotting up the steps of the porch and straight through the doorway without making eye contact. He reeked of alcohol when she passed him, and smelled like he hadn’t showered. She moved to the living room that was straight off to the left side of the foyer, opting for the furthest seat from the place he always sat. She let out a breath she didn’t know she was holding when he took a seat where she predicted instead of trying to sit closer to her. They stayed in an extremely uncomfortable silence for several minutes, and Rory constantly found herself looking at the clock on the mantle of the fireplace. It seemed like time wasn’t moving. She couldn’t take it anymore.

“I’m going to go.” She stood suddenly, which even surprised herself. Am I really chickening out?

“Come on, stay. Let’s catch up, talk about things. Please.” Lance grasped at the fleeting moment with his only daughter, who had only said these few words to him for the first time in almost a year. A sudden anger surged through Rory and she quickly sat back down.

“Okay, you want to catch up? Let’s!” She began, slapping her knees and plastering the fakest smile she could muster onto her tormented features. “Where shall we begin? The part where you took my siblings away from me when you and mom split? Or sticking me with a tumultuous time bomb of a woman for years in a run-down shit hole we couldn’t even afford, while you lived in this perfect house with my brothers? Or maybe we should go back to the very beginning? You know, the part where you’re not even me and Peter’s father! That part is rich. It really adds to the shit show that is our lives. Please, take your pick. A magnificent tragedy, I have become, don’t you think?” She spouted in almost a complete blur, angry tears spilling down her cheeks. He sat silently and stared at her, looking like he’d been kicked in the ribs.

“I…” He began. She leaned forward and plopped her head onto her hand, pretending to be hanging onto every word that was about to come out of his mouth. “I am so sorry Aurora. For everything. God knows I have made mistakes, and that I have made your life difficult,” He said softly, and she scoffed at the word ‘difficult.’ “I never intended for you to find out, not either one of you. Your mother and I intended for that to be our secret.”

“Wow Lance, that makes everything so much better. Thank you.” She cackled. He winced at the use of his first name by her for the second time in that short time frame.

“I may not be your father, but I am your dad. I raised you. I changed your diapers. I soothed you when you’d cry in the middle of the night. I taught you to ride a bike, and I put the bandages on when you’d fall and scrape your knee. I checked for monsters under the bed. And I never loved you any less than I would have if you were actually mine.” He said genuinely with tears brimming his eyes. Rory couldn’t keep eye contact with him. She looked away as she broke into heart wrenching sobs. He moved toward her, wrapping her into a tight hug, which made her sob even harder. Her tears broke his heart. Hell, her tears even broke her own heart. She calmed after a few minutes and avoided eye contact, unintentionally shifting her gaze to Lance’s open laptop on the coffee table, where she could see a picture of her mother’s beloved car under a “For Sale” post on Craigslist. She furrowed her brows and broke out of her dad’s embrace.

“What the fuck is this?” She hissed, holding up his laptop toward him. His mouth opened, then closed again. He had nothing that he could say to diffuse the anger that she was about to throw at him.

“I need the money for your brother’s boarding payment.” He stated carefully, though obviously lying.

“Are you joking? Like hell, you need the money!” She said sarcastically, gesturing at the house they were in. “Take it down, that car is mine and Peter’s.” She demanded.

“I’m not taking it down.” He sighed, rubbing his face with his hands. Rory scoffed in disbelief as she pushed herself up from her seat and stormed out of the house, the screen door banging closed behind her. She could hear him calling after her but she kept walking, glancing toward her mom’s covered car off to the side of the driveway. As she passed it, Peter and Lara stepped out of Lara’s car that had just pulled up.

“Rory –”

“Not now Peter. I’ll see you later,” she said adamantly as she walked past them. She pulled out her phone and dialed the only person she could trust with the situation at hand.

“Hello?” The voice on the other end of the phone said, muffled from the obvious chewing of food.

“Hey Jug, do you know how to hotwire a car?”

At midnight, on the dot, the sounds of two motorcycles and shifting gravel pulled Rory out of her unfocused, anxious leg jiggling. Two motorcycles? She shook her head. Her nerves must have been making her hear things. She pulled a black beanie over her messy brunette waves, completing her all black ensemble; she was ready to commit a crime, her first crime, and she was going to look damn good doing it. She gave herself one last anxious glance-over in the full-length mirror before grabbing her bag and heading out the camper door. And, sure enough, her mind wasn’t playing tricks on her, for there stood Jughead Jones accompanied by Sweet Pea… Whatever his last name is.

“What the hell is he doing here?” Rory hissed at her cousin.

“What? You asked if I knew how to hotwire a car. I don’t. He does.” He put his hands up in a defensive pose.

“WikiHow exists for a reason! You couldn’t have thought of anyone else?” She whined.

“I’m literally standing right here,” Sweet Pea stated flatly as he leaned up against his bike, flicking his switchblade open and closed. “Do you want my help or not?”

23 notes · View notes

doubletriplepowerbomb · 6 years

Text

Speak

Drew McIntyre x OC request for anon

words: +4700

tags: @jenn0755 @zappyzoodle @disturbthepearls @lost-in-the-stories @lithesxx @racingandreigns @rocketgirl2410 @vebner37 @therianfurry46 @littlelunaticfringe @finnbalorlover21 @winged-time-criminal @mrsnegan25

Can you do a Drew McIntyre imagine in which he has a crush on Stephanie’s chubby assistant and he one day can’t take it anymore and catches her by surprise and kisses her and takes her out on a date. She’s also friends with Dolph so every time she appears to talk to Dolph he can’t help but stare at her and fall deeper for her. A lot of fluff please!

“Hey Steph, I think I figured out a way to get Raw’s ratings up.” She said as she walked through the door. “Oh, I’m sorry I didn’t know you were in a meeting.” Her voice became quiet as she reached backwards to reach for the door handle.

