#i feel like they keep scores. like they have a whiteboard somewhere keeping track

[frutavel]

Saw a few pictures of characters in this situation and I wanted to do it with these two because I've been obsessed with them lately

It can really go either way with them <3

[junoie]

𖨂 THE BICKERING OF BEASTS!

🕹⸝⸝ ♡ ꒱﹕ PLOT \ the prefect caught the attention of a certain lion and dragon, call it simping or being 'down bad.' whatever it is, the heartslabyul duo and grim have made it a competition and compete they will.

© JUNOIE, 3.31.2022. all graphics were created by me, do not steal. please check tags for more info.

A CLEAN BOARD WITH TWO NAMES!

Being an object of interest for a lion and dragon, isn’t as dangerous as it sounds. At any and all costs they’d keep you safe, that was the only thing they agreed upon. It wasn’t dangerous, no, it was quite amusing how they took it upon themselves to go to any lengths if it meant impressing you.

You stared at the mountain of gifts in the reflection of the mirror. You weren’t ignorant to what the Lion and Dragon dorm leaders were doing: trying to buy your approval with nice things, helping at every chance they got, goodness, they even showed up to class if you had it together! You chuckled at the thought of them, pinching your nose with your index finger and thumb. Your favorite duo and familiar were sorting the gifts (the ones from malleus and from leona) and counted how many from each.

“Finally! We’re done!” Ace jumped to his feet while Deuce did a final count.

Grim yawned and stretched on Ace’s head, supposedly he took this time to take a nap, “Done? Done already?”

“Yes, though, you weren’t much of a help,” Ace complained.

You rolled your eyes and lifted a finger to point at the large whiteboard across from them, “Now that you’ve finished, explain that for me would you?”

“Yea, sure.” Deuce rose and wrote two words on the whiteboard, separated by a two lines line:

“That looks like a score board?” You noted, matter-of-factly.

“Because, it is.” Ace said, “We will use it to track the competition!”

“What competition?” You knew what competition, you just hoped it’d end if you never acknowledged it. The three stared at you with looks that made you feel stupid, as if they read your mind.

“The competition for your heart, Yn! It starts… Now.” Ace announced while Deuce wrote the date on the board.

From then on the three became your (unofficial) scorekeepers. Everywhere you went at least one of them followed closely behind, when the others couldn’t. Of course, if you asked they’d back away but for the time being you’d humor them.

LET THE GAMES BEGIN!

“Yn.” You looked up from your book to Leona and followed his glaring eyes to find Malleus, the one who called you. You were studying while Leona laid in the beanbags of the library.

“Oh, Mally, hi!” – Leona scoffed and rolled his eyes at the nickname, Malleus smiled as he always did at the sound of it. – “I was wondering if you’d assist me in my research for our Astrology Class?”

Your eyes widened in surprise, “You need my help?”

“Yes, the stars themselves have never really interested me, therefore, my knowledge on them is… lacking.”

“Actually, Yn is helping me with my project. Ask Lilia or something.” Leona forced out, he didn’t fancy the idea of you and the dragon working together, much less alone together.

“Woah Woah, we could work together, right? The maximum in a group is three, so?” – You let them draw the conclusions in their heads – “Let’s work together!”

They gave you mixed emotions, Malleus looked relieved that he’d be able to intervene between any advances Leona would make on you; and Leona was quite pissed off by that. Nevertheless, they both agreed with:

“Oh, splendid idea, child of man.”

“Ugh, fine. If we fail it’s his fault.”

SOMEWHERE NEARBY જ

"Hello." The trio nearly screamed when a certain fae teleported in front of them. Ace, the first one to recover, pulled them all behind the bookshelf.

"What the hell, man?" Ace whispered, glancing up to where you were, just to make sure you didn't notice.

"Technically, I'm not 'man' but we can clear that up later." – Lilia straightened out his clothing before proceeding. – "You're spying on my dorm leader."

They blinked, Grim was the first to speak. "Well, we aren't here for that weird dragon guy... we're spying on Yn."

"Why?"

"Because it is out job as the SKT?" Ace interjected.

Lilia frowned, "SKT?"

"ScoreKeeping Trio." Deuce answered, taking over, "You see that?" – he pointed in your direction. "We are scorekeeping to see which one is able to win Yn's heart, Yn called it a 'competition' and it stuck."

"So Yn started this?"

"So now you're giving them our credit?!" Grim was far from happy to hear Lilia's question, but he maintained a low voice.

"No no, I was clarifying." Lilia dismissed.

#THE SCOREKEEPER TRIO’S GOOGLE DOC:

3/30 (3:30 PM) - +1 FOR MALLEUS!

ACE: malleus was happy with what yn chose and showed no hesitance in agreeing! he also

GRIM: AND HE LOOKED GENUINE 2 😩‼

DEUCE: grim, why those emojis?

GRIM: YALL CALL IT 'DADDY MATERIAL?' 😍🤪

GRIM: PLS YALL THINKIN IT 😩 😇

CALLING ALL REPRESENTATIVES!

So it started, Challenge One for Malleus and Leona (we’ll call this ‘An Astronomical Impact.’) The challenge went on even when you weren’t present. I’ll let Ruggie explain this one, though. 

You sat in the cafeteria with your lunch, waiting for the ADeuce Duo before you started eating, because unlike Grim you had manners. You played with your food with a rather bored expression when someone cleared their throat somewhere around you. You looked up: Grim was still devouring his food and the Duo were still in line, you looked behind you and locked eyes with Ruggie (the vice dorm leader of Savanaclaw.) 

He tossed up the wrapped sandwich in his hand and caught it, grinning from ear to ear at you, “Heya, Yn!” 

“Hello, Ruggie?” – You smiled when he nodded – “We have a few classes together… we’ve also met in the Botanical Garden.”

“Bingo! I just wanted to officially meet who’s the cause of my dorm leader’s sudden care about school, and to thank you, of course.” 

“Oh? What do you mean?” Your smile turned to one of confusion, but stayed a smile regardless.

“You haven’t seen? Leona is actually getting good grades, many say it’s thanks to you! They say the same for that dragon dude.” Ruggie waved off the topic of the latter rather quickly. “Anyways, I gotta get Leona his lunch before he gets cranky- er, I mean, uh, impatient. If I find the time, I’ll see you later.” 

“Oh, of course.” You nodded, respectfully and the hyena walked off.

“He seems nice,” Ace noted, setting his tray down next to you, Deuce doing the same but next to Grim. 

“Yea-”

“We shouldn’t trust it!” Grim exclaimed before you could get anything out, “Leona might be using his vice leader’s kindness to get to us!”

“Yn.” Deuce corrected.

“No, us.” Ace butted in, “If either of them do start dating Yn-”

“He starts dating all of us,” Grim completed to which they fist bumped.

You shook your head, “Since when?”

“Since we became your SKT?” Ace explained, “ScoreKeeping Trio!” 

“It symbolizes a new level of closeness between us all that your average person can’t achieve!” Grim added.

You and Deuce were still confused, but he seemed to get it a tad bit more than you. “Oh, so we’re like Yn’s family?”

Your face lit up at that question, “Yes, of course you all are!”

The other two nodded, “Our point exactly.”

With that the bell rang and lunch was concluded. You all departed, You and Ace walked together to your next class. The day continued like that, Ace switched with Grim and with Grim you walked off campus to meet the trio.

Or were supposed to.

"Hello."

"OW!" You bumped into someone's forehead, somebody who wasn't hanging upside down a moment ago.

Grim jumped into battle position at the sight of Lilia, "Hey! It's the weirdo from the library!"

"Weirdo? Hm, not quite that either. We'll work on it." Lilia flipped over gracefully so his feet were on the same ground as yours.

"I've met your cat and little friends?–"

"Hey, who're you calling little?!" Grim defended, "Look at yourself!"

LIlia ignored his statement and motioned for you both to follow him, "Allow me to walk you to Heartslabyul while we talk. Ahem, as I was saying, I'm Lilia Vanrouge. Vice dorm leader of Diasomnia."

"Oh!" You snapped, with your fingers, "I've heard about you from Mally!"

"Mally?"

"It's their nickname for your dorm leader, do I need to explain it?" Grim answered, still not thrilled with the fact Lilia was walking you to Heartslabyul.

"Ah, I see." – Lilia nodded – "Hopefully all good things?"

"Yes of course, I hear you're a great dorm leader." You nudged his shoulder.

Lilia's posture straightened more than it already was at your compliment, if that was even possible. "Thank you."

For the rest of the way you walked in silence, talking here and there,, but it wasn't awkward it was a comfortable quiet.

"This is where I leave. Enjoy your time here," Lilia bowed politely and teleported away, just outside the heart shaped bushes of Heartslabyul.

"Thank you, Lilia, we will." You nodded.

"Yea yea, whatever." Grim rolled his eyes, not stopping.

You stared in amazement, the air in which Lilia just occupied was now empty with no trace of him. Teleportation, a fascinating thing.

In a moment you were within HEartslabyul walls

In a moment you were within Heartslabyul walls, in another you were in the 1st year's chambers, and in the last you were in Ace’s room where Deuce and he waited.

“Hey, guys.” You tossed your bag onto the floor and crashed on his bed. “Man, today was a long day.”

“You took a while, did you get food or something?” Ace watched Grim go through your bag looking for any leftover snacks.

“No, we didn’t.” – You rolled onto your stomach – “Lilia walked us here, he is as kind and Malleus made him out to be.”

“Kind?” They all asked at the same time.

“Did you not hear him call me a cat?!” 

“I’m sorry, but who could blame him?” You raised a brow. “Would you prefer him call you a rat or a seal?”

“No! But I still don’t like him.” 

“Me neither, he gave us a scare at the library.”

“Did he say why he gave you a scare?”

“Something about spying on his dorm leader,” Deuce explained.

“Which you were?” 

“No, we were spying on you and you were aware!” Grim started tossing your things out of your bag in search.

“Hey-”

“What did you think of him?” Deuce asked, pulling out his whiteboard from his bag.

“I already said, very polite and well mannered!”

“Yea… sure. What about Ruggie?” Ace looked at you curiously.

“He was kind, nice to talk to as well. Going out of his way to let me know Leona is improving in school.” You smiled at the thought of it.

#THE SCOREKEEPER TRIO’S GOOGLE DOC:

3/31 ( 3:10 ) - +1 FOR LEONA!

GRIM: YN HAS LOST IT YALL

GRIM: ‘VERY POLITE AND MANNERED’ DEUCE’S ASS

DEUCE: why mine??

ACE: today yn met lilia, they claimed he was ‘very nice and polite.’ however they also met ruggie earlier and found him ‘kind, and nice to talk to as well.’ they also found the fact that he went out of his way to tell them leona is improving in school.

GRIM: I LIKED RUGGIE 2 😇💪 IF HE STICKS AROUND WHEN YNNIE AND LEONA GET MARRIED HE’LL BE GOOD BRO IN LAW MATERIAL 😍💋

DEUCE: please, grim, why are you talking like that?

THE IMPORTANCE OF THOUGHT! 

“Malleus!” You ran to catch up with Diasomnia’s dorm leader in the hallways before your last class. “The teacher said we have Astrology as a free period to work on our assignments.”

“Oh, is that so?”

You nodded, “We’re gonna be stargazing tonight in Savanaclaw. It’s our job to get the supplies from Uncle Sam’s!”

“And what is Leona doing?”

You gave him a tired look, “We both already know the answer to that. Now let’s go before the line gets too long.”

“Have you picked which star you're doing yet or are you going for extra credit and doing a planet’s moon?”

“If I am to study the sky at night I may as well get the most I can out of it. How about you, Yn?”

“I’m actually doing a full study of what we call ‘zodiac signs’ in my–” You paused for a moment. Where you came from, was often referred to as ‘Yn’s world’ though it didn’t feel like your world. it was just another alternate world in the universe, not your world. at least not anymore. “no, the other world.” 

“Do elaborate, please.”

