#i gave her soda because i felt bad

[boatemboys]

Sorry I browse the Tumblr "following" tab like never and I keep forgetting to check your blog for all your awesome takes. Anyway can you post that spiralling Jimmy you drew. please. puppy dog eyes. I can't do those as well as you though fuck. nvm die (unless you post the Jimmy art)

i. edited her to make her postable. shes doing great now 🎉🎉🎉

[alittlebitofloveliness]

Misogyny in the fandom: let's talk about it

Not gonna lie, the level of interalized or even just blatant misogyny in this fandom is really disheartening sometimes. There is already VERY few female characters in the book, even fewer with speaking roles, and yet I see all of them being hated on in some way. People hate on Cherry for standing up for herself when Dally was harrasing her, and for not seeing Johnny in the hospital, which bullshit to begin with but also, you can't tell me that if the roles were reversed and Cherry sat down behind Dallas and starting talking about how stupid and classless greaser boys are, and Dally threw a coke at her, that the fandom wouldn't love him all the more for it. People hold her to this impossible golden standard, expecting her to literally be perfect instead of a conflicted and grieving teenage girl, when they embrace the flaws and give a lot more grace to much more violent and 'bad' male characters. It's a very 'boys will be boys' and 'girls mature fatser so they should know better' double standard that I really can't stand. Marcia gets a level of the same treatment, with people occasionally calling her vapid or shallow when the book makes it clear she and Two-bit actually really hit it off, and the number she gave him being fake was only Two and Ponyboy's speculation. But I digress. Moving on.

Misogyny and classism intersect when it comes to the few female greaser characters we get a little insight on. So many people LOATHE both Sandy and Sylvia because they're cheaters, but honestly, how is cheating worse than stealing? (And don't pretend they steal because they need to survive Ponyboy makes a point of claiming Two-bit doesn't really need or want half the stuff he shoplifts) How is it worse than jumping little kids? How is it worse than sexually harassing girls? How is it worse than the plethora of immoral or illegal activities the greaser guys partake in? If we're being 100% honest, it isn't. "But-but Sandy cheated on Soda, who really loved her". Yeah, she did. That was shitty of her, I'm not defending that, but she was also a sixteen year old girl in a tough situation she was trying to navigate the best she could. She could have lied and told Soda it was his and trapped him in a marriage raising a kid he definitely couldn't afford if she wanted to- but she didn't. Hell, she told him the truth and he was still ready to do that and she wouldn't let him. I don't think those are the actions of a completely terrible person, I think they're the actions of a scared kid who did some shitty things, but is trying her best and trying to do better. At the VERY least they're the actions of a multifaceted character who deserves the same level of grace and insight afforded to the male characters. (If anyone wants to read more of my thoughts on Sandy and her narrative importance, I have a post here). There's also something to be said about the poor 'greasy' girls facing harsher vitriol than the soc girls, and while part of it is because of Ponyboy's biased narration, it's clear to see that readers very much took his views at face value. Soc girls are 'good girls' and have to be perfect to deserve credit from the fans, but greasy girls are 'trashy' so it's ok for them to be judged and shit on. Spoiler alert: it isn't.

Sylvia is similar to Sandy in that her cheating and 'loose' behaviour earn her a lot of hate, which again, I'm not defending her cheating, but we need to give her the same analysis and benefit of the doubt given to Dally. Dally is NOT a good person. Ponyboy says this and makes it clear plenty of times. He's a hurt character, so we can explien why he is the way he is, but he isn't a GOOD character. he values loyalty, so he never cheated on Sylvia, but it's clear based on how he treats Cherry and casual comments he makes that he doesn't really respect women. I can't imagine Sylvia's experience dating him was one where she felt very adored. Again, not an excuse for cheating, but I can understand WHY she'd try and take back power within a dynamic and a society where she never had any, and I don't want to vilify her for that. She's also a poor woman growing up in the sixties- the book makes it clear life is hard enough for poor guys griowing up at that time, but it was probably equally if not more hard for poor women. I think, like the gang, she does what she had to to survive. If you can understand why the gang does bad things, and still be humans who can be considered good, you can extend the same understanding to Sylvia (and Sandy.) I think people need to also keep in mind that everything we know ABOUT Sylvia (and the rest of the female characters) we know from Ponyboy, a fourteen year old boy who's narration is INCREDIBLY biased and who doesn't have the full details of any of the relationships in the gang. Ponyboy sees Sylvia and Sandy as these terrible, loose women who have hurt people he cares about, so a lot of the fandom does too, but it doesn't change the fact that by doing so you're accepting and embracing Ponyboy's internalized misogyny and making it your own.

Anyway, I don't think I'm articulating this as well as i want to, and i spoke a bit more about this in this reply to one of the posts on the confessions page, but yeah, I just wish people could accept that fact that if they bend over backward to find ways to defend or explain immoral actions from male characters, but refuse to even attempt to do the same for female characters, they've probably internalized a bit of misogyny they should maybe work on.

[winstonsns]

the gang when they’re jealous (request)

authors note: i’m sorry i accidentally posted it a little bit ago! i wasn’t done but now i am :3 i couldn’t find the image of the request but yeah it was requested 💗

includes ponyboy, johnny, soda, darry, dally, two-bit and steve

word count: 2.1k

warnings: blood, cussing, fighting, jealousy, insecurity, harassment

PONYBOY CURTIS

the two of you were at school, dissecting a squid in your science class

you and ponyboy were partners, and knew exactly what to do with the squid, even without instructions

then one of your classmates came up to you, asking “hey, y/n right? you uh, seem pretty smart. you already took apart the squid without any instructions, huh?”

ponyboy looked towards him, already seeing your attention was on your classmate

“oh, uh, yeah! it was mostly ponyboy though, he’s really smart!” so you smiled at your boyfriend, and gave him a kiss on the cheek

but your classmate kept persisting and giving you compliments, even flirting with you at times

ponyboy finally sighed and suggested, “hey, how about you go back to your desk.. seems like your partner needs help.” looking around, the classmate saw all the others dissecting their squids, while his was still put together

normally, when he’s jealous, he’ll try to make a distraction so he can pull you away or get someone else to leave

when you’re talking to someone important, ponyboy will stay close but won’t barge into the conversation

JOHNNY CADE

once, the two of you were at the drive in, planning to watch a cute romantic movie together

a guy tried to flirt with you, telling you that you look beautiful and you’re outfit is tight and looks real nice on you

you thanked him but told him to stop, many times, even though johnny was on the other side of you

eventually, when the man wouldn’t stop harassing you, johnny told him “hey, why don’t you just stop talkin’ to her? she told you to go away, man..” and shook his head in disappointment

he didn’t like him talking to you, and hated him more when he knew you felt uncomfortable

the man asked him, “who the hell do you think you are, hood? no reason why she’d wanna date someone like you—“

before he could continue, johnny tapped you, motioning to get up

the two of you walked to the car, and you said “thanks, honey.. too bad we didn’t really get to enjoy the movie though..” and he suggested the two of you would stay but at a distance from the man

johnny stayed close to you in a protective way, always checking your surroundings to make sure you were safe

but when you talk to someone important, or you’re catching up on life, he won’t do anything

he loved you, and even if he was jealous, he had to respect what you wanted

so if you wanted to talk to someone, he’d let you talk to them, sometimes because he’d know you were looking forward to it

he just doesn’t want either of you to get hurt, so he’ll try to always be nice, even when confronting someone

SODAPOP CURTIS

you were on your break at work, at a restaurant

your boyfriend, soda, came to visit you so the two of you sat down at a booth and ate a meal for free

then a guy stupidly came up to you and asked you for your number, saying you were very attractive

you looked at him, confused, side eyeing soda in a ‘who does this guy think he is’ way

you said, “um, no.. sorry. i have a boyfriend, if you couldn’t tell.” but the man wouldn’t stop talking to you

he sat down next to you, starting to eat some of your fries, making you lose your appetite

you kept moving away, and he put his arm around your shoulder, eyeing you up and down

it got to soda, he didn’t like how he was talking to you, “okay, we’re done here.” and he looked at your boyfriend

“leave.” he said, and the guy didn’t listen

“you better fucking leave.” deepening his voice and glaring at the man, putting a sense of fear into him, and even into you

he put his arm back to his side and got up from the booth, eyeing both you and soda, not saying a word but walking away

“you okay, baby?” he asked, and you sweetly answered with a “yes, thank you soda.. i love you.”

he said “i love you too.” and flashed you a genuine, beautiful and handsome smile

he was glad the man listened to him, because if he didn’t, he would’ve beaten the man up, but didn’t want a lecture from his older brother darry

your boyfriend really didn’t want to worry about you, but he couldn’t help it

he loved you too much to not worry, and he knew you understood all his feelings, not a lot of people did

he appreciated that about you, and ever since you understood, he never wanted to lose you

you were the only person he felt like he really loved

DARRY CURTIS

the two of you were at a restaurant, on a date when the waiter tried to hit on you

darry isn’t uncomfortable with telling you or someone else when he doesn’t like what someone’s doing, so he tells you and the man that he wants him to stop

so he tells the waiter, “hey uh, this is my girlfriend and i’d appreciate it if you’d stop… flirting with her.”

he listens since darry has big ass muscles, and he doesn’t want to get beat up

normally, he’ll politely ask the person who’s flirting with you if they could stop

if you’re talking with someone, simply catching up or talking about something important then he’ll leave you alone

he knows you can get frustrated if you can’t finish a conversation that’s important, so he lets you do your thing

unless you want him to help you get out of the conversation

he doesn’t want you to get emotionally hurt or feel bad if you’re talking to someone, so he always tries to talk to others politely, no matter if they’re being rude or not

if a guy is harassing you though, he would first tell the man to stop, if he doesn’t then he might get into a fight with him

just enough to get him to stop being creepy with you, but not enough to get him into legal trouble

DALLAS WINSTON

he’s normally not comfortable showing pda but will make an exception if some guy is flirting with you

but the two of you were in a bar and a random guy came up to you and was making suggestive gestures to you

he kept flirting with you and trying to get close to you, but you kept moving away

you were clearly uncomfortable with the way he was acting, but didn’t know what to do, you were afraid he’d hurt you if you rejected his advances

dally glanced over to you and saw the creepy guy was talking to you, and how you were uncomfortable and kept looking at his direction

he was jealous another man was talking to you, but was worried about if you’d be safe or not

so he walked over to you, already glaring at the man who was harassing you

he wrapped his arms around your waist and started slowly kissing your neck, mumbling “hey doll, who’s this..?” and looked at you in a loving manner

dally then looked at the man, and glared hard at him

the man saw the shine in dallys pocket, knowing it was a switchblade

but he could care less, and kept flirting with you

dally lost it when the man said “how about we go to my apartment baby, bet you’d like it if i-“

your boyfriend let go of you and grabbed his hair, bashing his head into the counter, breaking his nose in the process, punching him repeatedly, blood dripping down his face

“you ever talk to my fucking girl again and i’ll break both your fucking arms too.” he whispered into his ear

he then threw the man to the side, onto the ground and wrapped his arm around your shoulders

“thanks dal,” you mumbled “that was a lot though… i think you broke his nose..” you looked back and people were staring at you two

he knew he wouldn’t get in trouble, and led you upstairs to his room, wanting you two to go to sleep

if dally is jealous but the person he’s jealous of isn’t harassing you, just talking, then he’ll most likely walk up to you and the person you’re talking to, then will stand behind you protectively and say to you “hey sweetheart, uh, i need to talk to you for a second.”

so he’ll pull you away from the person and the two of you will talk about something random, because he didn’t need you to talk to you, he just wanted you away from the other person

however, if it seems like you’re talking about something very important or a close friend you haven’t talked to in a while, he won’t bother you

he really tries not to show the fact that he’s jealous but it’s really obvious

TWO-BIT MATTHEWS

the two of you were at the drive in, going together to watch a new movie

you liked horror movies, meanwhile two-bit liked comedy movies, and was obviously into comedy himself

after the two of you sat down, a man came up to you and started talking to you

you didn’t say much since you were trying to watch the movie, but he wouldn’t stop talking and your boyfriend started to get a little jealous

eventually, two-bit talked to the guy and said, “hey, man i think my girl wants to watch the movie. you can maybe talk after but please… just some quietness ‘til after the movies done?”

the man stared at your boyfriend for a bit, gave a quiet “okay” and nodded, walking away from the two of you

“thanks, keith” you mumbled, and he nodded, putting the popcorn in between your laps

both of you continued paying attention to the movie, and your boyfriend forgot about the whole encounter with the man

but if he sees you laughing because of another guy, he’ll probably get more jealous than how he would if a man was just naturally talking with you

like, he loves to make you laugh and gets a little sad when another guy makes you laugh, especially if you laugh harder than when you do with him

he’ll try to outdo the guy by telling you jokes too

STEVE RANDLE

the two of you were at the store, planning to buy groceries

then you ran into a friend from middle school, who just so happened to have a crush on you all those years ago

“y/n, gosh is that you?” the man said, and you replied with, “oh, sorry… i don’t remember you, remind me who you are?”

he responded with his name and you remembered him, how the two of you got along and were friends up until he started treating you like crap, all because of the fact he liked you

you told steve you had to talk to an old friend, so you gave him a kiss on the cheek and walked towards your old friend

the two of you just wanted to talk, and he didn’t like you anymore, so you wanted to catch up with him

the way he kept laughing at your jokes made steve a tad bit jealous, but he knew he had to trust you

but he couldn’t help but get warm, not in the good way, in a jealous way

so he walked over to you and said, “who you talkin’ to?” and you looked at him and responded with, “oh, this is my friend from middle school! we went to different high schools, so we lost contact.”

your old friend smiled at him and introduced himself and said, “oh, cool. is this your boyfriend?” and steve replied with “yeah, been together for nearly a year.”

so when you and your boyfriend left the store, the two of you got into your car and drove to steve’s house to drop off the groceries

he would get insecure at times, thinking you’d leave him when you found someone better

he’d disguise it as jealousy, but wouldn’t confront you about talking to other people if he was jealous

the most he’d do is talk to soda about it, but he wouldn’t burst out at you or get mad at you for talking to other people

authors note: sorry for taking a while! i have 4 other requests in my inbox so im working on those too. sorry for making you wait!

[am-i-the-asshole-official]

AITA for tossing a drink?

I (F22) don't drink alcohol: I don't like the taste of it, I was hangover once and I didn't like it at all and there is a large history of alcoholism on both sides of my family so I don't want to tempt fate.

My friends (F21, M22, F23, M23, F24 and M25) have all asked why I don't drink and I have been honest to all of them on my reasons and most of them have been pretty understanding NGL but there is this one friend (F24) who has made it her "duty" on getting me drunk. I didn't know her reasons why until last night.

So, last night we were at M25's apartment, we had decided to make a get together and talk about everything and nothing ans just have a nice time. We all brought our drinks, they had bought alcohol which was cool I don't mind then drinking they are all very responsible.

We were chatting the night away with some pizza and drinks and everything was nice actually. At this point, everyone was still sober and I decided to excuse myself to go pee. When I returned, I took a sip of my soda and inmediately felt the taste of alcohol. I stood up, gave the drink to F21 to hold for me and went to the bathroom again where I spit the soda I had in my mouth.

When I returned my other friends were puzzled. I immediately asked who had spiked my drink. At first, nobody believed my soda was spiked until I asked F21 to try it. She confirmed it had alcohol.

I repeated my question. And F24 confessed that it had been her because she wanted me to let loose a little bit. I gave her my most disgusted look, asked for F21 to return my drink which she did and I tossed the soda down the kitchen drain in front of everyone.

F24 got mad because I was acting like a complete asshole but when I asked her if I was an alcoholic in rehab would it still be fun to get me to spiral back in. She got silent. Her next argument was that why I wouldn't just trade my drink with someone else, I answered that nobody besides me had brought non alcoholic drinks so it would have been a losing situation for me.

Then I asked my other friends how could they not have noticed she spiked my soda, they said they just didn't notice they were chatting which fair we were in a very safe space. F24 was trying to get our other friends to take her side but nobody was backing her up everyone thought that it was a dick move of her to do that.

She then started acting up as if she was the victim here, gathered all of her things and stormed off.

We carried on with our night but for some reason I felt guilty about it. My friends say that it's completely not my fault and that I stood my ground in a very respectful way but I still feel bad for ruining the night. They reasured me it wasnt ruined and we kept our day.

I woke up today still feeling as if I was the one I did something wrong, I spoke with everyone except F24 and everyone is telling me not to overthink it and that the one that deserves an apology is me but I'm still thinking I could have approached the situation better.

So AITA?

What are these acronyms?

[sparklingcid3r]

the gang pre- the book. like when darry and soda were in high school and pony was in elementary school. just their life before their parents died and what plans they had before that happened

Ooh I’ve never even given it much thought, but this was actually so fun to think abt

For reference, Darry is a high school senior (18), Soda is a high school freshman (14), and Pony is in middle school (12)

- Darry is pretty much never home except for when he’s getting ready to go out. You can tell who he’s hanging with based on what he’s wearing, and Soda will clown on him so hard if he’s brushing his hair back and getting all dripped out

- The madras shirt Paul got him is Darry’s favorite, that shit goes hard at the function and they both know it

- Pony has always thought Soda was the hottest manliest babe magnet but at that point he thought Darry was just the coolest person in the world. He would brag about his brother being a senior in high school, having a scholarship to go play football in college, all the parties he goes to, etc

- Pony and Soda were always closer though. Darry ran with a different crowd, not only socially, but also the age difference. Darry would listen when Soda talked about his own friends, but he just didn’t really care about the freshman class

- Some nights when nothing was going on, Darry would drag Soda and Pony out of bed and throw them in their dad’s truck, tell them that if they snitched he’d beat their asses, and took them to empty lots to take turns spinning donuts with the windows down

- In school, Darry absolutely shoulder checked Soda into lockers before messing up his hair and telling him if anyone gave him shit, to come to him

- Soda never had any problems, he was Sodapop, but his brothers were always the one thing Darry didn’t play about, Soc status be damned

- Soda and Darry were two different kinds of popular in school. Soda was the class clown, never taking shit serious, but he was greaser popular. He didn’t eat lunch in the caf like Darry did

- A fic from one of my fav authors is abt Soda and Darry at a party and Soda gets into a fight, and Darry finishes it for him, and when they get home their Dad chews Darry out but Darry doesn’t throw Soda under the bus and yeah I agree 100%

- Soda was the first person to actually meet Johnny, because the crumpled up paper asking a girl for her digits landed on Johnny’s desk instead and he read it before Soda could get up and apologize. Johnny just turned around and stared at him

- Whenever the gang got together with some drinks and burgers or something, Soda’s helping Pony find out what kind of alcohol he likes and giving his recs and also telling him not to say shit to their parents

- Pony and Soda aren’t allowed to smoke around Darry, he doesn’t fw second-hand smoking because of football. If someone grabs a lighter and a cig he’s pulling up talking abt “If you light that I’m putting it out on your face”

- There was one night where Soda was out with Steve (already against their parents’ word) so Darry had to babysit Pony. Darry was pissed and Pony just felt bad. They didn’t even have a car to drive around in, so Darry taught Pony how to throw a punch

- “Omfg stop tucking ur thumb in unless u wanna break it” “like this?” “what the fuck are u doing w ur pinkie”

- A few days later Pony comes back from school with a fat lip and two-days detention, but he tells Darry a girl called him cool after, so. Score

That’s all I got right now, but this was def sm fun! I don’t know if they ever really talked about future plans, in my head they were all just kind of living in the moment. Tysm for the ask!! Curtis brothers u will always be famous🫶

[vioartemis]

In another life (Tara's version)

(Tara Carpenter x fem! reader)

Summary: You're Tara's childhood best friend, and years after leaving Woodsboro, you meet her again in New York, making unexpecting feeling emerge. Tara || Sam Warnings: none a/n: I made another one shot, kinda complementary of this one, with Sam :)) I put the link up there if you're interested (English isn't my first language, I'm sorry if there are mistakes or if something doesn't make sense TvT)

She had known you for as far as she could remember.

You were her neighbor, back in the days. That gave you the opportunity to see each other a lot, to play together.

That also gave your parents the opportunity to hire Sam as your babysitter, which meant you could see Tara more because you rarely saw one without the other.

You both enjoyed your time together, to the point Tara even had a crush on you during the last years you saw each other.

Sadly she never got to tell you about it, as you left with your parents the same year Sam ran away.

You said you would try to stay in touch, but it never really happened.

And now, almost 6 years later, you were about to meet again.

Tara and the rest of her friends just left a party , right after Sam barged in and tazzed some dude in the balls. The Carpenter sisters were fighting in the middle of the road, when a random girl threw her soda at Sam.

Half of the group tried to get the girl while the other held them back, trying not to cause too much drama. They didn't see it, but one of the girls was filming the whole thing.

Luckily for everyone, you did see it. You were actually going to that party, and saw the whole scene from afar. You didn't like that kind of attitude at all.

So when the girls walked passed you, you grabbed the phone of the one who was filming, and deleted the video before she could post it.

They all gave you horrified looks, like you did the most horrendous thing.

"That's called karma" you mumbled to yourself while you walked away, in the direction of their victim

She was trying to dry her jumper, when you approached her.

"Are you okay? I'm sorry, people are so dumb sometimes..." you said as she lifted her head up to look at you

As soon as she did, you recognized her. She hadn't changed since the last time you saw her. Well of course she had changed a bit, but not enough so you don't recognize her.

"Sam..?"

Considering the look she gave you, she clearly didn't recognize you.

"Y/n?"

You almost immediately turned around at the sound of another familiar voice, but didn't have the time to see anything before she literally jumped in your arms, hugging you tightly.

After a moment, Tara let go of you.

"I didn't think I would ever see you again..." she said, looking you up and down to check if you were real, a smile on her face

"Me neither" you chuckled "What are you doing here in New York?"

While Tara answered your question, Sam looked at you with wide eyes. You had changed so much since she last saw you... You were really pretty. Like... really really pretty.

She never thought she would think about that one day but... here she was, wondering if she should ask for your number. She wanted to. really bad.

But wouldn't it be weird? It had been years since you talked... What would you think if she did ask for your number? She didn't want to make things awkward between the two of you. Really not. But maybe you'd want to talk to her too? Maybe she should just-

"Can I ask for your number?"

Tara's voice made Sam snap out of her thoughts.

"Oh, yeah, of course! I was about to ask for yours too"

Sam watched you exchange numbers with Tara, slightly mad at herself for hesitating so long. Now it would just be weird if I asked for her number too, she thought, I’ll ask Tara later.

<><><><> ♡ <><><><>

The weeks after you gave Tara your number, you both caught up onto each other’s life. Tara told you about what happened in Woodsboro the year before, and you wish you didn’t move out of there. Even if it was not your fault, you felt bad for not being there when she needed it.

If you were there you could’ve helped her, save her. You would’ve probably even spent the night at her house. God, you could’ve helped her against Ghostface!

That explained why they moved to New York.

The day you met again, Tara only told you they needed fresh air without more details. But now you understood. And you were willing to give her the fresh air she needed.

You had switched to lighter subjects, such as college and free time. That’s how you learnt you had some classes in common -which would later give you excuses to spend more time with her.

You both used said excuses, asking the other to help you with homework, or share notes for a class… Everything that could give you the opportunity to be together more.

You also saw each other at the park, or at the café where Sam worked, or literally everywhere you could go. You both were enjoying that, contrary to Sam, who struggled seeing you.

She could almost only see you when you were with Tara at the café, or when you were doing homework together at their apartment. She was dying to see you more. The majority of your conversations were by texts, but it was never as good as face to face ones…

You didn’t seem to notice though, as you were realizing you might have feelings for Tara, and couldn’t just get her out of your head. You never realized it before, but now that you were thinking about it, even back then you had a crush on her.

This day, Tara invited you over to spend time together, where you could have more privacy than outside. You were happy about it, especially since you had something to ask her.

After a moment spent in her room playing board games and chatting, you started hesitantly.

"Hey Tara... um... You know I'm part of the photography club, right? Well um... I was wondering if you... if you'd agree to be my model..."

You were a bit embarrassed to ask, but you were convinced she would make a good model.

Tara was also embarrassed, but at the same time she was flattered you thought of her to be your model. She had always been a bit shy, but she got a burst of confidence from your ask and agreed to model for you.

After half an hour of switching poses and taking pictures, you both sat on her bed so you could show her the pictures you just took. You enjoyed taking pictures of her, she was just so pretty... you wanted to capture that.

And she seemed to like it too, considering all the compliments she gave you at the sight of the pictures.

"I think this one is my favorite" she said, pointing at one of the pictures

"Yeah? I really-" you started as you turned your head to face her, but cut yourself off when you noticed how close you were to each other at that moment.

You could feel her breath on your face.

You couldn't help but admire her beauty. You found everything in her perfect. Her eyes, her freckles, her smile, her dimples... everything.

In spite of yourself, you couldn't help but look at her lips. The urge to kiss her had grown more and more inside of you for the past months, and you just wanted to give in.

In a burst of courage, you leaned in a bit, just enough to let her know your intentions, but not enough to touch her lips yet, to give her the occasion to back off if she wanted to.

She didn't. Instead, she leaned in as well, closing the gap between you, pressing her lips to yours in a soft kiss. You couldn’t help but smile at the kiss, putting a hand on her cheek so you could kiss back.