Stephanie was currently speaking to Dolph Ziggler and Drew McIntyre about Dolph’s title reign. “Oh it’s okay, Val. Here, sit down I’m almost done with these gentlemen.” Stephanie said as she cleared some space off of her couch. Dolph watched his best friend sit down with a smirk and Drew kept his eyes on his shoes, a blush painted on his cheeks.

“Anyway, Dolph as unpopular my opinion is, I think this is a fitting title for you. Yes, the fans don’t love it, but it makes for some great matches.” Steph said. Dolph thanked her before he and Drew walked out of her office, leaving Stephanie alone with her assistant. “Okay Val, what did you have planned.” Stephanie asked her assistant with hope in her voice.

Stephanie McMahon hired Valentina Romano to be her assistant last year and she’s loved her new life. Val couldn’t get enough of traveling to new cities and becoming close friends with all the superstars. Especially Dolph, he was her best friend ever since her first day. She loved the girls too, they were all so talented and so sweet and so much fun.

“Valentina, a tag match before Summerslam is a wonderful idea!” Stephanie said as she walked over to her assistant and gently clapped her shoulders. “Now as much as I’d love to stay and watch it all play out I have to go. Hunter called with an emergency. I’ll have Kurt announce the match but can I trust you to talk to them?” Stephanie usually trusted Val to act in her shoes when she couldn’t make it to the show and tonight, Stephanie trusted Val to tell the superstars that they’d be in a match tonight.

“Yeah no problem Steph, should I tell Kurt too?” Val asked. Stephanie nodded at her assistant before her phone rang and she was sucked back into her work.

Valentina walked down the halls looking for the 4 men who’d be in the match. The match would be Seth and Dean against Drew and Dolph, to build tension before Summerslam. She saw Dean and Seth sitting with Roman in catering and walked over to them. “Oh jeez, guys it’s Val.” Roman said jokingly.

“Oh god, Val are we in trouble?” Dean asked with fake fear painted on his face. Lots of the guys loved to joke with her about her position in power, but she rarely ever delivered bad news.

“No you’re not in trouble. But Dean and Seth, tonight you two are gonna have a match against Dolph and Drew to build tension before Summerslam. Good luck you guys.” Val said with a smile before setting off to find Dolph and Drew.

She walked down the halls for a couple seconds before finding Dolph sitting with Drew in a screening room. “Hey loser. Hi Drew.” Val said loudly as she walked in, drawing Dolph and Drew’s attention to her.

“Hey, Valentina.” Drew said quietly, his eyes locked on his tag partner’s best friend.

Instantly, she felt self conscious. Drew never called her Val like everyone else and he always stared. Val knew he’d never be rude to her but she couldn’t shake the feeling that he was judging her. Val wasn’t extremely short, she stood at about 5’6 but she was on the heavier side. She’d come a long way and lost a lot of weight since high school but still, she knew she was chubbier than the women she worked with.

“Jesus Valerie, you said you were gonna start losing weight.” They teased. That’s not my name and I’m working on it; Val thought. “And look at you, still fat and still ugly.”

For Valentina Romano, that was her whole childhood and 3 years of high school. From her 5th grade to her junior year, she lived in California and got bullied constantly. She didn’t look like all the California girls she went to school with. The hair on her head, arms, and legs were dark, her skin was tinted yellow, and she weighed a lot more than them.

The summer going into her senior year she weighed around 250 pounds. Her family moved to Florida and she lost 78 pounds. The people in Florida didn’t bully her but she stayed quiet and didn’t make many friends.

Dolph’s voice snapped her from her thoughts. “What do you want from me, dork?” He asked as he stood up. Val’s attention moved from Drew’s lingering stares to Dolph.

“You two are gonna have a match tonight against Seth and Dean.” Val said, pushing her lack of self confidence to the back of her head. “Good luck you guys… you’re gonna need it.” She joked. Dolph scoffed playfully before pulling his best friend into his arms.

“Oh please you know damn well me and Drew are gonna kick ass.” Dolph said, puffing his chest out. Val rolled her eyes and slapped his chest. Her eyes shot to Drew quickly, his eyes were still locked on her. Drew’s blue eyes scanned up her body to her face and he knew he was caught. His cheeks turned pink and Val smiled gently at him, she smiled wider though when his cheeks got redder.

Val shook her head and blinked hard before speaking. “Uh… ok I gotta go, but I’ll see you guys later. Bye loser. Bye Drew.”She knew Dolph said something but all Val could hear was the soft ‘Bye Valentina’ from the Scotsman.

As soon as the door closed, Dolph turned to Drew. “Dude, that was pathetic.” Dolph said to his partner.

“What did ah do?” Drew asked throwing his hands up. He didn’t have to ask though, he knew exactly what Dolph was going to say.

“Nothing. That’s what you did. You stared at her and then you blushed. What the hell man?” Dolph knew about Drew’s feelings for Val. On the flip side, he knew how Val felt about Drew and he knew that Val would never make a move because of how self conscious she was. Drew had to make the move but he was too shy to do it.

“Dolph, ya think ah try ta be weird like this? Ah tell myself all tha time to make a move but every time ah see her ah just can’t stop starin at her. Ah’ve probably scared her.” Drew said, defeat in his voice.

“Come on, dude. I don’t think you scared her. Just talk to her.” Dolph said.

Well… he didn’t talk to her. Val came to talk to Dolph later on that night and the whole time, Drew only stared.

It’s always been like this. Ever since Val started working for Stephanie, she’s been friends with Dolph. And ever since Drew’s been back he can only stare at her in awe.

“Hi Drew.”

“Hi Valentina.” How can someone be so perfect?

“Bye Drew.”

