#i wanna convince her to watch all of scotts with me as well as all of grians and then see where we go from there

[omegamoo]

watching grian's third life movie with my sister. highlights reel:

"if scar likes disney and he just quoted the lion king then CLEARLY that means he's going to kill grian by throwing him off a cliff and grian is just DUMB to not see the literary analysis!!!!!!"

*her calling grian some variation of stupid at every available opportunity*

"he's like a babysitter!!!!!"

*her jaw on the floor when scar died*

[marvelsfavoriteuncle]

The Time Hesitant // Endgame Blurb ⏳

When Jason knew about the so called time heist, he scoffed at the notion of being able to do such a thing. Build a Time Machine?! To bring everyone back together and return what they lost?

He thought he was having a stroke.

He shook his head ‘no’ as him and Tony shared a few looks. Rei was sitting down on the edge of the steps listening, rolling his eyes. Morgan was in her father’s arms with no real idea of what was happening at the moment, god she was so innocent and kind…

Natasha sighed, as Steve, Scott and others chatted with the group.

//

That same night, Tony was doing the dishes as his uncle sat down sipping a glass of wine. Most of everyone was asleep or awake upstairs, well no Pepper was outside watching the stars for a bit before coming back inside to join them.

“What’s the plan?”

“Hmm?”

“Do you think I should do this?”

“Tony…”

“JJ I need you to be honest with me on this one. What should I do here?”

“Well knowing you, your mind already started tinkering around with the concept since they brought it up..I um..”

“Um what? I need your advice here.”

“…to be honest, I am scared about this situation because what if something goes wrong…I mean, it’s time travel we’re dealing with.”

“It won’t.”

Said a voice, that clearly belonged to Rei who muttered that he couldn’t quite sleep without a glass of water. But they all knew he was thinking about Scotty’s idea from earlier. Both men looked up at him, wanting to search his mind for what he was wondering.

“..it won’t. But yeah, there is a chance that something might switch up on us, even though I am convinced that we can crack this.” Rei said, taking a sip of water noticing the odd looks and added, “What? Any chance to see my friends screw up a time travel machine is a win for me.”

That made Jason crack a smile. Rei could already imagine Natasha, Rochelle, Steve, Rick and even Bruce screwing up Scott’s experimental idea.

Tony already was working on a blueprint in his own head about the traveling equipment and any math he needs to do. He knew his son was thinking the same thing. Hell, he knew Rei misses his boyfriend Peter Parker as well.

Jason spoke up, “Here’s what we can do. Bring back only what we lost, no mirror changes. The Pym Particles are completely separate from our pay rate, so if we mess up, someone could get stuck in the Quantum Mechanics of it all. So have to think wisely about this..”

“We build the equipment needed, like bracelets or something to keep us from slipping or get stuck somewhere..” Rei says, rubbing his hands together having an idea for it.

“Clever! Yeah that can work, and we will need suits for the rest of the gang.” Tony added nodding, “Gentlemen, let’s pack.”

The rest of the night, the trio stayed up late packing up equipment and getting the systems for the machine ready.

However as they hit the jackpot cracking the code, Rei loudly said, “Shit.”

In return a tiny voice repeated his words loudly enough for him and his father to hear, his uncle snorted in surprise as Morgan sat on the step smiling softly. They wondered what was she doing out of bed this late at night, Jason raised an eyebrow at his granddaughter who cheeky smiled. She quickly asked what was going on, resulting in Tony repeating the bad boy and Morgan gave him a look that said ‘Seriously?’

They all took a break as Morgan suggested juice pops, joining in on her idea. Jason was downstairs with Pepper trying to take his mind off things, but he could hear Morgan’s giggle at her big brother and father.

Pepper rubbed his shoulders, “Hey, what’s going on?”

“You know, stuff racking my brain. The usual.” He responded.

“Yeah, you wanna tell me about it?”

He took Pepper’s hand and softly pressed a kiss to her palm, thanking her heart for taking time to listen to him. She smiled at her uncle-in-law and gave his hand a squeeze.

“Just wondering if theses last few years were a hiccup in terms for a bigger plan in mind…I mean, let’s face it, we got lucky here. Many people did not..there are days where I forgot what happened..” Jason said, sighing.

“Because we created a safe space for us to breathe and be away from the city..” Pepper explained with a soft tone, “I think it’s one of the best decisions we ever made to be honest.”

“Tell me about. We’re growing fruits and vegetables outside our window, it’s a blessing…but it doesn’t matter if we’re still missing our family..our friends..”

“I heard what was said outside. It’s a stretch to do that, but it seems worth trying..I miss Liz, Hill and the others, everyone does..”

“And if we fail?”

“At least we know you guys tried..you’re tried, get some rest, please.”

Years ago, he would’ve said he wasn’t tired at all but to be fair, he was exhausted. Jason was exhausted, nervous and overwhelmed by the fact that this might be the craziest thing he has done yet. He was just as sick to his stomach that something might to wrong. He has been time travel movies, he knew something could swing left field and they might have to rehearse things before they jump into those suits tomorrow.

Do a test drive for the machine, make sure everyone was aware of the risks, they have eaten and had enough energy to make this decision work out to their advantage. That meant they would have to hit the books too.

Fingers crossed.

Think positive thoughts.

He said goodnight to Pepper and went off to bed, staring at the ceiling before his eyes drifted off to sleep. He only hoped for the best for this trip, maybe he could even get a good nights rest too…

—//—

Ahh yes there is more! Hope you like it, let me know what you think about it in the comments below

Tags: @missstrawbs2001 @gcthvile @gaminggirlsstuff @sherloquestea @cherrysft @rickb-chaos @meiramel

[sunnyie-eve]

27 | Forget it

Series: Indispensable | Teen Wolf

Paring: (Stiles Stilinski x OFC Martin)