Quickly, you got caught up in the kiss, which soon turned into a make out session.

You both had waited so long to do that, ever since you were children -even if at that moment it was just a little crush. Everything was just so perfect right now… just like you had imagined.

Sadly, this moment was interrupted by the door opening suddenly.

“Girls, what do you want for din-”

Sam stopped the moment she saw what was happening; even if her intervention had caused you to pull away from each other, your reddish lips and cheeks, and the non existent distance between Tara and you let little to the imagination.

The three of you were embarrassed -for different reasons, and Sam felt that unpleasant feeling again that she refused to call jealousy. She quickly closed the door again, going back to the living room, trying to forget what she saw and focus back on making dinner.

She knew that would happen one day. It was obvious it would happen. Tara had always loved you, and Sam had always known it. She had also suspected you too had a crush on Tara, back when you were children. And apparently, she was right.

Tara was as embarrassed as you were, cheeks more and more red.

“I um… I’m sorry, I should’ve locked the door…” she whispered, not daring looking at you

Tara and you started dating after this day, and you were both happier than ever. Kisses, cuddles… everything was magical.

Tara was the sweetest, most adorable girlfriend you could’ve wished for. And she thought the same of you.

She often invited you to stay at hers and Sam’s apartment for dinner, and sometimes you even slept there. Which you love, by the way; having Tara in your arms just felt so nice you never had trouble falling asleep.

Out of your ‘love bubble’, Sam was trying her best not to say or do anything that could be misinterpreted. She was really trying to be happy for Tara and you, but sometimes it was just too much.

Like when at the dinner table you couldn’t stop giving each other heart eyes, or say every possible cheesy thing. You were even too in love to see her roll her eyes or hear her scoff.

But at the end of the day, she knew she couldn’t do anything about it. Maybe, in another life, we’ll be together… she thought.

[Sam's version]

[gh0st-t0wn3]

Lmk ss edits + Headcanons, Part 3 (Chang'e, Nezha, Pif, DBK)

- She/Her

- Bisexual w/ male pref (eternally devoted to her husband, Hou Yi, in Chinese mythology though, so I don't ship her with anyone)

- Constellation shaped freckles

- Even though her robot bunnies don't need to eat she still sets out extra plates otherwise she feels bad

- Ambivert

- Used to have a short hair phase

- Aside from cooking she's also good at coloring/painting and makes jewelry for fun

- Can talk for hours on end

- Would absolutely loose her mind if she found out about rollerblading, change my mind

- BIG sweet tooth

- Exchanged a few recipes with Pigsy before they left

- Uses Kaomojis

- Stress eats

- Chang'e and Macaque are besties (I saw other people talking about this and thought it was cute)

- Chang’e is one of the very few people Macaque allows hugs from because she gives the best comforting hugs ever

- She tried to teach MK how to cook once and he failed miserably, she has banned him from the kitchen permanently

- Everytime Macaque complains about something to her it ALWAYS has something to do with Wukong and Chang’e is honestly done with them at this point

- She is always energetic, like seriously, she can run around and cook and exercise for hours and never break a sweat

- She can play the flute

- She does Nezha's hair sometimes when he visits

- Her, Nezha and Macaque will all get together sometimes and just gossip for hours

- Hates it when her kitchen is messy, even when she's in a rush to make something or there's a lot going on she'll be sure to put everything in a neat order

- Smells like cakes, pies and other pastries

- Love language is quality time

- Her skin is always really cold (because of , y'know.. living on the moon) but she's lived there for so long now that she hardly notices anymore

- Doesn't really have a skin care routine and doesn't use a lot of products but her skin is always so soft and clear anyways

- Makes up her own constellations when she stargazes

- She has a small shrine in her house in respect to Hou Yi

- Has two group chats, one with Macaque and Nezha for gossiping, and the other with Pigsy and DBK for cooking

- He/Him

- AroAce

- Put his hair up in a messy bun the ONE time Wukong decided to drop in unannounced, still gets bullied for it to this day

- Would probably die if you ever gave him any kind of soda

- Has a scar on his neck and can even pop his head off like the headless horseman because of... iykyk.. sometimes pulls it off to scare people

- Like Pigsy, he's a huge environmentalist; got super pissed when he heard about climate change and pollution, like he was DEVESTATED

- Really likes chocolate milk, but only drinks it when he's alone because Wukong caught him once and still teases him about it

- Use to babysit Redson when he was little, especially when Princess Iron Fan was too distressed to look after him herself for long periods at a time after her husband was sealed away

- Taught Redson how to harness his powers while he babysat

- Perfect handwriting, it should be a font

- Has difficulty breathing, especially when he gets overwhelmed, due to... yk.. committing..

- Always has a least a small taste of metal in his mouth

- Redson would somehow manage to disappear if Nezha looked away for even a second so he wound up having to get a ring sling to carry him in, no one took him seriously with it on

- Sees PIF as an older sister

- Favourite food is strawberry cake

- Not necessarily a vegetarian but doesn't eat meat often

- Meditates to save and absorb energy instead of sleeping, that way if something happens or someone attacks, he's always awake and ready to handle the situation

- When meditating, stray lotus petals will float around and surround him that act as a shield while also emitting a peaceful aura that keeps both himself and the people around him in a calm state of mind

- Him and Wukong have a sibling rivalry

- Felt incredibly guilty when Redson got trapped in a scroll because he was the one Redson came to when his parents were gone and thought he failed to protect him

- DBK and him have an awkward relationship given the whole "Attack on heaven" thing, but have been trying to find something to bond over for PIF

- Erlang and PIF are basically his older siblings, like they'd be the kind of siblings who'll pretend to give him an important task so he'll leave them alone and then immediately shut and lock the door as soon as he leaves the room, y'know?? He still hasn't forgiven them for that

- Smells like Lotus flowers and strawberries

- Love language is acts of service and words of affirmation

- Likes the idea of hiking and stargazing but never has the time to do it since he's always working

- Isn't afraid to call out someone's bs (*cough* Monkey King *cough*) but can't handle someone calling him out for the literal life of him

- He loves flowers and their symbolism, use to study it before he was tasked with guarding the map to the samadhi rings

- He's actually a really good swimmer but people don't believe him because of his relation to fire

- Has absolutley licked himself to see what he tastes like

- She/Her

- Bisexual

- Has a beautiful singing voice and use to sing lullabies to Redson all the time when he was a kid. Although it's a rare occurrence, she'll sing lullabies to him even now if he gets particularly stressed out or anxious

- Feels guilty about being too mentally unwell to take care of Redson properly after DBK was sealed away when he was little but never knew how to make up for it so she just closed herself off instead which is why she's so cold with him

- Would sleep in a guest bedroom or on the couch for the first few years of DBK being sealed away because she couldn't handle being alone in such a big bed without him

- Follow up on the last HC, after she started sleeping in her and DBK's bed again Redson would sometimes come in in the middle of the night and sleep in bed with her so she felt less lonely but stopped after he turned 11-12 (or at least the Demon equivalent to that age cause he's like 500+)

- Does Redson's hair for him in the morning since he's always too tired to do it himself

- Use to style his hair like hers, with the little horns made of hair, at least until his real horns started growing in

- Her and Macaque are sworn siblings (I have no idea where this HC came from but I saw other people talking about it and thought it was cute)

- Sees Nezha as a younger brother

- Was outcast from her family after DBK started courting her, she was upset for a while but it was worth it

- Super long hair, like it reaches her thighs when it's fully down

- Master calligrapher, seriously her writing is so beautiful and neat

- When DBK was first freed, the first two or so weeks she would stay up as long as possibly and hold onto him so tight whenever she finally did fall asleep because she was scared she'd wake up and he'd be gone again

- Felt like she failed as a mother when she realized she missed Redson's first words, first steps, everything, because Nezha had to look after him while she mourned her husband

- Favourite flowers are Dhalia's

- Because her hair is long it's also very heavy, sometimes if her scalp is particularly sore from keeping it styled up in horns all day DBK will sit with her and brush her hair while she relaxes and watches TV or reads

- Cooks sometimes but isn't as good as DBK

- Has a terrible habit of hiding her emotions from her family (actually the entire Demon Bull Family struggles with this habit)

- Hates the feeling of ink on her skin, someone knocked over a bottle of writing ink in her hand once and she washed it for almost an hour straight to get rid of the feeling of it on her skin

- Smells like Stargazer Lilies

- Love language is quality time and words of affirmation

- Surprisingly big fan of horror movies (conjuring, exorcist, Shining, etc)

- Listens to true crime shows/podcasts while working

- Had servants home-school Redson and then took over home-schooling him herself when he was older

- All her clothes are custom made, and had to get them re-made with fire resistant materials after Redson was born, as well as everything else in the Demon Bull Palace (Clothes, rugs, sheets, blankets, curtains etc)

- Has separate makeup and jewelry boxes, one for everyday wear, and one for special events (anniversaries,  royal gatherings, etc)

- Ambivert

- If she runs out of patience for you, you will literally die

- He/Him

- Bisexual

- Hardly recognized Redson when he was freed from the mountain, which is why he didn't address him as quickly as he did Iron Fan

- Has a hard time trying to Remember Redson isn't little anymore, was devestated that he didn't get to watch him grow up

- Tries to connect with Redson and learn about his interests but it just comes off as really awkward for both of them

- Throws all of MK's (and other suitors) Courting gifts to Redson away if he sees them before Redson does (I am a firm believer of overprotective dad DBK)

- Learned how to cook for Iron Fan after they started courting eachother to impress her and it grew into an actual hobby of his, now he likes to cook and bake when he's stressed instead of yelling and breaking things (especially after the Lady Bone Demon incident)

- All his old cook books are pretty much dust after not being used and taken care of for several centuries and although he was upset, he still remembers a few of the recipes, majority of the food he makes now is what he learned from watching Chang'e's cooking show

- Exchanges recipes with Pigsy after getting to know eachother a bit at the beach, but they don't talk much outside of food related topics

- Once walked in on Redson and MK making out in Redsons room and promptly threw MK out the window (he was fine)

- Use to allow Wukong to take naps on his chest while they were still in the Brotherhood, mostly because Wukong would never stop and DBK eventually gave up on trying to get him to stop

- Got really emotional when he found out Redson got a nose ring to match with him (pretended not to care but started crying when he was alone)

- Keeps a photo of PiF and Redson with him at all times, it's not in great condition anymore because he was buried under the mountain with it, but it's too sentimental for him to replace it

- Knows Redsons date of birth down to the exact hour by heart (Canon in JTTW)

- Touch starved, being locked away for 500 years definitely took a toll on him

- Still hasn't entirely forgiven Wukong for calling Redson a "half-baked son"

- Much like how PIF will sing to Redson when he's particularly stressed or anxious, DBK will cook Redson his favorite childhood meal; he was worried the first time it happened because he wasn't sure how to handle Redsons emotional state and also wasn't sure if he still liked the dish he loved as a child, but Redson was visibly happier (or at least calmer) afterwards so he'll keep making it for him

- Has a sepertate pen and writing ink that he uses exclusively for writing to PIF

- He's a sucker for romance movies

- Will pick Redson up by the back of his shirt like a cat and drag him to bed if he's overworking himself

- Invited the Brotherhood to see Redson when he was first born; was disappointed when Azure, Peng and Yellowtusk never showed up

- Goes all out on him and PiF's anniversary to make up for the 500 anniversaries he missed (same with PIF and Redson's birthdays)

- Smells like dirt and regretful life choices (fr though he's been under a mountain for 500 years, that smell doesn't wash away easy after that long, Iron Fan surprisingly doesn't mind, but maybe she's just too happy that he's back to care enough about it)

- Love language is physical touch and quality time

- Cried watching the Titanic, don't even try to tell me otherwise

- Hopeless romantic

- Loves spicy food but doesn't have as high a tolerance as Redson (still very high though, but I mean c'mon, Redson is literally a fire demon)

- Cannot understand or use technology for the life of him, he's calling in Redson left and right asking how to download something or how to get onto another website

- Still feels guilty whenever he sees Redson flinch at him (because of the whole almost killing Redson when he was possessed by the Lady Bone Demon)

[reigningqueenofwords]

Hulk Smash Bad Guys

Pairing: Bucky x Reader

Part 7 of Little Soldier

You and Bucky agreed that you wouldn’t tell Dom about the two of you getting back together just yet. Children did not have filters, and if you told him, the whole tower would know in no time. He’d also been enrolled in nearby private school, so it would be public, too. No, that’s not what either of you wanted or needed. 

It had been five days since the night you came clean to Nat about sleeping with him, which meant it had been five days since you were Bucky’s again. And you’d been able to have one ‘date’ since. 

The team would be taking off the next morning to start Dom’s birthday weekend, and you wanted him to know about Bucky before that. So, you were getting your son dressed to go out to get dinner with Bucky. “Mom, why can’t we just eat here with the others? Why do we gotta go out?” He sighed, giving you a bored look. He’d gotten very used to dinner with his Aunts and Uncles. 

“Because, Dom, I just want something small. And I have a surprise for you.” You gave him a small smile. “Don’t you want a surprise?”

His face lit up. “Is it a birthday surprise?” He asked. 

“Even better. Now, let’s get our shoes on. Bucky is waiting for us downstairs.” You kissed his cheek. You were honestly hoping that no one recognized you or Bucky. Thankfully at his school it wasn’t an issue. Dom wasn’t the only kid of ‘famous’ and/or important people.

To say he was nervous was an understatement. He’d find out if Dom would be even a little accepting of having him as a father. He ran his hand through his hair (he left it down as he remembered you’d always liked that), and let out a sigh. Hearing a ding from the elevator, he looked over and smiled as he saw Dom skipping towards him, you not far behind. “Hey, kiddo. Hungry?” He greeted him. 

“Yeah!” He nodded. “Can we get pizza?” He asked, looking between you and Bucky. 

You pretended to think. “I think pizza sounds good.” You agreed, holding out your hand to him before looking at Bucky. “Are we taking a car, or a cab?” You asked. 

“Car.” He said easily. “There’s one already out front. I figured there’s no telling how long it would take to hail a damn cab.” He shrugged. “That and the last time I took one it smelled like nothing but smoke.” He scrunched his nose, making Dom laugh. 

The others sat at dinner, knowing that they didn’t need to wait for you. “She’s telling Dom that Bucky’s his father.” Nat blurted out. “That’s what they’re doing tonight.” She added when everyone looked at her. 

“I don’t know if she wanted everyone to know that right now.” Steve told her, shaking his head. “If she did, she would have told everyone.” He hated that he felt your privacy was now shot. That wasn’t their information to tell, and he thought Nat would have respected that. She knew how to keep secrets better than almost anyone he knew, after all. 

Nat didn’t reply to that, letting everyone think things over. Everyone had mixed feelings on the subject, but knew at the end of the day, that you would do what you felt was best for Dom. It wasn’t there place to butt in. 

Sitting in the pizza parlor, you giggled as Dom ate the pepperoni off his pizza first. “So, we wanted to talk to you.” You ran your hand through his dark hair as he chewed, his blue eyes wide. “Nothing bad. I promise.” You smiled. 

He swallowed and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. A habit you hoped he grew out of. “Are we moving again?” He tilted his head. 

“No, we’re not.” You assured him, glancing to Bucky, then back at him. “Bucky’s your dad, buddy. He’s your father.” 

Dom nodded. “I know.” He shrugged, reaching for his soda. 

You and Bucky stared at him. “How do you know?” Bucky asked, curious. Had Nat told him? That was the only one who really came to mind. “Was it someone at the tower?” 

He shook his head as he sucked on the straw. “Older kids at school.” He said, licking his lips. “Said I look just like you. Someone tried to say Uncle Tony is my dad, but someone else said I have your eyes.” He said it as if it was the most normal thing in the world. “I hafta pee, mommy.” He told you, sliding out of his chair. 

“Uh, yeah, I’ll bring you.” You got up, letting him take your hand. So, he knew Bucky was his father. You’d be asking him how long he’d known once back at the table. Glancing over your shoulder as you pointed to the men’s room for Dom, you could tell he was just as surprised. Well, at least Dom didn’t seem upset? Leaning against the wall, you spaced out until you felt Dom tugging you back to the table. Once sitting, you took a sip of your soda and looked at him. “So, how do you feel about Bucky being your dad?” You asked gently. 

Dom thought for a moment, taking a bite of his pizza. Then he shrugged. “He’s cool.” He said easily. “Why wasn’t he here until now?” He asked you, looking up at you. “He lives at the tower. Why didn’t he ever visit us?” 

Your eyes went to Bucky. How were the two of you supposed to tell him in a way that wouldn’t break his heart, but wasn’t outright lying? “Well, you know how we fight the bad guys, buddy?” Bucky asked, making Dom look at him and nod. Licking his lips, he went on. “Sometimes the bad guys win. And a long time ago, before you were born, the bad guys got me.” He explained. “And, in a way, they stayed with me. In my head. I got scared.” His eyes dropped for a second. “I was scared that I wouldn’t be able to be the dad you deserve and need. I was scared that the ‘bad guys’ in my head would make it hard for you.” That was the best way to put it without giving him the nasty details of the entire situation. “So, you guys moved, and had the life you should still have.” 

He stared at his father with wide eyes. “The bad guys got you?!” He gasped, sounding and looking so innocent that you couldn’t help but smile. “Did Uncle Steve and everyone save you?” 

Bucky chuckled, tearing up slightly. “Yeah, buddy.” He nodded. “I’m sorry for not being there. You don’t have to call me dad, though, if you don’t want to.” As much as that would have warmed his heart, he would force nothing. He’d let Dom work through this in his own time. “I do like getting to hang out with you, though. Can we keep doing that?” 

Dom grinned. “Yeah!” He agreed, his smile faltering after a moment. “Will use to take me for ice cream and to the park.” He told him. “I miss Will.” He looked at you. 

You reached over and rubbed his back. “I know, Dom. I do, too.” You sighed. “But, do you think he’d want us to stay sad?” You asked. “Or do you think he would tell us to find things to smile about?” 

“He’d want us to smile.” He mumbled. “He liked your smile.” He added. 

Bucky chewed on his lip. This wasn’t a conversation he was sure how to be in. However, he knew that even years from now you’d be hurting over losing Will. Mostly because of how. It wasn’t like he was out there living his life, happy and healthy. “Why don’t you tell me about him?” He asked softly, wanting to be there for the two of you. “I’ve heard bits and pieces, but not a lot.” 

You tearfully smiled at him. “Really?” You would have thought that he wouldn’t want to hear anything about the man who had been ‘playing dad’ to Dom and who you were supposed to marry. “You want to hear about Will?” 

He gave you a small smile back, nodding. “Yeah, I do. He was important to both of you. And maybe hearing about him can help me learn to be a better dad to Dom. From what I hear he was a great dad.” He said honestly, even though it hurt like hell. 

Bucky has listened to you two tell him all about Will while the three of you finished up your dinners. He felt that he had a much better understanding of your life these past few years now. He also hoped that by knowing you could talk to him about it, that you didn’t hold back. Sure, you always had Steve and Nat to talk to, but this was different. This was knowing your boyfriend was there for you to help you work on getting some type of closure. Yes, it had been nearly a year, but there was no time frame on mourning. 

After pizza, Dom asked for an ice cream cone. Despite the chill in the air, you agreed. You found a little ice cream place to sit and eat before heading back to the tower. Bucky held your hand under the table, not letting Dom see the little bit of affection. You gave his hand a squeeze, chuckling at Dom got his ice cream on his face. “I guess someone needs a bath when we get home.” You noted. “And I need to get something on that shirt so it doesn’t stain.” 

“It’s so yummy.” He beamed, kicking his little feet. 

Dom swung between you and Bucky as the three of you walked into the tower. His laughter echoed off the walls, filling you both with joy. “Say goodnight to Bucky.” You told Dom. “I need to get you into a bath, and bed. Then I believe Uncle Steve is coming to read to you.” You reminded him. 

“Do you think I could try one night?” Bucky asked somewhat shyly. 

“What do you say, Dom? Think your dad can read to you one night?” You asked the small boy playfully. 

Nodding, Dom smiled up at Bucky. “Sure!” He agreed. “I have lots of books. Uncle Steve gave me some whenever he visited us.” He explained. “I like books. Even though I’m not very good at reading yet.” He made a face. 

Chuckling, Bucky crouched. “That’s okay. You’ll get better. Especially with Uncle Stevie helping you.” He assured him before standing. “I’ll let you guys get up to your floor. I’ll head to mine. Gonna take the stairs. Feeling like getting some type of training in, but not going to the training room.” He chuckled. In reality, he wanted time to process everything from that evening. He was still scared as hell, but would try his best. Even if in the end you decided that you didn’t want to be with him, he wouldn’t abandon his son again. He’d die before that happened. 

As you washed Dom’s hair, you chuckled as he shut his eyes as tight as he could. After this, you’d let him play while you picked up a bit. You left the door open, but he was getting old enough you wanted to give him tiny bits of more freedom. Starting with bathtime. 

Once you were done, you pushed his wet hair back from his face. “Alright, let me know when you want out, I’m gonna go tidy up. Okay?” You told him. “And no splashing the water on the floor.” You teased. 

“I’ll try! But what if Iron Man dives and makes a big splash?” He asked innocently, holding up his Iron Man toy. 

“Then Iron Man will have to clean it up.” You told him. 

He gasped. “No splashing, Iron Man!” He ‘scolded’ his action figure, making you giggle. “We’ll be good, mommy.” He promised. “You can go now.” 

“Well, okay, then.” You raised an eyebrow as you got up to head into the other room. Where did the little boy go that wanted you to stay and play with him go? You knew that more and more, he’d become more independent. Of course, that’s what you wanted, but you’d also miss this stage in life. When he still thought you were fun to hang out with. Letting out a breath, you started in his room. It wasn’t too bad, but you liked to straighten things out now and then. 

You’d picked up his room, wiped down the kitchen, tidied the living room, and then put away a small basket of clean clothes before making your way back to him. You knew he was fine because you could hear him playing from every room you’d gone into. “Already?” He whined when you came in with a towel. “Hulk was just about to smash the bad guy.” He pouted. 

You chuckled. “Hulk can smash one bad guy, then we need to get your bath toys out of the water, and into their bin to dry.” You compromised. “Uncle Steve will be up in about ten minutes. So, let’s get you dried off, dressed, and teeth brushed. Sound good?” 

“Fine.” He sighed, looking back at his toys. A moment later, Hulk ‘smashed’ the bad guy, causing Dom to burst into laughter. “Bad guy smashed!” He told you. 

Steve knocked on your door right on time, and Dom was the one to answer it. “Hi, Uncle Stevie!” He beamed. 

He raised an eyebrow. “Stevie?” He asked, glancing at you as you came into view. 

“Bucky called you that.” You explained. “When they were talking about reading.” You shrugged. “Dom was telling him he likes reading, and about all the books you’ve bought him over the years. Then said he’s not very good at it yet. Bucky then told him he’d get better in no time with your help.” You smiled. 

Reaching down, Steve lifted him. “Well, how about we work on that tonight?” He tickled Dom’s belly. 

“Yay!” Dom clapped. 

“I’m gonna be doing dishes and folding laundry if you need me.” You told Steve. “Movie after?” You suggested. 

He smiled as he nodded. “I’d like that.”

Tagging:

@ilovetaquitosmmmm @vicmc624 @mrs-bucky-barnes-73 @sebastians-love @differenttyphoonwerewolf

[gonegirlaccount]

hey bsf. you totally don't have to do this but it could kinda be like a part two to the last dally fic. after they all find out darry decides to give their relationship a week trial run and if he doesn't like it or something bad happens they have to break up. i saw this idea somewhere forever ago but i can't find the author😭 thsnks babe!

(A/N: my slow ass had to re-read this twice 😭 but I got you stink!!!🤞🏽🤞🏽🤞🏽)

“Uh-Oh!” Curtis!Fem!reader X Dallas Winston. Part 2

⋆｡ ﾟ☁︎｡ ⋆｡ ﾟ☾ ﾟ｡ ⋆｡ ﾟ☁︎｡ ⋆｡ ﾟ☾ ﾟ｡ ⋆｡ ﾟ☁︎｡ ⋆｡ ﾟ☾ ﾟ｡ ⋆

After the long conversation you had with your brothers about you dating Dally, Darry came up with something.

It made you upset to hear when Darry said “I don’t like this relationship but I’ll give it a chance. For a week. If I don’t like it or see something bad that I don’t like ya doing (Y/N), then you and Dally will have to break up.” You felt tears prick at your eyes. “That ain’t fair! You all be hanging out with greasers and stuff but when I date one, it’s a total headache for you all! That ain’t fair!” You argued with your oldest brother.

“(Y/N), if ya don’t start listenin’, I’ll start restricting you from seeing him from now on till you die.” Darry stated firmly. You gave an annoyed sigh and looked away, upset . “Fine.” You grumbled.

But you started thinking about it. It’s simple! Just bring Dallas over to the house and act all good and stuff, Darry will have no choice but to let you date him!

Easy, right?

Wrong.

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Almost everytime you and Dally went out for one of y’alls midnight adventures, somebody from the gang was always tailing the both of ya! But the most annoying out of them all was Two-Bit.

He wasn’t even discreet or sneaky about it! He just came up and wrapped his arms around both of you whenever it was his time to spy on y’all. (More like third wheel.)

On the fourth day, Dallas did something bad. He shoplifted. A beautiful necklace just for you. You loved it and thought it was the most stunning jewelry ever but you knew Darry would instantly make you break up if he saw it.