Go idiot say something to her.

“Bye Valentina.” Fuck.

It happened like this every time she spoke to him. Something possessed him and he wasn’t himself. His heart raced, his face got warm, and his tongue stopped working. Every time he told himself to buck up and say something to her, but every time he saw her he lost his nerve. And every time, Dolph scolded him afterwards.

That’s gonna change tonight, Drew thought.

It was the raw after Summerslam, Dolph retained the title and Drew had a match against Dean tonight.

Speak ta her dumbass, Drew said to himself as he walked through the halls. Just tell her something other than hi and bye. Tell her you like her outfit, tell her her hair looks great, just say somethi- “Oh sorry, ah didn’t mean ta,” Drew started, his hands finding the shoulders of the person he just walked into. Val’s shoulders. Shit shit shit. “Ah didn’t mean ta run into ya.”

“It’s okay, Drew.” She said sweetly, she waited for him to talk but he didn’t.

Speak! Say something. Tell her she looks nice.

“Valentina, ya look good... Ah mean yer outfit is nice. Well ya look good too. Ah mean… uhm.” Nice going jackass.

Instead of running away, like Drew thought she’d do, Val looked down at her shoes and blushed. “Thanks, Drew. I gotta go though, Steph wanted me for something.” Val said. Steph didn’t actually need her, she just had to get herself away from this situation.

“Wait.” Drew said suddenly.

Val stopped walking and turned back to Drew. What have ah done? Dolph’s words flashed through his head; “Nothing. That’s what you did” Make a move, Drew. “Ah didn’t mean ta say that. Well ah did but ah didn’t mean for it to come out like that. Ah thought it was gonna be a lot cooler sounding, but it wasn’t.” Drew admitted, making Val giggle. Holy shit ah made her giggle. “Ah did want ta apologize fer always starin at ya.” Drew started, but Val cut him off before he could tell her the reason.

“No I get it. I’m a lot different than the other girls you work with.” Drew stared blankly at her, unsure of what she meant. “I mean, I know I’m chubby. I just wanted to let you know I understand why you stare. I get it all the time.” Drew wrinkled his nose once he realized what Val meant. She did get it all the time and it killed her.

“Oh you work for the WWE? I don’t mean to be rude but aren’t those girls really skinny?” Val couldn’t fathom that people would think that’s okay to say. And that they add ‘I don’t mean to be rude’ before it was said. It was rude and it killed her when people would ask that. She’d say what company she worked for and people would visibly get confused.

‘Yes wrestlers are fit and skinny; and I, Valentina Romano, am not a fit and skinny wrestler.’

Val stood waiting for Drew to speak. Then he laughed. He shook his head while he chuckled and grabbed her hands. “Tha truth is ah really like ya, Valentina.” Ah said it. And she’s just looking at me like ah have two heads. What have ah done? Val was shocked. He liked her. That’s why he stared at her.

Say something Valentina, he probably thinks you’re scared. Say something god damn it. “Drew, you don’t like me, I mean, look at me.” That wasn’t what you were supposed to say.

“What? Are ya kiddin? Ah have been looking at ya... fer months, ah thought ya noticed.” Drew didn’t know where he was getting this from but he wasn’t gonna question it. “But ah’m serious, Valentina. Ah like ya. Why else would ah sit and stare at ya like an idiot?”

“My weight.” That was supposed to be in my head, damn it Val.

“Yer weight. Are ya jokin?” Drew grabbed Val’s wrist and pulled her down the hall. “Ah think yer beautiful, Valentina. Yer perfect.” She actually laughed at that, making Drew squint as he thought of what to do next.

Without thinking, Drew let go of her hands and cradled her face. “Every time ah see ya, Valentina. Ah melt. Yer absolutely perfect.” His voice got softer and softer as he spoke until he was whispering. He stared into her brown eyes and saw the pain behind them.

She thinks Ah’m kiddin. Prove it to her, man.

Drew rubbed his thumb over Val’s cheek and leaned down slightly so he could press his lips to hers. Val gasped, not knowing that Drew was gonna kiss her. But it didn’t make her uncomfortable, she simply closed her eyes and wrapped her arms loosely around his neck.

After what felt like forever in the best way possible, Drew broke the kiss and rested his forehead against hers. “Go out with me, tomorrow night.” Drew looked into her eyes, waiting for Val to answer. Val smiled widely and only nodded against Drew’s forehead, now she was the one that couldn’t speak. Drew smiled and pecked Val’s lips once more before he stood up straight again.

“Well, ah’m upset fer havin ta leave ya here, but ah have a match… right now” He said quietly, holding onto her hands.

“Don’t worry about it, Drew. Go kick ass, I’ll be watching.” Val said with a wink, pushing all of her nerves to the back of her head. Drew nodded with a huge grin on his face before he turned around and jogged toward gorilla. Val stood still in the middle of the hall, watching him run away until he turned the corner and was out of her sight.

She had a huge, goofy grin on her face until she snapped herself out of whatever trance Drew held her in and went running down the halls, in search of her best friend.

“Dolph!” Val screamed as she ran down the halls searching for her best friend. Drew was in the middle of his match with Dean and both Dolph and Seth had been banned from ringside.

“What, are you okay.” He asked, sounding panicked.

“Drew kissed me, then he asked me out! We’re going out tomorrow night!” Val whisper yelled as she jumped up and down.

“No fucking way. He finally did it, that son of a bitch.” Dolph said with a smile. “I’m so happy for you, Val. You’re really gonna like him. Did he tell you where you’re going?”

Just then, Valentina realized something. Drew didn’t have her number and she never gave her number to him. “Fuck, I never gave him my number.” She said before slapping her forehead with her hand.

“I could give it to you.” Dolph said reaching for his phone in his back pocket. Val stopped him though, she had her own idea, she shook her head and walked away, heading for gorilla.