Word Count: 1.9k

Warnings: None

| MASTERLIST |

~~~

Waking up for school the next morning, the two were still in the same sleeping position, "I'm guessing you slept okay." Julia sits up stretching her arms.

"Well, I had a baby kola on my back which was comforting." He says still lying down.

"Are you saying baby kola just because of my size?" She looks back at him.

"Well, you aren't a big spoon..." He sits up with a smile.

"You like when I'm the big spoon." Julia gets out of bed going to look through Stiles closet to find a shirt to wear to school, "I'm borrowing this." She shows him leaving the room to change.

As she walks to the bathroom Noah sees her and they say good morning to each other as he heads to Stiles' room, "Julia slept over again?"

"Yeah," Stiles gets out of bed.

"Stiles," Noah looks at his son, "Is there anything there now?"

"Can we not, please." Stiles begs his father.

"I take that as I yes." Noah smiles leaving the room.

At school, Lydia finds her sister at her locker alone so she goes over to her, "You didn't come home last night. And you're in a boy's shirt."

"I crashed at Stiles' house and borrowing one of his shirts for today."

"Anything happen?" Lydia smiles.

"No," Julia says as Scott and Stiles walk up to their lockers.

Scott automatically notices Julia in one of Stiles' shirts, "Nice shirt." He laughs as Lydia walks away to head to class, "You still slept over?"

"Yes, I did because we're friends and it's not weird. And I needed a clean shirt so I took one." Julia huffs closing her locker going to class.

Scott looks at his best friend, "I don't wanna hear it." Stiles points at him.

"It changed didn't it?" Scott smirks listening to Stiles' heart rate.

"You're just like my dad, dude. Julia is my friend and nothing more is going to happen."

"But you don't really want that?" Scott watches him at his locker.

"I just don't want things to go wrong and it can't if I just ignore them." Stiles closes his locker, "Now, let's go talk to your ex."

In class, Stiles shows Allison the location of Malia's den. It is at the convergence of a several trails which Allison says could narrow their search because coyotes travel on fixed trails. She adds that Scott is right about her not going back to the den because coyotes don't like wolfs. She also says they're really smart and if they don't want to be heard they walk on their toes. Stiles says "Coyotes tiptoe?" Allison agrees.

The bell rings so Allison leave to go to class while the other three take their seats. Today they were learning about the internment camps the government forced Asian-Americans into during World War II.

Mr., Yukimura calls on Stiles to read in front of the class making Julia get up from her seat, "I'd love to read!"

"Everyone participates in my class, Miss Martin. And I called on Mr. Stilinski. Please take your seat." He tells her so Stiles gets up and thanks her for trying.

Julia watches him look at the textbook and gripping the podium trying to calm his breathing so Julia gets up from her seat, "Take it easy, Sty." Julia grabs his hand, "Excuse us." Julia tells Mr. Yukimura walking Stiles towards the door.

"I'll help take him to the nurse's office." Scott adds following them to the bathroom. "Hey, Stiles look at me, man. Is this a panic attack?" He asks him.

"Seriously, Scott." Julia gives him a look.

"It's a dream, it's a dream. This is just a dream." Stiles repeats looking in the mirror.

"It's not a dream, Stiles. This is real. You're here." Scott tells him.

"Look at me, Stiles. Count my fingers with me. Come on, babe. You can do this." Julia gets Stiles to look and count all her fingers with her calming him down.

Stiles leans against the wall sitting on the floor asking what is happening to him. Scott assures him they will be okay but Stiles is not convinced. He reminds his friend that he can't transform and Allison is being haunted by her dead aunt. As for himself, he says he is straight up losing his mind. He seems defeated claiming that they are not up to the task of helping Malia or anyone else in their current condition.

"We can try. We can always try." Scott tells him.

Animal control ends up at the school because Malia showed up. Noah tells Stiles and Julia if Malia hurts someone they'll have to put it down. Stiles quickly reminds him that they're talking about a her not an it.

While he says he still believes in the supernatural, he doubts that the coyote is a girl and not an animal. Stiles says he is 100% sure because Scott's sure.

As a demonstration of Scotts supernatural abilities, Stiles turns to his father and whispers "Scott you been listening?" Scott nods and the Sheriff acquiesces.

Stiles figures out that Malia was looking for the doll in his back pack. As he shows it to Scott, Mr. Tate storms in demanding to know where he got it. He says it belonged to his daughter. The sheriff intervenes and realizes that Mr. Tate has a gun under his jacket. While he has a permit to carry the weapon, California schools are "gun free zones" meaning he is breaking the law by bringing it on campus. The sheriff asks him to leave. He leaves, demanding that the Sheriff find that animal...that thing.

Scott, Stiles, Julia, and Isaac end up at the vets so Deaton could provide them with three vials of Xylazine which he describes as a horse tranquilizer. He says for a werecoyote it should work in seconds, but he only has the three vials so whoever is handling the tranquilizer gun needs to be a damn good shot. Scott says Allison is a perfect shot but Isaac knows she's not the best right now.

"She used to be." Isaac tells him.

"She can do it." Scott says making Isaac point out that they may not be able to find, in his words the thing.

"Okay, what's the point of him? Seriously, I mean what is his purpose? Aside from the persistent negativity and the scarf? What's up with the scarf anyways? It's 65 degrees out.

Isaac asks the most difficult question of all, "How do we turn a coyote back into a girl when she hasn't been a girl for eight years?"

Scott says he can do it pointing out that Peter once forced him to transform using just his voice and that Deucalion did the same thing. Deaton questions if werewolf abilities will work on a werecoyote. Scott says he called Derek to get him to teach him how to do it. Knowing they need a real Alpha, Stiles suggests the twins. Deaton points out that the twins are no longer Alphas because Jennifer broke that part of them. Believing they still may know how to do it. They decide to seek them out but Scott believes no one has seen the pair in weeks.

Stiles and Julia look at each other, "Actually, that's not totally true." Julia smiles while Stiles pulls out his phone to text Lydia.

Scott, Lydia, Julia, and Stiles arrive at Derek's Loft and the twins attack Scott. Pounding on him saying he needs to lose control. They shout that he has to give in and become the monster, the beast. They continue that becoming the monster doesn't make you the "bad guy" as long as you can control it.

Scott questions what would happen if he can't control, "It takes over. You become Malia and you get further and further from being human. You turn into an animal or worse." Ethan tells him.

"You turn into Peter." Aiden adds.

This causes Scott to flash back to the night Peter "died," he sees the creature Peter was.

Scott rushes Aiden, but the former Alpha flips him up onto the table and begins pounding on his face. Lydia looks away so Julia grabs her arm, "Okay, that's enough." She shouts so Ethan steps in to stop him.

When everyone meets up at the Beacon Hills Preserve. Lydia asks if they might be doing more harm than good. Scott says they're helping make sure a man doesn't kill his daughter.

Hearing the gunfire, Scott takes off on his bike toward the shots. Isaac follows on foot so Allison chase after, "She can't aim well! I'll try to help her." Lydia rushes after as well.

Stiles calls his dad to ask what was going on so Noah tells him Tate is hunting Maila since she took the doll, and there's traps everywhere out there.

Stiles works out that the doll is key. He first saw it in a picture in Malia's room. Her sister was holding in the picture and Stiles realizes that Malia had placed the doll in the car's wreckage as one might leave flowers on a grave. They removed the doll from the grave and Malia's been trying to return it.

Stiles tries to reach Scott on his cell but gets his voice mail. He leaves a message explaining the doll thing.

"Stiles," Julia's voice cracks as she was frozen in fear.

When he turns back to he sees that she had stepped on one of Tate's bear traps. The only reason it hasn't snapped close is that she was still holding the trigger down with her foot. If she tries to step off it will have her.

"Stiles!" Julia whines.

"Julie, don't move."

"Look for a warning label." She tells him

"A warning label?" He asks confused.

"Instructions on how to disarm it."

"Julia, why the hell would they put instructions on the bottoms of a trap?" He asks her.

"Let see, incase something like this happens."

Stiles looks for the instructions and finds it but can't read it, "Julia, we got a problem."

"You can't read..." She remembers, "You know what, forget it. You don't need them." She sighs, "When was the last time you ever used instructions? If anyone can figure it out it's you, you always do, because it's what you do best." She gives him a smile with tears in her eyes, "I believe in you."