“Well, you know how we were taught that the alignment of the stars may affect one’s mood? In the other world some believe that the stars in the sky when you’re born can predict your personality.”

“Foolishness.” The dragon fae pinch the bridge of his nose, shaking his head in a slight confusion.

“To an extent they were accurate,” You explained, “The way they explained your personality would be very broad and fit many people, but anyways what are you gonna get from Sam’s?”

“The usual. I’m under the assumption we will stay up late so ice cream should keep me awake.”

“Ooh! It’s a little humid in Savanaclaw so ice cream will be great!” 

Soon after that you reached Mr. S’s Mystery Shop, Malleus opened the door for you.

“Heyo, kiddos! Done with school already?” Sam asked from the counter.

“Hi, Uncle Sam! Yea, we have a free period in Astrology for our assignment! We just need to pick up a few things.” You explained and turned to look at Malleus but he was already gone.

“Alright then! I’ll let you get to it!”

SOMEWHERE NEARBY જ

Malleus walked through the refrigerated section and saw pre - prepared meat dishes, instinctively he grabbed one that looked familiar without putting in much thought before continuing to the freezers. He saw his favorite and grabbed another that he’d see you enjoy a while back. He’d placed all the items in a basket and strode over to the astrology supplies section when he stumbled upon an old fashioned compass watch. His head perked up at the sound of your footsteps approaching, quickly putting the watch under the pile of food that he’d gathered.

“Malleus! There you are, I was looking for you!” Your pace slowed at the sight of him, your eyes glued to the familiar tub of ice cream you always got. “You got the snacks!” 

“Yes, now it is up to you to get the equipment necessary for our endeavors.” 

You thought for a minute, not immediately understanding his statement, “Oh, the telescope and stuff, right.”

“Yes,” he nodded, “I’ll follow you.”

You led him the rest of the way to the telescope section and picked out the smallest one that would be of most use. “I’ll need to go to Ignihyde now to ask Idia to modify this… We split up here. You go to Savanaclaw and ask Ruggie where the fridge is.” You told the dragon fae while you paid.

“Who is Ruggie? Why would I ask him instead of the dorm leader?”

You sighed, “Ruggie if the vice dorm leader, you can ask Leo where as long as you promise not to start a fight with him.” 

���Where can I most likely find this Ruggie figure?”

“He’s usually just around, now hurry before the ice cream melts!”

FOLLOWING MALLEUS જ

When the human was out of sight, Malleus used a familiar spell to teleport to the Savanaclaw sands. He dusted off his clothes before making his way inside. Just his luck a certain hyena was just running off to his next chore. When their eyes met Ruggie stopped dead in his tracks, mostly in confusion.

“Uh, can I help you? You look… really out of place.” 

“Yes, I’m looking for Ruggie, vice dorm leader of this dorm? Can you help me find him, Child of..” Malleus’ words died on his lips as he realized the other wasn’t exactly one hundred percent human.

“You don’t need help, you’ve found him. How can I help you?”

“Oh, good. Yn told me to find you and ask where the freezer is,” he lifted the bag slightly, “We are stargazing for astrology with the dorm leader.”

“Okay, right this way.” Ruggie took the bag and looked through it, noting its contents. “I’ll also show you to the lounge where you can wait for Yn so you don’t have to see Leona.”

“Hm, thank you. Your assistance is much appreciated.”

MEANWHILE IN IGNIHYDE જ 

“Idia! Yn is here to see you?” Ortho knocked on his older brother’s door and you both waited patiently. The sound of crashing took place inside much to your concern but Ortho just shrugged it off.

“Uh - Yn, he - hello! H - how - er, no - What - what brings you here?” Idia opened the door, the sound of a lamp falling just within.

“I needed to ask for your help,” – You held up the telescope – “Can you modify it?”

“To see farther,” Ortho added to which you nodded. 

“Yea - yea, of course I can.” He rambled a bit studying the technology before disappearing into his room.

“Would you like a cold beverage?” Ortho offered, “He’ll ring me when he’s finished.”

“I’d love one. What do you have?”

“Water.”

“Perfect!”

LMAOO THEY ALL SLEPT TOGETHER!

While Idia worked you took that time to catch up with Ortho. Recently you've been too busy with Leona and Malleus (don't even get me started with the other trio) that you haven't really had time to talk to him. Right on time, the younger's phone rang.

"Idia's finished! We should head over before he thinks there was an apocalypse or something else absurd." You nodded, understanding that Ortho actually wasn't joking. Silently you arrived at the dorm leader's room and again Ortho knocked on the door. "Idia? We're here!"

"Here!" Idia shoved his hand out the door, holding the much more modern looking telescope in his hands, which you took gratefully.

"Thank you gentlemen, for your help today, I'll see myself out."

"Bye, Yn! It was nice talking to you!"

"Bye - bye, Ortho! You as well. Thanks again, Idia!"

A muffled 'yea, sure' came from his room and at that you left.

You stepped onto the grounds of Savanaclaw when the sun was already setting, your breath unsteady and legs sore and aching from the long walk. You walked inside and headed to the Lounge area to get the ice cream from the freezers in the kitchen. "Oh, Malleus, you're here!"

"Yes, Child of Man. Ruggie, a helpful vice dorm leader he is, suggested I'd stay here instead of going to Leona's without you."

"See? Smart. I'll get the ice cream and be back in a moment" You grinned and went to retrieve your snacks. You rushed outside, and tilted your head in the direction of the lion's room suggesting you Malleus would follow. The tall male rose from his seat and grabbed a the grocery bag and your school bag leaving you with a lighter load, "Thank you, it was getting heavy."

"I assumed," he nodded and followed you to Leona's room.

"We're here!" You announced into the seemingly empty room upon your arrival. You set the telescope down and Malleus did the same with his load, "Leona?"

"Here." Leona stood by his huge windows, "I moved a bunch of things so we'd have more space."

"I appreciate that," you grinned stepping over to take a look outside, you stepped on the low windowsill and gave him a head pat, one he'd make sure to rub in the other's face.

"I was able to get us a smaller telescope that'll work just as one of the bigger ones, thanks to Idia!" You explained returning to where you left your things "Wait, Malleus did you get something for Leona?"

"No, I don't recall doing so.." The dragon fae, frowned trying to think back to his shopping at Sam's.

"Oh, shit it slipped my mind, I was looking for Malleus and then the telescope! I'm sorry I completely forgot to get you something!" You rushed to your wallet, "I'll go right now, what do you want?"

Leona looked at both of you and deadpanned. "What are you guys talking about?" Leona held up a wrapped pre - prepared meat dish, it was the same one he'd have Ruggie get when they had it though, it was rare.

"Oh, your favorite? I didn't get that," you let your statement linger and looked at Malleus, with confusion. That was awfully nice of him, You thought, But he'd do that for Leona?

"It appears I did, Yn, though I don't recall doing so." Malleus dismissed. "I also put spoons in there in case we'd forget to grab some while we were down there.

"Wow, you're a lifesaver."

Leona was too hung up on the fact the Malleus Draconia, his sworn rival, had gotten him his favorite food without realizing it to get annoyed with the compliment you gave the other. He stood there thinking, the want to sleep long gone with the replacement of shock. Wait, how did he know his favorite food? Was this apart of his plan to exploit him ��

"Ace, Deuce, Lilia, Ruggie, and Grim! Get the fuck out of that tree, right this instant before I go other there and launch you all to space!"

Leona looked at Malleus then to you, surprised by your volume. He saw what you were yelling at, it was a palm tree with decorations? There was a red blob, a blue one, a small grey on top of a pinkish ombre one, and lastly a sandy yellow one.

"Yn, they do that a lot. Does it bother you?" Malleus asked, taking a seat next to you and staring off at the horizon. He opened his tub of ice cream and grabbed a spoon.

"No?" – Leona copied Malleus's action and sat down, opening his snack and listening – "At least not really. I know that it's all a joke and should end sometime soon."

"What's the joke?" Leona asked, mouth full.

"Something stupid. Let's start working on the reports, then we can do the drawing of the stars and what not later." You grabbed your school bag and sat down between them.

For hours you worked before any of you were able to get a clear view of the stars in the night sky. The boys finished their reports far before you did, though it wasn't surprising considering they grew up under these skies. You helped the lion out by drawing his star, completing his assignment, because he fell asleep in your lap. More hours passed, and so did Malleus. He fell asleep, slouched against the wall. You sat in the cool, humid room of Leona's not long before you fell asleep, too.

"So y'all slept together?" Grim concluded at the end of your explanation.

The eyes of everyone present, except Grim, widened. "GRIM!"

"What?" He looked at you all dumb founded, "OH- damn, y'all dirty minded. Holy smokes!"

You shook your head while Ace spoke up, "Let's not call it 'sleeping together,' okay?"

"Yea, okay." Grim shrugged, returning to his lunch.

"You finished that report already? I'm still working on it," Deuce groaned, dropping his head onto the empty table space in front of him.

Ace laughed, "I finished it the day it was assigned."

"Oh, really? Never took you as the studious type." Grim looked up at the red head, mouth full.

"Eat with your mouth closed Grim," You scolded. "Anyways, it was actually a lot easier than it seems."

"Or you're all just really smart."

"Me and Ynnie? Sure, Ace? Wouldn't push it."

"Shut up." Ace rolled his eyes, "Are you done with that Yn?"

"Yes, thank you," You handed Ace your tray and he threw both of yours away.

"Hey, you know what we need to do?" Grim asked, finishing his meal as well.

"Hm?" You hummed, standing and stretching.

"We need to go to your dorm to update the white board."

"He's right," Deuce lifted his head, "We should."

"Wanna ditch?" You suggested when Ace returned, "I'm tired and you guys need to do your KST thing."

"It's ES - KAY - TEE," Ace pronounced as you three made your way out of the cafeteria, in silent agreement of ditching your next classes.

#THE SCOREKEEPING TRIO'S GOOGLE DOC:

3/31 ( 22:00 ) - +1 FOR BOTH! +1 FOR MALLEUS!

GRIM: LMAOOO THEY SLEPT TOGETHER ALL OF THEM 🤣💋‼

DEUCE: yes, but they all actually slept..

ACE: yn, malleus, and leona all had a successful study date. points for both because they both contributed somewhat to make the night productive! despite this, malleus had help yn more directly, in other words they spent more time together and he helped them more.

GRIM: WHY TF YOU TYP LIKE A ROSS BOT 🤔

STAY AFTER CLASS!

Crewel was the type to mind his own business. However there were times he got curious, concerned even–

The start of the school year wasn't just different because you were their new prefect. Malleus and Leona started attending almost all their classes. There was a clear dislike for one another Crewel saw that as well. He saw how they silently fought for your attention, even if it was just a wave, when you brought papers in from another teacher. He saw how one was always later than the other and how the early one didn't seemed pleased with that, he never understood why until he later found out the late one was late because they took turns walking you to your other morning classes.

– and this time he was concerned for you.

"Mx. Ln, do me a favor and take a seat would you?" Crewel stopped you from stepping out of the classroom just as everyone else was.

"Oh? Okay." You looked at the door then back to your teacher, but still obeyed, "Is something the matter?"

"You tell me." – Crewel stacked some papers and put them aside, making space for him to sit on his desk – "Has anyone been bothering you recently? Intimidating or possibly making you uncomfortable?"

"No, why?" You frowned.

"Well, I'll be honest. Recently I've noticed a big change in a certain pair of students and you appear to be the cause of it. I just wasn't to make sure there was no funny business and that they aren't making our new pup uncomfortable."

"Huh," you thought for a minute no one came to mind at his words.

Your thoughts were interrupted when somebody opened the door, Leona peaked inside with a look of relief when he saw you, "There you are, Yn. Was just looking for you." – he shot Crewel a tense nod – "I'll wait outside."

"Thank you, Mr. Kingscholar." Crewel waited to for the door to click closed before giving you a look as if to say 'him.'

"Oh- Oh! Leona and Malleus? No no they're not bothering me at all!" You put on a smile, "Don't worry about them, really. They're just... quite competitive, at everything."

