#i need to study for my fucking driving test instead i’ve been listening.

[merevide]

that one mutual who has no job no life aspirations few to no short term goals no hobbies no social life but always finds a way to fucking complain abt smth or post lesbian vampires on their blog w/ the tag ‘ME WHEN?’

[i-cant-sing]

Yandere Rei hurting reader Pt 3

I couldn't write anything for Valentines, but I hope you like this. Enjoy!

Pt 1 here.

Pt 2 here.

Check out my MASTERLIST for more!

Enji wasn’t surprised at your funeral.

He wasn't surprised when Rei had begged him to have you frozen, keep your body encased in a glass box at home.

He wasn't surprised when the kids held her, letting him make proper funeral arrangements.

He wasn't surprised when Rei had a breakdown, punching his chest and thrashing around in Shotou's and Dabi's arms.

Enji wasnt surprised when the divorce papers came. He knew the kids were making her do this, but he didn't care. He signed them without hesitation.

He wasn't surprised when he heard the kids had sent Rei to an asylum. She kept escaping the house to run to the graveyard; she wanted to dig your body up. He understood why the kids sent her back.

He wasn't surprised when he heard Rei had killed herself in that place, 6 months after you had died.

He wasn't surprised when his kids didn't inform him of her death or funeral. If he was being honest, he wasn't even sure if he would've gone to pay his respects.

Enji poured himself another glass of vodka, taking the bottle with him as he sat on his recliner, almost tripping on a few empty bottles.

He wasn't an alcoholic, he was just trying to numb his pain. Its the only thing that helps him fall asleep.

Enji pulled out a cigarette and pushed it between his lips. He snapped his fingers to light it, closing his eyes as he inhaled the carcinogen.

"Again, dad?"

Enji didn't have to open his eyes to know its you.

"You know these things are not good for you."

Enji smiled. You were always so caring.

"Ah, so you do smile? I didn't think you were capable of doing that."

Enji opened his eyes. You were standing in front of him, a grin on your face.

"I smiled a lot more when you were around." Enji said.

You chuckled. "Me too." You sat next to him, before putting your head in his lap. "But you weren't around often."

Enji felt tears prick his eyes. "I'm sorry."

"I know."

Enji woke up the next morning with a massive headache. He went to his kitchen to get himself some coffee. He checked the calendar as he sipped the hot drink.

Friday.

He finished his coffee quickly, before wearing a large coat. He grabbed his car keys and drove away from his house.

When he reached the graveyard, he made sure to wear his sunglasses and a baseball cap, before grabbing the bouquet of white lillies.

Your grave was a little away from the rest, he wanted you to have space, and his family to have privacy when they visited.

He stood in front of your grave. It was clean and the bed of grass of fresh as ever. He had paid the caretaker good money to regularly clean up your resting place.

Enji stared at your tombstone for some time.

Y/n Todoroki.

Heaven's brightest angel

A loving daughter

Now resting safe and at peace

Tears fell free from Enji's eyes at that. "Safe and at peace". Safe and at peace. Two things he failed to give you.

The image of your bloody face flashed in his mind for a moment. Blood coated your teeth and mouth, your gut was also bleeding heavily. Your face was contorted in pain, confusion and betra-

Enji needs to stop thinking.

He sat down beside your grave and pulled out the flask from his coat pocket. He knows he has to drive back. He knows he shouldn't drink, not in front of you at least, but he can't help it. "I'm sorry." Enji whispers before he started drinking. It didn't take long for him to finish the entire flask. It was getting dark and he knew he had to leave before the caretaker came.

Enji pressed a kiss to your tombstone before he turned on his heel to leave.

"Endeavour?"

Enji was stunned to hear his hero name; nobody had called him that in a long time. God, he wished it wasn't the paparazzi. They had no respect for anyone, not even for the grieving or the dead.

But he looked up to see an old face.

"Keigo?"

Hawks smiled. "How are you?"

"Fine. What are you doing here?"

He scratched the back of his head nervously. "I've been meaning to talk to you." Hawks sighed. "I tried contacting you several times but you're impossible to track."

Enji knew that. He disappeared from the public eye after your death. He left his agency to Hawks, and got himself a home hidden in the woods. People assumed that he was just distraught over his wife's death or something. They didn't know about you. Nobody did. He paid off the hospital staff to keep their mouth shut because he didn't want his kids to suffer anymore because of his mistakes.

"What do you want?" Enji asked, gruffly.

"I just wanted to talk to you. Check up on you, y'know?"

"I'm doing great." Enji replied, stepping around him, about to walk away, but Hawks put a hand on his shoulder.

"Enji, its not your fault-"

"Shut up." Enji walked past him and made his way towards his car.

"Enji, listen to me-"

"I said. Shut. Up." He growled out. He didn't need anyone's pity. He reached his car with Hawks running up to him.

Enji tried to open his door but he suddenly felt lightheaded as he fell down.

"Enji! Are you okay?" Hawks kneeled beside him.

"I'm f-fine. Leave me alone." Enji was slurring.

Hawks grimaced when he smelled his breath. "God, you reek of alcohol. You weren't planning on driving in this state?"

Enji pushed him away. "I said I'm fine." Enji stood up before stumbling towards his car again, fumbling with the keys, his vision blurring the more he strained himself.

"Let me take you home, Enji." Enji felt his hands on his shoulder, but just as he tried to tell Hawks to fuck off, his vision faded to black.

Enji opens his eyes and finds himself in his house again. His old house. He's laying in bed when he hears laughter from outside. He gets out of bed and walks towards the source.

The kitchen.

He walks in and sees his family, the sun rays flooding the room, and the golden orange hues illuminating their faces. Rei is mixing something in a large bowl, Fuyumi is greasing up some pans. Natsuo and Touya are eating the chocolate chips from the bag, and Shotou is telling them to save some for the cake. And you. You're there too. Sitting beside Shotou, laughing as Touya sneakily gives you some chocolate chips too. Suddenly, they all turn towards him. Rei motions for him to come in. "Enji! Come in. We're making a cake!" Enji walks towards her, wrapping his arms around her. Rei kisses him, making his kids cringe and tell them to stop. They all laugh. Rei pours the batter into the pans, before raising the spoon. "Okay, who wants to lick the spoon?" And suddenly Touya, Natsuo and you yell "me!" before trying to reach for the spoon. Shotou freezes Natsuo's foot to the floor, while Enji pulls Touya back. Fuyumi grabs the spoon from her mom, and gives it to you, making you smile as you eagerly lick the spatula clean, while Touya and Natsuo whine how its not fair. Everyone laughs as Rei cleans up the batter smeared on your nose with a tissue. Its a heart warming scene. Its all he ever wanted.

But its not the reality he was given now, was it?

As Enji closes his eyes, basking in the warmth of his family, he suddenly hears someone crying. He snaps his eyes open, but the kitchen is empty and dark. He hears the crying again. He gets out of the kitchen quickly, trying to find the source. Its coming from Fuyumi's room. He bursts through the door, looking for Fuyumi, but finds you there instead. You're on the floor whimpering as you're trying to rub your arm with a towel. He kneels next to you. "What's wrong?" You cry when you remove the towel to reveal the huge ice burn on your arm. There were ice crystals littering all over the skin. Enji begins to heat up his palms as he melts the ice downs, slowly allowing the sensation in your arm to return. "What happened?" You sniffled. "F-fuyumi came to my room and said that she wants to go shopping with me, I told her I had to study for my test." You hiccuped. "She didn't like that, she- she said I'm ignoring her, blowing her off- I'm not!" You cried. Enji focused on your arm, heating it up slowly. "I know, you didn't do it on purpose. But maybe you could take some time off school? Think of it as a little break. You could spend more time with Fuyumi, with us." You looked at him in confusion. "B-but she hurt me-" "no, she was just a bit frustrated. You know she didn't mean it, right? She's your big sister, she loves you." You hesitantly nodded. "If you say so..." Enji smiled. "See, its all better now. Let me heat up the towel and wrap it around your arm." He turned to get the towel, but when he turned back, the room was empty.

He heard quiet sobs coming from your room. He made his way to your room and opened door and found you lying on the bed. "What happened?" He asked, taking a seat on your bed. "I saw him, I saw Natsuo put crushed pills- sleeping pills in my food! That's why I've been feeling so sleepy lately. When I confronted him, he told me its for my own good. B-but I know its because he doesn't want me to go out with my friends! He forcefully fed me the food, and then he took my phone away too! He said its because its not good to sleep with your phone but I know he took it because he wants to go through my stuff!" Enji hushed you. "Can you talk to him? Tell him to stop or something." Enji raised an eyebrow. "Natsuo is your big brother. He's just looking out for you. And he's not wrong about going through your phone either. Do you have something to hide?" You shook your head no. "But-!" "Natsuo wouldn't do anything to cause you pain, okay?" You closed your eyes. "Okay." You whispered. Enji closed the door as he left your room. But as soon as he did, he heard banging coming from the basement. He rushed down the stairs and found the door locked. Bursting through the door, he was suddenly engulfed by a small body. It was you again. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry! Please, help me!" Enji pulled you away from him. "Hey, shh. Its okay. I'm here. What happened?" You sobbed into his chest. "I just went to the grocery store- just for 20 minutes!" Enji already knew what went wrong. "You didn't go with Shotou, did you? You didn't even inform him, right?" You shook your head no. "It slipped my mind. I promise I wasn't running away!" Enji sighed, petting your hair. "How long have you been down here?" You sniffled. "I dont know. It was Wednesday when Shotou pushed me in here." Three days. "Its okay. You've learnt your lesson, right?" You nodded. "Please, I don't want to be down here anymore." Enji led you out of the basement. "Just don't forget to tell Shotou next time, or tell us what you need. We'll bring whatever you want." Enji closed the basement door, but suddenly someone whimpered from inside. He opened the door again, but he found himself in the main bathroom. You were standing in front of the sink, putting some ointment on your shoulder. Enji looked closer and found burn marks on your skin. "Did Touya-" You turned around towards him. "Yes." Enji couldn't take his eyes off the red, burnt skin. "Why?" You shrugged your shoulders. "Does it matter?" You slammed the door shut in his face.

Enji didn't even realise he had begun walking away from the door and towards another one. He instinctively opened the door and found Rei and you. Rei had her arms raised, a sharp knife in her hand. "Rei- what are you doing? Put the knife down!" Suddenly, the rest of his kids appeared in the room. They stood between Rei and him, like a barrier. "Honey, its okay! We know whats best for her!" Rei spoke. Shotou nodded. "Yes. You said so yourself." Fuyumi spoke this time. "We're her family! We wouldn't hurt her!" Touya walked towards Enji. "Besides, if something happens, you promised you would save her, won't you?" Enji nodded. "Of course." "Then trust us. Like you always have." Natsuo said. Enji's eyes moved towards you. You opened your mouth to say something but all of a sudden, Enji was pushed out of the room and the door slammed closed. Enji jumped to the door when he heard your painful, gut wrenching screams. "DAD! STOP THEM! HELP ME! DAD!" Enji kept on banging his fists on the door but the door wouldn't budge.

Then it was silent. All too quiet. The door creaked open a bit. Enji didn't know if he wanted to see whats behind there anymore, but he still pushed the door open. How he wish he hadn't.

Lying on the floor, blood spilled from your mouth and your gut. Your body bore burns and scorch marks, the smell of burnt flesh wafting through the air. Enji fell to his knees. Its too late. "D-daddy? It- hurts."your voice was so quiet, so soft, he almost didn't hear you. "Save me?"you coughed out more blood, with each word. Enji started crying. "I-I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I-I can't." Your eyes dimmed when he said that, your chest finally stopped moving.

Enji finally woke up from his recurrent nightmare. He had been haunted by them ever since your death. Sad thing is, they didn't stray that far from reality. You had come to him many times, begging for help, but he turned you away, assuring you that they're just messing around, that it was an accident, or it was just a one time thing.

It wasn't.

Enji couldn't count how many times you had told him how his family had been hurting you, before you stopped asking all together when you realised he would always take their side.

It took a few minutes for Enji to register that he wasn't lying in his bed, or was in his home for that matter.

Enji groans as he sits up, rubbing his head. He remembers he was at the graveyard and then Hawks was there too. Hawks must've brought him to his home.

Stupid bird. He should just mind his own business.

Enji got up and left the room, leaning against the wall for support as he made his way around the house. Where was Keigo anyways?

He was passing by a garden when he saw someone move there. Enji focused his eyes and saw...you. He sighed. Enji sat down on the porch that opened into the garden. He realised he must've had drank a lot yesterday. Clearly, the effects of intoxication were still there.

You were sitting next to some bushes, trimming up their rough edges, your face turned away from him. You were humming to yourself as you worked.

You always did like plants, flowers especially. That's why he made sure you were buried where there was enough space for some flowers and grass to grow.

"I see you've found her." Hawks handed Enji a cup of coffee. He didn't even realise when he had walked-

Wait.

"You can see her?" Enji asked. Was he still dreaming?

Hawks chuckled. "Of course. She's right there- Enji, did you drink again?"

Enji looked at you, then at Hawks, then back to you. "What?" There's no way. There's no way. Hawks looked at Enji weirdly before he called for you.

"Y/n! Sweetie, come here!" You whipped your head around at Hawks voice.

And Enji sees you.

He wasn't hallucinating. You're real.

You skipped towards them, smiling. And Enji didn't even realise it until you were right in front of them. You had eyes. They were different than your real ones. These new ones, they were the same colour as his. Sharp, turquoise blue.

Were you a doppelganger? Is this some kind of sick joke? He couldn't help but wonder, but some part of him knew that wasn't the case.

Enji stood up when you reached them, the cup falling from his hand.

"Hey, dad."

In a second, Enji had his arms wrapped around you. You're really there. You weren't dead. You're still alive. "Y/n? Is it really you?" Enji asked, tears falling from his eyes as he held you tighter, still in disbelief.

You hugged him back. "Yes. Who else would it be?" You chuckled.

He pulled you away from him, his eyes scanned your face. There was still some charring and faded scars around your eyes, but they were mostly healed. It really is you.

"B-but how?"

You smiled. "Hawks-"

It was like something snapped in him at the hero's name.

Enji suddenly pushed you behind him, taking a protective stance. "What the fuck did you do?!" He growled at Keigo.

Hawks held his arms up in surrender, trying to pacify the man in front of him. "Nothing. I just helped her." Enji pounced at Hawks, pushing him to the ground. He was going to murder Hawks if he even looked at you the wrong way. "Oh yeah? And what the fuck did you want in return, you sick bastard?!" Enji raised his hand to punch him, but he stopped when he felt your tiny hands pull on his arm. "Dad! Please, stop! He saved me! Please!" He could hear the fear in your voice. He got off Hawks and yanked you back to him. "Tell me. Did he threaten you? Harm you? Touch you?" Although Enji's eyes held concern for you, he was scaring you with his grip on your wrist turning painfully tight. "No! Please, stop." You replied, struggling as you tried to free your wrist.

"Enji, calm the fuck down! You're hurting her!" Hawks finally managed to pull his hand off of your wrist. As soon as he did, Enji saw his handprint around your wrist.

Fuck.

You moved behind Hawks, peeking at Enji from between his wings, your eyes pooling with unshed tears. Enji's heart sank.

Looking at your scared form, Enji couldn't help but recall how different it used to be before. How you used to run to him for help, seek his protection.

And now, you need to be saved from him.

"I-I'm sorry. I'm sorry, Y/n. I didn't mean to." He reached his hand out for yours. When you moved further behind Hawks, his heart broke. You were scared of him. Your eyes holding the same fear as they once held for the rest of his family.

"Y/n, darling, why don't you go tend to the bushes. I need to talk to your father." You scurried away as soon as Hawks said that.

"She's scared of me." Enji's voice held guilt.

Hawks patted his back. "Don't worry. She'll come around soon."

Hawks sat on the porch step, motioning Enji to sit beside him as well. He sat but kept his eyes towards your form. "What happened, Keigo?"

"Well, when you had called me, informing me how Rei had stabbed Y/n, I came as quickly as possible. I remember you were holding Rei back, stopping her from entering the hospital room. Once your kids had arrived and taken their mother away, you told me to keep guard while you sorted out some hospital forms." Hawks took a sip of his coffee before continuing. "Y/n had woken up a few minutes after you had left. And she started crying as soon as she was conscious. I tried calming her down, but she was- hysterical. She kept on saying how they were going to torture her again. I told her that Enji would make sure they wouldn't. She kept on insisting that you were going to take Rei's side." Hawks looked at Enji. "And you and I both know know, you would've." Enji held his head shamefully, because he was right. He would've taken his family's side yet again.

"She asked me to kill her, Enji."

Enji's eyes widened at that, turning his head to Hawks. "What?" Hawks nodded, his eyes stone cold. "She said she'd rather be dead than return to your house." Enji felt like someone had drove a spear through his chest. Oh god, how long had you been feeling like that? "Thats when I decided to take her."

"But how? We buried her." Hawks rolled his eyes.

"It isn't hard to find a body. You know that."

Enji nodded. Right. "And her eyes?"

"Got a quirk doctor to replace them."

Enji's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "But Natsuo said that they were irreplaceable-"

"Natsuo lied, Enji. All of your kids did. They were going to side with their mother, no matter what. And Rei wanted her to remain blind, so everyone made sure she did." He took another sip of his coffee. "You have a fucked up family."

Enji clenched his jaw at that, but it was the truth. "Why didn't you tell me sooner?"

Hawks raised his eyebrows in disbelief. "You're hard to track. You went into hiding and I had to run your agency, clean up your mess so that the public doesn't find out and I had a daughter at home to look after too. I guess you could say, I was a bit occupied."

"Oh. I'm sorry." Enji looked towards where you were, happily tending to your garden, completely oblivious to your surroundings. You looked so lively, so content. "Is...is she happy?" Hawks smiled at that. He still adores you. "Yes. She stays at home mostly, tending to the garden, but she occasionally goes out as well."

Enji looked at Hawks. "Alone? What if she runs away? What if something happens to her?"

Hawks shook his head. "She won't. Where's she going to go? She knows that your kids are still out there, and if they ever saw her, God knows what they'll do to her." Hawks crossed his arms against his chest. "Besides, I gave her a special bracelet. It has a tracking device in it and if she ever runs into trouble, all she needs to do is tap it and I'll be there!"

Hawks really had it all figured it out. Everything was under control, so why was he there? "Why did you bring me?"

"To save you." Enji stared at him in confusion. "You can't live without her, Enji. The past few months are evidence that you can't. You almost drank yourself to death." Hawks ran a hand through his hair, frustrated. "Look at yourself. Your eyes are bloodshot, you drink, you smoke, you're depressed as fuck. Is this the kind of hero you imagined yourself becoming? Is this the kind of father you want to be?"

"Keigo I-"

"You know, she never spoke ill of you once. Never. If anything, she told me that her good memories with your family, were mostly with you. Almost like she misses you."

"What do you want me to do, Keigo?" He asked helplessly, because Enji truly didn't know.

"I want you to stay here." He began. "Be the hero she needs; the father she needs."

"Keep your promise to her." Hawks eyes were full with fierce emotion as he reminded Enji of his promise.

I'll keep you safe. I promise.

Those word had been echoing in his mind forever, always accompanied by gore filled images of you.

"Raise the family you always dreamt of."

As if something had finally clicked, Enji nodded before he slowly made his way towards you. Hawks watched as Enji sat down beside you and talked to you. You smiled slowly before handing him a pair of gardening gloves as you taught him how to plant some flowers.

It was a good thing that Hawks cared about both of you deeply.

He was happy he was going to save his hero, Endeavour.

He was happy that he was going to start anew with you guys.

He was happy as he saw the love of his life and his goddaughter, now daughter, playing in the mud.

He was beyond ecstatic when he had slit Rei's throat in the asylum.

"What?" Hawks asks you, the person reading this story. He leans towards you, face mere inches away from yours, and smirks.

"That bitch had it coming."

So...

How was it?

Oh and yes, I will be taking asks for this (and answering some previous ones as well)

[lovely-ateez]

Favorite Place~

ꕥPosted: 3/8/21

ꕥGenre: College!au, Angst, Fluff

ꕥPairing: FemReader! x Emo!Hongjoong

ꕥWord Count: ~4.8k

ꕥWarnings: General angst (happy ending), Unknown man being creepy to reader, Characters insulting reader behind her back, Alcohol intake, Driving with a few sips of alcohol (please don’t drink and drive), Implied violence, Language, Oral (f recieving), Unprotected sex, Corruption kink, Language

ꕥA/N: Reader is a girly-girl bc we need more rep that isn’t hella negative and to actually be portrayed as smart and hardworking for once 😤 You👏can👏be👏both👏 ANyWay—thank you for bearing with me while I wrote this

I ran my hands along the open science textbook laying upon my desk, eyes scanning rapidly over the information. The pages were thin and flimsy, clearly showing the book’s age. If I wasn’t careful, the pages would rip with ease. Not that I had time to actually think about that.

In less than five minutes I, along with the twenty five other poor souls who took this class of their own volition, would be handed our last final for the class. A hundred and ten questions in an hour and thirty minutes.

The class was basically academic suicide and had I been told that, I would have stayed far, far away from the class. But no. No one bothered to run that by me.

A whiff of familiar cologne filled my nose and against my better judgement I looked up to find the class genius, Hongjoong Kim. It was bad enough that he was smart as a whip and never needed to study, but on top of it all he was a dangerous, handsome, irresistible bad boy.

He gave me a wink, a sly smile resting on his lips. I gave him the same reaction I always did: a blank face. There had been multiple times he had tried to rile me up, whether that be say something flirty or wink, or “accidentally” touch my shoulder, and I refused to give him the satisfaction of any reaction. I would keep a blank face, hoping that he would leave me alone.

I wasn’t immune to his charms. I felt butterflies in my stomach every time he looked at me just like any other girl he tried it on, but I didn’t want him to know that. The biggest reaction I had given him was an eyebrow quirk at most.

I could tell it bothered him. I knew he was frustrated that he couldn’t get me to blush or stutter my words, and that may have been part of why he kept up his antics. Probably the entire reason, knowing him. Had he not been a fuckboy, I might have fallen for him. Might have.

I returned my eyes to my book and heard his footsteps walk past me, headed to the very back of class. His usual spot.

“Alright ladies and gentlemen,” A loud clap could be heard from the front of the room, our professor signalling the start of class, “It is time for your final. I hope you all are well prepared. I ask that you remove anything from your desk aside from a pencil and I will begin to hand out the tests. You may leave as you finish, just make sure to hand me your tests before you leave. Good luck.”

Book already off my desk, I gripped my pencil, hoping six hours of studying was enough.

“Thank you.” I muttered to my professor as he placed the stack of papers on my desk.

Here goes nothing, I suppose.

-

I handed in my test with a smile, hoping that I’d pass. Taking a deep breath I stepped out of the classroom, seeing a familiar face. At the noise of my footsteps Hongjoong looked up from his phone with a devilish smile, eyes staring me down. I must’ve not noticed he turned in his test before mine, not that I was surprised. He always finished his test the quickest out of all of us.

“How’s it going, pretty-in-pink?”

Pink was my favorite color and and I wore pink clothes often, unfortunately it had earned me several unwanted nicknames, all coming from Hongjoong.

I barely bothered him a glace, “I have a name.” 

“But your nicknames are so unique to you. Don’t you love them?”

“Can’t say I do.” I walked away, not interested in entertaining him any longer than I already had.

“Farewell, princess.” He fleeted me with a honey-like voice.

Suppressing an eye roll, I gripped the straps of my backpack, ecstatic to get away from him. The more time I spent away from him the better. The less time I was with him meant there was less of a chance for me to get attached to him. I refused to let that happen.

After I left the building I grabbed a coffee and walked to the library, bracing the cold weather. I only had one final left and I needed to make sure I studied enough. Just one last push before I was done for the semester. Taking the elevator up to the third floor, I saw a familiar face who smiled at me and I sat down at his table.

“Hey! How do you think you did on the final?” Lia asked me as I took my laptop out.

“Honestly I don’t know. I don’t want to say I passed because knowing my luck, if I do I’ll fail it. I knew the majority of the answers though, so there’s that.”

“That’s a positive.” She cocked her head, observing the way my eyes were glued to my laptop, “So what are you studying for now?”

“Criminal Psychology. I don’t take it until late tomorrow but I wanna get some studying in.”

“You’ve been studying for hours, you’ll be fine. Let’s just go shopping instead.”

My ears perked and I slowly raised my head, “Damn you. You know I’m not gonna turn you down.”

A wide smile formed on her face as she placed her hands behind her head, “What are friends for?”

“Oh don’t look so cocky.”

“Why not? I’m pretty sure I’ve won here. Now let’s get going.”

Lia stood up and slid on her backpack, a smile still plastered on her face. Just as I was placing my laptop in my own backpack I heard a string of male voices and a mention of my name.

I gave Lia a look and, curiosity taking over, I snuck closer to the direction of the voices to see a group of men at a table hid behind a large stack of bookshelves. There were four of them, not a one of them sitting properly in a chair. Two were sitting on top of the table, another with his legs propped on the table, the other sitting upon a backpack which itself was on a chair. I could only see two of their faces and didn’t recognize either.

“We’ve gotta invite the token good girl, right?” A tall man with dark hair smiled, leaning back on the table.

A man with distinct dimples, clad in all black scoffed, “Y/n? Like she’d go to a party anyway.”

“She might.” Hongjoong tiled his head, allowing me to see him, black earrings swaying as he looked at the man with dimples.

Oh. He’s there, too.

“She dresses like she still believes in the tooth fairy.” A man with a blonde ponytail scoffed, “You think she’s gonna come to a party with people like us?”

I grabbed Lia’s arm to prevent her from storming over. She was upset, I was too, but I wanted to keep listening. Still, I couldn’t deny the pang of hurt I felt as I looked down at my pink skirt and cropped top. Was it a crime to like the color pink?

And I thought I looked cute today...

“You should be the last person to judge someone over the way the dress, Yeosang. You never wear anything but black. If she likes it, then she likes it. Fuck you.” Hongjoong bit back.

I felt tears welling up in my eyes. I didn’t know why he defended me, maybe he was just defending fashion for fashion’s sake and it had nothing to do with me, but it was still nice of him.

Yeosang smiled, “Damn someone’s aggressive, huh? Someone might almost think you’ve got feelings for the girl.”

Hongjoong remained silent.

“Ooh is she still not reacting to your desperate attempts to woo her?”

Hongjoong quickly became defensive, “Listen, I’m not-”

“Okay we’re not getting into this. Just invite her, you never know what she’ll say.” The dark-haired man said to Hongjoong, “And invite her friend, too. She wouldn’t go alone.”

“Yeah that’s a fair point. I’ll talk to them next time I see them.”

I turned to face Lia, whispering in her ear, “Let’s go. Please.”

Her face told me that she would much rather confront them, but changed as my eyes began to water once more. She nodded and put an arm around me, leading me out of the library.

A tear fell down my cheek as we walked. I raised my hand to wipe my face when Lia did it for me. She pulled me into a tight hug, running her hands through my hair.

“Don’t you think for a second that you’re any less of amazing. Fuck them for not seeing it.”

As she spoke more tears began to fall and my breath hitched, “But-t they-”

“No. There’s no excuse for being shitty to you, especially when you haven’t done anything to wrong them.”

I nodded, trying my best to believe her and steady my breathing.

“What can I do for you? What can I do to help?”

Releasing Lia from my tight grip I stepped back and looked in her eyes, “Nothing. Let’s just go shopping.”

My friend nodded and slipped her hand into my own, something she would always do when I needed comfort. I squeezed her warm hand, following her footsteps as she led me to her car.

“So...you’re not gonna go to the party are you?”

“Yeah I don’t think so.”

She let out a hum in approval and nodded, opening the car door for me.

As much as I wanted to take my mind off of the boys’ words, I couldn’t. No amount of retail therapy seemed to help that. I knew Lia was doing her best to make me feel better and I felt a bit guilty for bringing down the mood. She scoffed when I told her, making eye contact and emphasizing that she simply wanted to make me feel better.

Sooner than I liked, we had to part. Lia had a class in thirty minutes and I had to help out in an on-campus activity. She gave me a tight hug and a small smile, bidding me adue.

I was the Vice President of our Activities Planning Board and as such was in charge of setting up an Academic Bowl for the competing students. Unfortunately, I was having trouble setting up the large tables and my small frame just made it harder. I was confident anyone around could see that I was struggling and I huffed, hoping no one would look my way. It didn’t help that I was outside in the middle of campus, where anyone just walking by could see me.

“Do you need any help?”

I turned to find Hongjoong with his dark backpack slung over his shoulder, a concerned look on his face. Had I not desperately needed help, I would have refused.

“Yeah I do. Hold this, will you?” I nodded at the opposite side of the table I was struggling to hold.

He appeared shocked that I accepted his offer, but I didn’t dwell on it and instead lifted the table. We worked in silence aside from a few words of instruction I gave him, and I was thankful for the lack of distraction. When we set up the last table I placed my hands on my hips, looking at the tables.

Hongjoong crossed his arms, “Why were you doing this alone?”

“No one else signed up to help for the Academic Bowl, so I did it myself.” He gave a confused look so I clarified my position.

“Of course you’re the Vice President.” Hongjoong muttered.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” I faced him, feeling slightly offended.

He shrugged, “I know you’re just involved in a lot. I’m not surprised.”

Ignoring his comment, I took the conversation another direction. “Why did you help me?”

“You needed help, princess.” He answered simply.

I nodded, ignoring the nickname. “Well...thanks.”

A moment of silence followed until Hongjoong broke it, “Hey listen, there’s a party this weekend I want you to go.”

“Why?” I cocked my head.

“Why not?”

“Because I don’t know anyone that will be there.”

“You know me.”

“That’s not exactly an incentive.”

He scoffed in mock offense, “Okay first of all, ouch. Second, what if I sweeten the deal?”

My eyebrows raised, lips forming a smile, “Oh yeah? What could that possibly be?”

He faltered for a moment, his voice lowering seemingly without intent, “That’s the first time I’ve seen you smile. You’re beautiful.”

I turned from him, trying to will any semblance of a flustered expression off my face. “You were saying before?”

Hongjoong chuckled, “I’ll drive. You can even invite your friend if you want.”

“Lia?”

“Yeah. If it makes you more comfortable.”

