#i mean eggo one can because we really know nothing about him

[navree]

Your headcanons for the personalities types (MBTI) of the characters of the dance and the conquest?

OK so fair warning I don't really know a lot about MBTI types, like next to nothing at this point, I don't even know mine (I had to take the test for a college prep seminar in high school for some???? reason???? and then immediately forgot it because it wasn't important at all) so I'm basing this off of articles that tell me what these things are like (also for the Dance I'm going with show version if they've been introduced in the show, since those characters are more developed)

DANCE

Rhaenyra Targaryen - ESTP, The Persuader, out-going and dramatic, can be insensitive at times, capable of relatively quick decision making (at least in her youth), can be impulsive, energetic and ready to go, desirous for adventure.

Alicent Hightower - ISFJ, The Protector, sensitive, protective of others, caring and compassionate and kind-hearted, represses emotions, warm and nurturing, neglectful of personal needs, not a fan of change.

Daemon Tagaryen - ENFP, The Champion, charismatic and charming, energetic, capacity for great leadership, a dislike of routine, strong people skills, disorganized, struggles to follow rules, needs external validation, spontaneous, desirous for others' approval.

Otto Hightower - ENTJ, The Commander, strong verbal and leadership skills, well-organized, stubborn, highly logical, capable of being insensitive, can get aggressive, good at making decisions in crisis, outspoken and assertive and self assured, a good planner and rational, goal oriented, not very good with inner emotions.

Viserys Targaryen - INFP, The Mediator, idealistic, can see the bigger picture, overlooks details and loses sight of the little things, can take things personally, sensitive, can be overly idealistic, wants to make the world better according to their vision.

Criston Cole - ISTJ, The Inspector, loyal, orderly and organized, can be judgmental, principled and a stickler for rules, values traditions and laws, tendency for self-blame and recrimination.

Aegon Targaryen - Whichever one stands for "huge fucking mess" jk jk. Probs INFJ, The Advocate, highly sensitive, values close relationships with others, stubborn, can be overly sensitive, creative and free spirited, can set expectations too high, places more emphasis on emotions than logic, wants to help ("oh how-" he literally lies for aemond free of charge and was ready to pull out a sword to defend alicent against a dragon shut up), can be difficult to get to know.

Helaena Targaryen - ISFP, The Artist, peaceful, caring and considerate, trouble with the abstract, pays great attention to detail, incredibly reserved, dislikes conflict and confrontation, aware of the environment and those in it, introverted, strong need for personal space, unique values system, enjoys hands on activities based on their interests.

Aemond Targaryen - INTP, The Thinker, (specifically INTP-Turbulent), thoughtful, quiet and reserved, capable of outside the box thinking, difficult to get to know, self doubting, can look at things objectively, likes a small and close knit group, trouble expressing their emotions, deeply loyal and affectionate with loved ones.

Daeron Targaryen - ESFJ, The Caregiver, enjoys helping others, kind and caring, sensitive to the needs and feelings of others, feelings get hurt easily, outgoing, sensitive to change, kind and loyal, approval seeking and needy, dependable and loyal, sensitive to criticism and wants to be liked, intrinsically kind and literally a caregiver.

Rhaenys TQWNW - INTJ, The Architect, self confident, hard worker, willing to put in the effort, overly judgmental, perfectionist, can appear callous and arrogant, good at listening in general and taking criticism, good at reading between lines.

Corlys Velaryon - ESTJ, The Director, take charge personality, goal oriented, inflexible and bossy, self confident, hard working, argumentative, strong leadership skills, organized and structured, unyielding, seemingly insensitive.

Alys Rivers - ISTP, The Crafter, goal oriented, even tempered, reserved, difficult to get to know, aversion to commitment, open to trying new things, self confident and self possessed, difficult to get to know, emotionally detached, level headed and logical and practical.

CONQUEST

(with explanations cuz they don't have a show to flesh them out as much)

Aegon the Conqueror - I would classify Aegon as a pretty firm INTP, The Thinker, given that he was an apparently private person about whose personality we know exceptionally little, that he appears to have been reserved and self possessed and kept things close to the vest and made very few friends, but capable of a fierce and deep loyalty towards people like Orys, an unending love for his sister-wife Rhaenys and his subsequent doting on of their son Aenys. Aegon is also capable of the INTP's propensity for outside the box thinking, as well as a focus on the bigger picture of conquering Westeros (especially if he had grander designs based on his dreams of the eventual war with The Others).

Visenya the Conqueror - I would classify Visenya as either ENTP, The Debater or an ENTJ, The Commander. Visenya clearly valued knowledge and valued learning what she could about the world, as evidenced by her interest in the mystic arts and her travels with Aegon pre-Conquest, and like her little brother she can be incredibly goal oriented, while also being a remarkable leader on the field in her own right and very assertive and outspoken, given how willing she was to talk smack not just to Aegon but to Aenys as well. She also clearly can be argumentative and balks at control, seemingly aggressive and intolerant, and even borderline insensitive (maybe Aenys didn't wanna burn the Sept of Remembrance on the Hill of Rhaenys because it was a symbol of remembrance for his mother Visenya, come on girlie). Visenya might not have been good at emotions but she was a good problem solver, as well as creative in her solutions, and appears to have been one of the more self assured out of her siblings.

Rhaenys the Conqueror - I would classify my most beloved Rhaenys number one queen of Westeros and love and beauty and of my heart as a mix of ENJF, The Giver (specifically the assertive type) and INFP, The Mediator. Rhaenys is described as much more of an emotionally open person than either of her siblings, affectionate with her loved ones and a kindhearted person in general, and she clearly had a wide social circle and a more outgoing personality than stern Visenya and reserved Aegon. She valued her close relationships with friends and family and with Meraxes, was probably as equally involved in the big picture of conquering Westeros as Aegon was and was probably the most persuasive out of all them. She also likely had a certain sense of altruism and idealism, focusing her power on diplomacy to better the realm and being the first administrator in the Targaryen dynasty, and possibly Westerosi history, to enact any sort of law to offer any protections to women, though that idealism likely came at a cost, considering she did think that they could make Dorne submit despite the very clear warning she got from the Yellow Toad, and the consequences for her as a result. And also, in case you forgot, Rhaenys is also perfect, so jot that down. It doesn't have anything to do with MBTI types but it's important to me that everyone knows that anyway.

Orys Baratheon - I would classify Orys as an ENTJ, The Commander, given his strong leadership skills and his incredible prowess in battle, and the problem solving we know he exhibits given that he was able to hold command over armies in hostile territory without things going Too wrong for him (hand-ectomy not included). But we also know that he was an intolerant person when wrong and could easily feel embittered if he felt slighted, like with the aforementioned hand-ectomy and how that left him hardened throughout the rest of his life and desirous for revenge.

[suometar]

Can I nominate Nightmare harringroveson PT5 Billy for a few more sentences for WIP Whateverday? 😉👀

Yes you may 💜 Under the cut:

Billy had picked up El from the Byers-Hopper’s house where she’d left her cat there to be taken care of by Joyce and Hop. El might be staying with Steve and Billy for a while and having Tibbs in their house wasn’t an option.

The trip had been quiet so far, which wasn’t uncommon for the two of them. El was one of the few people Billy could be comfortably quiet with for hours.

When they stopped into red lights, Billy tapped the wheel with his fingers. “Are you sure about this?”

El looked at him. “About what?”

Billy tilted his head and looked at her, meeting her always so honest gaze. “Come on, you know what.”

“You asked me not to look inside your head again. So I won’t. You have to tell me what you think by saying it out loud.”

Billy looked back ahead and sped the car towards the highway, a small smile caressing his face. “Honestly. Are you absolutely sure about wanting to spend weeks in the looney bin with me?”

“Steve is there too. It can’t be that bad.”

“Steve is one of the looneys living in there, he doesn’t count.”

“You have nightmares, skin issues and fatigue and require extensive medication. Steve has night terrors and severe vertigo and he can’t drive. And Eddie has an unspecified virus that he’s being treated for. There’s nothing indicating that would describe any of you as looneys.”

Billy chuckled. “What I mean is that it can be really straining. It is that for us but for us it’s also a choice because we love each other. You then again…”

“It’s my choice to come and stay with you and help you and Steve for the following weeks. And I get experience points from it for my studies. It’s beneficial for all of us.”

“I guess,” Billy said. “But we’re not buying Eggos, you’re going to have to manage with my home made waffles.”

“Eggos have way too much sugar in them anyway,” El replied with a smile. They drove a long way in silence before she spoke again. “How are you handling it?”

Billy licked his lips and swallowed, tightening his grip on the wheel. “Not good,” he said quietly.

“It’s going to be okay.”

“No one knows that.”

“Eddie is a fighter. He’s fought all this time. He won’t stop now.”

Billy could feel the tears prickling under his eyes. He’d been trying to be so strong for so long. Being strong for himself while working through the whole thing that followed his own death and resurrection. Being strong for Steve, trying not to show how fragile he was to not add to Steve’s burden and on the other hand to support Steve with everything he was going through.

But with Eddie… With him he felt absolutely helpless. There was nothing he could do that would even ease what Eddie was going through. Since they shared the death factor, Eddie saw through him and his weaknesses and it was pointless in trying to tell Eddie that he was wrong.

[bean-ender]

Jason’s Hellfire Club List

I really don’t know how to like properly communicate at all but especially on tumblr because I don’t rlly post much but I am thinking thoughts (a rare occurrence) therefore you need to hear them

so in s4 episode 5 there’s a scene where Jason shows the basketball team (minus Lucas) a list of places to search and I think it’s really interesting so

Here is the list I was talking about, hopefully you can read it but if not the attempted image id is underneath keep reading

There are lots of interesting things about this I think

wheelers is crossed out, suggesting that Jason/ the basketball team already talked to any or all of the Wheelers (I know he speaks to Nancy but that's in episode 8 and I'm not entirely sure what was said because to be perfectly honest I'm a bad person who hasn't watched all of season four yet and has just spoiled it tremendously for themself) edit: a more likely explanation is that Mike just wasn’t there so they couldn’t talk to him, but interesting they put wheelers rather than his whole name like they did Dustin’s, and it’s plural

Big buy is not referring so some European brand I just found out existed by googling it, but actually is the name of a supermartket that I think El stole the Eggos from in S1, the full name is Bradley's Big Buy, just a cool easter eggo

Drama class being on this list most likely means that Hellfire itself is hosted in the theater room, which is what the wiki says. We know this because of "the stage lights, curtains and props seen around them during game night" which I never noticed because I don't pay very close attention. However, in order to gain access to the theater room, one or more of the Hellfire kids must also know the drama teacher and probably really like drama well, which is awesome. Theater kids who also play dnd unite (even though I haven't actually done anything yet because I never finished my character sheet, that doesn't matter)

I have no idea what thacher tike is. None at all. Google was completely unhelpful, I genuinely have no clue. Perhaps a smart person will see this and connect dots I didn't think of but I know nothing

I think it's interesting that (Jason thinks at least) Hellfire is hosted at the elementary school, when we've seen Hellfire meetings hosted in the theater room, and it makes no sense to have high schoolers in the elementary school. It's also odd that Jason writes the av closet specifically, when the av room is tied to the party but especially Mike and Will (although that may be my byler brain slanting it that way). Especially saying closet instead of room hmmm closet imagery...

There have been many posts from far more intelligent people about how the library is tied to everything (Will being found at he lirary, Nancy saying Barb was at the library, Nancy + Robin finding information on the Creels in the library, Hopper finding information on the experiments in the library plus his relationship (used not romantically but as two people that are connected) with the librarian and I think it's interesting (drinking game take a shot everytime I say interesting) how Hellfire is also tied to the library.

Weird that Jeff and Gareth are lumped together as Hellfire members but Lucas, Dustin, Mike, and Paul Cook (whoever he may be) are listed seperately. Perhaps because those other people are more important

Paul Cook is as it turns out a very common name, but one of the more famous ones is Paul Cook from the Sex Pistols. There appear to be no links from Sex Pistols to Stranger Things, no Sex Pistols played on the show, although they may be on a charavter playlist, I'm not sure. I don't think any other Paul Cooks are relevant to the show but who knows.

I have no idea what most of these actually mean or how they affect anything, it probably doesn't matter at all, but this post was fun to make and hey, first proper tumblr post with my own writing, more than like a sentence! hooray

I hope at least some of this made sense and maybe someone talented will see it and expand on it but for now this is all I have

Here's what the list says if you can't read the image (it's all in capitals in the original if that matters) (green is my commentary/confusion)

Lucas Sinclair

wheelers

big buy

drama class

Dustin Henderson

Thacher tire?? Edited because it’s very likely that it does say thatcher tire, googling it gets headcanons and things about Eddie working there, but that must have come from either this list or some other detail that also supports it.

Hawkins Elementary › * hellfire meetings!!?

--> av closet

Library? -> downtown

Jeff/Gareth (Hellfire)

Paul Cook

Park behind community pool edited because you guys are probably right, community pool makes sense especially because it was heavily featured in s3.

*> is used to encapsulate both "Hawkins elementary" and "av closet", as in "I think Hellfire meetings are held in Hawkins elementary, specifically the av closet" | just can't format that while typing, sorry

[aficwhore]

Truth Is (Chapter 3)

Chapter 3: Paper Weighted Problems

Frankie “Catfish” Morales x F!reader

Summary: After the night before, tensions between Fish and Chip arise. While tearing through the jungle and Lorea’s place, Frankie and the reader fight, leading to an amazing discovery.

Word count: 3K

Warnings: explicit language, blood, violence, guns/weapons, lots of angst and emotions, infidelity?, smut, sexual innuendos, drinking, mentions of drugs, talk of death/death itself, and talk of mental health(PTSD and depression).

A/N: Sorry for the late update, Life has its ups and downs! Today we had a bad storm so I sat in my basement and wrote this. I hope you like it<3

Regret. Frankie couldn't hide the emotion from me. It was as clear as day, I wondered if the boys had noticed it. 

“Well what’s for breakfast?” I broke the awkward silence, causing everyone but Frankie to break their gazes away from me, but exchanges looks between each other. I finally looked anywhere but in Frankie’s direction.

Tom cleared his throat, “Uh nothing special, we saw that you had some frozen waffles and just made those.” He tried to lighten the mood, it was obvious, everyone knew about last night. 

“Haha, yea, what grown woman buys Eggos?” Benny attempted to joke, causing Santi and Will to stifle a laugh. 

I rolled my eyes, fighting a smile, thoughts of Frankie still clouding my mind. “For occasions just like this one! When five grown men have a slumber party in my living room.” I added, walking over to the counter and grabbing a plate full of waffles and dowsing them in syrup.

“Right, because that’s definitely what it was.” Tom chuckled, handing me a napkin.

“Exactly, I’m pretty sure I saw Pope braiding Benny Boy’s hair.” I joked biting into a chunk of food.

Ben scoffed, “It gets in my eyes!” And everyone froze, staring at him in shock. After a second of complete silence, Frankie burst into laughter, sending the rest of us into a laughing fit, except Ben. He stood there blushing, trying to act like he didn’t reveal that he braids his hair.

Will began to cough, struggling to not choke on the mouthful of food while he snickered. Pope roughly patted him on the back as our giggles died down. 

“So, does that mean you sit in the mirror and braid your own hair?” Tom questioned with a smirk on his face, wanting to bother Benny more.

“You shut up.” He jokingly spits. Tom raises his hands as a sign of defeat and continues to finish the last bites of food on his plate.

“Anyways...Other than our ‘slumber party’ I know two people that had some fun last night.” Pope spoke up, causing mine and Fish’s eyes to open wide.

“Oh yea, how could we forget? ‘Oh FrAnKiE, Oh YeS! HaRdEr!’” Benny mimicked me while thrusting his hips for dramatic affect. I could feel heat rising to my face as the boys roared with giggles again. 

“Would you cut it out?” Frankie replied, wanting to avoid this talk entirely. 

Then Pope joined in, making fun of Frankie, “’FuCk, bAbY, I wOn’T LaSt LoNg!’” I sat there, embarrassed and not knowing what to say. Normally this would be a joke, but with everything, this wasn’t a joking matter.

“I said enough!” Frankie shouted, “It shouldn’t have happened, okay?!” He expressed, shoving his chair back, getting up, and storming outside.

All the commotion died immediately. Pope and Benny opened their mouths to apologize when they turned to me, but were met with a blank stare.

Did he really mean that? After pursuing me? After trying so hard to make up, he goes and says ‘It shouldn’t have happened.’

Everyone remained quiet, continuing to stare at me in concern. After what felt like hours, Tom pushed his seat back and got up, hopefully headed to catch Frankie.

Once Tom had made it out the front door, I cleared my throat, "So, what time are we leaving?" I asked, trying to hide all the hurt and pain from my eyes.

The three remaining men all exchanged looks, "Here in 15." Santi spoke quietly, unsure of what exactly just happened.

"Sounds good!" I faked enthusiasm, stuffing my mouth with the last bite on my plate and getting up. I swiftly put my dishes in the sink and headed back to my room. I could hear the boys whispering to each other, trying to understand what the hell was going on with Frankie and I.

I closed my door behind me. I leaned against it, letting my head fall back with defeat and hit the door. Feeling my emotions topple over the brim, tears rushed to my eyes as I slid down the door and sank to the floor.

What the fuck was going on? Why was Frankie so upset with our actions. I thought finally we had made up, that he was once again MY Fish. Had he just used me last night? What changed his mind? Why was this happening all over again?

Lost in my thoughts, I hadn't realized that my sobs were now audible. I couldn't hold back the garbled gasps I let out. Tears stained my cheeks and began to soak my shirt.

Through the door I could hear the boys trying to get each other to come get me, because it was close for us to leave. Not wanting to deal with the water works anymore, I slapped my cheeks a few times, trying to smack the emotions out of my head. I wiped my tears off and quick got up to change my shirt.

After rummaging through my clothes, I found a similar shirt, threw it on and swung open the door, wanting to just head to the airport, and to get this over with.

Holding my head up high, I confidently walked back to the kitchen/living room to meet the boys. Only Benny and Will stood there waiting for me, finishing the dishes and putting them away.

"All set? I'm ready to get this over with and be rich." I attempted to joke, causing the brothers in front of me to awkwardly chuckle, their eyes full of worry.

Benny shook his head, acknowledging that I wanted to ignore the fiasco and to get on the road. He led the way out of the apartment after hanging up a dish towel and grabbing his wallet and keys off the counter.

I followed quickly behind him with Will right on my heels. When we made it to the cars, Frankie sat in the front passenger side of Santi's truck, Santi in the driver seat, and Tom between them.

"I'll drive," Will offered, making his way to his truck and getting in. Benny walked ahead of me, opened the door and waited for me to hop in, before getting in after.

No one spoke as we tailgated Santi's truck all the way to the airport. Will placed his hand on my thigh the whole time, as a way to console me. Benny had his arm around me, slightly pulling me into his side. With them, I felt much better, they were my best friends and knew exactly how to comfort me.

When we found a good parking space, we all hopped out, and grabbed our things from the bed of the trucks. It was still awkwardly silent between everyone.

As we checked into our flights and went through TSA, Benny tried to lighten the mood by saying he needed a snack, even though we had just ate. We all giggled when Will called him a 'garbage disposal.'

Sitting at our flight gate was almost unbearable, realizing this mission would be very difficult, now with the added tension.

When we boarded the plane, Will and Santi sat with me, of course I was in the middle. Tom, Benny, and Frankie sat in the seats next to us. During the first hour I attempted to read a book, but quickly got bored as I felt Pope fall asleep and rest his head against my shoulder. Will sat with his eyes closed and headphones in.

I glanced over Pope's sleeping frame to find the others. Benny was leaned forward, head down and snoring on the tray he had propped up. Tom was slouched in his chair, his head lulling back and forth with sleep consuming him. And Frankie, who was also reading, looked up and met my eyes.

I ignored the gaze he gave me and turned my attention back to my book. Moments later I felt my phone buzz with a text. I sat my book down and pulled out my phone, reading the message;

Fishie: "I'm sorry..."

I rolled my eyes, was he really apologizing for his blowout, over a text?

Locking my phone, I put it face down into my lap, leaving the message unanswered. I continued my page in my book, only getting past a few sentences before my phone vibrated again. I acted as if I didn't feel it and remained reading. Only for it to ping again.

Frustratedly, I opened my phone again, seeing two additional texts;

Fishie: "Really?"

Fishie: "I meant what I said. I am sorry, but last night... was a mistake."

Heat began to rise to my cheeks, I forcefully typed back;

Me: "Wow, you are unbelievable."

I heard him shuffle and type back quickly;

Fishie: "Because I apologized? It's true, I'm only helping us both here. Yea it was my fault, but I shouldn't have gone to your room."

Me: "You took advantage of my feelings. You acted like we can just ignore this, I can't help but feel you led me on."

Fishie: "Led you on?! How? WE both decided to sleep together, thats it. I didn't LEAD you to do anything."

Me: "You're a real fucking piece of work."

Fishie: "Oh really?"

Me: "Yea, fuck you."

Fishie: "God you are the most stubborn and hard headed person I've ever met. Can't you see that this was a damn mistake?"

Me: "Screw you, oh wait, I did, but look where that got me. I don't even know why you're trying to apologize, because somehow you keep shifting the blame to me."