So you hid it. In your bra drawer. And it was successful! Darry never found out about it. So Dally kept shoplifting and bring your more beautiful jewelry. And you’d give him the sweetest kiss ever as a thank you to him.

Fortunately, the gang never saw him do this but if they did, they kept quiet about it.

But then on the fifth, almost close to the end of the week, Pony told on you again. You got upset and you kept asking why he would do this to his sweet older sister.

He told you it was because he wanted you to be safe and not get into trouble because you’re his sister and you’re the best thing ever(even though you were mad at him, his reason was cute enough to cool down your anger). He told Soda, who told Darry, who told you to come to the living room, with Dallas.

“Shoplifting jewelry? Then puttin’ it on her? She could go to jail for Christ’s sake Dally! And she’s a good girl.” Darry scolds Dallas.

“Darry, please, he was just tryna show me he’s a good boyfriend! Darry, please, pretty please, let me stay with him! I…I love him!” You pleaded, clasping your hands together in a beggar way.

Darry looked at you then looked away. He knew what you were doing. You we’re using the puppy dog eyes on him. He hated the fact you could get whatever your heart desired. And it desired Dallas.

He sighed, upset as he pinched the bridge of his nose. “Y/N…” He began. “Yes!” You perked up, looking up at him. “If I let you continue to date Dallas, do you promise me you won’t get in trouble with the police, you won’t get pregnant, you won’t do anything dangerous that could possibly kill you or somebody else?”

You nodded eagerly. “Yes, yes, yes! I promise! Oh, thank you Darry!” You smiled and hugged him tightly. He sighed and smiled, hugging you back and patting your head.

Dallas just grinned at the scene and started to leave before you turned to him. “Wait Dally! I’ll be with ya in a second.” You said, letting go of your brother and putting back your sneakers on.

“Don’t teach her how to do anything illegal Dally!” He yelled out after the both of you.

“Too late Darry!” Dallas laughed and so did you.

That’s when you saw Darry come out of the house with his shoes on. He was coming after the both of you. Well more specifically, Dally.

“Uh-oh!” You and Dallas laughed before running off and away to somewhere.

⋆｡ ﾟ☁︎｡ ⋆｡ ﾟ☾ ﾟ｡ ⋆｡ ﾟ☁︎｡ ⋆｡ ﾟ☾ ﾟ｡ ⋆｡ ﾟ☁︎｡ ⋆｡ ﾟ☾ ﾟ｡ ⋆

I tried my best with this yall🫶🏽

[moonchildstyles]

the witching hour

despite harry being the witch in this situation, maybe his crush on gemma's new friend was going to be the most bewitching thing he ever encountered

wordcount: 10k+

—————

"Are you just going to watch me set up or actually help?" 

Harry couldn't help the bark of laughter that left his lips at his sister's jab. He stayed just where he was even when he felt the glare of her eyes on him as he continued the game of changing the contents of her flower vases every time Gemma flicked it back to water before the blooms died. He currently wanted to see how long it would take her to noticed he'd snapped spiked seltzer into the water's place. 

"I don't know why you're worrying so hard, Gem," Harry sighed, sinking into the back of his stool where he sat at the breakfast nook, "Just cast a spell and make everything set itself up. It would take 3 minutes compared to the three hours you've been stressing over this." 

He didn't have to see his sister's face to know she was rolling her eyes hard enough their mother would have chided her, saying they were going to get stuck that way if she kept it up. "Sorry, I try not to rely on my magic, like you. Is it so bad I want everything to be perfect? This is the first time we're not living with the coven—or even near them. I want these people to like us, Harry." 

"And they're going to," Harry cemented, just as he had been since his sister started worrying over the opinions of the mortals that were now their neighbors, "We're giving them free drinks and food, there's no way they aren't going to like us—like you." 

"That's not a guarantee, Harry," Gemma argued, twisting in her spot so he could see just how exasperated he was making her. Her expression fell flat when she noticed the bubbling soda water soaking her roses. She shot him a glare that was only deflected by Harry's grin. "Could you at least try to be on your best behavior tonight? It's going to be hard to stay in the HOA if they realize you're a dick and a witch." 

"I always am," he said with a cocky grin stretching his lips. Not a complete lie, but definitely not the truth.

Gemma shook her head before she brushed past him, a large crystal bowl full of ice in her hands. "You don't have to come tonight, you know. You could go do something with Mitch or whoever; leave the house to me and I'll just tell everyone how nice my brother is without you contradicting everything I tell them." 

"I invited Mitch to come tonight, so I think he'd be a bit busy." Harry's voice was breezy as he kept an eye on his sister. He needed to find the right moment to fill the vases with almond milk when she wasn't looking. "If I didn't know any better, I would feel like you don't want me there, Gems." 

"You're not even dressed up, Harry! Do you even want to be at the party?" 

"Yes, I am dressed up," Harry argued, a pinch knitting his brows together as he sat up straight in his seat. 

"No, you're not," Gemma countered as she climbed on top of a chair with a strip of led lights in her hand she was planning on tacking along the line of the ceiling, "You look like normal." 

With an exaggerated wave of his fingers, deep purple nail polish glittering in the light, he gave her another self-satisfied grin. "Exactly," he said, "'M dressed like a witch." 

That seemed to finally get his sister to crack a smile, a matching dimple in her cheek making an appearance. As much as he loved to tease his sister, especially now that they were living together for the first time away from their family, he didn't want her to feel like he wasn't supportive of her or messing with her just for the sake of pushing her buttons, and not because he was trying to ease her nerves. Sure, the former was a part of it, but he was here to support her and make her days easier, especially knowing how much she was missing their coven. 

"You're annoying," his sister laughed, using a flick of her fingers to keep the strip light held up to the wall while she fixed them to the crease between the ceiling and the walls, "Are you going to change before the party, or is that really your costume?" 

"You'll jus' have to wait and see." And, so would Harry. He had no idea if Mitch was actually going to follow through on the corn costume they had been joking around about a few weeks prior, because if he was, then Harry had agreed to dress like a pad of butter. "Who's all coming tonight?" 

"Well, I sent out that mass invitation on the HOA's Facebook page, so hopefully a lot of neighbors we haven't met yet. But, I also invited a couple of the girls from work and people from that record store you like. One of the girls from my yoga class said she'd try to ma—" 

"Was it (Y/N)? The one from your yoga class." Harry didn't even pretend to care about how eager he sounded cutting her off. He needed to know if (Y/N) was going to be there. 

On more than one occasion in the last couple of months since moving to the neighborhood, Harry had picked up Gemma from her yoga classes after he finished with his spinning sessions, and without fail there was always this girl that walked out with his sister. After that first time he saw her, Harry couldn't help but begin to look forward to picking up Gemma if only for a moment's glance at her friend. 

Maybe it was the sweat that clung to her skin after the workout, but Harry swore she was covered in stars, glimmering in the light, even when it was after one of the late classes with only the moon above. Without fail, there was always a sweet smile on her face when he spied her, quiet while she listened to his sister talk about whatever, or growing brighter when she told her own stories. One time, he was able to hear her laugh after he had cracked the windows, and maybe his breath had been stolen at the sound, but he would never tell Gemma that. He wanted to get to know her as more than the pretty face that always escorted Gemma to his car after classes and gave him a polite wave before heading towards her own way home. 

"Harry," Gemma sighed, settling her hands on her hips as she gave him a pointed glare. 

"What? 'M jus' asking!"

His sister rolled her eyes, the fake lashes she'd glued to her eyes fluttering at the familiar movement. "She's my friend, Harry, you're not allowed to date her! We already share a house, I'm not letting you have my friends, too." 

"Would it really be that bad, Gems? I'm a gentleman, wh—" 

"If you fuck her and she stops talking to me like what happened with Meredith, I'm seriously going to be so pissed at you. She's much more fun than Mere, so she's completely off limits if you don't want me to tell mum." 

Harry groaned at the mentioning of his sister tattling on him to their mom. "How was I supposed to know she was a virgin beforehand? If she had told me, I wouldn't have put my—" 

"I don't need to hear that story again!" Gemma shouted over him, cutting him off. Stepping off the chair she'd used as her ladder, she gave him one more look as the room filled with a cool purple glow from the lights she'd just pinned up. "Just be nice to her, Harry. At least let me see if she wants something serious or whatever, so if she does, you can leave her alone and not hurt anyone's feelings." 

"Deal," Harry rushed out. He could work with that. "So I can talk to her tonight?" 

A sigh puffed her lungs, though she didn't offer any answer. 

"Jus' one dance, at least, Gems. I won't bother her after that, unless she wants to talk to me. I promise." 

That look only his protective older sister could give him crossed her features. He knew even through all her protests and claims to be protecting her friendships, that this was also in part of caring for her baby brother that sometimes felt too deeply, too quickly, for people who weren't in the same boat as him. 

"Just one dance, then. If she even comes tonight."

Sinking back into his chair as Gemma continued to flutter around the house, cheesy decorations in hand, a satisfied grin slipped into place on Harry's face. Knowing that (Y/N) was coming now, he really hoped Mitch didn't pull through with the corn costume.

—————

The purple glow Gemma had set up to emanate through the house was the perfect touch, Harry realized as he lent back against the breakfast nook, the view of the main space of the house perfect for him as he people-watched. Her invitation had apparently garnered interest in the entire neighborhood as Harry was able to pick out the faces of most of their neighbors and those who lived in the apartments bordering their subdivision. It felt like a teen movie, the comparison making Harry laugh, with the way alcohol was distributed out in novelty plastic cups with ghouls and ghosts printed on the sides, the contents of the glasses sloshing with the way people were dancing to the music that'd progressively become louder the more crowded the space got. 

Costumes of every type littered the room. A group of zombies were huddled by the backdoor, a pair of angels throwing shapes on the makeshift dance floor in the living room, and the Powerpuff girls along with a few of their most iconic villains had made an appearance as well. Amongst the groups and couples, single costumes of television characters, celebrities, and era specific getups were dotted throughout, coming together to make the perfect picture of Halloween. Parties like these were only fun when people weren't too full of themselves to dress up. As much as he played around with Gemma earlier, even Harry made a point to conjure up a costume (after he got the confirmation that Mitch had completely blown off the deal with the corn costume, of course). 

While it wasn't that creative given his identity, he couldn't help himself as he cast his spells and made a black pointed hat to sit on his head, his getup all black with fringed veils and bats stitched into the lace overlay on his flared pants. A well dressed witch, he had told Gemma when she rolled her eyes as he descended the stairs with a flourish just before guests started to arrive. As much as his sister wanted to disagree, call him out for not actually dressing up for the party, he knew she was going to see if she could make an outfit just like that soon enough. 

Speaking of his sister, he found her in the sea of guests, picking her out from the cat ears she had perched on the top of her head. She had been dragged into the fray of the dancefloor by her friends, leaving Harry to play the host with the most while she finally let loose. He didn't mind going around, greeting their neighbors and introducing himself while he nursed his own drink, knowing Gemma needed a break from all her worrying about making a good impression on these people. (Plus, he was given a slew of compliments on his outfit everywhere he went, so he was getting something out of this as well). By the time the party was in full swing, the constant in-pouring of guests slowing to a near halt, he was glassy eyed with his third drink in hand (he hadn't realized how much tequila he was pouring in until he realized he was just doing magic out in the open as he flicked his fingers to clean up the spills that littered the counter) while he watched his new home being filled with the laughter and mischief that he had been missing since moving away from the coven. 

But, there was one thing missing. 

"Are you waiting for someone?" Mitch mumbled behind the rim of his cup, lent up against the counter with Harry. 

"Hm?" Harry hummed, his reaction delayed as he looked to his friend.

"You've been watching the door for the last, like, five minutes. Are you waiting for someone?" he asked again, substantially less drunk than his counterpart. 

Harry didn't even realize he had his gaze trained on the front door until it was pointed out, making a point to whip his head back to face his friend, witch hat askew on the top of his head. "Oh, sorry," he murmured, not at all sorry, "Gem's friend was supposed to come, but she's not here yet." 

"The yoga one?" Mitch's dark brows were raised over his eyes. Harry didn't have even an ounce of embarrassment in him over the fact he'd told Mitch so much about her, that he knew immediately which of Gemma's friends he was looking forward to seeing.

Nodding into his cup as he sipped down another mouthful, Harry hummed. "Yeah, that one. I finally got Gemma to lay off some and let me talk to her if she came tonight." 

"Even after what happened with Meredith?" Harry could have rolled his eyes at the mention of the name. As far as he could remember, everything with Mere wasn't even that bad. 

"Yes," Harry sighed, taking another gulp of his drink when the doorknob on the front door didn't even twitch, "But, 's not like anything will happen if she doesn't show up." 

"I'm sure she will," Mitch reasoned, "It's still early in the night anyway, and she could have been stopping off at other part—" 

Harry didn't mean to cut Mitch off, but he couldn't help the way he choked on his drink the second the unlocked front door opened to reveal (Y/N) tentatively peeking into the party. He sputtered on the alcohol that burned in the back of his throat, aware of Mitch's hand slapping between his shoulder blades as he tried to suck in a breath though he couldn't find it in himself to tear his watery eyes from where she stood. 

"Is that her?" Mitch mumbled once Harry caught his breath, following his line of sight to the girl quietly shutting the door behind her as if the noise would disturb the loud music and rowdy set on people on the stairs. 

The breathy yeah he gets out is complimented by the soft smile stretching his lips. She was even dressed as a witch, he realized—a Stevie Nicks-era witch with gauzy fabrics and twinkling beads, but a witch nonetheless. He even spotted the purse hanging over her shoulder, stylized to be a witch's spell book with the name and the silhouette of a crescent moon stitched in gold over the black leather. Nice to know she, at the very least, would be fascinated by his culture.

"That's kind of funny," Mitch pointed out, nodding his chin in her direction as if Harry could have forgotten where she was, "She's dressed like you—a witch." 

Mitch was privy to the secret he and Gemma harbored, having met Harry in college. Being Mitch's roommate made it hard for Harry to keep himself in check, so after Mitch walked in on him concocting potions for the third time, he had to come clean. 

"'S cute," he mumbled out, dropping his drink off on the counter behind him when he determined he was going to talk her. "I'll be ri—" 

Just as he took a single step in her direction, he heard the sound of his sister's voice bubbling over the loud music filling the house. "(Y/N)! You made it!" 

He could tell she was plastered by the way she didn't even look a little embarrassed at the way she stumbled over her feet and a splash from her cup spilled her suede boots as she toddled to her friend. (Y/N) was much more reserved in her answer, nodding her head and speaking quietly while giving Gemma a hug. Harry watched as his sister tugged her to the kitchen, surely getting her a drink while he stood back, reaching behind him to take another swig of his drink. 

"What were you saying?" Mitch prodded, entirely too proud at seeing Harry's advances squandered for the time being. 

"Shut the fuck up." 

—————

Maybe Harry needed to be a little bit more careful, knowing he was leaning a little bit closer into tipsy territory than the comfortable buzz he'd been at earlier, but he couldn't help himself. 

(Y/N) was practically the center of the dancefloor as far as he was concerned. Her smiling face with her styled hair being tossed around to frame her features was the beacon in the middle of the muddled purple and orange hued living room, the music being an afterthought when her laughter was the main song that had Harry's heart thumping. He couldn't help himself as he traced his finger in the air, manipulating the beams of warm orange light to sit right on her as if it were a spotlight for the headlining performer. He just wanted a better view of her. 

Though he hadn't had a single chance to talk to her all night, that didn't mean he didn't keep an eye on her during that time. Not once, even with all the dancing and pushing happening on the packed danced floor, had her drink spilled, not with the way Harry ensured that every unbalanced raise of her cup was corrected with a trace of his finger in the air. She didn't go thirsty either, an enchantment keeping her cup full so she wouldn't have to stop having fun. He kept her spirits high even when Mitch teased Harry for being so invested in her time away from him; he didn't mind, not when each one of his tricks paid off, her smile glowing bright like the full moon outside. 

As the time ticked passed midnight, Halloween night technically over as the first of November had started twenty-three minutes prior, Harry didn't see their party ending any time soon. The main room was still packed, drinks still flowed in the kitchen, and every time he went around with a tray of shots for the guests to enjoy there wasn't a single glass left over. Though no new attendees had arrived after (Y/N), he hadn't seen many leave either. The energy filling the house had his aura turned up high, feeding off of the high enthusiasm exuding from each of his new friends. He didn't want it to end. 

While he was soaking in the fun of the space, a playlist going on in his head that had him touching his finger to the air as he added track after track to the running queue that played from the bass-heavy speakers, Harry hadn't realized he'd lost track of (Y/N) until he couldn't see her in the crowd. Gemma and her friends—including a pretty brown haired girl dressed as Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz that had Mitch currently wrapped round her with softened eyes—were still out on the floor, bubbly, bright, and loud as ever even with their missing piece. But, Harry had trained the orange spotlight to follow whatever which way she swayed. He just had to find the pumpkin glow and the witch standing underneath it. 

"I like your pants!" 

Harry jumped in his spot at the sound of the chirped voice bubbling off behind him. His vodka-dredged reflexes had him turning on his heel, the movement a lot slower than he intended. The orange light hit his hooded gaze first, a squint of his eyelids making him focus on the figure before him until details surfaced. 

With her hair a pile on the top of her head, stray strands plastered to her temples and neck with the sheen of sweat that covered her skin, stood his wannabe witch. (Y/N)'s gaze was cloudy as she took him in, though she seemed to be much more attentive than him. The gauzy sleeves of her costume were drooping down her shoulders, giving him more glimmering skin to drag his lazy eyes across if he hadn't been so wide-eyed surprised that she'd found him before he even had a chance to properly look for her. 

"Thank you," he choked out, remembering her chirped compliment in greeting. 

"Yeah, of course!" she beamed back, all but bouncing in her spot though he was sure she wasn't even aware she was doing so, "You're Gemma's friend, right? I've seen you pick her up from yoga before." 

So he hadn't been imagining the way her eyes would linger, even after giving a polite wave goodbye. "'M her brother, yeah," he clarified, leaning forward so he wouldn't have to shout to get his words across. 

"You're Harry!" (Y/N) bubbled, features lighting up with recognition, "She's talked about you before!" 

"And I'm sure it was all terrible," Harry joked, though knowing Gemma it wouldn't be that far off if she spilled all of his bad habits with her pretty friend, "You're (Y/N), right?" 

"No, no, no," (Y/N) shook her head, hands out as if to ward him off, "She always talks about how funny you are, never anything bad! I didn't realize that was you picking her up those nights, I would have said hi earlier." 

"'S alright," he waved off, thinking it was cute how excited she got when she drank. He was much closer to the mellow end of the spectrum when it came to alcohol. A perfect balance between the two of them, he thought. 

"And, yes, I am (Y/N), by the way," she laughed at herself as she caught up to his earlier question, leaning into the counter beside him. He hoped Gemma wasn't paying attention enough to catch the way he turned to face her, giving her the full of his attention with his cup being pushed to the wayside. 

"Gems talks about you all the time," Harry mused, talking quietly enough she had to crane her neck and shuffle closer to hear. 

"She does?!" was (Y/N)'s awed response, her eyes sweetly rounding out as she gazed up at him. "She's, like, my best friend. That yoga class always sucked before she started coming—it's all so cliquey, and I never got invited to the after class drinks the instructor would put on." 

A pout puffed out Harry's lips as he reached across, settling his hand carefully on her plush hip. "That's not nice. But, Gems talks about you like you're her best friend, too. 'M happy she has you; I was worried when we moved out here. She can be a little nervous trying to make friends, but she says y'were the first one to put your mat down by her and not make her feel bad when she couldn't hold some of those bendy poses." 

"Some of them are really hard," (Y/N) nodded, sipping from her cup though there was little left behind the guise of ghosts and goblins printed on the plastic as his enchantment on her drink wore off. "But, what about you?" she chirped, wobbling some as she bounced in his hold, "Do you have any best friends here yet?" 

Dimples deep in his cheeks, Harry could feel the muscles beginning to grow sore the longer he talked to her. "M'old university roommate lives out here, so I've been getting to hang out with him a lot more now that he's close. Actually," Harry paused, peering out at the sea of dancers taking over his living room, "he's over there"—pointing to where Dorothy and a costume-less Mitch were dancing—"with your friend." 

"With Sarah?!" (Y/N) blurted, eyes growing wide, "Your friend is the one that's too cool to dress up?" 

Harry laughed at her chiding. "Well, it was either that or a corn outfit—I personally think he picked wisely. If he'd picked otherwise, I promised I'd match him as some butter, so I think it worked out better for everyone this way." 

He only caught a glimpse of her features lighting up, mouth dropping into a smiling gape before their attention was stolen away. Somehow, over the volume of the music, his sister managed to yell (Y/N)'s name loud enough to be heard. With a gasp and her hair fluttering behind her as she whipped her head in the direction of Gemma's voice. 

Following (Y/N)'s line of sight, Harry caught his sister's eye as she beckoned (Y/N) with a flick of her hand to come back. The gloss of her eyes made it clear she was leaning on the side of drunk though the second she made eye contact with Harry, that pout turned hard. The glare of her gaze was quick, the same kind of look the would have fire sprouting from her fingertips if they hadn't been in the middle of a party. She was mad, mad that he was taking advantage of the permission he had been given earlier to speak to her pretty friend. With (Y/N)'s attention placed elsewhere, Harry only shrugged with a lopsided smile on his lips. 

Giving a small nod to Gemma, having disregarded the squinted look she gave to her brother, (Y/N) started curling out of Harry's hold. Just as he dropped his hand from her hip, the warmth of her skin lingering on his palm, she grabbed for his hand. Lacing her fingers between his, she gave a gentle tug as she edged towards the dancefloor. 

"Come dance with me," she requested in a smiley voice. 

"Don't know if m'sister would like that much, but I don't think I really care," he told her, his dimple sinking deeper into his cheek as he solidified his hold on her hand. 

"What do you mean?" she asked as he came up beside her, a pinch knotting her brows together.

He traced his gaze over her features before tugging her along through the mass of their neighbors dancing in his living room, eyes lingering over the height of her dewy cheekbones. "She's worried 'm gonna like you a little too much, love, that's all." 

Once close enough, Harry used his grip on her hand to tug her in front of him, chest to chest with Gemma standing behind (Y/N). It didn't take his sister long to reach for (Y/N)'s shoulder, black painted nails wrapping around the slope as she tugged on her dress. 

"Is my brother bothering you?" Gemma shouted over the music, absently taking a sip of her drink. 

"Harry?" (Y/N) bubbled, her hand in his squeezing as she tossed a glance at him, "No, no! I asked him to come dance with us. Is that okay?" 

At the mention of his tagalong being (Y/N)'s idea, he could see the way Gemma begrudgingly reined herself in. "Okay," she relented, "Let me know if he starts being annoying, though. He does that sometimes." 

(Y/N) laughed off her offer, muttering something to Gemma that Harry couldn't hear before she was placing her attention on him once more. On instinct, she moved along with the song, trailing her grip on his hand to land further up his arm while the other still had her drink. 

Feeling her warmth pressed against him, her smiling lips and bright, glossy gaze directed up at him, Harry felt his heartstrings tug. She really was so pretty, and here he had her tucked against his chest with his touch warming her. There was something to be said about the sparks flittering through his system, the ripples reminiscent of the magic that was a part of his being. It was easy to give in to the moonbeam that had accidentally just stepped on his toes. 

"What?!" she bubbled off, standing on her tiptoes when she noticed he was too distracted to dance with her. 

Shaking his head, he brought his hand up and brushed a stray piece of hair that brushed the top of her cheekbone. "Nothing, darling." 

He swore he saw her eyes sparkle. 

—————

Harry didn't mind using magic to make his life easier in mundane ways, but this wasn't something he could use a flick of his wrist to fix. At least not without exposing both him and his sister to their entire neighborhood. 

"Come with me, darling. Let's go to the bathroom and see what we can do, yeah?" His grip on (Y/N)'s hand tightened as she wobbled on her feet trying to follow behind him. 

He could hear the murmured okay coming from behind him, her mournful voice indicative of the pout he was sure was on her lips. Even without looking behind him, he was sure her gaze was still stuck on the spill dripping down the front of her dress, brightly colored liquor and juice staining the creamy white of her costume. Someone had bumped her just right when she had her drink huddled between their chests, knocking her cup askew and sending the contents down her chest.

While Harry could simply snap his fingers and lift the stain from the fabric without even a single dot of the shockingly blue juice remaining, he knew that wasn't a wise choice, even in his tequila touched brain. Instead, he was forced to clench his fist to keep from instinctively raising his fingers with a spark of magic on the tips, and escort (Y/N) to the bathroom. While it seemed the patrons of the party had began to spread out, some finding refuge in the backyard as well as waves realizing there were snacks set out in the kitchen for them to munch on, the space was still packed beyond comfort. Harry knocked people out of the way as gently as he could, mumbling sorry's and excuse me's with a soft smile on his face. 

Making it to the restroom, he knocked with his ear pressed to the wood. When no response came with (Y/N) shuffling uncomfortably behind him, he forged forward, jumping back as soon as he saw a blonde on their knees with their companion's thighs spread and head thrown back. Gemma definitely did not need to know that happened in their bathroom. 

"Shit, sorry!" he blabbered out before swinging the door shut as quickly as he could, his grip on (Y/N)'s hand still tight. 