Drew’s music blasted through the speakers in the arena and Val could hear it backstage. She looked around for somewhere to sit and jumped onto an equipment case while she waited for Drew to come back.

A couple moments later, Drew’s large frame came through the curtain. Val waited patiently while Drew spoke to Kurt and some other people in the viewing area. Once he finally made his way past her, Val grabbed onto his wrist. “You know Drew, you seemed to have missed something when you asked me out earlier.” Val said teasingly, still sitting on the equipment case and still holding onto his wrist.

Drew’s eyes went wide and he searched his mind for what he forgot to do. “No, Drew. I meant you forgot to get my number.”

“Oh. Oh ah did forget. Ah’m sorry, love.” Drew said with a boyish grin. Val felt a blush rise on her cheeks while she watched the muscles ripple in Drew’s arm as he reached up to scratch the back of his neck. “Well, ah don’ have ma phone, love. Ah can give ya mine.” Drew said after a couple seconds of silence. Val only smirked and shook her head no.

Val’s right hand still held his left wrist and she switched hands so she could write her number in Drew’s palm. Drew watched in awe as Val wrote her number carefully on his palm, sure to make sure all the numbers were clear.

“Good morningggggg, Valley girl.” Dolph sang as he opened the door to Val’s hotel room. Val groaned before rolling over in her bed, hoping Dolph would go away and let her sleep. But he didn’t.

“Valley girl? Is that supposed to be me?” Val asked as she sat up after realizing Dolph wasn’t going away.

“Yes. Valley girl; your name is Val and you grew up in California, get it?” He asked with a smile.

“You’re an idiot.” Val said with a smile before she rolled over in the bed again.

“Valentina, get up. We’re going to the gym then get you something sexy to wear on your date.” Dolph sang before he yanked the covers off of his best friend. Val rolled her eyes and groaned once more before getting out of the bed. She grabbed shorts and a sports bra before going into the bathroom to get ready.

Valentina and Dolph bursted into Val’s hotel room after a full day. After two hours in the gym, Val and Dolph grabbed some lunch before going shopping. Drew texted Val earlier telling her what time he’d come get her. He told Dolph beforehand where they were going so he knew exactly what to tell Val to get, comfortable but cute.

At 7 o’clock, there was a knock on Val’s door.

“Dolph, I can’t do this. I mean look at me, he’s gonna think I look terrible.” Val said as she stared at herself in the mirror in the bathroom.

“Val you look great, are you kidding? He’s gonna drown in his own drool.” Dolph said, standing behind his best friend in her bathroom.

“Dolph. This shirt makes me look so fat and this skirt makes my thighs look huge!” Val said while she poked around on her body.

“You liked it in the store.” Dolph said, confusion clear in his tone. “It looks good.”

Because it was the middle of the summer, Val picked out a dark-wash jean skirt and a white shirt that was on the tighter side. Dolph was right, she did like her outfit in the store and she liked it now. But something about Drew seeing it made Val extremely nervous.

Usually, when she walked around the halls, Val kept her clothes on the looser side. Now her shirt was tight and everything was visible. Instantly Val’s head filled with all the memories of her old life growing up in California.

“Oh Val, I know you think that looks good on you but you can’t pull it off.”

“I don’t think those maternity shirts you wear are big enough. You should try 5 XL.”

They teased her mercilessly and it stung. Every word stung.

Drew knocked again. Ah hope she gave me tha right room number. Drew checked his phone for the text; 286. He looked up at the door; 286. As he stared at the room number, the door opened slightly, he looked down to see Val standing in the doorway.

Drew could only see her face though, she seemed to be hiding her body from him. “Ya ready ta go, Valentina?” Drew asked as he opened the door wider. Valentina saw as Drew’s eyes landed on her body and she instantly regretted telling him she’d go out.

Val remembered all the times the she was bullied and she covered her stomach with her arms. “Drew, I don’t-” but the Scotsman cut her off before she could finish her sentence.

Drew held Val by her shoulders and stared into her brown eyes. “Ya look… beautiful, Valentina.” He drooled. Val felt a blush rise on her cheeks but she kept her body covered. Drew noticed the look her face and stared down at her with love in his eyes. “Valentina, what’re ya doin’? Coverin yerself up like that. Yer a beyond gorgeous girl and ah can’t wait ta take ya out.” Drew spoke honestly and it made Val’s heart swell.

Drew bent down to press a kiss to her forehead and looked up at Dolph, who was standing in the middle of the room, nodding approvingly at Drew’s words. Val moved her arms and Drew grabbed her hand, leading her the down the long hallway. “Ya look lovely, darlin.” Drew complimented once more before he opened the door to his rental car.

“Where are we going?” Val asked, getting some of her confidence back. Drew looked over at her and flashed her a gorgeous grin and Val felt her stomach flip.

“Ah’m takin ya somewhere special and ah know yer gonna love it.” Drew said before starting the car and driving out of the hotel parking lot.

The car ride was about 30 minutes long but it wasn’t an uncomfortable amount of time. Val was shocked at how comfortable he seemed with her considering he could barely speak yesterday.

Should I not be as nervous as I am? I mean, Drew seems completely fine and my heart is practically beating out of my chest. Val had no clue what was going on when Drew turned onto a dirt road and continued to drive straight while it got darker and darker. Val fell quiet as her mind raced with horrible possibilities.

Oh my god, relax. Drew won’t do anything bad. Dolph wouldn’t have let me go if he thought Drew was weird. And she was right because a moment later, Val knew where they were. Drew had taken her to a drive in movie, Dolph must’ve told him how much she loves movies.