After a few minutes studying the mechanism, Stiles discovers a large screw that tightens the spring, "Okay, here we go. Ready? Okay, here we go." He twists it and Julia steps away just in time grabbing onto him.

He wraps his arms around her as they stare at the closed trap now, "I told you." She hides her face into his chest, "Now back to where we were going." Julia moves away as they hear distant howling.

"That's what I'm talking about." Stiles smiles.

After Maila turning back to normal and Noah taking care of her before taking her to her father, Stiles rushes to Julia's house.

"Hello, bye!" He rushes past her mom running up the stairs to Julia's room. "I can read again!" He shouts swinging her door open.

"What?"

"I can read again. When dad dropped off Malia, I could read the side mirror about objects may appear closer in it." He smiles.

"Celebrate with curly fries? It's on me." She says so he reaches out for her to pull her off her bed to go.

[quaranmine]

okay so! crash course on the wither rose alliance! the wither rose alliance originally formed because fwhip had access to a skeleton spawner, and gem and sausage both got access. it was named after they killed the wither and got wither roses iirc?

then the cod-wra war started, mostly because of fwhip, sausage, and jimmy all escalating to wild degrees.

from there the alliance kinda of started to deteriorate with the appearance of xornoth. fwhip was kind of trying to appease xornoth in the beginning, sausage had allied with them, and gem was actively opposed.

gem was also working secretly with the cod alliance at this point, and was giving things like the location of jimmy’s cod head to them!

pearl joined them around this time as well! she broke her alliance with pixl to join the wither rose alliance.

things came to a head with the og trio when fwhip, gem, and sausage went to the nether to get ghast tears for end crystals to heal the ender dragon. xornoth trapped them in the nether and said he wanted a sacrifice for them to be able to leave. fwhip and gem tried to go for sausage and sausage, aided by xornoth, killed them both. after this sausage was kicked out.

gem’s reaction to sausage’s corruption is basically “i never talk about him. ever”

then after the ender dragon fight, she takes the dragon egg to try and hatch it, ostensibly so she can try to bind xornoth again.

i believe it’s at this point she summons three huge white (spirit? possibly) dragons to protect the crystal cliffs

then sausage kidnaps her and scott, jimmy rescues them, etc.

then there’s that final confrontation with her and sausage. they fight, sausage gets his ass kicked, sausage asks gem to kill him and she does. then sausage comes back to life at home uncorrupted. (a lot of people, including me, assume there was a spell of some kind by gem to separate sausage from the corruption by little making corrupted!sausage into a separate person, but that gets… complicated)

gem accepts sausage back into the alliance, and fwhip, while taking longer to convince, eventually does too.

then xornoth’s defeated etc etc.

this is when she really starts building her school! and also when scott comes to her for help and gives her that… aeor ice corruption thing?

fwhip tells gem to go to katherine about the streak in her hair, and gem goes to shrub instead. shrub gives her some stew that seems to replace the ice corruption with the xornoth corruption. then fwhip forces her to go to katherine’s, and gem is completely cured.

her school opens after this, with the students being weaponless pillagers, and she teaches katherine, lizzie, and fwhip and sausage i believe? there may or may not have been someone else

gem tries to get the dragon egg to hatch after this with fire magic, which she’s especially good at. the egg does and gem names her violet!

then the rapture happens, she grabs fwhip and the two of them ride off on the big white dragons, with violet and fwhip’s two dogs. gem and fwhip live on floating islands, and gem lives in a small house telling stories and using her magic to help out around her.

fwhip is said to be gem’s brother at the end of empires. up to that point it was implied or said on stream like one time that they liked it, so imo it’s a very “keep it if you want but not strictly canon, just don’t be weird” sort of thing? it gets treated as hard canon a lot though by fans

anon i want you to know i would literally DIE for you

thank you SO much omg!!!! also i did read this yesterday but before i could respond i saw scar was streaming, so i went to his stream since i didnt wanna miss anymore, and then i joined in the middle of bdubs telling him about hermittwt, so i forgot to respond to the ask haha

this is so useful for me!! ok so. as everyone who follows me knows, i am basically in love with every iteration of jimmy solidarity character, so i started watching empires for him--and then i also picked up joel, lizzie, scott, and sometimes pix. so my empires s1 knowledge is rather codvengers/cod alliance centric, so i very much appreciate all this extra knowledge!!!!

[nerd-at-sea5]

it’s yellowjackets week and in honor of that i’ll actually update my fic, but i wanna do smt for the prompts so here is why ‘bear down’ and ‘blood hive’ are my favorite episodes *insert thumbs up here*

first up, ‘bear down’: NAT EPPPP. the opening scene is so subtle and unnerving and then you see her dad and (at least for me) is a complete shock. not to mention how he’s already speaking what she’s trying to burry that the ‘blood is on your hands, natty’ (that quote might not be correct). and then she wakes up and there’s lottienat <3333. there’s everyone collectively hating on travis, laura lee calling him flex and everyone being proud, vannat moments w the gun and nat showing travis tf up. jackie saving van from the plane is funny to me and i do not know why. symbolism of nat digging up coach martínez and also this jesus christ. young nat :))) young nat :(((((. shauna just. bleeding the fucking dear.

now onto ‘blood hive’: first off-it’s got the dance party. i fucking love that dance party and i will talk abt it at all chances i get, just letting everyone be kids for a few minutes, pulling out this choreographed dance in the middle of the wilderness, all happy and smiling and not worried at all-it’s amazing. there’s a lot of tai/shauna bonding through the whole attempted abortion, and it kind of slams you into realizing just how fucked they are. like we know they’re screwed, but this sells the point (at least to me). VANTAI!!!! just them being them and this also being the ep that like confirms their relationship and i love that. (when i watched this for the first time i was then convinced van died in s1 bc she had no adult counterpart, so happy to be wrong lol). we have laura lee’s iconic ‘the occult is no laughing matter’. and even tho i’m not a big fan of the adult timeline (just not as interesting to me) i do love shauna and callie talking abt jackie in this one. van starting off the seance with ‘did oj do it’ i love them so much. coach scott just being a whole mood this whole episode also. i love him. ‘since when does lottie speak french?!’ ‘what’s she saying jackie?’ ‘i don’t know i suck at french too’ ‘WELL DAMNIT JACKIE TRY NOT TO-’ laura lee literally THROWING THE BIBLE AT LOTTIES HEAD ‘ow!!’. 10/10 moment of all time. and also just the phrase ‘that conniving poodle haired freak’ is fucking hilarious-

honorable mentions: 'doomcoming' because. it's fucking doomcoming, and 'burial' bc Acting and MUSICCCC

[saucy-sassy-sparkly]

Pursuit of Happiness

2: HopeLives Foundation

Pairing: Chris Evans x Kat Littleman (OFC)

Summary: New England political daughter Kat Littleman is constantly showing up for her mother’s campaigns, playing the part of the perfect daughter in the perfect, American family.  When her paths cross with Chris Evans while he canvases DC to build out ASP, she’s forced to face some truths about herself, her family, and her future.  

Word Count: ~6.8k

Warnings: Chris is a bit of a horndog.  Lots of swearing, alcohol, sex talk, politically charged topics, chaotic families

Series Masterlist

2: HopeLives Foundation

“FUCK,” Chris threw the controller on the sofa next to him and stormed out of the room, leaving a dumbfounded Scott behind him.

Scott glanced between the abandoned item, the Mario Kart standings screen, and his brother’s quickly disappearing back before he turned down the TV volume and followed Chris into the kitchen. He watched his brother bang around the room, throwing open the refrigerator and yanking out a beer before slamming it shut. Chris then yanked open a drawer to aggressively push around the utensils in search of a bottle opener. He found it and tried to pull it out, but it got stuck on the vegetable peeler; he yanked harder, and all of that resulted in several items tumbling out onto Chris’s socked foot, eliciting another, “fuck,” from the man who left the mess in favor of opening the beer and taking a swig.

“So,” Scott said, pulling out a kitchen chair and collapsing into it, “you seem great.”

Chris glared at him.

“Wanna tell me what’s wrong with you?”