At first, I wanted to say no. At first, I wanted to continue my streak of refusing any advance he made on me. But looking at his kind eyes, completely devoid of any malintent, I felt my heart flutter. When my mind thought back to how he had defended me in the library I felt a warmth bubbling in my chest. I pretended to ponder for a moment, even though I already knew my answer.

“Okay but I don’t...I don’t think I should tell Lia.”

“Why’s that?”

“She kinda hates you.”

He looked taken aback, “Might I ask why?”

I sighed, crossing my arms, “Don’t worry about it. So where is this party?”

He filled me in on the details and I did my best to keep up my neutral façade. I wouldn’t admit it, but I was ecstatic to see him outside of campus, my will of staying away from him faltering by the minute.

-

I stood in front of my closet for what seemed like hours, desperately trying to find something that would match the occasion. I laughed a bit to myself as I looked at the section of black clothes I had. I went through a bit of an emo phase in middle school and I just couldn’t bring myself to get rid of any of them. I debated avoiding black clothes all together, but the words of Yeosang rang in my head and I bit the inside of my cheek.

Fine. I’ll change it up. But I’ll be damned if I give up on pink.

Taking a deep breath I slipped into a light pink leather skirt reaching mid-thigh with black fishnets. I put on a black leather jacket over my black see through shirt exposing my lacy bra underneath, my pink shoes on last.

I took several deep breaths and observed myself in the mirror. It was a change, definitely. I didn’t mind black, but I wouldn’t wear just black alone. I wanted it to be more feminine.

I heard a car horn outside my apartment much sooner than I expected. Bracing for Hongjoong’s reaction, I stepped outside. I was greeted with a smug smile, the man adorning it seeming as confident as a god until he observed my clothes, his eyebrows raising.

Hongjoong’s eyes scanned over me, taking in my abrupt fashion change, “I still wasn’t entirely certain you’d go. Much less looking like this.”

My lips quirked into half-smile, “Well I can’t show up looking like I normally do.”

“Why not?”

My heart swelled at the genuine confusion evident on his face. “Some people don’t care for the way I dress.” I took a breath and continued, “I heard you and your friends in the library.”

I forced myself to look him in the eyes. I could see the gears turning in his head as he put the pieces together, a scowl forming on his face. “You don’t have to change a goddamn thing. You look great, don’t get me wrong, but you look great in pink, too. And I’m sorry if he made you feel otherwise.”

I shook my head. “It’s alright, I actually kinda like it.”

“You definitely make it work.” He swallowed, voice lowering.

“Then maybe I should wear a bit of black more often.”

The man gave a thousand dollar smile, quirking a brow that left my panties feeling slightly damp. He motioned to the car door, “Hop in, cutie.”

A friendly string of conversation followed us as Hongjoong drove. I felt my nerves starting to dissipate, his smile I once despised now bringing me comfort. And really, he was much funnier than I had believed. I found myself laughing with him more than I had in a long time. I knew my walls were falling, but I wasn’t trying to fight it anymore.

Why the hell not? He’s kind enough, and he isn’t even close to being hard on the eyes.

The car drive was much quicker than I expected, although how quickly I was unfamiliar with my surroundings through me for a loop. The trees around us became more sporadic and the sun set quicker than what seemed normal. I fidgeted slightly, prompting Hongjoong to look over at me. He intertwined my fingers with his own and I smiled, secretly welcoming his touch.

“Hey, don’t worry. I’m right here with you, okay?”

I nodded, grasping onto his hand tightly. Before I knew it, my eyes locked with the building in front of us. I took in the abandoned building in front of me, eyes widening slightly as I observed its poor condition. Large windows were shattered, vines were growing around pillars, grass peaking through what once was concrete.

“This is the most sketchy place I’ve ever seen in my life.” I spoke, feeling slightly alarmed by the building but comforted by Hongjoong’s presence.

“Oh come on, it’s not that bad.”

“I literally just saw a rat run out a broken window.”

Hongjoong suppressed a smile and let go of my hand, opening his car door and telling me to stay in place as he walked around and opened the door on my side. I hesitated as I exited the car, a bit afraid of what could possibly be inside the building.

“We can leave at anytime. If you don’t want to go in we can leave right now. I don’t want you to be uncomfortable.”

As sweet as he was being, I felt the need to prove to him that I was brave enough to enter, even if it did look like he was leading me to my death.

“Thank you, but I’m okay. We can go in.”

He smiled, leading me to an out-of-the-way entrance which seemed to lead to a different building entirely. I gave an involuntary “woah” as we entered the building. As horrific as it looked on the outside, it was gorgeous on the inside. Perfectly up kept brick walls hugged the sides of the building, lights were strung from the ceiling, arcade machines and dart boards were huddled in a corner, and of course, there was a bar with a seemingly unlimited amount of liquor. People were scattered all throughout, socializing and being generally loud. Everyone wore about the same color clothes as Hongjoong, dark as they could possibly get.

“How did you even find this place?”

“My friend Yeosang and I were just driving around and we found it one day. Decided to make it our hangout spot.”

I looked at him confused, still amazed at my surroundings. Hongjoong led me over to his familiar group of friends, assuring me that they wouldn’t bite, and introduced me to the seven men, four of which I hadn’t seen prior. I saw the color drain from a few of their faces as they saw me, likely from their words in the library, but I didn’t comment on it. Overall, they were much friendlier than I expected them to be.

“I’m gonna get a drink,” Hongjoong nudged me, “You want anything?”

“No that’s okay. I think I’m gonna check out the pinball machines. They look kinda cool.”

“You sure you don’t wanna stay by my side? I won’t take long.”

I shook my head, “I’ll be okay.”

He chucked, “Alright. I’ll grab a drink and I’ll head right over, princess.”

I bit my lip at the nickname and wandered over to the machines, surprisingly feeling comfortable in the environment, despite everything being so unfamiliar. All of the games were being used, some people clearly playing better than others.

I got lost in the artwork on the side of a particular pinball machine when a gruff voice caught my attention. “What’s a pretty thing like you doing here?”

I turned to meet a tall man with grey hair. He was young, likely in his mid-twenties, and reeked of cigarettes and a foul smell I couldn’t place.

A flash of fear ran through me and I tried to make my voice as confident as possible, “I was invited.”

“Well...that’s certainly a shame now, isn’t it? I wasn’t invited, but I decided to show up for a bit of fun anyway.”

He came closer to me, our height difference incredibly prominent as he leaned over me, “How about you give me a kiss, little thing?” I ran away as soon as the words left his mouth, hoping that he wouldn’t follow me but assuming he would. I dashed around quickly and sporadically around people, hoping I would lose him.

I looked around desperately for Hongjoong, sighing when I found him surrounded by his friends, laughing at something one of them said. I ran up to him and grabbed his arm, gaining his attention.

I hope this fucking works.

“I need you to kiss me.”

A look of confusion flashed in his eyes, “What?”

“Please kiss me.” I begged, eyes wide, disregarding the stares of his friends around us, hoping that if the man saw I was taken he’d leave me alone.

Without hesitation he wrapped his free hand around my waist—a cup of alcohol still in the other—and pulled me close, pressing his lips to my own. He kissed me hard, biting my bottom lip slightly and letting out a growl only I could hear. He wasn’t my first kiss, far from it, but no one had ever kissed me like he did. Just a kiss had never left me feeling weak at the knees. Just a kiss had ever made me feel so submissive, making me want to beg him to take me right on the spot, regardless of the fear in my veins. Even with the taste of alcohol still on his lips, his scent overtook me.

He pulled back, eyes darker than before, and raised a brow, “Care to tell me what that was about?”

Just then I realized my hands had been gripping his leather coat, pulling him just as close as he was pulling me. I looked over in the direction of where the man was before, not seeing him.

“A man was following me and he was trying to get me to kiss him a-and I didn’t know him...I just wanted him to leave me alone.”

His eyes narrowed at my words, a rage I hadn’t seen before taking over them, “What did he look like?”

“I-I don’t know he was tall and had grey hair and-”

He cursed under his breath. Keeping me just as close he turned to the men around him, their eyes narrowed as well.

“You heard that?” He asked his friends.

“Loud and clear.” San said, cracking his knuckles, a scowl on his face that scared me, even though I knew I wasn’t the one it was directed at.

“I thought we told him to never come back here.” Jongho snarled.

“We did.” Hongjoong said.

Seonghwa looked at me, nodding to Hongjoong, “Keep her safe and take her out of here. If he’s here I’m sure he’s brought friends. Yeosang, lead everyone out. We’ll take care of him.”

Hongjoong looked conflicted, obviously wanting to stay and fight, but gave into the older man’s command. “Be fucking safe,” he barked, but I could see the fear in his eyes as he looked at me, “Come on, we’re going.”

Seonghwa mumbled something to Hongjoong and he nodded in response, tossing his alcohol to the ground. I didn’t have time to ask questions as he led me out a back door, the darkness of the night equally horrifying and comforting, and quickly pushed me into his car, apologizing the entire time. He entered the key into the ignition and the car sprung to life.

“Uhh...maybe it’s not a good idea for you to drive. You’ve been drinking, right?”

“I had maybe two sips. I’ll drive safe, promise.”He gave me a small comforting smile, “Put your seatbelt on. Hold on tight, sweetheart.” His voice was calm but firm as he spoke. I nodded and did as he said, bracing as his car sped off, my heart beating in overtime.

The ride was a blur, the only things I could remember being Hongjoong’s calming voice, periodically reassuring me that things would be okay. We arrived at a foreign building which Hongjoong called his house, and only then did I let myself fall apart. I felt tears streaming down my face as my hands quivered, my head beginning to pound.

“Hey, hey look at me. You’re safe. You’re safe with me.” My teary eyes met his and I felt my heart break at the way he was looking at me, as if he had made me cry himself.

“Here, come on. Let’s get you inside, okay?”

My tears slowed as he carefully led me inside his house, sitting me down on his bed. He crouched down in front of me, wiping the tears from my face.

“I’m so sorry, princess. I didn’t realize he was going to be there. I never should’ve made you come along I’m so-”

“Who was that?”

Hongjoong sighed, “He used to be a friend of mine. We had a falling out and he became violent. One time he showed up at one of our parties with some friends of his to start a fight. We won and told him to never come back. Looks like he did.” He looked off into nowhere, regret clear on his face.

“You didn’t know,” I sniffled, “You couldn’t have known.”

I watched the muscles in his jaw tighten, his agitation still visible. I brought a hand out to reach his own, trying to comfort him. The loud ding of Hongjoong’s phone made me jump and he apologized profusely. As he took out his phone from his pants pocket I looked around his room for the first time. It looked exactly as I had expected, solid black furniture and so many band posters decorating the wall I could hardly tell what color his bedroom walls were.

Hongjoong spoke up, “I just got a text from Seonghwa. There were two other people there with him. My friends took care of them don’t worry, you’re safe.”

I nodded, pulling him into a hug and burying my face into his chest. “If you’re comfortable with it,” He started, “I’d like you to stay here. I want to know you’re safe.”

My eyes met his as he moved a hair out of my face, “I’m not pressuring you. If you don’t want to I understand.”

A hand of his ran up and down my back, tracing little patterns here and there, and I realized just how much I wanted to be with him.

“If it’s alright with you, I’d like to stay.”

He laughed, “What do you mean ‘if it’s alright with you’ I asked.”

I bit my bottom lip and looked down, a bit embarrassed.

Hongjoong laughed, “Hey, look at me.” He said in a commanding yet sweet tone that made my thighs press together. I glanced back up at him, his handsome features making me feel dizzy.

He chuckled, “What’s that look for? You got something to say to me?”

I hesitated, “Actually, I do have a question.”

“Which is?”

“Why did you chase after me?”

Hongjoong smiled, “You never gave a reaction to anything I tried. It confused me and piqued my curiosity. So I began to watch you and how you interacted with people. You’re gentle and sweet. You’re innocent and haven’t let the world tear you down. I admire that.”

He leaned closer to me, his lips brushing my ear, “And it turned me on beyond belief. I wondered how I could ruin you, thought about how I could turn you into a quivering mess as you beg for me.”

I shivered and pulled back slightly to look him in the eyes. His beautiful, dark eyes. Hongjoong let out a dark chuckle as he sat on his bed, lifting me on his lap. He gave an eyebrow raise and a crooked smile as my breath hitched while looking at him, taking him in.

How did I never notice how his dark hair falls to one side when he cocks his head and how he looks so endearing when it happens? How did I never pay attention to his soft pink lips that give way to his gorgeous smile and how much I’ve been dying to kiss them all this time? How did I not see the way his eyes form crescents when he smiles, making my heart grow ten times over?

Why did I never think to take note of how his deep voice makes my stomach do somersaults? Why was I so unaware of his tongue piercing that was leaving me wonder how it would feel on my skin? Why didn’t I observe the black painted nails of his that were currently dancing along my thighs, giving me goosebumps?

How and why did I never notice him?

“You’re such a good girl.”

And for the first time around him, I flushed.

He chuckled, “Oh? You like that?”

I nodded quickly and he said it again, smiling as my face heated up once more.

“It’s so good to see you react to what I say. I wonder...” Hongjoong leaned closer to me, “How will you react when you’re underneath me? Squirming and begging for me to touch you?”

I gave him a look of desperation and balled his shirt into my fist, trying to move him closer, “Please.”

Hongjoong lifted me off of him, quickly discarding my clothes followed by his own shirt. My eyes were guided down by his abs and I ran a hand across them without thinking, whimpering quietly.

“Is my baby girl getting needy?” He cooed.

I closed my eyes, once again nodding in embarrassment.

“How about we take care of that?”

He laid me down on the soft sheets of his bed, leaving me in anticipation as he pinned my hands above my head with a hand of his own. My eyes widened and he chuckled, running a single finger along my folds.

“You’re so unbelievably fucking wet...do I turn you on that much?”

I let out a small “yes” and he hummed in response. Placing a few kisses upon my lips, Hongjoong slowly entered two fingers into me and my back arched. His fingers curled, hitting a spot inside of me that’d I’d never been able to reach. I spread my legs as far as they could go, pleading for more, feeling tears prick my eyes.

Hongjoong spoke, his voice already dropping several octaves, “Keep your hands here, understand? I don’t want you moving them.”

I nodded, willing my hands to stay in place as his own moved to my hips, leaving kisses along my inner thighs.

“Hongjoong please.”

“Please what, princess?”

“Please touch me.”

“Oh, I think I can do better than that, don’t you?”

His lips attached to my core, tongue running through my folds and nose hitting my clit as I moaned pathetically. His hands held my hips down as I tried to buck them up, barely able to keep my hands above my head. After what felt like years, his mouth finally reached my clit and I cried out as his lips attached to it, sucking hard and leaving kitten licks. My high built up quickly and I came hard, my hands leaving their spot and pulling slightly on his hair.

“Thought I told you to keep your hands above your head, no?”

I mumbled an apology and he leaned over to kiss me, “You’re forgiven, darling.”

He seemed just as impatient as I was and without much begging the rest of his clothes were off, his dick teasing my entrance.

“God Hongjoong please I need you so bad.”

“I need you too, y/n.”

He fully entered me, cursing as he did so. I was so caught up in the feeling of him inside of me that I didn’t even register him asking me a question until he laughed at me.

“Feeling good, baby? Can’t even speak?”

I whimpered, nodding seeming to be the only thing I could manage to do. I felt his member twitch inside of me and I pleaded for him to fuck me, to give me anything. Hongjoong growled and jerked his hips up into me over and over, leaving me a moaning mess.

“Taking me so well, aren’t you? Such a good girl for me.”

The amount of praise he gave me caused a few tears to fall from my eyes, not realizing how bad I needed it until that moment. My walls clenched around him every time, causing him to groan and snap his hips into me even harder. Hongjoong’s eyes grew hazy, his dark hair sticking to his forehead.

“I’m close, darling. Be my good girl and cum for me”

His hand trailed down to my clit, rubbing tiny circles. My back arched as I came in time with him, our breaths synchronizing as we gasped for air.

He slowly pulled out of me and ran to the bathroom to grab a towel, cleaning me up. Hongjoong giggled and I raised a brow at him.

“I never thought you’d give me a chance. It’s almost like I’ve corrupted you.”

“You have. Aren’t you aware of the party I went to because of you? I almost died.”

Hongjoong laughed as he crawled into bed and pulled blankets over the both of us. He ran a hand through my hair, looking at me fondly, “You did not almost die.”

“Okay yeah but I could have. That’s what we should be focusing on here.”

“I think there’s something else I’d like to focus on.”

Hongjoong pulled me into a deep kiss, hand slithering down to my waist. His kisses trailed to my ear, a slight chuckle leaving his lips, “My pretty princess.”

I looked at him with doe eyes, slightly in awe of him, and wondered how I could’ve pushed him away for so long. I knew for certain that I had no intention of doing so ever again.

When I told him he smiled, “Good. You’ve had a grip on my heart since day one. I’d be a fool to let you get away from me.”

I blushed slightly, much to his entertainment. We snuggled up to each other in silence, listening to the sound of our synchronized breathing as I lulled to sleep, our warm fingers intertwined. My dreams filled of him.

“Sleep well, my princess. I’ll be right here when you wake.”

[cluster-fandom]

Not the day for this

Atsumu, Oikawa, and Noya prank their S/O on a bad day

Warnings: Swearing, food/eating || hospital mention, knife mention, stitches mention, and getting a cut in Noya’s (nothing descriptive just the words themselves)

A/N: This is my first time writing for multiple characters! I enjoyed this a lot 

I was heavily inspired by @kybabi​ !! Go check them out if you haven’t before :)

Atsumu

• Today was not your day at all

• You had failed a test and got in an argument with your best friend

• So all you really wanted to do was come home to your boyfriend and relax

• Unfortunately Atsumu was not aware of how your day had been going

• You both liked to poke fun at each other and this time Atsumu had planned what he thought was an amazing prank

• He couldn’t wait for you to get home

You were driving home from university to your shared apartment with Atsumu. Between the frustration of scoring low a test you had studied so hard for and getting into a dumb fight with one of your best friends, you were ready to snap. The heat didn’t help anything either. At the very least you got to come home to Atsumu. The thought of being wrapped up in your boyfriends arms had kept you from lashing out at anyone that came in contact with you.

You two had been together for over a year and while he could be insufferable at times, you adored him. He was always making you laugh through his ridiculousness, and you were the same. But your favorite memories were when he looked at you with that lopsided grin and said that he loved you.

As you walked up to your front door you noticed it was slightly open.

‘Did Atsumu forget to close the door?’ You briefly wonder before going inside where it was cool.

“Ats-OH MY GOD!”

You were drenched in ice water and the bucket that had been sitting on the door clanked to the floor.

“HEY BABE I THOUGHT YOU COULD USE SOME COOLING OFF!” Atsumu grinned, finding his prank hilarious.

“FUCKING HELL ATSUMU THIS WAS NOT WHAT I NEEDED TODAY!” You yell as you shake your arms of water.

You shove past him towards the bathroom where you could get a towel and hairdryer.

“Wait wait wait! It was just a joke I’m sorry!” He’s fumbling over his words in confusion.

He follows you into the bathroom where you were shoving things out of the way to get your hairdryer out of the cabinet.

“Babe- I’m sorry I didn’t know you’d be mad!” He whines.

You ignore him as you try to (unsuccessfully) untangle the cord of your hairdryer.

“God-dammit-“ you mumble as you only end up getting it more tangled.

“Do you want me to hel-“

“NO ATSUMU IVE GOT IT!” You snap at him.

“Why are you so mad?” He’s genuinely confused. You’ve never been this mad at a prank before?? And this wasn’t even the worst one he’s done-

“I DONT KNOW MAYBE ITS BECAUSE IM DRENCHED AND FREEZING FUCKING COLD? JUST- LEAVE ME ALONE RIGHT NOW!” You’re just done with everything and Atsumu can clearly tell he’s not making anything better at the moment so he retreats to the living room.

After you’ve dried your hair and changed into some dry clothes you went to you and Atsumu’s shared bedroom.

You were scrolling on your phone when there was a knock at the door.

Atsumu cautiously stepped into the room.

“Y/N, can we talk?”

You sighed and set your phone aside.

When you nodded, Atsumu sat on the bed in front of you.

“I’m sorry I upset you. The prank wasn’t funny,” he looked at you with guilty eyes.

“I’m not mad about the prank. I’ve just had a really bad day and it all piled up and I took it out on you. I shouldn’t have yelled, I’m sorry.”

You explained the events of your day and how you had wanted some quality time with him, and instead you had gotten an ice bath.

“I’m so sorry Y/N, I never wanted to make you feel so bad. Let me make it up to you?” He pleaded. He gave you his biggest puppy dog eyes. (🥺)

Your heart melted and of course you said yes.

He perked up immediately, rushing out of the room. He came back with an armful of snacks and settled in next to you. He switched on your favorite movie and pulled you onto his lap.

“I love you so, so much baby,” he whispered into your hair. He leaned down to press a kiss into your cheek.

“And I love you,” you whispered back.

Oikawa

• You knew that with dating Oikawa, people would be jealous

• But his fangirls could get really bad sometimes

• Today they had been following you around saying how you weren’t pretty enough, smart enough for him

• It had gotten to you a little bit

• So you were ready to be home with your boyfriend away from others eyes

• Oikawa had no clue of this though and had devised, in his mind, a brilliant prank to get a rise out of you once you got home

You were finally home to your apartment with Oikawa. He had been on his phone when you walked in and greeted you with his signature grin. After a tight hug, he said he needed to go grab something in the bedroom.

You settled down on the couch letting your body relax on the plush cushions.

*bzzt bzzt*

You looked to see that Oikawa had left his phone behind. You were about to go back to resting, until you registered the name of the sender.

You bolted upright and grabbed the phone, hoping you had read it wrong.

#1 Fangirl 😉

You and Oikawa had been together for a year and you trusted him with your entire being. But seeing that name made fear pool in your stomach.

You didn’t dare to unlock his phone, despite knowing his password, for fear of what you might find.

Your thoughts were running a mile a minute as you entered your bedroom where Oikawa was in the closet.

Was there someone else? He wouldn’t do that to you right? He seemed so happy with you. He had never said he wasn’t satisfied with anything at all. Nothing had changed recently, so was something going on the whole time? Were his fangirls right?

That last question scared you the most.

“Love?” You called out.

Oikawa had a devilish smirk on his face. He knew that you would have seen the texts by now. He had come up with the prank a few days ago and was excited for you to get smart with him and call out the obvious.

“Yes?” He called back, not looking to you.

“Who’s number one fangirl?” You said, voice shaking. You didn’t know when your vision had started going blurry.

At the sound of your shaky voice, your boyfriend whipped around, eyes wide.

“Oh Angel, it’s nobody, it was all a prank I swear,” he pulled you to his chest, “I asked Iwa-Chan to help me, that’s who’s actually sending the texts.”

“S-so you’re not cheating on me?” You hiccup slightly and Oikawa’s heart aches he wipes away a stray tear. He mentally slaps himself for making you insecure.

“Never. I would never leave you for some other girl who just wants me for my looks. You love me for who I am and I am so, so grateful to have you,” he holds you tighter to him.

Once you’ve collected yourself, you tell him about all the things that had been said to you and how it had made you doubt if you were good enough for him. He quietly listened to you talk, holding you the entire time until you were finished.

He gently lifted your face up to meet his eyes. You noticed how his jaw was clenched and his lips were pressed in a thin line.

“Y/N. I am so sorry that those people made you feel unworthy. I promise, you are more than I could have ever asked for. They won’t bother you again ok?” His voice was low, but still as gentle as ever. His eyes softened as he looked at you. He let his muscles relax and gave you a small smile.

Your heart felt full as you nodded.

“Okay, now why don’t we go to the couch and cuddle for a while. Let me show you how much I love you,” he gave your forehead a light kiss.

You smiled up at him.

“I love you Tōru.”

“I love you more, Angel.”

Nishinoya

• You were one inconvenience away from exploding

• You worked the customer service center at your malls department store (it hadn’t been your first choice but you needed money) and you had already had to deal with two Karens this morning

• The second one actually made your manager come down, who wasn’t happy about that

• So now you were at risk of losing your job

• Thankfully though you finally got to go on your lunch break

• You were excited because your boyfriend had time to spend it with you today

• You needed the pick me up and Noya’s naturally energetic personality never failed to do so

• Unfortunately, Nishinoya decided that today was the perfect day to execute his genius prank

You growled in annoyance as your keys got momentarily stuck in the lock to your apartment.

You had been yelled at three times today already. By two entitled middle aged women who wouldn’t listen to you no matter how many times you gave an explanation to them, and then by your manager who told you off for making him get involved with your “nonsense.”

You had been hanging on to your last shred of self control to not start screaming at your boss.

But you were home now and were more than ready to have a nice lunch with your boyfriend.

“Y/N! YOU’RE HOME!” You stumbled back as you were tackled in a hug.

“I made you lunch!” Noya grinned as he released you from his hold.

You giggled as he grabbed your hand to lead you to the kitchen.

Now, you loved Noya, but his cooking was, well, not edible sometimes. But he seemed to have gone pretty safe this time around.

There were two bowls of ramen with bread rolls on the side.

“Looks like someone was busy,” you tease. He rolls his eyes and motions for you to eat.

You were listening to Noya talk about his morning while you ate.

“And then I-“

“AH! HOT! HOT! HOT!” You were panting. The noodles were spicier than you could handle. You took a bite of the bread and nearly puked.

“Is- IS THAT MAYONNAISE?!?” You cough trying to get the awful tastes out your mouth. You rush to the fridge and down a glass of milk.

“Yū what the fuck?!” You say after catching your breath.

“What? I thought you said you wanted to expand your palette,” he’s wearing a smug grin.

You huff and get your things together to leave.

“Wait- don’t go!” He’s scrambling to catch up to you.

“I can’t do this today. I’ll see you after my shift,” you slam the door behind you as you leave.

You picked up a quick meal from the food court and find an empty table to eat at.

You had turned your phone off, not wanting to hear your notifications go off. The rest of your shift was uneventful thankfully, but you were still beyond irritated.

It was twenty minutes until the end of your shift when you turn your phone back on. You had about a dozen texts from Yū, which you were expecting, but you had a missed call from Tanaka from five minutes ago.

Confused, you called back.

“Hello?”

“Y/N! Uh, so you see, Noya he- well he was trying to make something up to you? Anyways, he called me over to your place and I was helping him cook and he may have accidentally, umm, cut his finger pretty bad.”

“What?! Tanaka where are you right now?” You were already gathering your things and writing a note to your boss explaining your leave.

“The hospital,” he replied.

“I’ll be there in a few minutes,” you rushed to your car.

You may have been driving way a little past the speed limit, but you were at the hospital in record time.

Thanks to the lady at the front desk, you found Yū quickly. You thanked Tanaka as he left the room, not wanting to stand around awkwardly.

“Yū! Are you okay? What were you even doing with a knife! Here let me see,” you grabbed his hand and looked it over.

His pointer and middle finger had been wrapped up in bandages, but the rest of his hand looked fine.

“They didn’t need stitches,” he said bashfully.

“Hmph you’re lucky,” you mumbled, “but why would you need to use a knife?” You searched his face. He looked away, hand rubbing the back of his neck in embarrassment.

“I was trying to make you a nice dinner. I wanted to make it up to you for lunch,” he was uncharacteristically quiet.

You gently turned his face towards you, giving him a quick kiss. His face turned bright red and he sputtered incoherently for a minute.

“I’m sorry for what I said. I was having a pretty bad morning and getting my tongue burnt off didn’t help. You’re still an amazing boyfriend though and I still love you,” you intertwined your hands with his and gave it a gentle squeeze. He smiled and leaned to touch his forehead to yours

“Does that mean we can have spicy ramen for dinner then?” He asked.

“Don’t push it.”

I hope you enjoyed! Any feedback is highly appreciated!

*I do not own Haikyuu!! or the characters only the story*

*Do not repost anywhere, all credits to me*

[ssa-babygirl]

Out of My League [Part 1]

Pairing: High school!Spencer Reid x Popular!Reader

Word count: 3.7k (god i don’t shut up do i)

Summary: Spencer begins tutoring you in chemistry, and the two of you bond (I would say no pun intended but fuck it that was GOOD so I’ll say pun intended)

Warning(s): Mentions of bullying, mental illness, some swearing, I made one joke about herpes??? sorry if thats a sore spot with anyone, light angst and pining, Reader POV

Author’s Note: Here it is, folks!! The first official part! I’ so grateful for all the feedback I got on the prologue, I’m glad y’all are liking it, I hope you like this part just as much!! Next part I’m gonna have some baby spencer, and by that I mean whole ass adult spencer that just looks baby

[Previous Part] [Series Masterlist]

You absolutely despised chemistry. It’s boring. It’s simultaneously stupid and ridiculously complicated. You weren’t dumb, you were a decent student in all your other classes, but science was never your strong suit. You preferred literature over litmus paper any day. Unfortunately, your failing grade was bringing down your entire GPA, just below the requirement for you to stay on the cheerleading squad. Your coach recommended you get a tutor, or else you were off the team. So you went to the library to see the peer tutoring program, and all of them were booked. The next best thing would be the kid genius in your class. He was probably a better first choice, honestly, but you figured he’d be booked with other students too.

He wasn’t like other kids in your class, not just because he actually cared and was a good student, he was also twelve years old. The kid was a prodigy. He was bullied a lot because of this because no one really understood him. That’s probably why he looked so terrified when you approached him after class one day.

“Hey, Spencer!”

His eyes grew wide as he stared back at you, saying nothing.

“I was just wondering if you were available for tutoring?”

“Oh, uh, um, y-yeah, in chemistry?”

“Yeah, what are your rates like? Like say we do an hour every other day, how much would that be?”

“Oh! N-no charge.”

“Really?”

“The first couple of sessions can be a trial run, I don’t want your money if you’re not benefiting from it.”

That made you smile, this kid was so nice and you just wished that people actually cared about that instead of the dumb shit they bullied him for. Sure, he was skinny and short and dorky and you know, a literal twelve-year-old boy, but if someone would take time to know him, they’d see he’s a good kid.

“That’s sweet of you, but I don’t wanna waste your time if you have other students.”

“I don’t, so that shouldn’t be a problem.”

“Great! Are you free after school today?”