"Alright, I'll take your word for it, pup." He rose, signaling the conclusion of the conversation, "You're dismissed."

Your steps towards the door were quick. You let out a breath of relief that you'd been holding in once you were outside.

"What was that about, Herbivore?" Leona asked, pushing himself off the wall.

"Uhm, I'll show you," you sighed, making your way to Ramshackle. The lion followed and there was silence. You thought of how you'd explain the SKT and the scorekeeping nonsense the duo started. All of which was based upon the assumption that they like you, and if they didn't? You knew from the start their claims were baseless but hearing it so much, you started to believe it. The school grounds were pretty much empty, class ended about an hour ago now and Ramshackle was getting clearer by the second. You were slightly surprised by the lion's silence and repeatedly you looked back to make sure he was still following you. "Watch your step," you mumbled, ascending up the stairs and dreading the moments to come.

"Look at this." You tossed your bag to the side, "A scoreboard."

"And I'm winning by one, great." Leona grinned at the board much to your confusion.

"What do you mean great?"

"Well," – Leona snapped a picture, before erasing the last mark on his making their points even – "Malleus and I actually needed to talk to you about this."

"You knew?!"

"Technically, not of this exactly. We were thinking that why date one of us...?"

You frowned, knowing what he was implying, but, "Would it work?"

"Herbivore," Leona sighed, "Do you really think we aren't capable of making it work? You just have to give us a yes or no. All your call and it doesn't have to be right now. Sleep on it, I can join-"

You glared at him, shutting him up quite quickly. Sleep on it you would.

[awhitehead17]

Batfam Alphabet: I - Injuries

Summary: When an offhand comment gets made about who receives the most injuries a big debate takes place to discuss this. Unable to agree on anything, the Bats decide to keep score of who gets the most injuries over the next 12 months. The results may surprise you. 

Enjoy! :D

The blissful silence within his apartment is rudely interrupted by the shrill of his phone suddenly ringing inside his pocket. Jason groans. Five minutes. Why couldn’t he just get five minutes of peace? Was that so much to ask for?

Cursing every god imaginable, Jason digs through his pocket until he finds and receives the device before scowling upon seeing the caller ID. Answering the call, he brings it up to his ear and doesn’t hesitate to snap a greeting, making it clear he isn’t pleased about being disturbed. “What do you want?”

“So there’s been a situation…” a hesitant voice speaks up on the other side of the phone.

Jason reaches up and pinches the bridge of his nose. That sentence alone is enough to start giving him a headache.

“How the fuck is there a situation? I left you guys not even fifteen minutes ago! I thought you were heading back to the cave?”

“Yeah, we were, but on the way back we heard gun shots and we found a gang fight happening. We intervened but while fighting Nightwing unfortunately got stabbed.”

Being told his brother has been stabbed makes Jason pause. There’s a remark on the end of his tongue that desperately wants to slip out but he doesn’t know if this is the right time for it. The tone of voice on the other side of the line makes it difficult to determine how serious the situation is.

“How bad is it?”

“Oh not that bad!” Tim chirps, Jason could now hear the amusement lacing his tone. “It’s just a stab wound on the thigh, more of a scratch than anything. Won’t need stitches or nothing. I figured I’d ring you to let you know because this now changes the board.”

Jason breathes out a long sigh and feels the tension leave his body. At least it’s not life threatening. This fucking family, he swears to God, if he hadn’t already been sent to an early grave he certainly would be now.

“So it’s enough to warrant a mark on the board?” Jason questions eagerly, already knowing what impact the answer will have. Now he knows it’s not serious he can think about other things.

“Oh yeah definitely.” Tim claims and Jason could easily hear the smile in his voice. “Even when it happened he muttered a curse and mentioned how it’s unfair because that now puts you ahead of him.”

At that Jason cackles. He bids his brother a goodbye before hanging up. Still laughing Jason moves through his apartment to his kitchen, digging through one of the draws he pulls out a large whiteboard and makes the needed changes to it.

This is something they all came up with at the start of the year from an offhand comment about who gets the most/least injuries out of their family. The comment triggered off a big debate and the result of it was to keep score of who gets the most injuries in the next 12 months.

They do not count life threatening injuries, because believe it or not they are not assholes and it wouldn’t be fair or even funny. Any minor injury can count (or at least minor for them). Any injuries done outside of the costume also count.

There are only a couple months left of the year but it’s currently pretty tight between most of them. Surprisingly Steph is winning with the least number of injuries so far. Following her, again surprisingly, is Damian. After him is Harper, Duke, Tim and then Jason. With his new injury today that puts Dick in last place, officially making Jason second to last. They hadn’t included Cass because firstly she didn’t want to be involved and secondly anytime she does get injured, which is extremely rare, it’s usually serious, so they collectively decided to not have Cass participate. Babs wasn’t interested and made it very clear on what her opinions of the competition was.

Before the new injury, Jason and Dick were in joint last place. His older brother now sustaining a new non-life-threatening injury changes the board. Jason couldn’t be happier, now he just has to make sure to not get injured at all in the next couple of months.

That in itself will be a challenge, but one not to be beaten easily Jason is up for it. He doesn’t care where he comes on the board, just as long as he beats Dick that’s all that matters.

---------

Like most of the year, the last few months fly by and before Jason knows it, it’s New Year’s Eve and he’s attending a party with all of his friends and family.

While the party is being hosted at Wayne Manor, so somewhere familiar, there’s tension in the air which can be felt no matter where you go. To most it’s probably the anticipation of midnight approaching, that excitement that comes along with the clock striking twelve and the supposedly start of something new.

To Jason, however, it’s a count down until the results are revealed.

Jason has a vague idea of what the final results are going to be, after all he kept track of everything himself. Then again, it’s vague because he’s been away on a mission for the last three weeks only having gotten back two days ago. He hasn’t yet had a chance to catch up with everything that may have happened in those weeks he had been gone. For all he knows the board may have changed significantly and he wouldn’t have a clue.

Not long before midnight, Jason soon finds himself in the library with his siblings and friends. They’re scattered around the room sitting on the sofas and the floor with the news on in the background.

Cass stands front and center with a white board in hand ready to announce the results of who has sustained the least and the greatest number of injuries in the past year. They asked Cass to announce it as she hadn’t taken part, that way it’s fair and not biased.

Looking around the room Jason could see a variety of facial expression on his siblings faces. Some wearing smirks, like they know exactly what the results are, while other’s wear an expression of anticipation, clearly unsure on where they’ve come on the board.

Cass announces the names in ascending order, starting with last place first. To Jason’s absolute delight, Dick is in last place. He’s so happy to hear that he had beaten his brother in getting less injuries than him in a year. Dick simply sends Cass a tight smile and nod, obviously knowing he had lost before anything was declared.

After Dick is Jason. If he’s being honest, Jason is actually happier about that than the principle of being second to last, he beat Dick and that’s all that mattered. He certainly made sure Dick was aware of his delight.

After Jason is Duke, followed by Steph which was a surprise considering she had been in first for a really long time. Apparently she had a bad couple of months, reckless behaviour and stupid mistakes eventually added to her total therefore dropping her down the leader board.

Taking third place is Damian. Jason looks over at where he’s sat and he finds the kid fuming, clearly unhappy with his final position. In second place is Tim, which seems to surprise almost everyone, including Tim himself. The teenager sits on the sofa looking completely baffled but thrilled at the news. That finally leaves Harper taking first place as the person to have the least number of injuries in the past year. She jumps up to her feet yelling with joy and dancing around the room excitedly.

After the scores are announced Cass gives out little awards just as something extra which makes it all the more entertaining.

The most out-of-costume injuries award goes to Tim, who instantly claims that most of his injuries are because his best friends are meta’s and because he skateboards. No one believes the excuses however they don’t call him out on it.

The most ridiculous injury goes to Dick, who then explains how he got said injury. Apparently he miscalculated a jump when chasing someone and ended up scraping his side on a metal bin. Everyone stares at him after that story, wondering how such an experienced vigilante and acrobat even does that.

The most badass injury goes to Steph. She had gotten into a fist fight in the middle of the mall after some guys started shouting out vulgar language. Not taking any of their shit Steph beat them all to a pulp but not without taking some collateral damage herself. That award felt well deserved though it could have gone to someone else.

After wrapping up their competition they all decide to stay in the library and chill. They cheer for the new year when the clock strikes twelve and all exchange “happy new year’s.” They don’t go adventuring out to the party again which inevitably leads to Bruce hunting for them, out of worry or suspicion Jason’s not sure but when his adoptive father eventually walks into the library he’s met with a loud chorus of greetings

Bruce studies the group with narrowed eyes in suspicion. He meets each of their gazes before straightening up and leveling them all a glare.

“What’s going on? I haven’t seen any of you in a few hours only to find you all gathered in here, not fighting may I add. What have you done?”

Dick’s the first to respond. Being the oldest of the group he probably feels inclined to, especially when no one else offers up an explanation. “Wow Bruce, give us a benefit of the doubt would you, we’re simply enjoying being with one another for a change. New year and all that. Who knows, this may the start of something new.”

Bruce’s disbelieving expression conveys perfectly what he thinks of that explanation.

The room falls silent as they all stare at one another. Gestures and nods are shared between them as they try to get someone else to speak up but everyone stays silent, no one saying a peep. They never told Bruce about the competition; they really don’t know how the man would take the news but they’re all certain it wouldn’t be taken well. He definitely wouldn’t see the funny side of the whole thing, even if they explain the rules to it and how they’re not actually assholes and wouldn’t include life threatening wounds to the count.

In the end it doesn’t matter because eventually Bruce puts his hands up and shakes his head. “You know what, I don’t want to know. Whatever it is just keep it to yourselves and if you make a mess, clean it up. The less I know the better.”

With no more words Bruce turns around and leaves the room. For several moments after the man’s sudden departure they each exchange baffled looks, silently questioning what just happened. It stays like that for a while until several members of the family simultaneously shrug. The action causes an eruption of laughter and all of them end up cackling until they couldn’t breathe and had tears running down their faces.

[ncityislove]

The Jury is Out Ch. 3

➳Pairing: Renjun x Reader x Jeno (ft a few other Dreamies)

➳Genre: Angsty fluff but mostly angst lol basically enemies to lovers

➳Word Count:4.6k

Hiiii guys! It’s been over a year since I started this series and this has taught me so many things. Mainly, how much I can not be trusted to start and finish a series lol. The last two chapters will be out soon. I really mean it this time.

Previous Chapter  Next Chapter

There's an awful pounding in your head from the looming headache you didn't see going away anytime soon. Your over-bearing thoughts being added into the mix is plain unbearable as you wait for your first class to start and your sour mood only worsens when you recall the unfolding of yesterday's events. The strong sense of shame was overwhelming like a dark cloud hanging over your head. How did you get here? Your biggest mistake was letting your guard down to the likes of Renjun. That's where it all went wrong. You try telling yourself you don't need him as a friend. You have Jeno. But you can't silence the desire in your heart to have something more than a partnership. You'd gotten a taste of what's it like to be under the warm rays of his kindness after being on the receiving end of the endless blizzard of the cold reign he had over you and the entire school. That wasn't something you could just forget.

When Renjun arrives, he takes his place right next to you, unpacking his items as if it were the most normal thing in the world. You don't know why he isn't sitting in his usual seat when you didn't have a lab today. You frown but silently remove your bag from the chair next you, nonetheless.

He sits down eagerly, glancing at you a moment longer than socially acceptable. "I like your hair."

Your hands immediately grip the strands.  After the party, you decided to forgoes the ponytail and headband combo that you'd been sporting for so long. "Oh, um, thanks."

Was that a compliment just now?

"Where were you yesterday, by the way?"

"I was sick, so I missed first period," he states, not even missing a beat.

Unbelievable. He's lying straight to your face. You frown distastefully.

"That's not what Chenle had to say."

"Hm? Chenle? He's always pulling pranks—I wouldn't buy anything that comes out of his mouth," he laughs.