As I hit send and shoved my phone between my legs and put my book away, I heard Frankie huff with anger. Awaiting a reply I closed my eyes and leaned against Will, using his arm as a pillow.

But for a while, nothing came, and I slowly began to drift into unconsciousness.

My sleep had been interrupted by the plane shaking and a loud thump. I opened my eyes abruptly, and slightly frightened. I faced Will, to glance out the window and found that we had finally landed in Colombia.

We all silently gathered our things and slowly made our departure from the plane and airport. Once we trudged through the doors, we made it into the humid climate, the wet air immediately dampening our skin and clothes.

"Damn, this is gonna be fun." Benny chirped as we all huddled into the jeep Santi had prepared for us. Santi hopped upfront, and so did Tom, leaving four of us to try and fit in the backseat.

"Pope, there six of us, there's no way we'll fit AND have room for the bags." I spoke up, watching as Will, Benny, and Frankie smushed into the seats together.

"I know, I promise I'm more prepared than that," he laughed. "We only have to ride like this for a few miles, then we're on foot, and they'll have cargo vans there." He explained, turning on the engine and motioning for me to somehow get in.

"You can sit on my lap, I'll hold you down during Pope's insane driving." Benny laughed from between Will and Fish. I climbed over Will, careful not to hurt him, and landed in Ben's lap when he yanked the arm I used to brace my weight.

I twisted in his lap to sit comfortably, hoping I'd fit and we could just hurry up and get this over with. Benny wrapped his arms around my waist as Santi sped off and made way to a long and bumpy road.

We hit quite a few bumps and potholes, causing me to shift and bounce in Benny's lap. I tried to lean forward and hang in-between the two front seats, to help alleviate the rough contact between us.

"Damn it Chip, quit wiggling." Benny grunted from behind me.

"I can't control that, Pope is hitting every possible bump on the road." I squeaked as we hit a particularly hard one. I landed back into his lap and felt something. "Ouch, what the hell is in your pocket."

Will snorted and faced the window to hide his face as Benny gulped loudly. "I-I can't help it, you keep moving!" I froze, wanting to still believe it was something in his pocket.

"C'mon man, can't you control yourself?" Frankie angrily spoke up.

I pulled my back from Benny and sat as far forward on his legs as I could, turning to look at Frankie. "What? How is it-" I countered, my voice dying in my throat.

"Fish, you know how it works, it's not like I'm doing this on purpose." Benny awkwardly explained.

Frankie huffed and shook his head. "Whatever." he muttered.

"Looks like someone is jealous." Santi quietly joked.

"I am not jealous! We-we are on a damn mission! That should be the last thing from anyones mind, we need to focus on not dying and getting the fucking money." Frankie snapped, filling the jeep with his booming voice.

All noise ceased, the only sound was the creaking of the car as we rolled off the main road into a trail. The tension was at an all time high, it was engulfing and in a way, suffocating.

After some time, we stopped, Santi throwing the car in park and quickly turning to us. "My informant said that the mansion should be vacant, but we only have about 15 minutes, so we get in and get out, with as much as we can carry, but we can't take too much time." We all nodded. "When I get the signal, we're coming in hot and getting right to it. Get out and suit up." He turned back around and hopped out.

We followed behind, pulling out our bags and pulling on our gear. Not much else was said, due to the shit that was about to go down, even though it would be empty, you never know what could happen.

"Alright, obviously with everything, we no longer fit, I'll ride the side." I spoke, waiting for Will to get in and shut the door.

"Me too, easier that way." Frankie offered, shutting his door after Benny jumped in.

Will shut his door and I placed my foot on the step bar, hauling myself up to grab the rack on top for support, hanging on tight as Frankie did the same. "All good?" Pope asked through the window.

"Game time bitches." I quirked, slapping my free hand on the top of the Jeep. As we waited for the signal, I took in my surroundings, lush, thick forest all the way around, If Pope doesn't know where to go, we'd definitely get lost.

As I admired the greenery, I turned to look over the roof of the car, meeting Frankie's eyes for what seemed like the millionth time since we've reunited.

He sheepishly looked away and down at the ground, his knuckles which wrapped around the frame of the rack, tightened and turned white.

A garbled and staticky noise came from the cab of the vehicle, causing Pope to slam the gear shift into drive and yell "Hold on tight!" He lurked the jeep forward, stepping up the speed.

I held on tighter, pulling my body as flush as I could to the side of the Jeep, to avoid hitting the branches and brush that littered the sides of the overgrown trial.

After a long blur of green, the forest broke into a path, leading to a small mansion. Just as fast as we drove, we stopped. I jumped off and quickly swung the door open for Will, stepping back and pulling my gun from my side.

Without any words, we all strategically filed into the house, making sure to take cover and search the premise, eliminating any threats. The first floor had been barren, as for people, though it was filled with expensive artwork and furniture.

Once we all searched and met at the staircase, Pope nodded at me, signaling for me to take the lead upstairs and sweep the area. I quickly glided up the stairs and took cover near the first door, getting ready to burst in the room and check. To my luck, when I leaped into the room, it was empty. I glanced behind the door, and walked further into the office, keeping my gun at attention.

I could hear the boys doing the same, in the last four rooms. I observed the room, a big desk sat in the middle, a fancy chair accompanied it, the walls were decorated with paintings and portraits. The was a door in the corner, which I strode over to, swinging it open, full force. An alarmed Fish sat on the other side, the door led to the next room. I quickly pointed my gun at the ground and rolled my eyes, turning to examine the room again.

"Clear!" I yelled, letting the team know our section was safe.

Frankie walked through the door and up to me, as I sifted through the desk. "Hey I just wanted to talk real quick."

"Really? Now is not the time, look for the money." I spat back at him. "Any luck?!" I yelled hoping someone found something.

A faint voice answered, "No! I swear, she said there was money here!" Pope echoed.

Getting antsy, I shoved the desk, causing it to fall over, Frankie stepped back, "Listen, I didn't mean to make things worse, okay? Trust me I wanted nothing more than to be with you again."

I paused my movements, holding a paperweight in my hand, "No Frankie, you've done enough, either you want me or don't." I spoke harshly.

"Damn it Chip, just listen!" He raised his voice.

"No! I'm not doing this again, get your shit together and fucking look for something!" I yelled, bending down to put the weight down. He leaned forward and grabbed my arm. "Fuck you!" I yanked away, causing the paper weight to leave my hand and barrel into the wall.

The wall cracked, a hole forming as the weight bounced off and fell to the ground. "Look at what you did!" Frankie gasped with frustration.

I whipped around, walking to the wall, grabbing the paperweight. As I stood, I stopped halfway up when I was met with the hole. But it wasn't just an empty wall or beam behind it. There were plastic packages sticking out, which is very unusual for houses. Frankie began to murmur again.

"Shh! Shut Up!" I shushed him, reaching into the hole and tugging at the bag.

"You never let me talk-" Frankie continued.

"Frankie shut the fuck up! Look!" I screamed when the bag came out of the wall and into my hands. I Twisted on my heel and showed him the bag, which contained a huge stack of One-hundred dollar bills.

"Holy Fuck." Frankie gulped, making eye contact with me.

TAGLIST @tanyaherondale @winter-fox-queen @supernaturalgirl @actual-spawn-of-satan @hnt-escape @toomanystoriessolittletime @shadowolf993 @goldielocks2004

*if your user has a strike through, it wouldn’t let me tag you*

[fatiguing-thoughts]

“Natural” - Chapter 15 - Embry Call x Reader

I was stirred from my sleep at the sound of something in my room. 

My initial panic subsides when I hear Embry’s soothing voice in my ear. 

“It’s just me. Don’t worry.” He says, climbing into bed next to me. 

I feel his warm arms wrap around me and I press my face into the crook of his neck.

“What time is it?” I mumble.

“It’s a little past midnight.” He kisses my temple, stroking my hair. 

“Oh wow, I’ve been asleep for a while.” I chuckle. 

“Yeah, you never answered my texts. I figured you’d fallen asleep. You had a long day.” He chuckles, pressing soft kisses to my neck. 

“That I did. We all did.” I sigh.

“We’ll find him, don’t worry.” Embry whispers.

“I don’t know, Em. I’m really worried. I don’t recognize my best friend anymore.” I say, tears falling from my eyes.

“I know, I know. He’s still there, he’s just going through the ringer.” He soothes me, rubbing comforting circles in my back. 

“I know, I just want to help him. He’s been there for me through so much. Jacob’s like my brother.” I sniffle. 

“I know you do, bean. But you can’t fix what’s going on with him. He’s heartbroken and he’s gonna take some time for himself to heal.” 

Embry’s voice and touch always soothed me, but the thought of how much pain one of our best friends was going through was still plaguing my mind. I had no idea where he was or what he was doing. 

“Did you look for him today?” I look at Embry.

“Quil, Sam, Paul, and I all went out earlier. We’re going to be taking shifts looking for him.” 

“Nothing?” I ask with defeat.

“No, we lost his scent. We can’t hear his thoughts. We went all the way to the Candadian border. We’ll find him, he just doesn’t want to be found yet.” He chuckles softly, trying to lighten the mood.

“The Canadian border? How much further could he be?” I ask surprised.

“Who knows, he’s fast. We’ll find him eventually. We will.” He promises.

“I hope so.” I murmur, pressing my face deeper into his neck.

The smell of pine needles and teakwood throwing my senses into a frenzy. 

“In other news, we picked up the scent of another leech seemingly on its way to Forks. Quil and I got him, though. Gotta make sure nothing else comes here.” 

“It’s crazy how casual this is for all of you. I still can’t completely grasp it, yet. It’s just so common, Vampires in Forks. Months ago I never knew they existed, and here we are. They’re just everywhere.” I giggle.

“Isn’t it? But it makes sense why they like it here. They’re just surprised to see us, most vampires don’t even know we exist. Makes our job a little easier.” 

“How many do you think will be at the wedding next month?” I ask.

“I’m not sure. We’re gonna have to figure out who we do and don’t have to worry about, though.” His raspy voice laughs softly into my ear. 

“That’s a really good point, I didn’t consider that.” I giggle. 

“I know, I’m just here to remind you of it all. But you definitely wanna go?” He asks me, looking into my eyes. 

“Well, yeah. I’m intrigued, I wanna see what it’ll be like. I wanna see the wedding, I’m sure it’s going to be beautiful. Seth was really excited, too. So I wanna go for his sake, he’ll need some backup. Plus, Billy is going because of Charlie. I can’t leave Billy all alone. I’m going, but if you don’t want to, I won’t force you. I know you aren’t exactly fond of them.” I give him a soft smile. 

He leans up against my headboard and pulls me with him. He looks into my eyes with a soft smile.

“Babe, if you think I’m gonna let you go to a wedding without a date, you are mistaken. I would love to go with you. Anywhere, really. Besides, I can’t leave you with that many vampires. It’s rule number one of vampire weddings.” He chuckles. 

“Awe, Em. Thank you. How silly of me to forget rule number one.” I smirk as I place a kiss on his lips. 

“I don’t know how you could.” He pulls me in for another kiss.

His large hands find my hips, pulling me further into him. The kiss grows deeper, feeling his hungry lips on my own. 

“What time do you have to go home?” I exhale, pulling away from the kiss.

“Pretty soon, unfortunately. My mom’s gonna be looking to see if I’m in my bed soon.” He sighs.

“I understand.” I nod before placing my forehead on his. 

“I’m sorry, bean. We can have another sleepover soon.” He smiles, kissing the tip of my nose.

“I can’t wait. You’re still coming over for dinner tomorrow, right?” I ask.

“Of course.” He smiles. 

I laid against his chest until he had to leave. His heartbeat thumping against my ear put me to sleep faster than anything else really can. 

I start to stir as I feel movement in the bed.

“I love you. I’ll see you tomorrow.” He kisses my forehead before walking to my window.

I felt my eyes drooping shut before he reaches it. 

“I love you, too.” I mumble into the pillow.

I pull my blankets closer to me as my main source of heat has since left my bed. 

I woke up to see the sun peaking through my curtains. 

I check my phone and see a missed call from Leah. It was only nine in the morning, weird that she called so early. 

I then saw a text from her, asking me if she can come over when I’m awake. I text her back telling her she can come over now. 

I get myself dressed and ready for the day and make my way downstairs. 

I pop some waffles in the toaster and await for Leah’s arrival.

Though it wasn’t long as a few moments later there was a knock on my front door.

“Hey Leah. Come in.” I swing the door open further and she quickly enters. 

“Hi.” She smiles softly. 

“Are you hungry? Do you want anything to eat or drink?” I ask her.

“I’m good with water.” 

“Sit down, Leah.” I smile.

I bring her a glass of water and she gives me a small thank you.

“So, what’s going on?” I smile at her.

“Just the Alyssa thing. I explained it all to her. I just feel so bad about how she learned about all of it. She was so… afraid. It hurt to see her so afraid of us. She looked like she saw a monster.” She sighs.

“I understand. I think it’s natural to be afraid in a situation like that. But what matters is how she handles it from here. Jake made it a difficult introduction, but it seems like a fixable situation.” I place my hand on her shoulder comfortingly. 

“For sure. I get it. She said she needed a day or so to herself, and I get it, I do. But this is painful for me. I showed her me, and she seemed alright but… just really shaken up.” Leah confesses. 

“I get it. I talked to her, she said she didn’t wanna lose the connection she has with all of us, with you. She just needs to take some time to absorb it all. The girl watched a giant boy turn into a giant wolf. Then, she watched another one turn into another giant wolf. Then, she almost saw them fight. And then, she learned about vampires and how they’re running crazy through her hometown. She got a very harsh and rushed introduction, the girl feels like she’s nuts.” I chuckle, placing my hand on Leah’s.

“Yeah. But she said she doesn’t want to lose the connection she has with me?” She smiles.

“Of course that’s all you heard.” I roll my eyes.

“Oh shut up.” She laughs.

I walk over to go get the waffles I toasted and hand one to Leah.

She thanks me and eats it.

“I thought you weren’t hungry?” I tease.

“That was before I heard good news.” She smiles, taking a bite out of the eggo waffle. 

“Okay, fair.” I chuckle.

“By the way, I just want to let you know that I’m relieved you’ll be going to the wedding with Seth. I couldn’t bring myself to go, but you and Embry can keep an eye on him.” 

“Of course. Ya know, despite all the drama this girl brings, he’s still really excited for that wedding.” I laugh.

“He’s just happy to be anywhere. He loves love and he loves the Cullens. Don’t really get why, though.” She rolls her eyes.

“Well, I think Seth sees things in a different light than everyone else. He’s kinda his own sun. I love it, I wish I could be more like him, sometimes.” I admit with a small smile.

“I agree, Seth is really warm. He’s kind. He tries to only see the best in people. Which is why I worry for him, especially at a party full of leeches. So I find comfort in knowing you guys will be there.” She takes a sip of her water with a smirk. 

I shake my head, laughing at her. But in reality, it made sense to feel that way. It made so much sense.

“So, what’re your plans with Embry for the day?” 

“Well, my dad wanted to have dinner with us. So what I have to do is either feed him before or feed him after, because he’s expressed his concern with eating too much in front of my dad. He doesn’t want to raise any suspicions.” I giggle.

“That’s a good point. I guess that’s something to consider.” She picks at the skin on her thumb. 

“Are you actually okay?” 

“I mean, I will be fine soon. It just kinda physically hurts.” She purses her lips.

“Well, let’s go have some fun, then. I don’t have anything to do until my dad gets home from work.” 

“I mean, I don’t have to go on patrol and search for Jacob until 3. We could do something.” She smiles.

“Alright, let’s go.” I grab my car keys and we are on our merry way.

“What’s the plan?” She asks as I turn the car on.

“Uh, not sure. You got anything in mind?” I turn to her before driving off. 

“Not a clue.” She smirks.

“Okay, well we can go play in the woods. I know you’re doing that later, so I don’t know. We can mess with the guys, maybe? Drive around until we find something? We could go get lunch later, maybe?” I start throwing ideas around. 

“Okay, uh. Those are all great options.” She laughs.

“But?” 

“But, I don’t know what to do.” 

“We can hang out on the beach. Maybe look for some seals? I need a dress to wear to Bella’s wedding, but I don’t think you’d be very interested in dress shopping.” I chuckle. 

“Not usually, but we could do that if you’d like. I’d like to go see some seals, though. That could be fun.” She smiles.

“Alright, seals it is.” I smile. 

We drove over to the beach, blasting some fun music. 

Seeing Leah in a good mood was something that I enjoyed, it was something I didn’t get to see often anymore. She really deserved the happiness the world has to offer; and I’m glad she’s finding it. 

After our jam session, we pulled up to the beach and got out. We began our walk, which wouldn’t be too long, hopefully. 

“Do you think we’ll see any baby seals?” I ask.

“Maybe, I think this is like the time when they’re born.” She looks around. 

“Great. I love fluffy seal pups, it’s all I need to see and then I’ll be content with my life.” I giggle.

“Wow, that’s all it takes?” Leah teases. 

“Well yeah, have you ever seen a seal pup?” 

“You got me there, they are very cute.” Leah laughs at me. 

We continue our walk down the rocky shore for what feels like an hour or so before she tells me there are some coming up soon.

“How do you know? Those are just rocks.” I ask her.

“I have really good vision now, one of the perks. Plus, I can smell them. They don’t smell that great.” She laughs. 

“Jeez, all the things I forget to consider.” I laugh.

The sudden realization dawned upon me, what if I smelled bad and didn’t know it? They could all smell so well. 

“Leah, you would tell me if I smelled bad right? I’m gonna need you to do that for me.” I lift up the corner of my shirt, smelling it.

“(Y/N), you do not smell bad. But yes, I will tell you.” She laughs.

We continue walking, rounding the corner. 

“Wow, there they are.” I whisper in amazement. 

“Beautiful.” 

We sit and stare at them from afar for a bit. Talking about life for what feels like hours.

And suddenly our sunlight was blocked by two figures. 

“Can I help you?” Leah’s annoyed tone rings through the air.

“Yeah, we were wondering if we could sit with you two lovely ladies. We figured you might want our company.” One tries to shmooze. 

I look up and see two young guys. One a bit taller than average, lanky build. He had blonde hair and a smile plastered on his face. I look at the other one standing next to him, a little stockier than his friend. He was a few inches shorter and his hair was a light brown, he too was smiling at us. 

“Well, you did not figure correctly.” Leah scoffs. 

“Wow, someone’s feisty.” The blonde teases. 

“You’re a little quiet, though.” The brown haired boy smiles at me.

“It is with the advice of my lawyer that I remain quiet.” I smirk up at him.

Leah looks over at me, realizing what I’m doing. I can tell that she’s holding back her laughter. 

“What?” The blonde one asks.

“My lawyer? Just ever since my case, he said that I shouldn’t talk to men like you guys anymore. It was what provoked me the first time.” I shrug. 

“He was right. It was like something snapped that time. She just missed a sentence by *that*.” She pinches her thumb and her index finger close together. 

“Yeah, my boyfriend’s crazy, too. He just got out of prison. He should be here any minute, though. If you guys wanna meet him?” I smile at them.

“Uh, no thanks.” The blonde one quickly says, grabbing his friend’s arm and walking away.

“Bye! It was nice to meet you!” I call after them, causing them to walk faster. 

After they were out of earshot, Leah and I burst out into laughter. 

“That was impressive.” She laughs.

“Thank you. You did great, yourself.” I laugh.

“I see how you managed to keep up with Quil for all these years.” 

“Oh please, I made Quil the snarky boy he is.” I smirk. 

A few minutes later we decided it was time to go. 

Our walk back consisted of throwing around random things to do.

“I mean, I could go for ice cream.” I chime as we near my car.

“Who am I to say no to ice cream?” She laughs.

So we made our way to the local ice cream spot.

“Can I have sprinkles on the bottom? And extra sprinkles on top?” I ask the woman making my ice cream with an awkward smile.

“Of course!” The kind girl smiles as she packs on the sprinkles.

“Jeez, (Y/N). You want any ice cream with those sprinkles?” Leah laughs as she licks her ice cream.

“Not really, I’m in it for the sprinkles.” I laugh as I pay and thank the woman. 

Sitting on the bench outside of the ice cream shop I look at the time.

“Can’t believe it’s already noon.” I laugh.

“Wow, time flew. But what do we do now?” Leah asks, throwing out her napkin. 

“Well… I still need that dress. And there’s a dress store like fifteen minutes away…” I say, voice trailing off. 

“Alright, let’s go get you a dress. I just have to go on Jacob and leech patrol at 3.” She reminds me. 

“You got it, boss.” I smile as I stand up and throw out my empty cup. 

The dress shop was small but offered a substantial amount of options.

“Thank you for helping me, I need an honest opinion. This isn’t really my thing but I have to get it done.” I smile at her, shuffling through dresses.

“Of course, what else are friends for?” She chuckles.

“You got me there. Do you think long or short?” I ask.

“Uhhh, either works. What color are you thinking?” She asks. 

“I like emerald or purple.” I shrug. 

“Okay, those would work.” 

After about a half an hour of shuffling, we grabbed a few good options and I made my way to the dressing room. 

“No.” Leah says as I walk out in a deep purple dress that came to my knees. There was only one shoulder on the dress.