He nodded and avoided all eye contact before scurrying out of the room to his next class.

~~~

You met up later in the library. You greeted each other politely with simple hi’s and hey’s and nothing more. Then it was time to pour over your books for an hour and try to force the puzzle pieces into place and hope something finally clicked. Balancing molecular equations physically hurt. Just when you thought you got it all right, Spencer reminded you that you still had to balance the oxygen, which was always bonded with something else, which threw off the whole equation. Every time you made a mistake you just let out a groan and set your head on the table.

“It’s a lot of math, a lot of people have a hard time with it, don’t feel bad.”

“I’m so fucking stupid.”

“You’re not! It’s an easy mistake.”

“You don’t make mistakes like that.”

“That’s because I’ve been taking advanced math classes for the past two years, I’m good at this stuff.”

“You’re good at everything, you're a literal genius.”

“There are people who aren’t geniuses who are good at this sort of thing, just look at Johnny Abrams in our class. He answers every question Mrs. Gustin asks and I once saw him put his backpack on his car’s roof and start driving ‘cuz he forgot it was there. He’s just been practicing. That’s why we’re here, right?”

He always reassured you. Always told you that you weren’t stupid. You weren’t dumb. He always smiled when you got questions right and told you you were doing a good job. When your hour was up, you said goodbye and went home. 

Spencer’s mini lectures aside, most of your sessions were sparse in the conversation department. The first time he went off on a side about some chemistry facts, you couldn’t keep up. You just sat there, jaw hanging while he went into detail about saponification, which wasn’t even in this lesson.

“Sorry, I’m rambling.”

“Did we learn that in class? Cuz if we did, I’m screwed.”

“No, not yet at least.”

“How do you just… know that?”

Spencer avoided your eyes once again, something he did more than spouting random facts, “I read a lot.”

That’s how it happened the first time. All it took was you asking one question about different types of reactions for him to launch into another spiel. You figured you’d have to know it at some point, so you started writing down whatever you could catch from his fast-paced speech, taking notes in bullet points.

“And that-- Oh. Y-You don’t need to do that, that’s not even on the curriculum.”

“Well, I gotta keep up with you somehow, right?” You glanced up from your page and flashed an almost challenging smirk as you saw him stifle a smile as he avoided all eye contact with you, as per usual. He then cleared his throat and got back to the actually assigned chapter.

The more he went off on tangents, the more he realized you weren’t stopping him. He was actually able to make chemistry sound interesting to you, which is strange, but it was easier to understand through how he explained it all. Something told you that he wasn’t used to having someone listen to what he said, because he just lit up when he talked about this stuff. He was clearly passionate about it, so why would you make him feel bad about it? He always apologized, but you always reassured him it was no big deal. 

You didn’t know it at the time, but the kid was falling hard. This pretty, older girl was paying attention to him and didn’t think he was annoying? The bar may have been on the floor for young Spencer, but you were perfect to him. Eventually, he was able to look you in the eyes when you spoke to one another, he even smiled at you when you joked with him. That was another thing: you joked with one another now. You both warmed up to one another as your sessions continued. You said hi to each other in the hallways, you ruffled his hair as a greeting, he accepted your high-five requests every time you got something right.

You still didn’t talk outside of class much, which is why he was caught so far off guard by you calling his name from across the cafeteria as you approached his table.

“Hey, dude! Is it cool if we squeeze in an extra session today? I got a test tomorrow.”

“Y-Yeah, no problem, but, uh, it’s Thursday. Don’t you have practice after school?”

You did. And you had to be there because you had a competition this weekend.

“Yeah, I was wondering if we could meet after?”

“When does it end?”

“Five.”

“Library closes at four.”

“I know, but would it be too much of a hassle if I just… Pick you up tonight and we head back to my house to study?”

You could physically see his brain shut down in his eyes. After he realized he needed to respond, he picked his jaw up off the floor and gulped hard.

“Or you can stay after and hang out at practice and I can just drive you home?”

“Y-Yeah, um, yeah, tha-that works, I can, uh, yeah, we can do that.”

Spencer brought his books and homework and tried his hardest to not make it obvious he was staring at you while you danced. You looked like you were having so much fun and he loved seeing you happy and smiling with your friends like that, it was hard for him to look away and focus long enough to read a sentence, which is saying something, considering it does not take him long to read a sentence. 

After practice wrapped up, you told him to go wait by your car while you changed out of your uniform. The girls in the locker room were talking just as loudly as always, only this time, it was about something you actually cared about hearing.

“I mean, really, what was that little creep doing watching us today?” You heard one girl sneer.

“So fucking gross, I don’t wanna know where his prepubescent head was.” Another girl laughed.

You had to step in. You had to say something.

“I’m his ride home. He’s my chemistry tutor and I have a test tomorrow, so back off the kid, he didn’t do shit to you anyway.”

The squad learned to watch their mouths around you after that.

~~~

The neon glow of the golden arches shone through your car’s windows as you pulled into the McDonald’s drive-thru line.

“This isn’t your house,” noted Spencer, sounding confused.

You grinned, “Oh, shit… no way! Wow! I’m so glad my tutor is a genius! I would have never guessed this was not my family home!”

He let himself laugh for a moment, “Okay, okay, fine. Why are we here?”

“Uh… to get food? Duh.”

“But what about your food at home?”

“My mom’s visiting my dad, he works in D.C., and I haven’t gotten a chance to go grocery shopping this week, so I can’t cook for you. What do you want?”

“You don’t have to get me anything.”

“No, I insist, it’s almost dinner time. Lemme get you something. As a thank you for squeezing in an extra cramming sesh?”

“It’s fine! Really.”

“Hey, Reid, come on,” you attempt to stifle a stupid giggle as you gesture to the rather large window displaying the playroom inside, “you are a guest in my home!”

Spencer shakes his head and chuckles, but doesn’t dare let you think he found you funny, “I’ll have chicken nuggets.”

“Happy meal?”

He tried to look offended at your clarification, but he quickly dropped the facade, “Yes. Extra fries, please.”

“Of course, buddy.” You pulled up further to the ordering station, catching a glimpse at the menu and the ads they had displayed on it, “Oh no way! They have Strawberry Shortcake toys! I used to collect those when I was a kid!”

Spencer saw the look on your face and couldn’t help but smile at your childlike excitement, “Do you want my happy meal toy?”

You bit your lip and hesitated before throwing all shame to the wind and saying yes. Because it was Spencer. He got excited over chemistry, he had no right to judge you on your old Strawberry Shortcake doll collection.

After you got your food, you drove back to your house, and you ate together at your kitchen island while Spencer quizzed you on the last chapter. He had asked you eighteen questions so far, and you had answered all of them correctly. 

“Okay, this last one is for the Strawberry Shortcake--”

“Her name is Orange Blossom.”

“Whatever, this last one is for the Orange Blossom toy: Which type of reaction is represented by this equation?” He showed you his notebook where he had written a molecular equation.

“Substitution.”

“Correct! Now balance it.”

Your shoulders slouched as the pride drained from your body.

“Please don’t make me.”

“This is going to be on the test, Y/N, you have to know it.”

“What’s one wrong question, really?”

“You and I both know she’s not going to put just one balancing question on the test.”

“Fine.” You grumbled, grabbing a pencil and sliding his notebook closer to you. You worked it out after a few minutes, but everything looked right, and judging by Spencer’s proud grin, everything was.

He reached for the figurine, still in the plastic bag, and handed it to you, “You’re gonna do great tomorrow, Y/N.”

You took Orange Blossom from his hands and danced around the kitchen with it, overwhelmed with the sudden feeling of confidence you gained from nailing this practice session. You heard Spencer’s small laugh from behind you, causing you to turn around and face the boy as he lovingly mocked you.

Studying at your place became a regular thing after that, even when your mom was home. She loved him. She always invited him for dinner if she was home. He rarely took her up on the offer, but it was nice having him around the house with you. Study sessions turned into just plain hanging out. You spent more time bonding over Doctor Who than chemistry some nights, and he wouldn’t have it any other way.

~~~

When Alexa Lisben invited him to meet her at the football field you were skeptical. You had good reason to be. She was never very nice to you or Spencer. You were able to be civil with her for the sake of the cheerleading squad, but something about her just didn’t sit right with you. You tried to warn him, but he wouldn’t listen. He seemed offended at the notion that Alexa would do something horrible to him. How dare you imply that the only reason someone would be interested in him would be to pull a fucked up prank?

“I’m not like you, Y/N, I don’t have a line of people waiting around for a date, no one’s ever had a crush on me before, and-and now that someone other than you is being nice to me, you’re telling me that they have some sort of ulterior motive?”

“Spencer. I know these girls, I’ve seen the guys they go for--”

“And I’m not like them?”

“No! You’re a sweet kid, you’re nothing like those guys and they’re gonna take advantage of that.”

“I really wish everyone would stop saying I’m just a kid!”

“You’re not! That came out wrong--”

“Listen, Y/N, I’m going whether you want me to or not, so if you really want to keep babying me, by all means, stay after and wait with me.”

“I don’t wanna baby you!”

“So stop it!”

You didn’t want to fight with him anymore, you weren’t his mother. “Ok, Spencer, fine. I’m sorry. You should go. How about you meet me in the library after and you can tell me all about it over McDonald’s? My treat.”

He warmed up and agreed.

So you waited in the library until four, and then you started to get worried. You went to grab something from your gym locker before you left to look for him and heard some girls from the squad gossiping about “the little dork.” Your blood started to boil as you heard the way they talked about Spencer. Your jaw only clenched harder as you recognized one of the girls’ voices as Alexa Lisben’s.

You poked your head around the lockers that divided the aisles and tried to manage a calm voice, “Hey Alexa? Spencer actually said he was meeting up with you today, do you know where he is?”

She just laughed and said, “I can’t believe you actually care about that loser.”

“He’s my friend.” All attempts to remain level-headed were tossed aside, “Where the fuck is he, what did you do to him?”

You could feel yourself starting to cry. It’s your fault, you weren’t there, you tried to warn him, but now you don’t know where he is or what he’s thinking or--

“Check the field.”

You sprinted out to the football field and saw him stripped down to his briefs, blindfolded, and tied to a goal post. You could kill Alexa. You actually considered turning right around and unleashing hell on that locker room, but your friend needed help. He was crying so hard he didn’t hear you coming until you called his name. You immediately went to untie him and grab his clothes from the fence beside him.

“You were right.” He sniffled, “I’m so sorry.”

“Don’t apologize, I’m not mad, I’m sorry, I should have been there, I could have helped you--”

“No, you couldn’t. There were too many people.”

“How many were there? Who did this?”

“Y/N, please--”

“No, Spencer, tell me what happened.”

“I don’t wanna talk about it!”

You know when to stop, so you just shut your mouth while he got dressed, “Get in the car, I’m taking you home.”

You didn’t say a word to him as he buckled his seatbelt and you could tell he appreciated it. You just drove to McDonald’s and got him his usual. You parked in the parking lot and ate your food in almost silence, save for the radio in the background.

“You don’t have to tell me what exactly happened, you could pretend none of this ever happened, I won’t mind, it’s okay, but I just need you to know, Spencer, say the word and she’s dead. I have so much dirt on her, you have no idea, I can destroy her.”

“Don’t.”

“Okay, I won’t. At least give me names. I will personally make sure none of those boys ever get a date again.”

“Y/N, please.”

“I’m serious, I’ll tell everyone they have herpes.”

“I know you are and that’s what scares me, please don’t, I don’t wanna make things worse.”

You decide to drop it because if he doesn’t wanna talk about it, he needs a distraction.

After you finish your food, you ask him “Your house or mine?”

“Yours. Please.”

You drove back to your house and got yourselves set up on the couch in front of the TV, turning on an episode of Doctor Who that you had recorded. You made him popcorn as he curled up on your couch, clutching a pillow. You were mostly quiet for the rest of the night, but when you did talk, it was to ask him a question about the show or if any of the science was accurate. It was the best you could do to keep him mind off things. Eventually, he fell asleep and you felt too bad to wake him. He got up by himself around midnight, jolting awake as if from a nightmare, and considering how the last few hours had been for him, it probably was one.

“Hey, bud, I’m here, it’s me.” You didn’t touch him, knowing he got overstimulated sometimes when he got really stressed, but he felt around for you on the couch next to him, needing to know you were really there this time. You patted his hand when it reached across the cushion for you.

“What time is it?”

“Way too late for you to be here, let’s get you home.”

He nodded, slowly rising to his feet and looking for his backpack, which you reminded him he had left in the car. Your hand hovered above his head for a moment before he lazily drifted into you as he walked. You took this as an okay to touch him, so you ruffled his hair before loosely slinging an arm around his shoulders as you guided him to your car.

The drive back to Spencer’s wasn’t too long, thankfully, because you were sure his parents would be furious with him and the kid’s been through enough today. You wanted to take all the heat without making them think you kidnapped him. The lights were still on when you pulled into the driveway. They were probably worried sick about him.

When you knocked on the door, a frantic woman with short blonde hair opened it. When she saw Spencer, she grabbed him by the wrist and pulled him into the house, never breaking eye contact with you.

“Who are you? What are you doing with my son?”

“He didn’t do anything wrong, Mrs. Reid. I’m Y/N, he’s been tutoring me.”

“How do you know me? Spencer, what did you tell her?” She looked at him and back at you, “Get off my property and stay away from us!”

“Mom, she’s a fr--”

“Go up to your room, don’t come out.” She didn’t sound like an angry parent reprimanding her son, she sounded almost... scared.

A million alarms were going off in your head, and you needed to try to get through to her, “Ma’am, I’m sorry, he was helping me study and we lost track of time, it’s not his fault.”

“I don’t care, I don’t know you, get off my property!”

You decided it was best not to argue, so you hurried back to your car and drove home as quickly as possible so you could shower and go to bed and pray that Spencer would be okay tonight.

~~~

Your phone rang early the next morning. You rolled out of bed to answer it, sprinting to the hall table to take it off the stand. Checking the caller ID, you realized it was from a number you didn’t recognize. Answering it, you heard Spencer’s voice on the other side.

“Hello, this is Spencer, is Y/N home?”

“Yes, you woke me up on a Saturday morning, where else am I gonna be, kid?” Your voice was scratchy as you struggled to fight off the sleep still clawing at your throat.

“Sorry about that. I was just calling to apologize for last night.”

“No, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to get you in trouble.”

“N-No, I’m not in trouble, I just wanted to explain why my mother was all--”

“She was worried, I get it.”

“N- she… My mother is a paranoid schizophrenic, she doesn’t do well with strangers. She doesn’t even remember what she said to you last night, she was having one of her episodes. She was just confused.”

You didn’t know how to respond. You were so shocked by his sudden revelations, you just stayed silent. You didn’t want him to think he scared you, so you had to say something. And apparently, that something was “Oh.”

“She wanted to apologize, but she’s just a bit embarrassed, so I called for her.”

“N-No, it’s okay, I…” It was suddenly so hard to say you understood because while it made sense to you, you wouldn’t fully understand what he or his mom was going through, you didn’t understand it, but Spencer didn’t seem to mind. He was just glad it didn’t bother you. After the events of yesterday, he couldn’t afford to lose you.

“Tell her I’m sorry I scared her.”

“Will do. She said you could come over so she could apologize personally and meet her if you want.”

“I’d love to. And Spence?”

You felt him take pause. You never called him that before, “Yeah?”

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I didn’t wanna scare you.”

“You wouldn’t scare me, dude, you can tell me anything.”

“Really?”

“I promise. I’ll see you Monday?”

Spencer nodded, but you couldn’t see him, so he spoke up through the lump in his throat, “See you Monday.”

Taglist ~~~~~~

(Lmk if you wanna be added!!)

@lawnmoa @ellvswriting @reidsmyhusband-emilysmymistress @baby-pogue @rottenearly

[thoughtfullyyoungduck]

Schooling

A/N: hi anon! From what you’re requesting it’s pretty obvious that you’re struggling a grave bit with schooling and as someone who has been there (literally, I changed my major five times), I want to assure you that everything always falls into place the way it should be. I believe in you! 

Also, as i was posting this I remembered that I don’t know how schooling works in the USA so I just wrote it from a Belgian perspective. 

Summary: could u do a richie x reader where reader wants to be a musician but their parents are forcing them into sum hard uni course, but the readers getting awful grades and then accidentally applies to a random easy program instead of the hard one and freaks out tht her future ruined, so richie convinces the reader she doesn’t need to worry bc she’ll be a famous musician instead

High school was not a thriving environment for you. You had your friends, the losers club, who you adored and couldn’t imagine your life without, but you were also bullied relentlessly, and you weren’t fond of the studying part of the school dynamic. No one is, supposedly, but compared to Stan and Ben – both possessing the motivation and drive to put it in the effort, and Richie and Mike who were effortlessly smart, you felt lost.

The idea of college was the only thing holding you up, the only motivation to get through your high school years. That musical course you planned on taking was a bright light at the end of the tunnel. In hindsight’s, you accumulated way too much pressure on yourself for imagining college to be this amazing place where you would get to thrive in life. The reality was a lot more grim.

The first problems arose in choosing your major. Your friends had all zoned in on one – or were getting close to at least-, but you were clueless about what the right thing to do was. There were worlds apart between what you thought would truly bring you joy in life, and what your parents were manipulating you into choosing.

Your parents, at least when you’re younger, have the biggest influence on your view on the world and the way you see yourself fit in it. When your parents pushed you towards a biology degree, and kept at it for months, you agreed.

From day one, you knew it had been a mistake. You shared a few classes with Stan, and those all went over fine -because you had a friend around that you needed to stay strong for-, but the moment you had your first class, a deep feeling of dread settled inside you. Despite not enjoying high school like some might, at that moment you hoped for a miracle to turn back time.

Tests passed by in a flurry, and as each one got progressively worse, your mental health followed suit. You were caught in a visions cycle of bad grades and bad emotions, and it drained you so bad that anything that could potentially have anything to do with school, like emails, send you into a frenzy.

The inevitable happens on a Wednesday after school. You wasted a lot of time thinking of what could be, and winded up at the school that organized the musical course. On the home page of the sight, there had been a test titled: ‘is our schooling up your lane?’, and you, snorting with irony, took it to be coy. They asked a bunch of personal questions, and you didn’t think anything of it, until you received and email to state that you had started your admission to the school. The month long building tension snapped, and you started crying hysterically. You weren’t sure what you had done and if it was even anything to worry about, but everything got to be too much, and you wanted your best friend with you.

Richie arrived a mere ten minutes after your phone call, and let himself in to your bedroom where you were still crying on the bed. Thank god your parents weren’t home.

‘What’s up with you?’ Richie asked incredibly, sinking down on his back next to you on the bed. You appreciated the lack of fake sympathy and pity.

‘Same old,’ was the only thing you could come up with to say. You didn’t know if you had the energy to rehash everything again.

‘Your schooling again?’

‘It’s my schooling everyday Richie. It’s important.’

‘Is it as important as hanging out with me?’ It coaxes a laugh out of you, but the lighthearted moment is quickly squashed. You can’t shut off your kind and live in the moment. With everything you do, the reality slams on you, never allowing you to have a break.

‘Yes Richie. I know that school doesn’t matter to you, but it does to me. My parents will kill me if they find out I applied to this course. Help me.’

Your leg begins to bounce, a sign that your anxiety is taking over completely. Richie can recognize the signs, as he himself displays them often.

‘Calm down y/n, you’ll just follow the music program and became a musician. I’ll pay you to be my support act, and all of the losers will come to watch us. It’ll be fine.’

‘For you maybe, but my parents will kill me when they find out.’ It’s true. Before you enrolled in biology, you had already hinted at maybe following a music path, and your mom had shut it down faster then you could even finish your sentence.

Richie snorts. ‘Your parents are mad at you all the time. Who cares, in a few years you’ll be out of there and you won’t have to listen to them ever.’

‘But-‘

‘Y/N/N, come on’, Richie interrupts cheerfully. He throws one of his legs atop your to stop your leg from moving. ‘You’re stressing over nothing. If you can tell Bowers to fuck if you can do anything.’

‘Well Bowers was nothing, he’s just pathetic. This’, you empathizes ,‘is my future Richie.’ You sigh, completely disheartened. Your pc screen is lit up, and you notice a new email pop up from your new school. You can’t take it, why can’t you have a few moments to collect your thoughts?

‘What if I’m not good enough?’ You ask him quietly, sagging against Richie for support. It’s now that your true stress comes out. Your parents views are a problem, but if you were truly convinced that you could do it, you would go against their wishes anyway. ‘What if I do this, and I have to hear about how disrespectful I am for years, and it doesn’t pay off?’

Cruelly, Richie laughs. That’s weird. Richie is never fully serious, he always has a way to alter a situation into something cheerful, but he’ll never be intentionally rude.

‘Please? Not being good enough? You’re the best musician I’ve ever seen and heard.’

‘We live in Derry, that’s not saying much.’

‘I mean it. My second favorite thing is listening to you with your instrument, my favorite is still fucking Eddie’s mom though.’ A mom joke while you were debating over your major was not something you were aiming for, but hey, it’s Richie. Are you really surprised?

‘What do I do if I fail?’

‘You won’t. But if you do, you can always do that one year school thing right? You have the rest of your life to do the adult thing, why not choose your happiness now?’

It’s profound in a way Richie isn’t often -and in a way that people don’t credit him enough-. He has a hard time being serious, but you know that once he is, he always tells the truth. Maybe this time, he is too.

��You truly believe that?’

‘It’s as true as my wang is long.’

‘Gross’, you protest, but his words light a fire under u. It gives you a whole new wave of confidence, a way to see things from a different perspective. Why wouldn’t you go for it and take the chance? Why should you be stuck doing something you take no pride or joy in. Your parents will be a problem, but this is not the life they have to life. They have made their own decisions, and now it’s time for you to take yours. Are you willing to do something for the rest of your life simply for your parents approval?

Another email filters in, one to confirm your decision to enroll in the new major. Richie intertwines your hands, offering up more strength to do what you have to. With one last encouraging smile, you nod to yourself, and press accept.

[generalfoolish]

Feel The Heat

Part Three: Architect

Rating: 18+ (minors take a hike)

Warnings: Alcohol consumption, implied drinking and driving (hey! don't do this!), some making out, mentions of sex but no actual sex, and some trauma reflection.

Word count: 3k

Pairing: Frankie “Fish” Morales x OC Juniper Collins

Summary: Idiocy continues. June and Frankie have a date, and a sleepover.

A/N: Hey babes! Sorry for this one in advance. She's not my best. She's also a hundred percent filler. We love her because she's necessary, though. I know it's a little shorter, but I have finals and a million other ideas keeping me from putting the work in. Also, I kind of like where I left it. Feel free to yell at me. Enjoy, anyway 💕

Masterlist | Part Two | Part Four

June took another sip of the wine, she had nearly drained the bottle; and she didn’t even want to know what number beer Frankie was on, but it was good. They had been propped up in the restaurant for long enough that the waiter stopped coming over.

“So what’s Fish about? I’m dying to know.” She asked brazenly, her cheeks tinged pink from the wine, and though her lipstick was long gone, her lips were stained red.

“Ah, I was wondering if you were gonna ask. It’s...not interesting.” He finally said, and they both laughed. “I like to fish, and the spot I go to has a bunch of catfish. I’ve been that way since forever, and in basics the name just stuck. Catfish, that is. The guys shortened it later to just Fish, which is...unfortunate.” June leaned forward on her elbows, and listened. She realized she was in trouble. This man could make anything sound interesting.

“Why’d they need to shorten it? Catfish is pretty easy to say.” She mused, more to herself than him. He took a sip of his beer.

“It was in spec ops, and it was just a mouth full during the shit.” He told her, glancing down. She took the hint.

“Do you eat catfish? I don’t really like it.” She admitted.

“What? No, that can’t be right. It’s great.” He laughed, and took another sip.

“Yeah, great if you love eating a muddy bottom-feeder.” She retorted, rolling her eyes.

“You like shellfish? Lobster? Because, I got news for you.” He said, smirking, and she laughed.

“Can you cook it?”

“Of course, I can.” He scoffed.

“Then I guess you’ll just have to cook some for me.” She teased lightly, the alcohol swimming in her mind.

“No way.” He said flatly. Her face fell, and he continued. “You want to eat it, you gotta catch it first.” She grimaced and shook her head.

“Not so much for fishing.” She explained, dropping her eyes from his gaze.

“What do you do then? Besides, follow my every movement.” He added playfully and she laughed.

“I took up gardening recently.” She reminded him, tilting her wine cup towards him. Samantha wasn’t too far off, he was pretty great.

“It’s a little late in the season, to start.” He told her gently. She squared her shoulders before letting them fall.

“Yeah. I had this great plan, until I thought about it at all. Day drinking has gotten me into more difficult spots though.” She huffed out a laugh. “See, there’s this grumpy farmer I wanted to impress. I wanted to...well, it sounds stupid now, but I wanted to prove that I wasn’t just a pretty face. I was going to bring you something I had grown.” She laughed, and wiped her eyes. “I didn’t think about growing seasons, or the fact that it takes a miserably long time for anything to actually grow.” He laughed with her easily, and she smiled.

“I can’t wait to see what you grow, and I hope you’ll consider me when you have to give most of it away so it doesn’t spoil.” He chuckled, but she could tell he was being earnest.

“I also write.” She blurted out. She was looking to change the subject before it got too deep, before they could get tangled in the implications, and the first thing that came to mind was something she hadn’t told anyone. Ever. The only person who knew she wrote was her publicist, and even she knew June under her pseudonym. She flushed, and tried to backpedal. “I mean it’s not a big deal. It’s really just like not a big deal at all.” He studied her face carefully, before speaking.

“Sounds like not a big deal,” He repeated, each word weighted. “But, if you ever want to tell me about it, I would love to hear.” He smiled and leveled his gaze at hers. She felt incredibly stupid for even bringing it up, but he had managed to give her a graceful out. She wondered if she shouldn’t tell him. She had no idea if this was even a date anymore, and she wanted the weight off her chest. She squared her shoulders again.

“Okay, you drug it out of me,” she laughed, and downed her glass. “I am a published author and no one in my real life knows.” She didn’t follow up. Her words hung in the air, heavy and bloated, before he cleared his throat.

“Why would you share that with me?” The confusion was apparent on his face, and it wasn’t what she was expecting. He looked incredibly touched at the gesture, as if she had just given him access to her most intimate secrets. She paused, and realized dumbly that she had. She had absolutely just revealed to him what might be her darkest secret; and as tame as it was, it was hers.

“I don’t really know.” She said flatly. She felt odd though, as she didn’t regret it. In fact, she felt relieved. “It feels good though.” She assured him.

“What have you published?”

“A half dozen novels about cowboys.” She told him, lamely.

“Cowboys?” He asked with a smile dancing on his lips.

“Cowboys.” She repeated with her own coy smile. “It’s a series, and it is not popular. But, I love it, actually.” She continued, a little bashful. “I lost money the first few years, but sales are actually picking up. I’ll never make my living that way, but I love it just the same.” Her cheeks were blazing hot, and  she finished in a whisper. He nodded, feeling that much closer to her.

The waiter came over to tell them that they should leave, and the pair laughed at how long they’d been sitting and talking. June was disappointed to bring the night to a close, but knew she had class in the morning. Frankie walked her to her car, and leaned heavily against it.

“You going to be alright to drive home?” She asked, watching him sway slightly.

“No.” He told her flatly, a chuckle following. “I’ll get a cab.” She rolled her eyes.

“How old are you? Get in, I’ll take you home.” She told him, pulling him around to the passenger side. He fought her a little.

“I’m out of the way, I don’t want you to have to back track.”

“Fine, we can go back to mine, and in the morning I’ll drop you by your truck. This is on my way.” The proposition was out in the world before she considered it. The words were hanging between them before she had a chance to worry the details out. It seemed simple enough, but the implications went deeper than she was ready to admit. Her worries were confirmed when she heard him suck in a sharp breath.

“I’d hate to impose…” He trailed, but she was already unlocking her car and shoving him in.

~~~

“Of course, I’ll take the couch, you’re my guest.” She told him, huffing in finality. He crossed his arms. Frankie had only barely agreed to the sleepover; he wasn’t getting bullied in the sleeping arrangement.

“No way. I’m not letting you sleep on the couch in your own home.”

“The couch is comfy, though. I slept there last night.”

“All the more reason you should get a proper night’s rest in your bed.” They glared at each other, and Frankie won. Or, so he thought.

“Fine. We’ll both sleep on the couch.” His laugh was sharp and loud, ripped out without warning. He wasn’t sure if it was the booze, but everything June had said had warmed his insides.

“That’s reasonable.” He agreed, and without thinking too much about the movement, he pulled her to the couch with him. He had meant for it to be smooth, and maybe a little romantic. Instead, it was messy and tangled, but when she landed face to face with him it was hard to argue his methods. He felt her breath on his lips, and he leaned forward, testing the waters, and skimmed his lips against hers. She responded in kind, pressing her lips to his with more urgency.

Frankie shifted June so that he was seated and she was straddling him. He pushed back into her kiss, and deepened it slightly. He ran his tongue against her lips, and when she parted them, he slipped his tongue in, tasting and exploring inside her mouth. He licked under her tongue, sucking it slightly, and managed to pull a soft moan from her. He pulled back for air, and noted how her pupils were blown black with lust, her bright eyes darkened. He wondered for a second if his own were so dark, and then she was on him again. She kissed and licked down his jaw and neck, before focusing on his ear. She nibbled the lobe, licked and sucked the sensitive skin around it.

When she pulled away, he almost whined at the loss. She was panting a little, and already swinging her leg off of him. He frowned at her movements, but didn't stop them. She sat heavily beside him, and pecked his cheek.

"Not that I don't want to continue...I just don't think it's a great idea. We've both been drinking, and it's a school night." The realization hit her like a brick wall. "Crap! Frankie! Do you need to get home to Liv?" He chuckled in response, which let her calm down a bit.

“No, she’s at a friend’s house tonight.” June breathed a sigh of relief, and Frankie felt his lips tug up. “Thanks for checking, though.” She nodded, and he just waited, not sure what she wanted next. He hoped it was more than making out. She cleared her throat and faced him, and he felt his smile fall. She looked too serious for anything light., and he braced for impact.

“The way I see it, Frankie, is we have two options here. One, we go upstairs, and I fuck you out of my system.” He inhaled sharply, and swallowed heavily. He could have laughed, if he wasn’t so shocked. “Option two, I go upstairs, alone, and tomorrow I take you to your truck. After that, maybe we can have another dinner...or maybe I’ll go fishing with you.” He did chuckle at her scrunched up face, this time. He considered her options for a moment.

“Why not a third, where both options play out?” He was teasing, mostly. Mostly, he assured himself.

“Well, that doesn’t work for me. I have had too many option three relationships take a nosedive, and I want to give this a chance. But, if you’re not interested in seeing where we could go, then let’s get on with the fun part.” He studied her face, etching every crinkle and freckle to memory. It was so intimate, he realized, being this close without touching. He wanted to take her upstairs. He didn’t really want to even take her upstairs, the couch was fine. She had been burning him since they had met, and he had had every opportunity to reach out and extinguish it. He hadn’t, and he knew why. He knew they could have something here. He had just spent hours with her, and he was already missing her presence. It wasn’t a choice he had to think hard about. He wanted to see her again. But, he wanted her tonight.

He leaned in and kissed her lips gently, pulling away before it could turn into anything more.

“Option two, please.” He noticed her eyes light up, but restrained himself. He could just kiss her all night, if she’d let him. He watched her leave the couch and disappear into another room. He took the opportunity to steady his breathing, and hopefully, calm himself down. She returned with an armful of blankets and pillows. He took them from her, and she stepped away, putting more distance between them than necessary.

“I have some old pajama shorts and a t-shirt from an ex, if you would like something more comfy to sleep in.” She offered, tossing a thumb behind her. He nodded as he made up the couch, not watching her disappear upstairs. She came back quickly and handed them off. He tried not to imagine who had left these behind, which option they had picked.

“Goodnight, Frankie. Kitchen is that way if you need water or anything. Bathroom is there, and I apologize for not having more sleepover supplies, it’s been...awhile.” She apologized, laughing. He waved her off.

“Goodnight, Ms. Collins. Sweet dreams.” He watched her retreat slowly upstairs before turning back to the couch. He was in trouble.