You glare at him for a moment. "You didn't get my texts messages?"

He smiles sheepishly. "Oh...sorry about that. I was...um...busy?"

You turn the other way to discretely roll  your eyes. "Are you okay at least?"

"Yeah, never better!"

You shake your head, not wanting to seem like you actually cared despite the fact that deep down you knew you did. It's crazy that all it took was one little afternoon alone together and suddenly Renjun matters to you. All those years of being at each other's throats out the window. Just like that. It was different now. You were more mindful of each other's feelings and it's even gotten to the point where you're receiving compliments. It was a change that you still hadn't adjusted to but maybe it wasn't as lousy as you made it seem. The horrible excuses and lies weren't something you were fond of but it's not like you were friends so you kept that to yourself. You just wished he'd tell you the truth or even hearing that he didn't want to talk about it would've been fine. You didn't see why he had to lie...

You had to remind yourself that you shouldn't be so concerned with Renjun. It was weirding you out that you were thinking about him so much lately. As much as you hated to admit it, you might've maybe felt something for him in that teeny split second after you made up on the field. You never really noticed how funny he was bc you were always the butt of the joke but it turns out he was pretty hilarious. And his voice was so sweet and calming you could probably listen to it forever. But whatever it was—that moment your heart skipped a beat— was gone. It was crazy to even think—there was no way you'd ever say that out loud. Clearly, Renjun would never reciprocate.

If only Haven could see you now.

Renjun turns his body toward you, giving you his full attention. "Are we meeting at the track after school?"

"I have volleyball practice but we can meet after, if you want."

"Yeah, cool," he says, looking pleased.

"Are you sure you're okay though?"

The question had been on your mind since yesterday. Maybe something happened with his dad and he didn't want to say anything. According to Jeno, he didn't talk about that stuff much but you still wanted to make sure he was okay.

"Huh?" he looks at you strange. "Yeah, I'm good."

"Are you sure? I mean, you can tell me if you're not." You regret the words as soon as they leave your mouth.

He snickers, his face glowing with a big smile. "Are you worried about me?"

You scowl to hide your panic. What was happening  to you? "As if," you scoff.

"Aww, you care about me! Who knew the coldest person in the world had a heart?" he pinches your cheek.

You violently slap his hand away and he jerks back.

"Don't!" you point a finger in his face. "touch me. Never again. Got it?"

"Alright," Renjun chuckles lightly. "My bad. Whatever you say."

When class starts, the teacher pulls up her usual PowerPoint and you begin messily jotting down the first slide. She seems to be in a rush as she breezes over every slide, making it difficult to write down everything in time.

Renjun nudges your arm. You look to see him offering you a piece of gum. You reject it, mouthing a  'no thanks' with a polite smile and scramble to write down the rest of the slide. He purses his lips, taking a piece for himself, leisurely writing his notes.

A few minutes later, he nudges your arm again. "You got any led?"

Your nostrils flare as you let out a sigh, pulling out your pencil pouch for him to find the kind of led he needs. You pick your pencil back up to continue your notes.

"Thanks," he whispers. "Hey, did you get that last slide?"

"Oh my god, no, Renjun!" you whisper-shout at him. "How could I have gotten the last slide when you keep distracting me??"

He starts to giggle and it you get even more heated that he found pleasure in this. You're just to about to curse him out in every language known to man when Mrs. Brookes stops her lesson.

"What's going on back there?" she peers down her bi-focals to stare you down. "__, would you like to tell me what the main parts of the brain are?"

"Umm," you hesitate, your eyes scanning over the board. It must I've been on the last slide--which you didn't get the chance to copy thanks to Renjun.

Mrs. Brooks looks at you impatiently and the class turns to look at you as well when you take too long to answer.

"Cerebellum, frontal lobe, parietal lobe, cerebrum, and the thalamus," Renjun answers, ultimately saving your ass.

"Very good! Thank you, Renjun. Now, as I was saying..." Mrs. Brookes turns back to the whiteboard and continues rambling on about the brain.

"I thought you didn't get the last slide?" you whisper.

"Just because I didn't write it down doesn't mean I wasn't paying attention."

You stare at the side of his face in disbelief and you can tell by the way his cheeks were lifted he was smiling.

Renjun sits with you again in third period. You scoot your stuff over, once again saying nothing. This was getting a little too odd. If you weren't friends why did he keep sitting next to you? You weren't friends, were you? You decide not to ask. Sadie seemed like the right person to confide this type of stuff into.     Your desks were too close together which made Renjun's knee touch yours. You wouldn't have noticed any other time but this time in particular it was hard to not to.

"You should sit with me at lunch from now on."

Definitely getting mixed signals here.

"Why?"

"We're partners. It only makes sense, you know?"

"But we've been partners for years," you interject.

He opens his mouth then closes it. "Well, yeah that's true...but you still should. I won't force you to but I'll be really upset if you don't."

"Upset?" you repeat with a tilt of your head. In what universe would he get upset over anything you did that didn't have to do with you scoring higher than him on an assignment? You didn't understand why he was acting so weird today.

"Yeah and if I get upset, I won't be able to focus on the booth." his tone is sad and it tugs at your heart for some reason.

"Well...if that's the case, I'll do it. For the sake of the booth."

He smiles triumphantly. "Right. For the booth."

The kid who usually sits next to you walks over and stands there awkwardly before he finds an empty seat somewhere else. You try not to laugh at how uncomfortable Renjun looks.     Class goes by smoothly this time, Renjun only bugging you every once in a while to compare answers on your worksheet. When the bell rings, you and Renjun walk to lunch together. He's talking to you about the Pythagorean theorem but you keep getting distracted by the odd looks people keep giving you in the hall.     You weren't used to getting this much attention. You're existence was pretty much irrelevant unless something happened with your rivalry and it was usually only gossip worthy if he had done something incredibly embarrassing to you. Renjun, being the top of the class and being friends with almost all the members in the the school sports teams on the other hand, was very popular. You couldn't begin to imagine the confusion you two were causing just by walking to into the cafeteria together. He was always the center of attention and much like Sadie, he was born likeable. It was easy for him to make friends and juggle the delicate balance of having a social life and performing well academically. You were a nobody compared to him and up until now you were fine with that. It was easier to focus on your studies without the distractions from others and what drama friendships with others would bring but you had to admit having someone to walk to lunch with was strangely nice.     Jisung is the first person to see you coming, a look of recognition crossing his face. Chenle was next; he smiles sending you a friendly wave. You say hello, sitting your tray down next to Jeno and Renjun sits on the other side of you.

"Hey, beautiful, what're you doing here?" Jeno asks.

You flush at the pet name. "I think as Renjun's partner, we should take advantage of the free time we have to work together."

"Oh god, you two are so much alike," Haechan groans.

"I think it's cute," Chenle beams.

Jaemin fake gags and everyone bursts into laughter except for you who didn't find it all that funny.

The laughter dies down.

"Will you be spending all of your free time with Renjun?" Jeno asks.

"Of course not," you wrinkle your nose at the silly question.

"In that case, would you like to go out on a date? How's tonight?"

You drop your carton of milk on the table that thankfully you hadn't opened it yet. You must've misheard him. You know the words he said to you and yet, you couldn't believe they were meant for you. Your stammer for words. Any words. But they don't come and the whole table is staring at you in anticipation.

"I...can't. I have practice after school and then I have to work on the booth. I'm sorry."

The boys "ooh" in unison like a bunch of fifth graders.

"It's not like that!" you scramble to fix your words. "We can go another day?"

Jeno's eyes disappear as he gives you the most heartwarming smile. You can't help but smile back at him.

Chenle clears his throat. "What do you think about that, Renjun?"

Renjun's picking at the edge of his foam tray when he shrugs. "I couldn't care less."

Chenle gives him a glare as if he's trying to convey some message to him but Renjun doesn't meet his eyes so he elbows the crap out of him.

"Argh!" he rubs his arm. "Fine. I admit I don't approve."

The table gets quiet. You and Jeno share the same expression of surprise.

Jeno juts out his chin. "Why not? And don't say she's too good for me."

"Renjun clenches his fists. "It'll distract __ from school and I don't think that's what she wants."

Jeno snorts. "It's just one date. I think she'll be fine. And when we do become a couple—which we will, I'll make sure of that—I won't distract from her school work."

"Yeah, but I don't think—"

"Plus, you used to have a girlfriend—what's the difference?"

The atmosphere tenses at the mention of Haven and Jeno looks sorrowful as the boys send him ferocious looks.

"Shit...I'm sorry. I didn't mean to--"

"When does practice end?" Renjun changes the subject.

You're still confused as to what's going on. "Who? Me?"

"Yes, you, dummy," he grins.

You ignore the fact that he just called you a dummy. "It ends at four but I can leave early."

"Mind if I come and watch?" Jeno asks.

"Sure!" you get excited at the thought of Jeno watching you play.

"No fair! I wanna come too!" Jisung exclaims.

Jaemin reaches out to pat him on the shoulder. "Absolutely not. You're not going anywhere near those girls, you pervert."

You crack up at the two, unaware of the concerned look Chenle's giving Renjun as he silently scribbles dark circles in his notebook.

-

You arrive to the school gym, hauling the equipment the coach had you fetch. The girls are all huddled in a circle, gossiping most likely. You set up the net and clear the court of the smelly matts that were left behind from a previous class. You could ask for help but you were sure no one wanted to.

You break up their little party after you get another text of instructions from the coach.

"Ladies, coach says she's not coming until the end of practice so we're starting without her. Let's start stretching, okay?"

The girls spread out and begin to warm up and you join them. Everyone's following instructions except for Haven, who's still standing in the same spot.

"Haven," you say in a warning tone.

"Why can't we just hang out until coach gets here? She doesn't have to know."

Her smile is innocent but you know there's nothing innocent about the girl.

Everyone agrees, the room filling with murmurs.

You already sense anger rising in your body. It seems like every time Haven opened her mouth, it was always to go against you. Maybe her and Renjun were the perfect couple after all.

"Guys, c'mon. If we slack off, we'll throw the next game and lose our winning streak."

"No way, skipping one day of practice won't cost us some measly game. You're being a little dramatic, don't 'ya think?"

"Some measly game?" you repeat.

"You don't even care about winning. Haven, you don't care about this team at all—why should any of us listen to you? I am captain of this team, in case you've forgotten."

"Oh god here we go again," she sighs. "That's just a title. That doesn't make you the boss of me."

"Oh, yes it does. I can get your ass kicked off the team with one word. Coach trusts me, all I have to do is say it. Should I have a chat with her when gets here?"

Haven gets as red as a tomato, her lips poking out in an ugly pout. You almost laugh at how childish she is. It was a mystery how people adore her so much when she's got such an ugly attitude.

"Since you all agree with Haven, let's do ten laps. C'mon."

Everyone gives Haven dirty looks as they get up and start their laps.

"Let's go girls, I'd like to get this over with so we can start practice." you clap your hands to speed them up. "And Haven? You get an extra ten laps."

Haven flips you off before she runs off but you don't really care. At least, she was listening to you for once. You hear a door slam upstairs and Jeno struts in, taking a seat at the back of the bleachers. He's smiling as he waves to you, giving you a thumbs up. You can't help but match his smile as you wave back.

When everyone's finished their laps and done their stretches, you split them into two teams. You're opposing Haven's team and boy, do they suck. They're losing embarrassingly bad and you're not even the one who's hitting the ball. One of your best players, Sana, was dragging the other team through the mud. Mina and Momo always made sure the ball got passed to her and when she swung her fists, the ball connected with the ground every time. Haven hated lots of things but you knew most of all, she hated to lose. This was the only reason you haven't kicked her off yet. She wasn't the best player—not even close—but she did like to win. You don't know what made her join the team in the first place but she did and she always tried to win when it really came down to it.