“Yeah I don’t like the top of it.” I shrug.

I make my way back in, and after we hated all of them I lost hope.

“I found this one, try it on.” She says handing me an emerald green dress. 

“Thank you.” I smile and make my way back into the dressing room. 

I put it on and look into the mirror. The gown flowed beautifully, complimenting my complexion and figure well. The straps and neckline held my chest together well. A modest, yet beautiful dress. It was perfect for this wedding. There was a hidden slit in the dress, I didn’t notice it until I brought my leg forward. I think this would be the dress, as long as Leah gave me the thumbs up.

“What do you think?” I ask as I exit the dressing room.

“That one looks great.” She smiles at me.

“I agree. I think this is the one I’m gonna buy.” I smile before going back into the dressing room. 

I get dressed back into my normal clothes and bring the dress over to the register. 

By the time we got into the car, it was a little after 2:00. 

“I’ll drive you home. Thank you for the fun day.” I smile at her.

“No, thank you. I had fun. Scaring men is a great way to pass time.” She chuckles. 

“It is, we should absolutely do that again. The guy was lucky Quil wasn’t here to add to it.” I laugh. 

“Oh yeah, it would’ve escalated to some kind of mafia story.” Her laughter echoes in the car. 

We got to her house and I said hello to Seth. 

“Hey Seth.” I wave.

“Hey! How’re you doing?” His cheerful voice fills my ears.

“I’m good. I’m gonna go pick up Embry to get him food before we eat dinner with my dad.” I giggle.

“Yeah that makes sense. He eats almost as much as Quil, which is a lot.” His smile beamed like sunshine. 

“I know, it’s crazy isn’t it.” I laugh. 

I say my goodbyes and make my way over to Embry’s house, calling him to let him know I was on my way.

I park my car and see him waiting for me outside with a smile, a few flowers in his hand. 

“Hey, Em.” I smile, giving him a soft kiss on his lips when he gets in my car. 

“Hey, bean.” He beams as I pull away and begin the drive back to my house. 

“How was patrol?” I ask, tearing my eyes from the road for a second. 

“It was alright. Good news is that we didn’t find any vampires. Bad news is that we didn’t find Jacob. But, I saw some pretty flowers and I thought of you. So I picked them.” He smiled, holding up the flowers for me to see.

“Embry, they’re beautiful. You’re too sweet, thank you.” I blush. 

“Anything for you, babe.” He smiles, pressing a kiss to the top of my hand. 

His head looks into my back seat, noticing the dress bag. 

“Oh you got a dress for the wedding?” He smiles at me.

“I did, Leah helped me pick it out today. It’s a little long for me right now, but I think heels will fix that.” 

“I can’t wait to see you in it.” Embry says, causing me to blush. 

“I can’t wait to see you all dressed up, I’m excited.” I smirk.

“I guess that’s the silver lining of this wedding.” He chuckles. 

We drove back to my house, jamming out to our playlist. 

I pull into the driveway and lead Embry into the house.

“What’re we cooking for dinner?” He asks.

“Well, I figured you could find something in the fridge to eat before he gets home and then I’ll make spaghetti and accessories to spaghetti for actual dinner.” I suggest.

“Spaghetti accessories?” Embry laughs, raising an eyebrow.

“Ya know, sauce, garlic bread, that kinda stuff.” I giggle. 

“Wow. Accessories.” He teases, pulling me in for a kiss. 

“Alright, eat some food so that we can start cooking.” I kiss the tip of his nose. 

I place the flowers in a vase and admire them for a few moments as Embry ate some leftovers from dinner last night. I brought the dress upstairs to my room before returning to the kitchen.

We began cooking and before I knew it, it was after 4:00. My dad should be home at any moment so our timing worked pretty well. 

“You know how they say you can tell if spaghetti is done?” Embry asks me.

“How?” I ask with a smirk, knowing damn well what he was going to do.

He grabs a piece of spaghetti out of the strainer and throws it at the wall behind me.

“Oh, no you’re supposed to throw it at someone, not a wall.” I joke with a grin.

I take a piece of spaghetti and throw it at Embry, and it got stuck to his arm.

“See, it’s done. It sticks.” I giggle, walking over to him and the wall to throw out those pieces. 

“Wow, babe. Harsh.” He giggles, wrapping his arms around my waist. 

“It’s what I am, coldblooded.” I joke. 

“Oh yeah, totally.” He rolls his eyes. 

Suddenly, his eyes are ripping themselves from my waist.

“What’s wrong?” I ask, slightly worried.

“Your dad’s pulling up into the driveway. I hear his car from up the block.” He laughs.

“Wow, super hearing. I forget about that.” I laugh. 

My dad opens the door and greets us.

“I’m just gonna change and then I’ll be right back down for dinner.” He says before jogging up the steps. 

I finish setting everything else up and Embry and I take a seat at the table, waiting for my dad.

“Hey, Embry. I’m glad to see you again.” My dad says to him with a smile.

“It’s good to see you again, too.” Embry smiles. 

“How was work?” I ask my dad.

“It was alright. John messed up one of our clients’ accounts, so that was a fun thing to fix for the rest of the day.” He says, voice filled with sarcasm. 

“Oh, sounds like a great time.” I joke.

“Of course, always is. But how was your day? What did you guys do today? Where did these flowers come from?” He asks before taking a bite of his garlic bread.

“Oh, I brought them for (Y/N). I saw them on a hike with Quil and I thought she’d like them.” He smiles.

“That’s really nice of you, Embry.” My dad smiles.

“Leah and I hung out. We went seal watching, scared some men, got ice cream and went dress shopping.” I took a bite of spaghetti.

“Sounds fun, but how and why did you scare men?” My dad raises an eyebrow. 

Embry too was interested to know the story, judging by his face. 

“Well when we were sitting at the beach, two guys came up to us. Flirting with us and thinking they were sooooo smooth. They didn’t get the message that we weren’t interested and didn’t want them around. So I told them my lawyer advised me to stay away from situations like that after what happened the last time. I said I barely made it out without a prison sentence. I wanted them to fear me. Then, I told them my crazy boyfriend who just got out of prison would be there any minute if they wanted to stick around and meet him.” I smile, taking a sip of my water.

Embry laughs way too hard at the absurd words coming from my mouth and my father looks proud yet concerned, he too began to laugh.

“I mean, it worked right?” My dad asks.

“Of course it worked, they looked so scared.” I smile. 

“I’m proud of you. Glad to know you’re still my snarky daughter.” My dad smiles at me.

“I’m proud of your quick thinking, it’s great. But you should call me next time.” Embry says with a concerned face. 

“Yeah, you never know who you’re talking to. Thankfully they weren’t crazy.” My dad agrees.

“I know, but Leah was there.” I defend to Embry.

“You’re right, I forgot she was there for a second.” Embry nods. 

“What does Leah being there do?” My dad asks, confused as to why that meant everything is peachy and safe.

“Uh, she’s just intimidating. Plus I wasn’t alone.” I try to save myself. 

“I mean, that’s true. It’s better to be with someone than by yourself.” My dad agrees. 

Can’t exactly tell my dad that Leah is stronger than any other human that could be threatening me. That she won’t face any physical damage from them, that she could snap them like a twig. That she can shift into a giant wolf. 

“How was dress shopping?” My dad asks, breaking the silence. 

“It was good, I bought a dress.” I smiled. 

“That’s great, I wanna see it after dinner.” He smiled.

“Of course, I have to show Embry, too. The wedding is just a few weeks away.” I say.

“Very fast, very rushed. The invitation just got here the other day.” My dad says.

“The whole thing is a rush.” Embry agrees.

“I mean, yeah. But they’re in love. And it’s what she wants.” I say to Embry.

I knew he was referring to Bella becoming a vampire more than the wedding. It was a lot on Jacob, making it a lot on everyone else. Nobody understood her desire to become one. 

“That’s important, I would hope she wants it.” My dad laughs. 

“She definitely does.” Embry agrees.

“I heard Jacob ran away. Billy’s made missing flyers. You guys haven’t heard from him at all?” My dad asks.

“Nope, not at all.” Embry says with a devastated face.

“No, I wish he would come back. He disappeared after he got the invitation in the mail.” I say, pursing my lips. 

“That’s a shame. Hopefully he comes back soon. Billy’s so upset. Jake doesn’t need her, he’ll find someone.” My dad says in a disappointed tone.

“I know, he’s just inconsolable about it.” I say as I take another sip of my water. 

We finish eating dinner, talking about everything and nothing. We clean it up and sit in the living room.

“Alright, hon. Let’s see the dress.” My dad smiles.

“Okay, I’ll go put it on.” I smile before walking upstairs, leaving Embry and my dad on the couch. 

I put the dress on and walk back down the stairs, lifting it up so I don’t trip.

“Right now, it’s a little too long but when I put heels on I think it’ll be okay.” I smile awkwardly.

“You look beautiful.” Embry says with a smile plastered across his face, eyes almost glazed over with admiration. 

“You do.” My dad smiles proudly. 

“Thank you.” I blush. 

I walk back upstairs and throw some pajamas on, ready to watch some tv with Embry and my dad.

My phone rings and I see Quil’s name flash on my screen.

“Hey Quil, what’s up?” I ask into the phone.

“Yeah, I have him with me. I don’t know why he’s not checking his phone. Yeah, yeah I’ll tell him. Okay, relax there, bud. I’ll bring him over, calm down.” I say into the phone.

“What’s wrong?” Embry asks.

“Sam needs you to come over, there’s an issue with his truck and he’s afraid the engine is gonna be destroyed if you don’t look at it. Jacob’s not there to help anymore, so it’s gotta be you.” I smile. 

“Oh, okay.” Embry says, trying to stay calm.

“It was good to hang out with you guys. Hopefully you can help him.” My dad smiles and says goodbye before we walk out my front door.

“What’s actually wrong?” Embry asks.

“Quil’s words were ‘there’s a few leeches and they need you immediately’ so I couldn’t exactly say that.” I look at him.

“Of course there is. I don’t want you outside, you’re gonna stay inside Sam’s house with Emily and Kim. I’ll meet you there and then Brady and Collin will wait with you guys there. I’ll come get you after we get them. Okay?” Embry says as he makes sure I get into my car. 

He shuts my door and runs into the woods, phasing to catch up with everyone. 

I sped the whole way to Sam’s house, going far too fast. But it was necessary. I would see Embry soon. 

I call Emily to let her know I was on the way and she told me that Brady and Collin would be outside waiting for me. I kept on driving.

“Hey guys.” I say, getting out of my car. 

The two wolves nod at me, coming closer to let me run my fingers through their fur.

Emily swings the door open for me to come in. 

I sit on the couch with her and Kim.

We talk for a little while before deciding it was time to watch cheesy movies. 

A few hours in, I felt my eyelids grow heavy. It became harder to keep my head up, bobbing in and out of sleep. 

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[whirlybirbs]

☄     -----    MOONRISE RADIO. 

summary: you’re hawkins high’s new science teacher, faculty advisor for the newly reinstated hawkins av club, and crazy townie who overhears a russian comminucae on a broken ham radio. chief jim hopper is into it. joyce is a good wing-woman and the kids just want to listen the the buggles.  pairing: jim hopper x reader, murphy as a placeholder surname. rating: t, some swears. word count: 3.8k a/n: this is a season three au! here’s the set up for all the drabbles i am going to end up writing for hopper bc he literally owns my whole ass, thanks, enjoy ;)

Hawkins, Indiana is a small town.

For this exact reason, Chief of Police Jim Hopper knows everyone.

... Seriously.

Everyone.

Hawkins is kind of like Saturn: try to leave its orbit and you’ll get caught in the rings -- literally. Y’know, high school sweethearts marry one another, settling down, and boom! Hopper winds up at their end-of-the-cul-de-sacs on domestic dispute calls and reunites with that shithead co-captain of Hawkins basketball team who keyed his car Sophomore year.

Life in Hawkins is a never-ending cycle of existence that renders everyone in the small town a familiar face. Everyone knows everyone’s business. Everyone knows everyone. 

And everyone certainly knows Jim Hopper.

So, imagine his surprise when after her first day of high school, over a ravoli dinner, El nudges a crumbled pink piece of paper his way with an excited look on her face. The paper is well-loved paper and home to her new class schedule, a point of interest -- she’s marked what classes she has with the boys and Max.

“I like science,” she says with a full mouth, “Fun.”

El points to her sixth period.

Imagine Chief of Police Jim Hopper’s surprise when he sees an unfamiliar name. Someone he doesn’t know.

And she teaches science.

Summer fades with a wave of heat and full moons.

The last week of August creeps up on you and before you even realize it, you’re moving into the cleared out room of a retired Mrs. Gomez and hanging your own name up on the door along with three planetary mobiles, a periodic table and a big exo terra tank for the freshmen class pet on the back windowsill. 

One period turns into six, and a week turns into three.

Your life begins again, Hawkins style.

“Miss Murphy!”

You’re wiping down the chalkboard, smearing drawings of ionic bonds into dust when the stampede begins.

Typical Friday.

You like Mike and Will and Lucas and Dustin and El and Maxine. The little squadron of hellions had managed to win you over easily within the first three weeks of school -- between the abundant D&D references and constant “curiosity voyages”, you’d seemingly become their go-to with questions, gossip, and over-all mentor-ship. 

The whole bunch of them sat together in your sixth period class, and the whole bunch of them were really the only ones excited about Dash, that aforementioned freshmen class pet that you’d scooped up behind the school and saved from being roadkill.

El immediately wanders to the tank and makes sure the heat lamp is on.

You can’t help but smile. These are good students. You like them. They like you.

Maybe it’s because when you were younger, you were just like them.

It’s like a sixth sense. They just... know. 

“We have a question.”

“Is it about reptiles again?” you chirp, wiping your hands, “I don’t know, like, anything about komodo dragons, Dustin, I told you --”

“No!” Dustin waves his hands, hopping up onto the edge of your desk, “No, this is about the AV Club.”

“AV Club?”

Mike rolls his eyes. “The AV Club!”

You blink. All six of them are looking at you expectantly. You deadpan.

“You lost me.”

“She’s new here, guys,” Will sighs, gently nudging Lucas who makes an O with his mouth, “Remember?”

“Right, right, right,” Dustin sighs, waving his hands with a charismatic no-front-teeth smile, “Sorry, Murph, my excitement precedes me --”

You shoot Dustin a look. No nicknames. He knows the rule.

“Make it quick,” you groan, waving an apologetic Dustin off your desk as you begin to collect papers from the previous period, “I have the open house tonight and I gotta get some grading done before -- you’ve got fifteen to catch me up on this AV Club thing.”

Lucas claps his hands. They all settle into the desks in-front of you.

You narrow your eyes.

Mike begins.

“So, there’s all this old radio station equipment in the top of the gym...”

You wring your hands.

You fiddle with the hem of your dress.

This is nerve-wracking.

For the first time in a while, you curse the fact you’ve got mostly freshmen in your classes -- with every new round of bright blue visitors stickers, parents are eager to pick your bones when you begin talking about your curriculum, expectations and the like. I mean, it’s good, you guess, that there’s parents who are engaged but... as a new teach at Hawkins, you can’t help but feel like you’re missing a part of the bit.

It’s nearing the end of the night now and you’ve noticed the parents don’t greet you like they do the other teachers. Like... like friends.

Maybe it’s because you’re new.

New to the town, too. Not just teaching high school science, you mean.

You wonder if all the news stories pouring out of that Hawkins Lab have anything to do with how cheap rent is in the area. The multi-family unit you’ve settled into is in a nicer suburb in town -- green lawns, a playground, neighborhood BBQs... You’d moved on the pretense of your hiring, excited at the chance to get out of the city for a while and live a quieter life.

You jump six feet in the air when someone knocks on the door-frame of your classroom.

“Oh my god --”

Your hand flies to your chest.

“Uh, sorry -- Sorry, is this... is this Miss Murphy’s room?”

The first thing you notice is the badge. It glints in the florescence.

The next thing you notice is... him. I mean, he’s tall -- tall and broad and intimidating but... soft. His eyes are tired and his voice is quiet and you’re staring, Jesus Christ, you’re staring --

Chief of Police Jim Hopper has never felt smaller.

You’re new -- definitely new. Hopper knows, in that moment, that you must be, He would remember someone like you. I mean, how could he not?

(Everyone knows he’s got a soft spot for beautiful women, but he’s damn near mush right now. Pudding. His knees are pudding. He is an idiot and his knees are pudding.)

He makes the doorway look tiny.

You sputter. “Y-yes! Yes, it is. Hi, I’m, uh, Miss Murphy.”

“I figured,” he chirps, lips quirking under his mustache. He waves the piece of paper in his hands, “Kinda... kinda said so on the schedule, y’know?”

“Jim!”

Immediately, someone shoulders his backside.

Right in the damn kidney.

“Christ, Joyce, ow --”

“Be nice!” she cries with a laugh, stepping around him.

The woman is comically smaller than the police officer before you. Joyce has a kind smile and sweet doe eyes and she excitedly rushes to shake both your hands in her own.

“It’s so nice to finally meet you,” she gushes, “Will has said so many great things about you --”

Your eyes widen. “You’re Will’s mother? Will Byers?”

“Yes!” she nods, “Yes, and, uh, this is Hopper --”

Joyce nearly snorts when Jim just blinks. She elbows him. He jumps.

He was staring.

“Jim Hopper,” he clears his throat, trying to regain any semblance of composure. This really knocked him off his game -- you really knocked him off his game. He was fully expecting some nasty old widow to be teaching, not a young, brightly dressed woman who’s smiling at him, Christ almighty, smiling, “Chief of Police.”

He offers his hand. You shake it and your lips quirk. “Are you... here to investigate me, or...?”

“Oh!” his eyes widen, “No, no, uh -- El is my daughter. Adopted.”

“Ah, right. Miss El. Got it,” you laugh a little, nodding, “Groovy.”

“Groovy.”

(Joyce narrows her eyes, grinning between yourself and Hopper. Groovy indeed.)

“She was nice.”

Jim’s cigarette glows red in the evening September air. Joyce, beside him, has this horrible, conniving look on her face -- the same look she gave him when she convinced him to ask Jenny Gonzalez out Junior year -- and Jim immediately goes on the defense.

“I dunno what you’re talkin’ about.”

“Miss Murphy,” Joyce grins, “I saw you staring.”

“I was not.”

“C’mon, Jim,” she chirps, “She’s pretty --”

“Yeah, a pretty bad idea.”

Joyce rolls her eyes so hard Hopper can feel it.

“Listen,” Jim says, flicking his cigarette into the pavement, “With everything goin’ on, I don’t have time for something like that.”

“Jim, stuff like that doesn’t care if you’ve got time.”

Joyce watches him climb into his truck. He slams the door shut,

“If it’s meant to be, it happens anyways!”

He narrows his eyes.

Then, cranks the window down and raises one finger.

“Not on my watch.”

Famous last words, Jim Hopper. Famous last words.

Happy Monday.

“I’m joining AV Club.”

“...What?”

“AV Club. Science. Fun.”

Hopper just takes a looooooong sip from his morning coffee. Eleven stabs her eggos. She forks a hunk into her mouth and chews.

Hopper takes another sip.

“AV Club.”

“Yes. Radios.”

“Radios.”

“Yes.”

You’re sweating.

The storage space of Hawkins High’s gym is ninety degrees at least -- and here you are, brandishing a flashlight in the dark as the Mighty Hellions dig through the space and pull box after box from the makeshift sauna.

“Think this stuff still works, Murph?” Maxine asks.

You ignore the informal nickname and pull open a box to eye a bundle of cables. They’re in good shape. The mic, at the bottom, is too if not a little grimy.

“I don’t see why not.”

After a grueling hour and a half, they finally set up shop in the closet across the hall from your classroom. It’s usually where they keep glassware and Bunsen burners but... with a little begging and a dejected look from Dustin, you grant them their plea and help them set up the impromptu radio station with relative ease.

The desk in the center of the room -- Mrs. Gomez’s old one -- is a little wobbly, but it works.

“And now,” says Mike, “The moment of truth.”

El flicks the switch.

And nothing happens.

Not so Happy Monday.

"How was AV Club?”

“Sad.”

Hopper’s mouth is full.

“Sad...?”

“Radio is broken.”

“Oh,” Hop hums, “M’ sorry, kid.”

“It’s okay,” El says slowly, looking out the window on the ride home, “Miss Murphy buying us new wires.”

Hopper blinks. “Miss Murphy?”

“Yes. Nice.”

Very.

Joyce rings you out the next evening at Melvald’s.

“I’m surprised you didn’t try Starcourt.”

You laugh a little. “What, that super mall?”

“I heard they’ve got everything,” Joyce chirps, “Will and the kids go there nearly every weekend. Ice cream, movies... you name it. A great place for a date, I bet.”

You laugh and pull out your wallet. “Oh to be young and in love.”

“No kidding,” she grins, taking the cash, “Speaking of... are you...?”

“Young?” you laugh, propping your elbows up on the counter, “Or in love?”

“Either.”

You like Joyce. She’s funny. 

“No,” you sigh, “Nope. No, not right now. Neither. I spend my Tuesday nights with wine and a TV dinner.”

“Y’know,” Joyce hums, a knowing look in her eye as she bags the radio supplies, “I know someone who does the same exact thing.”