“Nothing,” Chris joined Scott at the table after he gathered the utensils from the floor and shoved them haphazardly back in the drawer.

“You are definitely lying based on that little hissy fit you just threw over losing in Mario Kart.”

Chris shrugged, “I don’t like to lose.”

Scott snorted, “Yeah, okay, that I know, but you don’t normally throw things and storm out of the room. That’s usually Mom.”

Begrudgingly, Chris laughed and took a swig of his beer before leaning back in his seat. “It’s been a rough few weeks I guess,” he picked at the label of the Stella in his hand.

“DC was another bust?”

“Not entirely, we got a few more people interested and I’ve had some meetings go well, but I just didn’t think it would be this hard to convince politicians to talk to their constituents. Every time I spend a few days there, I end up feeling like we took one step forward and two steps back. They agree to talk to us but then they’re just looking for me to support them in some way or help out with one of their causes. Or worse, they ignore us entirely. No actually,” he paused, “the worst is when they just laugh at us. I can handle an ignored email, I can’t handle the assumption it’s a joke. I just want this to work, Scott. I think this could work, I just need them to get it, ya know?”

Scott nodded, pushing away from the table to get his own beer and, far more gratefully, find the bottle opener, “but you knew it would take time.”

“Just not this long,” Chris sighed and looked up at his brother who was walking back towards him. He studied Scott for a moment and then turned to look out the window, biting his lip.

“What was that?”

“What was what?”

“That face you just made? That face you make when you don’t want to tell me something.”

Chris scrubbed his hand down his beard and glanced at Scott in the corner of his eye, debating about telling him. Telling him about Kat. He’d been thinking about Kat since she’d disappeared into her hotel room’s bathroom two weeks ago. At that moment, she hadn’t bothered to lock the door, but he knew that was his dismissal.

She just blew him off, just like that. A quick, slightly dirty, really good fuck, and then she was gone.

At first, it pissed him off.

That was his role; he was the one who quickly dismissed a hook-up and sent them on their way. It had been years since he’d been on the receiving end of a brush-off. Women didn’t walk away from him. He finished and they begged him to stay while he got dressed or while he called them a car. He was used to being the one in control and he was furious she’d gotten the upper hand.

Then, he was embarrassed.

She’d sent him away without so much as a “goodbye” or even a “let me get your number” that they’d both know would never be used. He hated how it felt to put himself back together and quietly leave the room. He hated how much he wanted her to want him, or at least give him ten extra minutes to have a drink.

After the embarrassment came the shame.

He knew he’d done this to women more times than he could count. He knew he’d made them feel beautiful and desired only to give them the boot shortly after. Chris wasn’t awful– he usually hung around for some cuddling and making out… occasionally a sleepover… but even then, he didn’t think twice about sending them on their way. Now that he was on the receiving end, the shame of having made women feel that way crept back through him at the worst moments.

And now, he was curious.

Admittedly, his curiosity was mostly guided by his dick. Chris was familiar with casual hook-ups, but they were usually enough to get him off; he was almost always sure to get his partner to the finish too, but most of them were nothing special. Occasionally he’d find someone who was into something kinky and it would catch his attention for a few weeks, or now and then someone was particularly good and he’d keep her around for a while to text on lonely nights.

But the immediate attraction he’d felt for Kat when she’d sauntered up was new. Hot women were always around him, but few of them exuded a self-assured air that she had. And he wouldn’t admit it out loud yet– or maybe ever– but she was in the top 5 sex he’d ever had. He had yet to figure out what it was about her, but she’d put him in a trance and there wasn’t a shot in hell he would’ve ignored her invitation to her room. When she’d opened the hotel room door and pulled him in, he’d hardened at just the touch of their hands. When he kissed her and she whimpered against his mouth and melted into his touch, he’d started to leak into his shorts. He’d almost finished while she was just petting him, and then almost did again when he watched her finish on his fingers; when he’d finally been inside of her, he’d struggled the whole time not to finish with embarrassing speed.

After he’d spent a few days pissed and moping, not even taking advantage of the advances from a few more aides for their last few days in DC, he’d gone Incognito on his laptop and Googled her. He got a few old hits with her name in articles about her mother, a link to a super private Facebook page, and some photos volunteering with charities and a handful of other politicians. If he really wanted, he could reach out to some people he knew in DC and figure out how to get in touch with her the next time he was in town, but he wasn’t sure he wanted to go that far. That seemed a little too creepy.

So, he’d squashed his feelings down as deep as they could go and had thrown himself into finishing his last stint in DC. Then he’d taken all of his frustrations out playing video games with Scott, hiking with Dodger, and with his hand in the shower after dark.

Scott sat across the kitchen table with his face cradled in his hands, clearly waiting for Chris to spill. Chris played with the label of his beer, avoiding his brother’s penetrating stare, and tried to think of where to start. How to say ‘I slept with a woman and now I can’t stop thinking about her’ without sounding like an episode of a teenage drama?

Saved by his phone vibrating in his pocket, he fished it out to see Mark’s name fill the screen, “hey, man,” he greeted and then took a sip of beer, glancing back at Scott, who rolled his eyes and left the table to go back to the couch.

“So, Elizabeth Warren’s people just called me,” Mark said in place of a greeting. Chris could tell Mark was shuffling papers and could picture him at his desk– the one he’d seen over FaceTime many times. “They tried to call you first since you’re in the area, but said your assistant took a message.”

Ahh, right. Shit. He often gave out his assistant’s phone number instead of his when it was to lower-level staff members, just in case they weren’t calling for ASP reasons. He saved his personal number for the elected officials and their chiefs of staff.

“What does Warren want?”

“Well, sounds like she’s willing to chat with us, but wants to do it this week. Can you make it happen?”

Chris sat up straighter, yanking his laptop across the table and opening it. He clicked quickly to his calendar, scanning through the few phone meetings he had set up for the rest of the week before responding to Mark, “Hell yeah, I can make it happen. I’ll call ‘em.”

“Great, we really need her, Chris. Work your magic.”

“I’ll do my best,” Chris laughed, asking for the phone number to call.

Mark rattled off the contact information to Chris, who typed it quickly onto a sticky note on his screen. They briefly exchanged pleasantries, followed by some more shop talk, and then hung up. Chris immediately dialed the contact, being connected directly to a woman named Maggie. Maggie explained that the senator’s schedule was fairly full this week, but she’d be doing some visits to local nonprofits and he was welcome to choose one and she’d make time for a cup of coffee after.

Chris was accustomed to the “catch” with these politicians. He was careful to avoid showing too much favor to certain causes and leaders, but he had to toe the line between using his celebrity to bolster a politician’s public opinion and actually getting what he, Mark, and Joe so desperately needed to get ASP off the ground.

After hanging up with Maggie, he was surprised to find a list of engagements already in his inbox, along with links to the organizations and the times that Warren would be there this week. He clicked through the four options, loading the websites and scanning the missions– all various causes he liked, but one on the furthest side of downtown, one wasn’t until next Saturday– a week away– and one was at an animal shelter and he couldn’t risk going there and falling in love with another dog… Dodger would be devastated. The last one was on Tuesday, two days from now, and was the closest to his house. He clicked through the link for the HopeLives Foundation, looking at the stock photos of smiling women and children in front of apartment buildings.

Over the next two days, Chris and Maggie exchanged emails about the event and by 10a Tuesday morning, Chris was dressed in a cardigan and dark jeans and on his way to HopeLives. He pulled into the lot of a small strip mall, seeing the vans for a few news crews parked on the opposite side. The end unit had a sign above the entrance that was a cream-colored oval, with the words HopeLives in hot pink.