You switch positions on both sides, you serving the ball this time. You throw the ball up high, spreading your fingers apart as you raise your hand and slam your palm against it so hard, there's a loud thud that echoes through the gym. The other team throws themselves to save the ball but their efforts are in vain. The ball is too fast for them. Applause comes from the top right corner of the room and everyone turns to look at Jeno. You pretend you don't notice him, calling the ball back but your flushed face exposes you anyway.

Jeno whoops and cheers every time you scored a point, and let's be real, with the skills you have, that means it happens a lot. You never had someone who wasn't your parents or your coach cheer you on like this and it was something you found you really enjoy. You could get used to this. For a moment you let yourself imagine him attending your future games. Your stomach fills with butterflies and you could almost hear him calling your name when you dive to save the ball.

"Why's Jeno here?" Haven whispers to to one of her friends. "Since when was __ close to Jeno?"

You smirk, waving Jeno over after letting everyone take a short break. The two of you laugh and talk for a bit, ignoring the cold stare Haven's giving you in the distance. She was in a bitchy mood today and you weren't going to let that ruin your time with Jeno. Her witchy attitude has peaked since the first time Renjun invited you to his table. Maybe she was jealous. She probably was still hurting from the break up you assumed but that had nothing to do with you.

-

Jeno walks you to the track field where you find Renjun, who's already gotten a head start. His jacket is thrown over his bookbag and you take notice for the first time how toned his arms are with his sleeves rolled up. He looks up when hears your footsteps, the smile on his face slowly fading when he notices Jeno next to you.

"Oh great. What are you doing here?"

You laugh at his displeased expression. "He's just leaving, calm down."

"Actually," he interjects. "since I'm here, why don't I stay and help out?" Jeno proposes.

"Oh!" you let out an excited squeal you didn't know you were capable of. "That's great idea! Yes!"

"Absolutely not!" Renjun rolls his eyes. "Go home, Jeno. You'll just get in the way."

Jeno juts his bottom lip out and you have to keep yourself from swooning at how adorable he looks.

"Renjunie!" he whines. "I promise not to get in the way. Let me help?"

You give him pleading eyes behind Jeno's back. Renjun looks at you and grunts, muttering something inaudible as he starting hammering away at a slab of wood a little too hard.

"Yes!" Jeno takes off his jacket and gets to work.

"This is a one-time thing," Renjun declares, his back turned to the both of you.

"Right, right, got it," Jeno quickly agrees. "Let me help you with that," he runs over to carry the bucket of paint you were holding.

You watch him lug the heavy object to the table. "Oh, thanks, but I had it."

Renjun rolls his eyes again.

You find him repeatedly trying to get Jeno to go home as you work. Each and every time Jeno would laugh it off, calling him grumpy. You could tell his mood was off but you didn't want to bother him by asking why. He never told you those kinds of things anyway so why go through the trouble of asking? He never laughs when Jeno makes one of his famous jokes and he doesn't look at you when you speak to him. You wish he wouldn't be such a fun killer but he was almost always like this—even at parties, you've come to find out.

When you start to lose daylight, you decide to call it quits for the day.

"I think we can wrap up for now," you beam. "We're nearly finished thanks to Jeno."

Renjun's bag is already slung over his shoulder by the time you finish your sentence. "See ya."

"Yeah...I'll see you," you trail off as he sprints down the field.

"What's his problem?" Jeno asks aloud.

You shrug just as your phone starts to jingle that annoying ringtone you set it to over a year ago. You dig it out of your back pocket and read the caller ID. It's Sadie.

"Hello?'

"Hey! Listen, I'm so, so, sorry, I totally spaced about picking you up after school. I'm out with Jodie right now."

You can't help the displeased noise that comes from you at the sound of Jodie's name. "That's cool, I guess. I can just walk like I usually do."

"Are you sure? We can come and get you in about twenty minutes."

"We?  Yeah, no thanks. I promise, I'll be fine."

"I promised mom and dad I'd pick you--hold on. Jodie, I'm on the phone...what?"

There's whispering then a short silence on the other line and you give Jeno an awkward smile.

"Um, okay, be safe walking. Sorry again! Bye!"

Click.

"So, you're walking home today."

"Yep. My sister conveniently forgot about my existence, so yeah, I'm walking."

Jeno's eyes light up. "Do you live close by? I can walk you home."

Your chest fills with warmth at the gesture. Lee Jeno. You had Lee Jeno offering to take you home. Renjun's bad attitude had left a nasty taste in your mouth but hanging out with Jeno sweetened your day just like that.

Renjun had a way of hurting you in ways no one else could. You didn't know why what he thought of you was so important to you, or why everything he had to say held such a huge weight. He wasn't exactly someone you were very fond of so who cares what he had to say? But Jeno. Jeno always had kind and encouraging words. He was the safe band-aid you needed after being cut by Renjun's blunt words. His razor sharp tongue and eyes for daggers always stung but Jeno protected you. He defended you.

So you say yes to his offer and you make the bold move of linking your elbows which Jeno reacts with a subtle pink tint in his cheeks. Your pace is slow to lengthen the journey, allowing you a chance to get to know each other a bit more.

As time progresses, you realize you had liked Jeno more than you initially thought you did. School had always kept you from exploring your feelings for him. Now, it was clear as ever how you felt about him. You'd turn into a bashful mess at every single flirty comment he'd make, which would only fuel him to flirt harder. He made good company and you wished you hadn't have waited so long to speak to Jeno. You couldn't remember the last time you were this engaged in a conversation with someone--disregarding the one time with Renjun because he's a jerk.

If this is what it's like to have a friend, you had been missing out all these years. He made you feel warm inside like those cheesy rom-coms Sadie loved so much.

His arm was tucked snugly into yours, your steps matching in pace as you neared the street you lived on. You could smell the pleasant fragrance Jeno wore from the close proximity and it brought you back to the night you were drunkenly dancing together. You still couldn't believe you drank alcohol but then again, who lives by a code of conduct in high school? Who was going to punish you for acting your age for once? On second thought your parents would probably ground you for life but that's not the point. The point is you're starting to learn what fun is. If you can't be the best then what's stopping you from enjoying life while you're still young? Looking at Jeno in the stark red haze the sky is dawning on him made you want to do just that. He made you want to live a normal life.

You playfully bump each other, cracking jokes until you reach the driveway of your residence with hesitance. You weren't ready to depart just yet.

"Well," you remove your arm from his. "This is me."

"Aww," he sigh a little. "Well it was nice walking with you."

"Yeah, you too. I'd invite you inside but no one's home and my parents would crucify me if I let you in."

You hadn't realized it but in the few seconds you had looked away, Jeno had gotten closer. Really close. You feel a rapid heat spread all over and you struggle to keep a normal expression.

Jeno smiles before grabbing your elbow to yank you even nearer, his eyes studying yours as he speaks his next words to you carefully.

"Do you wanna kiss me?"

Your mouth goes dry and all you could do is nod, numbly.

He cracks another smile and you were instantly mesmerized by the way his lips curls over his teeth and the thought of how his lips would feel on yours. Your heart stills for a moment. You shut your eyes with baited breath as his lips gets closer to yours.

Slowly, very slowly he kisses you. It was an odd but welcoming feeling, kissing a boy. But you liked it. And you liked Jeno.

Jeno removes himself from you after a few amazing seconds. You're still incredibly close to him and you can tell he's tempted to kiss you again but he holds himself back.

"Text me?"

You nod, maybe a little too eagerly but you didn't care. The hot temperature of his lips left a lingering impression on you and you had a feeling you won't ever be able to rid yourself of the memory.

He holds up a hand before he jogs off down the pale path of the sidewalk, unintentionally leaving you with a mass of confused and excited thought and a small voice in the back of your brain that wouldn't shut up about Renjun and his recent odd behavior.

[ericsonclan]

Meeting Clementine

Summary: Kenny convinces Lee to give adoption a chance and brings Clementine to meet him for the first time.

Read on A03:

“So, how are you and Duck doing?” Lee asked as he handed his friend Kenny a beer.

Kenny let out a long sigh, taking a swig of the drink before answering. “It’s been some fucking year. Katjaa’s been out of the hospital two weeks now, but it’s gonna take a hell of a lot longer than that for her to really bounce back,”

“She’s a fighter,” Lee took a sip from his own beer, looking round the bar. “She beat cancer; she can make it through the recovery,”

“I sure hope so. We almost lost her back there, Lee. Raising Duck on my own…” Kenny shook his head. “I couldn’t imagine it,” He glanced over at Lee, then looked down at the table. “I heard about you and Claudia. Sorry I couldn’t be there when all of that went down,”

Lee shook his head. “There was nothing that could’ve been done anyway. Claudia’s moved out… and I’m stuck in that big house we’d planned to start a family in. It’s a weird feeling, being in such a huge place all alone,”

Kenny looked like he was about to say something, but then a voice crackled over the microphone. “Alright folks, it’s time for Mueller’s weekly Trivia Night to begin!” Nick, the host, shielded his eyes from the lights as he looked out into the crowd. “Hey, I see we have some familiar faces back after a long time! Lee, Kenny, good to have you back!” There was a round of applause from those in the bar who also recognized them. The pair raised their beers appreciatively. Six years of attending Trivia Night at Mueller’s and they’d never missed a week of it until this last year from hell. With Katjaa in the hospital and Lee’s marriage collapsing around him, it just hadn’t seemed like a priority. Now that they were back though, it felt like life was finally returning to normal in some small way.

“Alright, first question,” the mic crackled again. “Independence Day was first established as a holiday by Congress in what year?”

Lee’s hand came down hard on the buzzer. “1870!”

“That is… correct!” Nick rang the little triangle that dangled from the mic stand while his partner Luke manned the whiteboard that tracked the points.

Lee pumped his fist in satisfaction. Civil War history was his forte, but anything within American history was a good bet for him. He had history and literature covered while Kenny had the sciences down pat.

“Liver!” Kenny called out in response to the question “what is the largest internal organ of the human body”. Another ding from the triangle, another correct answer.

Lee shook his head in good-natured disbelief, taking another drink from his beer. He’d asked Kenny back when they’d met how he remembered so much random knowledge and Kenny had shrugged it off, saying his brain was like some sort of sea sponge, soggy and absorbing everything round it. Now they were back in the proverbial ring and he was still as sharp as ever, hand poised beside the buzzer, ready to strike as soon as the next question was given.

Things progressed smoothly throughout the rest of the night. They didn’t end up sweeping Trivia Night as they had for several weeks in the past, but they’d accrued a respectable score, keeping things close between them and their main competitors while everyone else lagged behind. Now it was dark out though, time to pack things up and head home.

“Lee,” Kenny started, “Before you leave, there’s something I was meaning to talk about with you tonight. Should’ve brought it up earlier, but there just didn’t seem to be a good time,” Lee raised an eyebrow. “Go on. I’m listening,”

Kenny fidgeted nervously with his trucker cap. “I know that before things went south with you and Claudia, the two of you were considering adoption. I was wondering if that’s something you’d still be interested in,” He raised his hands up. “Now of course, if this ain’t a good time for you, you can tell me to fuck right off. But there’s this one girl I’ve been trying to find a good home for for years now, and I think you two might be a good fit. She’s not a bad kid or nothing, it’s just that life seems to like kicking her when she’s down. Figured you could relate,” Kenny had been the one Lee and Claudia had approached with thoughts of adoption back when things were going well. Given his job as a social worker, they knew he could help them through the intricacies of the adoption process. However, they’d been looking into getting a baby. Lee wasn’t sure if he could handle that on his own.

“How old is she?”

“Just turned fifteen,”

Now raising a teenager was another problem in itself. Lee saw that Kenny had noticed the indecision in his eyes.

“I know, I know, it’s not an easy age to start with. Hell, Duck’s the same age right now and some days I think he’s worse than when he was a toddler. But this girl’s special. Kat and I were seriously considering adopting her ourselves before we got news of the cancer. I just want her to have somewhere safe to grow up at least till she ages out of the system. But it doesn’t have to be you if you don’t want it,”

Lee pursed his lips thoughtfully. “What’s this girl’s name?”