It’s Miller High Life, actually. And Tostitos. 

That’s besides the point, though, because while Joyce is still very much on his case about the new science teacher, Jim is very much focused on the fact none of the stations god damn radios are working.

He could really go for a beer right now.

Something is jamming the signal.

Actually, to clarify -- the same fucking song on repeat is jamming the signal.

For the last two hours, it’s just been Video Killed the Radio Star by The Buggles over and over and over and over again. And then again, just for good measure. On the fourth round of the song, Jim had unceremoniously lobbed his walkie across the station. On the tenth, he’d yanked the chord for the radio out of the wall.

If Hopper hears that fuckin’ oh oh sound one more time, he’s going to lose it.

Callahan just shrugs when, finally, the music stops and the booming voice of Dustin Henderson comes over every walkie in the room.

“GOOOOOOOOOOD EVENING, HAWKINS INDIANA!”

Hopper peels into the high school parking lot.

Long strides carry him through halls that he knows way too damn well -- halls that wind and turn and lead him right to room 305. Your name is scrawled across the door alongside a picture of a constellation and a beaker.

But, the classroom is empty.

And then he hears it.

“-- OH OH! VIDEO KILLED THE RADIO STAR! --”

“I am so sorry, Chief Hopper -- I had no idea that was the PD’s frequency.”

You’re wringing your hands but you’re also two beats from laughing and Hopper is really trying to keep it together because... I mean, it’s funny. 

Jim pinches the bridge of his nose. He feels bad. He... well, he probably shouldn’t have slapped the broadcasting mic out of Dustin’s hands. He’s got a short wire now-a-days, blame the whole Hawkins Lab incident and the fact he’s essentially harboring a fugitive and allowing aforementioned fugitive to go to high school and jam radio channels with Today’s Top 40 in her free time.

“No, no -- I... It’s fine. It’s fine, really, just...”

Hopper drops his hand. You’re trying your best to hide a smile that’s threatening to sweep across your whole face. 

“Do not let Dustin play any more of The Buggles, okay?”

You chew your lip and lean closer, whispering. “... Did it really play for two hours straight?”

Hopper’s nostrils flare. He nods weakly. You note the missing walkie from his belt.

And then you burst into laughter.

You buy more cassettes at Melvald’s the next week.

“Oh,” Joyce grins, holding up a Madonna album before scanning it across check-out with a beep, “Nice stuff -- is this for AV Club?”

You laugh. “Let me guess, Chief Hopper told you about ‘The Incident’?”

Joyce's lips quirk and she tilts her head, eyeing you carefully as you bite back a smile and muscle out your wallet from your bag. “... No, he did not.”

“The kids were on the wrong frequency,” you gesture, a bit sheepish, “And, I mean, I had no idea until Chief Hopper had to come to the high school and let us know that he’d been listening to Video Killed the Radio Star for two hours straight.”

“Oh god.”

“Yeah,” you raise your brows, pull a face and mimic the catchy hook, “Oh oh god.”

Joyce snorts.

“It’s not working!”

“Boys,” you sigh heavily, “Just... Just let me look at it.”

There’s a scramble and the sea of bodies part. Max and El are posted by the door, watching with a dejected sort of disappointment. Your knees hit the floor and you ignore the fact your jeans are going to be covered in nasty dust from the underside of Mrs. Gomez desk. Your necklace jingles and you sigh, settling on your back and waving for Dustin to pass you the flashlight.

“Did Hopper break it?” it’s Mike, “If Hopper broke it, I swear to shit --”

“Language.”

“Sorry.”

You squint, pushing apart the mess of wires and sighing loudly when you find the problem.

It’s... weird. Like... Like some of the wires have been chewed clean through.

“Looks like one of the wires is frayed.”

“Frayed?!”

You take the main component home with you.

It’s sitting on your passenger side seat when you pull into Melvald’s.

In the spot in-front of the store sits a Hawkins Police Dept. truck with a CHIEF decal on the side.

“She’s funny and smart and came in here and talked about you --”

“Talked about me?” Jim’s leaned against the counter, coke in his hands, “Hold on, what? You didn’t tell me that.”

“Yeah,” Joyce’s voice lilts, “She, uh, was telling me about The Buggles incident.”

Jim groans. 

“Oh, yeah, when I nearly drove my fist through the kids’ new hobby?”

“-- Funny, she left that part out --”

“I made an ass of myself, Joyce.”

“Hey,” Joyce coos, throwing her hands, “Maybe she likes that about you... y’know... your uncanny ability to be a... uh, an ass?”

“Nice.”

“I’m kidding.”

The shop door dings and Chief of Police Jim Hopper chokes on his diet coke.

You stop short in the doorway. 

The store is mostly empty -- it’s almost closing time, anyways -- and you can’t help but feel like you’re intruding on Hopper and Joyce’s conversation, especially when Hopper is cursing and wiping at the soda spilled down the front of him. 

Overhead, Movin’ Out by Billy Joel plays.

“-- Workin’ too hard can give you a heart attack-ack-ack-ack-ack --”

“Miss Murphy!” Joyce grins, “Hi there!”

“Hi Joyce,” you smile, nearing the counter. You can’t help but hide a smirk as Hopper sighs and stands. He drops his hands to his side and you get a full view of the coke down the front of his uniform, “Chief.”

(A little part of him dies inside then.)

(Joyce sees it.)

“Evening, Miss Murphy.”

“Rough night?”

“Little bit,” he heaves, downing the rest of his soda and crushing the can. He lobs it into the trash can beside the register with ease, “Well, duty calls, ladies.”

“Duty calls?” Joyce asks, crossing her arms. Suspicion paints her features.

She’s trying to get him to stay -- trying to goad him into a conversation with you, just like she always does, but the problem is that Joyce is a great wing-woman and honestly? 

That kind of terrifies him. 

It’s been a minute and a half since he’s considered anything more than a one-night stand with someone. He’s been busy, y’know, saving this dimension and keeping a top-secret government facility secret. 

“Yeah,” he deadpans, not feeding into it, “Duty.”

“Duty.”

You blink between them both.

Jim’s out the door with the tinker of the overhead bell.

Ouch. You turn to Joyce.

“I don’t think he likes me very much.”

Famous last words.

“Testing, one, two, three --”

You groan, switch frequencies one more time, and throw your hands.

Maybe the whole Hawkins High Radio Station idea was never meant to come to fruition. It hurts to admit it and you know the kids are going to be so damn upset, but no amount of soldering and wire replacements seems to be getting this hunk of junk to give out any sort of signal. 

You take a long drink from your glass of wine and collapse back onto the couch.

Then, you hear it.

"I’ll be sure to let Chief Hopper know, Miss Murphy.”

“Listen, I... Is he here? I’m kinda in a rush and this is sort of important --”

You’re pushing past Florence, the nice secretary, before you even realize it.

You’d known Hawkins was a weird town. That much was pretty clear from the odd disappearances, government labs and toxic leaks. But this... this is more than just weird. This is borderline panic inducing.

Hopper has a cigarette between his lips and his hat on his desk when you barge in.

He jumps six feet in the air and spills his coffee.

“Jesus --”

“Listen, Chief, I know you’re a real busy guy, but --”

“I am so sorry, Jim,” it’s Florence, moving to put herself between you and the Chief, “Miss Murphy, please, if you can take a seat, Chief Hopper would love to hear all about your top secret Russian communicae when he’s done his coffee --”

When Jim’s eyes widen a mile, you realize he knows something you don’t.

Jim feels small in your living room.

It’s a nice place -- furnished with plants and art and your TV has a stack of sci-fi movies atop of it. In the middle of your rug, though, sits the ham radio surrounded by a winding mess of wires. It’s off, and when you near it, you wring your hands. You’re nervous, he can tell. You can hardly stand still.

“Do you think I’m crazy?”

Hopper blinks. He clears his throat. “What?”

“This... Hopper, I swear, I heard Russian --”

“No, I... I believe you,” he says slowly, narrowing his eyes, “Hawkins is a...”

“Weird town?”

“Weird town.”

You nod slowly then, crank the on switch, and the radio hums alive in a language neither of you know.

Hopper just sighs. 

“... What do you know about radios?”

“It’s close,” you say finally, blinking up from the manual, “It has to be -- I mean, this specefic model only broadcasts and receives up to fifteen miles. That’s... what? Like, all of Hawkins?”

“Just about,” Jim hums, hands on his chin, “and what about the channels?”

“I mean, it’s messy -- I hijacked your frequency. On accident.”

Hopper smothers a smirk with a drag of his cigarette. You grin. His office back at Hawkins PD falls quiet for a moment and you catch yourself staring again. Across from him, you squirm a bit in your seat and turn your attention back to the Olympia Radio booklet. 

“There’s no way of tracking the channels,” you sigh, “I... I dunno. I’m kinda out of my element here.”

“What is your element?”

“Chemistry,” you chirp, “And biology. And some physics.”

“Chemistry, huh?”

“Speaking of which, I know you don’t like me much but,” you rush, blinking up at him, “Thanks for believing me.”

The moment would have been sweet if Hopper hadn’t reeled backwards, like he’s been punched. His face screws up in confusion and he waves, cigarette smoke halo-ing around his head as his mustache twitches.

“Wait... hold on --”

“It’s okay,” you console, “Seriously, I... I’m new around here, I... I get it a lot. Folks don’t really trust the new girl next door. Especially with everything that’s been going on.”

“I... I never said --”

You serve him a look.

“Duty?”

“... I panicked.”

“Panicked?”

Hopper sighs. “You’re just as bad as Joyce.”

Your brows raise. “Are you and her...?”

“No!” he cries, “No, no, I... I am single, I am very single, and I am very busy, but despite that, I still would like to ask you out to dinner, and that is terrifying, okay --”

You blink. “You... what?”

Jim’s about to try and dig himself out of his metaphorical grave when the radio flares up again.

You scramble to grab the recorder and Jim turns the volume up -- quickly, you record the repetitive sentence and when the line finally goes silent again, you spare Hopper a look.

“How about dinner and Russian For Dummies?”

[yiangchen]

You know your recent anti-beggo post got me thinking of something. Forgiveness doesn't have anything to do with other people. It has everything to do with yourself. You can make a conscious choice of just being like i forgive you, even if there is no open communication with the other person or understanding. I wish Bellamy's journey was like "i wont give you another second of my power by beign enrage over you" but nah what we got instead was him being in a relationship with such woman (cont)

Part 2: And so none of this makes sense. Like we really could have had Bellamy learning to forgive for his own sake. 6+ years in space with nothing to do but live with your own thoughts and feelings and anger and grief. We could have had such an amazing Storyline and Journey for Bellamy, but because he chose to date Eggo now we are just left with more questions then answers. Cuz forgiving them without their involvement and DATING your trauma are two different things. Like wtf...

Yeah, I get that you can forgive without the other person opening up, but I feel like that’s only in situations where you either already know the person you’re forgiving or you just naturally understand them.

Think about Bellarke. They had only known each about two weeks when Clarke offered him forgiveness under the tree, and maybe this isn’t the best example because Bellamy was open with her in this scene, but even if he hadn’t opened up, she still had already begun to understand him. Even though she was at odds with him and even though he was an asshole, she knew why. She saw right through his facade. She knew he was all talk. She knew everything he did was for his sister. She just knew him, right from the start. 

And that’s a huge part of the reason why she offered him forgiveness. She already understood him. 

With B/echo though, there is no understanding. Their relationship starts with her spitting in his face just for being a Sky Person. Then he saves her, so she saves him, but when he needs her most, she abandons him, and in s3, she exploits his trust and gets his gf and like 48 of his people killed, and so on and so on. It’s just betrayal after betrayal after betrayal right up until Bellamy nearly chokes her to death for cheating in the conclave and trying to kill his sister for the second time. There is zero understanding. She is a threat to the people he loves, and he tries to eliminate that threat, no hesitation. 

Now, Bellamy is really perceptive and he knows what to say to people to motivate them. We know this from all his speeches. So when E/cho is about to kill herself at the end of the season, he does understand her enough to figure out what he needs to tell her to get her to come with them. After she got Gina killed, she told him she was sorry, but that she was following orders, and Bellamy remembered that. E/cho follows orders. She needs to feel needed. And Bellamy played on that and told her they have a better chance of surviving with her on the Ring with them.

It doesn’t mean he really understands her though. There are so many reasons that a person needs to feel needed. At this point, he has no idea why she ever felt the need to follow Nia. And he even says to her he doesn’t trust her and probably never will.

So, to go from that to them in a relationship, gives you whiplash. Bellamy has a big heart, so it makes sense that he would give her a chance, but it doesn’t make sense that he could ever forgive her enough to become good friends, let alone boyfriend and girlfriend, without truly knowing her past and how it made her feel the need to follow Nia’s orders.   

He only understood her on a surface level, and since we know that she lied to him about her past, their connection never went deeper than that. So, we’re just expected to believe that Bellamy fell in love with someone that he hardly knows or truly connects with. I guess it kind of makes sense since Bellamy is a romantic and he wants to convince himself that she’s everything she’s not since he can’t have what he really wants (one Clarke Griffin), but if Bellarke never happens, and Bellamy never finds out who E/cho actually is and that she hasn’t changed, then any chance of this all making sense goes out the window.

Also, even if Jason somehow does follow through, it still doesn’t excuse the shitty writing decision of putting these two together after a six year time jump and keeping them together so unnecessarily long just to keep Bellamy and Clarke apart. It’s lazy writing. And Bellamy (and Bob) deserves so much better.

Also, “dating your trauma” FUCKING SENT ME. I highkey agree with everything you said about all the wasted potential, but I’ve gotten used to it. Jason fucks over Bellamy a lot because of his obsession with E/cho (and TT tbh).

[yurtletheturtlehenderson]

S.T. REWRITE - S2:E6; Chapter Six, The Spy - [Pt. 3]

A Will Byers x Reader Series

Will’s connection to a shadowy evil grows stronger, but no one’s quite sure how to stop it. Elsewhere, Dustin and Steve forge an unlikely bond.

||3rd Person POV||

The cubes of meat hit the wooden boards with a wet slap. Traveling along the abandoned tracks is Dustin and Steve, each carrying a bucket of butchered meat. Their bait.

"All right, so let me get this straight," Steve sighs, looking at the boy just paces ahead of him. "You kept something you knew was probably dangerous in order to impress a girl who... who you just met?"

Dustin rolls his eyes, sighing irritably as he throws more bait on the track.

"All right, that's grossly oversimplifying things."

Steve shakes his head.

"I mean, why would a girl like some nasty slug anyway?"

"An interdimensional slug?" Dustin smirks. "Because it's awesome."

Steve picked up his pace, making his way to Dustin's side.

"Well, even if she thought it was cool, which she didn't, I... I just..." he shrugs, his lips forming a tight-lipped smile. "I don't know. I just feel like you're trying way too hard."

"Well, not everyone can have your perfect hair, alright?"

"It's not about the hair, man," Steve says, shrugging once more as he lazily kicks a stray pinecone from his path. "The key to girls is just... just acting like you don't care."

Dustin looks at him curiously, not expecting the insight.

"Even if you do?"

Steve nods. "Yeah, exactly m. If drives them nuts."

"Then what?"

"You just wait until, uh..." he pauses to throw another chuckle of bait behind him. "until you feel it."

"Feel what?"

"It's like before it's gonna storm, you know? You can't see it, but you can feel it, like this, uh... electricity, you know?"

A spark of recognition flickers across Dustin's face, and he nods eagerly.

"Oh, like the electromagnetic field when the clouds in the atmosphere--"

Steve shakes his head, an unimpressed look on his face. He head flicks to the side, sweeping away a stray lock of hair tickling his forehead.

"No, no, no, no, no. Like a... Like a sexual electricity."

A look of surprise crosses Dustin's face.

"Oh,"

The longer the day stretched on, the more Steve is bewildered at the ever-changing events he could never have foreseen. Nevertheless, he gestures to Dustin as he continues.

"You feel that and then you make your move."

There is a brief pause before Dustin asks simply.

"So that's when you kiss her?"

Steve's eyes widen, and he can't decide whether he should roll his eyes or laugh.

"No, whoa, whoa. Slow down, Romeo."

"Sorry." He mumbles.

"Sure, okay, some girls, yeah, they want you to he aggressive. You know, strong, hot and heavy, like a..." He shrugs once more, looking back at the boy who had begun to lag shyly behind. "I don't know, like a lion."

Dustin hums thoughtfully, his gloved hand reaching inside the white steel bucket as he listens.

"But others, you gotta be slow, you gotta be stealthy, like a..."

His mind travels back in time for the briefest of moments, his heartwarming at the memory of sneaking innocent moments with Nancy Wheeler. He finds himself smiling.

"Like a ninja."

"What type is Nancy?"

And just like that, his smile falters.

"Nancy's different. She's different than the other girls."

"Yeah, she seems pretty special, I guess."

"Yeah. Yeah, she is."

"But this girl's special, too, you know. It's just, like, something about her."

"Woah, woah, woah. Hey, hey, hey" Steve says, stopping them in their tracks and he turns to face Dustin.

"What?"

Steve studies the boy's body language, eyeing him suspiciously.

"You're not falling in love with this girl, are you?"

It is clear to Steve that Dustin has grown shocked and slightly uncomfortable.

"Uh, no. No."

His suspicious stare lingers, but he continues them down the tracks.

"Okay, good. Don't."

"I won't."

His attention returns to the tracks and laying the bait but his thoughts continue to spill from his lips.

"She's only going to break your heart, and you're way too young for that shit."

A thick silence settles between the duo once more, a common theme so far. His thoughts now louder than ever, amplified in the silent autumn air and Steve feels his pity for the boy growing. The kid's got heart, he can tell, and despite his better judgment, he feels a soft spot growing for him.

"Fabergé."

It's Dustin's turn to give a quizzical look, his brow quickly quirks.

"What?"

Steve gestures to his full head of hair, failing to meet Dustin's eye.

"It's Faberegé Organics. Use the shampoo and conditioner, and when your hair's damp... It's not wet, okay? When's its damp..."

"-Damp."

"You do four puffs of the Farrah Fawcett spray."

Steve doesn't have to see the look on Dustin's face to know the kid is grinning madly. He can hear the smirk in his voice, Dustin is clearly holding back a snicker and already Steve is beginning to regret his decision.

"Farrah Fawcett spray?"

"Yeah, Farrah Fawcet." Steve halts once more, making sure he towers over the boy as he jabs a finger in his face. "You tell anyone I just told you that and your ass is grass. You're dead, Henderson. Do you understand?"

Dustin nods, suppressing his smile as he avoids Steve's gaze.

"Yup."

A new silence blankets the air, with it a new sense of commonality, and understanding. It's comfortable. Another smirk tugs at Dustin's lips as they continue their journey, laying slabs of meat.

"Farrah Fawcett, really?"

Steve shrugs.

"I mean, she's hot."

The tension melts away in the wake of their forming bonds of friendship, they share a smile and an occasional nod. They are each surprised by the unexpected comfort each other’s company brought. Unbeknownst to the pair, the farther they ventured, the closer they got to the decaying tunnels beneath their feet. And to their right, a bright yellow flag planted in the dirt, a marking made earlier by Hopper and his team that signaled rotting earth and decay.

⊹ ⊹ ⊹

Hopper's fingers release the button as he lets out a defeated sigh. He sits in his truck, radio in hand and he has sent their secret code to El, letting her know it was him. But his shoulders sag, he knows what he has to say needs to be spoken aloud, no translated. Guilt has been a heavyweight on his shoulders since their fight, his inability to mend their mistakes and all the things left unsaid. His time in the tunnels crosses his mind, and how fearful he was when he believed he wouldn't make it.

Not by death, so much. Of course, it was frightening, but what really bothered him - scared him - is what would happen to her if he never saw her again. Not only the way they had left things but what would become of her? How would she stay safe and who could truly know how to take care of her, nurture her. The last thing he wanted was to leave her on her own, and he certainly didn't want to risk going inside and dealing with the problem at hand, without talking to her.

Or least letting her know he was sorry.

So here he sat, his body hunched forward as he lay against the wheel, the radio grasped tightly in his hand. His voice shakey and his heartbreaking. He took a deep breath, and let the words spill out.

"Hey, it's, uh... It's me. I know that I've been gone too long, and uh... It's-- I just, I want you to know that it's not about you and it's not about our fight. Okay?"

His garbled voice rings out in the empty cabin, no one around to hear him but the several boxes are strewn around the room.

"Something came up, and I will... I will explain it all when I see you. I just... I just want you to know that I'm not mad."

His grip on the radio and his own hand grows tighter, he clutches it tightly like a lifeline. He can no longer fight the tears that threaten to spill, and his eyes go red and puffy.

"I'm just sorry. About everything."

The hot tears sting his eyes, he has to stop to collect himself as best he can but it is almost no use at all. His heart lurches, but for the first time in a long time, it is alive. He wishes with all his might that he can be there with her, comfort her. But he knows he can't. He continues to battle the enormous lump in his throat but it is winning.

"I don't want you to get hurt at all. And I don't want to lose you."

He chokes on his tears, but he feels the soft rumble deep within his chest where a weak chuckle forms. He sniffles and speaks once more into the machine.

"Just make sure you heat up some real food. Not just Eggos. And I want you to eat all the peas, even if they're mushy and gross. And..."