It was a big drive in theater too. There were about 4 screens spaced out across a large open area with hills so lots of cars could park. Drew reversed into a spot next to a speaker labeled with a number 2, meaning they’d be watching Incredibles 2.

“Ya got quiet, love.” Drew started slowly, “Ya like movies right, cause if ya don’ we won’ stay.” Drew began, praying that she liked movies. This was a shot in the dark and he hoped he hadn’t missed.

Val cut his rambling off by leaning over the center console and pressing a kiss to his lips. “Drew, this is perfect… and I love movies. Especially pixar, have you seen this yet. It’s phenomenal.” Val began, excited to see Incredibles 2 again. She was such a child and she had waited years for a sequel to her favorite pixar movie when she was growing up.

“Oh we don’ have ta watch this if ya have already seen it, there’s three other movies if ya like.” Drew began. Val’s eyes widened before reaching over and holding his bicep.

“No I love this movie and I’d love to see it again.” Val reassured but Drew still seemed unsure. “Drew, I promise. This is amazing and I love it.” Drew’s face finally looked satisfied and he got out of the car. Val followed suit and met him around the back.

Drew had opened the trunk to reveal an extremely comfortable looking set up. All the seats were put down and there were a bunch of blankets and pillows spread across the large space. “Oh my god, Drew this is so sweet.” Val said after grabbing Drew’s hand and lacing their fingers together.

“Of course it is, love. Ah’ve been in ta ya forever now and ah finally worked up the courage ta ask ya out. Ah couldn’t waste it by takin ya ta do something boring.” Drew said lightheartedly. Although it was portrayed as a joke, Drew meant every single word that he spoke. Val giggled and felt a blush rise on her cheeks, thank god it’s dark and he can’t see me blushing.

A couple seconds later, the sound started to play and Drew helped Val into the trunk before climbing in after her. They got comfortable while some short trailers played and by the time the movie started, Drew was lying on his back, his head and shoulders propped up by pillows. And Val was lying close next to him, her head rested on his chest.

“Oh, ah brought ya somethin just in case ya got uncomfortable in that skirt.” Drew whispered while he reached behind a pillow. He pulled out a pair of her joggers and Val’s eyes widened.

“How’d you get my pants?” Val asked playfully, before taking them and slipping them on under the skirt and taking the skirt off over them.

“Ah asked Dolph fer a pair to have just in case ya wanted them. And ah didn’t want ta tell ya ta bring them and ruin the surprise.”

“Well that was extremely sweet and smart of you. So thank you very much for thinking of me.” Val said, thankful again for the darkness so Drew wouldn’t see her blushing.

“Oh ah’m always thinking of ya, love.” He sad before kissing her temple and pulling her closer to him. Now that she was wearing pants, Val was able to put her leg up on Drew’s, allowing for them to be as close as Drew wanted.

About 2 hours later, the credits were rolling and Drew had managed to pull Val even closer than before. At some point during the movie, Drew had pulled Val practically on top of him so he could hug her against his firm chest and torso. Val felt so warm and happy in his arms she was upset that the movie ended and he’d let go soon.

“Are ya comfortable, love.” Drew asked quietly, after the movie had ended. He was playing with Val’s think dark hair and she could barely think.

“I’m extremely comfortable, I’m kinda upset that it’s over though. This was so much fun and I really didn’t want this movie to end.” Val admitted.

“It doesn’t have ta end, love.” Drew whispered before he moved his hands to cradle her face. Val smiled at his touch and moved her hand to his shoulder when their lips finally touched. Drew moved slightly so that Val now laid on top of him completely and she instantly felt nervous. What if he thinks I’m heavy. Oh my god I gotta get off of him.

“Drew am I hurting you?” Val asked after separating their lips. Drew’s hand remained on her face though, making sure their noses remained touching. The Scotsman let out a breathy laugh before kissing Val again.

“Valentina, yer not botherin’ me. Ah like havin ya on top of me like this.” Drew said while wiggling his eyebrows. This made Val giggle and tuck her head in his neck.

After a second, Val decided to press her lips to his neck and find a sweet spot. As she peppered her lips across his soft skin, Drew let a moan slip and she knew she had found a sweet spot, underneath his jawline. Val smiled against the skin and began to suck softly, Drew moaned Val’s name this time and she realized how much she liked hearing her name like that.

She loved that Drew still called her Valentina, but hearing Valentina spoken the way Drew just said it made Val fall in love. His gravely, deep voice mixed with his attractive Scottish accent sent the good kind of chills all throughout Val’s body and she hoped he’d say it again.

While all the other people cleared out of the lot and other people came in, Val and Drew remained where they were. They laid together in the back of the truck kissing until sound from the next set of trailers played in the car. Val jumped from the sudden change of silence to noise and she placed her hands on Drew’s shoulders so his lips were no longer on her neck. “Drew, the next movie is starting.” Val said, feeling guilty for not paying to see two different movies. “We didn’t pay.”

“Valentina, did ya see me pay fer tha first one?” Drew asked. Val gasped when she realized he didn’t. Before she could ask if he snuck them in, Drew spoke again. “Ah’m good friends with tha guy who owns this place.” Val’s guilt lifted and she instantly felt relieved.

“Good, cause I was hoping this wouldn’t end.” Val said cradling Drew’s face in her hands.

“Well it’s yer lucky day, Valentina. Because after ah told Tommy about tha gorgeous girl ah was takin’ out he said that we could stay fer a double feature. Only if ya like.” Drew said, his hands roaming down her curves to rest on her hips.

Val didn’t have to answer, she simply smiled and pressed her lips to his again. “You’re amazing, Drew.” She mumbled against his lips.

“But yer perfect, Valentina.”

They didn’t watch much of the second movie, but Drew didn’t care, neither did Val. They spent the time kissing and talking about a bunch of different things. But no matter what they did together, Drew had a smile plastered on his face. He finally said something to Valentina Romano, and he didn’t mess it up.