“Clementine,”

---

It was about a week later when Lee found himself in his kitchen, anxiously looking out the window as he waited for Kenny to arrive with Clementine. He had decided to give this a shot. He trusted Kenny’s judgment enough for this girl to deserve that at the very least. Lee still wasn’t sure if he was cut out to be a teenager’s dad, but if Clementine was as special as Kenny seemed to believe, then just maybe this could work.

He set down his coffee mug as he saw Kenny’s truck pulling into the driveway. Stepping out to his front porch, he gave an awkward wave before walking forward to greet them. Kenny hopped out of the truck, giving Lee a quick hug and patting him firmly on the back.

“You ready?”

“As ready as I’ll ever be,”

Kenny nodded, motioning to the young girl who’d just stepped out of the car. “Lee, this is Clementine. Clementine, Lee. I’m gonna head out for a few hours, give you two some time to get to know each other, then I’ll be back to pick Clementine up. You good, kiddo?”

The girl nodded noncommittally, looking around the outside of the house with a sort of jaded boredom.

Lee cleared his throat awkwardly, extending an arm to the house. “Wanna come in? I just make a fresh pot of coffee,”

Clementine nodded, following without a word. The kitchen was immediately to the left of the entryway. As Clementine took a seat, Lee searched for another mug. “Sorry there’s not much décor around the house. My wife and I had just moved here back when we were planning to start a family, but, well, things happened and now it’s just me in this big ol’ place without a clue about interior design,” Way to go, Lee. Telling this kid about your history as a sad divorcee is a great way to kick things off.

Clementine simply nodded politely, taking the cup of coffee that was offered her. Lee had a fleeing panicked thought as he wondered whether it was appropriate to give coffee to children. Then he remembered Starbucks was a thing. Shit, Lee, you’ve gotta calm down. She’ll smell your fear. Lee took a long sip of his coffee, watching Clementine. She seemed like a normal enough kid, though a bit closed off. On her head she wore a baseball hat emblazoned with a blue D. He wondered what it stood for. “You a baseball fan?”

“My dad was. He gave me the cap,”

Now that he looked more closely, Lee could see how worn out the thing was. Dirt and dust were caked over every inch of it, and maybe even a flew splatters of blood. The embroidery on the D was starting to come loose in one corner, causing the tip of the letter to curl out from the hat. The cap must mean a lot to her. “You know, Morgantown High has a pretty good baseball team from what I hear. The coach there used to be in the major leagues,”

“That’s cool,” She didn’t sound impressed.

Lee cleared his throat. “Have you had anything to eat yet? I should have run out and grabbed some sandwiches for us,”

“I had a granola bar,”

“Now that’s no sort of proper breakfast!” Lee walked over toward his fridge, searching for what he had handy that was healthy and fresh. It was pretty bare, just the basic like eggs, milk… Now wait a minute. Lee walked over to the pantry, rooting around in it for a minute before finding what he was looking for. He popped his head out of the pantry door to look at Clementine. “Any chance you’d be interested in making some pancakes with me? We’ve got eggs, bacon, O.J… we could make it a full on breakfast feast,”

Clementine’s eyes widened a bit at the offer. She looked pleased though. “Sure, that sounds fun,”

“Alrighty then! You get out the ingredients, and I’ll find us some bowls and pans,” With that they set off on their missions, Clementine assembling the milk, eggs and pancake mix while Lee banged around in the pots and pans drawer before finding something fitting. He wasn’t sure where any of the old cookbooks were (if Claudia had even left any), so they Googled a recipe and got started from there. As Clementine stirred the mix together, inspiration struck Lee. “You know what? Now that I think of it, I’m sure I have some bananas stored away somewhere. Do you like those in pancakes?”

Clementine nodded, a small smile playing at the corners of her lips. “Do you have any.. chocolate maybe?”

“As a matter of fact, I do,” Lee reached up onto the top pantry shelf. “It’s a bit musty, but that’ll cook off, right? Worth a shot,”

Clementine chuckled, taking a cup measure and ladling the first pancake onto the frying pan.

Lee cautiously plopped a few pieces of chocolate on top of the bubbling mass, watching it with curiosity. “Let’s see what else we can find that’d go well with pancakes, shall we?”

In the end, they found the bananas, a stray container of blueberries, some stale walnuts that Lee threw in with his own banana pancakes, and a few raspberries. Lee was worried there wasn’t any syrup, but Clementine took the initiative, bravely scouring the depths of his pantry until she found it. She plated the pancakes while Lee finished frying up the bacon. They sat down together once everything was ready, their mouths watering.

Lee watched in contentment as Clementine attacked her stack of pancakes. Damn, this girl could eat. It made him wonder if her last foster home had been feeding her enough. The sleeves of her shirt were pushed up to avoid getting syrup on them. He noticed a nasty looking scar sticking out by her left sleeve, but decided it was best not to ask about it. She also had a scar indenting her forehead, small yet noticeable. This girl looked like she’d been through hell and back. He could see why Kenny wanted to protect her.

“Do you… want to hear a little bit about me?” Lee offered. “I’m not super interesting. I work at WVU as a history professor, specializing in American history and the Civil War,”

“I like history,” Clementine responded through a mouth full of pancakes.

“Well, alright then!” Lee felt the history geek in him getting excited at the prospect of a new student to take under his wing. He started going through some of his favorite historical events: the Battle of Fort Sumter, Antietam, the Emancipation Proclamation and Juneteenth… Clementine listened with what appeared to be genuine interest, munching happily on her pancakes and providing surprisingly insightful questions from time to time. Lee found himself losing track of the time. He was genuinely surprised when he heard Kenny’s truck pull up in the driveway.

“So soon?” Lee’s face fell. He saw Clementine’s do the same, looking down at the table. Lee leaned forward conspiratorially. “Maybe if I invite him in for a cup of coffee, we can get a few more minutes. How does that sound?”

Clementine nodded appreciatively. “Yeah, let’s do it,”

Lee stepped out to meet Kenny as he made his way up the steps of the front porch. “Back so soon?”

“Soon? It’s been almost two and a half hours,” A smile crossed Kenny’s face. “I see the two of you hit it off then?”

“She’s a good kid. I can see why you’re fond of her. That foster home that she’s at right now, are they feeding her right?”

“Clem’s actually between foster homes right now. Her bag’s in the back of my truck,”

“You mean…”

“If you’d like, we can sign the paperwork for you to foster her starting today,”

Lee felt a rush of excitement run through his veins. “Alright, let’s do it,”

He and Kenny stepped inside, walking into the kitchen just as Clementine was finishing the last of her pancakes.

“Hi, Clementine. Have a good time?” Kenny asked.

Clementine nodded, but looked down as she got up. “Is it time to go?”

“Actually, Lee here was wondering if you’d be interested in staying. What do ya think, Clem? Would you like to stay here?”

Clementine’s eyes widened in disbelief. “Seriously?”

Lee nodded, a warm smile on his face. “You’re welcome for as long as you want to stay. There’s a guest room just down the hall. It’s nothing fancy, but feel free to move anything around in there however you like so you feel at home,”

Clementine seemed genuinely touched at his words. She looked away, clearly unsure how to react to such good news.

Kenny chuckled, tossing her the keys. “Go ahead and grab your stuff. I’ll get Lee started on the paperwork,”

Clementine caught them, bounding out the door before either of them could say anything else.

“Well,” Kenny placed a hand on Lee’s shoulder, “You’re a dad now. Or a surrogate dad at least. I wish you the best of luck,”

“Thanks,” Lee looked out the window, watching Clementine as she hurriedly grabbed her stuff. “I think it’s gonna be a really good thing. For the both of us,”

“I couldn’t agree more,”

[stemcellee]

In this post, I’m going to talk about the study methods that have worked for me and that I learned during my time at UCLA!

(see another post like this about being healthy here)

Short Term Productivity

Use a stickynote/index card and write a couple goals for today only. Don’t write too many or you will feel overwhelmed! Stick it on your laptop or planner or notebook (somewhere you will see it)

Have a whiteboard at your desk and write down things you need to remember (like a simple equation or some vocab)

While waiting for something (the bus, your coffee, the shower to warm up) have something to recite in your head (probably something you already know, but would like to reALLY KNOW)

When you read, try to tie big concepts to things you would remember easily (like acronyms or symbols) like for example i remember gen chem oxidation as OIL RIG: Oxidation is Loss (of electrons) and Reduction is Gain (of electrons) and I remember the first four unordinary hydrocarbons from Me Eat Peanut Butter (lmao): Methane, Ethane, Propane, Butane

Longer Term Productivity

Plan out your weeks!!! Plan when you will study on each day of the week and keep track of due dates

Make it a habit to do homework/assignments AS SOON AS YOU CAN (like right after you snack or something after classes)

Try not to think about how long you will study and rather think about the number of topics you will study

Don’t stop until you feel confident in your knowledge OTHERWISE YOULL JUST LOSE IT IT ALL 

Keep your notes organized because you never know when something is gonna bite you in the butt again in the future

Review everyday. Like, Serioouslyyyy. It helps a lot.

Read before going to bed instead of being on your phone for 400 hours :C I THINK ITS TRUE THAT THE STUFF YOU READ BEFORE BED STAYS WITH YOU BETTER BC YOU GET TO SLEEP ON IT

Try to keep your area quiet or have only white background noise because if someone is talking about the weather and you’re studying math, best believe you’ll only remember the weather

Reading a Textbook

Most of the time, you don’t need to read the introduction paragraphs.

Read the bolded titles to see what you will be getting into

Before class you can skim lightly!! It will help you not feel lost in class

AFTER CLASS you will now FOCUS YOUR READING ON WHAT WAS SAID IN CLASS because most of the time, class-covered topics ARE THE MOST IMPORTANT! save yoself some time!!

When reading after class, do NOT just read. If you go over something that makes you go ??? in even the slightest way, read it again to understand. Look it up. Do it in THAT moment because you’re gonna forget to do it later.

If you don’t wanna read the whole darn book because ur lazy (like me) or you are cramming, READ!! THE!! SUMMARY!!! 

The back of the book might have some seriously useful appendixes 

Try not to skip the diagrams and pictures lol they’re there for a reason

Taking Notes in Class

dont be on your phone or whatever during class time Like actually PAy attention because if you learn it now, you won’t have to try to learn it again later (you can be on your phone later)

Take down everything written on the boards FOR SURE because if the professor/teacher thinks it’s important to write it, you better think it’s important too

Be an engaged listener! Don’t let it slide straight thru ur head

Try not to scribble your notes so you can read it later

Make CLEAR HEADERS for the topics so you can find those notes quickly

Def make friends in class in case you miss something on the notes ://

Doing Practice Problems and Homework

Get yoUR HOMEWORK DONE FIRST OF ALL

Homework is seriously a great study tool because your instructor assigned that FOR A REASON (aka it’s prob gonna be tested on)

Try to know what you are doing before you start the homework so that you don’t feel lost as heck doing it

When doing practice problems, if you have the answers, don’t be afraid to look at the answer the first time around if you don’t know how to do it. IVE SELF TAUGHT MYSELF SOOOOO MUCH by just looking at the answer to a question.

DONT RELY ON THE ANSWERS THO

Don’t memorize how to do the practice problems, you should memorize the method of solving the problem and understand each step clearly (and understand WHY you do that step!!!) just in case the test pulls some funky stuff on you

The more you can do, the better. But don’t be sleepy and do them because you won’t really retain anything

Other Random Things

My organic chem professor actually did a funny study on sleep and test scores. He said on his final exam he asked “How many hours of sleep did you get last night?” 

and like obviously the more hours of sleep reported, generally the higher the student scored on the exam

SLEEEEPING IS GOOD FOR YOUR LEARNING

WHEN YOU SLEEP AND HIT THE REM CYCLE, YOUR BRAIN PROCESSES THE INFORMATION BETTER and it will really stay with you. So yall need to sleep. Don’t do the all nighters. You won’t remember anything

anyways like nike you should Just Do It

I hope you guys find this useful!! Remember that everyone has different needs and preferences, so take these tips as just tips and not rules!! Experiment with things, see what you like best, see what gives you the best scores. 