As he got close, he was surprised to discover that under the name of the foundation, there was a small herd of pink flamingos. An odd choice of mascot for a Boston-based foundation. He hovered at the edge of the sidewalk between a few cars and crew members scrolling their phones and scanned for Maggie. She’d said he would be able to find her because she’d be three steps behind Warren. And sure enough, there she was, a petite woman in– you guessed it, a pantsuit– was standing behind the senator, taking notes on her phone.

He chose to text her, rather than make his way across the center of attention, saying that he’d be at The Bean– the coffee shop a few doors down– waiting until they were finished; he saw the moment she read it and started to scan for him. He waved from his spot and she beckoned him over.

Shit.

He couldn’t say no; he was this close to getting a chance to talk to a huge name in politics and try to get her to agree to help them. But if he said yes, his face would be on the internet in a nanosecond next to the same huge name in politics, making it very difficult to sell the “nonpartisan” angle of ASP… not that his Twitter account did much to help that either.

He didn’t have a choice, he crossed the lot and hesitantly stepped up on the sidewalk as Maggie approached, her hand out to shake.

“Welcome, Senator Warren is just about to go inside,” she turned on her heels and was walking towards Warren without another warning. She waited for a pause in her conversation before gently touching her elbow, “Senator, Chris Evans is here.”

The senator greeted him warmly in front of the flashing cameras, complementing his career and how much her husband enjoyed his Marvel movies, before turning to introduce him to the women she’d just been meeting.

Kira and Monica were introduced first, shaking hands with Chris and grinning at him, “We had no idea you’d be joining the senator!” Kira continued to shake his hand long after it was socially acceptable and blushed fiercely when she realized and dropped his hand.

“We’ll introduce you to our third teammate in a second, she just stepped inside to get the coffee started,” Monica added, gesturing to the double glass doors, “want to warm up?”

The gaggle of people– Kira, Monica, Senator Warren, Maggie, Chris, all the camera crews, and several other Warren staffers, headed into the large lounge of the office space where there were plants scattered between a few sofas, plush chairs, and coffee tables piled with both coloring books, crayons, and magazines, even a few paperbacks novels on one of the bookshelves.

The cream wall in front of them held a picture of a flamingo and Senator Warren laughed, pointing up at it, “I have to know the deal with the flamingos,”

“Hold on, the flamingo enthusiast should explain it herself,” Kira said, walking down the nearest hallway and disappearing, only to return with a second voice following her.

Coming around the corner, a pot of coffee and a collection of mugs, creamer, and sugars on a tray in front of her, was Kat and Chris swore his heart stopped beating for the first full minute she was in view. He felt his face flush and his palms sweat; he was grateful he hadn’t worn a jacket even in the November chill because he would surely sweat through it right now.

Kat was in a tight plaid turtleneck, green suede skirt, navy tights, and knee-high brown leather boots; her hair was up in a high ponytail and, even with her neck covered, Chris remembered what the slope of it looked like and how much he had craved kissing it again in the last weeks.

She hadn’t noticed him yet; she and Kira were too busy setting out refreshments but when she rose to her full height, she looked straight at the senator first, offering her a chair and a coffee. Senator Warren sat, along with Kira and Monica, and finally, finally, her eyes fell on him. They widened immediately and Chris was pleased to see a blush rise in her cheeks too.

He took a step towards her and immediately paused, unsure what kind of greeting this moment called for. He wanted to hug her– his instinct was to hug– but this didn’t feel like the time to be that familiar. He hesitated and settled on shoving his hands in his pockets and nodding at her with a sheepish smile.

“Ch-Chris,” she stuttered, her head snapping back in surprise and she finished processing, “What are– how did–” she glanced around at the people all watching her expectantly. Kira and Monica’s eyebrows were both so high on their foreheads that they were in danger of blending into their hairlines. Senator Warren just continued to wait patiently, mixing cream into her coffee. The camera people and crew members, Maggie included, stared at Kat and Chris, clearly noticing a moment of tension.

Kat finally stuck out her hand and pushed her shoulders back, “Sorry, I’m just a big fan of your work, so I’m a little starstruck I guess,” she forced a laugh and gratefully, much of the room joined her, “I’m Kat Littleman. Would you like a cup of coffee?”

He shook her hand, accepted her coffee, and took a seat on the sofa– leaving Kat the only space left between him and Kira. She perched on the edge of the sofa, pretending to mix coffee for far too long while Monica and Senator Warren discussed the ins and outs of HopeLives. She picked up the cup, put it to her lips, decided she was shaking too hard to take a sip, and set it back down. Kat repeated the same movement three more times before she finally took a drink; she could feel her teammates' eyes flickering to her erratic movements.

Kat fidgeted on the seat, feeling every movement Chris made beside her. It was like his whole body was magnetized and trying to drag her into him. Seeing him here, in her place of work, had thrown off her whole morning and she was struggling to regain composure. Every time he moved and his cologne filled her space, she was pulled right back to the way it felt to kiss him. To have his hands on her hips, her legs, her breasts. To feel him everywhere…

“So Kat,” Senator Warren turned to Kat, who was pressing her knees so tightly together to avoid touching Chris’s that they ached already, “care to explain the flamingos?”

Kat nodded, flashing a genuine grin and angling her body towards the senator. Chris forced himself to look at her shoulder and not at her lower back, where her turtleneck was coming untucked from her skirt and a small stripe of skin was showing. “So a few years ago I saw this documentary about flamingos that said the name is said to reference their crimson wings and relates them to a real embodiment of the mythical phoenix. In lore, a phoenix rises from the ashes and is reborn for a new opportunity. Flamingos can represent beauty but also balance, stability, and potential. That concept really stuck with me and when we were workshopping names and logos and concepts for HopeLives, I kept coming back to the idea of our foundation working to help families find their potential. They come to us from poverty, abusive homes, from drug addictions, and we help connect them to job opportunities, housing, and food when they need it, plus we run several programs that allow families to bring their children and network with other families, building a herd if you will,” she laughed, earning a laugh from Senator Warren and Chris as well; she jumped a little, remembering Chris was seated behind her and she forced herself to lean back in the sofa, pressing into the backrest and allowing him to be part of the conversation again.

“A group of flamingos is actually called a flamboyance, but I learned quickly that some people do not want to be called that. Anyway,” she took a quick sip from her coffee mug that was emblazoned with the same logo that was out front, “our whole mission boils down to supporting people to rise from the ashes of their past and prosper. These two came up with the name, we all came up with the mission and built it together, but I was really insistent that we incorporate flamingos into our image.”

“Love that,” Chris nodded beside her, trying to catch her eye. Kat was focused on Warren, but when she leaned forward to set her mug on the table, Chris caught another glimpse of her shirt rising, exposing more of her back. He adjusted in his seat and averted his eyes back to the conversation just as Kat’s leg brushed lightly against the hand he’d planted on the sofa to get leverage. They pulled apart as if they'd been burned; Kat swore she could feel heat radiating from the spot where the back of his hand skimmed her thigh.

For almost an hour, the five of them chatted, eventually moving for a tour of the building. It housed the large, comfortable lobby, a small kitchen, three mid-sized, neat offices– each with a pull-out couch in case a family needed a place to crash for a night, two full bathrooms with showers, a conference room that looked more like a second lounge area, and a large back storage room filled with donations: everything from Costco sized packages of snack foods and coffee to new towels and sheets and three hanging racks of clothes and crates of shoes and jackets.

When Warren, Kira, and Monica (and most of the journalists and staffers) walked through the storage unit, talking about the wants and needs, Kat hung back and grabbed Chris’s arm, shoving him towards the kitchen.

“What are you doing here,” she hissed at him, checking over her shoulder that no one had followed them.