#drew mcintyre #drew mcintyre fanfiction #drew mcintyre imagine #drew mcintyre x oc #OC #cute #fluff #WWE #wwe imagine #request

201 notes · View notes

imladris-soldier · 6 years

Text

Lashes (pt 17)

Bill Williamson is a racist asshole. Everyone knows it. They just punch him and go on about their day. When a Lakota woman joins the gang, everyone expects things to go on as normal, slurs and all, and for a time, it does. But her curiosity gets the better of her, and she finds that hatred is something learned - which means it can be unlearned, if given time, care, and patience. And she has plenty of those… the first two, anyway.

Bill Williamson x OC

One day passed, and then another without Kieran showing back up in camp. Star didn't like it one bit. Any trail he might have left was long gone by that point, and without knowing which direction he'd left in, there was no use going out and trying to find one. Bill watched Star fidget and pace, but he never said a word. They would have fallen on deaf ears anyway.

It was ultimate Sadie who took Star by the shoulders late one afternoon and sat her down. “Now, you frettin' all over this camp ain't gonna bring that boy back any sooner. He's grown. He'll come back when he's good and ready. Now you just settle yourself down.”

The stern, motherly talking to was enough to force Star to calm down a bit. Sadie was right, of course. There was nothing she could do, and it was a waste of energy to think otherwise. To distract herself, she went and found Javier to ask about the riverboat job.

The man laughed and pat the log next to him. “It is quite a tale, amiga. Let me see if I can get Arthur to say señor the way he did that night.”

The cowboy refused, blushing and waving off a giggling Javier as he walked away to speak with Dutch. Star watched him go, grinning. “So, what? Then you all just leaped from the boat into the water? Strauss too?”

“That is exactly what we did. We had what we came for, and any other method of escape was either too slow or too obvious, and they were already onto us.”

“Jesus. When Arthur said it was a hair-brained idea, I didn't realize he wasn't exaggerating.”

“With Josiah Trelawney, there is never too much exaggerating.” He laughed quietly to himself, then changed the subject. “Ey, tell me something. You and Bill. This is a... permanent arrangement?”

“I... well, I don't know about permanent, but I don't foresee an end currently. Why do you ask?”

He shrugged. “I've just been thinking. When I first met the man, he curled up his nose at me. Called me greaser and other names – mostly whatever poorly formed insult he could come up with at the time. He doesn't do this anymore. Not to me or Charles or Lenny or Tilly. I admit wondering what it is you did to him. He treated you just as badly when you arrived, and yet...”

“I know.” Star sighed and looked at the ground. “He treated others badly to feel better about himself. You see how people treat him. He might act big and tough, but it hurts him to be so demeaned, and he took out that hurt on those around him – those he had been taught were less than. I simply told him that what he was taught is wrong, and that he is worthy of love in his own right. It took time, but... once he realized I was not trying to fool him, he really listened. Deep down, he wants to please and be accepted.”

Javier nodded a bit. “I noticed once that the worst of his words came when he was drunk. I thought that interesting.”

“Hm. True. I believe the alcohol was a double-edged sword. It helped him escape that which he did not wish to face, but it also heightened his vulnerabilities. I don't know what demons whispered in his head, but they were very unkind. To drown them out, he yelled unkind things at others instead. Perhaps he meant them at the time, I don't know. But... the demons seem quieter now, and he does not lash out so much. When he does, it is at those who deserve it. Does this make sense?”

“It does to me.” Javier smiled. “You read the man like a book, then ripped out the pages and made him start writing it all over again.”

“That is an interesting metaphor. But I suppose you're right. He...”

“Dios mio!”

Javier cut across her, staring over her shoulder in abject horror. A scream ripped through the air of the camp, followed by chilling words. “It's Kieran!”

Star stood and spun, unable for a moment to reconcile reality with what she was looking at. Kieran's headless body sat atop a horse that wasn't his, and his missing head rested in his hands. His eyes had been gouged out and left open so that deep, bloody caverns stared back at her. The raw stump atop his shoulders still oozed slightly which meant that the wound was recent. It couldn't have been more than an hour since his head had been removed. Which meant that he couldn't have been far. If they'd been paying attention, maybe they could have heard him scream.

“Everybody take cover!” Dutch roared from the balcony of the house as gunshots started ringing. “O'Driscoll boys comin' in!”

Star didn't hear him. She just kept standing there, staring. Even after the horse had reared and run, leaving Kieran's body in a heap on the ground, she couldn't tear her eyes from the spot. “Get down, Star!” Javier shouted, grabbing her by the shirt and dragging her behind one of the defenses that the Raiders had left behind.

It took Star a long moment to get her bearings and realize that they were under attack. O'Driscolls. Dutch had said O'Driscolls. Like Kieran used to be. They took him. They tortured him. They killed him.

The war cry that tore from her throat as she drew her hatchet and leaped over the battlements hearkened back to a day long past. She channeled a rage in that moment that seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere. This is how she fought for her family.

Between her hatchet and her pistol, several men fell, but that did not make her impervious to bullets. One cut through her upper arm, but between the adrenaline and the anger, she barely felt it. Swift feet carried her from man to man. She was vaguely aware of her fellows yelling at her to get inside the house, but there weren't any O'Driscolls in the house.

Finally, Charles' large hand closed around her arm and pulled her away as she roared and fired off shots into the trees. As they neared the house, however, a scream came from out back, and Arthur called, “That's Sadie! I gotta go help her. Cover me!”

It was enough of a distraction to slacken Charles' grip, and Star broke free, barreling around the house and diving on the first man she saw. By the time her hatchet stopped falling, his head was removed from his body, and she was on to the next.