Good luck with everything~ thank you for reading!

[adotblog]

The One Who Always Made The Grade - Chapter 1

Pairing: LMM x Reader

Warnings: none?! Wait, did I write this??

Notes: Lin is workshopping ‘Heights while subbing at a college. Reader (a post-grad) is assigned as his TA. There are a thousand ‘Heights references, obviously and my Shakespeare geek is showing again. Started with a prompt (thank you, lovely lady), and now a 5-part monster.

I couldn’t think of a title, so...!

Words: 2872

Tags: @alexanderusnavilindelahamilton

——————————————————

You groan as you run your fingers through your hair. The room has been silent for half an hour or so as you both worked. You look over at the professor, then up at the clock. There are still another 15 papers to grade. He eyes the stack of essays. “We need more coffee.”, he says. “Definitely. I’ll go to Joe’s, Mr Miranda”, you say, getting up from the desk. “Please stop calling me that,”, he cringes “You’re not my student, Y/N”. “Sorry...Lin”, you say with a smile as you grab your bag and head for the door.

—————————————————

“He missed the point entirely?”, Lin asks, putting down his pen and looking across the desk you’re sharing. You have your head in your hands as you grumble. Lin laughs “Didn’t quite catch that, Y/N”. You straighten up and exhale with a loud sigh. Still you can’t stop your frustration leaking into your voice. “He’s lifted the entire quote, right to ‘I will be horribly in love with her’...and he just basically says ‘Benedick realises that to win, he must be more in love than her’”.

Lin grins, amused by your derision of his student’s work. “What would you have written?”, he asks.

You throw your hands in the air. “Maybe, just MAYBE, I’d have mentioned that there’s nuance there-that the actor can decide whether Benedick is newly introduced to the idea of loving Beatrice in this moment or that he could reveal that he’s always been in love with her, but in denial, for so many reasons-both sensible and foolish. Honestly, that’s high school Shakespeare-and he doesn’t get it?”. You stand and pace as you continue.

“MAYBE, I’d have realised that that isn’t even the best quote to focus on-that this play, this amazing play- which he clearly hasn’t read properly- has so many truly magical passages.”. You spin on your heel “Write about ‘I do love nothing in the world so well as you. Is not that strange?’- the stark beauty of the abrupt admission. Write about Benedick saying he ‘cannot woo in festival terms’, contrast their private, informal love with Claudio and...what?”. You stop-Lin is watching you, leaning back in his chair, arms folded and a goofy smile on his face. He shakes his head. “Nothing. I love your passion.”, he says simply.

“Well...The kid is butchering my favourite play, damnit.”, you sulk as you sit down. “You’re going to make a great teacher”, he says warmly, shocking you into a small smile. “Here, you mark this one”, he says as he hands you a different student’s paper. “She gets it”, he winks.

A little embarrassed now, you hand him the offending paper. “It’s probably not that bad, I…”, you mumble. “Oh I’m sure it is”, Lin says “Damn kid never listens to a word I say.”.

——————————————————

You check the clock- 10:30. These late night grading sessions have become a habit over the last few weeks. It’s perfect because this part of campus is so quiet at night-just professors who’ve holed away in their offices, the occasional grad student in search of a computer. Mostly it’s just you and Lin, and mostly you’re grading.

You also talk a lot. Sure, about literature. Or at least that’s how it started. Now it’s sometimes movies, or music, even campus gossip occasionally. He’s excitable like a puppy-boundless energy...until his caffeine runs out, anyway.

You look over at Lin now. His brow is furrowed as he squints at his email, clearly displeased at the content.

“Lin?”. “Yeaaaahhh.”, he answers distractedly. “How come you aren’t tenured somewhere?”, you ask. “You’re great, students really work for you...most of them anyway… how come you’re just doing this one semester?”. Lin sits back in his chair. “This isn’t my life’s work.”, he shrugs. You deliberately leave a silence for him to fill. He does. “I’m a writer...a playwright actually. At least, as soon as someone puts one of my musicals on, I will be I guess…”. He looks embarrassed.

“I love musicals. Wow, I’m going to be able to say I knew you when…!”, you say. He’s surprised by your reaction, and grins. “I hope I get good enough that you can…”, he says. “Anyway, I need to balance temp work to give me time to write, with earning money to pay the bills-that’s why I just sub.”. He looks a little weighted down by the admission, it’s clearly something he’s having to struggle with-ambition and failure, uncertainty. There’s no doubt in your mind that he’ll succeed.

“Make me a promise right now.”, you say impulsively, getting to your feet. He looks up at you as you stick your hand out across the desk. “I get tickets to opening night when you get to Broadway.”. He stands too, a slow smile creeping to his face. “Deal.”, he says softly. You return the smile, suddenly acutely aware that you’re effectively holding his hand. And neither of you has let go yet. You can’t be sure but you think you see his gaze flick down to your lips before he releases your hand, his expression awkward.

——————————————————

An instant message alert pings at your terminal.

Lin: These tests are a hot MESS. Are you free after hours?

Y/N: I finish at 5, can be with you by 6?

Lin: You’re sure? Don’t want to keep you.

Y/N: I’m sure. Bring coffee as payment.

Lin: Deal.

It’s just before 6 when you track him down to the rehearsal room at the very back of the building. “What the…?”, you question as you throw your bag on a chair. “I know. French department’s being fumigated, a bunch of them are camped out in our normal room.”, he complains.

You stand in the middle of the room, assessing the layout. Beaten old upright piano in the corner and a million plastic chairs. No desk, no whiteboard. “Aha!”, you exclaim as you dash across the room to the curtained off area. “What?”, Lin asks, having watched you the whole time. “Behind the curtain, there’s always a folding table.”, you say. “How can you possibly know that?”, he laughs. “Didn’t you ever do community theatre? There’s always a table so they can have committee meetings and feel important.”.

You pull back the curtain with a dramatic flourish. Puppet theatre. Wooden benches. Random bits of scenery. Trestle table. “Score!”, you yell and begin to manhandle it out of the recess. Lin runs to your aid, grabbing the other end. You walk it to the middle of the room where you do battle with the folding legs, both falling about laughing, and eventually get it standing. You pull over two chairs and start unpacking papers from the plastic crate Lin’s brought.

“Huh.”, Lin says as he sits down and opens his laptop. “What?”. You stack papers between you. “We’ve never been on the same side before.”, he says, looking over at your chair. “Umm, of the table. Desk.”, he adds and hands you a coffee. You smile as you take your seat next to him. “Always on your side, Lin”, you joke.

——————————————————-

You push open the door with your butt and reverse into the room with your coffee tray. Lin’s at the piano and plays clown entrance music as you struggle to keep the cups and bags from falling. “Cut that out or no cookies for you!”, you chastise. He comes to take the cups from you and places them atop the piano. He sits back at the keyboard. “I fancied a musical interlude for our coffee break”, he says.

“Like...karaoke?” you ask. “Ha, maybe. What’s your favourite musical?”. You unwrap the cookies as you answer. “Rent. No, Les Mis. No, Rent. Ugh, don’t make me choose things.”. He plays the intro to “A Heart Full Of Love” And you give him a death stare. “NO. Also, eww I’m not Cosette!”, he laughs as he keeps playing. “You’re Eponine?!”. You posture next to the piano. “Duh, I’m Enjolras!”. He laughs so hard he has to stop playing, nearly falling off the stool. You hand him a cookie. “So, cut to the chase.”, you say. He cocks his head to the side. “Lin, you’re at the piano, you clearly want to play me something from your musical”, you tease. “Get on with it.”. You lean your elbow on the top of the piano as he pretends to be outraged.

“Yeah you’re right.”, he concedes after approximately two seconds. He bites the cookie then hands it back to you. He chews super fast, hurriedly takes a sip of coffee and then says “This is called ‘In The Heights’”. He plays a bouncy melody on the keys. “I can’t sit still at all tonight…”.

He plays like someone living the melody. He inhabits the song, it’s just an extension of him. The song, by the way, is utterly charming. It’s a ballad, clearly a love song, but upbeat. It really feels like Lin. Halfway through the verse he looks you in the eye. “So take these dreams

And sing them back to me”.

You weren’t expecting to react to what he was going to sing. But as you hold his gaze and listen to the lyrics and he sings “Please come back to me”, you swallow thickly, wetness gathering at the corner of your eye. He hits the final chord of the song and for a second he just stares at the keys. He’s clearly in the emotion of it and it takes a second for him to slip back into himself. “Uhhh. It needs some more work and..”, he shuffles on the bench.

“Lin, it was beautiful.”, you say, aware there’s a catch in your voice. “You wrote that? You really wrote that?”. He smiles “Yeah.”. “Do you realise how good it is? I...I really am gonna see you on Broadway one day!”, you say excitedly. He smiles and gets up from the bench, heading back to the table/desk. “Break’s over”, he smiles. You chase after him. “No! I need to hear more! Do they get together?! Are they happy? Did you break them up?!”

——————————————————

From that day, you never go back to the old room. Instead you always use the rehearsal room for grading and lesson planning. You always plan a coffee break and it always happens at the piano.

You always ask Lin to play something he’s written. He always does-he is a natural show-off after all. You love everything he plays, he’s a genuine talent and his songs easily stick in your head so you find yourself humming snippets even when he’s not around.

——————————————————

“I believe Ms Y/L/N might have some thoughts on that”, Lin says from the whiteboard. Your head snaps up as all the students turn to look at you. Lin grins and beckons you to the front of class. You make your way through the desks, hoping the look you’re giving him accurately conveys your feelings about being put on the spot.

“Much Ado is an infinitely better love story than Romeo and Juliet...Go!”, he says and gestures like a starting pistol, jumping out of the way to give you the floor. You sigh. “Alright. I hope you’re writing this down I’m gonna test you later. First: Beatrice.”.

——————————————————-

“That was...unexpected!”, you scold him later. “Ahh, I’m sorry-but I knew you’d make the case so well”, he grins. You fold your arms. “You had them enthralled.”, he says, more serious now. You begrudgingly thank him “Don’t spring that on me again, though”, you say. “Couldn’t if I wanted to”, Lin says as he packs his messenger bag. “That was our last class together.”.

Oh. Right. He’s a sub, he won’t be back next semester...you’ll be someone else’s TA. You feel a little pang of you don’t know what. “But hey, we’ve gotta get through finals first”, Lin grimaces. “Oh god. Do you have a plan?”, you ask. Lin gets out his diary and you talk through when you can go over the content of the test and then grade it. “We need to post results early that Monday morning so really we need to work through the weekend-can you do that?”, he asks. “Sure. The rehearsal room?”, you ask. “Well, that room seems to be perpetually empty other than for you and me, so yeah.”, Lin chuckles. “I’ll bring the snacks!”, you say happily.

——————————————————

And so, two weeks later, it’s Saturday night and you’re both cross legged on the floor in front of 30 papers. You’ve laid them all out, trying to sift them into piles of great, good, not great and terrible. Lin sighs. “Honestly, Y/N, if you have somewhere to be-just go. Saturday nights should not be spent like this.”, he grumbles.

“Nah it’s fine.”, you shrug. The truth is you like his company. You look forward to your musical coffee breaks. “Then at least let me buy takeout or something.”, he says. “Lin I literally brought every snack there is, stop procrastinating.”, you say.

“Ugh, fine. How long til we said we’d take a break?”, he asks. “Half an hour-can you manage that?”, you ask sarcastically. He sticks out his tongue before going back to work. Exactly 29 minutes later he jumps up and runs to the bag of snacks you’ve brought. He throws you some gummy bears and rips open a bag of pretzels on his way to the piano.

“Alright what’ll it be tonight?”, he asks, playing a few chords. “Something by you”, you say through a mouthful of gummy bears. “You always say that. I ain’t your performing monkey!”, he jokes. “Please, you live for an audience-you’re everyone’s performing monkey!”, you laugh. He gasps. “How dare you. Ok this one is called Hundreds of stories-but it’s not finished yet.”.