~~~

June tossed for a few hours before relenting. She’d never get to sleep otherwise, she told herself as she slipped her hand beneath her cotton shorts. No, she was too worked up, she reasoned as she made contact with her clit. She came hard in only a few minutes, thinking about how hard Frankie had been against her on the couch. She had been frantic, trying to slow them down, for her own sake. She was already falling hard for him; she didn’t need amazing sex to be the last nail in her coffin. She felt like she knew him, intimately, already. It was ridiculous, she kept reminding herself. It was someone who she had only met less than a week ago. She shouldn’t have invited him into her house. She didn’t need to see him in the morning light to confirm her fears. She had moaned his name into her pillow as she came; no, she knew just what she was in for.

She groaned as she remembered what she had said. “Fuck you out of my system?” She whispered again in the dark, cringing. Who was she? She didn’t talk like that. She taught six year olds. She tried to breathe deeply, and not go into a full-blown panic attack. How had she never gotten any better at flirting? She was grown, she could hook up and still have a relationship.

June squeezed her eyes shut against the memories threatening to crowd her, and reasoned she had made the better choice. They had been drinking, and it was too convenient. Hopefully, he didn’t think she was a psycho for inviting him over, making out with him hard, and then turning him down cold. Well, not cold, but lukewarm. She groaned again. Why was she acting like a teenager? She never fretted like this. Her mom’s cold words flashed in her mind, and she shuddered against them, willing them away. Too late, she thought about Terry.

Terrance, the one who had convinced her to move away from everyone. The one who had promised her everything, and then left her empty. The one who had no kind words or touches for her. The one who had left the taste of rust in her mouth.

She blinked against the tears, and tried to think about Frankie downstairs instead. All she could remember was the gruffness at the farmer’s market, the harsh words at the school, the disappointment in his eyes at dinner, and the coldness after she had turned down sex. She hugged herself tighter and tried to think about the soft touches he had given, the tender kiss, the personal stories, and the deep laugh she was falling in love with.