“I’m here for Warren, I had no idea this was your organization,” he whispered back, also keeping one eye on the door to the storage area.

She stared at him in confusion, “why on earth are you here for Warren?”

“ASP could use her support, I was promised a coffee and conversation with her. I thought it meant after she did her meet and greet, not during.”

Kat blinked, then finally said, “…ASP?”

Had it not been such a precarious moment, Kat would’ve congratulated herself on her acting skills. Of course, she knew what ASP was. After she’d showered and was positive Chris had left her hotel room, she’d started Googling his platform with little luck and then, when that didn’t work, started texting a few of the DC friends she’d made in the political world– thanks to getting dragged around by Mallory– and pretended to be a curious daughter interested in furthering her mother’s political career.

All utter crap… she just wanted to see what she could find out about the buzz surrounding another Hollywood star coming to DC with big ideas. Turned out to be fairly positive, although most were still skeptical.

Regardless, she feigned indifference and even added a cocked eyebrow for effect.

“For fuck sake, Kat, A Starting Point? The start-up I spent all night talking to your mother and every other politician about the night we met.”

“Right, right,” she feigned understanding, “yeah, my mom talked to me some about that…” She trailed off and Chris rolled his eyes.

“Bull shit, she did not.”

“You’re right, but she did talk about you,” Kat shrugged and then immediately regretted it when his eyebrows shot up.

“Me?”

Kat groaned inwardly and was not about to let on the grilling she’d gotten the morning after the gala. On the way back to the airport, her phone lit up with her mother’s face and she knew what was coming– a string of questions about her disappearance (a headache), her refusal to respond to the texts and calls inquiring last night (head hurt looking at the light, then she fell asleep early), and if she had seen that boy who was also mysteriously missing when Tim had gone to hunt down the trio in hopes of more football talk– they seemed to be the only men in the room who’d known who he was.

“You need to go. And don’t bring up my mom with Warren,” Kat changed the subject, hearing the group coming back towards them. She leaned across him and yanked open the fridge. In an effort to avoid close proximity, he tried to step sideways but stumbled on a gigantic box of potato chips and tipped forward, catching himself with a hand on her waist. He fumbled for words– a true apology never really making it all the way out– and quickly moved his hands. Kat tried to ignore the feeling ignited in her whole body with his hands on her and instead, she grabbed two water bottles out of the fridge and shoved one at him. She turned on her heels, expertly missing other boxes of snacks, and moved back to meet the group as they exited the storage area. “Sorry to miss the tour, I went to the restroom and came back to this one raiding our fridge,” she gestured over her shoulder with her thumb at Chris, who stood entirely too close behind her.

Chris shot a glare at Kat before forcing a smile, “needed some water,” he ground out, hoisting the bottle to his lips, and he pushed past her, his chest skimming her back as he moved closer to her to avoid the camera crew, and joined the group exiting the back hallway to the lobby once again. After a long goodbye between all of the people present and the cameras crews dispersing, Chris followed Senator Warren, Maggie, and the rest of her crew out and to the coffee shop down the block for the promised further discussion about ASP.

Kat busied herself putting the mugs in the dishwasher and straightening up while Kira and Monica trailed her, both pretending to straighten piles of magazines or rearrange some pillows. When she was out of things to do, she retreated to her office and slid behind her desk, ready to respond to some emails when the other two appeared in her doorway.

“Soooooo,” Kira started, draping herself across the sofa, “Chris Evans was here today.”

“He was,” Kat didn’t look up from her computer screen but she wasn’t doing anything. She was clicking buttons and hoping neither of them would pick up on her nervous energy… and that the low lighting in her office hid her pink cheeks.

Monica put on a breathy, high-pitched voice to mock Kat’s introduction saying, “Sorry, big fan, I’m a little starstruck,” before both women giggled.

Kira snorted, “Since when are you a big fan of Chris Evans?”

“I’ve seen the Captain America movies, I know who he is.”

“Yeah, but ‘big fan’ is not something I’d call you. Can you name any other movie he’s been in?”

Kat paused and continued to click buttons on her computer, trying to stall for time, and then, realizing she could Google it, she started to when Kira jumped up, “Uhhuh, no Googling. Spill it.”

“Spill what?”

Twice in one day, Kat’s acting performances– in her humble opinion– were stellar. She pretended to have no idea what her friends were referring to when she knew damn fucking well that she’d been out of sorts from the second Kira had come to get her and the tray of coffee supplies.

She was still grateful that she’d made it to the coffee table without noticing him, and she thought she’d pulled herself together quickly, but these two knew her better than that. They would’ve picked up on her posture, the way she’d picked up her coffee and put it back down several times, not knowing what to do with her hands. They certainly would’ve noticed that she was suddenly silent and had little to say in front of Elizabeth Warren, one of her political heroes who she had been relentlessly pestering to come to see their work. After months of phone calls and planning, her connections to the DC world paid off and got Warren in the door, and then, suddenly, gregarious, confident Kat didn’t have two words to say until dragged into the conversation.

The second she’d seen him standing there, managing to make a cardigan from the old man’s department look sexy, she thought she was going to pass out. He wasn’t supposed to be here. He wasn’t supposed to be standing in the lobby of one of her two safe spaces looking at her with those incredible blue eyes that were melting her skin into lava.

He was supposed to be a DC moment. A moment of weakness or lust or sexual frustration or some combination of all of those things wouldn’t ever wander into her life and make her knees weak again. When she’d walked away from him and into that bathroom, it had taken all of her willpower not to yank the door back open and ask him to stay the night, to take her number, or to even just shower with her before he left. But she didn’t let herself do it, she forced herself to listen for him to walk out and let it go. She didn’t need it right now…

“The stuttering and avoiding eye contact and acting like he would give you herpes if you sat too close to him,” Monica offered, sharing a look with Kira before they both turned their attention back to Kat.

“I met him a few weeks ago when I went down for that function with Mom,” Kat shrugged, offering a version of the truth.

Her colleagues, business partners, and long-time best friends just stared at her, knowing there was far more. Monica made a show of crossing her arms and popping out her hip. Kira smacked her gum loudly.

Kat pushed back from the desk and squared up to them, “Fine. You want to really know? I invited him to my hotel room.”

Kira’s jaw dropped and said gum fell out, bumping off her chin and onto the carpet. It took her a heartbeat to realize and then reach down to pick it up and throw it at the trash can.

“Kathrine,” Monica’s grin spread slowly, “do you mean to tell me you slept with him weeks ago?”

Kat started to get defensive, “So what, I can sleep with someone. I don’t have to report back every time I do.”

“Fair enough, just thought you might be up for sharing if it was a celebrity. And, ya know… just a little surprised you hooked up at all.”

“All the more reason not to share.”

“Why’s that?” Kira asked, “If I’d slept with that man, I’d make sure people knew. That’s like resume material.”

“Gross,” Kat scrunched up her nose, “look, he’s gorgeous and we had fun, but I don’t need to be fuck buddies with some Hollywood guy. And worse, I don’t need to be falling all over him like I’m sure every other woman he interacts with does. He’s just a guy, he was a good time, and I walked away before there could be fallout. I was just surprised to see him at my workplace, that’s all. It was out of context. I thought I’d never see him again.” Kat turned back to her computer and started to actually open her email to thank Maggie for coordinating Senator Warren’s visit today.

“Sure,” Kira glanced at Monica, whose face gave away all of her skeptical thoughts, but held her tongue. As they both made their way out of Kat’s office and into their own.

Kat finished out her day sending emails and calling families on her case list before finally shrugging into her coat and wishing Kira and Monica goodnight. Somehow she’d kept her mind off of Chris– she’d been more productive in those several hours than she usually was in days to throw herself headfirst into work and not thinking about the way his cologne had made her brain foggy or the way his body heat had radiated off of him and made her feel so cozy.