He starts singing a tale of a guy looking for his place in the world. The theme is fairly unremarkable but his lyrics…”memories like dyin’ embers From a dream I can’t remember” strikes you so hard that you miss the next couple of lines. You can easily imagine how an actor will bring these songs to life on stage.

When he finishes you clap. He grins as he grabs another handful of pretzels. “Loved it”, you say. “It’s gonna be an amazing musical, Lin”. “I hope so”, he says. “Hey you should come next time we present it!”, he says excitedly. “I’d love that! Can I sing along?”, you joke. “Absolutely not! You couldn’t anyway…?”, Lin says. “Oh yeah?”, you clear your throat, make a big show of straightening your posture and looking out over the rehearsal room before singing “This is my street, my childhood esquina…”. You only know the first four lines or so but when you turn back to Lin he is grinning ear to ear.

“How’d you remember that?!”, he asks. “Lin you played me it twice and it’s been my ear worm for a month. It’s GENIUS.”, you declare. Lin looks both embarrassed and pleased. “Thank you.”. There’s an awkward pause. “I should go get coffee”, he says and trots over to the door.

——————————————————

“Agreed?”, you ask, as you both stand in front of the stacks of papers. He takes one last look. “Agreed!”, he says. “Yes!”, you holler. Lin leaps up and down, whooping, then throws his arms around you in a celebratory hug. It only lasts a second before he breaks away and starts piling the papers into his crate, but it takes you longer than that shake yourself back to his conversation. “...and honestly, they’re a good bunch of kids”, he’s saying. You nod and smile.

“Oh! Lin, I forgot I got a favour to ask you.”, you remember. “Sure, What?”. “Umm, well I’m applying for a couple of jobs here-night school teaching, that kind of thing….”. “Y/N, that’s great! You’d be great at that!”, he interrupts excitedly. You smile. “I just wondered if maybe you would give me a reference?”.

“Of course!”, he says “gimme your phone.”. You hand him your phone and he adds his number. “Just call me when you need something.”, he says. “Great, thank you!”, you say in relief. “No problem. Honestly, it’s been great working with you. You deserve to get a good position next year.”, he says warmly. You place your phone back in your pocket with a smile.

Lin picks up the crate as you check around to make sure you haven’t left anything. “That’s it.”. “Thanks for everything, Y/N”, he calls as he heads for the door. You stay rooted to the spot, a strange pit of disappointment in your belly that you don’t quite understand. “Wait, Y/N?”, Lin calls back through the door. “Yeah?”, you shout. He comes back into the room, balancing the box in the doorway. “Call me in a minute and hang up, so that I have your number too.”, he says with a small smile. You return the smile. “Sure.”. “Bye.”.

A few minutes later, as you head to your apartment, you call him and hang up after three rings. As you throw yourself down on your bed, your phone lights up.

Lin: Thanks. See ya around, Y/N.

See ya around.

——————————————————-

[ramblinganthropologist]

Inktober Day 28 - Gift

Summary: Ayame has a gift to help Ray and Vaughan do proper idol activities. It’s hard to get your own Aikatsu pass when you’re indy.

---

Monday; even in Japan, it was the worst day of the week.

“Stand! Bow!”

From her seat in the back of the room, Ray's back threatened to crack in two. She still wasn't too sure about this whole bowing thing – it seemed dumb to her. But it was Japan, and she wasn't a total asshole. When the class rep barked orders at the end of class, even she listened.

Class was over for the day inside the general education wing of Star Harmony Academy. Girls in green dresses with blue collars filtered out of their classrooms, heading to club activities or other obligations. Class 1-3 was no different. Once they were free to go, out they went.

Ray was the last among them. She took her time gathering up her books, grimacing at the day's attempt. Between her awkward hiragana – kanji was beyond her still – and doodles when she had lost focus, not a whole lot was going on there.

“Guess I might need to look at Mei's notes again.” The girl in front of her was no doubt being polite to the dumb ass foreigner, but her notes were a godsend. It wasn't as if she wanted to rely on them, but it was just so damn hard to pay attention in class, especially in her heavy uniform as spring warmed up around them. It be a miracle if she stayed awake at all come summer.

Really, though, she was stalling. The last thing Ray wanted right then was to go out into the hallway and expose herself to the girls of the general track. After what had happened on Saturday... she winced at the thought. No thanks.

That had been beyond a shit show.

Sighing, she eventually threw her backpack over her shoulders and left the classroom, entering the corridor that would lead her outside the school gates. Maybe it was just her imagination, but a few of the students whispered as she passed.

If it wasn't them, it was her goddamn teacher asking if she was going to transfer. No.

“Ray.”

It wasn't the voice that drew her attention. Rather, the person speaking hadn't tacked anything onto it. That was rare, especially at school. So, Ray broke out of her mini pity party and looked in the direction it was coming from.

Ok, clearly the whispers weren't for her at all. Good to know.

“I think you're on the wrong side of school, Ayame.”

Her stepsister's school shoes and the bright pink bow made that more than obvious. She stuck out like a sore thumb on this side of the campus. Among her idol classmates no one would have batted an eye but this was an entirely different country practically. One with more practical shoes, for that matter.

Then again what did Ray know about that, her street shoes were combat boots.

Ayame had been standing by the classroom door, no doubt creating quite a scene. Really, it was a wonder Ray hadn't noticed her. Maybe it was the warm weather. Either way, her stepsister wasn't in the practice room, and that was weird.

She normally didn't leave that on school days til practically 7 unless she had a job in town. What gives?

“I needed to talk to you about something. Could you come with me?”

Oh... shit.

If this was about transferring, Ray didn't want to hear it. Still, she fell in line behind Ayame as the older girl started walking. Together, the pair went from the general education side of the school towards where the idols had their classes. There was no official line in the sand to mark them off, but even so. It felt different.

It kind of felt like she was invading as she crossed over.

“How was class today?” Ayame's tone was polite as they walked through the corridors of the idol section. As Ray looked in the door, she saw girls in track suits practicing their moves or going through other lessons in the practice areas. There was nothing like that on her side of the school – they didn't really need it. “Is it getting easier to write in hiragana?”

“Yeah... kanji's still kind of hard though. I don't get stroke order for shit.” She looked around frowning. “Ayame, if this is about transferring classes, I already said I wasn't interested. Besides, I'd break my neck in those shoes.”

Seriously, who made heels part of a school uniform? It had to be idol hazing – everyone else got nice, normal shoes that slid on easy. Those looked like torture devices, especially since the idols had to wear them all day. Forget about it.

Her stepsister didn't break stride as they kept walking. “First off, you'd be surprised how quickly you can adapt to them if you wear them all the time.”

She would rather not.

Ayame wasn't finished though. “Wait here, I'll be right out.”

They stopped not at some administrator's office, but at a small room that Ayame entered after briefly making herself known. It was hard to hear what she was talking about through the thick wood, but the glass gave a pretty good view. She was talking with some adult who was at a whiteboard covered in multicolored writing. Something about Sakura Sensation maybe?

“Guess that's her manager.” Ray had never met the woman, though she had heard about her over dinner. She was pretty sure that was Suzuki, but it wasn't like she was being introduced to her or anything. “Wonder what's up?”

She froze briefly when the woman looked straight at her through the glass, back snapping ramrod straight with such a ferocity she swore they'd be able to hear it crack all the way back in Amarillo. Luckily, nothing was broken – just her pride was a bit bruised.

Ayame came out a few moments after that, closing the door behind her. From the looks of things, they weren't stopping to chat. That was fine by Ray as she fell in step behind her stepsister – introductions could lead to other things, like pink bows and heeled school shoes. Besides, she had once been told she had a problem with authority.

No idea where they got that from.

“Something up?” Ray asked when they got away from the production room. They had stopped at the small outside area where the fountain could be accessed by both classes. There was a free bench, so that's where they wound up. Much to her surprise, she swore she could feel a tension in the air.

Her stepsister didn't answer at first – she was too busy sorting through small cards, dividing them up into two neat piles to her right. Whatever she was working with, it was like she handling some holy book. There was love in her touch, almost outright devotion.

… Well, shit. What the fuck had she done now?

Ray had never been good at waiting for things. Twitchy, her grade school teacher had said when they were being polite. Outright asshole was what the less polite ones had gone for. She wasn't a patient person, and it was showing now. It took everything in her not to get up and look, and even as she remained seated the urge was there. But somewhere a teacher got its wings as she stayed in her seat and for once in her goddamn life, didn't open her mouth.

Wouldn't her mother be proud?

When Ayame had finished, she scooped up one of the piles and sorted it again. Then she turned to face Ray. Finally, she handed the small stack over, a smile flitting across her face. The second pile she kept in her hands, probably for safe keeping against the wind.

“What's this?” Ray glanced down and blinked in surprise. At the top of the pile was a shiny pink card with a diamond to the left and her name in katakana to the right. It was held in a little pink carrier, much like the one Ayame kept on her schoolbag. “Wait, this looks like your-”

Aikatsu Pass. It was an Aikatsu Pass – hers.

Wordlessly, Ray put the pass and holder aside. Underneath were four cards, each of them depicting an article of clothing. Unlike Ayame's, they weren't branded with anything other than a spade for the cool type, but she didn't need that. After all, she had worn the exact same outfit on stage, give or take a few modifications by whoever had seen fit to make it.

Seeing her stepsister's face, Ayame filled in the details. “Suzuki-san helped me make the coord cards and fill out the information for your pass. Vaughan's stuff is over here. I hope he doesn't mind his pass is pink – we only have that kind here.”

She kept on, still smiling. “You have the Aikatsu app on your phone, right? If you scan the QR code you can put your coord in there so you can keep your cards in a binder.”

“Uh... yeah.” Ray swallowed hard, suddenly finding it a little hard to do so. Allergies, maybe? “I mean... thanks. You didn't have to do this.”

With her own pass and cards, she technically had all she needed to be an official idol. Unlike the last time, now she and her partner could access the Aikatsu system and the illusion stage. There would be no more standing in front of a blank screen in front of an audience used to that sort of thing. If they chose to, they could work the system the same as any other idol.

Because... well... they were technically idols now, weren't they?

Ayame shook her head at the gratitude. “I did, really. You two didn't stand half a chance against Pure Palette without passes or coords. It's amazing you scored as well as you did.”

She handed Ray Vaughan's pass and cards and the two shared a gaze. For the first time, Ayame didn't look annoyed with her. Rather, there was something almost like pride. Was she proud of her? That wasn't exactly something the younger girl was used to, and she quickly averted her eyes as her face heated up. So much for being a tough guy.

“Yeah, I know it was a shit show. You don't have to bring it up.”

Her stepsister giggled at the reaction. “Sorry, didn't mean to bring up any bad feelings. You'll get them next time.”

She stood, looking towards the practice room. “I have to get back to my lessons, but I'll see you tonight at home. Tomorrow I'll show you and Vaughan how to use the system.”

Great, because it made no fucking sense to Ray – bunch of buttons and weird light shit that popped up out of nowhere. If someone who understood it was willing to show them the ropes, they'd take it. Besides, they had practice at her school tomorrow anyway.

Before she left, Ayame ha one last remark. “Put them away before you lose them.”

“Yes, mom.” Ray's voice was thick was sarcasm as she slid both the cards and one of the passes into the front pocket of her schoolbag, zipping it tight. “They're in my front pocket.”

Well, that fuzzy moment was over – her sister disappeared, leaving her alone with her thoughts and pass. In her hands, it looked so small. Yet as it reflected the light and showed her name spelled out so neatly in katakana  -neater than she could ever write it – a funny feeling took her over.

Instead of shoving it into the pocket of her backpack, Ray threaded it through the zipper. Then it was on her back as she headed not for home, but for her partner's school. They had practice planned for that afternoon, though it was scheduled to be more of a performance overview.

Maybe the cards would brighten their moods. After all, it wasn't every day you got a gift like that.