He sighs, knowing more than anything he intends to and will keep his next promise. He would move mountains to keep it, and has every intention of showing her, and himself, that he will be there for her.

"I will be home soon."

The monitor clicks off, and the car and the empty cabin go silent.

⊹ ⊹ ⊹

"This is him last week."

The photo on the projector slides into place and shifts into focus. A map of Will's brain, for the most part normal, but sprinkled across the grayscale map is several flurries of activity. Patches of red.

"And there are the hippocampal abnormalities we had discussed. Nothing out of line with what we've seen from others suffering from post-traumatic. But..."

The medical team is gathered in one of several conference rooms as one member of the staff tasked to the Byers case reviews with the team, including Dr. Sam Owens. The man sighs in worry, his elbow is propped up on the wooden conference table and he massages his temples worriedly as the slide changes. It's another map of Will's brain, but there is an extra flurry of activity that frightens them all.

"this is Will from last night. And as you can see, there are now abnormalities I'm the limbic and paralimbic areas. And this..."

The man grows increasingly unsettled, and with great reluctance he advances the slide. Aside from a few select spots on the brain, the picture is enveloped in red. The Brian is drowning in the virus and there is more red than black.

"is from an hour ago."

Not a soul in room remains still, every lab coat shuffles uncomfortably. And suddenly the papers in their hands have become overwhelming captivating. Attempting to hide his own discomfort, Owens turns to his team and gestures around the table.

"I don't hear any suggestions."

A colleague of his looks up from his papers, though his fingers still nervously fiddle with the edges of the files.

"We have bigger problems than the boy."

"Do we?" The man snaps.

"We can't keep delaying the burn." Another adds.

Agitated, Owens leans forward, his palm smacking the table.

"You're talking about putting... putting a Band-Aid on this." He stutters.

The first man speaks up.

"Right now, a Band-Aid is the best option."

"It's our only option."

Owens looks around the room aghast at his colleagues. They merely stared back, silently taking a stance.

"And if it kills the boy?" Owens spits.

"Then quite frankly, Sam, it kills him."

Owens stills in anger and disgust and jabs a finger in the man's direction.

"Say that to me again." He threatens.

The doctor that stands by the projector reluctantly speaks up.

"The rate this is spreading, he'll be lost by the end of the day. What we do or don't do won't change the outcome."

"We have to start the burn." The other states.

Owens takes one last look at his team, his eyes hold nothing but disgust. Huffing, he grabs his things from the table and jumps to his feet and storms for the door.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm going to think." He spits.

⊹ ⊹ ⊹

"What the hell is taking so long?" Joyce sighs.

She and Bob sit side by side to the right of Will's bedside. Her leg bounces up and down at an almost unnatural rate and she nervously wrings her hands.

"Hey," Bob assures. "doctors take forever, always. Just try and relax. Just be patient."

He reaches forward, briefly rubbing her knee in an attempt to soothe her nerves however he can. Taking his words to heart, Joyce takes a lingering breath and she tries to calm the storm of nerves in her stomach. But with every passing second, her nerves return. With every beep of the monitor is a harsh reminder than another second has passed.

Finally, she sighs as she shrugs the blanket off her shoulders.

"You know, I just..."

She slips through the door and marches to the end of the hall. The two guards stationed in from of the closed double doors tense as she approaches with no intention of stopping.

"Let me through. Let me through!" She orders, struggling against their arms.

"You know we can't do that."

"I need to talk to--"

"He'll be with you shortly."

"You said that an hour ago!"

Bob soon joins her side and attempts to calm her, and across the hall staring through the door is Will. He lays perfectly still on the bed, and the heart monitor starts to race beside him. With every beep of the monitor, his vision fluctuates. He is seeing but not with his own eyes, he is a passenger in his own body and yet all he can focus on is the gun holstered in the guard's belt.

《•••》

The figure, who had been properly equipped, aimed his device and a violent spurt of fire erupted from the end.

《•••》

Anger. That's all he can feel.

《•••》

The vines writhed and shrieked violently as they shriveled up.

《•••》

Will.

《•••》

Will convulsed uncontrollably, his limbs on fire, spreading as rapidly as the flames in the hub below.

《•••》

Will.

《•••》

He saw the visions. Like he was navigating the dark and cold tunnels, they never stopped moving and he knew they were out to kill.

•••

Will was panting heavily, but he slowly turned around coming face to face with the monster. It towered over the school, looking directly at Will.

《•••》

"Will?"

A warm hand touches his arm and he falls back to earth. The spike in his heart echoes in the room with the speedy beeps of the heart monitor. He hadn't registered that Mike had been speaking to him, trying to reach him. He looks to the boy who is watching him concerned.

"What's wrong? Are you hurting again?" Mike asks.

"Uh..."

Will tries desperately to speak but the things he wants to say don't come. Instead, he feels the undeniable urge to sit up. He does so, and more words come to his brain but they are not what he truly wants to say. There is a wild, demanding itch in his brain that he must extinguish.

"I saw something."

The itch subsides.

Unsuspecting, Mike listens intently with worry.

"In your now-memories?"

Against his better judgment - the small, dying voice in the corner of his brain that grows small and smaller yet - he continues to scratch the itch and he nods and leans closer.

"The shadow monster." He whispers. "I think I know how to stop him.

⊹ ⊹ ⊹

The sun has reached it's highest point when Dustin arrives at the familiar landscape of the old scrapyard, Steve by his side. He wears a proud grin as Steve gazes across the yard, nodding in agreement.

"Oh yeah. Yeah, this will do." Steve begins his descend down the small hill, shedding his sunglasses. "This will do just fine. Good call, dude."

His grin widens significantly, his chest welling in pride before he falls ik line with Steve. The two continue to sprinkle their bate trail behind them to the center of the yard. They dump the remanents of meat in a pile when they hear an approaching voice call out to them from the hill.

"I said medium-well!"

Dustin is relieved to see Lucas, he is beaming down at them as he sends them a wave. But his stomach plummets when he sees Max standing at his side. The two begin their descent down the hill and Steve wonders aloud.

"Who's that?"

He looks to Dustin when he doesn't answer, he sees the concerned and disbelieving glance he wears at the redhead. Suddenly, his mind clicks.

⊹ ⊹ ⊹

"You told her?" Dustin hisses.

Lucas and Dustin are huddled behind one of several abandoned vehicles exchanging hushed words. After proper introductions, Max and Steve have set to work and begun to build their base.

"So what?" Lucas says.

"'So what?'" Dustin laughs dryly.

"You wanted to tell her, too."

"But I didn't, all right? You know why?"

"You're chicken?" Lucas retorts.

Dustin rolls his eyes at Lucas's weak jab, and his anger only grows.

"Because not only does that put us, and Max for that matter, in danger, but Y/n especially! You know, my sister, the escaped experiment that the government lab could snatch up on any old whim? That sister?"

"They agreed to leave her alone, remember?"

"Like their word means shit! They faked Will's death to cover their own asses for fuck's sake. They don't exactly strike me as the caring, honorable type. Who's to say they won't ever change their minds and decide they want her back!"

Lucas shrinks back, regret flashes across his face as he takes in his words. He sighs.

"Look, I'm sorry about that, alright? I didn't think about it like that, but it's already done. And for what it's worth, I don't think she's gonna tell anyone."

"You don't know she won't tell, we just met her! What if she slips up? What if she's cornered and the information is forced out of her?"

It's Lucas's turn to roll his eyes, and he scoffs.

"Dude, you're spiraling. None of that's gonna happen."

Dustin sighs and shrugs his shoulders apathetically.

"Maybe I am and maybe it won't. The point is, we all agreed not to tell her and to look for Dart."

"Who you conveniently found."

"Are you suggesting that I'm lying?"

"I'm saying you have a creepy little bond with him."

"Yeah, that was before he turned into a Demogorgan."

"And you haven't heard from Y/n?"

Dustin's face scrunches up in anger at Lucas's mention of his sister.

"No."

"Or Mike?"

"No."

"Will?"

"No."

"Hopper?"

"No! No one is around. Why do you think I'm with Steve Harrington? Something's-"

"Wrong." Lucas finishes, sighing. "I agree. Which is why need as much help as we can get."

They both hear a soft grunt from across the yard and they rise to their feet and peek through the vacant window of the car. Max is piling several sheets of metal against the bus closing off weak spots underneath.

"She didn't believe me, anyway." Lucas says.

A small smirk forms on Dustin's face.

"You probably didn't tell it right."

They share a weak laugh and rise to face each other and Lucas extends his hand.

"So, we good?"

Dustin's eyes fall to his friend's hand and he smiles weakly.

"Hey!" A loud crash behind Dustin startles them and they turn to find Steve glaring at them."Dickheads! How come the only one helping me out is this random girl? We lose light in fourth minutes. Let's go."

They only stare at him as he retreats to the bus, reluctantly following. Steve gestures for them to move, his voice increasingly rising in anger.

"Let's go, I said!"

They pick up speed and each grumble a response.

"Alright, asshole!" Dustin snaps with a whine. "God!"

"Okay! Stupid."

+++

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[suffering-and-happy-about-it]

Another Crazy Plan (Sriracha, Part 24.)

Description: A problematic college student gets the worst summer job of the ‘83 - Jim Hopper, the Chief of police in your hometown will have you as his secretary since his old lady Flo has two months lasting holiday. It was agreed so Hopper could let you far away from all the trouble.

Part summary: Family life can be described as something spectacularly beautiful - when everyone's playing by the same rules. You clearly were not, which ended up in a huge argument.

A/N: We can't have easy peasy lemon squeezy Hopper all the time, can we? Because life isn't always easy peasy lemon squeezy with him.

Warnings: Angst, Eleven being one (1) angry bean.

Word count: 2.8 K

Tagging: @nemodoren​, @creedslove​

Master list: H E R E

The family life you chose for was treating each of you well. Hopper put on a bit of weight and he started to take care of himself again as well. Eleven was starting to speak like other girls her age did, plus she really enjoyed cooking with you. And you?

Well, you had a loving man by your side and a beautiful baby girl you could call yours at the end of the day. What could be more than that? Eleven knew that you're not her real mom, she wasn't that dumb, but that didn't stop her from calling you so. And soon enough, you would turn at that name, accepting it as yours.

But really, it wouldn't be your relationship with Hopper is something didn't go downhill at the end of the day, would it? The day came when you were spending your time with El at the cabin, being bored out of your mind again, because Eleven was doing her homework and you had literally nothing to do. The bathroom was cleaned so much it shone, the bedroom was all tidied up, the laundry was done, the lunch was ready...

If you were fed up with the cabin after one single weekend, how must've Eleven felt? She was there for seven months. Almost seven months. She must've felt so, so, so frustrated and alone. And that was when the shitty idea was born.

"Hey, the homework can wait, what do you say?" - You asked and sat beside her, making her look at you. Eleven adored when you smoothed her back and gave her a smile like that. You looked really pretty and she felt just good to have a momma like that. - "I want to take you out, to have some fun. We need to buy some groceries, what do you say?"

The finger poking the tip of her nose was tickling her, yet she didn't smile at all. You wanted her to leave the cabin? Why? What for? For how long? She panicked.

"But... Papa and bad men." - She whispered, shaking her head. Hopper specifically instructed her not to leave the cabin at all costs until everything settles down. She was safe there. And you were offering her... - "What if they see? Danger." - She caught your other palm in hers, furrowing at you, shaking her head. - "Not allowed."

"Eleven, I'll protect you. Nobody knows you're here, nobody will see. I swear, baby." - You whispered back, taken away by her unapproving reaction. You imagined this going way differently than Eleven disagreeing. - "Just for one day, you are allowed to go out with me. I'll get you ice cream, how does that sound?"

"Leaving the cabin is stupid. And we're not stupid." - She looked you in the eyes, meaning every word of her speech. Hopper told her this many times. You were leaving the cabin because of school and word. He was leaving for work. And Eleven wasn't allowed to leave, because it would be stupid to show herself out there... Just like that and for no apparent reason.

"Eleven." - You put your hand on her jaw to make her look at you once again. - "Please. You need to get out of the cabin... At least once. I'll take you somewhere where anyone gets a chance to recognize you, I'll hold your hand the whole time and I know just the perfect ice cream waffle to buy you on the way home." - You pleaded. She was your baby girl. You took care of her for months and the last thing you wanted was to see her rot in the cabin. And that was exactly what she was doing. Eleven took a deep breath, putting her pen down.

"Hopper. He will be angry." - She said. It could be heard that she's fighting herself inside her head. She loved the idea of you taking her out to the town. Just to shop. She saw moms just taking their girls to the town daily to the city. And she wanted it as well, so desperately it almost hurt. She just wanted to be normal.

"He won't know if you won't tell him. It can be our little secret." - You kissed her forehead lightly and that was the exact moment she gave in. Just one afternoon, she and her mom walking around the city, having fun. What could go wrong?

"Okay. I promise." - She held her pinky up and looked at your hand. That was a gesture she learned from you and Hopper. You usually bet on the chores or cooking, and this was a way of Hopper promising you the reward afterward. A promise. That was what pinkies entwined meant. And you circled yours around hers, smiling. - "I promise and friends don't lie." - Eleven repeated once again and you nodded, slowly getting up from the chair.

Both of you got ready - you put on just some denim shorts and an old flannel shirt since it was a hot spring day outside. The sun was shining, the sky was blue, the birds were singing and flowers blooming. It looked just beautiful.

El took out her favorite dress with small flowers printed all over them. Even if it was a warm and sunny day, you packed her a denim jacket just to be sure that she'd have something to snuggle into in case she would get cold. When you felt like she's ready, you started the car - Talking In Your Sleep suddenly yelling all over the car. You laughed and turned the volume down, watching Eleven with a warm feeling in your eyes. She freaked out and was looking at you as if she never heard a radio play so loud. 

“Sorry for that, I forgot that I have it on so loud.” - You smiled and put sunglasses over your eyes, doing your seatbelt. - “That's my and Hopper's playlist. I listen to it every morning while I drive to college, thinking about both you.” - You said with a smile and drove out of the forest, turning the car at Bloomington. 

“Your and Hopper's playlist.” - She wondered and looked out of the window, watching the surroundings moving at such a ridiculous speed. It almost seemed that Eleven is running really fast; or that she's not moving at all and the world is spinning fast. She liked riding in a car. - “I know this.” - She pointed at the radio, listening to the Romantics.

“You do? I've never played it at home, how come you know it?” - You looked at her, then again out of the car, giving her a piece of bubblegum. 

“Nancy. I heard Nancy.” - She tried to explain, but she knew that her vocabulary is not on the level to explain something so complicated to you. You rose your eyebrows, nodding. She must've heard some Nancy listen to it. - “Nancy... Is that your friend form the lab?” - You asked quietly, letting her know that there's no pressure, that she can take her time before answering your question and that she doesn't have to answer at all if she doesn't feel like it.

But Eleven shook her head almost immediately, chewing on the menthol gum. - “She is pretty. Mike's sister. It would be weird if they would go to Snow Ball together.” - She tried to explain, but the last sentence threw you off the rail. Snow Ball. That was a ball for kids happening on Hawkins Middle every winter and you always loved it. How could Eleven know about it? But you decided to focus on Mike. 

“Mike... Is he your friend or something?” - You asked and turned right on the next road as well. Eleven took a while to think of an answer before she nodded at the thoughts she had on her mind.

“He is a friend. He told me that friends don't lie. He lives in Hawkins.” - She described Mike in the best way she could and at that moment, you had a small revelation. Mike and Nancy... Mike and Nancy. Could these two be the...

“Mike and Nancy Wheeler? You have these two on your mind?” - You asked curiously and Eleven nodded immediately. Her gaze wondered about you knowing the Wheelers. - “Oh, Nancy was a freshman when I graduated. She was fine, we never started being friends, tho. Plus Wheelers live in Hawkins since forever, so my parents know their parents.”

The rest of the ride was rather quiet since you both listened to the collection from the Romantics - What I Like About You and A Night Like This were your jams since you and Jim started to listen to the Romantics together, so you mumbled each word of those songs by heart.

You were real with what you've told to Eleven - you took her to a grocery shopping, taking her hand to yours and not letting it slide the whole time. ou bought vegetables, fruit, cereals, you let her choose some sweets; to say it quickly, you have made yourself some stocks for the whole week in the cabin. She was curious about a lot of things, getting stuck for a while sometimes, just looking at it. 

Nobody was looking at you two. You were just a girl and an adult woman shopping together. Nothing more, nothing less; just you two walking around in a grocery shop, talking and holding hands all the time. When you were done with groceries, you stopped at a lonely bistro, where Eleven got the waffle with ice cream you promised her earlier that day. And it was her favorite thing ever. 

You got her a frozen Eggo filled with chocolate and strawberry ice cream and frozen raspberries. And it was so good. 

Unfortunately, as every good day, even this one had to come to an end. And you end was a Blazer standing on the driveway. At that exact moment, you knew that you're grandiosely fucked. Hopper was at home sooner than you - he usually came home at quarter past eight, but that day was obviously an exception. It wasn't even six o'clock and Blazer was already parked there. 

“El.” - You turned at her, turning the engine off. - “No matter what happens, you will go to your room, close the door and let me and Hopper talk, alright? We might not go easy on each other, but you need to stay in your bedroom.” 

“Won't go easy?” - Eleven repeated after you and you sighed, taking the paper bags with gricer. 

“We will be yelling at each other, I might cry, I might say something nasty, leave... but I'll be back. I'll come back no matter what, okay?” - You smiled and cautiously stepped over the tripwire and Eleven mirrored your actions. 

You could say that Hopper is pissed straight off the bat. One look and you knew that you fucked up big time. But to his bad luck, you weren't that wallflower who would take his bullshit. You were ready to kick his fucking ass. You took one of the bags from Eleven, who looked guilty, worried and about to cry. You put the bags on the table, kissing your forehead, sending her off to the bedroom. 

But you didn't pay Hopper any direct attention after that - he was a fucking diva and you weren't about to give in. And when you ignored him for five minutes straight, he started talking. Slowly, but he started. 

“What do you think you're doin', Y/N?” - Jim whispered unbelievably as you put the groceries on their place. 

“I was shopping. Are you blind or what?” - You asked back in the same, sarcastic tone of voice. Hopper was trying to keep the temper controlled, but in the next moment, he exploded. 

“Do you even realize how much danger you put her both you and her into? If someone from the government would see her if someone had noticed her if...” - He raised his voice, but you turned around and show your index finger directly to his voice as you both stood opposite each other. 

“No-one saw us, Hopper. Do I look like an incapable idiot to you? Do you even care why did I take her to Bloomington?” - You hissed. The tone of your voice said everything your words hadn't. A huge argument was starting and you planned telling Hopper everything you thought of him keeping Eleven there. Every last thought you had, he was about to hear it. 

“There are rules we agreed on. And no, I don't know that did you think about as you drove away, but you acted like a five-year-old fuckin' brat again.” - He pointed back at you. You could start yelling now, yes, but you just smiled, which threw Hopper off the rails completely.

“Oh, oh, oh.” - You laughed, putting your hands on your hips. - “So I am a fucking brat. Well, thanks for that, because you're letting that girl rot in this fucking cabin. And I very much prefer being a brat over being a fucking tyrant.” - You yelled at him, throwing him off the rails even more. - “I love her, Hopper. I took her as my own, I haven't told my mom, I found a job, I study college and I have a total jackass by my side, and yet, I am still here. So stop telling me what I am and what am I not, or I'm leaving and you can take your fucking proposal back.” 

And since that moment, you started to argue a big time. You yelled at each other things about your relationship, Eleven, the fucking cabin, the age difference, the way he cooked - you argued about everything. You threw a plate on the ground while Hopper stuck to pointing his finger at you. But just at that moment, Eleven opened up the door to her room.

She promised you that she won't leave the room, but you were harsh on Hopper - just as Hopper was harsh on you. She ran in front of you, crying like crazy, looking at Hopper. 

“LEAVE MOMMA BE.” - She yelled at him. Since that moment, you barely knew what happened - Hopper wanted to tell Eleven something, but she started screaming (and she went fully in) before he just suddenly flipped on his back. After that, Eleven hugged you and cried, even more, blood was dripping out of her nose. 

She almost let you know that she has superpowers, but you thought that maybe Jim just lost balance and fell on his ass. This was too damn close for Hopper. And he had to look at the consequences of your actions - that little girl was terrified, she hugged you so tight that you could barely breathe while you looked at Hopper with tears in your eyes, starting to cry as well. 

Slowly, Jim sat a bit away from you, watching both you and Eleven crying. 

“Were you... Were you serious about leavin' me? And her?” - He asked after a while. You shot a look at him, reaching your palm to catch him, so he slowly moved closer to both of you. 

“Are you crazy? I would never.” - You whispered and leaned into his shoulder, cradling Eleven. - “I'm sorry about taking her out. I just wanted to see her happy.” - You whispered and looked at him. You loved that man, even if you didn't take any of his fucking bullshit. Jim was your rock just as you were his. And you hurt him and his trust. 

“You're right and I knew that. She can't be locked here all the time, all alone. But... I can't take her anywhere since she's wanted.” - James smoothed Eleven's shoulder carefully, letting his hand rest there a little. And at that moment, you had another idea. And this one wasn't as shitty as the Bloomington one. 