Her body went through the motions of getting to the car and driving home, but it was one of those drives where she didn’t remember a second of it. Her mind was too busy replaying the day. Should she have hugged Chris instead? Would he have thought that was weird? Had he thought about her as much as she’d thought about him? Did he regret their night together? Was he happy to see her today?

If it had been any other setting, any other moment, she would’ve greeted him much more warmly– or at least not acted like a stranger. But today had been so important for HopeLives, she’d spent the last three months begging Warren’s staff for a visit. She couldn’t have used the senator’s time to have a warm, fuzzy reunion with the man she’d been regretting walking away from. It wasn’t an appropriate time for that.

And now that she’d acted the way she did, there would be no warm, fuzzy reunion. When she’d left DC, she had no intention of seeing him again. Kat knew Chris was a Boston guy from her night of Googling, but she also knew that Boston wasn’t some small town, and running into him wasn’t likely. She’d walked away from that night knowing that there would be no future and there could be no future. She was too busy and she had too much on her plate for anything with anyone, let alone someone with a schedule like his.

But still, she could’ve been nicer to him. It was strange he’d shown up at HopeLives– her photo was on the website; it wasn’t prominently on the first page, but if he’d done even 3 minutes of clicking through and reading, he would’ve seen her name and photo as one of the founders. It seemed far too coincidental that he’d just happened to pick her place to meet with Senator Warren…

By the time she was in her garage, she’d gone through so much emotional whiplash that she swore her neck actually hurt. Her mind was clouded with all of the feelings and frustrations of the day, but still, she staggered out of the car and into the house. She was greeted in the mud room of her comfy cottage by Amelia, her four-year-old mutt, and plopped directly on the doormat to give her a proper hello full of neck rubs and butt scratches. When Amelia trotted around her, through the kitchen, and to the French doors that led to the yard, Kat followed her and unhooked the latch, watching her scamper out into the late afternoon sun.

Kat took a few moments of peace to hang up her coat and bag, walk through the living room putting away items as she passed them, and head up to her bedroom for a change of comfy clothes before she went back out. From her bedroom window, she smiled to herself as she watched Amelia pace the backyard, barking at passing walkers and begging them to approach the fence for a visit.

She checked her watch and slipped into sneakers and her heavy coat, pulling the leash off the wall and setting it on the bench by the door to stoop and tie up one of her laces. Kat glanced up when she heard a string of frantic, excited tips from Amelia. She squinted through the glass and groaned, “No fucking way.”

+++

By the time Chris and the senator finished it was almost 2; their 30 allotted minutes lapping twice before they parted ways. She’s been thrilled with his idea, eager to reach younger citizens and they ended with a future meeting already scheduled for her with the whole team.

He was pulsing with adrenaline and even his less-than-stellar reunion with Kat couldn’t put a damper on his mood. After he’d called Mark and Joe to relay the conversation to both of them, he was pulling down his long driveway and into the garage. When Dodger greeted him with equal excitement, Chris didn’t bother to kick his shoes off and instead grabbed Dodger’s lead and his heavy winter coat and ushered him into the car.

He pulled back out and drove the seven minutes to his favorite local pond that Dodger loved. It had a walking trail around it, a fenced dog run, a playground, and several well-kept docks, and it backed up to a little neighborhood with small, adorable, waterfront homes. Since he was still dressed from his day, he didn’t want a true hike, but he couldn’t stand to be inside. It was too gorgeous out on this bright November day and he was too full of pride. ASP might make it. With someone like Elizabeth Warren signing on, that helped their cause. She’d promised to speak to some of her trusted colleagues, and they were headed back to DC after the new year to continue to work– then in February, Chris was scheduled to start filming a new movie, luckily here in Massachusetts, so he wouldn’t have as much flexibility in his schedule, but Mark and Joe would pick up his slack for a few months.

Dodger trotted along in front of him, just as happy to be outside as Chris was. His head was on a swivel, his nose constantly twitching with the fresh smells, and his tongue lolled out of the side of his mouth in a smile.

Chris nodded politely to several people he passed, most of them more focused on his adorable mutt than him. By the time they were halfway around the path– about a 2-mile loop– they were in the thick of the houses that backed up to the path, several with long sloping yards, some fenced, some with swing sets and sandboxes, others perfectly tended garden beds all closed up for the coming winter.

They approached one of the fenced yards as a black, brown, and white dog came racing to the edge, yipping happily at Chris and Dodger. “Hey, pal,” he cooed, letting Dodger stop to sniff through the fence. The two dogs nosed each other through the pickets, the enclosed one eventually jumping up on its hind legs, tail wagging and lunging for Chris, begging for pets. He stepped closer, Dodger matching the dog’s pose, and Chris obliged both of them with ear scratches. All the while, Chris murmured to both of them, laughing at their contagious energy.

“You have got to be kidding me,” a voice approached and Chris blinked once, then twice, staring at the approaching figure in the yard.

She was now in leggings and a big, red winter coat, a wool hat with a pom pom on her head, but it was, without a doubt, Kat.

“Oh my god,” Chris groaned, still petting the dogs, neither of whom noticed the immediate tension between the two humans.

“This definitely counts as stalking now,” she crossed her arms and reached the edge of the fence, nudging the dog in front of her and saying softly, “Down, Ames.”

“I walk here all the damn time, Kat, it’s a public park and I had no idea that you lived here. In fact, I thought you lived in DC. We’re going,” Chris snapped, pulling Dodger’s leash. Dodger was too busy licking Kat’s outstretched hand and wrist to move. “Dodge, let’s go.”

“Bye sweetie,” Kat whispered to Dodger before pulling away.

Chris was fuming. First, she’d ditched him after sex, then she’d avoided him all morning, then she’d accused him of stealing from their fridge in front of Elizabeth Warren, and now she was acting like he’d sought out her house on purpose. He was a few steps away and wheeled around, “You know what, no. Who do you think you are? Do you think you’re really that special that I’d hunt you down and then stand at your back fence longingly?”

“How should I know? When guys like you don’t get what they want, they can get weird. I wouldn’t put it past you,” she countered, her dog now planted at her feet, still wagging happily.

“Guys like me?”

She gestured to him, “Guys with lots of money and lots of bravado who expect women to fall at their feet and then pout when we don’t.”

Busted.

“I promise you, baby, you were not that memorable.”

Lies. All lies. He’d gotten himself off to her image, the memory of her sounds, the feel of her body more than once.

But she couldn’t know that.

“Next time you walk here, don’t talk to my dog. Amelia, come,” she tapped the dog’s neck and they both walked back across the lawn. Chris stood watching her go, Dodger still pulling to get to Amelia, and his heart tightened in his chest when she glanced back over her shoulder once midway across their journey and then once more at the door. She hesitated at the last step, holding it open for Amelia but not breaking eye contact with Chris.

And then, she stepped into the house. Dodger caught the scent of a bird or a squirrel further down the path and pulled Chris on and away from Kat’s fence.

[stellocchia]

Okay, I think I watched all the Empires CCs's povs of the crossover and I'm being so normal about it... just so normal...

LOOK AT THEM!!!

There's so much I wanna talk about...

So, Pearl's clothes were changed. But we know she's still Hermicraft!Pearl and not Empires!Pearl, which is very interesting. Maybe the server changed her because it just recognized her as Empires!Pearl even if she isn't?

And Empires!Gem was acting weird. She was getting recognized by the Hermicraft people but she was obviously dressed like Empires!Gem and wasn't among the people we've seen near the rift, so what's going on with that?

Also False? I have no idea what's going on with her. I need False's episode.

Aside from that!

Joe and Pearl may have gotten the most peaceful accommodation staying at Scott's place, so good for them. Keralis and Jevin have kind of a second place, but Sausage is a serial pg rating breaker so... good luck to them...

And Tango's and Jimmy's reunion was so cute and wholesome! I loved it!