Turning around, he saw his wannabe witch looking with wide eyes and her mouth dropped in a small gap. Their eyes met for a moment, flicking back to the unassuming door that was the only shield between them and someone else's intimate moment before matching once more. 

It was (Y/N) that cracked first, a choked laugh snapping from her lungs before she was melting into her giggles with her eyes fluttering closed. Harry couldn't help but to follow suit, the embarrassing moment combining with the amount of alcohol in his system to draw out a matching set of laughter.

"Did they even see you?" (Y/N) got out, doubling over with her forehead pressing into Harry's chest. He could feel her warmth through the sheer fabric covering his torso, only the piping of the spiderweb motif stitched through the mesh separating them. 

"I don't think so," Harry breathed out, his nose brushing the strands of her hair as he curled into her, "And I think the one on the floor was dressed like a Minion. I feel like that should be illegal."

His extra details only served to steal (Y/N)'s breath further as she succumbed to her laughter and all but fell into Harry's arms. It was ridiculous, the whole situation, but Harry only laughed as much as he did because he couldn't help but feel infected by her energy. Her reaction was his favorite part. 

As she slowly caught her breath, Harry ducked down with his lips hovering by her ear. "We still need to get y'cleaned up, love," he reminded his moonbeam, "The only other bathroom is upstairs. Can I take y'up there with me?" 

She didn't hesitate before she was nodding her head, unfurling herself from around him though neither of their goofy smiles dissipated. Along with her grip on his hand, (Y/N) reached to grab for the hem of his top in her fist, keeping close as he escorted her to the stairs leading up. 

Despite being only a floor above and hallway away from the noise, the second floor felt significantly more peaceful that the party raging on below. Luckily, no one seemed to have dared to go above and peek around the bedrooms for anywhere to conduct their own private times, leaving his bedroom free and clear for him to take (Y/N) to the adjoining bathroom. 

It wasn't until he was pushing open the unassuming white door that he remembered how not normal he had the space. While he and Gemma were considered to be apart of a very modern generation of those who were gifted with the Craft, that didn't mean he didn't appreciate the aesthetic and traditions of the past. That was why his room could be considered something of a lair if Gemma got to teasing him. 

Heavy drapes covered his available walls, blocking out the asylum white painting the plaster with ornate weavings of star maps and whirling designs baring crests and traditional scenes unique to his home coven. Shelves were nailed to the walls with bookcases propped up on either side of his potion table, the planks of purple painted wood holding volumes and tomes of spell books, diaries of witches before him, and his own detailings of magical happenings he planned on passing to his own coven when he formed one. In between the clusters of books were vials and flasks, tubes and containers all holding various ingredients to his most used potions. While they weren't readily available at a Whole Foods or farmer's markets, his shelves were still stocked to the brim of newt's tongue, friar's goo, and pixie clippings. Some bottles were glowing in the low light, others boiling without any heat beneath, and the rest standing atop the wood with clear views as to what was held inside. His bed had been an afterthought in the design process, leaving the mattress to float from the floor with the help of an incantation after Harry didn't feel like picking out a proper frame and boxspring to go along with the bedding. He hadn't planned on inviting anyone to his bedroom, so he didn't bother to will away any of the less than mortal items dotted throughout. 

Making a point to slow himself down with a calculated trip over his own feet, Harry flicked his fingers with a mumbled incantation under his breath. The vials were now replaced with the illusion of wildflowers and different decorations filling the glasses, his spellbooks guised as classics, and bed now held up with he help of a cherry-wood frame. The glamour rippled into place just in time as (Y/N) stumbled in beside him.

"Are you okay?" she giggled out, her attention solely on him after his fake stumble. 

"'M alright, yeah," he agreed with a breathy laugh, "Jus' drank a little more than I thought, I guess." 

(Y/N) accepted his explanation readily with a giggling nod of her head. Pulling her along with him, Harry showed her to the bathroom, opening the door with a flourish. Working together, they came up with a drunken plan to try to wipe the stain out using some soap and washcloths he had stored under his sink. All it took was a few swipes over the soaked stains to realize they weren't going to get too far with this method. 

"Do you have bleach or something we could put on it?" (Y/N) murmured with a furrowed brow, her hands holding the top of her costume taut as she worked on the bust, and Harry the skirt. 

"Not while it's on you," he told her absently, making a conscious effort to keep from using his magic to buff away the electric blue on her dress. Harry didn't realize she'd stopped her efforts until he looked up from where he was wiping away with a still pristine—though soapy—flannel, (Y/N) no longer matching his buffing. "What?" he asked when he matched her gaze. 

"Do you have anything I can wear while we bleach it?" 

Harry blinked as he processed her question. She wanted to wear his clothes?

"Are y'sure, love? 'S gonna take a while to get the stain out even with bleach, and we'd still have to rinse and dry it. 'S already really late." 

Her answer came with the help of a shrug. "It's already, like, one a.m. anyway. What's a few more hours?" 

A smile grew on his features at her nonchalance. She was cute.

"Alright," he said, standing to the full of his height, "I'll grab y'something and y'can get changed while I take your stuff to the laundry. That alright?" 

The perky nod she gave him was enough to have him backing out of the bathroom with his dimples poking into the apples of his cheeks. Harry gazed through rose-tinted glasses as he rifled through his dresser, looking for his softest sweats and most comfortable top to let her wear while he feigned the act of running her costume through the wash (now that he suggested the timeframe, he kind of had to stick to it despite the fact he was going to have the stain out in two seconds flat with a quick spell). Landing on a pair of emerald green sweatpants and a slouchy black top, he returned to the bathroom to find (Y/N) untwisting her hair from the ornate clip she had stashed in the strands. 

"Thank you!" Her voice was a chirp as she smiled up at him, the clothes being bundled to her chest after taking them from his offered hand. "I'll be out in a second, H." 

The dazed nod of his head came just before she shut the door to give herself some privacy in his bathroom. Harry didn't even think before he was sinking into the edge of his bed, gaze stitched to the jamb of the door to watch for any changes in the sliver of light peeking through, any sign of her coming back to him. 

Before tonight, Harry had thought she was pretty, sure. He wanted to get to know her, of course, but he couldn't say his attraction went further than the pretty face that was presented to him every time he picked up his sister, especially with only a few stories here and there shared by Gemma that explained some of the sweet character that made up (Y/N). But after this, getting to know her while she danced with him, flirting and playing while giving up tidbits of herself and the life she had outside of that yoga class, Harry could feel the cocoon of butterflies infiltrating his stomach. 

This was one of Gemma's friends Harry could understand where she was coming from with her attempts to fend him off and away from her. She was entirely too good for him, he was realizing. Even with her drunken mouth, not once had a soured word left her lips. Her unfiltered thoughts were just as kind and bubbly and Gems had talked her up to be. 

But, while he could understand he may not be the kind of perfection that should be gifted to a woman like (Y/N), that didn't mean he wasn't going to try anyway. Part of lacking perfection meant he made up for it with a smidge of selfishness. 

The second (Y/N) was twisting the knob and pushing the door open, Harry rose to his feet, ready to dote on her and fix every problem she might present to him. Dressed in his dark clothing, seeing the fabric adorning her body was a stark contrast to the creams and pastels he'd grown accustomed to seeing her in, especially compared to the ethereal white dress she'd had draped over her the whole night. 

Emerald green sweats dragged over the stained hardwood under her feet as she stepped out of the bathroom, the wad of white and blue fabric balled up against her chest while her hair had been clipped back, the twist refined and cleaner than how she'd had it tied back before. Her makeup wasn't quite as perfect as he was sure it had been at the start of the night, the shine of her skin peeking through the layer of powders and pigments she had distributed with her lashes losing the high curl he'd met her with. But, Harry liked those peeks at the less-than-perfect (Y/N) beneath; he liked every version of her. 

"Thank you, again, Harry," (Y/N) sighed, the glassy lacquer over her eyes shining in the low light of his bedroom, "You're sure it's alright if I stick around until my clothes are clean?" 

"Of course," he answered on instinct, canting his head to the side, "We'll jus' have to stay up here and hide, I think. I hear some people around here are real sticklers about having a costume." 

Catching the joke at her expense with the way she had reacted at Mitch not having dressed up, (Y/N) let out a peal of laugher, boosting his ego at the high reaction to his mid-level joke. When she leveled out, though her eyes were still creased and squinted at the width of her smile, she placed a gentle hand on his arm that effected his balance more than he would have liked to admit. "It's alright if I crash in your room then? I promise as soon as my stuff is done, I'll be right out, though!"

"More than alright with that, darling. Y'don't need to worry about rushing out, either," he cemented, the words sounding a lot dreamier than he meant, "I was getting tired down there, anyway. And we can actually talk up here; 's quiet." 

(Y/N)'s features softened at the mention of her taking her time with him, getting a moment to stay and speak with him without a time limit. 

With her looking up at him like that, it took effort for him to excuse himself with her stained costume in hand, keeping up the facade of depositing it in the laundry room and working to get the stain out with all the bleach and detergent he had. He left his room with slow steps, more than one glance tossed over his shoulder as he saw her venture towards his glamoured bookshelf. A look of wonder crossed her face when he was sure she wasn't aware he was watching. 

It was that vision that tided him over as he trekked to the laundry room, following the motions until he reached the space. Forgoing the bleach and whatever else she figured he would use to help resurrect the fabric, Harry only brushed the pads of his fingers over the electric blue stain, a warmth following after as the incantation muttered under his breath took effect. Before his eyes, the blue sucked itself in, reducing the long draw that started on the bodice of her dress and down to the mid of her skirt until it was nothing more than a tiny dot on the waist that flickered away in a blink. In pristine condition, Harry plucked at the dress by the shoulders and held it up. 

Perfect. 

In order to maintain the facade, he carefully hung up the garment in the laundry room, figuring he at least had another hour to spend with a quick break between so he could pretend to throw the dress into the dryer. The time it took him to make his way to the laundry room had been cut in half on his way back, eager to return to the wannabe witch in his quarters. 

Pushing open the slightly cracked door, he found (Y/N) on his bed with one of his vials in hand and a book splayed open on the mattress. She looked up at him with bright eyes when she realized he had returned. 

While his illusions were strong, able to trick the eye of even the most skeptical of witches, that didn't mean they could hold up against someone digging their fingers through the veil. The spell could only do so much when whoever was gazing upon it went looking for answers. 

"Harry!" she bubbled off, practically bouncing in her spot with the mattress creaking underneath. 

"W-What are y'looking at, love?" he asked her, voice cautious as he took measured steps towards her. While she didn't seem particularly disturbed by what she found, he didn't want to spook her if she happened to be teetering on the edge. 

"One of those books on your shelf," she smiled, pointing at a passage on the worn page in front of her, "You really go all out, don't you?" 

Crawling onto the bed beside her, Harry peered over her shoulder at the book. A spell for how to grow a witch's garden, complete with a guide for the best seeds for beginners and an illustration with different critters growing out of a soiled plot. This was a good one; he used this one a lot in college when he was too broke to go out and get his potion ingredients. It had been hard to hide from Mitch before he knew, though.

"What do you mean?" Harry pressed, feeling sober as he sussed out where she was coming from. 

"For Halloween," she stated, a 'duh' tone to her words, "With all your decorations, I mean. Where did you even find something like this?" 

Harry deflated on the spot when he realized she thought this was all apart of his costume, his commitment to the holiday stretching as far as filling his bedroom. "Oh yeah," he sighed, a gently nod of his head having his curls swaying around his face, "'S my favorite time of year, what can I say." 

"I can tell," (Y/N) laughed, turning the page of the book with a vial of lavender's blood in her hand, "It's like a witch's lair in here. All you're missing is one of those big pots." 

"A cauldron?" Only the head of the coven had one of those. 

"Yes, that! Where they make all their potions and cook kids for dinner, and everything." The way (Y/N) muttered those details, her words could have been taken as fact. If he got far enough, he knew he would have a lot of fun dispelling all of the myths floating around her pretty head. 

"I'll have to think of that for next year. Definitely not really selling the whole witch thing without it, am I?" Propping himself up beside her with a hand sinking into the mattress behind him, Harry settled into his spot. With (Y/N)'s shoulder exposed thanks to the slouchy nature of the shirt he gave her, he felt himself begin to float off in his thoughts.

He wondered what she would taste like if he stole a kiss on the cuff of her exposed shoulder. 

"I don't know," she mused, the sound of her voice pulling him out of his head, "I think you sold it really well. Even without that pot thing, you've got that thing about you."

"I do?" he pressed, feeling all too satisfied at the peek into her thoughts about him.

"Yeah, it's like... I don't know what to call it," she started, her voice falling to a lower volume as her brows pinched together, "Is it an aura? Or is it a—" 

Her explanation was cut off as soon as she turned her head to face him, her mouth dropping into a gap when she realized just how close he'd come to her. The tangle of her lashes could be seen up close now that he wasn't hindered by the colored lights from downstairs or the obstacle of distance. If he could, Harry would have sat here all night counting her lashes and recounting them three times over just to be sure. Anything to keep him close. 

But, right now, his main focus was the pout of her gaped lips. 

"What were y'saying, love?" he prodded, absently bringing his free hand up to cradle the soft of her cheek. He could have sworn he felt the skin heat under his palm. 

"Um," she hummed, her gaze flicking between his own before skating down the bridge of his nose and the hills of his Cupid's bow, "I don't know, actually." 

"My aura?" he offered though he didn't even really listen to what he was saying. 

Recognition flickered in her irises for just a moment before it was melted away in favor of letting something much warmer and honey-dipped to take it's place. Again, there was that circuit she ran from his eyes, to his nose, and down to the pout of his lips. Oh, a quick detour to the small mole that was stationed just off to the side of his mouth. 

"Yeah, that," she muttered, shifting in her spot to give him the full of her attention with the book forgotten for the time being, "I like your's. It makes me feel... warm. It's nice." 

"Yeah?" he smiled, tilting his head to the side just so, "'M nice? I like your aura too, honey. 'S very sweet; giving me butterflies if 'm being honest." 

"I am?" she asked, her features lighting up as she stilled with her gaze matching his. 

"Mhm," Harry hummed, a grin stretching across his features, "You've got me bad, darling, I can't lie. Been wanting to get to know y'since I picked up Gem that first time. You're so pretty, I couldn't get y'off my mind." 

When the tip of his nose nudged against hers, Harry felt a bit smug when he heard the hitch in her breath. His hold on her cheek solidified into a grounding touch, ensuring he was right here with her and he had her just where he wanted. In the same moment he opened his mouth to ask the same question he'd had on his mind since he saw her outside of the yoga studio, he was cut off by the sound of his wannabe witch's voice. 

"Can I kiss you?" 

It was a no-brainer, the way he reacted. Not only was she the sweetest thing in the world asking him for a kiss, but she'd read his mind completely. Maybe she did have some power in her, if she'd read him so clearly. 

Tipping his head, Harry pressed his lips to hers in a tender kiss. The lingering essence of alcohol was the first taste he picked up from her skin before he was washed away with the flavor of the remnants of her lip gloss she'd started the night with. Notes of hot cocoa with whipped cream had him smiling into the kiss, the slight grit of glitter touching at his own lips.

"Hot chocolate?" he murmured against her lips, unterrupting himself with another taste of her soft lips. 

"Hm?" (Y/N) hummed, the noise almost a throwaway as she brought her hands to cradle his face, the vial of lavender's blood rolling somewhere across his bed. At least he had a cork in it. 

"Your lip gloss. 'S hot chocolate, isn't it?" 

(Y/N)'s mouth erupted into a smile that matched his own, only falling when she had to pucker to give him something real to taste. "Oh yeah," she sighed with amusement tinting the words, "I forgot about that, sorry." 

"Don't be sorry, love," he said, going in for another smattering of kisses, the soft sounds of the contact filling his room. "I like it." 

She all but melted at his admission, Harry being the only thing that kept her steady as she fell into him. Mindful of the fact the both of them had been drinking tonight, (Y/N) seemingly a tiny bit more effected still, he maneuvered himself to lay back onto his bed with a bounce of the mattress. He pulled (Y/N) to lay atop him, her torso pressed against his while their legs tangled together side-by-side over his duvet. 

Slotting his lips between her own, Harry got to taste her mouth and a swipe of her tongue. As much as he wanted to explore more, taste more, learn more, he left her to tease him with those disappearing licks from the tip of her tongue and wet kisses delivered to his lips. It was more than enough to feel her heartbeat hammering against his chest from how tightly they were pressed together. 

"Harry?" she asked after who knows how long of their only communication coming in the form of lingering kisses.

"Hm?"

"How much longer do you think for my clothes?" 

Harry hummed with a growing smile. He feigned deep thought as he pulled away just enough to graze the corner of her mouth, pressing a lingering kiss to the apple of her cheek. "We have time." 

—————

"Did you sleep with her?" 

Harry rolled his eyes as soon as he heard his sister's voice in the kitchen. He had been hoping he woke up early enough to avoid her. 

"No, Gemma." 

"So why is her costume in the laundry room and she's in your bed?" 

He was too hungover for this. 

"She spilled something on her dress, and then we jus' talked in my room until she fell asleep. I swear on mum's spellbook that we didn't have sex." He looked her in the eye as he made his promise, raising a brow to see if she would bother to argue with him. 

For the first time since moving away from the coven, Harry saw his sister give in. With a flutter of her eyes that he swore were identical to their mother's, she took her metaphorical step back. 

"Sorry," she offered, shaking her head as she picked up another discarded ghoul cup, "I think I'm in a bad mood this morning." 

"'S alright," Harry told her, meaning the sentiment, "I get it, you know. After really meeting her, I get why you've been a little protective." 

Gemma brightened up at the roundabout way he had admitted she was right. "Yeah? Doesn't she kind of remind you of C—" 

"Colleen," he finished for her, referencing one of the sweetest women of their coven. The resident healer and brightest of their little family. Despite being closer to one hundred than Harry could imagine living, she never lost that starry sparkle or softened heart. 

"A younger, not as nosy version, but she's definitely a little like Colleen." 

Harry agreed with a hum as he jerked his chin to commanded the butter he'd pulled from the fridge to spread across his toast, extra slices for (Y/N) included. "I promise 'm not trying to mess anything up, Gems, really. We talked a lot last night, and she ended up falling asleep, that's all. But, if she'll let me, I do want to take her out." Harry paused, shuffling his feet with his gaze falling to the kitchen island. "Is that alright?" 

"You don't have to ask me for permission to date anyone," Gemma stated, shaking her head with a twist to her lips, "I'm sorry I've been hard on you about all of that stuff. I think I'm just missing mum a lot, so I'm trying to be like her as if that'll be the same, so I'm sorry about that. Whatever you do, as long as you're happy, I'm fine with it." 

It was unspoken the way Harry offered her a hug with his opened arms, Gemma wrapping her own around his middle when she was close enough. As much as they loved to argue, Harry would do anything for his sister; there was no one else he'd rather try out this suburb experiment with. 

A silence that felt alot like the kind that used to fill their home with the coven settled over the party-torn kitchen. Running a hand over her spine, Harry tightened his hug just before loosening and pulling away enough to catch her reaction to his next works. 

"I think (Y/N) knows, though. About the witch thing." 

"What?!" 

—————

Harry squeezed (Y/N)'s hand in his own as he followed the directions she'd given him to take her home. In his passenger seat, she was still clad in her borrowed clothes, slouching shoulder prevailing with her skin shining the morning light.

"I had the weirdest dream last night," (Y/N) started, sounding much too chipper for a night of drinking and the fact the time was still before noon. 

"Yeah? What was it?" Harry pressed, hoping he sounded as interested as he actually was despite the lack of energy under his skin. 

"Well, you were—I don't even know how to describe it," she muttered, stumbling over her ideas though Harry was very much stuck on the idea of him starring in one of her dreams. Even if it was weird. "I guess you were a kind of witch or something," (Y/N) picked up, her choice of words getting Harry's eyes widening before schooling his features. 

"Really? What was I doing?" 

"You had one of those spell books you had on your shelf, but it was real," (Y/N) bubbled off, sounding sweetly enthused at her imagination, "You were showing me all these potions, and there was this black cat following you, and then things got kind of weird but you were still a witch." 

"What got weird?" Harry pressed, his brows pinching as he took another instructed turn from his GPS.

"Well," she pitched, messy hair falling around her face, "Your black cat turned into some kind of squid or something and started inking all over the place and I kept trying to get the stains out and no one would help me. I had to wake myself up before I got too upset." 

The laughter that puffed from Harry's chest was incredulous as he listened to her recount the tale with conviction behind it. "'M sorry I didn't help you, love," he offered, bringing their joined hands to his lips with a kiss pressed to the back of hers, "I promise I'll help y'if m'cat ever turns into a squid, alright?" 

While his smile lingered on his face, Harry could tell the tone shifted when he pulled up in front of (Y/N)'s apartment building. Silence settled over the car. 

"Har—"

"So, I—" 

(Y/N) cut herself off with a jump while Harry immediately snapped his mouth closed to let her go first. It only took a nod of encouragement on his end and a squeeze of her hand to have (Y/N) taking the opportunity to speak. 

"I was just going to say that, I know we kissed and everything already, last night," she started, a beep breath filling her lungs in the middle when her gaze dropped to her hand in his, "But, I was wondering if you might want to go out, still? I get it if this was just a little party-thing, but—um—" 

"Are you asking me on a date?" Harry couldn't help the smug curl of his lips, a dimple thumbing into his cheek. 

With a shake of her head, gaze still down, (Y/N) rolled her eyes though the motion lacked grit with a tender smile on her lips. "I guess so. You don't have to sound so sure of yourself, though." 

"Me? Smug and cocky? I don't see it," he teased, leaning across the center console until he only had to speak in a gentle tone for her to hear, "If 'm not too sure of myself for you, I would love to take y'out, honey. It would be a bit of a bummer if we have to tell people our first date was jus' us making out in m'bedroom after walking in on someone getting head in the bathroom." 

The bubbling laugh he pulled from her was one he wished he could commemorate somehow, make it into something he could wear with pride wherever he went. That was something he would be smug about, no questions asked. 

"I don't know, I don't think that sounds that bad," she played along, chancing a look through the fan of her lashes, "But—um—I don't have to work on Friday, so maybe we could go to dinner or something?" 

"Got anywhere special in mind?" he asked, a lilt to his tone. 

Her messy hair fluttered with a nod of her head. "Kind of. There's this place downtown that's pretty good, but it's two doors down from this shop that has all of these 'witchy' things, so we could go there, too, if you haven't been yet." 

"I don't think I have," Harry smiled, the curl lopsided, "Y'gonna take me and show me how it all works?" 

The way she lit up at his gentle words had dangerous implications. If she wasn't careful, Harry was going to keep her forever. 

"Maybe, they even have a cauldron to go in your room next year." 

"We can only hope." 

He couldn't help but to kiss her then. The scent of hot cocoa and sparkle of glitter stained his mouth all the way home. 

—————

I know this is late for a halloween fic but I really hope you guys still like it! thank u sm for reading and sorry for any mistakes! if you have any ideas or requests of your own please send them in !

[secret-sturniolo]

my hero - chris sturniolo

summary - when a guy at a party makes y/n uncomfortable, chris comes to her rescue

warnings - creepy men, implied crimes, mentions of alcohol, one kiss

a/n - sorry for not posting for a few days, i have been busy with school and work. im hoping i can write some more this weekend for you guys. i also hit over 50 followers. crazy!!

When my best friends Nick, Matt, and Chris invited me to come to this Halloween party with them in LA, of course I said yes. I went as the Queen of Hearts. My costume was more revealing than the clothes that I normally wear, but since it was Halloween, I decided why not have some fun? The triplets all went as Scream characters because I told them it would be cute if they matched, and of course they listened to me. I was already at the triplets house, so once I was done getting ready in Nick's room, I walked back downstairs to where everyone else was. I was met with wide eyes and surprised looks, as I hadn't told any of them what I was dressing up as.

"Girl, you look amazing!" Nick excitedly told me.

Matt just smiled, and I tried not to blush as I felt Chris's gaze on me, taking in every inch of my body. When he noticed I had caught him looking, he just gave me a small smirk. Once we were all ready, Matt started the car and drove us all to the party. I decided to sit in the back seat, but I was surprised when Chris gave up his normal seat in the front to Nick so he could sit by me in the back. We quietly talked and giggled with each other the whole way there. At one point, Chris leaned over closer to me and whispered in my ear.

"You look really good tonight."

I smiled, my cheeks turning red. "Thanks Chris, you don't look to bad yourself." I replied.

When we got to the party, it was busier and louder than I was expecting for a house that was on the smaller side, but I put my worries to the side and decided I was going to have some fun. Of course there was alcohol being served, but since neither me nor the triplets drink, we all grabbed sodas instead. At some point, we got split up, and because of the loud music and people dancing everywhere, it was hard for us to find each other. I had to use the bathroom, so I started to make my way upstairs. I discovered that there was a short line, so I leaned up against the wall and pulled out my phone to pass the time. I jumped when I felt a hand against my lower back, dangerously close to my ass.

"Hey pretty lady. What are you doing here all alone?"

I looked up to see an older man I had never met before, alcohol on his breath. I moved away to try and get his hand off of me. Instead of taking the hint, he roughly grabbed my arm and pulled me back, closer to him.

"Where do you think you're going? You're coming with me, I can't leave a pretty girl like you all alone."