It was no use, she decided. Mid-spiral, she wasn’t good enough for anyone. She was glad she hadn’t invited him up. She was glad she wouldn’t be used by another man. She would drop him off in the morning, and then that would be that. If she didn’t start loving herself, no one would.

~~~

Frankie stretched against the soft material as light started trickling in through the blinds. He could hear the birds outside, and he whistled softly in tune. He folded the bedding, and padded to the kitchen.

After looking around a bit, he settled on coffee and pancakes. He had noticed the canned tomatoes in the cupboard, and made a note to ask June if they were the ones she had bought from him. He got busy mixing the pancakes together while the coffee brewed. He hadn’t slept so good in years. He had expected a sore back, at least, but that damn couch was probably better than his lumpy old mattress. He cut some berries up, while the pancakes were frying, and smiled as he heard June walk in.

“Morning!” He greeted, cheerfully. She winced, and he let a small chuckle out. “Sorry, uhm, coffee’s ready.” She nodded, but didn’t say anything else. He turned back to the oven, wondering if she just wasn’t a morning person. He noticed she felt colder this morning, and hoped it was because she was hungover.

“You were right about the couch, super comfortable.” He told her as she settled in at the counter. She only nodded, which he barely caught. He turned to face her, one hand on his hip and the other holding the spatula.

“Everything okay?” She nodded again, and he frowned. Something was definitely wrong, but if she wasn’t telling him what could he do. He made her a plate of pancakes and berries, and made one for himself. He sat down beside her, and she ate in silence. In fact, she didn’t say anything to him until they made it back to his truck.

“Have a nice day.” She had mumbled, her lips tight. He gaped a bit before getting out, and slamming the door a little harder than he had meant to. He got into his truck as she sped off, and he slammed the door.

“What the fuck was that?” He asked the steering wheel.

“Whatever,” He said, tightly, throwing the truck into drive.

[moldisgoodforyou]

stuck with me

gif from @toesure​

warning: mentions of physical/emotional abuse from jj’s dad, drinking, cursing

wordcount: 1.8k _

He knew it was stupid. He knew it was stupid, but he did it anyways. When Charlie dragged JJ to the graduation fair to get fitted for his cap and gown and the standard 10-pack of graduation announcements, he had scribbled out his dad’s address on one of the announcements and shoved it in the mail. It took him about a week to work up the courage to even place the envelope in the mailbox, but he figured it was worth a shot. 

He forgot about it until a couple weeks later, when he saw an all-too-familiar number pop up on his caller ID as he walked home from class. He wasn’t in the mood already, after probably failing a test he had just worked his ass off to study for. JJ let it ring for one beat, two beats - then took a deep breath and answered. “Hello?” 

His dad’s gruff voice rang out on the other end of the line. “Are you asking for money?” 

JJ sighed, bracing himself as he kept walking, opting to take the long route. “No, no, Dad, just wanted to tell you I was graduating.” 

All he heard was a scoff. “Well good luck with your debt, just paying more money to the big man.” 

JJ ran his hand through his hair, getting frustrated. “No, I’ve been on scholarship. I don’t owe anyone anything.” 

“You’ve been wasting time for four fucking years is what you’re doing, while you could have been getting a real job and working hard to repay me for raising you.” Luke shot back, raising his voice. “Do you know how much money I wasted on you?” 

JJ grit his teeth, squeezing his eyes shut. “Forget it, Dad, just wanted to tell you I’m gonna graduate. All on my own.” 

“That girl still wasting her time on you too? She’ll leave you too, just like your mom, once she knows how good-for-nothing you are.” 

“Don’t talk about Charlie.” JJ bit out, ready to snap. 

Luke laughed and the sound alone made JJ’s skin crawl. “Call me when you want to pay me back.” 

JJ barely kept his composure at the dial tone. There was nothing he wanted to do more than scream, but he bit the inside of his cheek hard instead, picking up the pace as he walked off-campus. He didn’t realize he bit hard enough to draw blood until he grimaced at the metallic taste filling his mouth. His heart was racing, fists curled, as he stormed further and further away from campus in an effort to calm himself down. He spotted a dingy bar in the distance, half the lights in the neon sign missing, and nodded to himself. “Just one drink,” he told himself, speaking out loud. The bar was known as a seedy, run-down place that only locals went to - it was far enough away from campus that no students would step foot in there. 

Before entering, he turned off his location on the Find My Friends app and powered off his phone, stashing it in his backpack. He ordered an old fashioned and sat at the end of the bar, tracing his finger over the scratches in the wood counter. 

Three hours later, Charlie had called JJ four times, worried. They had plans to go out for dinner, at a place that finally took their reservation after a month, and he knew she had been looking forward to it. She texted a few of his friends to check in, but they all replied that they had no clue where he was. 

Four hours later, JJ was sufficiently drunk and the bartender, a woman old enough to be his mom, had closed out his tab and was serving him way-watered down vodka sodas. “You got someone to drive you, sugar?” She asked, concerned about the kid before her that was drunk at 4pm on a Tuesday. He frowned, nodding, but just rested his head down on the counter. “Should I call someone?” 

JJ lifted his head slightly to speak. “I’ve got a girlfriend. Should prob’ly call her.” She nodded, pushing him a glass of water. “You do that.” JJ groaned and fished out his phone from the bottom of his backpack, powering it back on. He sighed, running his hand through his hair as he saw the six missed calls and multiple texts, and called Charlie. 

“JJ? Where are you, what’s going on?” She asked immediately. 

He broke upon hearing her, his voice faltering and words slurred. “I need you, baby.” 

“Where are you?” She repeated, already grabbing her keys. “Never mind, I’ll find your location. Stay on the phone with me, J?” 

“I’m sorry.” He paused. “I’m sorry, I just - I was upset.” 

“It’s okay, hon, I’m coming.” 

She stayed on the phone with him until she got to the bar, pulling her jacket a little tighter around herself as she entered. She spotted JJ right away and he met her eyes, offering a sad smile. Charlie walked over and sat next to him, holding his hand. “You alright, J?” He looked down at his empty glass and swirled his finger around the rim. “Nah. Not doin’ so hot.” 

She caught the attention of the bartender and flagged her down for the check. The woman came over, passing her the receipt (which had about three drinks missing on it). “Is this your girl?” She asked JJ, sending him a wink. He nodded, offering a half-smile and squeezing Charlie’s hand. “Yeah, lucky me, right? She’s out of my league.” Charlie rolled her eyes and pulled out cash, slipping it to the bartender. JJ noticed right away and frowned, grabbing her wrist. “Charlie, don’t, I got it.” 

She shook her head. “I got it. Let’s just go back to mine, okay?” He paused, processing. “You don’t want me to pay you back?” She shook her head again, standing. “Of course not.” She looped his arm around her shoulders and her arm around his waist, giving him support as they walked out of the bar. Once they were in the car, she leaned over and kissed his cheek, soft and sweet. “Is my place okay?” 

“Are your roommates home?” He asked, frowning. “No, they went to dinner.” She replied, starting the car. JJ’s face dropped as he realized why she was in a dress. “Oh, fuck, that was tonight, wasn’t it? That’s why you’re all dressed up?” Charlie faltered for a moment. “I - um, yeah, but it’s fine. It doesn’t matter.” JJ set his jaw and ran his fingers through his hair, exhaling. “Fuck, I’m sorry, Charlie. God. He was right.” 

Charlie frowned, her grip tightening on the wheel. “He?” JJ was silent, turning to look out the window. “JJ, who are you talking about?” JJ shook his head. “Don’t wanna talk about it.” She sighed quietly, her worries confirmed. “Okay. That’s alright. Um, are you hungry? Should I make us something when we’re home?” He shrugged. “Not really.” She bit her lip, not knowing how to talk with him. “Right.” 

The rest of the drive was quiet until she pulled into the driveway and glanced over at him. He hadn’t taken his head off the window and his eyes were shut, his chest steadily rising and falling. “J?” She asked quietly. He stirred, opening his eyes. “Oh. We’re home?” She frowned and got out to help him out of the car. He stumbled when he stood, but cooperated with Charlie. “I’m sorry ‘bout dinner, baby.” He offered, leaning on her as they went inside and up the stairs. “It’s okay, J, it’s not important.” 

He frowned. “No, it is important, it’s important to you and I fucked it up.” Charlie shook her head, insistent, and sat him on her bed. She moved to go to her closet, but he grasped her wrist gently, pulling her back. “Can you just sit with me?” She nodded and sat, looking him over with concern. “If you want to talk about it…” she offered tentatively. 

“Not really.” He replied, leaning into her side. She turned and wrapped her arms around him, pulling him close. He took a big exhale, resting his head on her chest. Charlie stroked his hair softly. “I got you, hon.” She whispered. She heard a soft sniffle and frowned, pressing a kiss to the top of his head. “J?” He barely shook his head, his breathing becoming unsteady as he cried harder. She held him tighter, frowning. “It’s okay. It’s okay, J,” she murmured soothingly. 

He lifted his head after a little bit, cheeks wet and shining from his tears. Charlie swore her heart broke. She kissed him, gentle, and he responded, hard and needy. She rested her hand on his cheek and wiped away some fresh tears with her thumb. “I’m sorry.” He mumbled, meeting her lips in another kiss. “Don’t be sorry. Was it your dad?” She asked outright. 

JJ’s face crumpled and he looked down, not meeting her gaze. “I sent him a graduation announcement. It was stupid. I brought it on myself. He thought I was asking for money.” 

Charlie stayed quiet, knowing he would open up on his own terms. 

He swallowed before continuing. “He just - he said I was just wasting my time at college, and that you’re gonna leave me. When you realize how fucking worthless I am.” 

Charlie shook her head quickly, kissing him to cut him off. “That’s not true, J, you know that. I know that.” 

He shrugged. “I dunno.” 

She frowned, putting her hands on either side of his face and forcing him to look at her. “Listen to me. I don’t know anyone that’s worked harder through college that deserves this more. You should be so fucking proud that you’re graduating. You’re incredible, JJ, I love you more than you could ever imagine.” She kissed him soundly to make her point. “You’re mine, hon.” 

He pressed his forehead to hers, listening for a moment, then threw his arms around her, hugging her fiercely. She snaked his arms around his waist and pressed a gentle kiss to his neck. He held her tight, like she was his last connection anchoring him to peace. “I’ll make dinner up to you.” She laughed softly. “That’s the last thing I care about, J.” 

He pulled back from the hug, only to lean in and kiss her again. “I’ll make you proud. I swear I will.” 

She nudged her nose with his. “You already do, J. Every single day.” He offered a small smile. “Yeah?” She smiled back, kissing him softly. “Yeah. You’re stuck with me, J, don’t forget it.” His smile grew bigger and he kissed her cheek. “Wouldn’t want to be stuck with anyone else.” 

[tamakiamajikistentacles]

Rhythm Section {Poly BakuJiro}

A/N: Please be sure to reblog, comment, review, and like if you enjoy! Feedback is what keeps me motivated! Again, something different that I tried but still the self-indulgent train keeps a-rollin’ choo choo ya’ll

Class A’s contribution to the culture festival in their first year had become the stuff of legend at UA. By the time the next culture festival was approaching, they were all but told that they would be putting on another concert for their second-year program. Another hit song by Jiro and great routine by Mina might’ve been even more successful than the first depending on who was asked.

Third year was the same but not as much of a surprise—A Band would be taking the stage for the final time as UA students. As expected it was spectacular, cheers and compliments raising up from the audience before them while they stood in awe at the reaction.

Well, she stood in awe at something different. She was in awe at the sight of Bakugo and Jiro, both sweaty but energized from the performance and looking amazing. Handsome, pretty, beautiful, attractive… all of the above on both accounts really. That night had been the one that made her realize that she had two crushes.

She was okay with crushing on both a guy and a girl—she’d known about that aspect of herself for a while but hadn’t shared it with anyone quite yet—but did it have to be on the two people in the class who were effortlessly cool in everything they did? It was like they were both trying to kill her at every turn.

Studying with Jiro? She’s twirling one earphone jack around her finger mindlessly and biting her lower lip as she concentrates on the material in front of her. The wide neck of her ripped tshirt slips down her shoulder slightly to reveal smooth skin that she just knows is as soft as it looks.

Training with Bakugo? The muscles in his arms are flexing as they practice traditional hand to hand and the smirk on his face is wild. When they finish and he lifts his tank top to wipe sweat from his face she can see every ridge of abs and has to move away before he lifts it higher and makes her stop breathing.

It was difficult having crushes on the two hottest people in the class and having zero chance with either. No one knew she liked girls (did Jiro even like girls?) and stepping in the way of becoming Number One seemed like a death sentence.

“This is hard,” she groaned, dropping her face into her arms at one of the common room tables.

Jiro laughed. “Music theory can be, even if you’re a musician. I only know it because of my parents.”

“Do you think the greats struggled with it too?” she asked as she raised her head to look at her. “Like was Jimmy Page as done with this as I am right now?”

“Ohh someone knows her classic rock icons,” she teased.

“He was just the first name that came to mind! I should’ve said Bonham instead.”

“What, you’re not into guitarists?”

“I mean I don’t think I’m not into them?” she replied. “I just prefer the rhythm section, that’s all.”

Jiro raised a brow. “Yeah?”

“Well yeah, they’re generally hotter. Bonham is case in point.”

“Any other data points to back that up?” she asked curiously.

“There’s a lot but think Fall Out Boy, All Time Low, Zeppelin like I mentioned…” she trailed off as she locked eyes with the girl across from her.

Was this—was this an opening? Could she even…?

“And, you know,” she finally continued, “A Band.”

A smirk took over her lips and she tapped her pen against her notebook as she looked over her, the smirk growing every passing second.

“I think Kaminari would be a little sad to hear that,” she mused.

She shrugged. “Kaminari’s not exactly who I’m trying to impress.”

Jiro dropped her pen and crossed her arms on the table, leaning forward with interest sparkling in her eyes. She was grinning and looked like someone who couldn’t believe the luck they’d had. And the fact that she’d done that to her? Incredible.

A hand landed on Jiro’s shoulder making her jump, and when she whirled around in her chair she saw an annoyed Bakugo. His scowl deepened when Jiro tried to smile at him and from across the table she could see the muscle in his jaw jump.

“We need to talk,” he ground out through clenched teeth, squeezing her shoulder in warning. Then he let go and stomped towards the hallway to the elevators.

“Uh, sorry,” Jiro said with a blush as she began gathering her things. “I shouldn’t keep him waiting and knowing him it’s gonna be awhile. Sorry to cut this short, but can I text you later?”

“Oh, yeah, totally! I hope everything goes okay with Bakugo.”

She gave a weak smile as she stood, lifting two fingers in a wave before she went towards the elevators.

Watching her go made her frown as she too began grabbing her materials to head to her room. That was quite possibly the bravest she had ever been when talking to a crush and of course it had to be interrupted. It was likely for a good reason if it was Bakugo doing the interrupting but still.

‘At least she’ll text me later,’ she thought.

With a sigh she clutched her textbook and notes to her chest and started toward the elevators. But as she neared the corner she could make out a conversation that made her pause.

“…said I was sorry!” Jiro whispered. “She’s the one who—”

“Oh sure, blame her!” Bakugo snapped in a low voice.

Were they talking about her? Were they—was this a couple’s argument? Was she getting between them by essentially telling Jiro she was trying to impress her?

Her two crushes getting together and her inadvertently driving a wedge between them was the absolute worst-case scenario she could imagine. She was ready to faint.

“She brought it up, okay? I didn’t say ‘hey, who do you think are the hottest members of our class band? It’s totally me and Bakugo, right?’, she just said it and then it got flirty! Doesn’t it at least help to know she thinks we’re attractive?”

"That’s not—I thought we agreed that we would both be cool and not lay it on so damn thick? What happened to seeing who she likes more? You just took a fifty-meter head start and now I don't even know if she likes guys!" Bakugo hissed.

“I like both.”

They had both turned to look at her, surprised at her sudden appearance and declaration. Beneath that there was something else that she couldn’t quite place—hope?

“I… I like guys and girls. I’m bi,” she said for the first time out loud. Then, with a bite to her lip, she added, “And more specifically, I like the both of you.”

“Damn,” Jiro mumbled as Bakugo looked off to the side.

She had no idea what she was doing and was internally panicking. What was she supposed to say now? Should she say anything? Yeah, yeah she should. She had to.

“I do like you both,” she repeated softly, “but I also know you two are close. Don’t… don’t make it a competition. I don’t want to choose because you’re both amazing.”

Bakugo looked up at her, his eyes calculating. “Then don’t.”

Jiro went wide-eyed but covered it as she turned to her. “Maybe we should all talk privately. This isn’t something the class needs to hear.”

She nodded, following behind them as they made their way into the elevator.

As they stepped out on the third floor she could feel something shift between the three of them. With each step down the hall it got warmer, and she wondered if she was the only one who felt it. Bakugo’s clenched jaw and Jiro’s constant glances between them both made her think that no, it wasn’t.

It was only after they were all standing in Jiro’s room that Bakugo began to speak, his voice not as harsh as it usually was.

“You don’t need to choose,” he said again. “I like you and so does she. You like me and you like her. She and I get along just fine.”

“So by not choosing you mean…?

“I mean you can have both of us. Or neither of us. If you don’t want competition it’s an all or nothing type deal.”

She looked between him and Jiro. “You two have talked about this? And you’re both okay with it being all or nothing?”

“Yeah we uh, we’re good. Not like he and I haven’t done everything already, you know?” Jiro chuckled nervously, pulling her sleeves down over her hands.

“Okay,” she replied. “Then I’m all in.”

“Oh thank fuck, I wanna kiss you so bad,” Jiro sighed, starting towards her.

Bakugo grabbed the back of her cardigan and yanked her back to his side, glaring at her when she squirmed to try and make him let go.

“Keep your fuckin’ legs closed for five minutes,” he snapped, dropping his hand from the fabric.

She bit her lip, not sure what was going to happen now that the decision had been made. Plus she was a little disappointed; she wanted to kiss Jiro too.

“Listen, we gotta get some shit straight first alright?” Bakugo said. “This ain’t exactly the norm, so if we gotta start small, we do. First thing’s first, do you want us both at the same time or are we workin’ up to that?”

That had been the shift: sexual tension. And yeah, she definitely wasn’t the only one who felt it judging by the subtle tensing of Jiro’s thighs and the not at all subtle outline in Bakugo’s pants.

“Same time is what I want. I’ve… never done it with two people before and I’ve never been with another girl but I want you. Both of you.”

He nodded. “You been tested? You on anything?”

“Work study tests us all for literally everything imaginable each month so yeah, three weeks ago and I’m good,” she said, her skin hot. “I’m on the pill but I would really prefer you use a condom too.”

“Same,” Jiro offered with a smile. “On both accounts.”

“Tested last week and I’m good too,” Bakugo said. “Hard no’s for this first time?”

“Grabbing is the only thing that happens to my ass and if anyone hits me they’re losing whatever limb made contact.”

“No problem,” he shrugged.

Jiro laughed. “I think that tonight we keep it tame, yeah?”

With a smirk on his face Bakugo stepped out of his slippers and came towards her, laying a hand on her waist before stepping around her and pressing himself against her back. “Tame as a threesome can be.”

She could feel his breath on the back of her neck and she shivered, closing her eyes for just a moment. When she opened them, Jiro was in front of her.

Smiling, she brought her hands up to cup her face and kissed her. Lips pressed against the side of her neck too and she realized that stepping around that corner on the first floor was the best decision she could’ve made. If she hadn’t she wouldn’t be enjoying the two sets of hands slowly roaming her body or the two tongues that were sliding past her lips and tracing a reddening mark on her jaw.

Her shirt was gently pushed up and bunched around her stomach as large, warm palms slid across her skin and tried pulling her slightly away from Jiro, but her grip on her hips held her steady enough to not break the kiss. The hands dragged up to cup her ribs just below her bra and Bakugo rolled his hips into her from behind, making her gasp into her kiss with Jiro.

She smiled, eyes half lidded as her fingertips brushed against her cheek. “We’re gonna make you feel so good.”

“Wanna make you two feel good too,” she murmured, feeling the bites to her neck pause.

“Y’already are, just let us have our fun,” he mumbled before pushing her top up over her head and dropping it to the side. He pulled his own shirt off quickly and let his hands roam the newly bared skin of her back.

Shakily, she reached forward to tug at the hem of Jiro’s cardigan, receiving a smile and an easy shrug to remove it. A moment later the undershirt followed and she pulled her into a kiss again as the hands at her back lightly snapped the band of her bra.

She jumped, breaking the kiss. “Bakugo!”

“Tch, pretty sure we can go for given names now, right Kyoka?”

“Katsuki’s right,” she giggled, kissing her once more.

She felt overwhelmed in the best way. She was on a first name basis with both of her crushes and was between the two of them, holding Kyoka close and kissing her with everything she had while Katsuki ground himself against her and unclipped her bra.

With more gentleness than she expected, he guided the straps down her arms and lightly tugged her arms from around Kyoka so the loosened fabric could fall to the side. Kyoka took that time to step back to undo and shed her own which allowed Katsuki to spin her around to face him for the first time. He smirked, fingers gliding up her sides until he was able to cup her chest in large palms.

She cradled his jaw and brought him forward to press her lips against his, surprised at the lack of roughness she’d expected when he kissed back. Was it testing the waters or savoring the first taste? She was willing to bet both.

Cool hands smoothed over her back and slow, careful kisses trailed down her spine. The drag of lips against the curve of her lower back made her shiver and the nudge of fingertips just below her waistband made her heart race even more. Fabric slid down her legs to leave her completely bare and she felt her face heat up, self-conscious of being the only one, until a moment later she heard the soft sound of clothing hitting the floor behind her and felt bare skin against her back.

Breaking apart from Katsuki to breathe she leaned forward to press open mouthed kisses to his collarbone, the definition like he had been chiseled from stone. Her hands fell to his hips and hooked her fingers into his sweats and underwear, tugging them down to pool at his feet. She traced over the ridges of muscle across his stomach as she continued kissing up his neck, careful not to leave marks where his costume couldn’t cover.

She felt Kyoka rest her chin on her shoulder, then a brush against her arm and a twist of muscle beneath her lips. When she glanced up she saw her kissing Katsuki, one hand on his cheek to keep him turned towards her. One hand dropped from her chest and moved behind her, knuckles at her back and a soft gasp coming from Kyoka making it obvious where it had gone.

Then the hand still on her chest slowly slid down her body before settling between her legs and the hand at her back returned to her hip. Cooler hands would around her to cup her chest, a shudder running through her at the temperature but her fingers traced down the sculped stomach in front of her.

Two fingers pressed into her as she wrapped her hand around Katsuki, a soft gasp escaping her and a low groan coming from him. Kyoka’s light laughter followed and she began pressing kisses across her shoulders, mouth free from Katsuki’s head tipping back as more groans were drawn out from the slow stokes.

She bit her lip as the fingers between her legs curled perfectly and his thumb drew firm circles on her clit.

“Good with his fingers, right?” Kyoka whispered.

She could only nod with a whimper as she felt her thighs tense. Her strokes grew faster and she rocked her hips forward slightly to chase the feeling, her back arching at the two pairs of hands treating her so well.

She whined loudly as the fingers between her legs withdrew and the solid warmth disappeared from in front of her, but she couldn’t dwell on it as she was turned around once again and pressed against Kyoka. Their lips found one another’s easily and she felt those cool hands on her cheeks, her own fingertips tracing the soft skin of the curves of her chest and stomach. Even with inexperienced nerves tingling in the back of her mind she ventured lower to the apex of pale of thighs and reveled in the pleased hum into her mouth. Knowing what she liked for herself she rubbed familiar patterns and curled her fingers just so to keep the noises flowing, swallowing them proudly as they grew louder.

“I like how you sound,” she murmured breathily as they broke apart and dark hair tickled her chest as Kyoka rested her forehead against her shoulder with a gasp.

“And I like the view,” Katsuki chuckled from behind her, the crinkling of foil lost to the low timbre.

Hands came around to cup her chest from behind once again and those lips were back on her neck, the rhythm of her fingers stuttering slightly at the sensations.

“Let… let me show you what I’m good at,” Kyoka panted, kissing her cheek before pulling back. Their eyes stayed locked as she kneeled down, her palms gently widening her stance to make room between her thighs, and it was only at the first brush of her tongue on her clit did she close her eyes.

Her fingers dropped to thread through the dark hair that was just as silky as she’d always imagined, tightening slightly as fingertips trailed closer to where her lips and tongue were working her closer to cumming faster than she could comprehend. The teeth scraping against her neck and jaw gave just the right amount of pain to combine with that pleasure and her legs started to shake from the effort of standing.

Katsuki noticed immediately, the mark he’d been working on abandoned as he ordered, “Bed, Kyoka.”

The hum of agreement between her thighs nearly sent her over the edge right then, but the promise of experiencing even more was too alluring to succumb to it so soon and she let herself be guided to the bed on weak legs by her two partners. It was a bit difficult for the three of them to lie together in the small dorm bed but they managed to arrange themselves well enough to be comfortable and continue.

She was one more kissing Kyoka as they laid on their sides facing one another and Katsuki’s chest was pressed against her back, smooth latex brushing against the back of her thigh. Familiar rough hands parted her thighs, lifting one leg slightly, and she felt him move against her to position himself before rolling his hips forward.

A soft moan escaped her as her hand trailed down the soft skin in front of her, the fullness she felt something she wanted to share at least somewhat with Kyoka. She traced her tongue along her bottom lip as she pressed two fingers into her and began to draw firm circles on her clit, her pattern hesitant and uneven as Katsuki started to move. It took a few moments for them to sink into a rhythm that suited all of them but once they did it felt like everything had fallen into place.

Deep groans vibrated against her shoulders as he mouthed more bites along her back, the sting of his teeth and the soft pinches to her nipples from Kyoka giving her more sensations than she could comprehend. She had to break the kiss to rest her head against her collarbone, panting breaths making her chest heave and muscles clench as their newfound rhythm amongst the three of them sped up.

“That’s it,” Katsuki mumbled, his fingers ghosting over her hip to find a place on her clit.

One hand left her chest and a whisper of, “Katsuki,” over her shoulder let her know exactly what happened next when he shifted higher and so did Kyoka, her chest now directly in front of her. She took advantage, curling her fingers just so and laving her tongue over her left nipple; her free hand came up to knead and pinch her right.

Katsuki dutifully swallowed her moans but the trio each silently hoped that the rest of the class were still in the common room because there was no possible way for them to hold back the gratified sounds. As their rhythm grew steadily faster and the muscles coiled even tighter the louder they were surely becoming.

It was Kyoka who came first, tossing her head back and cupping the back of her neck to keep her to her chest, her hips rocking into her hand as she rode out the pleasure with breathy moans.

“Fuck!” Katsuki grunted, his fingers adding more pressure to her clit to bring her over the edge just before he himself toppled over, the tightness around him almost unbearable with how amazing it felt as he ground his hips into hers as they came.

The three of them collapsed into one another breathing heavily and weakly clinging to each other, willing their heartbeats to slow and their pleasure to linger. Easy kisses were shared between them and fingertips traced sweat-damp skin as they laid together for a few peaceful moments.

Kyoka nudged both her and Katsuki. “We gotta clean up.”

“Yeah,” he sighed, getting to his feet and helping them both up and into Kyoka’s bathroom.

Within ten minutes they were semi-dressed and piled back in the bed with Kyoka spooning her and her head on Katsuki’s chest. Fingers tangled in hair and lips pressed to exposed skin let that bliss continue in a sweet way as they laid with one another.

She giggled, thinking back to hours before in the common room when she wasn’t sure what was going to happen in regard to her crushes yet here she was cuddled between them after what was most definitely the most pleasurable night of her life.

“Oi, the hell you laughin’ at?”

“Yeah, no secrets between boyfriends and girlfriends,” Kyoka teased.

She smiled. “Just thinking about how this morning I had crushes on the two hottest people in the class and now I’m dating them.”

“Weird how that shit works out sometimes but I can’t complain when I got the two hottest girls in the class,” Katsuki smirked.

“I’m with you, babe,” Kyoka said with a kiss to her cheek. “I’m just excited I got the drummer and the groupie.”

Damn, she was lucky.

A/N: Please be sure to reblog, comment, review, and like if you enjoy! Feedback is what keeps me motivated! So yeah I love rhythm section members irl and no I’ve never written a threesome before, why do you ask?

[jalapeno-princess]

We’re Not Just Friends

He’s so cute what the fuck

Best friend Mark X Reader

Genre: College AU, best friends to lovers, mutual pining, THE FLUFFIEST OF FLUFF

Word Count: 10.7K

Summary: You and Mark have been friends for as long as you could remember. The two of you were like magnets; wherever you went, he’d follow and vice versa. With that being said, you did what you thought was one of the best yet biggest mistakes you could ever do in a friendship, you fell in love with your best friend. There were times where you felt as if he reciprocated your feelings, but you ultimately pushed any idea of being more than just friends with him. That all changes one night when he gets drunk and admits a little too much information you weren’t quite ready for.

A/N: Hey guys, so I was in Marshall’s the other day when the song “Friends don’t” by Maddie and Tae came on (I highly recommend you listen to it while reading this I make quite a few references to the song in this story) and I couldn’t stop putting ideas together while shopping (I actually pulled to the side to brainstorm I actually hate myself). With that being said, this is one of my favorite stories I’ve written so far and I hope you all enjoy it!

They don't cancel other plans Have conversations with nothing but their eyes They don't hear each other's names and forget to concentrate Hits a nerve and lights you up like dynamite

Friends don't call you in the middle of the night Couldn't even tell you why They just felt like saying "hi" Friends don't stand around, playing with their keys Finding reasons not to leave Trying to hide the chemistry Drive a little too slow, take the long way home Get a little too close We do, but friends don't

As a junior in college, sleep was a foreign word to you. You’ve been getting at least three hours of sleep this week since you’ve been preparing for finals; so you savored every minute of slumber you could get. Tonight was the first night you allowed yourself a break from studying and you were going to make the most of it by sleeping in. 

When you felt your phone vibrate, you couldn’t help but groan at the idea of your alarm going off; but it occurred to you that you turned off all your alerts for the day in order to get some well deserved rest. A huge part of you, the one that’s been dying to continue dancing around in dreamland wanted to ignore whoever was trying to get in touch with you. They could wait until the morning to talk to you. However, there was only one person who would dare to wake you up in the middle of the night and it was the same person, the only person you didn’t mind taking you away from your dreams. 

Once you took a look at his caller ID, you released a frustrated sigh but the smirk that rose on your face at the idea of him was very contradicting. “You better have a good reason for waking me up Mark. What is it?” The phone was silent for a few moments and you had a hunch that he was feeling remorseful for waking you up knowing how tired you’ve been from all the all nighters. 

“Hey y/n. Did I wake you? I’m sorry about that.” Although he had an apologetic tone in his voice, you’ve know him long enough to know that he wasn’t the least bit sorry. Mark never did anything he would have to apologize for. Plus, you could hear the glint in his voice and it made you smile softly to yourself. 

“It’s fine. Are you okay? Did something happen? Where are you?” He giggled at your many questions and you could feel a blush rising on your cheeks at the sound. Mark Tuan in more or less words was the love of your life. You made the mistake of falling in love with your best friend and because you were afraid of him not reciprocating your feelings and losing him if he were to find out, you kept it to yourself. 

It was hard. You only fell more and more in love with him as the days went by. The two of you met in middle school when he accidentally hit you in the face with a volleyball. He was extremely apologetic and did not leave your side at all for the rest of the class time. Actually, he hasn’t left your side at all since that fateful day in P.E. but you weren’t complaining. Mark was everything you could’ve asked for in a best friend and more. 

Although everyone in your grade knew him to be extremely shy and timid, he was a completely different person whenever he was around you and you were very happy to be the lucky person that got to see his outspoken and overly energetic side to him. He was smart; he had one of the top grades in the entire school. He was quite the joker, even if a lot of the jokes he told were extremely cheesy and sometimes did not make sense. He was athletic; joined any sport that your school offered and was captain of the baseball, soccer and water polo teams. Plus, he was a sight for sore eyes. 

Sure, you’ve seen quite the amount of cute boys in your three years of college, but Mark was a sight to behold. Standing at 5”9 with the prettiest brown eyes you’ve ever seen, a well-defined jaw line, sharp nose, and the most adorable heart shaped lips, you knew he was God’s favorite. Sometimes you didn’t understand why he was wasting his time being friends with you. He was such an intelligent, overly talented and interesting person. All the guys at your college wanted to either be him or be friends with him and a lot the girls wanted to date him. They made it quite obvious that they envied you for being the lucky girl Mark spent most of his time with but you couldn’t blame them, he was perfect. 

As much as you loved being his friend, your stupid and naive heart craved to be more. You wanted to be the one to hold his hand, the one to kiss his pretty pink lips, the one to hold him and be held by him. You wanted him to see you as more than just his friend; although, there were times when you did question his feelings for you. As a communications major, you were very good when it came to observing people; Mark being your number one test subject or so you called him. 

You were quick to pick up on how he always needed to be touching you, whether it be slinging his arm over your shoulder when the two of you would watch a movie, tapping gently on your thigh whenever you’d go for a drive, pulling you to his side and tightly gripping on to your waist in a crowded area or sitting in between your lap while he played video games. He explained to you once that your presence made him calm and the skin ship was because he needed “evidence that you were real”. The dreamer in you wished that his gestures and not so subtle touches meant more than what he claimed to be. 

Then came the stolen glances. You’d catch him from time to time staring at you at the most randomest times. You noticed he looked at you a lot when you’d be studying or while you were eating and that’s when you felt the least amount of attractive so you were sure it was because he thought you looked funny. 

There was once time that you slept over at his apartment and you fell asleep on the couch while the two of you watched stranger things. When you woke up, you were quick to realize that he probably carried you to his room like he normally did. As soon as your eyes adjusted to your surroundings, you saw Mark already looking at you with a specific look in his eyes. It was a mix of adoration and something else you couldn’t put your finger on. He’s never looked at you like that before and when he realized you were awake, he immediately closed his eyes and pretended to be asleep. Neither of you talked about that incident and he acted completely weird the next morning but things settled down not too long after. 

Another thing that you noticed, was his jealousy. Mark could get extremely jealous whenever it came to you. If he saw any guy get a little too close for his liking, even if it was one of your mutual friends, he’d go insane. One thing you could do without was his anger. When Mark got angry, he got really angry. You never understood why he would get upset at the idea of you interacting with another guy, but you’d be lying if you said you didn’t like it. There was one time the two of you attended a hotel party and got yourselves stuck playing spin the bottle. When you spun the bottle and it landed on Jinyoung, you didn’t think much about it and crawled over to him, leaving a chaste yet sweet kiss on his lips. You didn’t think it would cause Mark to give you the silent treatment for three days and when he finally did talk to you again, he gave you a lame excuse as to why he acted like such an asshole. 

You weren’t stupid, with the way he looked at you and treated you as if you were the most delicate flower, you knew he had to have some sort of feelings for you. You just had a hard time understanding why he was so adamant on keeping it to himself. If he did have feelings for you, you felt as if he was keeping it a secret from you for the same reason you were keeping it from him; he didn’t want to lose you. 

“I’m fine. Nothing’s wrong. I just couldn’t sleep. I should’ve played cod or something instead of bothering you. I knew you took the day off tomorrow for rest. I just—I want to talk to you. It’s been a week since we saw each other. I miss you.” The last words came out as a whisper, but you heard them and your heart fluttered at the thought of him wanting to talk to you because he missed you. Why did he have to do and say things that confused you? He told everyone that the two of you were just friends, but behind closed doors the two of you were in your own little worlds. As if nobody else existed and you liked it that way. 

“I miss you too. I promise once finals are over, I’m all yours okay? I’m sorry I’m putting all my time and effort in to school but you know how anal I get when it comes to my grades.” He giggled softly and although you couldn’t see him, you knew he was playfully rolling his eyes because it was true. See unlike Mark, you actually had to put in effort whenever it came to your education. He was naturally smart and you found it quite unfair but he never failed to help you if and when you needed it but you never wanted to bother him. He already had a lot on his plate and you didn’t want to add your incompetence to his already hectic schedule. 

“It’s fine. Do you—would you maybe wanna go for a drive? I’ll come pick you up. We don’t have to go anywhere far, honestly we could go on a drive around your block and I’ll drop you back. I just—I’d like to spend time with you.” You were glad he stuck with a phone call and didn’t try to FaceTime you because it would’ve been quite obvious his words were having an affect on you. Something felt off with the way he was acting. There were times where the two of you would go weeks without seeing one another and he was completely fine about it. 

One time, he went to Taiwan for an entire month to visit his family over summer vacation and you missed him dearly. That was the longest you went without seeing him, but he contacted you every single day so it made you feel a little bit better. So why was he wanting to see you so badly? 

“Yeah sure. Give me ten minutes. I’ll see you soon. Drive safely.” As soon as you heard him hang up, you practically leaped out of bed and ran straight to your bathroom. Mark has seen you at both your best and your very worst. He made it known that he didn’t care if you looked like an actual ogre, nor did you want to make it obvious that you wanted to look nice for him but you didn’t want him seeing you with your hair all over the place while your breath smelled horrendous. 

You threw on one of his jackets and a pair of shorts while flat ironing your hair and before you knew it, he texted you that he was downstairs. Once you made it down to the lobby, your breath hitched at the sight of him and all his handsome glory. His hair was disheveled; it was obvious he ran his hand through it a couple times. He was leaning against his pick up truck and although it was dark, you could make out that he was wearing a pair of grey sweatpants with a white tank top. You silently cursed him for going to the gym more often in his downtime because his arms grew three times the size they were back in high school. When his eyes landed on your visibly exhausted frame, he sent a cheeky smile your way before opening his arms out to you. 