“What if we tell my parents? They are living in the suburb, their house and garden are secluded, they have a swimming pool and the house is large. They will be curious about her and us... Yeah... But they might help up. And Eleven will be safe.” - You postponed and Jim furrowed a bit. 

But he needed to say - it was a great idea. 

[usual-day-dreamer]

Let Me Touch Your Fire (Steve Harrington x Henderson!Reader) Chapter Six

MASTERLIST

8 years ago

"I tell you Robin, you are the best and the prettiest, you'll do just fine!" You assured her as she changed into her concert clothes.

"Really?" She stepped outside with her full attire on except for the hat.

"Of course! After the concert we'll go to my house, my mom prepared us dinner. You can even stay over if you want" you answered giving her a sided hug "And if someone makes fun of you or something, I'll kick their asses, I promise"

"Thanks Y/N! You're the best"

You smiled at her brightly and walked towards the school's gym. She quickly made her way with the other band members and you looked for an empty place to sit.

You placed yours and Robin's backpacks behind you and sat down, waiting for the concert to start as you looked at the other kids and some parents. Robin's parents couldn't go because they had work or something, some adult stuff that was incomprehensible for you at that age, but Robin didn't care, with you there was more than enough.

Meanwhile, Steve really didn't wanted to go, but still he did, their English teacher would give extra points if they attended the concert and Steve needed them to pass so his friends agreed to go with him too and after the concert they'll go play somewhere else and enjoy some snacks they've bought before going to the school's gym.

"It'll probably be boring as hell as always" one of his friends said as they parked their bikes on their usual spot

"Yeah" they argued "Full of losers too"

"I know but I really need those points, my parents will be mad if they see I failed again"

The boys kept silent and walked towards the gym.

They were surprised to see that the gym was packed, when they spotted a place for all to sit, they sprinted towards it. Steve was distracted and when he noticed his friends were missing, he groaned running behind them. Everyone was already seated and there seemed to be no place for him. His friends laughed.

"You were way too slow"

Steve groaned "Once this is over let's meet at the entrance and we'll go back to my house to continue playing"

They all agreed, and Steve started looking for another place to sit. He finally spotted one next to a girl. He smiled and walked towards it, his hands on his pockets.

"Is this taken?" He asked, the girl looked at him and softly said no, he sat down and looked around awkwardly.

"I'm Steve" he said breaking the silence

"I'm Y/N"

"Are you here for the extra points?"

"No, my best friend is part of the band"

"I see"

Conversation flowed easily between the two kids, Steve occasionally joking and you laughing at how stupid he was.

The headmaster appeared and introduced the band and you quickly spotted Robin. You waved happily at her and she smiled at you, frowning as she noticed someone sitting next to you, she knew that boy, his name was Steve Harrington.

He was with her in one of her classes. She couldn't understand how every girl found him attractive or cool. If you asked Robin, she thought he was messy and not so smart, he'd probably turn into a jerk when he was older.

She flinched at your attitude, she has never seen you like that before and it gave her an uncomfortable feeling in her belly. You were smiling but it wasn't your usual smile, it was nervous, almost shy, you were constantly playing with your hair placing it behind your ear or just twirling it between your fingers. But what caught her completely off guard, were your eyes, they were looking at him in such a way she could not describe, you have never looked at her like that before, hell, you've never given anyone that look before. Her stomach twisted as she watched you laughing at something Steve said.

The concert was over sooner than you would have liked, talking with Steve was really fun, he seemed like a nice kid. Robin walked towards you as soon as she had packed her instrument wasting no more time. She wanted Steve to be gone.

"You were amazing Robin!" you exclaimed giving her a hug, the uneasy feeling of before leaving her as soon as she felt you in her arms.

"Thanks"

"You did great" Robin looked at Steve with his eyes a little narrowed, she ignored him and looked at you again.

"Can you pass me my bag please? I'll go change quickly and then we can go" you handed it to her, and she quickly walked away to change. You looked back at Steve with an apologetic look in your eyes.

"Sorry, she usually gets cranky after her concerts" you said scratching the back of your neck "Probably because her nervousness leaves, to be honest I don't really know"

"Don't worry" he assured you. You were soon engaged in a conversation while you waited for Robin to come back.

"I'm ready" Robin said, you looked at her and smiled. You grabbed your bag and stood up, Steve doing the same.

"Bye Steve, see you around" you waved at him and turned around, walking away with Robin.

"Wait!" you looked back at him.

"My friends and I are going to my house to play; do you want to come? Robin can come too"

You smiled brightly at that, Robin narrowed her eyes and quickly answered "I'm sorry, we already have plans, we have to organize Y/N's birthday party tomorrow"

Steve looked disappointed "Tomorrow's your birthday?" you nodded with a shy smile, fidgeting with your fingers.

"I guess I'll have to buy you a present" he winked at you and you blushed, Robin rolled her eyes and grabbed your arm, pulling you with her as she walked away.

"Bye Steve!" you said, and he waved at your goodbye.

Your mom was already waiting for you outside the school, Robin and you got inside the car and said hello.

"How was the concert sweeties?" she asked driving off.

"It was awesome as always" you answered looking at Robin with a warm smile, she blushed and returned the smile.

"I bet it was"

"Where's Dustin?"

"He's at home, Mike, Will and Lucas are there too"

"Is Nancy there too?" you asked

"She couldn't come, she had things to do with her mom, darling"

"Okay"

Your mom was silent the rest of the way home, Robin and you talking about tomorrow and the things you'd do once you arrived at your house.

When you arrived, Robin and you ran inside.

"Y/N!" Dustin ran and hugged you tightly, you hugged him back and ruffled his hair.

"Hello Dusty, hello boys" you said, and they waved at you. Dustin let go of you and you made your way towards your room, Robin right behind you.

"You'll see Y/N, tomorrow, I'll give you the best present you've ever received" she said, you were eating M&M's laying on the floor.

"I'm sure you will Robin" you swallowed the M&M's that were on your mouth "I want to see what Steve's going to give me" a small smile appeared on your face.

"Do you really think he's going to give you something? I mean, you met him today"

You shrugged your shoulders, the smile never leaving your face

"You are way too positive Y/N, he's stupid, I bet he's going to forget"

Your smiled disappeared and Robin felt bad but said nothing.

"Robin! Your mom's outside"

She grabbed her things and put her shoes on, you walked behind her towards the door,

"I'll see you tomorrow"

"Sure, love you"

Robin rolled her eyes "Love you too dork"

You closed the door after she got inside her car.

"Dustin is already asleep, go change and I'll put you to bed in a bit" you nodded and went towards your room. You changed into your pajamas and waited for your mom. She arrived a few minutes later.

"Mom?"

"Yes, honey?"

"Is dad coming home tomorrow?"

"I don't know baby" she said sitting next to you on your bed "But I'm sure he'll call to congratulate you"

You smiled faintly "Now go to sleep, tomorrow's a big day"

She kissed your forehead and stood up. She turned off the lights and closed the door, you fell asleep soon after.

"Happy birthday to you" the sun was shining outside, you opened your eyes slowly and smiled, sitting up "Happy birthday to you" your mom came inside the room, a plate with stacked Eggo's and whipped cream and a candle on top in her hands. Dustin sleepily walking behind her.

"Happy birthday dear Y/N" she sat on your bed and helped Dustin up after placing the plate on your lap "Happy birthday to you" she finished with a smile, you smiled brightly "Go on, blow your candles"

"Do you want to blow them with me Dusty?" he nodded eagerly now fully awake "On the count of three"

Dustin settled himself next to you and got ready "One... two... three!" Dustin and you blowed the candles and your mom applauded. Dustin giggled and hugged you "Happy birthday" you hugged him back.

"Let's get ready for school or it'll get late"

Everyone went to their usual routines and it ended up getting late. When you got to your school the classes had already started so you ran towards your classroom.

You settled on your usual spot and apologized to your teacher, she just smiled and congratulated you with a smile. You thanked her and classes went on as usual.

You didn't find Robin at lunchtime and Steve was missing too. You ate your lunch alone and went to the rest of your classes afterwards.

The last bell rang and with a smile you ran out, waiting for Robin at the entrance of the school so you could go home and continue celebrating. Steve completely out of your mind. You looked around as you waited but Robin was nowhere to be seen.

You heard someone call your name and you turned your head, your eyes glowing at the sight, your father was right there next to his car.

"Dad!" you ran towards him, he received you with a hug

"Are you here to pick me up?"

"Of course, sweets, I wouldn't miss your birthday for the world" you hugged him again.

"I missed you"

He opened the passenger's door and you hopped inside.

Your dad started his car and drove off.

"Your birthday surprise is really far, you should sleep sweets" you smiled and closed your eyes, dozing off.

Robin quickly ran out of the school and frowned; you were nowhere to be seen. She decided to wait for your mother, maybe you were talking with a teacher. And she waited and waited but you never appeared, she was starting to worry.

She saw your mom's car, she parked in front of her and rolled down her window with a frown "Where's Y/N?"

"I don't know" Robin asked.

Your mother stepped out of the car and started searching for you. They asked teachers and anyone that was close, but no one has seen you.

"Come on Robin, I'll take you to your house" she sounded worried but kept calm.

"But I want to look for her too" Robin pouted.

"I know baby, but I thinks it's better if we call the police"

Robin got inside the car defeated and looked out the window as Mrs. Henderson drove her home.

Her mother was home, she opened the door and let both inside. Robin felt her eyes watering and quickly went to her room. Her mom and Mrs. Henderson stayed at the living room.

She grabbed one of her backpacks and placed inside a few things to help her with her search. She opened her window and as she heard Mrs. Henderson cry, she jumped out, ready to find you.

It was late, her lantern wasn't helping much now, and she was desperate. She couldn't find you anywhere. She went to the police station, but they told her they were already investigating. She decided to go back home.

Weeks passed and there was no news of you, the Henderson family were desperate, your face was on the Hawkins Post and your mother pasted posters with your face and name on every corner of Hawkins.

Robin was devastated too. She missed you more than anything and she was desperate to have you back. But nothing could be done about it, you were gone without a trace and god knows with whom. She could only hope you were fine wherever you were.

It's been two months. Two months since you were gone when she finally heard the devastating news.

She had just arrived from school, and her mother had that look on her face that could only mean one thing: bad news. Robin felt her hands start to sweat and shake. Her heart beating faster as she waited, what if you were dead?

She sat down at the table, her mother across from her. She reached for Robin's hand and she took it.

Her mother sighed.

"Robin, they found Y/N"

"And where's she?"

"With her father"

She smiled excitedly "And when is she coming back?"

"Robin..." her smiled disappeared.

""Remember that her parents divorced?" She nodded, not knowing where this was going "Well, he doesn't want to bring Y/N back"

Robin looked down at her lap not really knowing what to say.

"They are trying to get her back but her father's not cooperating"

"That means she's not coming back?" She was crying now, her mom pulled her into her arms as she sobbed.

"She'll be back Robin" she said.

"I'm sure of it"

[1mfa0]

Oh fuck pt 2

Oh fuck pt 1

Fandom : IT

Characters (as of right now) : Riche, Eddie and Bev (+mention of the other losers)

Word count : 1959

Warnings (as of right now) : Excessive swearing, kissing, implied sex, alcohol, minors smoking

Summary of pt 2 : Eddie try’s to make things normal again but he is frfr struggling

Disclaimer : I have never really written anything before but I had a lot of fun with this so I hope you like it!

—-

Tomorrow is the first day of senior year. Richie and Eddie had originally planned to have a sleepover tonight and then go to school in the morning together but they have almost completely stopped talking. Richie has thought about calling Eddie about a million times but he doesn't even know what he would say. Debating back and forth with himself for hours. And then all of the sudden with perfect timing, his phone began to ring.

It was eddie.

“Holy fuck,” he said to himself under his breath.

He lunged for his phone at the end of his bed. Trying to keep his cool staring at it waiting for at least three rings as a desperate attempt to not seem desperate.

He answers.

“Hey Eddie..” His voice cracked.

“Hey Richie, we still on for tonight I rented some movies”

Richie is so thrown off by the calmness in Eddie's voice, why was he actually like nothing happened. Richie didn't have time to think about it but he also didn't care.

“Oh yeah totally. Um uh, my place at 7?”

“Cool see you then.” Eddie hung up.

Richie dropped his phone and proceeded to drop himself down on his bed. Lying on his back, he could not believe what just happened.

---

At 7:00 there was a knock on the door. Richie darted down stairs swinging it open. It was Eddie of course being as punctual as ever. He was wearing gray sweatpants and a fitted maroon crewneck. He looked so much more casual than usual, but he did tend to relax a bit more when it was just them.

“You gonna let me in rich?” he smiled, Richie had been just staring at him for a little too long.

“Oh haha of course Eds.” Richie said, forcing a laugh.

“So how have you been, did you pick out all your classes?” Eddie said he as he was taking off his shoes and setting down the movies he brought on the counter.

“I've been alright, I'm talking public speaking and art, easy As for senior year ya know. And then like all other normal classes.”

“Of course you are” He laughed, god richie missed making him laugh. “I'll take out my schedule later and we can compare to see if we have any classes together.”

“Yeah sure” Richie couldn't help but smile at him.

Once the ball started rolling, it was like nothing had happened. They just talked and laughed for hours. After they ate dinner and the rest of the house was asleep, Richie and Eddie settled down on the couch and started watching a movie. Though the noticeable space between them was normal for teenage boys it was not normal for these too. Normally they would think nothing of just cuddling together with Eddie's legs stretched out over richies, and even though they seemed to be in a good place now, the tension was still pretty high when it came to physical touch. And in an effort to try and break that tension Richie yawned while stretching his arm while putting it around eddie. As he felt Eddie began to shift he was worried he was going to pull away but he slid closer to Richie resting his head on his shoulder. Richie's heart was beating so fast he was worried Eddie could hear it. Neither of them moved until the second movie ended.

Eddie sat up, looking at richie, inches away from his face. “Hey I’m sleepy, I think I wanna go to bed”

“ah eds, as sleepy and adorable as ever.” Richie said pinching Eddie's cheek.

“Oh fuck off rich.” Eddie said, trying to hide his smile. Though he was unsuccessful making richie grin like a kid opening his Christmas presents. His eyes dropped to Eddie's lips, he swallowed hard and sat up fast when he realised what he was doing.

“Um uh we can go to bed.”

“No I don’t want to,” Eddie said leaning into Richie wrapping his arms around him and laying his head on his chest, “I just wanna stay right here.”

Richie didn't know what to say, so he just got comfortable putting his arms around Eddie and they both fell asleep.

---

Luckily Eddie already had an alarm set on his phone so they woke up with enough time to get ready.

“Hey Eds, Whatcha want for breakfast?” Richie yelled to Eddie as he peered his head threw the door of his room, Eddie was in the shower.

“Richie? get out!!” Eddie squealed from the shower, “BUT Also eggos would be nice..”

“Coming right up,” Richie said.

Richie was honestly more surprised by the events of last night then what had happened a couple weeks back. But he didnt care, he didn’t want to even think about it, he just wanted to appreciate every second he had with eddie. Once Eddie was out of the shower he got dressed and hopped downstairs to join richie at the table.

“Finally done princess?” Richie said with a smirk.

“Oh shove off, just because you literally take a 2 mintue shower doesn't mean I took a long one.”

After breakfast they got their stuff together and headed out to Richies car, well his dad's car but Richie had practically just taken it as his own by now. The drive felt so long, they hadn't been in that car together since that night and you could cut the tension with a knife.

---

Pulling into the school parking lot they could see the rest of the losers club waiting for them in their usual spot. No one thought anything of seeing Eddie and Richie arriving at school together but when Bev saw them approaching her eyes lit up. Eddie noticing this stopped Richie before he got out of the car.

“Um uh- Rich..”

“Yeah?” He said looking puzzled at the shift in tone.

“Don’t freak out ok, but..” not knowing how to word what he was about to say next he just spit it out. “I TOLD BEVERLY. I-I told her everything.” he said, giving Richie a look so he wouldn't have to Elaborate.

Richie started laughing hysterically “oh eddie, I told bev too.”

Leaning back with a sigh of relief. “Oh wow, she's really got us wrapped around her fingers doesn't she.”

“We aren't the only ones” Richie whispered to Eddie pointing to Ben intently listening to whatever nonsense Beverly was spewing now.

They laughed and then sat in silence for a moment, looking at each other. While leaning forward ever so slightly, Richie again felt his gaze falling to Eddie's lips but this time Eddie was the one that swallowed hard in realization. Causing Richie to pull away only to feel Eddie's hand on his leg. He leaned into richie and whispered in his ear.

“Meet me at my locker between 4th and 5th period,”

Quickly jumping out of the car Eddie ran over to where the other losers were, not waiting for Richie to catch up.

“Hey guys!” Eddie yelled excitedly as he approached.

As they all exchange their different hellos. Beverly shot Eddie a look.

“Where's Richie?” she said with a smirk.

“Just being a slow poke that's all, but why don't you go check on him bev” Eddie said pointing “parked right over there”

Standing up and already walking in that direction she said “Maybe I will,” she shot a wink at eddie.

As Beverly made her way over to Richie she could see him sitting on the ground next to the side of his car smoking.

While slamming her hand down on the hood of the she said “Sup rich, fixin to get caught?”

“Huh uh i-” Looking up and seeing beverly he calmed down.”Awh fuck you bev,”

Sitting down next to him and pulling out her pack “So you and eddie. Is that like-”

“No. no it's not like- well i mean, it's…” he trailed off.

“Common rich you can talk to me, you know that.”

Richie started giving her a quick recap of yesterday, how Eddie had called him and came over. How they cuddled and slept on the couch together.

“And then before he left the car to go over to you guys he told me to meet him at his locker after 4th period..”

“Omg he did? What are you gonna do!”

“I don't know. Meet him after 4th period?”

“Why do you think he wants to meet up?” She asked with a smirk and raised an eyebrow.

“Get your head out of the gutter Beverly I swear, that's not why he wants to meet up..” looking at his feet then looking back at her. “Uh um that's not why he wants to meet up right?”

She shrugged “you won’t know until you go now will you?”

“yeah ..”

---

Richie had been staring at the clock all fourth period just waiting for it to ring. He was nervous, yes, but he was more curious than anything else.

*RINGGGGGGGGGG*

“Fuck” he said to himself.

He shot up out of his seat and walked quickly out of the class and down the hall. He could see Eddie already waiting at his locker. He shut it closed as he saw Richie approaching.

“Hey rich!”

“H-hey eds, whats up, did you need to talk or something..”

“I don’t know, I just thought we could hangout. I have a free period right now and you have lunch right?”

“Oh yeah of course.” richie said as he wondered why he felt slightly disappointed.

They walked through the halls together toward the cafeteria when richie blurted out.

“Wanna go off campus, now that we are seniors we can go off campus for lunch”

“Oh yeah, that's right we can. Sure, totally we can go to the diner across the street.”

As they made their way to the car there was this weird energy between them, it wasn't awkward but something was definitely off. The drive to the diner was yet another silent drive filled with loud radio music. Richie pulled up into a parking spot, it was still pretty early in the morning so there were only two other cars there.

“Rich..” Eddie said under his breath, they were both just sitting in the car not knowing what to do next.

“Yeah eds”

“Richie, I'm so sorry.” He looked up at richie. His eyes filled with tears.

“Oh Eddie, no, stop what's wrong” he said, grabbing Eddie's hand.

“I just- I thought I could make things normal again, and I thought if we just spent more time together I could put it past us and just move on richie.. But I can't. I can't stop thinking about you and that night and I don't know what to do. This is all my fault.”

“Eddie looks at me,” Richie said cupping Eddie's face in his hands.

“This is not just your fault eds,”

“Shut up you know it is, I came on too you remember.”

“Yeah I guess technically, but I gave you my jacket, right”

“Richie don’t be stupid, that was not the first time I wore your cloths”

“Yeah ok Eds but it was different. I mean like-”

“OK RICH BUT IT WASN'T THE FIRST TIME I THOUGHT ABOUT COMING ON TOO YOU”

Eddie's face was bright red. He wasn't crying anymore. He looked angry, but not at Richie, at himself. Richie was speechless, he could feel himself just staring at Eddie but he didn't see him.

“Richie say something, anything... please,”

The moments that past felt like hours but within seconds Richie had leaned into Eddie putting his lips on his. Pulling away ever so slightly so the noses are still touching and looking him deep in the eyes.

“Oh Eds you are so much braver than I will ever be.”

to be continued

—-

notes : AAA i honestly don’t know what I’m doing but I’m having fun so imma keep going. I Lowkey highkey don’t know how to write stuff like this but I hope you liked it! I feel like the point still comes across lol.

[okaybutlikeimagine]

I can’t get this idea out of my head and I was going to write it myself but I love your writing so much and your characterisation... what about Billy (after a couple of months or maybe a year of being adopted by Hop) getting the date he was adopted as a tattoo?? Because the date is the most important date to him (his&steves anniversary is a close second) and he wants to honour it

You’re such an absolute sweetheart, goodness gracious!!! ♥ thank you so much dear. i’m so sorry this took so long to get to, but i’m here now! And this idea is sO DAMN CUTE!!!