The last man she tackled to the ground before the O'Driscolls retreated felt her knife at his throat as she hoarsely whispered in his ear, “Lé mitháwa thiwáhe. This is my family. See how the Lakota protect and avenge their family.”

Her well-maintained knife bit into his skin and sliced like butter while he gurgled and jerked in her grip. In his last moments, that knife moved to his hairline and ripped backwards, removing a long strip of dark hair. She gripped it in her hand, and shouted her victory at the backs of the retreating men.

“Cowards!” Dutch yelled.

Hosea came out of the house, followed slowly by others. “We ok?”

“I think so. Except for Kieran here. Poor kid. Mr. Swanson, will you take this boy and bury him? Someplace near, but... not too near.”

“Of course,” the reverend replied. “Charles, help me with the body.”

“We need to get this place cleaned up,” Hosea called. Mr. Pearson! Ms. Grimshaw!”

“Already taking care of it!” the woman called back.

Star stood on the edge of the property, still clutching the scalp of the man her feet. She was covered in blood again, but this time it did not call up bad memories. At least... not for her.

When she turned around to come back, she saw Bill standing by the gazebo, staring at her. His eyes had glassed over slightly, and he didn't seem entirely able to move. Given the position of his body, he seemed to have been stuck that way for some time. His gun was still pointed at the trees.

“Williamson, move your ass and help!” Hosea snapped.

Star immediately snarled, “Leave him alone!” Her instinct was to run to him and usher him away, but she knew that she was the cause of his current state. To do so would be to invite disaster. “He... he needs... take him somewhere quiet. Away from... away from me. Someone.”

Arthur was the only one to react, going to Bill's side and gently taking his rifle from him. “Come on, big man. Let's go cool off.”

Bill relinquished the gun almost as if he had no control over his limbs. He followed Arthur's hand on his shoulder without question, eyes just staring out in front of him. Star couldn't imagine what horrors were replaying in his mind, and every part of her felt remorse for having triggered them. Still, she could not take back her actions and would not anyway. The O'Driscolls hopefully learned a lesson about messing with the Van Der Linde Gang that day.

Though she knew it was tradition to keep the scalps of enemies, Star let it fall into the grass. Keeping it would only serve to cause Bill more problems, and she had made her point. Instead, she made her way to the water to wash her face and hands. After helping Reverend Swanson, Charles fell into step with her.

“You ok?”

“I'm fine. Well... I'm not fine. But if you're asking me if I'm going to have a breakdown like I did at Clemens Point, the answer is no.”

“I see.”

They walked in silence to the water, then knelt and washes themselves as clean as they could get without properly bathing. Star sighed and leaned on the backs of her legs. “Will you go check on Bill please? My actions have caused great distress. I didn't even think about it. I just... reacted.”

“Sure.” Charles stood, but paused. “He'll be alright. You'll work through it.”

“I know. But it's best if I keep my distance for a while. Just tell him... tell him I'm sorry.”

“I will.”

With that, Charles left her. She knelt by the water a while longer, then noticed an alligator on the opposite bank, watching her. “Fuck off, you beast,” she murmured, splashing water at it and getting up to leave.

Knowing well that her presence in camp might just be a source of trouble that the gang did not need, Star gathered up her things, mounted Rhiannon, and rode out. She wasn't really sure where she was going, but space was needed, so space she would give.

As she rode, she realized that she and Arthur were meant to be meeting with Eagle Flies in a few days anyway, so she made the decision to head up to the Heartlands and wait for them both at Citadel Rock. It would give her time to be alone and think.

The ride north went without issue. She traveled through the night and arrived at her destination not too long after sunrise. Once she set up a small camp, she finally took a moment to simply collapse on the ground. The tension she'd been subconsciously holding in her body had locked up every muscle, and when she finally gave them leave to relax, they ached.

That tension had also been holding in her grief, so a quiet sob accompanied her exhale. She didn't implode quite as much as she had over Sean, but the pain of knowing that Kieran had been in trouble the whole time and no one had helped him was overwhelming. She kept imagining his frightened, bruised face as they tried to beat the location of camp out of him. Perhaps he'd broken and told them, or perhaps they had already known and just wanted to see if they could break him. Either way, she gave no blame to him.

Once she had run through all the scenarios of Kieran's murder, her mind turned to Bill and his vacant expression after the fight. She'd seen him go white at her actions before, but he'd never just... disappeared from his body like that. She couldn't blame him. Just knowing the story about the night his previous lover had been killed was enough to know some of the things he had seen. Every action she had taken would have been a reminder he did not need. She cried for him too, knowing how much she had inadvertently hurt him.

The tears led to exhaustion, and she ended up sleeping the afternoon away. Her growling stomach woke her after nightfall. She settled for some salted beef, deciding to hunt the next day and instead enjoy the stars while she patched up her wounded arm. The sky was clear and cool, and she caught sight of many falling stars that streaked over the canvas above her. In her heart, she wished Bill was with her.

On the appointed meeting day, as luck would have it, Arthur showed up first. He gave a wave as he dismounted and led his horse to Star's camp. “Thought I might find you here.”

“Sorry I didn't tell you.”

“It's alright. I knew why you didn't.”

“How is he?”

“Better. Worried about you.”

“Me?” she snorted. “Of the two of us, I came out mostly unscathed.”

“Yeah, but... well, he knows you probably feel bad and all. Kept sayin' he didn't mean to space out like that. Couldn't help it none.”

“I know. But it's something to think about, isn't it? If I can cause something so terrible in him... maybe...” Her throat constricted, making the next few words very hard to say. “Maybe I shouldn't be with him.”

“That's shit, and you know it. You two been through a lot'a pain and memories together, and you always come out the other side. Just talk to him. That's all I'm sayin'. Before you make any decisions, just talk to him.”