“Mmm, I’ve missed your hugs.” He pulled you closer to his chest and placed his chin on top of your head. The two of you stood there for a couple of seconds before he pulled away to take a good look at you. If you had the choice, you’d allow him to hold you for the rest of the night. Mark’s arms were your favorite place to be. You always felt so safe in his embrace. He was always so warm and smelled like the cologne you bought him that he’s been looking at for a few months. 

“You know y/n, once finals are over I think you need to sleep for a solid two months straight. These dark circles are taking away from your beauty.” He brought his hands up to your cheeks and began to examine your entire face but you were quick to shove him off. If he continued to caress you like the way he was currently doing, you were sure you’d blow your cover and you did not want the night to end before it even started. Although he’s complimented you on your looks many times in the many years you’ve known him for, you could never get used to hearing him tell you how pretty he thought you were. 

“You’re one to talk grandpa. BamBam told me all about how you almost broke your back the other day when you attempted to do a martial art trick. How many times do I have to remind you that you’re no longer the fifteen-year-old boy that you used to be? I swear to God Mark Tuan if you break a bone, I will kick your ass.” His laughter filled the entire parking lot and you found yourself laughing along with him. For a grown man, his laugh was high pitched and very adorable. You were sure he could light up an entire room by letting out the faintest of giggles, his laughter already did wonders on your heart. 

“Even if I do break a bone, you’ll nurse me back to health right?” You scoffed and playfully rolled your eyes but deep down you knew you’d do anything for the devastatingly handsome boy in front of you. You also wouldn’t mind having a reason to stay by his side for as long as possible. Like the gentleman he was, he opened your door for you and helped you buckle your seatbelt. You were sure he saw it as a friendly gesture and you knew he wanted to help you out as much as possible, but you couldn’t handle him bringing his hand across of your chest and down to your upper thigh. It’s as if he knew exactly what he was doing by helping you. 

When he got in to his side of the car and started to reverse out of the stall, his free hand immediately found your lap like it normally did and he began to drive away. To where, you didn’t know nor did you care. You didn’t care where the two of you went, you just loved being around him. The car ride was filled with laughter, mainly yours because Mark turned the radio to the country station and began singing a couple songs out of tune and in the worst country accent you’ve ever heard. 

It was in moments like these where it was just the two of you, laughing and smiling like idiots that made you feel the most unhappy. You were unhappy because you wanted more. You wanted to be the reason behind his contagious smile. You wanted to be the reason he couldn’t go to sleep at night because his thoughts were so clouded by the idea of you. You wanted to be his motivation; you wanted him to do the best in anything that he did with the idea of making you proud. You wanted to be the one he told his friends and family about. But you were only his best friend. Every time he introduced you as his best friend, it felt like a stab to the chest. However, it was the truth; so you had no reason to be bothered by the fact that that was all you were going to be to him. 

“Something wrong bub?” You were too busy thinking about the unfortunate situation you were in and didn’t get to hear Mark ask you if you wanted something to eat. 

“No, I’m okay. Sorry, it’s just—finals. Yeah. I can’t stop thinking about my possible grades. I���m sorry, I’ll stop. Tonight is about us. What were you saying?” He waited till he pulled up at a stoplight before turning to face you and brought some of your hair behind your ear. 

“Hey, don’t stress too much. I’m sure you did amazing like you always do. If only you allowed me to tutor you more, I’m sure you would’ve had an easier time understanding the material. What? Am I not good enough for the all mighty y/n y/l/n? By the way, I decided with going to McDonalds since you didn’t answer. I’m in the mood for a McChicken—don’t look at me like that. What? Come on y/n—where do you want to go then? You drive me nuts woman. Popeyes? You’re in the mood for fried chicken? At 2:30 in the morning? Why can I already see you wanting fried chicken when you’re pregnant one day? I feel like it’ll be one of the foods you’ll crave the most. You know I’d do anything for you and I can’t wait till you become a mother, I’m sure you’ll be such an amazing mom. But don’t you dare wake me up in the middle of the night for fried chicken I will disown you. You’re lucky you’re cute. Their chicken sandwich better taste as good as McDonalds.” 

You knew you wanted Mark around for the rest of your life; you wanted to be best friends forever. Unfortunately, nobody knows what the future holds. For all you knew, he could get a girlfriend sometime soon and she could disapprove of your friendship; causing you to lose connection with one another. The idea of losing Mark was both mentally and physically painful. You could actually feel your chest tighten at the thought of waking up one morning and no longer having him in your life. With that being said, no matter how many times he’s brought up your future together, it always caused butterflies to swarm in your tummy. 

“I hate burdening you if I can handle doing something on my own. You already have so much to deal with, so tutoring me should be the least of your worries. Whatever you say asshole, I’m sure my future husband would be willing to do that for me and I’ll make sure I’ll rub it in your face. Dude, Popeyes shits on McDonalds. Are you joking? Why am I even friends with you, you’re such a loser with bad taste.” You couldn’t help but let out a chuckle at the entire conversation, but as soon as you realized Mark wasn’t laughing, you turned to face him and froze when you saw his jaw clench and his grip on the wheel tightened. 

Did you say or do something to upset him? Why did he get mad all of a sudden? As you were about to speak up, he made his way through the Popeyes drive thru and began ordering. You smiled like an idiot to yourself when he gave your order to the cashier. Although you ordered the same meal almost every single time, you found it cute that he memorized what you wanted. Once he paid and got the food, he drove down an all too familiar road you’ve been down quite a few times. Both you and Mark had a special place only the two of you knew of. You stumbled upon it one day after getting in to an argument with your parents and ended up bringing Mark there a couple days later. The two of you would go there whenever you both had free time. It was a nice, deserted beach. 

During the day, it was extremely beautiful but at night, it was indescribable. Especially because you spent most of your time there with Mark. Some days, the two of you would swim, skip rocks or attempt to build sand castles. Other days, more so when you went at night, he would lie on your lap and have you run your fingers through his hair while the two of you would listen to the waves crash on the shore. You’d find yourself looking at him adoringly and there was one time you were so close to connecting your lips together, but you chickened out and clumsily ended up pushing him off of your lap. 

The car ride was tense and he didn’t say anything the entire time. You decided to allow him to speak up when he was ready. It was something you learned throughout the duration of your friendship. Mark was short tempered. He would lash out on people at the smallest of things, but you were very understanding and extremely patient whenever it came to his mood swings. He’s apologized for it many times and did his best to work on it because he hated lashing out on you of all people, but some days he just couldn’t help himself. As soon as he parked the car, he motioned for you to get out and made his way to his trunk. He immediately hopped in the back without helping you like he usually did and when he saw that you weren’t getting inside and that your arms were crossed in frustration, he let out an irritated grunt. 

“What? Get in here. Do I have to help you with everything?” It was your turn to scoff. How did he go from singing to the top of his lungs at a Carrie Underwood song to giving you the cold shoulder? 

“If you’re going to be an asshole for no reason, you can just take me home right now. I’m sorry. I don’t know what I did or said to upset you but I’m sorry.” There were situations where Mark was in the wrong, but you’d find yourself apologizing because he was never one to give in. He was the definition of stubborn. However, you noticed that you were the only person that he’d give up his pride for. He hated the thought of upsetting you and putting the two of you in to an awkward situation. So he’d apologize as soon as he knew things were going south and tonight was no different. Right as you were about to open your door, you felt him gently grip at your wrist and before you knew it, he was picking you up bridal style before jumping on to his truck bed. 

“I’m sorry, I’m just being stupid. Please forget all about it okay? Fuck, I’ve ruined our night together didn’t I? I’m so sorry y/n.” You shook your head before leaving a quick peck on his cheek. Kissing each other was a normal thing between you and Mark. The two of you would kiss each other’s foreheads and cheeks all the time. Sometimes he’d even kiss your nose, your chin and even your shoulder blade but he had yet to kiss you where you wanted to kiss him the most. 

“Talk to me Mark. What’s bothering you?” You intertwined your fingers together and gave him your full attention. You knew something had to be heavy on his mind and you wanted him to be honest with you. He pulled his hands away from yours to your disappointment and scratched the back of his neck before taking a bite of his food. 

“Y/n I love—this chicken sandwich holy shit. This is good. I don’t know why I was settling for that pathetic excuse of a chicken patty at McDonalds. It’s nothing okay? Don’t worry about me. Eat your food, I know how you get when your chicken isn’t crispy and I don’t want you complaining later.” The two of you sat in silence eating your meals and you hated the fact that the atmosphere was filled with animosity. Once the two of you were both finished, he pulled you on to his lap and rested his chin in the crook of your neck.

“What are you doing tomorrow?” You shrugged before leaning back in to his embrace. It was weird how the two of you could go from arguing one minute to cuddling as if nothing happened the next but you never questioned it. 

“Probably staying in all day. Oh—I need to go to target. You drank all of my milk and failed to tell me. I’ve been eating my cereal DRY for the last week thank you very much.”

“Can I come? I think I need some groceries too.” You couldn’t help but stifle a laugh at the idea of Mark shopping for his own groceries. The older boy practically lived at your apartment. Sometimes you would even offer to look for an apartment together but your mutual friend Jackson always complained about you “stealing his roommate”. A lot of his clothes were sitting in your closet, he brought over some of his toiletries each and every time he slept at your apartment, most of the cubby holes in your shoe rack were taken up by him and he even bought an Xbox specifically to leave it at your place. You wouldn’t mind living with Mark, but sometimes you were glad Jackson was so adamant on keeping him at their place. Sharing the same space with him would surely drive your feelings through the roof.

“You mean some groceries to leave over at my place. You never go shopping for your own shit. Sometimes I feel like you’re only friends with me because you like mooching off of me and because I help keep you alive. If it wasn’t for me, you wouldn’t be taking your vitamins everyday and your health wouldn’t be as good as it is now.”

“Yeah yeah, whatever. You grocery shop for fun, who the fuck does that? Oh yeah, OLD PEOPLE. Don’t sound so upset, you had fun the last time I came with you to the grocery store.”

You giggled at the memory before turning around to flick his forehead. “You almost got us kicked out because you were fighting with a six-year-old over a Chewbacca figurine.”

“IT WAS THE LAST ONE Y/N. I HAD IT FIRST. The punk just had to start crying and his mom came telling me I was immature for fighting with a first grader.”

“You know sometimes I forget that you’re a 23-year-old senior in college and not the same 12-year-old boy from middle school. I love that you’re still a child at heart by the way. Sometimes the adult life can get a little hectic. You’re like my personal escape. Like, a breath of fresh air. I don’t say it all that often, but I’m very grateful for you. You mean a lot to me, more than you’ll ever know Tuan.” If you were facing him right now, you’d be able to see how red you made him by your sweet words. He left a gentle kiss on your jaw before leaning himself further in to the truck and pulling you down with him. The two of you stayed like that for almost two hours, stargazing and basking in the other’s presence. No words were shared but the silence spoke volumes. 

You couldn’t help but think back to a few hours ago when he was about to admit why he was so bothered but instead admitted his love for the chicken sandwich. Was he finally going to tell you how he felt for you but lost the courage as the L word fell from his lips? Why did he always have to make things so difficult? When you noticed the sun slowly making its appearance against the shoreline, you squeezed Mark’s bicep to let him know that maybe it was time to go home. 

“Since we’re hanging out later today anyway, did you want to come over to my place? Or we can head back to yours? It doesn’t really matter. If you wanna be by yourself, that’s fine too. I’ll just drop you off and come back later.” You gave him a soft smile before sitting up right and reaching over to play around with his hair. 

“Let’s go to yours. I wouldn’t mind spending time with Jackson and I miss my baby Milo.” He nodded in agreement and helped you down before making his way to his side of the car. Once he began to drive away, a small frown rose upon your face when he didn’t move his hand to your thigh. This was the first time in a long time that he drove with both hands and you knew that something was genuinely bothering him. 

You tried to take your mind off of Mark and put all your focus to everything you’d see while he drove to what you thought was going to be his apartment. However, it seemed as if he was taking a detour down different neighborhoods and you were surprised when you took a peek to see how fast he was driving and found out he wasn’t going fast at all. In fact, he was going under the speed limit. Something must’ve struck a nerve with him; Mark was known for his speed. He hated slow drivers and hated being in traffic which is why you found it unusual for him to be going at such a slow pace. 

“Are you sure you’re okay?” He released a soft sigh as he turned in to his apartment structure and nodded slowly. 

“Just tired. You’re not the only one staying up late to study. Oh, before I forget, you’re never a burden y/n. I’m never too busy for you. Actually, you’re one of my main priorities. So don’t feel like you can’t approach me if you need my help. Come on, let’s get you upstairs.” When the two of you made it up to his place, he tried his best to quietly open the door knowing that Jackson was still asleep. As soon as the two of you made your way in, Milo was all over you. You lowered yourself down to the little puppy and picked him up while leaving kisses all around his face. 

“Hi Milo! I’m glad to see you missed me. I missed you too cutie pie. Has daddy been taking good care of you and feeds you the snacks I bought?” You made your way to Mark’s bedroom and scoffed when you saw how neat it was. For someone who was constantly busy, why was his room so clean? Your room was in the exact state as your life, messy. Since you’ve been in here more times than you could count, you walked over to your side of the bed and laid down. He was quick to join you but not before taking off his shirt. 

You were used to Mark being shirtless, so you learned how to control your emotions and facial expressions over the years to prevent yourself from making it aware that you enjoyed it. However, you could feel your breath going shallow, especially when he would pull you in to his embrace like he was currently doing so right now. He wrapped his arms around your waist and placed his cheek against yours so that your faces were practically smashed together. The two of you weren’t strangers to spooning and cuddling, but there were times that you’d feel something hard against your thigh every now and then so Mark would keep his distance whenever it came to holding you. 

Not too long after the two of you got in to bed, you felt his warm breath against your neck as soft snores fell from his lips. You on the other hand could not find it in yourself to fall asleep. Your mind was too clouded with the events that happened during your drive and it confused you more than you already were. You began to let your eyes wander around his bedroom and giggled softly to yourself when you saw the Chewbacca figure on his desk. When you felt something vibrate in your back pocket, you remembered you put your phone in there and quickly brought it out to turn it off to prevent any noise from waking Mark up. 

As you reached to put your phone on his night stand, your heart fluttered at the photo of you from your senior prom back in high school. You remembered that night like it was yesterday. Mark was quick to ask you to be his date and you agreed right off the bat. Even at that time, you knew you wanted all your best memories to be shared with him. Your parents were extremely excited when they found out that the two of you were going together. They were all secretly hoping that you and Mark would end up with each other one day but they never did or said anything because they waited for the two of you to discover your feelings on your own. Even your mom claimed that she had a huge feeling that Mark had developed a crush on you but you never believed her. 

How could you though? You and Mark have been friends for almost a decade and he never showed signs of taking things further between the two of you. Prom night was one of the best nights of your entire high school career and you knew it had a lot to deal with the person who’s arms you were currently in. He bought you the prettiest bouquet and corsage, complimented you at least twenty times on how beautiful you looked, he even made it clear that you were the prettiest girl there but you knew he was just saying that because he was your best friend. The two of you danced almost the entire night and he entered a game in order to win an expensive pair of speakers which was currently sitting on your kitchen counter. 

Any time spent with Mark was amazing. He gave you his full attention and made sure you were having a good time no matter what the two of you were doing. Slowly, in attempts not to wake him, you found yourself turning around in order to take a good look at him. You gently began to trace his handsome features and you had to stifle a laugh when his nose scrunched, probably from being tickled. Why did you have to be such a coward? Why couldn’t you just tell him how you felt no matter the consequences? Finally, after contemplating what you would do about your feelings for Mark, you placed a kiss on his nose and fell asleep. 

When you woke up, you weren’t shocked to see that Mark was still asleep. He was an extremely heavy sleeper. There were so many times he’s found himself late to school and practice because he slept through his alarm. You took a few moments to get used to the light that was coming through his window before trying your best to leave his embrace without waking him up and when you succeeded, you turned on your phone to see what time it was and made your way into the living room. As you were about to head in to the kitchen to find something to make for you and Mark, you failed to notice Jackson on the couch, smiling at you like an idiot. 

“Good morning sunshine. Looks like somebody got a nice rest while wrapped up in your loverboy’s arms. He’s still asleep isn’t he?” You jumped at the sound of his voice, not knowing that he was there with you and rolled your eyes at his sarcastic statement. Jackson was known to be a prankster. He always made snide remarks about your relationship with Mark and he would always hint to you every now and then that Mark had feelings for you but just like how you were when your mom confronted you about your feelings, you couldn’t believe Jackson either. No matter how badly you wanted to. 

“Of course he is. I slept like a baby. Hey, what’s with you guys and being shirtless all the time? Do neither of you own any shirts?” The cheeky boy winked at you before pulling you in for a hug. 

“Gotta flaunt off the goods while we still have them. You can take off your shirt too if you want. I wouldn’t mind seeing you shirtless—ow! You’re always so abusive whenever it comes to me. It’s not like I haven’t seen you practically naked before.” You ignored him while making your way to the fridge and looking for something to cook. The two of you began to update each other on what you both did in the last few weeks since you’ve seen each other. He updated you on how basketball season was going so far and invited you to some of his games. 

The two of you continued your conversation and he brought up something that caught your attention. “Hey y/n, I know you’re not one to drink, but there’s more than just alcohol involved whenever we go out to bars and clubs. Why don’t you come with us? I’m sure Mark would finally come out with us if he knew you were tagging along. Come on, we all know baking desserts, playing modern warfare and staying up watching reruns of the office together is fun, well; for you guys. But you and Mark need to get out and do something college-like for once. You know how many times Mark has cancelled plans with us just so he could spend time with you? God, you both are so smart yet so stupid.” 

Mark was cancelling out on plans with the guys in order to hang out with you?You tried your best not to show to Jackson that his confession made you feel all warm and giddy on the inside. As the retaliation was on the tip of your tongue, Mark released a yawn to make it known he was in the room. “Ah, if it isn’t the devil himself. I was just inviting y/n to come out with us to the club on Saturday. You coming?” 

Mark gave you a look of curiosity before walking toward the fridge. “Y/n hates the club. And we can’t, we already have plans.” 

It was your turn to look at him in confusion. You don’t remember making any plans with Mark and most of your so called “plans” consisted of the two of you laying around your apartment doing nothing. Jackson shrugged, not surprised by his older friend’s response and gave you a knowing look. 

“Yeah, but she said so herself she wouldn’t mind letting loose since we only have one year left in college. Y/n must not know about your plans because she said she’d be down to come. Don’t be such a party pooper Mark, hang out with us. You’ve been already missing out on so much of our gatherings anyway. It’ll be fun!” Y

ou felt him before you could see him. He found his place behind you and wrapped his arms around your shoulders while hiding his face between your shoulder blades and let out a frustrated grunt. “Fine! Whatever. But only if y/n is going. I don’t know why you want me to come out with you guys anyway. You all get drunk the minute we walk in and flirt with anyone that has legs. I always end up driving you drunk bastards home. Quite the college experience of you ask me.” 

You couldn’t help but giggle at his sarcasm and began plating the bacon, eggs and fried rice you made for the three of your for breakfast. Other than the constant laughter that fell from your lips whenever Jackson and Mark would bicker over nonsense, you stayed quiet and focused on eating while they conversed. Once you all were done eating, Jackson mentioned throwing on a movie but Mark was quick to shut him down. You had a feeling it had to do with what happened the last time you all watched a movie together. Before you could sit down, Jackson pulled you on to his lap and refused to let you go. The daggers Mark sent through the back of Jackson’s head didn’t go unnoticed by you; in fact it made you quite happy. You loved how protective he was whenever it came to you. 

“Y/n and I actually have plans today. We need to go grocery shopping.” Jackson’s brow raised in amusement. 

“We? You’re actually buying food for us?” 

“No. I’m going to buy food to eat whenever I’m at her place. When do I ever eat here?”

As soon as the two of them finished their bickering, you said your goodbyes to Jackson and made your way to the grocery store. One thing that Mark never failed to do was make a fool out of you every single time you took him grocery shopping. However, you couldn’t say you didn’t have fun whenever he would tag along. If the two of you were to go at night, he would jump in the shopping cart and have you push him around. But in most cases, he’d stand behind you and practically trap you between his body and the cart while taking over to push. He forced you to go in and out of every aisle to make sure the two of you weren’t missing anything. 

“Y/n, serious question, Doritos or Cheetos puffs?” You thought about it for a few seconds before giving him your answer. 

“Doritos.”

“Okay, Cheetos puffs it is.” You scowled at him but before you could really react, he was driving the cart in the other direction. As soon as you felt that you were finished, you pulled to the side to make sure you had everything you needed and nothing you didn’t. 

“Cheese in a can? Really Mark? You’re not even going to eat it—“ he was quick to cover your mouth and you counterattacked by licking his hand. 

“Lick it all you want, I’m in to stuff like that.”

“Ew gross.” 

To your dismay, Mark handed the cashier his card and paid for the entirety of your groceries. This wasn’t the first time he’s done this. Whenever he tagged along with you, he’d always end up paying for your groceries no matter how much the bill came out to and his excuse was because he used and ate a lot of your groceries. 

After returning back to your apartment and the two of you put the groceries away, you spent the rest of the day reading a book while found his way on to your lap and played grand theft auto for a couple of hours. These were the days you loved the most. Although he was quite loud and violent whenever it came to his video games, you felt at peace and the most serene when it was just the two of you lounging around. 

“Hey y/n?” You hummed in curiosity and placed your book down in order to give him your full attention. “This morning, when you talked about your future husband and shit like that—do you—do you actually want to get married? Like, you want a wedding and to spend the rest of your life with someone?” 

You thought about the exact moment he was referring to and nodded in agreement. That was around the same time he grew angry and you couldn’t help but feel as if the idea of you ending up with someone else bothered him. “Of course I do. I’ve dreamt about having a beautiful, big wedding surrounded with all my friends and family. I like to look at wedding dresses and rings from time to time. How come? Don’t you?” 

He shrugged before continuing to play his game; the way he tensed up at your response caught your attention. “I guess. I don’t know, I don’t see myself settling down with anyone I guess. I don’t want anyone getting in between us. I refuse to live without you y/n.” You smiled softly before placing a gentle kiss on his neck. Sometimes you felt like the skin ship you shared was beyond normal than what most friends did. But the two of you were used to it. 

The kisses on your jaw, your neck, behind your ear; it wasn’t normal for friends to do things like that but here the two of you were. It never bothered you, in fact there were times where you couldn’t stop kissing him and had to forcefully stop yourself in fear of him finding it weird. 

“I think that’s why I’ve been single for so long. Since you are—well—you, my standards in men are pretty high. So I’d want them to be at least half the man that you are. Honestly, you and I should just get married.” His breath hitched and it was in that moment where you knew you fucked up. 

“I mean—you know. If both of us are still single once we reach thirty—then I would marry you—you know—if you asked.” You let out a sarcastic laugh and wished the ground would swallow you whole. 

“You would? Really? You’d want to marry me?” You nodded, shocked that he found it surprising. He was the only person you saw yourself getting married to, but you still had yet to make your friendship change in to a relationship. 

“Of course I’d want to marry you Mark. You’re my best friend. Why? Do you not want to marry me?” He placed the controller down and turned around to face you. The conversation was soon turning pretty serious. Mark never turned his video game off for anybody, not even you. His xbox was the only thing before you that he paid more attention to. 

“Of course I do. Nobody comes close to you y/n. Let’s make a pact, if were both single when we turn thirty, we jump the gun and marry each other. Deal?” 

You grinned like a school girl at the idea of marrying Mark one day and nodded quickly before intertwining your pinkies together. Mark returned back to his game and you with your book but not too long after, you found yourself falling asleep on top of Mark’s back and he giggled at the feeling. 

“You’re the only girl I want to marry.” 

They don't almost say "I love you" When they're downtown somewhere, just a little drunk They don't talk about the future and put each other in it And get chills with every accidental touch

Two days later, you were at home studying for your last final of the semester when you felt your phone vibrating. You tried your best to hide it in attempts to focus on your many notes in front of you, but you couldn’t help but look at it from time to time and saw that Mark was out at a bar with Jackson, BamBam, Jinyoung and Jaebum. 

You let out a giggle at every video of the guys forcing each other to take shots and you couldn’t help but wish you went with them. Forcing five months of notes in to your brain in one night was driving you insane. Seeing Mark’s name made your heart flutter, just like it normally did and right as you were about to let it go to voicemail, you answered his call. 

You haven’t seen him since he left your place right after the two of you ate dinner. He knew you had to study, so he wanted to give you his space but you found yourself typing out his number a couple of times because you missed his presence but ended up deleting the text completely. 

“Y/nnnnnnnnn. Hey, how’s the studying going? I miss you. You should’ve came.” You knew he was drunk and there was nothing more entertaining than a drunk Mark Tuan especially because he wasn’t one to drink all that often. In fact, alcohol changed him in to a completely different person. If he had a few shots of liquid courage in him, he could tell you the history of the Pillsbury dough boy. 

“You’re drunk.”

“And you’re beautiful. Your point is?” You mentally cursed the guys for allowing him to get so drunk but he was making your extremely boring night all the more fun.

“Where’s the guys?”

“I don’t know. Somewhere here on earth. Why do you care about them huh? Focus on me. I’m the only one you should be thinking about. You’re the only one I ever think about—and I think about you all the time y/n.” 

Every word that fell from his lips tugged on your heartstrings but you were smart enough to know not to believe him. He was drunk and had no idea what he was admitting to you right now. “Mark—“

“I love you. Y/n. I’ve loved you for as long as I can remember. I don’t know why you were so surprised to—to hear that I want to marry you—look at you. You’re the most ethereal human being in the world. You’re so beautiful and you—you make me so happy. I love you, I love you, I love you. I know you’re studying for biology right now, but do you think you could learn to love me?” 

You didn’t even realize you were holding in your breath the entire time he was confessing his love for you. Even if he was drunk, his words sounded so sincere. You didn’t know what to say, it was too much to take in. Were you hallucinating? Did staying up all those hours finally drive you to the brink of insanity? Before you could find the courage to respond, you heard murmuring through the phone and soon Jaebum’s voice was replacing Mark’s. 

“Hey, do you mind coming to pick him up? He’s drunk off his ass if it wasn’t already obvious. You don’t have to worry your pretty little head about the rest of us. We’re all fine. It’s Mark who ended up drinking a little too much.”

“Of course. Can you text me your location? I’ll be there soon. Take care of him for me would you?” You debated on taking a taxi, your mind was too clouded with his entire confession and you didn’t think you were in your right mind to be driving but you didn’t want to have to wait for one while taking care of a drunk Mark by yourself. Why couldn’t the guys just take him back with them? They were the ones who allowed him to get so drunk, why were they making him your responsibility? 

The entire drive to the bar was mind wrecking and you even found yourself running a few red lights. What was going to happen when you had him all to yourself? When you pulled up to the bar, your eyes immediately landed on the group of boys hovering over who you assumed to be Mark. Smiles all rose on their faces as soon as they saw you approaching but you were too focused on making sure Mark was okay. 

“Can I get some help to my car please?” Jackson and Jinyoung wrapped their arms around his shoulders and carried him to your car while BamBam and Jaebum walked alongside you. 

“I guess it’s out there.” You looked at BamBam in curiosity and earned yourself a knowing look. 

“You know exactly what I’m talking about y/n. I can’t believe it took him getting drunk to confess his feelings for you, but it had to come out somehow and he obviously wasn’t going to tell you how he feels sober. I’ve never seen someone as in love with a person like Mark is with you. That boy looks at you like the sun shines out of your ass. You must be blind not to see it. And don’t get me started when it comes to how much he talks about you. Whenever he actually comes out with us, you’re all he talks about. “Y/n loves coming here.” “Y/n showed me that last week.” “I hope y/n did good on her test.” “Did you guys see y/n last week? She looked so pretty in that dress.” I’m sure he could write a novel about the love he has for you—ow. What was that for?” 

The younger boy rubbed his shoulder from where Jaebum hit him and you couldn’t help but snicker. “That’s enough. Let mark go in to depth about his love for her. If he finds out your dumb ass practically confessed his feelings for him, you’re going to have to catch the bus home. Drive safely y/n. Let us know when you get home. And good luck with him. Please do something with the information you found out tonight. It’s been long enough don’t you think?” 

The boys all pulled you in for quick hugs and you began to drive away, making your way back to your apartment. He looked so peaceful yet so inebriated. His cheeks were pink and his eyelids were swollen yet he still looked so good. You hesitantly reached for his cheek and grazed you’re thumb against his Cupid’s bow. 

“You silly, silly boy. What am I going to do with you?” Bringing him upstairs by yourself was a challenge. If waking him up while he was sober was hard, attempting to get him up from his slumber was even more difficult. Not only did he not wake up at every single attempt of shaking him and practically whisper yelling in his ear, but his body was practically deadweight. What normally was a two minute walk from your parking lot to your apartment took almost twenty minutes. You praised yourself once you made it to your front door and dragged him inside, pulling him towards your room. His breath wreaked of alcohol and you weren’t sure if you wanted to try and get him to brush his teeth but after a while, you ultimately decided against it. Why put yourself through even more work for you? 

You took off his clothes and helped change him in to one of the shirts he left at your place before heading back in to the kitchen to get him a bottle of water and painkillers you knew he would need in the morning. After changing your clothes and preparing yourself for bed, you found your place next to Mark and brought his face in to your hands. With his confession and reassurance from both Jaebum and BamBam, you were confident in your decision to confront and confess your love for him when he was completely sober. You gave yourself a few moments to admire the handsome boy in front of you and placed a soft kiss on his lips before sleep finally took over. 

The next morning, you woke up to the sound of something rustling and a soft groan that you knew came from Mark. He released an exhausted sigh before pulling you closer to his chest. You decided to pretend you were still asleep in order to see what his next move would be and when you felt the multiple kisses along the back of your neck, it took every bone in your body not to react. “If only you knew.”

“Knew what?” The scream that filled your room on top of the thud that came when Mark fell off your bed made you erupt in laughter. You quickly ran over to his side to help him back up on top of the bed but your giggles still continued. He glared at you and crossed his arms out of frustration and you decided to give him a break. 

“You little shit. You scared me. How did I—why am I here?” You knew he was trying to redirect your attention away from his confession and you were going to play along for a few minutes before taking your confrontation head on. 

“You got piss drunk and the boys called me over to come get you.”

“Those assholes. I always take them home after their drunken stupors, I don’t know why they can’t do the same for me. They should know better than to bother you. You’re already tired as it is already. I’m sorry about that.” You shook your head before handing him a few pain killers and the water bottle. 

“It’s totally fine Mark. How are you feeling?” He groaned. 

“Like shit. I um—I didn’t say anything embarrassing did I?” This was it. It was time to finally find out for yourself what Mark’s exact feelings for you were. Although it has been hinted to you many times, and the truth came out last night, you wanted to hear him say it himself, sober. 

You didn’t give yourself any time to think before your lips connected with his. It felt so natural to you. You cupped his cheeks with your palms as your lips moved softly against his. However, once you tasted the alcohol and noticed he wasn’t reacting, you pulled away. 

“W—what—did you just—did we—am I still drunk? I have to be. There’s no way—why did you stop? What the fuck is going on?” His stammering was extremely adorable and before you could respond, his lips were back on yours. Kissing Mark felt too good to be true. His lips melded perfectly with yours, as if the two of you were made to kiss one another. 

“You told me you loved me last night. This is my way of letting you know I feel the exact same way. I’ve been in love with you for so many years, I can’t even count how long on my hands. I never thought I was good enough for you, nor did I think there was a chance you would ever feel the same. I was always just your best friend. The idea of us being something more than friends was an unrealistic daydream I would hope and pray would become a reality. Over the course of our friendship, our parents, friends and even our teachers would try and tell me that you harbored feelings for me but I never believed anybody. We’ve been friends for so long already. If you liked me, you would’ve done something about it a long time ago. I really wanted to confess my feelings for you on many occasions, but the idea of losing you was one I couldn’t even fathom.” 

With the way he was looking at you with so much love and adoration in his eyes at your confession you were sure you’d melt in to a puddle right there. “You’re my best friend Mark. My person. My soulmate. Hearing you tell me that you love me is such a beautiful and indescribable feeling. I meant it when I said I would marry you because I knew you were the man I wanted to spend the rest of my life with. There’s nobody else but you Mark. You’re it for me.” 

He brought some of your hair behind your ear and just as he was about to kiss you, you dodged his lips no matter how badly you wanted to feel them against yours again. 

“You just confessed your feelings for me, let me kiss you—“ 

“Brush your teeth first stinky and then we’ll talk.” He rolled his eyes before stomping over to your bathroom. 

“The love of my life is denying me kisses I can’t believe this bullshit—“ the blush was warm on your cheeks and you knew if you were to look in a mirror that you’d be as red as a tomato right now but you didn’t care; Mark had that effect on you. You could hear how rough and quick he was brushing his teeth and the thought of him rushing in order to kiss you again made your heart flutter. Soon, he clumsily made his way toward you and practically tackled you on to the bed. He wasted no time attacking your face with kisses and finally bringing his lips to yours. 

You would have never thought, in all your years of being friends with Mark that you would one day have him hovering over you with his grip tight on your waist as your tongues battled for dominance, roughly clashing against each other. Kissing Mark was otherworldly. His lips were soft and melded well against yours and the way he was touching you, so gentle yet so seductively was driving you insane. You playfully brought his bottom lip in between your teeth and the growl that came from the back of his throat sent chills down your spine. 

“Fuck—shit—fuck—you—you’re so beautiful y/n. So fucking beautiful and extremely sexy. God, I am so, so in love with you baby. Ugh, I love how it sounds calling you that. Baby. You are MY baby.” 

He grinned widely and stole one more kiss from the corner of your mouth before continuing. “As much as I did not want to go out last night, I needed something else to consume my mind. I couldn’t stop thinking about you and how badly I wanted you to be mine. You know how hard it is? Seeing that breathtaking smile of yours, hearing that contagious laughter than makes me smile like an idiot, holding you in my arms, running my fingers through your hair and not being able to kiss you? Not being able to hold your hand and letting the world know that you’re mine? It was torture y/n. From the day we became friends, I knew you were meant to be someone special in my life. I just didn’t know how special nor did I know how much you would mean to me. You’re my entire world y/n.” He pulled you on to his lap and softly cupped your cheeks.

“You are the most selfless, hardworking, generous, kind-hearted, caring and extremely supportive person I’ve ever met. You are the reason I put so much effort and energy in to every little thing that I do. I want you to be proud of me. If you’ve been wondering why I get so angry whenever it comes to you and another guy; like you and Jackson that one movie night, you and Jinyoung when we played spin the bottle, hell, even a few nights ago when you talked about your future husband, it’s because I was jealous. The thought of you loving someone else, kissing someone else, settling down and starting a family with someone who isn’t me sends an upsetting feeling to my stomach. Pathetic isn’t it. I’m a coward who couldn’t act on my feelings because I was too afraid of your reaction so I had no right to be jealous. The reason I got so drunk last night was because BamBam and Jackson wouldn’t stop joking around about how cute you and Park Jinyoung would look together. Fuck Jinyoung—wait—don’t. The only person you’ll be fucking from now on is me. But I hope you know you’re stuck with me and my dick for the rest of your life. Now that I have you, you’re mine forever. I’m never letting you go. My beautiful y/n, I love you so much.” 

He smiled in to the kiss as soon as he felt his lips on yours and quickly wiped away your tear as it fell down your cheek. “To think, if only I got you drunk earlier, we could been in this position sooner.”