"Get your hands off me you freak! And I'm not here alone, I'm here with my friends, so I'm good!" I yelled at him. I guess he didn't like that, because he pulled me even rougher towards the nearby bedroom that must have been unlocked.

"Shut up now, if you know what's good for you!" he whisper-yelled in my ear.

I was not about to let this man get what he wanted. That's when I saw Chris out of the corner of my eye. I screamed for him as loud as I could.

"Chris! Help!"

Even through all of the noise, he turned immediately, pushing through the crowd to get to me. When he reaches us, he shoves the man away from me.

"Hey, what are you touching my girl for you fucking creep!" he says.

My girl? I thought, briefly confused but I went with it.

"You didn't tell me you had a boyfriend. What a shame!" The creepy guy replied. This got Chris even more mad.

"If I see you touch another woman like that, we are going to have some real problems." He turned to me. "Y/n, let's get out of here."

He grabbed my hand and led me away before the other man even had a chance to respond.

"Chris, thank you so much." I told him sincerely.

"Of course, he had no right to do that to you. He didn't hurt you, did he?"

"I mean, I might have a bruise on my arm from how hard he grabbed me, but otherwise I'm fine. Just shaken up, that's all."

He didn't reply, but squeezed my hand tighter, letting me know he heard me. When we got to the car, Matt and Nick were already waiting for us. Chris must have texted them already.

"Y/n, are you okay? I'm so sorry that guy was such a creep." Nick said to me, pulling me into a hug.

"It's okay, but I think I'd just rather go home now." I told them. Matt nodded, getting into the drivers seat and starting the car. The whole way home, Chris's grip on my hand didn't loosen.

*time skip until they get home*

When we got back to the boy's house, Chris motioned for me to follow him to his room downstairs.

"If it's okay with you, I think you should stay here tonight. I don't want you to be alone."

I nodded. "Thank you, Chris. So much. I don't even want to think about what that man wanted to do to me."

Chris slowly walked over to me.

"Y/n, I want to make sure no man ever touches you like that again." he says looking into my eyes.

"What are you implying?" I asked him, secretly hoping it was what I thought it was.

"I'm saying that if you were my girlfriend I wouldn't let anybody else treat you like that." He smiles mischievously.

"Is this you saying you want to date me?" I retort.

"Well, what would you say?"

"Maybe this will answer your question." I say, cupping his cheek and I kiss him passionately. He immediately kisses me back, wrapping his arms around me.

"Looks like I have my answer."

[noonaishere]

Music of the Heart [J.YH] - eighty-eight | being kind is punk

Owing to some cola stains in the carpeting - and the carpet color being a color that was no longer used in the offices - the building manager, upon inspecting the room that would become your studio, decided that it was the rare moment in a building manager’s career where he would be able to change a rooms decor without having to inconvenience the person using it by kicking them out for a while. You didn’t mind, the idea of soda sitting in the rug for a while made you worried there might be bugs in or under the carpet, and since the other members of Crom3r were dealing with the emotional residue of their ex-producer, you didn’t want to deal with physical aspects, in the sense of suddenly finding pests in your private studio years down the line. As it was, you and Yujin were beginning your bass lessons in a lesson room you were given use of, until your studio was ready.

Yujin took out her bass and plugged it in and got comfortable in her seat. She watched you as you, bass in your lap, flipped through what you had prepared.

“Ooooookay. Did you go over what I gave you?”

“Oh!” She leaned over and took the folder you gave her out of her backpack. In the time between when you gave it to her, and her showing up for her first lesson now, she had covered it in stickers.

As she opened it to look for something, you read one outloud, red text over a picture of Karl Marx:

“‘Dude, I fucking warned you, I fucking told you bro.’”

“Oh!” She said, realizing what you were reading. “I’m sorry--”

You laughed. “Don’t be. The man was right.”

She laughed awkwardly. “It’s such bullshit that he was right so long ago, and we’re still doing shit he critiqued… or worse.”

“You’re right about that.” You pointed to another sticker, “I also like the Lisa Frank dolphin next to the classic ‘Unionize’ fish poster.”

She looked at it and laughed. “I was going for a theme.”

You smiled. “I like it.”

She nodded awkwardly. “So… I went over the self-test,” she fished it out of the folder.

“How’d you do?”

“Um… I mean, I haven’t been playing that long, so I didn’t get very far.”

You took it from her and looked at her notes: what had been easy, what had been difficult, and the blank expanse of the second half denoting what she didn’t even bother trying at all.

“I’m sorry.”

You looked at her. Her brows were furrowed together in worriment, maybe she felt she had failed you or failed herself before she even got a chance to start. You smiled a small smile. “Don’t worry about it.”

“Wha-- isn’t it bad that I couldn’t finish it all?”

“Not at all. This was just to let me know what level we were starting at. I never thought you were a prodigy, and even if you were, I’d still have to know so I would know what to teach you.”

She thought for a moment and nodded.

“Okay? This was just for me to know where to start. That’s all it is.”

She nodded again. “Okay.”

“Okay? I’m not mean, I promise.”

She laughed softly.

“I had a really mean violin teacher when I was a kid, and I can promise you: I’ll never treat you the way they treated me, okay?”

Her eyes widened. “How mean were they?”

“Hmm…” How much did you want to explain? “He made me practice scales - at increasing speeds - until my fingers bled. And he made me practice bowing until I had to have an ice pack on my wrist, because the nerves were inflamed.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, he was a mean guy.”

“Why didn’t your mom do something about it?”

“Well…” you weren’t sure how much to say without starting a huge conversation. “She didn’t see a problem with it.”

She gasped.

You raised your eyebrows in shock.

“That’s not punk rock.”

You laughed loudly. “I don’t think they were trying to be punk rock.”

“Being mean isn’t punk. Being kind is. Look--” she searched her folder for a moment for a white on black sticker that said ‘Being kind is punk’. “See?”

You chuckled. “Well I definitely agree with that. But, he and my mom were old farts, so they weren’t too concerned with being punk. Or kind.”

She frowned.

“But we don’t have to worry about them anymore. I haven’t seen them in years.”

“Good. They shouldn’t be known, if they treated you like that.”

You laughed. She was very decided for someone so young. It was like looking into a mirror and seeing your younger self, but if that younger self was allowed to be who she was, instead of having to hide. You shook off the feeling; you were supposed to be teaching bass, not getting emotional.

“So, I have something new for you,” you handed her a paper. It was a list of songs you’d be teaching her, along with the techniques that went with being able to play them:

Songs:

--Simple Money - Pink Floyd Back in Black - AC/DC Feel Good Inc - Gorillaz Funkenstein - Parliament Low Rider - War Good Times - Chic Give It Away - Red Hot Chili Peppers

--Medium Come As You Are - Nirvana My Sharona - The Knack Lust for Life - Iggy Pop Can’t Stop - Red Hot Chili Peppers Love Will Tear Us Apart - Joy Division I Want You Back - Jackson 5

--Complex Giant Steps - John Coltrane Roundabout - Yes Hysteria - Muse Wynona's Big Brown Beaver - Primus Killing in the Name Of - Rage Against the Machine Portrait Of Tracy - Jaco Pastorius Playing God - Polyphia G.O.A.T. - Polyphia Hemispheres - Rush YYZ - Rush Schism - Tool 46+2 - Tool

--Slap Bass Fun Zone! Alright - Jamiroquai Higher Ground - Red Hot Chili Peppers Earthquake - Graham Central Station Get on The Floor - Michael Jackson Guerrilla Radio - Rage Against the Machine Aeroplane - Red Hot Chili Peppers Emergency on Planet Earth - Jamiroquai

--Holy Blisters, Batman! Mr Pink - Level 42 Come on My Selector - Squarepusher

--Boy, Do I Love Practicing! Classical Thump - Victor Wooten

Her eyes went wide. “I… have to learn… all of these?”

You raised a brow at her. “Yes, right now.”

“What?”

You laughed. “Obviously not right now. This is for however long it takes for you to learn each song. We’ll start with one, and when you can play it correctly - and confidently - we’ll go onto the next one.”

“Oh…” she stared at the list.

“If there’s songs you like and really want to learn, we can add them too. These are just songs I think are good to learn to help you become a good bass player.”

She nodded, eyes still on the list. You took her silence as meaning you could keep talking.

“So I tried to organize them into easy, medium and hard, but really it’s more a scale of simple to complex? Like the techniques don’t change, but the bassist is using more techniques together or doing them faster or going from one to the other faster, and that makes it a little harder to play.”

“…Why does it say ‘Slap Bass Fun Zone!’?”

You laughed. “Because a lot of people like slap bass, ‘cause, you know, it makes da funny noises. So I added a bunch of songs that were good for practicing it.”

She nodded.

You let her look at the list some more. Did she know all the songs? Was she confused? Should you ask?

“‘Holy Blisters, Batman!’?” She asked.

“Those are really fast slap bass songs. And ‘Classical Thump’, the only song in its category, is a practice song that Victor Wooten wrote and later recorded for an album. It gets complex but we can take it slow.”

She nodded. “Why is there a Michael Jackson song?”

“His bassist, Lewis Johnson, was nicknamed Thunder Thumbs: absolute madman. You should look up concert footage of him when you get a chance.”

She nodded again. “Higher Ground? Isn’t that a Stevie Wonder song?”

You nodded. “Good eye. You're more than welcome to listen to the original, but the Red Hot Chili Pepper cover is a really good instance of slap bass because their bassist, Flea, puts a lot of juice into it. A lot of zest. A lot of… pizazz-- why are you looking at me like that?”

She looked from you to the list quietly. “Do you really listen to all of these groups?”

“Yeah, why?”

“You listen to so many things. I want to be like that.”

You felt like you were going to cry. Other people rarely complimented your wide musical tastes, and whenever someone did, it always made you a bit emotional. Even if you didn’t show it.

“Well, you know,” you started. “Just look for new things all the time, and you, too, can have a music player with a terabyte microSD in it that’s half full.”

She looked up from the list in shock. “Wha-- literally? Half full?”

“Yep.”

“You have that much music?”

“Mhm. Most of them are FLAC files so, you know, bigger than MP3s.”

“Yeah, but they sound so much better.”

You smiled and nodded. “It’s definitely worth sacrificing the space for.”

“Wow… that’s my new goal. I also want to be a person who listens to that much music.”

You laughed. “Let’s start with these songs and you can listen to their other songs, and bring me whichever ones you want to learn.”

She nodded emphatically. “How long do I have to learn each one?”

“How long? What do you mean?”

“I only have so long to learn them, right?”

You looked at her, confused. “Who told you that?”

“Well… we have to learn everything super fast, don’t we? Or they won’t let us debut.”

“Wha-- who said that?”

“Theo’s friend at another company.”

“Oh… at another company.” You nodded.

She looked at you, confused.

“Yujin, Wonderland won’t force you to debut if you aren’t all ready for it.”

“Oh… really?”

“Of course. At the very least, if we debuted you and you hadn’t practiced enough, *we’d* look bad, but I’m sure the CEO doesn’t want to put you all on a stage if he doesn’t think you’re ready for it yet.”

She nodded. “We met him when we signed our contracts.”

“What’d you think?”

“He was nice.”

“He helped me make your lesson plan.”

“Really?”

“Mhm. And if he can take that much care with making sure you’re learning what you need to learn, I don’t think he’ll force ONiiX to debut when you’re not ready. Okay?”

“Okay.”

“Now… What you really want is to be able to play these correctly and in time, and it’s not weird if you want to practice a particular part over and over.”

“Do people do that?”

Your eyebrows ticked up in concern. “What do you mean?”

“Do people practice a part of a song a lot?”

You looked at her for a second, a small smile snaking across your lips as you tried to suppress a laugh. “Um… Yujin, what do you do when you practice?”

She shrugged. “I listen to a song and try to play it.”

“You play it by ear?”

“Yes?”

You nodded.

“Is that bad?”

“No, if you’re playing the song right then it means that your ability to detect pitch is good.”

“I… it doesn’t always sound good though. When I play”

You nodded. “Why don’t you play me a song you feel you know well, and we’ll see.”

She looked at the list. “Um, I know this one,” she pointed to the list.

“Back in Black?”

“Yeah. My dad likes it.”

“Okay,” you took the paper from her and put it on the table. “Go ahead and play it, and I’ll see what you mean.”

The song itself, if it had been played completely correctly and in time, was a little over four minutes. It took more than that for Yujin to play it as it was riddled with mistakes and her rhythm was a little all over the place. Part of the reason for that was, when she’d make a mistake, she’d become frustrated, yell at herself under her breath, and then trip over herself as she tried to fix it.

You watched, keeping your expression neutral, so she wouldn’t react to you and further become frustrated.

When it was over, she looked at you. “...Yeah.”

You nodded.

“We’re…” she whispered, “we’re going to be able to debut, right? Bibi is a really good singer, and Soul is an expert drummer, and Theo is such a good guitarist… I don’t want to disappoint them if I can’t keep up…”

You smiled softly. “You’re going to debut.”

Her brows furrowed, creasing over the bridge of her nose; she didn’t believe you.

“For one thing, you have me on your side. And you heard me play, so…”

“I guess… Am I really bad?”

You sighed. “You’re not terrible… you’re just a beginner.”

She frowned.

“And I have to say, for someone who’s just starting out to already have a band and a record label?” You whistled long. “Not bad. I wish I could have done that at your age.”

Her frown subsided a little. “What were you doing at my age?”

You guessed you could tell her. “Hiding my bass at a friend’s house and only practicing on the weekends because my tyrant mother wanted me to play violin instead.”

Her eyes widened in shock. “You’re lying.”

You laughed. “I wish I was.”

She thought for a moment. “Your mom sucks. Ah--!”

You laughed loudly.

“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said that.”

“You shouldn’t be, you’re right.”

“My mom says I sometimes talk without thinking. It gets me into trouble sometimes.”

“Well, you’re not in trouble now because you’re totally right. She does suck, that’s why I don’t talk to her anymore.”

She nodded.

“But!” You clapped your hands together. “You’re not me. You don’t have to teach yourself secretly: you have a really cool bass teacher who can get your skills to where you need them to be. Okay?”

She nodded, a little more hopeful.

“So, one of the first things you need to learn is how to practice.”

“How?”

“Mhm. So there’s this guy, he’s a guitarist, but if you want to see a good representation of someone practicing by themself, you can look up Tim Henson from Polyphia - I put a couple of their songs on there - he streams his practice sessions sometimes and you can see how he goes about thinking about what he wants to practice, how he treats himself; he doesn’t get mad, he just does the part again until he finally gets it.”

She took a pen out of her backpack and wrote his name down on the song list. “Just-- over and over?”

“Yep. Breaking it down into smaller parts and working on it until he has it, maybe he tries it slower to figure it out, but then he puts the pieces together and plays it at full speed, and what do you know? Now he can play it.”

She nodded.

“‘Start slow, play it well, then get faster.’ Mark King who has a song in the ‘Holy Blisters, Batman!’ section of the paper said that. Paraphrased.”

“Ugh… I don’t want to play slow though. I hate slow songs.”

You laughed. “Did you come into the world knowing how to use chopsticks and a spoon? Or did you eat with your hands first and learn the other stuff later?”

She opened her mouth to protest but thought better of it. “I guess you’re right.”

You smiled. You remember being like that, but at least you didn’t have to respond like how your teacher did.

“Slow doesn’t mean boring, though. But the only way to play something really well when it’s fast, is to play it extremely well when it’s slow. You get the pacing of the notes down right when you play it slow, and then you can gradually speed up until you play it at full speed.”

She nodded.

“I’ll get you a metronome from the company and make you some drills so you can get better at rhythm too. As the bassist, rhythm is the thing that you and the drummer do and you have to do it well.”

“I want to do solos sometimes though.”

“And you will, but your rhythm needs to be on point for the rest of the song because, when you pick up the bass, that’s the job you give yourself.”

You tilted your head as you looked at her. She was doing a lot of nodding and quiet contemplation.

“So:” You said with a smile.

She looked up.

“Let’s go over that song again, and I’ll teach it to you.”

  previous | main cast | masterlist | next

a/n: Do we like Yujin? Do you know what her name is from? 😏

Send an ask or leave a comment if you want to be added to the tag list! 🎵 Any comments, reblogs, or asks are appreciated! I love talking with you guys and seeing what you’re saying about the chapters, it keeps me going 🥰

@luvvvx • @iamthehotdemon • @hrts4hanniehae • @rachs-words • @stayatinykatsy • @anythingrelatingtojinyoung​

[laurenairay]

you can’t blame a girl for trying - C. Makar

Summary: The night Luna met Cale, she thought her world was going to get turned upside down…so why are all of their dates such disasters? Also known as, the Cale Makar dating fail fic. 4 times a date with Cale failed, and 1 time a date went well.

Word Count: 9.8k words.

Warnings: some bad language, awkward situations, one bloody injury, anxiety, 4+1, fluff

A/N: this has been a work of love over the past few months, a WIP I kept going back and forth from, and I just want to say thanks to @wyattjohnston​ for all of the support and encouragement!

Title credit; Lasso by The Band Perry

also tagging @hockeylvr59​ @fallinallincurls​ @starshine-hockey-girl​

*

Friday night

When I first laid eyes on you, Well, the night just felt so odd, You looked at me and the stars lined up, So I thought I'd heard from God, And I gave him my best shot.

Friday nights were made for dancing, drinking, and letting go of the stresses of the week. At least, that’s what Luna believed. Going out with friends to blow off some steam felt so cathartic, and this evening was no different. She’d come out to one of her favourite bars in Downtown Denver with some friends from work, and she’d danced, sang, and gossiped her heart out, a few shots of vodka easing the way into the weekend. This was her comfort zone for sure, and she knew her confidence turned heads just as much as the loud conversation with her friends did.

A few cute guys had come over to their table, clearly intent on talking to a couple of her friends – which Luna was absolutely cheerleading because get it girls – and she took the time to escape to the bar herself, ready for another drink. It was only when the bartender had taken her order that she noticed a guy staring at her from down the bar. Huh. He was cute, that much was clear even if he wasn’t Hollywood Handsome, and the way his shoulders filled out his shirt definitely caught her eye. Well it couldn’t hurt to hold a conversation of her own while her friends were busy, no? Luna flipped her long dark hair over her shoulder, tilting her head invitingly, and the guy’s eyes widened slightly before he slowly made his away over. She couldn’t remember the last time a guy looked so nervous to talk to her, especially a guy this cute, and it only enthralled her more. When he finally reached her side, she forced down the butterflies stirring in her stomach at just how much bigger he was than her. Wow.

“Hi,” she murmured, looking up at him through her lashes.

“Hi…do you come here often?”

Oh wow.

Luna couldn’t stop her inelegant snort at his cheesy words, grinning slightly at the mortified blush that crept over the guy’s face. “How often has that line worked for you?”

“I’ve literally never used that line before in my life, I am so sorry,” he groaned.

Simply by the horrified look on his face and the stiff way he held himself, it let her know that he was telling her the entire truth. Poor lamb. Somehow it was endearing though.

“I’m Luna,” she mused, holding out her hand.

He quickly took it, shaking her hand gently, yet she could still sense the strength of his grip. Definitely something she appreciated in a man.

“I’m Cale,” he replied, more relieved than anything else, “Do you mind if we forget the last 30 seconds?”

“Oh I’m remembering this for years – you’re not getting out of that embarrassing line that easily,” she smirked.

The guy…Cale…groaned but seemed to laugh at himself anyway, shrugging his agreement. “That’s fair.”

Luna just smiled to herself, taking him in. She tried waving off Cale’s offer to buy her drink as the bartender finally appeared back in front of her, smiling her thanks as Cale just added it to his tab – who was this guy? – taking a sip of her vodka soda while her eyes not-so-subtly ran over the man next to her. Just as cute as she’d thought when she first spotted his eyes on hers, shoulders somehow even broader in the best way, and his blue eyes were both pretty and earnest. Not to mention tousled light brown hair that she just wanted to run her fingers through, and a perma-blush dusting across his cheeks? He’d definitely caught her attention looking this good, even if his clear awkwardness being in this environment caught her attention even more.

What was this guy’s deal?

“You really don’t come here often, do you?”

“I can’t say a bar of this…intensity is my usual forte, no. I’m just here with friends,” he admitted.

Honesty. She could appreciate that. And he was cute…

“So what would be your forte?” she asked smoothly, tilting her head ever-so-slightly again.

He immediately picked up on her change in tone, her lean towards flirting, and it was almost as if his whole demeanour changed; his shoulders broadened as he relaxed against the bar top, his nervousness eased out, and he smiled softly. She liked it.

“Somewhere a lot quieter. Can’t exactly talk to someone properly when I can’t hear them, hm? Can’t appreciate them like they deserve here,” he shrugged, although his eyes locked with hers, intense and intent.

Oh damn. How direct. How perfect.

“Somewhere quieter to appreciate someone? Like what?” she asked, smile curling at her lips, playing along with his flirting.

“A private intimate dinner. Maybe a little light music, just to set the mood. Candlelight, flowers, excellent wine,” he said with an effortless smile.

Oh he had game, finally.

“That sounds much more appealing than this place. I can see why it’s more your forte,” she said as neutrally as she could.

Nice and neutral, just to see what he would do next. Just to see if he would take the bait.

“Maybe I should take you some time then. Take the opportunity to get to know you properly,” he suggested, eyebrow raising in suggestion.

Oh wow. Hook, line, and sinker – she was intrigued.

“I could be up for that,” Luna replied simply, smiling innocently back, giving none of her racing thoughts away.

“Sounds like a date,” he grinned.

*

Thursday night

“So you’re really going out on a date with awkward bar guy?”

Luna glanced away from where she was putting on mascara in the mirror, frowning at her flatmate Elena standing in the doorway.

“Cale?” she asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Weird name,” Elena snorted.

“Rude,” Luna shot back.

Elena just stuck her tongue out in retaliation, making Luna laugh. It wasn’t that Elena was acting strange or jealous – she was protective. The two girls had lived together since college, meeting freshman year and moving in with a group of friends in sophomore year. While everyone else had moved away or moved back home, they were the only two to stay in Denver and they knew each other well enough to not want to separate as well.

She and Elena were two peas in a pod, both outgoing and still loving the nightlife that their chosen city gave them, but still with that comforting balance of girls’ nights in; both sharing so much in common that Luna truly considered Elena to be her best friend. And to be honest, Luna couldn’t fault her friend for being overprotective; it wasn’t like her dating history was all that great, and it could never hurt to have a friend looking out for her. Especially when it came to meeting up with strangers.

“Look, he’s really cute and we’re meeting in a public place,” Luna pointed out, “And he was really dorky with his flirting. Even when he got a little smoother, that blush told me everything I need to know about how little he actually flirts around.”

Elena tilted her head in acknowledgement. “Not a fuckboy?” she asked.

“Not that I can tell. I’m pretty good at spotting a red flag like that,” Luna mused.

“And you normally run headfirst towards those red flags,” Elena teased.

Well that was unfairly true.

“Maybe meeting Cale is the break I’ve been looking for,” Luna said, shrugging.

“For your sake, Lu, I hope so,” Elena laughed.

In the week that had passed since she’d met Cale in the bar, having exchange numbers after talking over a couple of drinks, they’d texted here and there; mostly to confirm what day and time to meet for the dinner he’d romanticised about, but also tentatively getting to know each other. Luna hadn’t been lying when she said that she hadn’t spotted any signs of him being a fuckboy. He seemed sweet, and genuine, and even a little shy, which surprised her considering how attractive he was. Then again, it wasn’t like her to judge a book by its cover, so she was trying to keep an open mind about how such a hot broad-shouldered guy could be so modest.

To be honest, she was looking forward to finding out more in person this Thursday night.

Soon enough, she was happy enough with her appearance, smoothing her floaty silk dress over her curves – apparently their restaurant tonight had a dress code – and by the time she’d slipped into a cute pair of heels, her uber was outside.

“Have fun!” Elena grinned from where she was sat on their sofa, “Don’t forget – no glove, no love.”

“Oh my god, not on the first date,” Luna groaned, feeling her cheeks heat up at the ridiculous advice.

Elena just shrieked with laughter as Luna shut the door behind her, leaving her cheeks still burning as she headed towards the waiting uber. The drive to the restaurant was short, not giving her any time to get too nervous, even though she’d taken even precaution by not giving Cale her address and so on, and when the uber pulled to a stop, she smiled to herself as she noticed Cale already standing in the street.

But when she got out of the car, shutting the door behind her, she noticed that Cale looked frazzled, eyes a little wild, sending a pang of worry through her body. What the hell?

“Uh, hi?” she said, more than a little awkward as she waved hello.

“Hi!” he blurted out, although he didn’t look any less stressed.

“Is everything okay?” she frowned.

“The restaurant we were meant to go to, the one I’d made a booking with for tonight, is closed,” he huffed, running a hand through his hair.

“What?”

How had he been able to make a booking, if the place was closed?

Cale pointed just to the left of where they were standing, and it was only then that she noticed a couple of even-more-frazzled people standing out the front of a darkened restaurant, in the typical white shirts and black trousers of waiters, talking to people apologetically.

“What happened?” she frowned.

“A pipe burst,” he explained, making her groan in understanding, “It flooded the main dining area but also shorted out their booking system.”

“So they couldn’t contact anybody who had reservations for tonight,” she guessed.