I’m just imagining Billy going out w/o planning it bc he really has to psych himself up about it, y’know?? Like… he’s been thinking about this for a long time. He had the thought about a month into living w/ Hop when he woke up late and trudged over to the table to find a plate w/ a couple of pieces of toast and his favorite raspberry jam along with a hot cup of coffee that looked a lot more like creamer.

“Have a good day, kid.” Hop had said with a pat on Billy’s head before he left for work.

It was just… small. Simple. Really nothing if he were to tell anyone. But… it made Billy feel so at home. Sitting across from El who was finishing off an Eggo silently before looking up at Billy and smiling at him. It made Billy realize he really did have a home. He had found it. And it was this.

And the day that he got adopted was kind of stressful. He was terrified that Neil was going to come after him for some sick reason. So fucking scared that he was going to catch him outside of the court house and hurt him. Nervous that he was putting a target on his back for doing this. He had refused Hop’s name because he didn’t wanna give Neil another reason to be pissed at him.

It was just such a difficult situation. So intensely worrying that Billy tried to shy away from it as much as he could. But...

But it was the day his new life started. And thinking about it always feels so dramatic and stupid to him but he can’t think of anything else but that, sometimes. He went from being scared every damn day of his life to being able to smile and laugh and joke around. Getting and receiving hugs almost every day. Making dinner with a man he’s able to call dad without feeling something sick in his throat over it.

It’s just… that day changed everything. It clicked him into the right place.

And now it’s been a year and Billy hasn’t been able to stop thinking about it. He’s known for so long that he wanted to get this done but could never get himself to get up and do it. It always felt like the wrong time, or like he didn’t have any kind of valid reasoning or some bullshit. But he was up almost all night thinking about it and now it’s been a whole year since he was adopted and he just feels it. He needs to, he knows he does.

So Billy wakes up that morning, goes about his breakfast routine, and then gets in his car and drives. Goes out to the same tattoo parlor that he got his skull tattoo at bc the guy was cool and gave him a discount bc he liked his mullet and his car. It’s a few towns over bc Hawkins is a good, small town w/ no seedy places like a tattoo shop.

So Billy asks for the tattoo. Gets it on his forearm and gets a little dizzy with how sentimental it feels. The tattoo guy asks about the significance as Billy’s paying, but Billy can’t bring himself to say anything so he just kind of… grunts. The tattoo guy gives a disarming smile along with a chuckle that makes Billy walk out of the store as soon as he can. He gives a nod to the artist so he doesn’t look like a complete asshole.

And once Billy is in his car again, he’s breathing hard. The tattoo feels like it’s burning his skin, like it’s made of fire, just because it’s so sentimental. it‘s so significant and it’s there on his body forever and he just paid to make that happen bc he’s sentimental. Bc he can’t think of another date that means more to him (maybe the day he first kissed Steve… hell maybe the day he first looked at Steve… but that’s a different story)

His heart is racing and his leg is bouncing and his arm is shaking the whole drive home. It’s been a year. A whole year. The best damn year of his life and now he has something permanent so he can honor it. He’s overjoyed.

But once he gets back to the cabin, Hop doesn’t seem to feel the same.

“Where have you been?”

His arms are crossed, eyebrows low over narrowed eyes. It doesn’t strike the same kind of fear in Billy that it used to, but it does make him feel some sort of regret. He doesn’t even know what he should feel sorry for, but he kind of absolutely hates making Hop look at him like this.

“Out. I had something I wanted to do.”

“Right. Well El and I were looking forward to going out to lunch with you today.”

Billy’s heart drops. He feels a desperate need to go up in arms about it, to combat the hurt in his chest.

“Well no one told me that.”

“Yeah well… we didn’t really think you’d go running out like that today. It’s kind of… kind of a big day.”

Billy nods, doing his damned best not to fidget. His tattoo is burning with sentiment. Billy thinks Hop might be able to see how tense he is, bc Hop gives him a caring look. He’s always giving him caring looks. Like he’s his son that just tripped over the front steps.

“Don’t stress over it though, son. We were thinking of going to ice cream later once she gets back from hanging out with her friends.”

Billy nods and Hop watches Billy walk over to the kitchen. He’s leaning on the back of the sofa with his arms still crossed.

“So.” Hop starts. “You got a tattoo?”

Billy freezes for a second before continuing to reach for a clean glass in the cabinet.

“How do you know that?”

“Officer Powell told me he saw you headed that way.”

“Damn, do you pigs ever not gossip with each other? Holy shit.” Billy cusses with a slam of the orange juice carton onto the counter.

Hop gives him a look. “He was visiting some family out there. What’d you get a tattoo of?”

Billy’s heart is racing. “Nothing important.” He mumbles to try to counteract the gnawing on his arm.

“Really? You paid someone to put something that’s not important onto your body permanently?”

Billy growls at how much of a smartass Hop is being. He’s always being a smartass. It’s fun when Billy’s not totally nervous about being so mushy. He can feel it all start to bubble out. He’s so damn nervous.

“Yup.” He pops the last sound out of his mouth, but his whole act is so unconvincing Billy can almost feel it sliding off of him.

“Seriously, kid, what’d you get?”

“I just-”

“Because you know how I feel about tattoos.”

“It’s not that important-”

“Just trying to figure out if it’s something as weird as that skull on your arm.”

“It’s not weird-”

“Alright it’s a little cooler than weird, but still. What’d you get that’s not important-?”

“It’s today’s date.” It bubbles out of Billy before he can put a stop to it. Before he can hold the words down. He looks up from his orange juice to see Hop’s eyes get wider.

“I… seriously?”

Billy rolls his eyes.

“Yeah, don’t get too sappy about it.” Billy says like his heart isn’t in his throat right now.

“You got today’s date… because?”

Billy twists his mouth up. “Don’t make me say it.”

Hop lets out a little chuckle. It sounds involuntary.

“No no, I wanna hear why you’d get a date that ‘not that important’ on your arm.” He’s chuckling even more now. Billy’s fingers are tapping on the counter w/ nervous agitation.

“Because… because… you know why!”

Hop shakes his head with an annoying smile. “Nope, don’t think I do. I’m at a loss.”

“Because this was the best damn day of my life, alright? You know that.” Billy feels it all heave out of his throat like vomit, but just like vomit once it’s out, he feels so much better. all that pressure gone. He feels like now that he’s admitted it, he should fear it’ll slip away from him, but he doesn’t feel that way. It feels like now that he’s admitted it, now that it’s written on his skin, it’s solidified. No one can take it away from him. Even if things turn to shit, he still has the memory of this past year there on his arm and he’s just... he’s comfortable. Yes, he’s a sentimental sap, and he’ll knock the lights out of anyone who calls him that, probably, but that doesn’t mean he isn’t one. He’s glad he can be a sentimental sap now without fear.

He looks into Hop’s eyes and sees a wide smile.

Billy rolls his eyes again, mumbling a “shut up” for good measure, even though Hop hasn’t said anything.

Billy tries to get past Hop, pretending he needs to grab something when really he just doesn’t wanna see Hop’s face anymore, but the man catches him in a hug before he can get past.

It’s warm and encompassing and Billy is so immediately comfortable that it still fascinates him.

“I love you son.” Hop mumbles, chest rumbling with the words. Billy feels it in his heart.

“Yeah yeah.” Billy says from where his face is half pressed into Hop’s chest. “Love you too, dad.”

[brokenbones-singsongs]

If I am being entirely honest, I don’t want to be married. I don’t want to feel like I am tied to someone.  I don’t want to share my things. I don’t want to have to take care of someone else. I don’t want to sleep in the same bed as someone. I don’t want to feel bad for never wanting to have sex. I don’t want kisses. I don’t want to be touched.  I don’t want to go on trips together. I don’t want any of it. It damn near kills me that every time I look at my wedding dress I have to think about how much I want to forget that day. I want to forget wondering where my husband and my friends were when I was inside dancing. I want to forget that nothing worked out from the very start. That my best friend walked away from me and so many of the people I wanted there the most couldn’t make it. I want to forget that I didn’t get to walk down the aisle to the song I dreamed of for years. I can’t remember what the sanctuary looked like. I don’t remember the vows he said to me and I don’t remember what I wrote. We didn’t get to take communion and I barely got to speak to anyone. I was tired and frustrated and sick and I just wanted to go home.  I’v spent an entire year waiting on things that won’t happen. Wanting more of what I can’t have. The simple fact of the matter is that we are two very different people and the things that matter most to me don’t matter to him at all. He doesn’t see the beauty in the smallest of things. He doesn’t understand how important safety and security are to me. He doesn’t understand why things are so hard for me and why home is so important.  Everything I do is a problem. I have too many feelings. I have too many things. I care about too much. I’m too possessive of my things. I don’t look at it all as “ours” because I know that without the money I bring home we’d both be homeless, hungry, carless, phoneless, insuranceless, and whatever elseless.  We can’t go on dates together because I can’t afford to do everything on my own. I can’t suggest a weekend to do halloween things with friends without hearing him mutter something about “more money” as if it’s not money I worked for to begin with. I can’t exist without hearing something about how I haven’t touched him or I never sleep with him. I hate myself. I hate how I look. I am not comfortable. I don’t like taking my clothes off. Sex is inconvenient and irritating. It’s messy, it’s sticky, and the gratification doesn’t outweigh the frustration. It doesn’t make me feel loved. It’s not intimate to me. It’s nice for five minutes and then I have to get up and take care of myself so I don’t get an infection or something stupid and then I go to sleep like nothing ever happened. The bed isn’t big enough to share and he wakes me up every hour or so with moving and shaking and weird ass noises and I’m never fully rested.  He’s messy and he destroys the bathroom and leaves things in odd places and doesn’t care that it bothers me. He leaves me to do practically everything on my own. I manage the plans. I keep track of the calendar. I know when the bills are due. I make all of the calls. I keep track of groceries and cleaning tasks and everything in between.  He has no understanding of my want for more. For better. For not settling. I grew up in a broken home. I grew up in a place where things were broken so often that none of the dishes matched. Nothing was ever really new. A lot of our things were hand-me-downs from somewhere else. We couldn’t always get the name brand cereals and poptarts. Simple things like toaster strudels and christmas tree cakes were a special treat. I remember eating eggos and peanut butter sandwiches for days and weeks at a time. Most of our clothes came from walmart. We only got to have one pair of shoes at a time. We were limited to how much we could eat or drink because groceries were so expensive. We always shared a room with someone. In fact, we shared everything. I never got to play sports because it cost money. I spent so much of middle and high school conscious of how much things were, missing out on trips of a lifetime because we just didn’t have the money. And no, it wasn’t always that way and it wasn’t necessarily a bad thing that life was the way it was. But I want to be able to open my cabinets and have my things match. I like that my cookie sheets are still silver. My silverware still matches. I like that nothing sticks to my pots and all of my measuring cups are still living on their little rings. My oven mitts aren’t stained and don’t have holes. My picture frames match my blankets that match the couch that matches the tables and chairs. I have a full set of Pyrex measuring cups and none of my coffee mugs are chipped. I have SO MANY shoes and they match all of my outfits. I have running shoes and work shoes and black heels and nude heels and blue heels and silver and gold heels. I have keds and converse and vans I have white shoes and pink shoes and blue shoes and red shoes too. I have dresses for every occasion and new, expensive clothes. Clothes that have stood the test of time. Clothes that I used to walk by the storefronts and say “maybe someday.” I have these things and I am proud of these things. I have worked and worked hard for these things. I saved and I was diligent and I never wanted to settle. I didn’t settle. I wanted more so I worked for it. I wanted to see the world outside of NC so I did. I took my happy self to Seattle and Alaska and California. I saw mountains and valleys and waterfalls that I once dreamed of. I’ve made far away friends and served strangers in cities that feel like home in a past life.  I walked across bridges and saw musicals and sang way too loud in restaurants with my best friend. I’ve ran along shorelines and sat on the edges of cliffs because those are the things that matter the most to me. 

I always thought this was what I wanted. To be married and in a pretty house with the love of my life with all the tiny things I’ve procured from the world around me. Quiet evenings curled up on the couch. Books and movies and dinner and lights wrapped around the rails on the back porch. Fireplaces and fuzzy blankets. Coffee at 9:00pm because I can.  I’m realizing now that I still want those things, but I want them without the pressure of pleasing someone else. I like being alone. I like doing what I want. I like coming and going and not feeling obligated to sometimes snuggle or let someone kiss me. I like not having someone try to get me to take my clothes off when I’m half asleep. I like making a pot of coffee for one person. I like doing things without wondering if I’m going to be questioned about the money I spent later. I like only having semi one-sided conversations with the cat and listening to the music I enjoy in every room Alexa can reach without knowing I’m the only one who likes it.  I’ve never done well with respecting people simply because they’re a man and that’s what they need. I never have understood the inherent NEED for sex and how it’s the driving force of everything and how it’s somehow a problem that I just don’t care for it. I don’t understand why I should have to give more than he should just because I have it. I deliberately chose the things I did because I wanted more, why can’t he choose more too? Why does everything have to revolve around how long he can sit in front of his computer and call people cocksuckers and hope he gets money out of it? Why isn’t his real job more important? Why does he settle for so little? Why doesn’t he do everything he can to be better? Why doesn’t he have the same drive that I do? Why is everything “just the way it is?” to him? Why doesn’t he see doctors or workout more or talk to someone, or something to fix the things that make his life harder? Nothing is “just how it is.” If you want it to be better, fix it. Why am I not allowed to wonder here his money goes? Why do I have to be made to feel guilty for expecting him to give as much as I do?  I don’t think I should have to do without when I alone have the means for more. If I have the ability to do a little extra, why can’t I? The bills are paid, we’re not starving, why should I feel bad about going out of town or buying that new set of makeup brushes or the sweater I fell in love with? Why do I get the “well you ARE married now...” lectures whenever I say I would like to do my own laundry and clean up my own messes and let him worry about his things? Why is it a problem I don’t fucking want to be a mother? I just am really not happy. I’m not. But I made a promise and I took a vow and I don’t want to hurt him. I don’t want to break another person. I’ve broken so many before and still haven’t forgiven myself for it. I just also know I can’t live like this forever. It isn’t fair to either of us. It isn’t and I can’t keep locking myself in the closet and literally crying myself to sleep every evening after work only to emerge like some gremlin and pretend nothing happened. I just....can’t.  

[ragnarssons]

Okay so I just realized what my problem with the 100 is... It’s always so unbalanced in the way it treats its characters? It’s always like “I did what I did for my people” “to save my people” “I thought I was doing the right thing”. And for aaaaaaaall the characters, well that’s all, that’s fine and they NEVER have to atone for it because “it was for their people” or people they love. Except for Bellamy and Clarke. When Bellamy and/or Clarke give this “excuse” that is actually really shown narratively (like really for MW what other choice did they have??), we have characters (ironically, usually bad guys lol) who are like “are you suuuuure it’s a good reason?” or “isn’t it a little bit hypocrital?” and we have Bellamy and Clarke being tortured by their own remorses for the entire season if not more (s3 Bellamy’s actions, that followed him... right until s5 and who knows maybe they’ll bring it back at some point, and do I even need to talk about Clarke? The girl is still carrying the MW thing, four seasons and 150+ years later) In the mean time, again, Monty’s remorses regarding MW were never explored, outside of a scene with Jasper where he was like “I’m not okay!!!” okay but... care to develop on that? Same for Jasper and Raven who participated just as much as Clarke in frying the 300 Grounders on s1. Oh, but only Clarke got dragged through the mud for TWO SEASONS at least after that. And then s6 gave us Raven being like “I never did anything wrong in my life, ever” Let me also talk about Miller, Miller on s5 was all side with Octagon, he was ready to let Bellamy die in the fighting pits, he was taking Clarke to her own execution. And we got one scene of him crying at the beggining of s6, Jackson telling him “we did what we had to do to survive” and that’s it the end. Will Mur/phy’s choices ever be adressed regarding how he betrayed Bellamy, aka his “brother” and how he basically accepted Clarke’s death, tried to deceive his friends with this AND even plotted with Josephine to actually KILL Clarke when he learnt she was alive? Oh, but he’s so heroic, he “helped” Bellamy when he dropped the name Gabriel. So he’s redeemed I guess, huh? And then you have Eggo, who “is a true hero” now and who “has changed” and all, without that being shown. “But she did what she had to do and what she thought was right for her people!!!!” OKAY. So... who will drag her for that over and over again like they do with Bellamy and Clarke (ironically, Eggo herself was one of the people constantly bringing the s3 massacre back to Bellamy, lol). When will people talk to her about how she blew up a mountain with innocent people in it, children and all in it? Oh Clarke did it and we have to talk about it 4 seasons later and treat her as a monster still, but Eggo did basically the same but “she’s changed!!!” so she gets praised. And cherry on the cake! Abby and Kane! I mean? Can a storyline be more hypocrital than with them?? “Lol we do shitty things but hey we’ll get our humanity back next season”. Next season: “sike I guess we’ll get it next season instead” And so on ever since... season 2 I think? Or maybe even 1 tbh. And I mean, this time, Abby’s actions are nothing but completely egoistical and hypocrital. I won’t talk about Oct/avia because idk what next episode will do with her. Even tho she doesn’t get called out nearly enough for what she did, she’ll face Blodreina next episode and it might be more interesting than what we got with the characters I’ve talked about above. We’ll see. But I mean, her not being called out for beating her brother to a bloody pulp is already a big problem tbh. And that had nothing to do with Blodreina.  Sometimes it just seems like only Bellamy and Clarke are the characters having a soul and any capacity to feel empathy. Like? So yeah... be consistent? Or idk, maybe next season, drag the other characters through the mud for once @ writers.

[mimiplaysgames]

are you still there?

Terraqua Week Day 7: Quote

Summary: It’s time to sort through Eraqus’ things. There’s little they know of their late Master, but they find letters - addressed to them. @terraquaweek​

Notes: Based on Jim Hopper’s letter from the Stranger Things 3 finale: “There's something I've been wanting to talk to you both about. I know this is a difficult conversation, but I care about you both very much. And I know that you care about each other very much, and that's why it's important that we set these boundaries moving forward so we can build an environment where we all feel comfortable, trusted, and open to sharing our feelings. Jesus. The truth is, for so long I'd forgotten what those even were. I've been stuck in one place. In a cave, you might say. A deep, dark cave. And then I left some Eggos out in the woods and you came into my life. For the first time in a long time, I started to feel things again. I started to feel happy. But lately, I guess I've been feeling distant from you. Like you're pulling away from me or something. I miss playing board games every night, making triple decker Eggo extravaganzas at sunrise, watching Westerns together before we doze off.But I know you're getting older, growing, changing. I guess, if I'm being really honest, that's what scares me. I don't want things to change. So I think maybe that's why I came in here, to try and make stop that change. To turn back the clock. To make things go back to how they were. But I know that's naive. It's just not how life works. It's moving, always moving, whether you like it or not. And yeah, sometimes it's painful. Sometimes it's sad. And sometimes, it's surprising. Happy.

So you know what? Keep on growing up kid. Don't let me stop you. Make mistakes, learn from 'em. When life hurts you, because it will, remember the hurt. The hurt is good. It means you're out of that cave. But, please, if you don't mind, for the sake of your poor old dad, keep the door open three inches.”

Read on AO3

***

It is weird going back - it’s like they have their house again but not their home.

They clean up to find some closure - if they stall, if they leave the Master’s things alone, they’ll dread having to do it and there he will linger, like a one-ton weight that they’d have to drag by their ankles. It hurts but it’s necessary, like amputating a limb beyond help before the rest dies with it. They do it start a new chapter, to let the Master move on to the next life, so they can move on with theirs.

In Aqua’s opinion, it’s horrible, but she continues to sort through private books that he kept in his office to see if they’re of any use. Every time there’s an artifact that reminds her of a specific memory, she cries, and Terra wishes he could wipe them away. It makes him feel helpless - it’s been twelve years in darkness and he still hasn’t found the courage to let her know just how much he cares.

For Ventus, it’s a new wondrous adventure, like finding out the person he thought he knew for so long is actually someone different. For the years he thought that Eraqus was as stern and cold as a statue, he discovers an old stack of childish finger-paintings that prove him wrong. Why the Master was so secretive, they’ll never know, but it’s something Ven takes with pride. At least it distracts him from making snarky remarks about Terra’s feelings.

To Terra, he’s reliving an entire lifetime in a matter of minutes and where does life fly to when it flies by? It’s crazy to think that a living person used to have things until he’s forced to start claiming which he should take as his.

Of course, there have been a lot of shared tears, and they all agree to take a break for dinner when a loud thud - like a bookshelf falling over - makes Terra jump.

Ventus whips around first, a Keyblade in his anxious hand. “What happened?”

It was Aqua, the shelf right in front of her now opened - a secret panel in the wall.

Terra huddles close, a smirk threatening to take his face. “I shouldn’t be surprised the Master had secret stashes.”

Huddled in this cubby hole are journals, some in better condition whereas others are so old, their pages have been stained with exposure. 

“The Master kept diaries?” Ven asks. 

“He did,” Terra answers, letting Aqua take the first grab. “I remember writing in one of them actually… he only writes when he’s upset about something and wants to vent. I walked in on him one day and he let me sit on his lap and have at it.”

“When was that?” Aqua asks, quickly sifting through pages of one before going through another. “It looks like he had a lot to be upset about.”