“Reasonable enough request.” She sighed and stood, turning her gaze to the oil fields on the plain below. “Won't be easy getting in there. Or getting out.”

“Ain't nothin' been easy in a long time,” Arthur chuckled.

“True.”

Before long, Eagle Flies rode up the path to them. “You came!” he called.

“Said I would, didn't I?” Arthur replied with a wave.

The Wapiti man hopped down from his horse and came to stand with them on the ledge. “Now, Star, is there another game you're playing, pretending to be something you are not, or can you properly introduce me to your friend?”

Star laughed and nudged Arthur. “I told you he knew. We're not very good at subterfuge.”

“Never claimed to be,” he answered with a smile.

“Arthur is one of the members of the gang I fell in with. We were not expecting to see each other that day on High Street, so we panicked and pretended we didn't know each other. In any case, he's a good man, and I trust him.”

“I see.” Eagle Flies nodded. “Well, if you trust this man, then so shall I. I've been doing some scouting in the last few days. There is a foreman named Danbury. He keeps the files we need locked up in his office, above the refinery room.” Arthur pulled out his binoculars, and Eagle Flies pointed. “There. It's the window with the shade pulled up.”

“I see it.”

“If the files are as incriminating as we believe, Mr. Conwall's men will destroy them if they know you're coming.”

Arthur nodded. “Well, there's only one of me, son. I don't intend for them to know I'm comin'. What will the files say?”

“They will be a report from the Leland Oil Development Company.”

“You got the money your daddy promised me?”

Eagle Flies sighed, giving a sidelong glance at Star. “Yes.”

“Any ideas how I sneak into this place?”

“You could crawl under the fence, or hide in one of those wagons that keep rolling in.”

With a nod and a deep breath, Arthur put away his binoculars. “I'll go take a look.”

“If there is problem, call for us.”

“I thought the whole point was that this had nothin' to do with you!” he called over his shoulder as he made his way down the hill.

“Ideally.”

Star crouched with Eagle Flies on the ledge, watching as Arthur crept onto a wagon that eventually rolled through the gates to the refinery and out of sight. Anxiety left Star tense and breathing shallowly which Eagle Flies noticed.

“You say you trust this man, but you seem very worried.”

“It's not lack of confidence in him that causes me distress. Just his safety. We were recently attacked by a rival gang. They captured and killed one of our own. My heart still aches from the loss. I could not bear another.”

“Ah.” He paused a moment before looking back at her. “You speak highly of this gang. They... treat you well?”

“They do. Very well. I have not been treated so well by white people anywhere else.”

“What about the man at the party? The one who hit you?”

Star smiled softly. “He... is a complicated man, but he now treats me best of all. It took time and effort. But it's true.”

The man at her side squinted slightly in suspicion. “You and this man have found love, haven't you?”

“Yes. We have.”

“Fascinating.”

“You don't know the half of it,” she chuckled.

Gunshots echoed across the plain, coming from the refinery. Star nearly fell off the ledge in her haste to stand. “We have to help him!”

Eagle Flies stood as well, casting his gaze wider. “Look there. The oil pump. Let's blow it. Should be a proper distraction to give your friend time to escape.”

They mounted up and flew down the hill, taking a roundabout way to the pump that was on the other side of the field. Star whistled for Arthur's horse, and he came running along behind her, eyes wide.

The two natives sped in, and Eagle Flies sent a flaming arrow into the tower which immediately caught on the oil and spread until the pressure was too much and the pump exploded. The workers were thrown into chaos. Star rode into the mess, using her bow as well to make less noise and thus be less of a target.

When Arthur came running out of the darkness in her direction, she sighed in relief. “Did you get the files?”

“Yeah!” he called, leaping onto his horse. “But we need to get the hell outta here!”

“Follow me!” Eagle Flies yelled over the din.

The two raced to join him, fending off the few men that managed to try and fight back as they fled. They thundered across the plain, away from the refinery and into the growing darkness of the night.

“That explosion came just in time!” Arthur called.

Eagle Flies smiled. “I was happy to watch some of that oil burn. Did you meet Mr. Danbury?”

“Yes, don't worry. He was very obliging.”

They pulled to a stop to rest, and Arthur climbed off his horse. “I thought you two wasn't gonna get involved.”

“I thought you were going to enter and leave silently,” Eagle Flies retorted with a smirk.

Arthur grinned and held out the papers. “Well, thank you. You saved my life.”

Eagle Flies looked over the paperwork. “Thank you. I hope... well... I don't know what I hope. Maybe these will be of some use to us. Here's your money.” Arthur took it with a grateful nod. “Star, if you have need of us, my father and I will be returning to our village soon. Do you remember where it is?”

“Donner Falls?”

“Yes. If we would like to find you... how would we do so?”

Star glanced at Arthur, then replied, “We move around a lot. Send a letter to Tacitus Kilgore – to any post office. It may not be timely, but it is the best way.”

“Understood. Strange. But understood. Be careful out there.”

“And you as well. Goodbye.”

With that, Eagle Flies waved and rode off.

Star turned to Arthur, joining him on the ground. “Thank you.”

“For what?”

“Agreeing to help them. Even if you did get paid. Many wouldn't help a native, money or no money.”

“Don't matter to me what color someone is. You know that.”

“I do,” she agreed with a smile. “But it's nice to see it in practice.”

He smiled too. “Come on. Let's get back to camp. I'll catch you up on the trolley incident.”

“Oh dear god.”

#my writing #red dead redemption #red dead redemption 2 #bill williamson #bill williamson x oc #lashes #arthur morgan #eagle flies #dutch van der linde #charles smith #kieran duffy #javier escuella #my deepest apologies to every single person who has ever spoken Lakota #I can't even imagine how clunky these translations are

11 notes · View notes