“Exactly!” Cale nodded, before sighing, “I just wanted tonight to be perfect, to wine and dine you just as I said, and even that can’t go right.”

The poor guy looked miserable, genuinely upset as well as flustered at the thought of not taking her out on the date he’d promised her, and it made her heart ache a little. When was the last time she’d met such a sincere person?

“Hey, this isn’t your fault. And it’s definitely not their fault, so there’s nothing to blame here other than some shitty pipes?” Luna mused.

Cale huffed out a laugh, nodding his acknowledgement, making Luna smile as he smiled slightly too.

“Sorry for not texting you in time – I only got here a few minutes before you did, and I spent that time talking to the restaurant staff as they apologised,” he winced.

“No harm, no foul,” she laughed, shrugging, “Not all plans go smoothly.”

“Still…we can reschedule? I’ll find another restaurant for another time?” Cale offered.

“We can’t still go out tonight?” Luna asked, confused.

Unless he was trying to think of an excuse not to see her…

“I mean, I don’t think anywhere I wanted to take you will seat us tonight without a reservation,” he explained.

Oh.

Oh.

He really wanted to wine and dine her, didn’t he? Pull out all the stops, everything fancy?

“You know, I don’t need anything high-end to be on a date with you,” she pointed out, “I’d be happy somewhere really low-key.”

“Really? Even though we’re dressed up fancy?” Cale frowned.

Luna looked down at her silk dress and his nicely tailored charcoal grey suit, before shrugging. “So we may be the nicest dressed people in the next place, that doesn’t matter.”

Cale laughed softly, shaking his head fondly. “You might be the most chilled-out person I’ve ever met.”

“And you are adorably flustered over a restaurant reservation,” she teased, earning a fierce blush, “Come on, relax a little. It’ll be fun.”

“I promise I’ll make it up to you,” he insisted.

What a sweetheart. Still incredibly flustered, but sweet.

“Alright, it’s a deal,” she mused, earning a smile, “And I know just the place. Let me just text my flatmate about the change in plans.”

“Ah yeah, of course. Safety first!” he nodded seriously.

Could this guy be any more perfect? Really?

~

To: Elena

The restaurant has a burst pipe.

[image]

I’m going to take him to Tom’s diner down on Colfax.

~

To: Luna

Oh man, that sucks for the restaurant. But thanks for keeping me in the loop.

Hah oh wow, I bet he’ll love that place in his fancy suit.

~

To: Elena

How did you guess he was wearing a fancy suit?

~

To: Luna

I just got those vibes.

Fancy restaurant equals fancy suit.

But seriously, have fun!

And have a chocolate milkshake for me.

~

Luna smiled and tucked her phone back into her handbag, earning a smile from Cale.

“Is your flatmate okay with us changing location?” he asked.

His eyes were earnest, letting her know he wasn’t teasing in the slightest, allowing her to relax slightly. “Yeah, she’s glad I let her know. And she’ll be even happier that you understand that it’s important,” Luna nodded.

Cale just smiled a little wider, looking pleased with himself, making her laugh at his reaction.

“Ready to change things up?”

“I trust you. Can’t be worse than my attempt to take us out to dinner,” he winced.

“Alright, I’ll keep it a surprise then,” she grinned, “It’s not like you could’ve predicted a burst pipe.”

Cale just laughed, shrugging in an easy going way, Luna just smiling as she pulled her phone back out to pull up an uber request. Soon enough the two of them were on their way, and Cale’s eyes went wide when they eventually pulled to a stop.

“Oh man, you weren’t kidding about changing things up,” he said, smiling.

The smile let her know that he wasn’t put off by her casual choice, and she just waved goodbye to the uber driver as she stepped up next to him.

“I figured that a fancy place was off the cards tonight, so why not go for something comfy and casual,” she shrugged, “The food here is great and so are the vibes.”

“Can’t go wrong with that,” Cale grinned, opening the door to the diner for her.

Sure, they might’ve been the only people in the place in a fancy silk dress and effortlessly tailored suit, but that just made it more fun. Luna knew she looked good and she felt good in her dress, so what was wrong with that? It didn’t hurt that Cale looked amazing in his suit too, all the lines accentuating his incredible physique. And maybe tonight hadn’t gone as well as planned so far – but that wasn’t anything a chocolate milkshake couldn’t solve.

“So what’s good here?” Cale asked.

If he was put off by how sticky the table and menus are, he wasn’t showing it.

“Okay, get ready for the burger that will change your life.” Luna said, smiling.

*

Friday morning

To: Luna

Hey, are you free on Sunday?

~

To: Cale

For you Cale, absolutely.

What did you have in mind?

~

To: Luna

I thought it might be nice to visit Denver Botanic Gardens?

It’s meant to be really pretty there.

And I thought it might be good to try something different than dinner.

~

To: Cale

Dinner last week was great, even if not how you planned.

But a walk around the Gardens sounds good to me!

~

Sunday morning

Luna checked out her outfit one last time in the mirror before leaving to catch her bus to meet Cale. She’d decided on wearing a pretty blue sundress, dotted with tiny pale pink flowers – it had a mid-depth v-neck and cinched at her waist, more than enough to let her feel as feminine as she liked without feeling over the top. It wasn’t anything fancy, not like her silk dress from their first date last week, but it was still more than nice enough to show Cale that she’d made an effort.

Her dark brown hair was perfectly straightened, make-up simple but pretty, and her shoes were comfortable to walk around in – she was ready.

Elena wasn’t home right now to tease her or boost her confidence, either of which she could’ve used to distract her from the butterflies she felt in her stomach. All Luna could hope was that this would go smoother than their first date. All of their conversations over text had been so easy since the night of the restaurant fail three days ago, so she desperately wanted that to continue throughout their date today.

Different setting, different time of day, different vibe.

Positive thinking, right?

Thankfully her bus ride was fairly quiet, leaving her as relaxed as she possibly could be as she walked up to the entrance of the botanical gardens. Cale was waiting for her off to the side, and the wide smile he sent her when he spotted her walking towards him sent those butterflies going crazy again. Wow. He looked so good in his white polo shirt and jeans. How was it possible for anyone to make a polo-shirt look that good? His broad shoulders and defined chest filled it out so well, and it took all of her effort not to get caught staring at him.

“Hey, you look beautiful,” he said sweetly.

She laughed softly even as she felt her cheeks heat up with a blush. “Flattery will get you everywhere.”

Cale just grinned. “Good to know. Shall we?”

Luna tucked her hand into the crook of his elbow as he offered it to her, trying to tamper down the giddy feeling rising in her chest. What a gentleman.

The next few hours were spent arm in arm, walking and talking, everything going to smoothly that it felt like she was floating through a dream. The botanic gardens were incredible, she had to give him extra points there for how pretty everything was, and she loved that she was experiencing it all with him. Strolling around the Monet Pond with Cale by her side? Win. Hushed conversation through the Shofu-en Japanese garden? Win. Everything from the orangery to the iris garden to the oak grove, they wandered through and around it all for hours and hours, just talking and laughing, enjoying each other’s company on this beautiful day.

The whole vibe was so incredibly different to their first date, completely different atmosphere, and she loved that she got to see this side of him too. His easy laugh, warm smile, and attentive listening was winning her over quicker than she ever thought possible, if she was being honest with herself, and she couldn’t remember the last time she’d felt this at ease with a guy this quickly. It was everything she’d been wanting for so long, and she almost felt like pinching herself to see if it was all real.

But all good things had to come to an end.

One moment sunlight was streaming down warming their skin, and the next dark cloud cover had rolled out over the blue sky, a gusting wind picking up. Before Luna could even voice her wonder to Cale, a deluge began, rain hammering down in a way that momentarily stunned them both, before they quickly ducked under a tree as refuge.

“What the hell,” Luna gasped, clutching her handbag to her chest, trying not to think about how her dress was sticking to her skin.

Cale still looked stunned, eyes wide as he watched the pouring rain in front of them, before he seemed to shake himself out of his stupor. “Let’s make a run for the gift shop?” he said, pointing to a building in the distance.

“Good idea!”

Luna found herself smiling as Cale took her hand, the two of them wasting no time in breaking into a light jog through the lilac garden, unable to talk as they went because of how heavily the rain was battering down. By the time they eventually reached the visitor center, far from the only people sheltering inside, Luna was completely drenched from head to toe, her dress soaked through and her hair a sopping mess.

Of all the things – a freak heavy rain shower. What were the chances?

Cale guided the two of them to the far side of the gift shop, an illusion of privacy, before stopping to stand in front of her.

“Are you okay?” Cale asked, pushing his dripping hair off his forehead.

She tried to ignore how disappointed she felt when he let her hand go.

“Oh, yeah, I’m fine! Not what I expected to happen today, but fine,” she laughed, “Are you okay?”

“Other than another date going awry, sure,” he said, frowning slightly.

“Two dates in a row where original plans have gone wrong,” Luna mused.

“This has never happened to me before. I swear!” Cale groaned.

“Cale, relax – it’s not like you could control any of it? You literally couldn’t predict that pipe bursting in the restaurant, and you certainly can’t control the weather,” she teased.

“I know, I know,” he laughed, making her smile in return, “I just want something to run smoothly for once, to make a good impression with you, you know?”

Well that was sweet.

“You’ve already made a good impression, I promise. Dressing up all fancy to eat in a diner was a memorable first date,” Luna insisted, laughing softly, “And what we had of this second date was good too…up until we got soaked.”

He winced, nodding his head in acknowledgement. “Shall we do a rain check then? No pun intended.”

As much as she would’ve liked to have continued on with the date, like they had the first time that their original date plan had failed, this time she was soaked to the bone and so unbelievably uncomfortable. And she dreaded to think what her mascara looked like.

“Definitely reschedule. Maybe an indoor one next time just in case?” she mused.

“Yeah that sounds like a good idea,” he said, laughing again, although his cheeks flooded with a fierce blush, “Can I at least give you a ride home so you’re not sitting on the bus soaking wet?”

Oh what a sweetheart.

And absolutely what she needed.

“That would be great,” she nodded.

Elena was going to get a real laugh out of this date, that was for sure.

*

Thursday night

“I can’t say I was expecting you to suggest this for our third date.”

Cale just laughed, nodding his acknowledgement as she waved goodbye to her uber driver, moving to stand by his side.

“I know, it’s not my usual. But I heard good things about this place anyway? One of my neighbours goes out in this area a fair bit and this is one of the bars she always talks about in the elevator,” Cale explained.

He hadn’t waited to ask her out after their failed-date in the rainy botanic gardens – the moment that he pulled up outside her apartment building, he’d asked her to go out with him again, somewhere ‘indoors’ this time as she’d teased. After tentatively suggesting Thursday night then and there, Luna leaving him with a kiss on the cheek, he’d texted her the next morning with a plan, leaving the two of them to resume their easy conversation just like before.

As their date drew nearer that Thursday night, Luna had kept things casual with her outfit again, at Cale’s suggestion, wearing a pretty white blouse over her favourite black jeans, pairing it with a pair of pretty silver hoops, black leather jacket and her comfy black ankle boots. Simple but again it left her feeling confident, which shone through to add that little extra edge. While she had gotten herself ready for the evening, she’d drank a glass of wine with Elena, her flatmate sitting on the end of Luna’s bed to tease and support her, a much-needed girl’s time while she dressed and put on her make-up, so by the time her uber pulled up outside the bar that Cale had suggested, her butterflies were in full effect.

Despite the fact that their two dates so far had each failed to a certain degree, she was still excited to spend the time with him, desperately hoping that for this date things would just run smoothly. She deserved that much, right?

“Hey Cale!” she said with a big smile, as she walked up to where he was waiting for her.

“Hey Luna,” he replied sweetly.

As she leant up to kiss his cheek in greeting, just as she had on Sunday afternoon when he drove her home in the rain, his cheeks flushed a vivid red, only making her smile even wider. If that reaction was anything to go by, he was just as excited to see her as she was to see him, which could only be a good thing.

“It’s good to see you again. I haven’t been here before, but I know there’s definitely indoor seating,” he mused, a playful nod to their interrupted outing four days ago.

“So you haven’t been here yourself?” she teased.

Cale blushed slightly again but shook his head, making her laugh. She already knew he wasn’t a bar person – he’d admitted as much the first time they met. So why now?

“Why a bar tonight then?” she asked curiously, eyeing the expanse of outdoor bench seating and music drifting out from inside the building.

“It’s a pretty casual place, rather than the intensity of the bar we first met in?”

Well that answers that question.

“…and I know you feel comfortable in these situations so I thought I’d push the boat out since my last two attempts didn’t work out well?” he offered.

“That’s really sweet, Cale,” she said, smiling softly, “But I don’t want to be comfortable at your expense. If it gets too much at any point, let me know? I’d hate for you to feel completely out of sorts.”

“Deal,” he nodded, smiling in relief as the two of them finally made their way towards the entrance, “We can do easy low-key drinks, right?”

“Definitely,” Luna replied, laughing.

Cale just smiled a little wider, holding open the door of the bar for her. Immediately she was hit with the familiar scents and sounds and vibe of a well-loved local bar, and she quickly relaxed. He was right – this was definitely her preferred social scene, and the fact that he was willing to be here with her, trying out the bar that was new to both of them? That made her heart beat just that little bit further, she could admit that.

Somehow they managed to snag a table in the corner, leaving her with a view of the entire room and Cale with his back to everyone, both of them comfortable with the situation. It was far from the fanciest place – definitely far from the bar that they’d met in those couple of weeks ago – but it was busy and comforting and had a great vibe. Luna was honestly excited to see how this evening went, eager to see him in this kind of setting, and she loved that he was trying to do something she felt comfortable with. Hopefully it wouldn’t come at the cost of his own comfort, but time would only tell.

“What can I get you to drink?” he asked, resting his forearms on their small table.

Luna happily asked for a glass of wine, figuring it was probably safer to stick with what she’d already started drinking at home, and soon enough he returned from the bar. They eased into conversation as easily as they always did, talking about their week so far, stress from their workplaces, ridiculous stories about Elena and Luna’s work colleagues as well as Cale’s own colleagues. Speaking of colleagues…Cale also finally told her about his job. About the fact that he was a hockey player in the NHL. It blew her mind a little that he had even looked her way that first night in the bar, that he was still interested in little old her, but she could tell that as much as he was trying to downplay his career to her, he was so incredibly proud of everything he’d achieved. Which, yeah, maybe she should’ve recognised him or at least his name from the Cup Championship last year – but to be honest, she was a football fan (go Broncos!) and had never seen a hockey game in her life. For some reason, that admission eased out a line of tension in his shoulders that she hadn’t realised was there, easing her guilt a little for not knowing who he was. If Cale – Cale Makar – wanted to keep his career low-key with her for the moment, then she was absolutely happy to let him do that. It just showed her yet again how much of a genuinely low-maintenance chilled-out guy he was, and it only made her like him more.

One drink turned into two, Luna buying the second round seeing as he bought the first. As she sat back down at their table, she launched into the details of the trip she was planning in the summer to go back home to see her family, Cale admitting he would be doing the same for the first time in a while. Easy, breezy, fun conversation as always. People ebbed and flowed from the bar, filling up the room beside them, but it felt like they were in their own bubble, nothing mattering outside their little table. How did things feel so easy with him, after only a matter of weeks? It felt crazy, if she was being honest with herself, but she sure as hell wasn’t going to complain.

Halfway through the third round of drinks though – he bought this round, taking things in turn again – someone cleared their throat into a microphone, snapping Luna’s attention across the room. What the hell?

“Testing, testing, one, two, three.”

Oh no.

Everything had been going so well…

“Alright, welcome back to Thursday nights at Tavern on 26th! Who’s ready for karaoke?”

Karaoke.

Fuck.

Luna quickly looked over at Cale, who had gone white as a sheet and looked horrified.

“You didn’t know?” she asked, grimacing.

“Not a clue. I’ve never been here before!” he groaned, “And my neighbour has never said anything about karaoke!”

Luna couldn’t help but laugh, a little resigned already. “Well it is our luck, I suppose.”

“Maybe it won’t be so bad?” Cale offered.

“Up first, Miranda with Total Eclipse of the Heart!”

Maybe not.

As the wailing voice started out across the room, a pained look flashed across Cale’s face, making Luna laugh again. “Shall we get out of here?”

“Yeah, I think that’s a good idea,” Cale said, sighing softly, “Sorry.”

“Hey.”

Luna rested her hand lightly on his forearm, smiling softly as he looked down at her.

“Not your fault. You didn’t know,” she shrugged.

“I should’ve looked it up? Checked out the bar’s event page?”

“Who does that for a low-key bar, eh?” she mused. “Why don’t we just go for a walk?”

“So much for third time lucky,” he said dryly, grimacing as the chorus started.

Damn, this ‘Miranda’ was clearly heartbroken and at least one bottle of wine down. At least.

“Date’s not over yet,” she said simply, “Just because we don’t want to stay in this bar, doesn’t mean we can’t keep talking on a walk, right?”

“You are too forgiving,” he said, huffing out a laugh.

“There’s nothing to forgive,” she replied. “Now let’s get out of here before the key change.”

“Oh fuck yes,” he laughed.

He held a hand out to help her up from their table, Luna gladly taking it, smiling to herself as Cale didn’t let go. As he threaded their fingers together, she felt an unfamiliar blush settling dusting across her cheeks, Cale smiling down at her. “Ready?”

“Ready.”

Another date plan fail.

Hopefully the walk would salvage what was left of it, the alcohol in her system making her not want to leave him just yet. But as he said, it was third time unlucky – was that a sign? What was the universe trying to tell her, in making the plans for their third date come to an abrupt fail? As much as his smile gave her butterflies, could she really ignore all of these signs?

For this evening, she absolutely could, she knew that much. Holding his hand while they walked out of the bar felt too good not to.

*

Friday morning

To: Luna

Hey, I’m sorry about last night.

Again.

Can I make it up to you?

~

To: Cale

No apologies! The bar was fun…before the terrible karaoke.

But I’d love to see you again?

~

To: Luna

Fourth time lucky, right?

How do you feel about going on a picnic on Sunday?

~

To: Cale

I can’t remember the last time I went on a picnic.

I’d love to.

~

To: Luna

Okay great!

Leave everything to me.

I’ll pick you up at midday?

~

To: Cale

Okay sure, sounds like a plan!

~

Sunday midday

For once, Luna was driving her old car to their date today – she rarely drove, usually preferring public transport, mainly due to the lack of decent public car parking available in downtown where she spent a lot of her time, but Cale had already promised her that the park he’d chosen had plenty of parking spaces, leaving her able to sing along to the radio as she drove, calming her nerves a bit.

Sure, she’d decided to wear a pretty green dress, floaty and low-cut but still cute, curling her hair to give herself that extra boost of confidence. Sure, Elena had let her borrow her comfy white sneakers, keeping the outfit casual. And sure, she’d even had the chance to facetime with Cale yesterday before his game in Minnesota, knowing they wouldn’t get a chance to speak before their date today. But it was Elena’s hesitant words that had left the usual butterflies feeling a little frantic.

A picnic in a park? The two of you are chancing the outdoors again with your luck?

Because Elena wasn’t wrong. Three dates they’d been on now, and not a single one had gone by without a fail. The pipe burst in the restaurant. The unexpected rainstorm in the botanic gardens. The sudden karaoke in the bar. She could only wonder what today would bring, even as much as Elena tried to hype her up with positive attitude.

As she pulled into the parking lot, spotting Cale easily with his cheery smile and wave, she tried to let all of the worries go. Cale wanted to be here on this date with her. He wanted to be with her, which should be enough in itself, right? Fourth time lucky, that’s what he joked. She could only hope he was right.

“Hey, glad you made it okay,” Cale said, smiling as she locked the car behind her.

“Old Betsy may be getting on in life but she still gets me around,” Luna laughed, shrugging.

“You named your car Old Betsy?” he teased.

Luna fought back the blush on her cheeks. “What, you haven’t named your car?”

“I can’t say that I have…”

From there, their conversation started up as naturally as always, Luna smiling as they walked through the park, glad that there wasn’t too much of a crowd yet, letting him lead her to a shaded area under a tree. Perfect.

“I packed a few things for us – I hope they’re all okay?”

As Cale spread out the blanket he’d had tucked under his arm, Luna opened up the picnic basket he’d been holding, eyes wide as she took in all the tubs inside.

Mini vegetable tarts. Chicken salad. Sliced strawberries and kiwis. Double chocolate brownies. Freshly squeezed orange juice from a deli. If she was being honest, Luna was a little blown away at the thought he’d put into this picnic basket, and she knew by the little smile on Cale’s face that he was pleased with himself – as he should be.

“This looks amazing, Cale. Wow,” she murmured, still a little stunned.

“I hope it tastes as good as it looks,” he mused.

Luna just laughed, shaking her head. If nothing else, the effort would win out over anything else – no-one had ever tried so hard to make sure she was happy. She sat down with her legs crossed, facing him as he pulled out the various tubs as well as cutlery, leaving the napkins in the basket for now, smiling at how happy he looked. He really was so cute, wasn’t he?

“Dig in, please!”

Well he didn’t have to tell her twice.

Between bites of food, talking about their last few days apart including the game that Cale scored the winning goal on, as well as people watching and cooing over cute dogs, the next couple of hours passed easily. Luna found herself basking in Cale’s happy smile, sweet and shy all at once, all of her earlier worries melting away. Here was an amazing guy, who’d planned an amazing date, and everything was perfect. The whole date was perfect, from the location to the relaxed atmosphere, and she couldn’t help the wide smile on her face. Finally. Finally.

Eventually, after they’d faux-battled with their forks for the last strawberry, Cale packed all of the tubs away in the basket, letting them both stretch out their legs across the blanket.

“I can’t believe how full I am,” Luna groaned.

“Me too,” Cale laughed, resting a hand on his stomach, “I may have overdone it with that last brownie.”

“So worth it though,” she grinned.

Cale just grinned back, nodding his agreement. A man who appreciated food – she could definitely appreciate that.

Luna tilted her head back for a brief moment, closing her eyes as she let the sun wash over her and sink into her skin, before she opened her eyes again. Out of the corner of her eye, a large black object flew across her vision, and just as she turned her head to see what it was, she saw it collide with Cale’s face with a crunch.

And then blood started pouring down his face.

Oh god, a drone. A drone had hit him smack in the face, and the crunch wasn’t just the plastic either. Fuck.

“Fuck,” Cale groaned, clutching at his face with wide eyes as he unknowingly echoed her thoughts.

What the hell?!

Without hesitating, Luna pulled out the bundle of napkins from the picnic basket, quickly passing them to him, and he wasted no time in pressing them to his nose with a wince. Oh shit. Oh shit, he was really injured, what the hell was this? Of all the things to happen, even with their track record, this was terrible. Fuck, poor Cale.

“Oh man I am so sorry, a dog ran into me and I lost control…”

The apologetic voice trailed off, just as the two of them looked up.

“Oh god no, I broke Cale Makar,” the man gasped.

Shit. A fan. Now she could see why Cale wanted to keep his career so low-key with her – attention like this really wasn’t what he enjoyed, not in this kind of setting. She could only hope this wouldn’t get plastered all over the internet; they’d spoken before on how much social media could drag people down, and that was the last thing she wanted for him, especially because they were on a date. But what could she do?

Cale winced, shaking his head. “Really, it’s fine. Doesn’t feel broken.”

Luna raised an eyebrow, not believing him in the slightest, but stayed quiet for Cale’s sake. If he wanted to make a fan feel better then that was his choice – and fair enough, the guy looked distraught – but that didn’t mean she wasn’t going to make sure he had it looked at properly.

“Let’s get you cleaned up, yeah?” she said lightly, smiling as genuinely as she could.

“Good idea,” Cale nodded, voice muffled through the tissues.

The guy apologised profusely again as they stood up, Cale just waving him off as Luna picked up the basket and blanket, and they started to walk back through the park towards the parking lot. She could see people stopping and staring at them, not just because of the blood staining his white t-shirt, each time Cale’s shoulders stiffening a little more, him looking more and more uncomfortable as they made their escape. Finally, when their path was a little clearer, almost at the exit, she took the chance to glance up at him, feeling a pang of sympathy at how miserable he looked as he held the bloody tissues to his nose.

“Hospital then?”

“No, definitely not,” he groaned, shaking his head, only making her frown.

Why was he being difficult?

“Cale, you really should have that looked at,” she said hesitantly.

“Oh, no, shit, yeah I will, you’re right about that. I just think maybe it might be better to go to the medical staff at the arena? I know there’s some of them working today, and it’ll avoid any fans taking photos.”

That made much more sense.

“Fair enough,” she mused, trying not to grimace at the fact he had to take publicity into account. “I’ll drive us, yeah? I guess you can send someone to pick up your car later?”

Cale just nodded, wincing again, making Luna grimace in sympathy. Thankfully she hadn’t parked too far away from where they’d walked in, and in no time at all, she was buckling her seatbelt, waiting for Cale to do the same before she started the engine of her old car.

“Do you want to call and give a heads up that you’re coming in? So that we’re not held up at the gate?” she suggested, pulling up directions on her own phone.

“Another good idea. You have a lot of those,” Cale nodded, “Shame that I don’t.”

What?

She frowned to herself before his words clicked in her head. Another date gone wrong.

“A picnic was a great idea, okay? Getting hit in the face by a drone wasn’t part of your plan at all and, again, nothing you could’ve predicted,” Luna said firmly.