“Definitely before you came along, but I don’t remember why he was sad that specific night. I don’t think he ever told me.”

“So…” Ventus dawdles, his hands in his pockets. “Do we read them or trash them?”

“Trashing them feels wrong,” she says.

“Reading them feels wrong, too,” Terra says. 

“But,” Aqua hesitates, taking another. “This is something he left behind, like a legacy.”

“Of his most secretive of secret thoughts,” Ventus agrees, nudging Terra on the elbow. 

Aqua holds up one of the newer journals. “His last one… there’s blank pages.” 

They all hold a pregnant breath. In their hands are the Master’s final concerns before he was taken forever, his last rites.

She flips through anyway, and Terra nearly objects because… well, why hurt himself by reading what the Master thought of him before the Mark of Mastery? He failed, after all. 

Some folded pages come out of the journal - she didn’t rip them out, they were already wedged in there. “And some extra,” she says. 

Ventus helps himself to the journal, opening to the first page. The Master always had such beautiful handwriting, as though calligraphy was his art of choice.

“They’re to us,” she says when she opens the folded pages, reading the dates. “Letters. He wrote them while he was waiting for us to come home.”

It suddenly hits them, and Ventus slams the journal tight like he’s violated a boundary. 

While he waited for them in those long months to come home, before the possession, the fall to darkness, the sleep...

They take turns looking at each other, two of them passing asking glances at Aqua to see if she would approve. And Aqua looks at Terra to see if he would approve.  

“If he was alive, he’d never show them to us,” Terra says, “but sure. Let’s.”

“He probably wouldn’t mind,” she shrugs. “The Master didn’t like to dwell on something trivial.”

Ventus is the first to jump onto the loveseat in the middle of the office, over a soft rug in front of the fireplace, leaving Terra and Aqua to take the couch across. 

“Aqua should read them out loud,” Ventus says, making himself comfortable, like he’s excited to find out more about his late father... like he’s not anticipating it’s going to make him cry. He’ll probably learn the hard way. “She’s a great storyteller.”

It’s not really fair to put that burden on Aqua, to read the Master’s words on behalf of all of them, but she smiles, accepting it. “Only if everyone is okay with it.”

She’s really talking about Terra in this case, looking over her shoulder to see if he’d object again. He doesn’t.

“Right.” She takes a deep breath. “The first one is for Ven.”

It’s Ven’s turn to take a deep breath. “I’m ready.”

Terra holds his own, his arms crossed. It may be for Ven, but… it’s like he’ll hear the Master’s voice again, even if it’s Aqua who’s reading it.

It takes a few more moments before Aqua prepares herself to read - she’s probably thinking the same thing. He holds her shoulder and it wakes her up from her stupor. Finally, she starts.

~

My cherished Ven,

I cannot deny the horror I felt when I watched you drift away into the sky, chasing a fate I know in my heart will do nothing but gravely harm you. I have always been aware that there is only so much I can do to protect you. I have always been aware that the life you have lived here was unfair to you, and I can only hope that you understand it was for your protection. If I may be true, I am frightened - of what you will discover, of whether you would survive it. Maybe even of your own power.

You must know, Ven, that darkness speaks. It will tell you stories meant to horrify you and meant to tempt you down a path where it will take advantage of your innocence. Part of me feels foolish, and here I realize what I could have done better to prepare you. You have a strong heart, Ven, and a brilliant soul, a powerful, ancient light that has many destinies intertwined with it. It is not something I fully comprehend, and there have been many precepts that I have researched into the matter, some that I cannot decipher. 

It is because of this that I do not have any answers that you seek, and thus I assume you will not come to me for them. I can vow there will be a time for you to learn about yourself, and I simply want you prepared with the proper knowledge to not only protect yourself, but to protect the worlds that you have the responsibility over, as Keyblade Wielder. You are practical and efficient, and you already know that your weapon is precious and cannot be misused. I can only pray that you come home and sleep safely.

~

There are sniffles, and they belong to Ven. She hands over the letter and he takes a readthrough, a small smile coming to his face.

“If I didn’t know any better,” he says, his voice shaking but he’s trying hard to find comfort. “The Master is kind of giving me the blessing to leave… without really doing it.”

They haven’t set a date for when he’ll leave - it’s clear there are many lingering questions about Ven’s past, with Chirithy’s sudden appearance only making it more necessary to answer them. He’s talked about traveling, seeking out answers, and while Terra and Aqua think Ven should become Master first before setting off on his own journey, the final decision ultimately lies with him. 

Either way, with Chirithy, he won’t be alone.

“So will you leave?” Aqua asks. There are silent tears traveling down her cheeks. It’s already so hard on her. 

When she notices Terra staring, she actually inches closer, looking for his hand. Immediately, without even thinking about it, Terra leans forward and wipes them off her face, his other hand on her back.

He chooses to ignore all the knowing glances Ven is throwing at him. 

“Maybe,” Ven says, like he hasn’t been thinking about making teases towards Terra. “I feel like this advice still sticks, you know?” He folds the page. “When I do, I want to take this with me. But… precepts? There are actually books that can help me?”

“You never know, there could be another hiding place with more stuff,” Terra says, asking Aqua with his eyes if she’s okay. She nods. 

“In here?” Ven looks around.

“Or somewhere in the castle.”

“That’s gonna take forever to find,” he whines. 

“We’ll help you find it. In the meantime,” Aqua says, holding up the next letter. “This one is for me.” Her voice cracks. “I’ll be okay though,” she says to Terra before he has a chance to ask.

~

My esteemed Aqua,

There is a certain cruelty to life about becoming older: with age comes conviction, and it is merely a defense against confusion, the flux of emotions that will all storm together when facing a difficult problem. I am speaking of the wave of mixed feelings that came with ordering you to chase after your friends, your closest comrades. I have conviction in my belief that it was the right thing to do - this entire ordeal was riddled of something terribly sinister that I have yet to solve. I fear for you, for my other students, for what is at stake.

At the same time, I know you. You are and will always be the element that holds this family together. I have always been impressed by your light, by your determination, and by your loyalty to your calling. And yet, you are the one most guided by the bond you share with your peers, and this is exactly why I know of no one else who has a light as powerful as yours. Your bond to them will be their saving grace, I must believe in that. But I feel I may have burdened you with a responsibility that would put these elements at war with each other, that I have asked you to put your beliefs at conflict.

I have named you Master because I believe you have the strength to see it through. I believe you have the wisdom to face darkness in its true essence and not break. Every day that passes by that I do not see either of you home yet, I get more worried. Still, I can find peace knowing you are there to look out for our family. You are still so young, the youngest Master in history, and there is a sense of guilt in knowing I have given you a burden when you should be experiencing more carefree days. I expect that you will not have to carry this burden all by yourself for long, and that you will be able to share the weight with Terra once he is ready. Until that happens, there is no one more suited to keep us safe. If you should ever falter, and I would be ignorant in assuming you would never, know to never lose faith. I have the utmost faith in you.

~

The letter shakes in her hands. 

“I need a moment,” she says, her voice cracking. Her tears get buried in her fingers as she covers her face to let it all go. 

Terra brings his arm around her, going through her hair with his fingers. He’s actually always wanted to do this, but not like this, not while she’s crying. 

“He’s right you know,” he whispers in her ear. “You are the glue that keeps us together.”

Ven goes to sit on her other side, his head leaning on her arm, his hands around her elbow. “Yeah, you’re the strongest person I know.” 

She nods to their words, sniffling her voice out. “I wish I had this with me that entire time,” she says, “when I walked the Realm of Darkness.” She smiles. “It would have been nice to read, k- keep me company.”

Aqua has suffered for so long and she’s still so hard on herself. “You did good,” Terra says. 

“Far better than either of us,” Ventus adds in.

Her fingers find themselves intertwined with Terra’s, and she rolls her lips inward to accept their words of encouragement. 

“Thank you.”

She’s saying it to them, and she’s saying it to the Master. They take a moment in silence for the Master, but mostly for her sake. Aqua deserves to be listened to.

Then she pats Terra’s lap. “Your turn,” she says with a little pep, like she’s grateful that she’s over the most harrowing experience ever.

“My turn,” he grumbles, instantly closing in, leaning into the backrest because he at least knows (unlike Ven) that he will definitely cry.

~

My dearest Terra,

I have never been truthful with you, and there are certain ethical boundaries as to why. Part of me wishes I was, to let you know why it is I expect so much out of you. You have saved my life - the moment I found you, I was still suffering certain experiences that have left me heavy and cold. Raising you had given me new purpose, and I took that responsibility as though it was breath. I am and will always be so proud of you, of how you have grown and of your gentle heart. You are meant to accomplish great things, and I believe you will go far. 

There have been times as of late where I felt I could not reach you, however, when I did not have the right words to guide you. I see in your eyes your desperate need to please, to succeed. I have been guilt-ridden with failing you on the Mark of Mastery, with making you feel like you are not worthy enough. You are worthy, and one day you will see your dream realized. But there are still things your joyful, ambitious heart needs to understand. You become solemn far too quickly, and with such a powerful weapon in your hands, you will need to still that crying heart when the worst comes to haunt you - and it will, in due time. Life will always find a way to challenge and harm you, and I need to see you prepared. I want you to succeed.

I meant what I said. You mustn’t be afraid of losing - -

~

Tears are trickling down his cheeks; they are warm before they get cold, like the exposure frightens them. The words are what he needs to hear and yet some of them he still has trouble accepting.

It’s silent now, though.

Aqua is biting her lip, a smile betraying her, and Ven looks over her shoulder when he realizes she’s not continuing.

“Are you not going to finish?” Terra asks, and he feels he has the right to be annoyed.

She brings the letter to her mouth. “You sure?”

“Why are you asking?”

She chuckles behind her hand. “Okay.”

~

I meant what I said. You mustn’t be afraid of losing, especially with the path I have seen you choose for yourself. I understand how devastating it is to lose to Aqua, how you hold her in such high esteem, and how terrifying it is to ponder the possibility of losing her as well. I understand more than you realize why you are obsessed with holding yourself up to her, and why you need her to do the same for you. It is not a conversation I take pride in holding with either of you - the path of the Keyblade leaves little in the way for partnerships, as it can be such a heavy strain. But if I had to give my honest opinion, I can agree that Aqua is a wonderful choice for a mate. If this dream of yours shall be realized, I offer two threads of advice: one, let her light guide you. A partnership is a mind of two, and when you find yourself struggling, you have to let her in. Two, it is now more vitally important that you understand the nature of your own light, so that you can do the same for her when she needs you. You will need to be her guardian in the worst of times, something I know you are more than capable of doing despite your failure in the exam.

I would only ask one favor: please do not exhibit any scandalous or inappropriate behavior in the hallways if something were to come about it.

~

Again, she brings the letter to her face to hide her sputtering chuckles.

Ven looks across her at Terra, his eyes wide like he’s just witnessed… well, a scandal.

“You just got outed,” he says.

Aqua scoffs, her tears still finding their way out and it’s amazing how she can express two different emotions at once. “So you knew about this.”

Terra wants to kill him.

Ven holds his hands up in surrender, getting up from the couch and walking to the door. “Whatever I say doesn’t matter. Terra’s still busted.”

“Ven,” Terra warns.

“Caught red-handed.”

“Ven.”

“B-U-S-T-E-D.” Now he’s at the door, giving a questioning smirk like he’s sorry, before storming out of the room, letting the door slam behind him.

Terra doesn’t know what’s stronger now - the grief or the awkwardness making itself comfortable in the room.

“It was sweet,” Aqua says of the letter.

“Thanks…?”

She chortles, bringing a hand to her heart. 

Honestly, in normal times, they’d probably still be physically close. If he is to try now, though, there’s all sorts of implications that he doesn’t have an excuse for anymore.

She folds the letter for him before handing it over. “Here is your… um...”

“Love advice?” He’s just trying to be funny, to lighten the mood and now he’s probably made it worse.

At least she’s laughing, but she’s speechless. “Ah, yeah.”

Terra fiddles with it in his hands, careful not to crease it. This is why they shouldn’t pry into private thoughts. 

“How are you-?” he asks.

“Feeling?”

“Yeah.”

“Actually better.” She sighs. “I feel a huge load off my shoulders.”

“Really?” He feels like he’s been slapped by an avalanche, or he’s about to drown in one - it’s like someone has him by the throat, and he really hates not knowing what Aqua thinks of all this. 

She takes her own letter, gently folding it and he’s sure that she’ll keep it safe in a box in her room. “I do.” She stands up, hesitating with every step like there’s something she wants to say.

At least there aren’t any more tears. He never expected the Master of all people would put a stop to that.

“That’s good,” he says, ready for the worst.

“Terra,” she says, turning to face him when she gets to the door. “We should have dinner, just for the two of us.”

His heart skips a beat, and if it continues to do that, then this is the worst time to die. “I’d love that,” he says and immediately regrets it. That’s the second time he used “Love” and he really shouldn’t, not this early.

It makes her laugh nervously, and she bites her lip to control it but she’s doing a terrible job. “Good.” 

She walks backward into the door and then apologizes, extremely embarrassed. 

He’s never seen Master Aqua like this, and she rejects his help when he gets up and walks over to see if she’s okay. It makes him feel better knowing he’s not the only one this nervous.

“I’ll see you tomorrow night, then?” she asks, her hand on the knob. 

He has to clear his throat, because his “Yes” is too scared to come out. “Count on it.”

She bites her lip again and he has to remember to tell her how cute it is. When it’s more appropriate. There’s still so much pain to go through, but maybe they can put a pause on that? 

“Okay,” she whispers, unsure of whether to say something else before she finally laughs again and goes through the door.

It’s quiet when she’s gone, and if he lingers for too long she’ll just come back to tell him that it’s unhealthy to be alone in the Master’s office. But it’s nice for now - he thinks of the letter, thinks of it in the Master's voice as if he is there, saying those words. It isn't quiet at all. It almost feels like he has a father again, rooting for him.

[ottorocket808]

Chapter Two: The Weirdo on Maple Street

I wonder how they coaxed her back to Mikes house it was probably easier than I think because they’re also kids and it’s raining and cold because I’m pretty sure it’s November in Indiana. I’m just gonna say that the lunge clap isn’t the best way to tell if somebody is deaf I’m pretty sure they’re gonna flinch regardless because you lunged at them. 🤣🤣🤣 Modesty don’t exist where she’s from y’all cut her some slack. Wait is that blood? Wait it’s probably from her nose. I don’t even know where the nearest ‘nuthouse’ is why does Lucas? How did Dustin and Lucas both forget that they snuck out the house and therefore telling any adults right now would be a bad idea?

Yo Joyce is talkin about spending $2000-$3000 on missing posters and he’s in a different dimension and this is in 1983 that might as well be $20,000-$30,000 now I know my mom would know my voice anywhere they gotta stop doubting Joyce no matter what interference came down the line.

Hop and these pills are gettin on my nerves you are not House sir sidenote Hops reaction to Jonathan volunteering to go to his dads house felt like dick measuring why wouldn’t he want him to go looking for Will if seeing the cops would mean he runs again which means even longer until he comes home.

Don’t start shit with your little brother when he knows your boyfriend was in your room last night without your parents knowledge or consent Nancy. Sidenote it’ll never not be suspicious to hear your kids say ‘nothing’ together when you ask them a question.

I think Wills been missing for 2 or 3 days at this point where is he getting water? I’m pretty sure this kid is well on his way to dehydration on top of breathing in the toxic atmosphere of The Upside Down Will is a strong little dude.

I think I’ve spotted Els first Eggo that might be why she likes them so much Mike gave her her first one I mean Eggos are good but plain with no syrup no butter and lukewarm and she still likes them more than anything else. El’s hesitation towards telling any adults makes perfect sense after what happened to Benny.

Calling a lady crazy who’s kid just went missing feels a little insensitive I mean what did she do in regular my kid isn’t missing life that would make him say that?

Steve’s hair looks so much better but he’s kind of a dick because he invited Nancy to the ‘party’ not her and Barbara which isn’t really a problem is that he did it in front of her but if you pay attention to his ‘friends’ they aren’t any better in all honesty this is just a double date. Nancy’s little brother hangs out with Jonathan’s little brother all the time you’d think she’d stand up for him just because of that I mean she looks legit guilty listening to the others make fun of him I mean how many times has Jonathan been at her house to pick up Will?

Mike said damn goin to school I have girl who doesn’t think I’m weird at home.

I’m pretty sure this is what older siblings are for sharing music and teaching you the ropes to life and giving advice.

Jonathan also said damn goin to school

Lonnie still hasn’t made an appearance and his youngest son has been seen in 2-3 days he ain’t even called Joyce back and he knows that he’s missing and that there’s been full on search party and he’s been AWOL this whole time.

Where the hell did they find a Pinto? Joyce is kind of a boss she got a phone and a pack of camels for free and two weeks pay in advance.

Am I trippin or did the news call the power company a completely different name? If they did who are The Bad Men supposed to be pretending to be? I wonder why Hop didn’t notice the goop on the wood.

I need to know how them getting 3rd in the science fair was political what was their project? How does she know? It’s almost like she was about to start hyperventilating did she see him in her sleep because as much as the Demogorgon scared her I can’t imagine her looking for him on purpose. Was the baby not strapped into her car seat because Mikes mom got into the house way too fast.

I feel like Hop should be concerned that one of his officers was gullible enough to believe that anybody could survive that drop into cement I mean water.

Man these govt people suck Justice for Benny.

Lonnie doesn’t have a single picture of his kids in that house if he did his girlfriend would know who Jonathan is.

Shout out to Dustin for picking up on keywords like ‘Danger’ and El is racking up favorite character points with the double door slam topped off with the locked door El is in the lead as my favorite 2nd is a three way tie between Joyce Mike and Dustin.

Lonnie won’t be getting father of the year anytime soon but his car is sick 1972 Oldsmobile 442 I ain’t mad at it at all. I don’t know why people in small towns swear that people in the city are more ‘real’ you have bullshitters everywhere Lonnie should know he was fake In Hawkins and the only thing that changed was his address and the car he drives.

Barb wasn’t invited to the ‘party’ (double date) and Nancy knows this Steve said do you wanna come to my house not you guys y’all or any other variation. Nancy begging her to go and using Wills vigil as her suggested excuse says a hell of a lot about her character she knows that it’s only supposed to be the four of them because again this is a double date her making Barb be the 5th wheel so she would feel better sucks.

Mike choking on his milk cause he sees El coming down the stairs followed by Dustin’s ‘spasm is still funny but Nancy using Wills Vigil to sneak to see her boyfriend still rubs me the wrong way.

And that torn piece of El’s gown makes its appearance good eye Mr. Clarke.

The boys use so many words she doesn’t know I wonder how lost in conversation she was in the beginning. Dustin looked so grossed out by the spit swear part and I don’t blame him. El looked super suspicious of what Mike was saying about friends telling each other things that parents don’t know.

Parking 3 blocks away is a little excessive. Barb really should’ve just dropped her off and went home. Nancy should know her best friend well enough to know that parties aren’t her thing. Nancy likes to play stupid but she’s not she should’ve just gone by herself there’s nothing wrong with wanting to spend time with the guy that you like but dragging your friend along is unnecessary.

Ew Hop wears tighty whiteys wait who is that lady? So I have the subtitles on and they say her name is Sandra still don’t know who she is but at least we got a name.

El’s powers are crazy strong no wonder they want her back so badly she touches the D&D board closes her eyes for a second and knows which piece is Wills. Dustin is in the drama club? I wonder if he is a lighting and sound guy. You can tell that shit just got real to these kids.

Quick question how close do the Byers live to Steve? I mean for Jonathan to hear Carol scream it’s gotta be pretty close maybe Will had to run way farther than I originally thought. Everything about Barb screams ‘I don’t wanna be here’ shorty still has her coat on she looks extra uncomfortable you can tell this isn’t her thing Barb is a better friend than Nancy deserves. She cut her hand trying to shotgun a beer to make Nancy happy and when she goes inside looking for bandages Nancy doesn’t help she stays outside and plays with her not boyfriend and his ‘friends’ There’s a strong ass lesson about peer pressure wrapped around these five. Jonathan has gotta know that this is creepy I mean he’s hiding behind a bush damn near frantically taking pictures of the popular kids having fun how’d he switch so fast from looking for his brother to this weird shit?

This is the 2nd phone Will burnt up tryna call home man they are $30 a piece man we need a better communication attempt. Ask and ye shall receive sidenote I really do like this song I wanna learn to play the intro where is the dog I know the Demogorgon didn’t eat him but he just disappears. I feel bad for Joyce she’s always alone when the weird shit happens because the Demogorgon coming out the wall like that was some scary shit and nobody but us saw it. That’s how you know she ain’t worried about somebody running off with her whip Joyce has the doors unlocked the windows rolled down with the keys in the visor.

I don’t understand why she begged Barb to go to this thing if she was gonna have sex with Steve anyway and then talking about go home how Nancy she’s supposed to be spending the night at your house to help cover the truth about what’s going on. And Barb being half stubborn half a good friend goes down to the pool to wait for her friend to finish losing her virginity so they can go Barb should’ve gone home and ignored Nancy the next day at school. How did Jonathan not hear The Demogorgon growling or Barb scream and he was what 30 ft from the pool?