“Well I heard that drunk sex is the best kind of sex, so if you want to take a few shots of tequila and celebrate our newfound relationship by bouncing on my dick for the rest of the day then I’m all for it—ow y/n—I’m going to let you know that slapping is only fun if I get to do it to you—I hope you’re this wild during sex. Honestly, what did I get myself into? I’m kidding—come back here. Let me love you baby!”

[extremelyblackandwhite]

reader being best friends with carter while he's chasing serena but also being in love with him?

CARTER BAIZEN APPRECIATION SQUAD ASSEMBLE! (i promise i’ll get to non carter requests)

y/n and carter had known each other for a while

they had met during a summer at the hamptons when his parents invited her family over for dinner

she had helped him inside the house after returning from a particular night out which to his parents was a meeting with some of his friends to go over stuff for the new school year

from then onwards carter and y/n became friends

he would meet her in the back of her parents apartment and the two would drive around the nights of new york talking about their problems

it hadn’t taken long for y/n to fall in love with him

he was an attractive, smart man who seemed to have more goals other than the vapid boys she knew from st.judes

it wasn’t like she expected him to return her affections. she was his sister’s age, 3 years younger. she knew he wouldn’t be interested so she hid it deep inside her heart where no one would see it

after all she’d rather have a tiny bit of his heart than have to pretend he never existed

maybe she should’ve seen it coming that he would leave, but she didn’t and one afternoon as she knocked on his door to pick him up to go for their weekly lunch at his favourite spot was the moment she wished she could’ve avoided it

it was his mother who had opened the door, tight smile on her face, pity in her eyes as she stared at the girl in front of her “do you not know, sweetheart?” “am i supposed to know something?” “he left. says he doesn’t want anything to do with this family anymore”

her heart stopped for a while, the buzzing sound of her mind wondering why, why he wouldn’t tell her

it had been his sister caroline who had helped her through it, telling her he wasn’t even worth the hazzle, to instead focus on the much more attractive boys her age attending st.judes

y/n wasn’t interested but as time flew by she slowly learned to accept that he wasn’t returning

she had built a life for herself, becoming one of constance’s shining stars holding near perfect grades

she had also built a friendship with blair waldorf after serena had left her, both of them bonding over having someone leaving unexpectedly 

“my mum was supposed to host a tea party for CeCe and she went to paris. usual” “do you need any help?” “wanna come? might make it less boring besides you still need a date for cotillion“ “well not everyone can have nate archibald for a date” “i am pretty lucky aren’t i? but you need a date, you cannot not have an escort. even serena is taking ... dan” “alright, i’ll go to the tea party” “perfect”

she should’ve not gone. she should’ve just accepted caroline’s invitation to go shop for a cotillion dress but she didn’t. she couldn’t see the future.

as she walked off the lift into the van der woodsen’s apartment, a familiar face showed, sat in a couch surrounded by girls 

“y/n” blair rushed over to her side “i don’t want to frighten you but ... carter’s here” “i’ve seen.” “i want you to know that i didn’t invite him. cece invited him, she wants him to be serena’s escort.” “that’s fine” “are you sure? i could kick him out” “that’s fine”

it wasn’t fine. 

she spent the whole tea party as further from him as possible, not sure of what to say to him or how to even react

although she had to admit it broke her heart that he wasn’t interested in even talking to her, instead looking her way and immediately turning to receive the praise of several girls

“he’s not even that attractive” blair rolled her eyes at her minions which were fauning over him “urgh, imagine being attracted to a wannabe matthew mcconaughey” “you don’t have to make me feel better, blair” “look at that last season suit. disgusting” 

she stayed until the end of the party, chatting up with several people who came to ask about her family business and by the end of the party she had even started to help the maids bring dirty dishes into the kitchen

“you were always an odd one, i have to give you that” a voice made her drop the porcelain onto the soapy water and turn her face towards its direction. carter. “y/n, i’m really sorry” “yeah i could tell since you didn’t call or write after you left” “i didn’t have any way to contact you” “you didn’t even tell me you were leaving carter. do you know how it felt walking up to your house and having your mother tell me you left?” “i had to go y/n” “so have i, carter.”

she didn’t want to speak with him, she didn’t want to fall back into the state

at least she had decided not to speak with him until nate punched him at cotillion 

“you look like shit” “thanks, y/n.” “i gotta say, i wanted to do that myself. nate stole that away from me” “how long are you gonna be upset with me, y/n?” “as long as i want” “c’mon, let’s do something together” “i said i would act civilised with you not lobotomised” “c’mon, y/n. i’ll pay” “do you even have any money? didn’t your parents cut you off?” “i’ll find a way” “... fine. the bar of the lotte new york palace

blair and caroline had told her not to go but she thought that it would be better to get it over and done with. to call it water under the bridge and not have him haunt her what ifs anymore

she found him at the bar of the palace, black suit on. he never used to wear suits, she still remembers him in his messy st. judes uniform, undone tie all the time

“you came” “i said i would” “i know you have every single reason to hate me but i miss you, y/n. i really do. i have so much to tell you” “some people would use a journal” “i fucked up, i know but ... second chance? you can punch me too if you want” “that’s a really good offer, i think i’m gonna pounder it” “how about i pick you up tomorrow night? late driving around new york” “you got yourself a deal, baizen”

soon enough she found herself in the same situation, still in love with him

he was still the same man, still the same chuckle, talking passionately about his projects, making stupid jokes

but one thing still was the same, the same thing she didn’t want to accept, he still would never reciprocate her feelings

“y/n, i can’t pick you up tonight. i have a date with serena.” “serena van der woodsen?” “yeah, do you mind?” “uh ... no... sure, go on”

her blood boiled out of jealousy

she always thought the reason he would never reciprocate her feelings was because she was younger but serena, serena was the same age as her and it stung, it stung so badly

she ended up at the house of the same person who could understand being jealous of serena : blair waldorf’s

“oh, please, y/n. seriously? carter? he’s so ... boring. god” “well i’m sorry blair not everyone can have their first time in the backseat of a limo with chuck bass” “hey now that nate is single maybe you should go out with him” “i’m not gonna go out with nate” “why you two would make such a nice couple” “i’m not in love with nate” “i’m sorry, y/n.” 

she pretended it was okay

she would smile whenever he talked about serena

she would be next to him when she undoubtedly got him inside her petty little games with chuck

she would be there when he quit her and she would be there when he took her back

she was there for everything until one morning where she was woken up by someone banging on her door

“nate?” “something happened and you might want to sit down” “what happened? are you okay?” “serena left with carter last afternoon” “what do you mean?” “they left y/n, together.”

suddenly she found herself in the same spot she had been years ago abandoned

he returned later that summer during the races but this time she didn’t forgive him

she spent the day with dan and blair, mindlessly listening to serena talking about how carter followed her but she knew better

she knew they’d be back together and surely again they were

carter should feel happy, serena was back but he didn’t feel better

he felt ... empty, like something was lacking

whenever he laid down next to her and feel asleep he dreamed of y/n

he dreamed of her vintage oversized tees reaching her knees as she read her favourite books in his study 

he dreamed of her laughter whenever he took her to a driver in theatre, fingers holding popcorns to her lips

he dreamed of her red tinted lips during festivities, dancing under streetlights singing showtunes, bitting her lips whenever she had a test

he convinced himself it was just missing her but part of him knew it wasn’t that

he should be with serena, her family approved, his family approved

so he stuck it out, convincing himself this was a phase just a phase

as serena dumped him on the side of the street he looked at the streetlight, remembering y/n in an oversized cardigan jumping puddles over it, twirling around it playfully

“what am i doing?”

he rushed down the streets of the upper east side like a mad man

he’d never walked this long

but he kept on walking, he kept on walking until he saw her apartment

he knocked on the door for what felt like a hundred times 

“i’m coming” he could hear her sleepy voice from the other side and sure enough, soon enough the sound of her steps became too loud and she opened the door “carter, what are y...” “let me just say something okay? then you can shut the door” “it’s 1 AM” “please” “20 seconds” “i’m sorry, y/n. i’m so sorry, i should’ve told you when i left years ago, i shouldn’t have left with serena. i should’ve stayed with you. you always listened to me, you always believed in me and i always let you down. i miss you, i miss having fights with you about star wars plots, speaking with you on the phone at 5 AM, trying to make you laugh when you were upset. i miss seeing your sleepy smile every single morning, i miss you” “carter” “all this time being with her i just kept thinking about doing those things with you. taking you to cotillion, dance with you, be at your graduation and help you move into college, take you to fancy bars and restaurants, buy you flowers and everything else money can afford and i missed out on it, i missed out on it and i cannot give them to you. but here’s what i propose ... i wanna be there when you graduate from college, i wanna be there to help you move into your very first apartment, i want to be there when you start your first job, i wanna be there for you.” “you’re not one to stick around, carter” “let me try, please let me try” “isn’t this your third chance?” “i will ask you for a million chances as long as i get to see you for the rest of my life” 

[death-himself]

If a Karen Gives a Flower

Part of the Four Human-Eating Monsters and An Apathetic Florist AU!

Summary: When Virgil got a dying flower from an angry Karen, he wasn't expecting to also get his boyfriend's brother a boyfriend

Warnings: Enough fluff to kill an army

Word Count: 2,357

Previous Next  (AO3 Link)

The day started with a Karen giving Virgil a dying flower and ended with him being nearly hugged to death by a giant drider. How typical.

Virgil heard the bell jingle as a new customer stepped into the shop, turning to see a woman with a bob cut in probably her late forties walk in, holding a wilting potted plant.

“Good morning, ma’am. How can I help you today?” She huffed, setting the plant on the counter.

“Can you bring this thing back to life?”

“Excuse me?” She pushed the plant closer to him, looking him directly in the eyes.

“I found this flower at the edge of this forest I drive by every day to work. It had such beautiful petals, they were bright pink with white spots on them. I thought it would look nice on my desk, but then it just started dying. Can you fix it?”

Virgil took a deep breath, biting back his desire to point out that plants aren’t like cars; he couldn’t just fix it.

“Well ma’am, it looks like this might be a Deptford Pink. They’re somewhat easy to maintain, so I’m not quite sure what you could have done wrong. The pot looks a bit too small for it, though. And have you been keeping it in the sunlight?”

“Why would I have to?” She scoffed. Virgil wanted to slap her.

“It’s a plant, ma’am. It needs sunlight, and Deptford Pink’s need full sunlight in order to properly grow.”

“My desk isn’t in the sunlight, though! There has to be something you can do.”

“I mean...I guess if you want it to be on your desk you could maybe move it onto your desk whenever you’re working and then move it back into the sunlight when you’re done?” That seemed to properly offend her, and Virgil was happy about that.

“I’d like to speak to your manager, you have no right to talk to me like that.” Virgil nodded, walking into the back, biting back a grin. He opened and closed the door, waiting a few seconds. His coworker Thomas gave him a confused look as Virgil walked back out.

“Hello, I’m the manager, is there a problem here, ma’am?” Virgil asked with a sly grin. She scowled, walking out the door without another word.

Thomas came out from the back, putting a few flowers out on display. “What happened?”

“Karen.”

“Oh.” Virgil looked over the plant the lady had brought in. It was definitely dying, but it could probably still be saved. Virgil took it into the back, grabbing a larger pot for it and filling it with more nutrient-rich soil. He then reached for the flower and carefully took it out of its old pot, placing it gently into its new one.

It seemed to shudder. Virgil blinked, noticing how it swayed unnaturally back and forth for a moment, before seeming to relax and go still.

Virgil looked it over for a moment. Part of him told him that it was just his mind playing tricks on him. Part of him reminded him he was dating four supernatural creatures. How strange was it really for a flower to act a bit weird?

He placed the flower in the sunlight, and it seemed to shudder again. Virgil glanced at the door leading to the actual store. Thomas was still out there, out of earshot. He sighed. No harm in making sure.

“How are you feeling?” He asked the plant. It didn’t respond. “I’m talking to you, I know about beings like you.” It still didn’t respond. Virgil shrugged, giving up and walking back to the front. Guess it was just his mind messing with him.

He got home and carried the flower in, knowing Roman and Patton would probably like it. As usual, he took his shoes off, turned around, and there was Patton.

“Welcome home!” He cheered, coming in close and kissing him on the lips. “How was—” Then he noticed the flower. Virgil had expected Patton to get super excited—he always loved when Virgil brought home plants from his shop—but instead he looked almost freaked out and confused.

“Uh...what’s that you got there, Vee?”

“It’s a Deptford Pink, this Karen came in and started saying all this dumb shit, so—”

“That’s not a flower...” He spoke lightly, shaking his head.

“What do you mean?”

“I...I don’t know! It has a weird smell! It doesn’t really smell like a flower, but it also doesn’t smell like a human, or a vampire, or any species I’ve met!” By this point Logan, Janus, and Roman had come by to welcome Virgil home, but stayed silent to listen to Patton.

Roman tilted his head to the side. “It’s not just a flower?”

“Perhaps it’s another species we are unaware of, then. The only one that comes to mind pertaining to flowers are nymphs, specifically the Leimoniads.” Logan spoke, walking over and taking the pot from Virgil’s hands, studying it from every angle.

“That’s exactly what they are.” Janus said, grabbing the flower from Logan and holding it close to his chest. “I remember back when I lived in my forest there were dozens of nymphs and dryads. Particularly land and river nymphs, those were very common.”

Janus sighed as he looked down at the flower nymph. “Their life forces are connected to the kinds of areas they are born in. For flower nymphs such as this one, it’s valleys and forests. If they are taken out of those areas for too long, their plant will die, and with it, the nymph will die as well.” Patton whimpered.

“Can we just take them into the forest behind the house? Would that work?”

“Possibly. It’s not very common for a nymph to have to reconnect their life forces to another source.”

“Well, it’s worth a shot!” Roman declared, taking the plant gently in his arms and scurrying out the door. Virgil watched him leave for a moment, before remembering that he was the only one in the house who actually knew how to plant a flower. He cursed, gathering up whatever gardening tools he would need and running out the door after him. “Roman you fucking dumbass, wait up!”

Remus hummed to himself as he drew on the walls with animal blood. He was bored, and just couldn’t get to sleep. He was tempted to just break into Virgil’s house and mess with his brother and his soulmates for a bit, but resisted. Virgil would force him to clean up whatever mess he’d make, and for a human, the guy was surprisingly scary.

He groaned, lying back down on his stomach in his web. It was so boring in the cave without anyone else there.

His ears perked up when he heard in the distance two voices.

“You humans are so slow!”

“It’s not my fault I only have two legs!”

“But why are you so slow?”

“Hey, Jan is slower, so—”

“Don’t go comparing yourself to someone with no legs!”

Oh, Roman and Virgil. What were they up to so late at night? Remus shrugged, scuttling out of the cave, deciding to see for himself.

“You have four times as many legs as me, and eight times the amount Janus has, you’re an outlier that shouldn’t be counted in the whole “who’s slow test.” 

“How dare you!”

“I dare.”

“Maybe our new friend here can be our deciding vote, huh?” He leaned closer into the flower, raising an eyebrow. “Should I, the handsome and incredible Roman, truly not be counted in a test such as this one?” The flower shuddered. Roman squinted. “Is that a yes or a no?”

“I think they’re saying “Get out of my personal space” Prince Charming.” Roman huffed, moving away from the nymph again, holding them a bit further from his body.

“How come they haven’t turned into some like...pink humanoid person by now? I mean...that’s how nymphs are usually depicted in Greek myths.” Virgil shone his phone’s flashlight around at the trees, wondering if any of them were dryads in disguise.

“I think I remember back when I was very young.” Roman said. “I used to have this dryad as a friend. She said that since her life force was connected to the forest her pine tree lived in, if she were to somehow be disconnected from her forest for too long, her body would go into her tree and she would be unable to take any form outside of her tree until she regained her energy. This nymph is probably just too tired to take form.”

Virgil hummed, walking out into a meadow near the twin driders’ cave. “This place’ll probably work, right?”

“Maybe. Does this place look good to you, my flowery friend?” The flower swayed back and forth. “I’m assuming that’s a yes?” The flower swayed again. “Excellent!”

Virgil dug a hole deep enough for the flower to be moved into, pulling it out of the pot gently and placing it into the hole. The flower shuddered, before swaying back and forth again, seeming to be pleased. Roman smiled.

“Would you like us to leave you alone to rest?” The flower swayed and shuddered. They decided to take that as a yes.

“I guess that means we’ll be leaving, then.” Virgil yawned. “About time. I just wanna eat dinner and go to bed.”

“You and me both.” Roman waved at the flower as he stood up. “We’ll check up on you in the morning, alright? Sleep well!” The two headed back home, continuing their debate about who can be considered slow or fast as they went.

Remus slowly crawled out into the meadow as the two left. He had been too far away to understand what was going on, but apparently they had come out just to plant a flower. He laid down next to the plant, studying it closely.

“What’s so special about you?” The flower swayed without any wind to move it. “Huh. Weird. You some kind of nature spirit?” It continued to sway back and forth.

Remus reached out to touch it, before remembering a certain run-in he had with a dryad before. He had been picking pine needles out of his hair for weeks after touching her. “Can I touch you?” The flower shuddered. “Is that a no?” It began swaying again. “Okay.” He let his arm drop.

“So where’d my brother and his human find you?” No response, which made sense considering flowers can’t speak. “I think Virgey works at some kinda flower shop, right? I don’t get humans with that whole “flower shop” thing. If you want flowers, just fuck around outside, y’know?”

Remus couldn’t completely understand the flower’s swaying and shuddering, but the nymph seemed interested in what he had to say, and that was enough for him. He continued to talk and rant to the flower, appreciating any bit of movement he received.

With a yawn he finished up his story about the first time he killed a human with his bare hands, finally beginning to run out of things to talk about as the sun began to rise. His throat was a bit sore from talking all night, but he was satisfied. His eyelids slowly began to droop.

“Thanks for keeping me company!” Remus squeaked, his eyes flying back open and looking up. Sitting on the opposite side of the flower from him was a three-foot tall man with long, messy pink hair, pale pink skin, and white freckles, smiling at him.

“Woah.” Remus breathed. “You’re hot as fuck.” The nymph chuckled, looking down at the pure black palm of his hand.

“You don’t look so bad yourself!” He hesitated, looking at the handprint on Remus’s chest. “Is it alright if I touch you?” Remus’s face split into a grin, and he nodded eagerly. The nymph took his hand and gently laid it over Remus’s soulmark. The black from both creatures faded away.

Remus cackled happily, pulling the nymph in close and holding him tight. “I’m Remus! I don’t think I introduced myself last night, but I’m Remus! We’re soulmates, holy fuck! Roman can fuck off with his four soulmates, you’re better than all of them combined! I love you, you cute little shit!”

The nymph laughed along, allowing himself to be twirled around and carried as Remus basically danced around the meadow. “I’m Emile! I thought you were my soulmate! While you were talking I saw the hand on your chest and it looked about the size of my hands so all I had to do is put two and two together and bingo bongo!” Emile hugged Remus tighter.

Virgil and his soulmates came out about half an hour later. By that point Emile had already told Remus everything that had happened. The moment Remus saw Virgil, he got up and scrambled over to him.

“Virgil!” He tackled the human, pulling him into a hug that could have very easily broken Virgil’s bones. “You saved my boyfriend’s life! I love you!”

“What?” Virgil choked out. “Lemme go!” Remus let go with a cheer. “I have a boyfriend and he’s hotter than all of you!” Emile waved.

“I’m Emile, I’m his soulmate! Can you believe that?”

“I’m assuming you’re the nymph Virgil and Roman brought out last night?” Logan asked.

“Yup! It’s good to meet you all! I don’t know how to repay you for what you did, but thank you.”

“It’s no problem. Just keep this idiot occupied.” Virgil jabbed a thumb at Remus, trying to regain his breath.

Roman came over to Emile, looking him over for a moment, before smiling and pulling him into a hug. “It’s been a while since I’ve seen my brother this happy so...thank you.” He whispered.

Later on they moved Emile’s flower to just outside of Remus’s cave, that way they would be able to properly live together. Whenever the two were invited over to Virgil’s house, Emile would pot up his plant and bring it with them, since he was tethered to the flower. They made it work, and Remus was excited the entire time.

[riaflicke]

The saying went something like, monsters are created not born. And that was exactly how Ria Flicke felt about the demon - or demons, plural, depending on the day - inside of her. It wasn’t always dark, but it was fed enough that it grew and grew until she didn’t know what it felt like to not have the darkness inside of her.

Some of the creation was self-inflicted. It wasn’t like she knew how to walk away from a bad situation or how to let the light win out, no, she let the darkness win and that was her own fault. Over the past few months of alone time and wrestling with questions and curiosities, she managed to figure out how and where the darkness was cultivated, fed and nurtured by the people that were meant to protect her.

AUGUST 17th, 2010, FAIRFIELD, CONNECTICUT (14 years old)

Move in day for Faircrest Preparatory School. Day one of one million of learning to be a spy. Mariana thought that it would be a good idea for Leon to drive Ria to move in. After all, he worked at Faircrest, and she thought it’d be good for the younger Flicke to finally get to know her father. 

Needless to say, it did not get off to a good start. Ria knew two things: her mother was cryptic about her father and the only way to get adults to pay attention to her was to be annoying. And she had lots of questions for Leon which meant she would be extra annoying. 

“Don’t put your feet up there,” Leon turned over to his daughter, who had perched her feet on the all white car dash. “You’re going to get it dirty.” “What?” Ria didn’t dignify him with even a glance, she instead focused on picking a scab on her calf. “Maria-” “Ria.” “Maria,” Leon huffed, “Take your feet off the dash or we’re not leaving this driveway… What did you do to yourself anyway?” “Fell off my bike.” “Don’t you know how to ride a bike?” Picking at the scab until she got it to bleed again (because it definitely made her dad cringe), “Yes. I let go.” “Why?” “It made mom freak out.” She finally moved her feet from the dash, pleased with the furrowed brow her father now had. “And why in the world would you want to do that?” Leon asked in a deadpan tone, clearly frustrated with his daughter’s antics. “It proved mom cares. Somewhere. She got worried.”

The frustration on Leon’s face morphed into one of pride, but in the blink of an eye it was back to neutral. “You’re already thinking like a spy. What has your mother taught you so far?” “Nothing, I’ve known for all of like, three months.” “Alright. Well, we have about six hours ahead of us-” “Joy.” “Don’t interrupt me, Maria. I can’t have my daughter not knowing anything about spyhood. You’re already starting Faircrest at a disadvantage.”

That spoke to the competitive side of Ria and all, but she thought that this ride would be a way to get to know the man she’d wondered about for years. “You’re going to spend six hours talking to me about spy stuff and not like… anything about me?” “I didn’t say that. Anyways, I’ll see you all year on campus, we have plenty of time to get to know each other.” “Ooookay. Weird, but, fine, talk to me about your spy life or whatever…” Her voice trailed off into silence.

Leon glanced over at her, “What were you about to say?” Chewing on her bottom lip, Ria was silent for a little longer before speaking up. “I wanted to ask you a question.” “Fine, ask it then.” “Do you love me?” The words sounded sharp to hide the fear inside. “I don’t know.” Sitting up straighter, the blonde’s face dropped, “How do you not know? I’m your daughter.” “We just met.” “So?” “So,  I need time to decide.” “Do you think you ever will?” “We’ll see.” And he wouldn’t. ‘I love you’ were three words he’d never say. “Fine… Tell me about this spy shit.” “Language.”

JUNE 8th, 2010, FAIRFIELD, CONNECTICUT (17 years old) Whether she wanted to listen to her father or not (spoiler: she didn’t!), Ria wanted to be top of her class. Success was something she could control. Success gave her purpose. Success made it all worth it. So as much as she hated Leon Calder with everything in her being, she kept note of all of his rules and the subsequent tests and trials in a tiny leather bound notebook. It was a pale pink, embossed with “Maria” on the cover - which she had since scratched up with pens and keys until it only read Ria.

With graduation on the corner - and a four year break from spyhood (her parents hated that one) on the horizon - she flicked through the pages, a walk down a very bumpy memory lane.

Rule 1: Control the conversation What’s it mean: - Have conviction in what you say - Stand by your words, even if they’re questionable - Don’t get stuck in webs of lies - Take pride in attention - good or bad - throws people off their game when you embrace an insult

Rule 2: Head not heart What’s it mean: - Don’t lead with emotions ever - Look at things logically bc that’s trustworthy, emotions are fickle - Tears are weakness - avoid at all costs!!!

8/30/10 - first week @ faircrest, dad got me a xanax prescription. told me it’s better to feel nothing than something. haven’t tried it yet 2/1/12 - (middle of soph. year.) - i think i’m addicted  4/29/14 - i’m graduating in 2 months. Idk how to feel bc i don’t think i’ve felt anything in four years. 8/2/14 - i don’t trust my own head

Rule 3: Don’t have a blindspot What’s it mean: - Falling in love means youre caught up in another person - Getting caught up in another person is a weak point - A lover will betray you or will be used against you - Lust =/= love, lust is ok.

11/1/13 - i don’t think ive cared about a single person ive slept with. like at all.

Rule 4: Know what you’re walking into What’s it mean: - Awareness is key - Evaluate every situation in full - ALWAYS keep your guard up or you’ll get backstabbed

12/21/10 - was @ home for christmas, dad snuck up behind me and threw a knife. i ducked in time. said i need to get better at awareness. Wtf.

After twenty or so blank pages, one page of the notebook had a few words written on it in all capitals. They were written more cleanly than the notes and scribbles of yesteryear, clearly written by an older Ria with stronger penmanship.

I THINK IM A MONSTER.

SEPTEMBER THROUGH NOVEMBER, 2020, ROSEVILLE, VA (24 years old)

The fires the year prior had been the first time that Ria remembered crying in over ten years. Something cracked inside of her as the buildings and all she’d used to ground herself started to fall and crackle apart. It was what pushed her to look inside of her. To know why she held so tightly onto the lessons and learnings from two people that couldn’t care less about her. It was what sent her to therapy. 

There were no diagnoses to be found, apart from a self-inflicted dependence on unhealthy relationships and her vices. She lacked the remorse and violence to be a psychopath, and she didn’t have the swings of anger that hallmarked aggression disorders. What was there instead was a shell, a guard that presented itself as sociopathy - but she knew what she was doing, she had remorse, that was where the questions began. How could you display every trait in the book but be ‘normal’ inside? 

The revelation of Blackthorne as a school for assassins had opened up even more of a can of worms, but she ignored it until the start of her third year, as she continued to try and understand what was going on inside of her head. Leon had gone to Blackthorne, yet the alumni didn’t seem to recognize his name. Something was up.

With the help of one of her Faircrest friends, Tobi, she was able to find more on her father. More on his employment records and his history. He’d begun going by his middle name after graduating Blackthorne, Leon Calder instead of Malcolm Calder. Hardly a criminal offense. He had a cross listing with the MI5 (expected, she knew her parents met in London) and a private agency ‘Atkinson Associates’. Further digging revealed it as a hitman agency, one that her father was still actively employed with. 

Once she had that, and access to the files of the company, she went to dig on her own - not wanting to pull anyone else deeper into the mess. The employee roster and files were what she really wanted. Clicking on her father’s, she read through the notes, feeling a gross pit building in her stomach as she learned more. Kill count: 117. Use for: High profile, quickturn jobs. Works both individually and with partners.

Noting that the word partners was linked, Ria clicked on it, skimming quickly over unknown names until she settled on the name of a former partner. One she knew too well. Mariana Alice Flicke.

“No…. no no no…” But she couldn’t stop, she had to know more about her mother. Kill count: 2. Use for: Track erasure and evidence destruction. 

She didn’t know if it made her feel better or worse that her mother was typically non-violent… Even if she condoned the violence. Blue eyes kept scanning the profile of her mom. Employment Terminated: September 30, 1995 Reason: Pregnancy.

“No wonder he hates me so fucking much.” She took Mariana out of the field, she took his partner away… But that wasn’t her fault! Hovering over the word pregnancy, Ria’s brow furrowed. Another link. There was no reason that needed to be linked. Everyone knew how pregnancy worked!

After a long stare off with the link, she finally clicked on it. The curiosity eating away at her. It pulled up what looked like an incomplete profile, one with nothing but the key statistics. And she didn’t even need to read them, they were ones she knew by heart. Name: Maria Grace Flicke Date of Birth: June 6, 1996 Start Date: To Be Determined.

She wanted to stop scrolling, but her hand kept moving, the answers were finally there. Whether she liked them or not. 

Current Status: 

Atkinson Associates Case study 001.:  Nature versus Nurture

- Developing the mindset of an assassin from day one - Utilizing upbringing to control later characteristics, thought processes, and disposition

None of her mania was an accident. It was all part of a bigger plan that she never wanted to be a part of. Each demon was planted inside of her by the people that were supposed to love her most.

And the only way she could deal with this was to let out an ear-piercing wail.

[atlafan]

I'm not sure if you're taking requests but if you are could you write a little something about the reader getting like ridiculously stressed over like work or college and harry being a comforting boyfriend❤

a/n: I was really gonna take a break tonight, and I have so many asks in my inbox, but damn, this was just too cute to pass up! 

Anything You Want

It was your first year of grad school. You got hired on as a GA in the Meteorology department. You were paid to study the subject you loved more than anything. You knew from a young age that you wanted to be a meteorologist, or at the time, just a weather person. But now you knew there was way more too it than that. You were worked really hard during your undergraduate years. Between countless calculus and computer science classes, you managed to graduate Suma. 

You found a graduate program that suited you, and you were accepted. You still tried to make time for fun. The summer before starting graduate school you spent some time exploring the Malibu area. You had never really made the time to take advantage of the beach and coastline. As you went hiking and exploring, you found a nonpopulated area. It had one of the best views you had ever seen. You took note, and decided to come back the next night for the sunset. You brought a blanket and some snacks, and stopped short when you saw a figure sitting there already. You hear a man sigh, and turn around.

“Holy shit.” You say under your breath. It was Harry Styles.

“Here I was thinkin’ no one else knew where this place was. Go ahead, send a tweet out to everyone so they can come find me.” 

“I’m...not going to do that. I just came up here to watch the sunset.”

“Alone?” He raises an eyebrow at you.

“Yeah. I just moved to the area...I don’t really know a lot of people.”

“Weren’t you scared to come up here by yourself? It’ll be dark soon.”

“Not really, I have pepper spray and my keys.” He chuckles. “Why are you here?”

“Same as you. I like to come here to think, watch the sunset, or the sunrise. You’re smart though, to bring a blanket and food.” 

“Wanna share?” He smiles at you.

“Sure.” 

And that’s how it happened. He walked you down the trail that night, and somehow you ended up back at his house. And somehow you ended up waking up in his bed the next morning. 

//

It was a summer of love between you two. He loved listening to you talk about the weather, and the science behind all of it. Your grad work started in August. You found small moments to bring him up the roof of the building to show Harry the view. It was a really romantic spot. You were used to him being busy and stressed, but he wasn’t used to you being busy and stressed. You started staying at your apartment more, and less at his place. He hated coming home and you weren’t there. 

As the semester progressed, you found your workload increasing immensely. Between the class you had to teach, the classes you were taking, and your personal research for your thesis, you felt like you were going to spontaneously combust. Harry hated seeing you so overworked, but you’d never explain to him how bad it really was. Another weekend rolled around where you weren’t able to drive out to see him. He thought he’d come to you instead. 

He had a key to your place, so he let himself in. He found you sitting on the floor next to your desk sobbing. He rushed over to you wrapping you in his arms. 

“What’s going on?” He gets you up and leads you to your couch. 

“I’m just so fucking stressed, Harry!” You say between tears, barely able to breathe. “I have a million tests to grade, and these kids are so fucking stupid! I feel like I’m a horrible teacher. I have research do for my thesis that I’ve barely had time to start on, and I’m one assignment away from falling behind in my classes! I can’t do this! I don’t know how I thought I could.” Your voice cracks. “And the worst part is, I hate complaining to you because you’re job is just as stressful, if not more!” 

He rubs your back, and lets you cry into his chest for however long you need. Once you’ve calmed down a bit, he goes to make you a cup of tea.

“Thanks.” You sniffle, taking the hot mug from him. 

“I want you to know, what you’re doing is way more stressful than what I do. I’m under a lot of pressure, yeah, but I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t last a day doing what you do. You can do this. You don’t give yourself enough credit. You work harder than anyone I know.” 

“I just feel like I’m doing everything wrong, Harry. I mean, I haven’t even been able to make time for you. On top of everything else, I’m a bad girlfriend.” 

“You are not a bad girlfriend. You’re amazing. I get busy too, I completely understand.”

“But I feel so guilty.” You start crying again.

“Please, I can’t bare to see you like this, don’t cry anymore baby.” 

“I can’t help it. I miss you so much. I wish it was summer again.”

“You just need to get through these next few weeks, then you’ll have six weeks off for your winter break.”

“God I can’t wait.”

“And then you and I go off on our holiday to Jamaica.” You wipe your nose and smile at him. “I know you’re stressed, but it’s the weekend. The work will be waiting for you Sunday. Let’s snuggle up and have a nice evening together, hm?”

“Alright.” You sigh and lean into him. “Thank you for coming over, I don’t know what I would do without you.”

Harry kisses the top of your head, lays down on the couch and pulls you on top of him. You have a proper cuddle for the first time in what feels like weeks. He was so happy to just be in your embrace again. 

“Do you think tomorrow morning we could get up early and go to our spot?” You ask. 

“Anything you want.” He says, holding you closer to him. 

[ochard-fics]

Bad Ideas - A Spider-man Story

Chapter Index: 1, 2

Pronouns used for (Y/N): they/them

Genre: Enemies to lovers, slow burn, angst, fluff, young love

Warnings: None

Word count: +7.1k

Summary: Though  you moved across the country about half a year ago, you are still  trying to find your footing in the strange streets of New York. On top  of that, you are desperately trying to balance your demanding school  life at Midtown School of Science and Technology, where you like  everyone but you was much more talented and smarter than you could ever  imagine to be. Among those students is the one whom you loathe the most:  Peter Benjamin Parker, the boy who’s success both in school and in  Stark Industries is constantly shoved in your face. The only person who  helps you escape those troubles is Spider-man, the hero of Queens and  your crush.

A/N: Hello all! Thank you for waiting so patiently for the next chapter in the series. I hope you are all staying safe and healthy during these unfortunate times. Please enjoy this chapter! Comments, reblogs, likes and feedback is greatly appreciated!

A HUMONGOUS thank you to @tinybabyrat​ who helped me out while I wrote this!

---

Chapter 2 - Peter Parker, the nuisance

How did everything go south so fast? You thought your Tuesday was looking up. No major tests or quizzes today, no horrible mile run in P.E., and no over-cooked rice in the cafeteria lunch! However, the universe decided to say fuck you and here you were, sitting uncomfortably in your guidance councilor’s office. Ms. Lee was busy typing away at her computer, her thick, wavy black hair pulled back into a low ponytail. Your eyes began to wander around your surroundings, like the wall calendar pinned to the corkboard behind her, that showed Claude Monet’s Water Lilies painting for the month of February. Or the several post-it notes of various bright colors with reminders, and then photos of her and her wife, Ms. Narvaez, happily smiling together with their two rescue dogs Fritz and Sadie, who were mutts. Waiting in there started to feel like forever until Ms. Lee straightened her posture and turned her figure towards you, clasping her hands as she put her arms on her desk.

    “Hey kid,” she greeted you with a warm smile, “I can see that you want to know what you’re in my office.” You replied with a stiff nod, looking at her with meek eyes.

“I wanted to talk to you about your current progress in school, particularly your general education courses” she states, adjusting her square, wire-framed glasses on the bridge of her nose, “I need you to take a look for yourself.” She takes the frame of the monitor and it toward you, where you could see your current report card displayed upon the screen.

    “From the looks of it,” she says, looking over at the monitor, “Your grades have gone down significantly since you started your year here at MSST.” Oof, that was not good news whatsoever. You shifted in your seat uncomfortably as she continued speaking.

    “I have noticed that math and chemistry have been particularly difficult for you,” she mentions, “Is there a reason why?” You looked down, fiddling with your thumbs, a habit you had recently formed out of anxiety.

“W-well,” you stutter as your voice cracks, “I’ve always had a hard time with math. A-and chemistry has a lot of concepts about it that are hard for me to understand.” Which was true. Anything having to do with math you immediately panicked upon seeing. Math, to you, was a whole other language that you still couldn’t understand. Which was rich, considering you could speak four languages fluently. Chemistry was a lot like math and it even included it, so it was just another layer of confusion for you. 

 “I understand your frustration with the subjects,” she says with a nod, “You are not the only student here that struggles with them.” Yeah, you thought, like 12 kids out of the who knows how many here? This was a science and tech school for crying out loud; everyone around you was a prodigy! Well, except for Flash Thompson. “(Y/N),” Ms. Lee begins, “Do you know your current GPA*?” She looks up at you, to which you give her a shrug. 

“It’s currently a 2.78,” She says as she points to the top of the report card, where it was displayed, “It’s not a bad score. However, compared to your GPA from your previous school year it has dropped significantly.” You furrowed your brows, waiting to see where she was going with this.

Ms. Lee looks at you very seriously and says, “If your grades continue to decline, you could potentially fail your junior year, and will have to repeat.”  A lump formed in your throat upon this new information. Repeating a year of high school was up there with your biggest fears, along with heights and your dad. The mere idea of failing school started to make you internally panic.

Ms. Lee looks at you sympathetically, folding her hands upon her desk once again.

"I understand that moving across the country is incredibly difficult,” she starts, “You know that I'm from L.A. as well. I miss it dearly. All of my family and childhood friends reside there. I miss going to my favorite boba shops with my friends, I miss going to Malibu, and I even miss the forty-minute drives to go from one place to another! But oh boy, do I not miss the traffic." This made you chuckle, which brought a smile to her motherly face.

"However, I had to move here for college,” she continues, and you listened intently, “It was incredibly difficult for me to adjust to life here. Manhattan felt like a whole new world in comparison to Los Angeles. On top of that, I didn't know anyone here. I was alone, and the loneliness took a toll on my performance in school. Though you know what got me back up?" You shook your head in response. 