The last thing she wanted was for him to blame himself. Again.

“I have the worst luck,” he laughed dryly.

Well, yes, it really did seem that way. But she wasn’t going to say that out loud.

“All the food was really nice?” she offered.

Cale laughed for real this time, sliding his phone back into his pocket now that his messages were sent. “Can’t go wrong with strawberries and kiwis together.”

“Right? Perfectly sweet,” she nodded.

“I might have to see if I can recreate those vegetable tarts myself too,” he added.

The hopeful look on his face, that she could see out of the corner of her eye, made her smile, relaxing into her seat as she navigated the street in front of her. This positive attitude was much more like it – and he wasn’t wrong about those tarts either.

“They were so good! You’ll have to let me know if you can find a matching recipe,” she grinned.

She quickly glanced at Cale, finding him grinning back at her, through the blood and tissues still covering his face. At least he didn’t look as miserable as he had done in the park – that was at least a silver lining on the epic fail this date turned into.

Fuck, what was their luck, seriously?

As she dropped him off at the arena gates, several members of training staff waiting their anxiously for him, it was all she could do to squeeze his hand goodbye as he promised to call her, a heavy ominous weight sitting in her stomach. Why did things always have to go so wrong around him?

*

Friday night

“Hey, how do I look?” Luna asked Elena, leaning in her doorway, “Is this date-night-at-home suitable?”

She was wearing a light-knit dress, long-sleeved with the skirt reaching just below her knee, clinging to her curves in the most comfortable flattering way possible. The soft grey material felt right for a meal indoors, her dark brown hair falling in gentle waves in a way that added to the whole vibe, and she could only hope Cale liked it too. She knew she looked good…but was it the right choice?

“Well, you look as hot as always…but really? You’re going on a fifth attempt at a date with Fail Makar?”

Fail Makar. Ouch.

Technically not wrong, but ouch.

This Friday was not Luna’s usual Friday night. Instead of her typical night out at a bar with friends, she was trying something new. Both her and Cale were – rather than going out, Cale was making them a home-cooked meal. After insisting that the trainers had cleared him from serious injury, going as far to promise that he was still okay to play in the two games over the days that followed, he’d asked her out on another date.

Luna had been hesitant, naturally. Not because she didn’t like him, not because she wasn’t attracted to him – both of those he pulled out of her in spades – but because of everything that had happened over their past four dates. She was only mildly superstitious in general, but even she couldn’t deny that there was some serious bad luck surrounding them so far. How bad was she going to let it get before it was irreparable?

But when he had suggested a date night in, him cooking for them, she hadn’t been able to say no. She was so desperate to make this work with him, the sweetest most genuine guy she’d ever met, that she knew she’d have to give him another chance to have a date run smoothly. That didn’t mean it was fun to hear from her friend.

“Don’t be mean,” she frowned.

“Don’t ignore the cosmos and karma and all that jazz,” Elena shot back, raising her eyebrows.

Luna sighed, but nodded. It wasn’t as if she’d been ignoring the signs herself.

“I’m giving it one more chance, or I really will have to accept that this is fate telling me that things with Cale really aren’t meant to be,” she admitted.

Elena’s expression shifted from judgemental to sympathetic. “Hey, I know you like this guy, okay? I just don’t want you to get hurt.”

“I know. And I appreciate that. I just really want this to work out,” Luna sighed.

Cale had kept texting her while the team trainer took a look at his nose – it wasn’t broken, thankfully, but he did have a nasty bruise, which she’d been stupid enough to look through the speculation on the internet before Elena took her phone away to stop her looking at social media. She couldn’t help the guilt she felt for the extra attention on him, attention she knew he hated, even though she knew that she wasn’t directly responsible for the vivid bruising on his face. That didn’t mean it was easy to read all the stupid rumours sprouting out about what could’ve caused it, seeing as there was no evidence of him being hit in a game or practice.

But there wasn’t anything she could do about. All she could hope was that this attempt to get a date to go smoothly for once wouldn’t be their last one – she just didn’t know how much more she could take.

“Well if a stripped-back, low-key, homecooked meal doesn’t work then I don’t know what will,” Elena mused, “If you need an escape at any time, you just text or call me, okay?”

“I will,” she nodded, smiling. That was the friend she knew and loved. “But I have a good feeling about this date.”

“I can only hope you’re right, for your sake.”

Again, Luna had decided to drive for this date, mainly at Elena’s insistence to give herself an out if she needed it, but she only hoped that she didn’t need it. Maybe she’d make sure to only have one glass of wine, just in case.

By the time she’d arrived at the address Cale had given her, parking in the private apartment parking lot, she’d relaxed enough to feel a lot more positive about the evening ahead of her. Cale was a great guy. They would have a good night, she was sure of it. Why should she let the past four fails dictate how this night was going to go as well? As she walked up to his apartment, Cale having buzzed her in like he’d been waiting at the door, she steeled her nerves and untensed her shoulders. He was letting her see a side of him that no-one ever did outside of his team – and maybe not even all of them. Welcoming her into his home? That was special, and she was determined to embrace it.

“Hey,” she said, smiling as he opened the door.

“Hey!” he said happily, stepping aside to let her inside, “You look incredible.”

Flattery, as always. She couldn’t deny that she welcomed it though.

“Thanks! And thanks for inviting me over,” she said simply.

He shut the door behind her, helping her slip off her light jacket, and hung it up on the hooks next to their heads. It was a relief to see that the bruising on his face had almost completely faded, just as he said it had – even though he’d insisted it wasn’t as bad as it had first looked, seeing it for herself fizzled away the last of that guilt.

“It’s really good to see you. Thank you for giving me another chance,” Cale said softly, “I know things haven’t exactly gone how I’d hoped so far.”

“I can’t say that I’ve ever had so much bad luck either,” she mused.

She winced as Cale winced himself, biting her bottom lip lightly.

“I really don’t want to mess things up tonight,” he murmured.

Her heart panged a little at the nerves in his voice, hating that she was glad he felt as nervous as he did. It was a good sign that he cared so much, right?

“We can only see how the evening goes, right?” she said simply, smiling as reassuringly as she could, “I’m happy I’m here with you, if that counts for anything.”

As Cale smiled, she noticed how relieved he looked, making her smile in turn. “It definitely counts for a lot. Um, dinner is all ready, it’s just warming in the oven. And I’ve set up our date just through here.”

Cale guided her out of her entry hallway into the open-plan living room, dining room, kitchen, a gentle hand on her back, pausing in the doorway. Oh wow. As she took in the room with lips parted in surprise, her mind drifted back to the words he’d said to her the very first night they’d met.

~

“Somewhere quieter to appreciate someone? Like what?” she asked, smile curling at her lips, playing along with his flirting.

“A private intimate dinner. Maybe a little light music, just to set the mood. Candlelight, flowers, excellent wine.”

~

It was all here – candles lit around the room, beautiful yellow roses in a vase on the counter, soft music playing from the kitchen that drifted into the dining area. A private intimate dinner – complete with excellent wine, in the glasses he now held in his hands. She hadn’t even realised he’d left her side, too caught up with her memories.

“My god, Cale,” she murmured, “this is amazing.”

“Yeah?” he said shyly.

“Yeah, it is. Exactly how you described your forte location, when we first met,” she said, still in awe as he handed her a glass.

He huffed out a laugh, rubbing the back of his neck with his free hand. “I didn’t think you’d remember that.”

“Of course I do. It was one of the things that intrigued me most,” she admitted, making his blush softly, “And then I got to know you even more.”

Cale’s blush deepened but so did his smile.

“I hope I can keep getting to know you, Luna. I know our dates have failed pretty spectacularly so far, but I really like you. I’ve never met anyone as amazing as you before,” he said softly.

Her lips parted at his earnest words, Cale’s eyes watching her intensely, and it was all she could do to take a quick sip of wine. Damn, it really was excellent. He really liked her? Like, really really? Wow. Even after everything, he was happy to be so open with his thoughts and feelings?

“I really like you too. And I really want this to work,” she said seriously, “I just…hope tonight doesn’t have the same bad luck.”

“Me too. The flowers are for you, by the way, to take home with you. And I cooked one of my staple recipes which hasn’t gone wrong so far, and the candles haven’t burned down the apartment while I was getting ready, so it feels pretty good so far?” he said sheepishly.

She couldn’t help but laugh at his expression, forcing down her doubts, letting his increasingly-familiar comforting presence soothe her. So far so good, right? He had pulled out all the stops, recreated their attempted first date in a safe-space setting, and she could definitely appreciate that. The fact that he was letting her see this side of him too, this vulnerable intimate portion of his life? She’d be a fool not to embrace it.

“Shall we?” she said, tilting her head towards the kitchen.

“Absolutely,” Cale nodded.

While Cale pulled out the covered dishes from the oven and plated them all up, Luna sipped at her wine, watching him intently. He seemed so in his element, relaxed in a way she’d never seen him before, and she had to admit that she liked seeing him like this. Maybe this was what they’d been missing, that comforting edge. She could only hope.

“Okay, ready.”

Cale’s cheerful declaration broke her out of her gaze, and she immediately smiled at him.

“It smells amazing, Cale,” she said happily, letting him lead her into the dining area as he carried both plates while she held their drinks.

“Can’t go wrong with coq au vin!” he said simply, although his cheeks were dusted with a pleased blush, “And I made garlic mashed potatoes as well as roasted green beans to go with it.”

Wow.

Just wow.

“Incredible,” she murmured.

Cale just laughed softly, shaking his head as he sat down at the table.

“I like cooking, you know? It’s something that so different to everything else I do, gets me out of my head when I’m stressed with hockey,” he explained.

“I can definitely understand that. How long have you been cooking like this? Because this, and I can tell you this now with sincerity, isn’t just amateur,” Luna mused.

That blush of his really was something. But as he started talking about when he started cooking, mostly with his mom and family, their usual easy conversation started to flow, allowing Luna to sink into the relaxed atmosphere. She shared some of her own family cooking stories with him when he asked, the two of them continuing to talk as they ate, laughing and smiling the whole time, and to be honest Luna couldn’t remember the last time she’d had a date like this. With anyone. It was everything she’d dreamed of, everything she’d ever wanted from the food to the conversation to the vibe in general, and the more that she was consumed by it all, she forgot all about her worries that had built up over the past week.

How could she have doubts about him, when he made her feel so at ease?

After they’d finished eating, Luna helping Cale load the dishes into the dishwasher for later, they moved to the sofa with a glass of sparkling water each, Cale insisting on not drinking now that she’d stopped too. Honestly it felt like a dream. Where had this guy been all her life?

She lost track of time while they continued to talk and laugh on the sofa, the music still playing softly in the background like a damn movie, and before she knew it, the evening was drawing close to midnight, and she needed to get going before she gave into temptation and stayed overnight. That was far too soon for their tentative relationship, she knew that much.

“Did we just have a date that went smoothly?” Cale mused, as he helped her back into her jacket.

Luna laughed but nodded her head. “I think we did.”

Her grin matched his, and she didn’t care if she looked silly because she was just so damn happy. Finally, fucking finally, their date hadn’t failed. The universe had finally worked in her favour, giving her a perfect date with a perfect guy, and she knew that despite everything, the wait had been worth it.

“Call me when you get home? Just so I know you’re safe?” he asked softly.

Those wide earnest eyes were going to be her ruin, she could tell. Fuck it. Here goes nothing.

“Only if you kiss me goodnight before I leave,” Luna said hopefully, far braver than she felt.

Cale’s lips parted in surprise, only briefly, before that familiar sweet smile spread across his face with a blush to match. He didn’t reply to her, just stepping forward to lean down towards her, one hand rising to cup her face just as his lips touched hers. Luna couldn’t stop the soft sound that escaped her mouth at the gentle touch, hands clutching at his shirt as they kissed slowly, sweetly, sending tingles down her spine. Wow. So incredibly worth the wait. After what felt like hours but could only have been minutes, Cale slowed the kiss down to a few last gentle pecks, lifting his head away from her with a stunned smile.

“Best date ever,” he said happily.

She couldn’t agree more.

[silent-raven13]

Do Omegas leak?

Pav asked: Well?

Gwen rubs her chin: Well, I don't know... I never heard of that before.

Miles and Hobie walks up to them: Hey, guys. What are ya'll talking about? -Hodie wrap his arms around his Sunflower's shoulders-

Hobie: Yeah, you two look like your talking about something serious.

Pav: I was reading this... story Gwen sent me and it was an Omegaverse story!

Miles began walking away

Gwen shouted: Wait, Miles. We promise we won't say you would be an Omega. -He quickly appeared in front of them-

Pav's gasp: Wow, so fast! How did you do that?

Hobie chuckles: I thought him that.

Miles scoffs: Yeah, right! It's a trick I know. Anyway, what were you guys saying? -he looks at his two friends.-

Hobie slouches on his boyfriend: Yeah, spit it out.

Pav blushes: We-well, there was this scene where the omega gave birth to a set of "pups" and the omega is a dude, so he breast feeds. -Hobie listens being interested in the story while Miles looks bored.-

Hobie: Pups?

Gwen answered: It's another word to say babies.

Hobie: Ahh.

Pav: Anyway, the pups were crying for their "mama" for milk. So, the Omega heard their babies crying and started to leak milk. So I asked Gwen is that really a thing for omegas and women?

Gwen put her knowledge to use: I told him, I never heard Omegas having that issue, but I heard mothers do leak from time to time when it's time to feed.

Hobie nodded: Hmm, Hmm. Interesting.

Miles blinks: I never heard of that before... -The teenager group were unaware of Deadpool and his Peter walking pass them. They were busy sipping their soda, until they overhear the Spider Band- An Omega leaking out milk? That's kinda- I mean, I would get if their breasts are full.

Pav: Awe, I really wanna know.

Gwen: Why?

Pav: Because it's vague. I never understand why writers are so vague about writing Omega verse, it sometimes confuses me. Even with the whole Alpha female with an Omega man or Alpha female with an Omega woman!

Gwen giggles: Leave it up to your imagination, buddy.

Miles look up his Smartphone: It says here if a child cries the mother would leak milk due to their material instinct.

Hobie chuckles: Simple enough, luv.

Miles: i guess, Omegas are material mothers... I'm sure they would leak. They are the ones that give birth to babies.

Hobie places his hands on Miles' shoulder: Then, if that's the case. I should do this. -He clears his throat then he went- Wahhh, wa-ahhhh, wahhh. -Fake crying in front of Miles-

Miles looks confused: What the fuck?

Pav and Gwen giggles: Good one, Hobie.

Hobie snicker, then Miles realize what he did: Ugh, not funny! -He cutely pouts looking annoyed, then walks ahead- I'm leaving.

Hobie quickly follows him: Wait, luv. I was only joking!

Miles huffs: No! I'm ignoring you. -Giving his boyfriend the silent treatment.-

Gwen and Pav laughs out loud as they follow their friends. Hobie quickly shouted: Miles, I'm sorry! -He whines out loud-

Deadpool hears this then giggles: Ohh, so that's a thing, huh?

His Spiderman sighs: Wade, what are you planning now?

Petie talking to Lupe about their recent mission: So, I thought I made these power bars during my long mission and they work! I think it works too well. -He slurps his milkshakes-

Lupe awes at him: Ohhh, did it make you too full? -She chews on her burger-

Petie nodded: Yes! I couldn't eat the whole day! I only ate half of the bar. Maybe for long missions and when May is a bit older. I try to feed her and I wasn't able to produce any milk for her.

Lupe: Awe, poor baby. She must've been hungry.

Petie: She was! I felt so bad... luckily I had some breastmilk in the fridge for her. She was giving me a look.. it was kinda terrifying.

Deadpool appears in front of the two, his great skills having him blending in the background as a side character. His Spider-man stood slurping his soda wondering what is he planning. Deadpool looks at us: You know, what I'm about to do, huh? -he wiggles his nonexistence eyebrows-

Lupe giggles: That's how it is. Babies always want the real thing, and know May is like her mom. She probably knows what she likes. -Lupe noticed Deadpool looming over them, she ignores him. That guy always is doing something crazy-

Petie chuckles: Yeah...

Deadpool appear behind Petie then he put on his best child cry: Wa-aa-aahhhhhh! Waahhhh! Waaaaahhhhhh! -He uses two his hands around his mouth as he continues to fake cry- Waahhhh!

Lupe arched her eyebrows: What da fuck?

Petie blinks: Huh? -Never been so confused in his life-

Deadpool's Peter groans: Idiot! -He punches Deadpool's head knocking some sense to him- What the hell were you thinking?

Deadpool felt the painful hit, his Peter used his Spider-man strength which hurts like hell: OW! Peter that hurts! Owowowowow! -This time he rubs his head at the pain and cry out loud- Owwww-oooohhh. Waaahhhhh!

Lupe watches with amusement: Hahaha, that's what you get for being so weird! What da hell were you doing?

Deadpool too busy crying in pain: Owowowow! -While his Spider-man scolding at him-

Petie was about to slurp his soda until he noticed his chest weak and gasps: OH no! I'm leaking!

Lupe stood alert: WHAT? -She saw Petie's Spider-man suit getting weak from his breastmilk- Oh my gawd, we need to get you a pump!

Petie quickly cover his chest: I think because Deadpool's crying made my body think May is hungry. -He never felt so embarrassed-

Deadpool stops crying as he looks at Petie's suit around his chest being wet: Yes! It works! Peter do it again. Hit me, again!

His Peter shouted: No, are you insane!

Lupe found a blanket to cover Petie's chest as they both left to head to Petie's locker to get his pump: It's okay ignore that dummy. He's just a pervert. -the two passes by the Spider Band-

Hobie on his knees shaking his boyfriend's leg: Luv, speak to me. I said I was sorry! -Being all teary eye by his Miles' silent treatment-

Pav giggles: Miles, he said he was sorry.

Miles huffs: Sorry, I couldn't hear him.

Hobie whines: Luuuuvvv, don't do this to me!

Miles: Hmm, do you hear that? All I hear is the wind.

Gwen laughing at the two, then saw Petie and Lupe: Ohh, I wonder why Petie looks shy.

Pav: Maybe he met another Alpha. Good thing Lupe is there.

Miles: Yeah, she's tough! She'll make a perfect Alpha unlike some people. -He huffs at his boyfriend-

Hobie whines: Ahh, Luv. Don't be so cruel to me! -He hugs his boyfriend's legs-

Miles: Hmm, I hear no one.

[wr1t3w1tm3]

The Outsiders Vampire AU - V4

Oh boy, it's been a while. I need something to do that isn't studying or crocheting (which I turned into a side hustle whoospie).

@crow2222 and @marmaladedcroissant. It is finished. Enjoy.

No one knows when. They only know it was Paul. That it was probably before their parents died.

He'd explained that they continued aging until 25, but from there any further "aging" was really shapeshifting.

He was never sure whether he'd really agreed to it or if Paul had just gone and done it any who. It must've been around his senior year of high school, because he remembers drinking with Paul and a bunch of his Soc buddies. That was back when he'd dressed like 'em, though his pants were dirt cheap, and the sweaters hand knit by a grandmother in Minneapolis. There was a bonfire and laughter and plenty of fun...

The next thing he's certain of was Paul waking him up, and the world was too bright and too loud and it hurt awful bad to sit up.

He's inclined to believe he drunkely agreed, because for what felt like an eternity in a moment, Paul taught him how to thrive. He gave him a charm that warded away the sun, he taught him to shift his appearance and even shape. He showed him how to hunt. Showed him a family that didn't fight, that played hard and looked out for each other.

Then he lost his parents and was forced to tend to his own. And when he had to drop out of college, and he couldn't go out every night for parties and hunts and took up not one, but two jobs, he was left alone. A monster with two children in his charge.

One year an adult. A monster. Alone.

Soda made it easier for him. He dropped out of school, got a job, and stayed away most the time. With two jobs he wasn't in the house very often either, but that meant he wasn't eating consistently. More often than he was comfortable he found himself watching Ponyboy's neck when he swallowed, how the veins popped when he got fed up with a problem or when he laughed at the stupidity of the latest stories protagonist.

He'd nearly lost control a few times. More times than he was comfortable. He'd kick himself, he'd waited to long but how couldn't he? He had to work and take care of his brothers and go get the groceries and, and, and...!

Rage crawled under his skin for months. He was angry at his parents for dying on him. Angry at Ponyboy for not taking things seriously. The boy was thirteen going on fourteen and couldn't get his damn head outta the clouds. Even angry at Soda, for staying with that no good "girl" a' his. Sandy. Yeah, he'll marry her when he can walk back out under the sun unaided again.

He was scared from the moment his parents died. Scared the state would take his brothers. Scared they'd find out what he'd turned himself into. Scared that he'd loose control. How'd they make rent this month? Oh himself. He's scared of and for him and his own.

He could hear their hearts beating. Every night when he laid in his bed - no longer able to sleep - he'd key into their hearts, to the blood flowing through their veins. He couldn't always do it, it had to be especially quiet, and he had to concentrate very, very hard. It made the short nights long and the long ones fly by. Before he knew it his eternal enemy would peak from under the window and Pony would roll out of bed to the shower. He'd make breakfast and hurry his kid brothers out the door, then search for his own breakfast if he had the time.

Living in the city sucked sometimes. He couldn't take people - though he had with Paul - but there wasn't anything big enough to satisfy him. A couple squirrels, somebodies' stray dog.

God, he hated it sometimes. But it had to be done.

He'd still see Paul on occasion. If he worked near the West side and Paul was blowing class to day drink, a blue Mustang would more often than not fly through their job site. It'd rile up the guys, and Paul would catch his cold eyes with his laughing ones.

He remained stone faced, unwilling to give Paul his jimmies.

One day, Paul's buddies drove by without him, sloshing liquor on them and hootin' and a hoolerin'. He'd watched them sternly as they drove off and returned to work as he'd always done. Except this time, they got off early. This time, he went home.

This time, Ponyboy got jumped.

Soda, Steve, and Two-Bit got there first. Just a few doors down. Johnny stopped short, nearly trippin' him. Dally dropped in, coming from the direction of the reformatory. He threw a tree branch as the Soc's drove off.

Soda gets to Pony first. "They didn't get you too bad, did they?" Pony shakes his head. There's a nick just under his chin. The scent finally wafts his direction.

Darry swallows and steps forward to console them. He scolds Pony for walking home alone. For not carrying a blade. "Yeah, that'd give the Soc's even more reason to cut him up there."

He snaps "If I wanted my kid brother to tell me how to handle my other kid brother I'd ask, kid brother." He storms inside, swallowing again. He'd eaten that morning. He wasn't satisfied, but he shouldn't be this hungry.

Being angry didn't help.

He manages to cool off, listening to the rest of the conversation. Soda made plans without telling him, of course. That Steve, who he's sure hates Pony from the way he's heard him talk to Soda, is going with, and invites Dally. But his girl two-timed him in jail again. He'd figured.

After he finally pulls himself together, he calls to Pony through the front door. "You've got homework," he reminds. Damn kid don't get it. He's gotta get his head outta the clouds.

The next day he goes to the drive in with Dally. Then Dally shows up, licking his wounds from a fight with Tim Sheppard, that son of a bitch. Pony isn't with him. Eleven o'clock comes and goes, at midnight the tv stops broadcasting. Near one he calls Tim and gets Curly, asking if he'd seen Pony. Curly says he ain't.

Soda comes in about then. "You seen Ponyboy?"

He shrugs. "Nah. He went to the Dingo with Dal n' Johnny."

Darry bristles, running his tongue of his teeth. "Dally was just over here. Tim got back at him for his tires."

"Sheesh." Soda steps into the bathroom.

"Dally ain't seen 'im since the Dingo. Sheppard ain't seen 'im either."

"Relax, Dare, he's probably at the lot 'er somethin'. He'll be back."

He snorts. "He better."

Pony wobbles in about two. He smells like woodsmoke and cigarettes. Soda's asleep on the couch. He shouldn't have been out this late... too damn late...

"Where the hell have you been?"

"I was with Johnny. We got to talkin' an' I feel asleep in the lot."

"You know what time it is?" He snaps "Well it's two o'clock in the morning kiddo."

His octave rises with the next line, and he spirals about how he'd almost called the police. How they'd've thrown him n' Soda into a boys home so quick their heads woulda spun! And where would that leave him, huh? Alone. A monster. Really alone this time. No one to care for. No one to keep him in check. He'd... he'd...!

He hadn't eaten. He was starving. Pony tried to squeak past to the bathroom. Soda yells, he's not sure what. He smells blood on Pony, not his, he'll realize later, and he goes to grab Pony's shoulders.

He manages to grapple his senses and only pushes his littlest brother. He topples to the floor, a heap. Soda freezes, panting. He realizes he's panting.

He'd hit Ponyboy.

No.

He'd almost eaten him.

He stammers, as if an apology will do any good. "Pony..."

The kid bolts. Rightfully so. He follows him to the door, the cold breeze breaks through to his hot head. He takes a deep breath.

What has he done.

Soda pushes up next to him on the porch. Would he still stand there if he knew what he'd almost done? Or would he run away too? God, had Pony seen anything? His eyes? His teeth maybe? Shit shit shit!!!

He starts towards the steps. A hand grabs his shoulder. "Give 'em a minute."

Darry scoffs. "Yur right," he admits, turning to Sodapop. "I... I'm sorry."

Soda shakes his head. His eyes are sad, there look to be tears near the creases. "Ain't me you should be 'pologizin' too."

And he's right. He'll just have to wait for Ponyboy to come home.

Except he doesn't. Soda slips off to sleep around three, when he assures him when Pony gets back he'll wake him up. Not long after, he slips out, searching for something to eat.

The scent of blood is strangely forthwith. It puts him on edge. He slips through the neighborhood, searching for the source.

It's a Soc, lying next to the fountain a couple blocks from their house. He's very dead. But his body ain't more than a couple hours that way.

He glances around and listens closely. A dog barks several blocks away, and everyone else around is sleeping soundly. Except one, who grumbles about Mickey Mouse and is probably Two-Bit a block away.

Plenty of time. Darry takes up the body, and finds the notch in his neck that felled the boy. It's a Soc he recognizes - Bob. Somebody Paul used to pal around with. A part of him doesn't want to take from Bob. There's not much, and he's probably got time to find something larger if he hustles. Wait. Has anybody reported this? What if the cops are on there way right now?

But here it is, and here is he. He can be quick. There isn't much left.

He is able to use the stab wound, leaving no trace of his interference. When he stands there is blood on his jeans. He growls, wipping the corner of his mouth. He pauses, listens. Nothing is out of the ordinary. All is well.

Darry sprints home, back in just a few seconds.

Still no sign of Ponyboy.

The next morning someone bangs at the door. He goes to answer and is met by Dally with bloodshot eyes. Damn, he hasn't slept well.

"What's wrong Dallas?" He turns the latch on the screen. Dally bursts in, his eyes careening around the house. Searching for something.

He stops to listen, and nearby, there is clamor. They must've found the body at the fountain. He shuts the door, watching Dally. "Whats wrong?" He crosses his arms.

Dally shrugs, toppling into the armchair he usually uses. "Nothin' man. Just... was at a party most a' da night. Didn't get much sleep."

Soda comes out, half dressed and anxious. "Pony's not back."

"I know, Pepsi Cola..."

"He never came home?!" Soda's voice shoots up an octave.

"Now hold on..."

"Easy Sodapop," Dally intervenes, which angers Darry. "He was with Two-Bit 'n Johnny at the Dingo when I left. He prolly just ended up at 'Bit's..."

"He ran away," Soda cuts him off, "Darry pushed 'im an'..."

Someone raps loudly at the door. A dog down the street begins barking its head off. Its a straight shot to the door, so they all see the two officers standing at the door.

Darry's stomach falls. Dally mutters "shit" when Darry steps up to the door, opening the screen. "Officers?"

"Is Dallas Winston here?"

Darry stops. Surely they would've checked Buck Merril's place first, right? That was where he rented a room... Did they see him walk in? Shit, if Dally got them wrapped up in...

"Gentlemen," Dally steps up behind him, smirking at the cops from over his shoulder. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"

He lights up as the taller officer speaks, "We've got some questions for you at the station Dallas. And you'll come along peaceful now or you know right where you'll end up."

"Yeah, yeah," he puffs out into Darry's face. "I'll come. I'm comin'." He pushes Darry out of the way and follows the officers to their patrol car. Its parked right in front of the house. They saw him walk in then. Shit. Just great.

It's only after Two-Bit drops by looking for Pony and Johnny that they realize why Dally was brought in. He must be related to their disappearances. Darry drills Dallas as soon as he decides to reappear back at his house, but Dally's lips are sealed tighter than a clam. Darry tries to press, and Dally leaves.

The next morning, Steve drops by to grab Soda and brings with him the morning paper. On the front page are Johnny and Pony's picture day photos. And in bold, capital letters:

LOCAL DELINQUENTS WANTED IN SATURDAY NIGHT KILLING CASE

The article relates what is believed to have happened to Bob Evans. How Johnny Cade and Ponyboy Curtis attacked the boy and killed him. His friends talk about how they were just driving by, and the boys dragged Bob from the car and tried to drown him. Then, how Johnny had drawn a blade and killed him.

"Cade and Curtis are believed to have fled south, to Texas," Darry reads, "If the public has any information, they are encouraged to contact police. There is a 250 dollar reward for such information that would lead to their capture."

"Well, we know where they're headin'," Soda shoots up. Two-Bit with him, twirlin' the keys to his piece of shit Plymouth."

"Like Hell you are!" Darry shouts. He slams the front door. Two-Bit jumps in his face.

"Come on man, move!"

"No! Do you have any idea what'll happen if I loose Pony and Soda? They'll throw you in a boys home before you get back!"

Soda protests. "They're gonna throw Pony in jail if they catch 'im!"

"You lookin' to lead 'em to him?" Darry shouts.

"Whoa, easy. Easy." Dally, slips between Darry and the two boys. Two bit stumbles back a step. Darry notices he looks rather pale. Shit. Did... did his eyes...?

He hopes he didn't just betray himself. It's likely Two-Bit didn't see anything, but... but he does look awful pale now, doesn't he.

"...I have it on good authority that Johnny' n' Pony are safe. Ya dig?"

"N' how are we supposed to believe you, Dallas?" Steve butts in, hot headed as always.

Darry jumps in too. "Know somethin' we don't?"

"Maybe I do," Dally smirks, glancing at him, then at Soda. "Or maybe I don't. Any hows, I ain't 'nclined ta tell ya nothin', either."

So Dally pawns with them for the rest of the week. The papers continue to cover the story, but luckily it gets smaller and smaller, and moves closer to the back page. Maybe once everything lets up Dally will finally let onto just what he knows.

It's a rather rough week for all of them, but Darry especially struggles. He'd been the reason Pony went an' ran off. He's the reason he's missing, though the state people don't know that. Everyone knows something it seems, but nobodies telling anybody anything. The stupid web is fraught with lies and Darry'd much rather cut his way out, but he can't. His nerves dance all week as he tries to focus on work, but between Pony disappearin' and him being starvin' half the time, he can barely concentrate enough to keep from ripping somebodies head off.

Then they get a call from the hospital, telling them a Ponyboy Curtis has been brought in for smoke inhalation and minor burns. He's alive. He's alive!

Darry hauls ass in that pick-up the same way he used to when he'd raced with Paul an' his friends. The whole time, his thoughts are frought with worry. What'll Pony think? Does he still blame him for that? He'd been mad, and he knew that was no excuse... and Pony had been out when he shouldn't've been. What would the state people say? Had Pony seen him? His eyes were what would give him away, surely...

Soda hurries inside to find Pony, and Darry promises to find him after he calls the state people. He finds a payphone and dials that number he'd been given by the cops for if Pony ever showed up.

"Yeah... he's just been brought into the hospital. They're treatin' 'im for ah, burns and the likes."

"Very well. He'll be allowed to remain in your custody for the time being. We'll contact you in the next week with details pertaining to his court case."

"Right now." Darry inhales sharply. He should've seen it coming. "You have a good night."

"You as well, Mr. Curtis. Good night."

He licks his lips when he puts up the reciever. That's what everyone called his dad. It didn't sound right on him.

He turns to head to the waiting room and see if the nurse can give him Pony's room number. In the smack-dab-center of the hall are Soda and Pony, embracing fiercly. The flourescent flickers above them. Pony's fine. Pony's alright. He can hear his heart beat, even feel it against his chest. He's warm in his arms, and so is Sodapop.

The Curtis brothers embrace, and Darry breaths through tears the only fear bigger than that of himself "I thought we lost you."

The poor boy is exhuasted. He falls alseep on the way home, and Darry carries the boy to his bed. He's weighs nothing, even dead as a doornail, and Darry's stronger now than he'd ever been when his heart beat.

Monsters didn't have hearts, then why did he care for his kid brothers so much?

The next day is the rumble. It's worried him the whole week. There's been whispers that Paul might be there, even though the rumbles mostly with the highschool age kids. He sure as hell ain't in highschool age though, and neither is Two-Bit, even if he still attends. Dally won't be joining because he's still in the hospital, and he already knew Johnny wouldn't fight. Tim Sheppard drops in early that morning to speak with him.

His eyes are natural when he arrives. The black where they should be white and red where they should be brown. That is how they naturally appear, and they're ears also point like the elves in the books Ponyboy likes to read. But the eyes are more subtle, easier to signal with.

Darry lets his guard fall, and for a moment, his eyes match Tims. To his knowledge, he was also born this way, same as Paul; except he was born only recently, and he was the only one in his family. Angela and Curly both were normal, just like Ponyboy and Sodapop.

"What are the odds?" Tim asks, flipping open the newspaper he grabbed from the driveway.

"Should be 'bout even. Your outfit, mine, and the Brumley Boys," Darry rubs his neck, mulling over how odd it is to claim the little group of misfits he mother gooses around as an outfit. "Any others?"

"Other outfits?" Tim raises an eyebrow.

"Others like us," Darry hisses. Tim smirks. Unlike Darry, he's accepted his lot in life. Maybe because he didn't have anything too miss.

"I don't know which of Paul's buddies are gonna be there. You got your blade?"

He flips the page. Darry nods, heading back to his bedroom. "Yeah, I got it."

He grabs it from under his pillow. It's magic, from the Phillipines or somethin'. Tim called it a butterfly knife cause it was precise enough to chop a butterfly's wings clear off.

He hadn't been very careful after his parents died. Just a couple months deep Tim had caught him outside of town, hunting near a cattle yard or something. He couldn't remember now. Tim was the first vamp he'd met that wasn't a Soc. Still, he was born with it, same as Paul.

Unlike him, Tim hunted humans. Whatever he could scrounge up downtown. Something about him being a vamp and a greaser must've instantly allied them.

When he turns to leave, he hears Tim talking to Ponyboy. He tells him that Johnny might die. He'd been hoping to avoid that conversation.

He waits, hovering near the door. Should Tim mention what he fears, he'll be ready.

Luckily, he doesn't.

Pony makes breakfast, and everyone else practically breaks in and takes over his tv. Steve eats cake for no good reason, and Two-Bit settles in with the rest of the cake and a beer to watch Mickey Mouse. The whole time, Pony's on his feet, but he ain't quiet right. He looks too pale. When he really tries, he can tell his heartbeat is faster than it should be.

He tells Pony he shouldn't go to the rumble. Pony points out that, in fact, they are severel men down and they need him.

"Maybe I oughta take the day off."

Pony outright refuses, and he's right. They can't afford him taking a day off right now.

He grabs his tool belt, hangs the pendent from his neck, and warns Ponyboy against smoking more than a pack that day. He has the audacity to shoot back that Darry best not carry more than 1 bundle of shingles at a time.

Kid'll smoke himself to death yet.

He prepares dinner for everyone, and Pony comes home late, of course. Darry does what he can to prepare: he worked out after work, made sure to high tale it out to the cattle yard to eat. He wears a tight shirt that shows off his muscles and stretches out. Of all the outfits showing up, he's probably the biggest guy, so he's sure he'll be asked to start things.

If Paul's there, he'll be fighting him.

Pony comes in late, after he's cooked dinner. He can still eat normal food just fine, though he can't pass it anymore so he'll have to throw up before the rumble. He gets a chance with the excuse to take out the trash. Then he changes out of his work clothes and finds a shirt that will show off his physique. He knows he's built well, but he tries not to be vain about it. Rumbles are about the only time he shows himself off. Its an advantage, and they need every advantage they can get in a rumble.

Before he's done, Ponyboy asks him why he likes to fight. Soda answers for him, saying its because he likes to show off his muscles. He follows the ebb and flow of the pre-rumble banter and tells Soda he'll "show them off on you, little buddy, if you get any mouthier". But he does wonder. Pony moves on to ask Two-Bit, and Darry wonders what he would've said if Soda hadn't interuptted. Maybe he'd have said it was a good way to blow off steam. Rumbles had always been that way for him, but especially now. When he couldn't show anyone what he was and he had to be so, so careful.

He still had to be careful in a rumble, but he could be a hell of a lot less careful.

They leave for the rumble in a holler, doing acrobatics he taught them several summers ago, before he was a monster. Two-Bit cracks a beer and Darry catches Pony watching with distain. He really doesn't like that he's there, but they do need everyman they can get. Even if he counts for two and Tim two more, there's not telling how many guys will show up, and if the soc's will have anyone like him and Tim on their side.

"Sodapop, Ponyboy, if the cops show, you two beat it out of here. We'll get jailed but you'll get the boys home."

"Ain't nobody gonna call the fuzz in this neighborhood!" Steve howls, and they sprint the rest of the way to the park.

The Brumbly Boys and Shepards downtown outfit await them, already asembled. Many drink, Darry notices, and Tim draws close to his brother, confirming it was infact him and Johnny who killed the Soc. When they filter out to await the Soc's, Darry shoots daggers from his icey eyes and whispers too quiet for anyone but him and Tim "Don't try anything". Tim shrugs and there's not more time. The soc's have arrived.

Paul leads them. Darry doesn't recognize anyone else from their high school days, and Tim glances over and nods. He doesn't see any other vampires. He knows more than Darry does, but he isn't sure which ones know them.

"Darrel."

"Paul". He crosses his arms. He will not let Paul see how perturbed he is.

"I'll take you".

Two Bit tells someone he and Paul used to pall around in high school. Play football. Look at what you don't know.

And it begins.

They circle each other for a minute, studying. Paul blacks his eyes for a split second. Darry will not grant him the satisfaction. No matter how compelled he feels. No matter how his brain screams at him to obey.

Paul smirks. Darry snaps. He goes low, just like football. The rumble's on. He's taller than Paul, stronger than Paul, more fit. But Paul's been around hundreds of years. He has a tactical advantage.

But has he fought in a rumble? Darry gets him on the ground and fights to keep him from wriggle away in the mud. The skies have let fourth their fury and he is not about to let Paul get away this quick. This easy.

He lands an awkward right hammer fist to Paul's arm. He puts all his strength into it. Paul yells. He's hurt him. His fist stings, it radiates up his arm. He tries to regrip Paul's jacket. Paul gets away, wriggling just out of reach and standing. Darry scrambles up and Paul sprints into him, throwing him ten feet. He slides through the mud another ten. There's a trough through the ground between him and Paul.

Paul cackles, throwing his back as if to catch and drink the rain. Darry clambers up. He hears Ponyboy squeal. One of the Soc's is on top of him.

"Pony!" He's there in three steps. He rips, really rips, the Soc off his kid brother. He tosses the boy aside and bends to lift Pony. But Paul plows into him and throws him into the merry go round. It smarts in his spine. He graps a bar to help him stand, and realizes the thing is dented around him.

Paul's eyes are black again, he's not sure he's hiding his anymore. "Get up Darrel! Come on! Fight me like a man!" Darry jumps up at that. To his chagrin, Paul's smirk breaks as he chuckles. "Oh. Wait!"

Darry charges at Paul, and he ducks. Darry's waist collides with his shoulders and Paul thrust himself upright, twisting Darry over his shoulder, onto his back. The wind is knocked out of him, which is an odd sensation considering he doesn't need to breath anymore.

Paul yelps and there's a wet squealch. He hears Tim growling. Darry's slow to sit up. Paul throws Tim over his body like a rag doll, and hurdles him to boot. That's when he finally gathers the gumption to stand.

Tims eyes are blacked. He grimaces as he tries to keep Paul's fists at bay. "Paul!"

He turns around. Tim rolls out of the way, mudding himself all the way up. Paul smirks. "Bring it on Milk Man!"

Darry doesn't get the joke until later. He compacts as much as he can when he charges at Paul. Paul scrunches like he had the last time Darry charged. This time, Darry's prepared. He uses Paul's left shoulder like a pummel horse and swings around behind him. As soon as he's mounted, he kicks out his leg, sweeping Paul's legs out from under. He collapses to the ground, and Darry sicks on him.

He punches. Right hook, left hook. A knee to the gut when he shimmies. Left, right, left hook. He thinks he broke Pauls nose, even if he's a vampire.

When Paul quits moving, he stands, and begins to kick him. The gut, groin, face, wherever his foot falls. It will never be enough. Nothing can be punishment enough for allow Paul to turn him into a monster. Maybe it would've been different if his parents were still alive. Probably not. He'd still hate himself, he's sure. Mud flies up with his kicks. He vaguely hears Tim Sheppard tell him to quit it.

"Like hell!" He snaps.

"Darry!" One kid brother shouts.

"Darry! Their runnin'!" His other one, his little buddy Sodapop shouts. Someone grabs his bicep. He whirls his around, throwing them into the mud. It's Soda.

"Darrel!" That'd be Dally. The only one brave enough to use his real name. "Quit it man! You're killin' him!"

"Am not!" He shouts. He rolls Paul with his foot. He starts in on his back.

Two-Bit latches onto his left arm. Soda grabs his right and Dally gets him in a choke hold. Ha! Little good that'll do! He steps back, trying to whirl them off.

They're screaming. Everyone's screaming and there's thunder and lightening. A thunderstorm. How fighting.

A bottle smashes against the back of his head despite the shouts of protest from his gang. It wouldn't draw blood anyway. Not much. He'll dig out shards later, but he'll never bleed. He feels Two-Bit slip off, and he tries to push off Soda - who is still screaming his head off and bawlin' like a goddamn baby - when Tim shouts for them to brace and suddenly he's on his side in the mud, on top of somebodies leg. Dally splatters every curse imaginable with the rain, but manages to wriggle his leg out.

He's rolled onto his back and Tim Sheppards knee set on his sternum. His eyes blacked, fists balled, he warns Darry not to try anything. "They're runnin' man! We won. Calm down ol' boy! You gotta getta holda yourself!"

He freezes. He sucks in a breath. He centers around that. He feels something lodged in his arm. Someone grabs his ankles. He jerks his head up and spots Steve. He looks like a long tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs. He lulls his head to the right. Soda stares right back at him, his eyes pleading. Tears track down his cheeks. leaving trails in the mud on them.

Tim grabs his hair with one hand and yanks his head up. He acts as if to scalp Darry, and his eyes are blacked and iris' red as he pants, and pants.

"Got your big head back on those broad shoulders a yours, superdope?" Tim snarks.

But Darry is looking past him. Between Tim's leg and Dally's torso to his left. Two-Bit is standing there, caked in mud, suddenly sobered up. He clutches someone to his chest. A little boy, a month older than fourteen, with peroxide blonde hair and a sickley paleness to him.

Dear God. It's Ponyboy.

What has he done?

Soda's voice cracks as he begs "Darry. Darry? Please. You're scarrin' Ponyboy."

Ponyboy. Sodapop.

Dear God.

"Wha...?"

Tim cuts him off, pushing off Darry's sternum. "You worked 'im up real good, Curtis, that you did. Can't tell if you killed 'im or just gave him the worst lickin' of his life."

Dally rolls away, and Soda has disappeared as he watched Tim. Tim yanks him up by the colar, and points to the motionless Paul. "You did him up real good, Darrel. And there'll be hell to pay for that."

Darry swallow. "He... he can't be dead."

"He shouldn't be," Tim pushes him forward. Darry manages to catch himself and he turns while Tim continues. "But I know as much as you now..."

No. Paul had told him. They could only be killed by rare magic or a wooden stake to the heart. They could badly injury each other, but never kill.

"...I know is that you gotta disappear. Now! His folk's'll be after you by tomorra an' I ain't real keen to find out just how many vamps are in this city!"

"Vamps?" Steve has of course weasled his way out of the wood work just now. He looks to be holdin' Soda, but neither of his kid brothers will hold eye contact. There's a nice purpling to his upper arm. He wonders if he colored it.

"Darry, you gotta go. Now," Tim shoves him. He falls this time, unprepared. "Go on! Get! If they find you here, they'll kill you an' the rest of you that's left!"

Darry shoots up, getting right in Tim's face "And if I don't?"

"They ain't gonna kill ur brothers if they think they don' know," he whirls around at the gang "An' you don't know nothin', you got it?"

Nobody nods. They're all staring at Darry. And Tim. Staring at both of them.

Tim claps his shoulder "Get yourself a fresh change a' clothes, some cash, and split big man. I'll watch your littles 'till the heat dies down."

Suddenly, it all comes rushing in. Where are the Brumbly Boys? He hasn't seen them since before the rumble. Did he scare them off? Shit. Shit. Shit! Paul's parents are vampires, they'll find him in no time and he cannot let that happen. They cannot find his brothers.

What'll happen to his kid brothers?

"They'll be fine!" Tim shouts, catching where he's looking. "You gotta go now! He'll come to any minute!"

He shoves him once more time, and Darry lets the momentum take him. He runs. Runs past his house, towards the country. He's got his wallet on him so he'll have that. It's not like he needs normal food and he's impervious to all that nature's got to throw at him any how.

What has he become? He finally realizes this sometime around the Oklahoma/Kansas border. Has... has he...

He's become a monster.

There is no doubt about it.

This is gonna get a part two. I just need to finish the plan and write it. Happy finals week all. Thinking about making audio recordings of myself reading these to include with future projects, as well as past projects. What do we think? Maybe a bit where I reread my old stuff and go through and edit, but like, a video? Am I gonna be a YouTuber? Stay tuned!

[thatseadog]

PART 2 of Chip's prosthetic fic! (Here's PART 1)

Jay’s heart ached. She was angry, at first. Annoyed too. Another one of Chip’s dramatic antics, she thought. Sometimes she would play along, but this was during the middle of the fucking night. But after only a few seconds, she understood how much this wasn’t a hoax. Couldn’t help but wonder, how many other times have we missed this? Only once before had Chip had a similar reaction to pain, and her chest shook with a heavy breath at the memory.

She was worried sick. Had her arm wrapped around Chip’s back, hand ending on his shoulder, holding him close by her side. Every time he made a noise of complaint, she would tighten her grip on him and whisper reassuringly, “You’re doing great, almost there.”

When Gill finally finished, he caressed around Chip’s hand, making sure there wasn’t any uncomfortableness left. Cooling his hands, he massaged into the previously wounded skin, roaming across his palm, and up to where instead of a pinky finger, a nub was found.

Chip sighed and melted against Jay’s side, taking in a shaky breath, and loosely pointing to a sink cabinet. Gill wordlessly reached out from the floor and opened it up to find a can of Baking Soda. He looked at Chip confused, but hesitantly gave over the powder since Chip kept his hand outstretched, not using Jay for support anymore.

Once in Chip’s hand, his thumb unlocked the cap with a gentle “pop”, and sprinkled some over his left hand, spreading the soft powder throughout it. “It’s to prevent itching and chaffing.” Chip said plainly, at Gill’s confused look.

Jay was taken aback, he already had something prepared for this. “How long has this been happening? What was that?” Jay asked. It looked much better now; the only thing left was the outline the prosthetic had made on Chip’s skin for being worn so long. She took his hand, and traced the marks and dents left. “Why haven’t you said anything..?” She asked finally, pushing for an answer.

“It’s… never been this bad.” Chip supplied, but didn’t elaborate. Gill inched closer while working to hold Chip’s right hand, imitating Jay in the other side, worried but attentive. Chip looked up, and met the concerned eyes of his Co-captains, who were giving him the silence to think. He looked down at his hands intertwined with Jay’s and Gillion’s, how he’s still not used to seeing four fingers instead of five. He took a deep breath to ready himself.

“I feel weird, without my prosthetic. My grip isn’t the same. Holding my sword is harder, and I can’t afford to not hold my own as a pirate. What if we get attacked during the night again? And I’m not fighting at my best?” What if he couldn’t protect Ollie? What if he harmed someone else on accident? What if he got himself hurt and someone else got hurt trying to help him instead? These... aren’t viable options. “So I just,” He shrugs, grimacing. “Never took it off.” he muttered. “It hurt but, it was manageable.”

“Chip..” Gill frowned. “You’re only hurting yourself; you can’t fight at your best if you’re hurt.” his hand gripped harder at Chip's.

“Gill’s right, y’know.” Jay agreed. “We’re here to lean on the other when we need help. But we can’t read your mind.” She gestured to his head. “Let us help you. Lean on us.”

Chip smiles a little, “That’s fucking corny as shit.”

“How about we work on your grip strength? You can attach your prosthetic to a belt while we get to land. We’re gonna be at sea for a few days.” Jay insisted. “Give the prosthetic a break, Chip, please. Your hand already suffered once because of it.”

“I can help you train with your sword!” Gill said with a new shine is his eye.

Chip still felt unsafe, as if parting with his prosthetic would mean something would go wrong. “I can’t. How am I supposed to work?”

“How are you supposed to work well when you're constantly in pain? If you gain the confidence to go about your day without the prosthetic, you’ll be able to function assuredly with or without it.” Gill reasoned with dedication and care laced in his voice.

Jay picked up the metal prosthetic, it rattled a bit because of the movement. “In the meantime, I’ll find ways to cushion it,” she looked at the inside, “so it doesn’t scrape you as much. Maybe it wasn’t fitted well.” She finished, feeling along the edge of it. Muttering more ideas under her breath while closely examining the contraption.

“See, Chip, this is going to be fun, because you’ll learn how to re-balance the weight of your sword, right? Then your equilibrium will increase and better because of it since you’ll learn to adapt and-" he continued off in an excited ramble.

Chip stared at Jay and Gill lost in their mission of trying to persuade him.

He suddenly felt a wave of love flood his chest, while staring at his best friends who despite being and looking ruggedly tired, ran to him, and stayed to help him. People who he didn’t know a year ago but couldn’t stand to live without today. He was overwhelmed by emotions and memories alike. And at 2am, on the bathroom floor, illuminated by the dim candle light and surrounded by his family, there’s truly only one thing he can say.

“Okay, okay. I’ll give it a shot.”