"I got help. With the suggestion of a councilor I made a study group with a few of my classmates so we could all assist one another. As time went by, they eventually became my closest friends throughout college, and Manhattan as a whole. Additionally, when I didn't understand something in class, I went to the teacher for clarification. If they could provide it, of course." 

"I will admit, it was incredibly hard for me to ask for academic aid," she looks down at her folded hands as she continues to reminisce about her past, "I grew up with this idea that I couldn’t do anything without my parent’s help. I depended on them to solve my problems and it damaged my self confidence. Then culminated this sense of guilt, because I felt like I was totally helpless. Though I tried to be self-sufficient, I was met with criticism because I would make mistakes. This led me to develop a perfectionism complex, and if I didn’t get something right on the first try I just gave up. It felt suffocating.” 

“From the information you have told me these past months,” she looks up at you, “You are in that current situation. You’re afraid to ask for help because you think of it as a sign of dependence. That you cannot do anything without help. Which is unfortunate, because help shouldn’t have to feel like a burden.” Shit, she was right on the ball. All your life your parents would hold your hand whether you liked it or not. And just like she experienced, when you tried to be independent and failed, it only confirmed to your parents that you couldn’t do anything without them. That’s why you felt guilt whenever you were offered help; it was because it made you feel weak. Then when you tried to grasp at something on your own, you’d slip, and you would get frustrated and surrender your attempts all together. It was exhausting.

“Speaking of your parents,” she glances over at the computer monitor and back at you, “Are they aware of your current grades?” You shook your head in response, looking back down at your twiddling thumbs.

“Haven’t shown them any of my assignments this year,” you replied honestly, “My dad used to check up on my work, and then instead of trying to help me with corrections he’d take over my homework and make sure it was perfect. I-I got fed up with him doing everything for me so I told him to stop. He got mad and told me to never go back to him if I needed help with school.”  Ms. Lee listened in intently as you spoke to her, which was what you really appreciated about her. She was like a therapist, very patient, and willing to listen to your troubles. Which was nice, considering that there was at least one adult in your life that was willing to listen to your troubles.

    “I think it was very mature of you to tell your dad that,” she assures you, “Especially considering what you’ve told me about him. You wanted him to help you, not enabling you. How else will you learn, but through making your own mistakes?” If only your dad could listen in to the conversation you two were having, maybe he’d finally realize that he’s been wrong. But knowing your dad, he’d probably call Ms. Lee a fraud of a councilor so mauve it was best that he wasn’t there.

“I know you want to be independent of him,” she continues, “Any child would want to break away from that type of environment. It’s a pity that your father cannot be more supportive of you and your endeavors. You’re incredibly talented, (Y/N).” The compliment was very sweet of her, but for some reason, you believed she was saying that just to be nice. You heard her let out a worn-out sigh.

“Look,” she starts, turning the monitor back to face her, “In order for you to get into the college of your choice, art or not, you need to get a 3.0 or higher.”

“I can’t afford art college,” you admitted, “My parents would never help me with it, either.”

“There are several colleges that aren’t art universities but have excellent art programs,” she replies, typing on her keyboard, “Many of them being in California. And they cost half the price.” You looked up as this greatly piqued your interest. She turns the screen back to you and you look up, looking at the list of public schools that were ranked the top ten best art programs in the country, the majority of them being, as she said, in your home state. Your eyes widened in interest.

“You’re a smart very kid,” Ms. Lee assures you, but you give her a look, “You are. And if you can pull your grades up to a 3.0 or higher, you can apply for scholarships from these schools.” Damn scholarships always feel like a carrot on a stick, taunting you with their possibilities. However, with the amount you were being paid by Delmar for your work, you wouldn’t have a chance at paying for your college of choice. A scholarship could save you big time, and without the guilt of being a burden on your parents.

“If you can get them up by the end of the semester,” Ms. Lee says, “You’ll be secured for a scholarship. Maybe even more than one.” You chewed the inside of your lip, contemplating this information. Damn it, it seemed too good to be true. Getting your grades back up was much harder than bombing them, which you thought was totally unfair. The GPA system felt like a whole scam.

“This means you need to, pardon my language, kick your ass into gear,” she says, making you smile at her profanity, “But because math and chemistry are the classes that are giving you the most trouble, you will require extra help with them.” You raised a brow at her, sensing that she was getting somewhere with this. What was she up to?

“I'll set you up with a tutor,” she reveals, turning to you, “And don’t worry, they’ll be someone from school so your parents won’t have to pull out any pocket money. Your eyes widened in shock. A tutor? Was she being serious?!

You opened your mouth to object but she continues, “I talked to Cobwell and we’ve found the perfect tutor for you. A classmate of yours, actually.”

“W-wait, can’t I get tutoring from Cobwell? Or do those group tutoring sessions that student resources hold?” you asked, the idea of one it being one of your classmates sounding much worse than the tutoring itself.

“We did consider that,” she says, “But Cobwell just got assigned to assist Harrington with the academic decathlon, and we believe that because of your current situation, one-on-one would work for you best focus-wise.” You slumped back in your chair. Maybe you should have taken up Cobwell’s help when you had the chance. Now, you were going to be stuck spending an hour or more on subjects you hate with a burning passion with someone you probably don’t like. Speaking of which, you asked Ms. Lee who they chose to be your tutor.

“Oh, glad you asked,” she said, giving you a smile, “It’s Peter Parker.” 

It took every inch of your body to hold the urge to scream. You did pray, though, that she was bluffing you. She had to be! But you saw no sign that she was fucking with you. You felt your body go into a cold sweat. You leaned toward Ms. Lee, horror in your eyes.

“Do you have anyone else but him?!” You cried, “Anyone?! I can not have him tutor me! Anyone but that loser!” Ms. Lee raises a brow at you, unamused by your reaction.

“Why not?” She asks, “He’s in all of your classes, as well as being the top student in math and chemistry.” You leaned back into the chair, letting a troubled and dramatic groan out.

“He’s a total numbskull!” you said exclaimed, throwing your hands up in the air, “Flash Thompson will never let down that I’m going to be babysat by Parker.”

“You should be more concerned about your grades than your reputation, (Y/N),” Ms. Lee comments, making you purse your lips, “Additionally, I’m making the tutoring mandatory. So if I find out that you purposely ditch Parker, you will be penalized.” You frowned upon hearing this. Of all things you wanted to happen in your life, being forced to be in the same room as Peter Parker was the last thing you wanted. And you were going to get punished if you ignored him?! Not cool.

“Plus,” she continues, “If you give him a chance, you’ll see that you both have much more in common than you think.” This has to be some cruel prank, it just has to! If you found out that the Norse god of mischief Loki was behind this, you would make sure to find him and kick his ass all the way to another dimension.

“B-but,” you leaned towards her, eyes narrowing suspiciously, “What if he becomes negligent again? MJ told me what he did last year with the decathlon team.” She hums in response, leaning back on her chair.

“I assure you that Peter will not do such a thing,” she replies, “Actually, the other reason why we chose him as your tutor is that he has to complete community service hours due to his misbehavior last semester.

“I’m community service now?!” you exclaimed. How humiliating!  You dropped your head into your hands, letting out a dramatic groan.

“Look, I understand that you’re uncomfortable,” Ms. Lee says, sitting up in her chair, “But you deserve the help. And part of being independent is knowing when you need it. And you don’t have to feel ashamed to ask for it.” You looked up at her, seeing that she was watching you sincerely. You knew she meant well, it was her job, after all. Yet this was the worst possible situation you could've put it. Yet again, it is your fault for procrastinating assistance with school for this long. Still, you would’ve taken anyone but Parker as your tutor. Even Flash Thompson! You let out a huff and ran your fingers through your hair, trying to process all of this very unfortunate information.

“Peter is a nice kid,” she assures you, though you give her a look that says you think otherwise, “Don’t be afraid to be vulnerable with him, it’ll help him help you. ” She points at you, and though she wasn’t doing it you could almost feel her finger pressing down on your chest. You bit your bottom lip, feeling unsure. Opening up to other people has become much harder for you since the move, and it’ll be much harder in an academic setting. Now, you have to do it with a person you deeply despise. She really was asking too much out of you.

You let out another sigh and straightened yourself then asked her “How often do I have to meet with him?” Please just once a month, you begged in your head.

“At least twice a week,” she answers, “I would like for you to meet with him tomorrow after school. The sooner you guys work the quicker you can improve.” A low groan was let out of you, earning a frown from her.

“I’ll be meeting with Parker tomorrow morning,” she said, turning to type on the computer, “You both will be in charge of scheduling hours. If you do it right, it shouldn’t affect art club hours or your feeding times for the animals in the biology laboratory.” You pouted. Junior year was already very hard, and this just added to the difficulty of it all. Would this tutoring even work? 

“You’re a smart kid,” Ms. Lee says, “And I know you can do this. But you will need to be committed to this. Understand?”     “Yes ma’am,” you said, begrudgingly.

-

    The next day you arrived to class earlier than usual. The meeting with Ms. Lee gave you the thoughts of possibly failing school and having to work with the person you despised kept running through your thoughts, making it impossible to go to sleep. You noticed that the hall in which your locker was located had a speckle of people around, either chatting with their friends or just chilling by their lockers. You were leaning against yours, occupied with your phone as you watched yesterday's news on the touchscreen. You watched as the news anchor, the lady you had watched before at the bodega that there was yet another bodega stick-up that led to a fight between the robbers and Spider-man, this time in Hell’s Kitchen. The news cut to footage that showed him apprehending them, but took a few hits to the face and chest in the process. Your brows furrowed, worrying if he was okay since those hits looked pretty bad. He had mentioned to you before that he was able to heal quicker because of his powers, but you still couldn’t help but wonder if he was all right. 

    You heard your name being called out to you and you looked up to see Ned, who was approaching you with a wide smile spread across his face. Leaning away from your locker, you were about to give him a wave until you smelled something very putrid, making you cover your nose.

    “Hey there!” he says, greeting you, “Have you seen Peter? I gotta give him his backpack.” He then held up a black and blue backpack, and you realized where the smell came from.

    “Oh my god,” you said, scrunching your face, “Why the hell does that smell so bad?”

    “Oh,” Ned looked at it, “I found it in a dumpster. Peter lost it.”

    “How the hell did he lose it?” you asked with a frown.

“Ah,” Ned shifts uncomfortably, “Pete’s a bit clumsy sometimes, heh…” His face said that it was something else, but the smell prevented you from pressing any further.

“Why the heck did you bring it to school?!” You asked him, “It’s stinking up the whole hall!” You weren’t wrong, students around you were looking at the both of you and frowning as they too tried to cover their noses from the stench. 

“Yeah,” Ned agrees, putting it down beside him, “I tried to put some spray-on air freshener on it but not even the smell of clean sheets could contain the scent of New York trash. Ned was a nice guy, but like Peter, he was also a bit goofy. Having enough of the smell, you turned to open your locker, where you rummaged through it until you found what you were looking for. Ned watched quizzically as you pulled out a beige-colored canvas tote bag. You turned and held it out to Ned.

“Take Peter’s supplies out of the backpack and put them in that,” you ordered Ned, who took the bag and looked at it in awe, “I have it as a backup in case I had paint spill in my backpack.”

“This is so cool!” Ned exclaims, holding up to his face,  “And it even has a zipper in the opening! Did you make this?” You nodded. Last year you had taken a sewing class and had made a handful of items, tote bags being one of them. You had decided to make a few of them, some in which you gave as gifts to your friends and some that you made out of commission for your mom’s friends. Sewing, oddly enough, was something that you were pretty good at.

“Don’t tell Peter that I made it,” you said sternly, “Nor that I gave this to him. I don’t want him to know I did something nice.” Ned raised a brow at you but didn’t object.

“B-besides,” you added, motioning your head towards Peter’s backpack “I don’t want to smell that thing any longer.” 

“Oh, right,” Ned said, unzipping the backpack, “I should probably throw this out. Sucks, ‘cuz he only got this two weeks ago.”

“Peter seems pretty careless,” You commented to Ned, watching him take out Peter’s supplies and putting them in the canvas bag.

“Nah,” Ned replies with a shrug, “He was much worse last year. He lost five backpacks within two months! At one point his aunt May threatened to let him go to school without one.” you furrowed your brows, concerned. What was Ms. Lee thinking!? 

“And he’s going to be in charge of tutoring me?” you thought out loud, “I can’t believe this.”

“Peter’s going to tutor you?” Ned looks up, surprised. You told him about your meeting with Ms. Lee yesterday, explaining the whole situation. He listened, then nodded as you finished wrapping the story up.

“Well, I think you’re in good hands,” Ned reassures you, “Peter can be a doofus but he’s the smartest person I know. You’ll be passing in no time!” And speaking of the devil, you noticed from the corner of your eye that Peter Parker himself was jogging up to the two of you. As he approached, you noticed that his lip has a pretty nasty cut on it. 

“Whoa, what the hell is up with that?” You exclaimed, pointing to your lip to mirror where the injury was on his face, “Did you get mugged or something?”

“Uh,” Peter looked over at Ned, who shifted his eyes at you, “Y-yeah! You know how aggressive New Yorkers are!” He says, then lets out a nervous chuckle. 

“Right,” you said, narrowing your eyes at his suspicious behavior, “Did they take anything?” Before Peter could respond, Ned jumped in.

“His backpack!” he answers for him loudly, holding up the smelly bag yet again, causing both you and Peter to wince from the smell, “I found your backpack, Pete! The ones the muggers took! In the dumpster! What a coincidence! Haha!” Why on earth were these two acting so suspicious? They weren’t telling you something, though you wondered what was so secretive that they were trying to hide it from you? Then, you remembered something that MJ had mentioned to you the other day.

“Wait,” you raised a brow at the both of them, “Weren’t you guys hanging out yesterday? MJ told me you guys were going to the video game store in Hell’s Kitchen. You didn’t get mugged, Ned.” A look of panic plastered upon both of the boy's faces, and they exchanged looks with each other.

“T-the mugging happened when I was going home!” Peter stutters, his voice becoming higher, something you noticed he does when he’s nervous. Or lying.

“Y-yeah!” Ned says, nodding, “A-and I just happened to come across his backpack on my way back home!” This wasn’t the first time that they have acted like this with you before. One time they were like this with you while you were working at the bodega, where Peter had a pretty nasty black eye, and another time was when you caught Ned helping Peter skip the academic decathlon due to the Stark Internship, where the next day he had bruises on his knuckles. Dude seemed to get bruised up quite often, now that you thought about it. Before you could press any further with the two, Peter noticed the canvas bag.

“What’s that for?” Peter asks, pointing to it. Ned holds it out to him, telling him that his supplies are in there now.

“This is really nice!” Peter exclaims, taking the bag with excitement. You avert your eyes to the side as he asks his friend “Did you just have this with you, Ned?”

“Uh,” Ned turned to you, and you looked over at him. You better not tell him, you thought as your eyes met. Ned looks over to Peter.

“Yeah!” he replies, looking back to his pal, “It was just sitting in my locker. Luckily I had it on me today at this exact time.” He lets out another nervous laugh. 

“I actually really like the look of it,” Peter says, admiring the bag, “I might use this as my book bag from now on.” That actually caught you by surprise. Did he like it that much? Hm, better not get careless with it, then you thought to yourself. Peter seems to then remember something, turning to you.

“Oh, (Y/N),” He starts, pulling the canvas bag through his arm and up to his shoulder, “I actually just met with Ms. Lee. She told me about the whole tutoring. thing.” You internally groaned. It was evident that you two would talk about that today, but not this early.

“She said she wanted us to meet today, right?” he asks, “Would it be okay if I could have your number?” You raised a brow at him. What the hell was he getting at?

“Why?” you asked, frowning.

“Oh,” He rubbed the back of his neck, “S-since we’re going to be working together it would be good if we had each other’s numbers. For scheduling and whatnot.” You closed your eyes and clenched your teeth. For long enough you’ve avoided having to have contact with this guy after school. Now, you would no longer be blessed with that privilege.

“Fine,” you said, begrudgingly. You swung your backpack to your chest and opened it, rummaging through it for your pencil pack. You found it and pulled a blue ballpoint pen from it, then swung it to the back once again

“Gimme your arm,” you said holding your hand out. He then held his arm close to his chest, giving you a wide-eyed, confused expression.

“W-why?” He asked. You gave him a look.

“I’d rather write it on your arm than a piece of paper so you don’t lose it,” you replied, “Once I gave my number to the president of the art club and she lost the paper, and then Flash found it and wouldn’t stop airdropping terrible memes from 2006.” That was the most annoying day of your life. You had to ask MJ to threaten him to stop because even when you blocked him he kept finding a way to send you stupid memes. 

To this, he shrugged, understanding your reasoning. He pulled his blue sweater sleeve down to reveal his forearm, which you noticed was actually kind of fit. You moved it closer to him, grabbing his bare forearm gently and pulled it closer to you so you could write your cell phone number. You scribbled it horizontally, then once you were finished you pulled his sleeve down to cover it. The first warning bell of the day rings throughout the school, and you could see now that the hall was full of students, who began to shuffle past each other to get to their first-period class. The boys and you turned to look at each other.

“I’ll text you after school?” Peter says.

“Yeah,” you said, pulling your backpack straps up to your shoulder, “Let’s get to class.”

-

    For the rest of the day, you were dreading the eventual meeting with Peter. During all of your classes together you desperately avoided talking to him as much as possible because you were so pissed at the idea of having to work with him. However, as the end of the school day wrapped up, you could not avoid him any longer. As you walked to your locker, you felt your phone vibrate and pulled it out of the pocket of your yellow windbreaker and saw that you received a text from an unknown number.

Hey, it’s Peter! it read, Let’s meet in the library. You let off a small huff and typed back k. You shoved your phone back into the pocket and trudged your way over to the library. Upon entering, you noticed that it was a bit crowded today but still remained moderately quiet (as libraries should be). Several students were huddled by the study tables, hunched over intently scribbling notes while others were at the computers, doing research for papers, or watching youtube videos. You scanned around for an empty study table that both you and Peter could occupy until you spotted one near the graphic novels section. You made your way over to it, plopping your backpack on one of the chairs to save for Peter. 

Deciding to kill some time, you unzipped your red backpack and pulled out your sketchbook and pencil pack. Grabbing your mechanical pencil from the orange pouch, you flipped through your rugged hard-bound sketchbook to a blank page, where you then began to draw. You started to sketch those around you, like one student who was pretending to study but he was really watching Netflix on his phone, a girl that was coding on one of the computers, and the librarian, Mr. Fill. Soon you transitioned to drawing animals from the biology lab, like a starfish from the biology lab’s man-made tide pool, a garden eel named Pickles, the pink zebra beauty tarantula Zelda, and the corn snake Sir Elote II. 

You then felt your mind drift and began to draw Spider-man, whom you’ve doodled more times than you can count. If anyone were to look through your sketchbook (which you let few do), they would find several pages full of sketches of the blue and red hero of Queens. To you, it was genuinely embarrassing how much you drew him. It was hard not to think about him when you had such a hard crush on him. You wondered what he would say if he knew you were drawing all of this fanart of him.

    “Ooh, nice eel!” You heard a voice whisper to you. You looked up and saw Peter, who was looming over you as you drew in your sketchbook, making you jump a bit.

    He takes your backpack from the chair beside you and sets it down beside you, then asks, “Does it have a name?” 

“No…?” you answered as you watched him sit down beside you.

    “Well,” he makes a goofy smile, “If you name it, its name should be Eel-i,” A silence hung over you as you looked at him, giving him the blankest look you have ever given anyone.

    “G-get it?” his voice quivers, his smile wavering from your lack of response, “Like Eli?”

    “I did,” you responded with a deadpan tone, “But that was probably the worst joke I have ever heard. And I work for a middle-aged dad.” His mouth pursed into a tight line and his ears went red, embarrassed at his horrible attempt of lightening the mood. 

    “So,” you let out a sigh, “have you ever tutored someone before?”     “Nope,” he says, shaking his head in response as he tucked himself into the table, “What about you? Have you been tutored before?” You nodded in response. Back home you used to have a tutor in grade and middle school, who was actually your favorite teacher in the third grade. However, because of your dad seeing tutoring as a waste of money, you were forced to stop sessions when you went to high school, where he took on as a tutor. However, with your dad’s lack of patience, tutoring turned into a session in which he would criticize how slowly you understood the topics you were going over. At one point, it became too much for you, and you stopped asking for help with school-related subjects altogether.

    “Great!” he exclaims, but in a controlled whisper as to not disrupt the students around him, “One of us has experience with this! So, I guess we should just go over what you’re having a hard time with.”

    “Alright,” You put your elbow on the table and rested your head on the palm of your head, looking over at Peter, “Which subject are we talking about? Math or chemistry?”

“Uh,” Peter furrowed his brows in thought, “Chemistry? Since we had that quiz a couple of days ago.” 

“I have a hard time with all of it.” You replied. 

He blinks, a bit unsure of what to say. “U-uh, What do you mean by that?”

“It means what it means. I have a hard time with all of it. That’s why I’m in this position in the first place.”

“W-well, what part of the quiz did you have a hard time with? Maybe we can go over that today?” 

“Hm,” you rubbed your chin in thought, digging into your brain trying to remember what was on that quiz since you tried to block it out of your memory. You thought for a few more seconds until you remembered something, then looked up at Peter and replied, “Well, bond energy got very confusing.”

“Great!” Peter exclaims, his eyes lighting up, “I mean, it’s not great that it was confusing for you, but great in the sense that we can start looking at that today.”

And so you did. Peter opened up the chemistry textbook and began to re-teach chemical bonds to you, despite both of you learning about them last week in class. Ten minutes in, you were able to pay some attention to what he was saying. However, twenty minutes in you started feeling your focus float away. You tried to grab at it like a piece of paper floating away in the wing, yet everything Peter was saying just went over your head. It didn’t really help that he kept saying “Right?” after stating something (“It depends on strength and interactions between cations and anions in lattice, right?”), and you just nodded in response even though you had no idea what the hell he was talking about. Thirty minutes passed and your focus completely turned off, and suddenly you could hear the sounds of keyboards being typed on, the scribbling of pens, and, oh shit, is that a fly in the library? Your focus had gone to anything else but Peter, who took notice when you wouldn’t respond to a question he asked you. 

“Hey,” he turns to you with a concerned look in his hooded eyes, “You doing okay?” He put his hand on your shoulder, snapping you out of your daze.

“I-,” you looked over but averted your eyes away from him. You felt face heating up from embarrassment. Darn it, what’s wrong with you? Why was focusing on something such a task?!

“How about we take a break?” Peter suggests, closing the chemistry textbook and getting up and stretching his arms, “I’m going to grab something from the vending machine. Do you want anything?” You shook your head in response, then watched as he grabbed his wallet from the tote bag and headed out of the library. You let out a frustrated groan, which was a little too loud because it earned you a hush from Mr. Fill who just happened to pass by. You put your head in your hands, letting out a huff, and tried to figure out what was causing you to be like this right now.

As you thought back to the last thirty minutes, you realized that Peter was the one making the session so agonizingly dreadful. It felt like you were back in chemistry class all over again, and no offense to Mr. Cobwell but that wasn’t the most interesting class to you. Contemplating on everything that Peter was doing wrong, you also noted other faults such as his pacing while he , his assumption that you understand what he’s talking about, and his mundane voice that he used when he was explaining everything to you, making you want to fall asleep. You pressed your nails into your pals, newly-made fists shaking as your frustration with Parker grew. It wasn’t your fault that you couldn’t keep up! It was his fault for being so bad at teaching you! You looked up and saw that Peter had returned, two water bottles in each hand. 

He approached you and set one bottle in front of you, saying “Thought you might be thirsty,” He got you a water bottle from the vending machine? Huh...that’s odd, you think.

Without saying a word, you looked down at your insulated water bottle that was tucked in one of the side-pockets of your backpack. He followed your eyes and noticed this, and his eyes widened with realization. He whispered an “Oh” to himself, but you turned back to the plastic one and took it out of courtesy, saying you could use it as a refill as you placed it in your backpack. He apologizes and sits back down in his chair. You give him a hollow thank you, to which he seems pretty pleased by. 

“Okay,” he begins with a nod, re-opening the textbook and turning to the chapter you guys were just going over, “U-um, was there something that you needed some clarification on?” All of it, you thought, but you felt like that would’ve not been the least bit helpful to him. Wanting to protect your ego and get the hell out of here, you just pointed to a random section on the page that read Hybrid orbitals. He looked to where you pointed and nodded.

He says, grabbing his pencil, “Let’s go over that again.” You held the urge to let out a groan. Time to suffer more! However, about twenty-five minutes in and you grew incredibly bored with Peter’s dull rambling. Your mind checked out and instead of paying attention, you began drawing circles instead of taking notes in your notebook, to which Peter noticed.

He put his pencil down and turned to you, asking “Hey (Y/N), You listening?” You jumped in surprise, looking up to see him catching you in the act. Without thinking you nodded, but he made an expression that thought otherwise.

“Right,” he then points with his pencil to a diagram on the textbook page, “Can you explain to me what this is?” You gazed down at what he was referring to, and your mind went blank. What on earth were you guys talking about again? The lack of sleep from last night had made you loopy and exhausted earlier than usual, making it hard to think straight. You tried your hardest to think of what the hell that could possibly be, but you couldn’t think of anything for the life of you. 

“It’s...a bond?” you answered, looking up at him sheepishly.

“Okay…” he leaned forward a bit, “But...what kind of bond?”

“A…” You looked back at the diagram, then back at him, “Chemical one?”

“Yes,” he replied, but you could tell he was trying to get more out of you, “But it’s a special kind of chemical one. It’s a…?”

“Very special chemical bond,” you replied without thinking, and you wanted to kick yourself in the head for such a dumb answer. Peter blinks at you blankly. 

“It’s a hybridized orbital,” he responds, “You weren’t paying attention.” You felt your face heat up. It’s one thing to not be paying attention a, but getting caught was so much worse

“S-sorry,” you said shyly, hunching over out of habit, “B-but it’s not my fault this stuff is so boring!”

“I get that it’s difficult to understand,” Peter assures you, leaning back in his chair, “But when something seems confusing, you need to tell me at the moment.” You frowned at him. Who was he to tell you what you do?

“Well sorry,” you sarcastically say as you crossed your arms in a huff, “It’s a bit difficult when the person you’re listening to is incredibly mundane.” 

“Excuse me?” He turns to you, annoyed, “I asked you several times if you understood what we were talking about.”

“Yeah, but you kept assuming that I knew what you were blabbering about. You were going too fast, too. Not my fault I can’t keep up with you.” 

“Then you should’ve told me to slow down!” he exclaims irritably, “I’m here to help you, not confuse you.” You let out a sarcastic laugh and. What was his problem?! Why was he getting annoyed at you? It’s not your fault you were telling the truth! He just can’t take criticism.

“Well, some help you are.” You looked over at him, “Can’t believe the smartest kid in our grade can’t figure out how to teach someone.” He clenched his jaw.

“Look, I’m sorry,” he says, trying to control his current aggravation, “But in order for me to help you, I need your feedback. If you had just said something-”

“You want feedback?” You raised your voice and turned to him, cutting him off, “I’ll give to you feedback! You’re boring to listen to, you have the talking pace of the Roadrunner, and you have the personality of a stalk of celery. You’re built like one, too.” Students around you began to stop what they were doing and watch the two of you make a scene in the library.

“What the hell is your problem with me?!” he asks irritably, “I’ve been trying to be nice to you since you got here, but all you do is treat me like shit. Even when I’m doing nothing you act maliciously towards me! What have I done to piss you off so much?” 

“You exist.” you spit out angrily. A heavy silence hung over the both of you as you stared daggers at each other, the students around you holding their breaths in anticipating. However, you had enough of his stupidity, so you grabbed your notebook and backpack and stormed out of the library, ignoring the looks and whispers you were receiving from the students that were observing you. As you exited the room, you reached for your phone to text your mom that you were heading home. As you pulled it out of your pocket, it slipped from your fingers and bounced three times onto the school’s hallway until it ended with a cracking sound. You felt your heart clench in fear and rushed to go pick it up. A spew of cusses left your mouth as you saw three cracks upon the screen.

------

Annotations

*=GPA stands for Grade Point Average

[trying-write-fanfics]

Shouji Mezo X Reader Remember part 10

Kirishima was one of the students who didn’t have much of a relationship built with Y/n, but he knew she had a lot going on. He also wanted to know why she bugged Bakugo so much. 

“So your father called you? Are you guys close?” Kiri asked. 

“Not really, I bet you he just found out that I wasn’t home.” Y/n told him. 

“Wait why would it take this long?”

“Campaign stuff has him traveling all the time.” Y/n said. “He’s got an image to keep.”

“Oh that’s gotta suck. Are you nervous?”

“No, he’s more chill than my mom. When I was in the hospital after Aizawa messed my shoulder up, she didn’t even go in to see me. I had no idea she was dealing with my case until he told me.” Y/n explained. 

“What! That’s insane!” Kirishima couldn’t believe it. “You don’t even know how long you’re gonna be here do you?”

“Do you? I think it’s all conditional, like till something big happens. Like I mess up or the case reopens”

“I hope nothing else bad happens, we already had that attack on the USJ.”

“You guys didn’t catch the main guy though, you think they’ll give up?” Y/b asked

“Well we’ve been preparing if he doesn’t!” Kirishima told her before she got to the front office. 

Y/n was hesitant to pick up the phone. Her and her father had to of known the call would be recorded, but what was off limits. Everything she knew was isolated, she didn’t know what information was completely public. Her dad has to know why she was here? He does have the number.

“Hi dad! You miss me?” She asked cheerfully.

“Y/n, it’s so good to hear your voice. I got home yesterday and noticed you weren’t there. I thought you were out with friends, but you never answered your phone. I was so worried. You mother filled me in.” He told her. 

“Are you upset?” She asked.

“No, no. I figured each of my kids would have a scandal  at some point.” He joked. “I could yell at you to be more careful or to stop what you’re doing, but I figured out heroes are doing that already.”

“Is mom in denial about it?”

“You’re a good kid, worrying about your parents, but we’ll be okay. I still have to tell your siblings. They’re all over the board.”

“They won’t care too much I bet. I don’t think we’re gonna watch fireworks this year.” Y/n said. 

“Ha, Ha, that’s your big concern right now?” 

“Yeah, that’s when you guys let me scream all I want.” She told him. 

“We’ll all watch fireworks again, I promise.”

“Do you think you can tell mom to send me some of her homemade painkillers? I’ve been quirk training.”

 That's when the mood of the call changed.

“Y/n I thought we told you to not use your quirk! You don’t have to listen to every single thing these people tell you! Don’t they see the side effects?”

“I have a bit of a hard time using it, sometimes it just goes off.”

“Y/n you have controlled that before. You just have to try harder to suppress it. What were you doing when we were gone and you were home alone?”

She test drived anything in the house ranging from alcohol, mislabeled medication in the cabinet, to website mixes on things to relieve pain. She thought alcohol could help because all the tv shows had drunk people drunk to “not feel anything.”

“I would try to sleep it off, but I can’t do that here.” She put in a white little lie. 

“Your mother doesn’t make drugs, don’t say such silly things. I called to check on you and you seem fine other than the teachers forcing you to use your quirk.” Was her father’s goodbye.

No “love you”, she didn’t even get to say bye. Y/n walked and saw the secretary perk up to try and pretend they didn’t witness such an awkward phone call. The gloomy cloud formed as the conversation set in. Outside the front office, she felt too far away from her dorm. She wanted to be hidden. 

 What kept her strong for so long was though she knew her parents weren’t perfect, no one was. They loved her though. They just had bad ways of showing it. The worse thing they did to her wasn’t because of a punishment, but to further their dreams and ideals. They were confident they could achieve it through their children and Y/n was their last hope. Her body wasn’t strong enough, though they failed, Y/n did too. They did their best to accommodate Y/n’s life with her body weakening. They tried to redeem themselves, to protect their daughter. 

 Students flood the halls as their classes were done for the day. She was holding the tears back. Her parents were two people who had dreams, who thought they could handle parenting and their goals at the same time, merging them. They could try again if she could manage her quirk. Find a bathroom, no one will be in there. However in the fret of looking for one, her face crashed into someone. She pulled back quickly, before realizing who it was she was already apologizing.

“Sorry….I’m so sorry I’m just-“ her voice shook as she was still looking around. 

“Are you okay?” 

Looking up, it was Shouji. Why did it have to be a class 1-A student? She already knew what her face looked like. She had so many lonely nights that she couldn’t help to look in the mirror and how her face would break into a sob. She was doing her best not to shatter yet, not in front of the school. 

“Yeah, you saw me kick Iida’s ass.” She tried proving her case.

“I thought you said you shouldn’t compare yourself to others.” 

“You got me there!” She fought against the tears harder. If she could smile they wouldn’t leak out. 

“Do you have to go back to the classroom?” He asked her.

Probably. 

“Yeah, I just figured I’d take the long way.”

“How was the phone call with your father?”

Right in the weak spot. He wasn’t playing games. Straight to the point. 

“It was good enough, you know how dads can be.”

“I didn’t think they were all the same.”

“Well he’s a normal guy nothing weird.” She told him trying to walk away. 

“You’re going the wrong way.” He told her. 

Fuck! She was going towards the bathroom. 

“Well have to pee.” She lied. 

 Going into the bathroom she found no one. It was just like when she was in school. No one goes to the bathroom at the end of the day. She took the paper towel and let her eyes tear up and flow out. She held the sobs back. If everyone wanted to be a hero and heard her cry they’d be nosy and want to know what’s wrong. Today she couldn’t rationalize her dad’s words. Maybe he was just trying to protect her, but he didn’t listen. When she went for lunch the quirk activated on her foot pushing her forward down the stairs. She had to use her hands to save herself. It wasn’t shocking to her or the family she had poor control over it, but everyone thought it was easier than it was to constantly hold back. The painkillers lessen the effects of power. Instead of bleeding, sometimes it would bruise. The breathing problems would have blood. The pills would make her more tired, but numb so of the effects. She wanted them if they were gonna make her use her quirk. 

 Looking into the mirror her eyes weren’t ass puffy, and she didn’t look too bad. No tear streaks. Y/n felt good about that at least.

“You never cease to amaze me, body!” She told herself. 

 Y/n opened the door and found Shouji there, waiting. 

“What are you doing!” She yelled at him. 

“I didn’t know if you used your quirk or not, you could have fainted in the bathroom and no one would know.” He told her. 

“What a sweet hero you are. Now I’m fine, so no more worries!” She told him. 

“I don’t know enough about you to trust you won’t faint.”

“Fine, follow me!” She yelled. She really did lose her right to privacy!

He probably used his ear hands to ease drop. He wasn’t saying much as they walked back to the classroom. The silence was the worst. Were dots being connected? Could his ears listen to her thoughts and read her mind?

“I wanna go to the grocery store so bad, I need a self care day after sitting in a classroom all day so damn much. It’s too much of a change being around so many damn people. You might feel the same having so many ears and noses! You probably get overstimulated and stuff!” Y/n rambled, hoping to throw his thoughts somewhere else. 

“Yeah it gets like that.”he said being vague as possible, only furthering her frustrations.

“How are you so chill about it! If I get slightly uncomfortable I make a scene!” Y/n said loudly.

“You tried hiding.”

“That doesn’t count! If I was with my family I’d tell them I threw up somewhere in the house and forgot where!” Y/n said. “This one time when I was like 6 since my parents were gone all the time my older brother got a dog and a cat because they didn’t notice for two years. Once they found out they couldn’t do anything because we had gotten away with it so long and we were hella responsible.” 

 “How was the phone call with your father.” Aizawa asked because they got to the class, hoping he would not have to hear more about Y/n’s secret cat as a child. 

“Oh why tell you! You’ll be listening to it anyway! And look, your gold star student escorted me all the way back here!” She pointed at Shouji. 

“Thank you Shouji.” Aizawa said. “You probably have some studying you want to get to.”

“I’ll get going.” Shouji bowed.

Y/n’s nerves were calming down as she was helping Aizawa with paper work. He had already listened to the phone call. The phone call didn’t have enough evidence that Y/n’s parents have experimented on her, and even if they did it can’t be proven how harsh it was. Testing has happened to save lives. Her family could have lessened her quirk to save her life. Doubt it, but still a possibility.  Aizawa already filled the holes in himself. The isolation tactic was to silence her from reaching out to anyone. 

“If you need something to take care of the pain, I can take you to the pharmacy or a doctor to run some tests.” Aizawa told her.

 Her general provider was a doctor who worked for her mother. The numbers couldn’t have been all real. 

“It’s fine. I’ve managed my quirk this long.”

“Poorly.”

The emotions were boiling over. Everyone has always been so quick to judge, so quick to label. Why was she being singled out? Was it because of her crimes? Everyone breaks the law sometime! Aizawa has probably made a mountain of mistakes surely!

“What do you even know? All you have is a faux file.” She growled. “My parents love me and want what’s best for me. That’s why I’ve been following your stupid rules and not escaping so they don’t have to worry anymore.”

 It was silly when she heard it out loud. Why did she commit crimes in the first place? If she cared about her parent’s concern, why then?