But also Tango is now living with Jimmy's bitter ex so... yeah. That's going on. I don't think that one's gonna end well for team rancher.

Also, Grian is a demon spawn dropped on Empires specifically to make Jimmy's life hell and no one can convince me otherwise. At least he got Scar? Kind of? When he's not also living with his bitter ex?

Also! I should have mentioned it earlier, but one thing I absolutely loved was how, after Sausage and Pearl met up, it was Scott who went after Sausage and did his best to calm him down and that was just incredibly cute! They're great, I love them.

Also, Mr. Graceffa, drop the video. I need to know how those pirate recruits are doing.

Anyway, there was so much. Some may say too much. Not me though, I loved every second of it. It is 2am though so I'll wait to watch the Hermits' povs

[chiefdirector]

betty | Folklore | Scott Summers | X-men

I won't make assumptions about why you switched your homeroom but I think it's 'cause of me

Scott sighed softly as he looked at the empty desk next to his, knowing it was his fault that it was like that. The desk still held his initials carved in it as well as Jean's. They had done it in a detention together, much to the Professor's annoyance. But now the homeroom felt cold without Jean in there too.

You heard the rumors from Inez, you can't believe a word she says most times, but this time it was true.

He couldn't blame Kurt, not really. He would've wanted to know if Jean had done to him what he had done. She deserved to know but Scott wished that she didn't, that way he could go on pretending that he had done no wrong. Just so he could pretend that he was perfect for just a little bit longer.

I know where it all went wrong, your favorite song was playing from the far side of the gym

Scott remembered it well. He hadn't meant to kiss someone else. But not even he could convince himself of that. No matter what excuse he came up with, the end result was the same: he had taken the one good thing he had and crushed it in a moment of weakness and he wouldn't ever get that trust back.

The worst memory was when Jean asked him about it. She came directly to him, thinking that Peter must have gotten it wrong because her Scott would never do that to her. Scott remember how her face fell as she tried to keep herself from trying. He could still hear the sobs through her bedroom door from when he went to apologize.

The worst thing that I ever did was what I did to you

The following days were the hardest. Scott knew that it was incredibly selfish and that he shouldn't find it hard but he couldn't help it. His friends has started to ignore him when they had heard about what he did, and he knew he deserved it but even then it didn't make it easier.

Scott thought up a million and one ways to apologise but he never did. Jean deserved better than him, she deserved the world. The only one who could stand to be around his was the girl he broke Jean's heart with

Those days turned into nights; slept next to her, but I dreamt of you all summer long

Weeks began to pass, and when spring turned onto summer, Scott fell into another form of ease. The other girl was nice enough but no matter how hard Scott pretended, she was no Jean.

Instead, he watched his love begin to move on from him. He watched from the sidelines as she began to smile and laugh again. Jean left her sadness, and consequently Scott, behind her. And as much as Scott loved to see her happy, it hurt to see her happy without him.

The only thing I wanna do is make it up to you

It took another five months for Scott to speak to Jean again. It was for an English project, but Scott couldn't be more thankful. There was so many things he wanted to say to her. He wanted to beg for her love once more, but for now he settled on: "Have you read page five yet?"

The project lasted weeks, and Scott savoured every moment he could with Jean, knowing that she may never speak to him again after this. But even with her resentment of him, Jean couldn't help but fall into the same comfortable silence they used to have.

But all good things must end. Scott wished the project could have lasted forever if it meant he could keep watching Jean laugh at his crappy jokes. But it couldn't and Scott was running out of time. Scott wished he had more time to say something perfect to apologise for his mistakes but he didn't. He would never have enough time to make it up to her, but he was willing to try.

Will you have me? Will you love me? Will you kiss me on the porch in front of all our stupid friends?

Folklore | Masterlist | Buy me a coffee?

[jadespeedster17]

Just Another Day In Hermitcraft

Summary: Just another day on the server. This is just small drabbles of funny scenes in my mind.

Warnings: Eh? Mentions of cannibalism? This is mostly just humor so nothing graphic. Mentions of Fantasy Racism (Against anything none human)

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

Xisumi stared at the guy, “What?” he asked as the guy went to explain himself again. “no no, I heard you the first time, but what?” he wasn’t sure, the audacity of this guy to come into his server and tell him he needs to ‘put down’ the ‘hybrids’ around him. 

“They are monsters, they hurt people, just nasty things.” the guy tried to defend himself with a nose wrinkle to Scar and Cub and their Vex features. 

Grian looked over with 3 of his eyes the others watching Pearl and Bdubs to make sure they didn’t cheat. Bdubs however looking over confused also, here he was just enjoying his sun patch to listen to the audacity of this.. 

“Who is this guy again?” Ren asked from where he was getting some cool whip from the fridge. “And what’s with that stench and audacity.” he’s ears flicking on his head and tail trashing.

Xsiumi looked from his friends now all staring then to the representative, “Either you are actually a Admin Representative, or Scott was blind to your racism against hybrids.” The ‘officially’ man sputtered, “I am just speaking honestly truths, I heard this place needed to be check on, but the fact you have...” he motioned to the group, “Those things here says you need more than a write up.”

Gemini hummed lightly, “I’ll go call Scott.” she said leaving the room.

“Yeah that is not gonna get you far at all here buddy.” Grian snorted a bit, “Scar, Cub, you guys wanna...?” he said motioning to the guy with his wing.

Scar wrinkled his nose, “Uhg, no, he’s not even junk food worthy. smells too sour.” Cub also looked disgusted, “I’m trying to cut back on... whatever that is. And I brushed my teeth already.” he told Grian.

Ren nodded in agreement to that, “I get that.” he he wrinkled his nose as well. Guess they would just wait on Scott to come get this man.

“but I’m not above experimentation.” Doc said cracking his knuckles, “I need someone to go through another death cycle.” he grinned, smoke coming out of his mouth... well guess that’s also and option.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

Gemini was looking at the double life feed and showing it to Xisumi, “So we all have bets going on who is gonna be the first to kiss. Scar and Grian already have chemistry, but Cub is fully convinced that Pearl and Cleo might try and have hate sex before then.” she explained to him. “And there is bingo cards given out for each couple and which trope they will use.” she already had hers half way done.

“No way, have you seen Impulse and Bdubs? Etho really thought he’d get in the way of that, they will be the first for sure.” Xisumi told her with surety in his voice.

Doc scoffed from where he was tinkering away, “All of us are horny canaries here, and speaking of canaries, my bets on Team Rancher. Tango isn’t known to be the ‘take it slow’ type and Jimmy is just a himbo.” eh mans had a small point there.

“I can’t be the only one who is just invested in general.” Stress commented eyes glued to the screen wide and tense. 

Gemini looked at it also, “Only one bed, that’s a Bingo!” she said finishing filling out one sheet.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

“So we have a guy here to talk to a God?” Pearl looked into the elven tree with a head tilt. “I can only assume they are talking about Grian here?”

Grian looked over at that from where he was eating a cookie that Scar gave him as a sample. “Hm?” he asked over the cookie in his mouth. Swallowing the mouth full he frowned, “Can’t be me, Ren’s the king after all, don’t kings like to think themselves gods.”

Ren however shook his head, “Oh no, I’m not getting involved, the king is off duty for the next... however long it takes you to take care of that.” he waved his hand as Grian gave a small glare.

“Well Scar here is the one with the cult, so maybe it’s him.” Grian said pointing to the wood elf.

Scar however smirked, “Same could be said about Mumbo, but I assure you, it’s not a call for the Vex.” he teased lightly to Grian’s pout.

Huffing Grian finished his cookie, “Your cookies are bland.” he said but did grab another as Scar snickered watching his friend leaving the room.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

“You’re trying... summoning magic?” Tango asked with a frown to Bdubs, “For what?”

“Grian gave me the spell and said he couldn’t get it to work, so he’s convince it’s a hoax, but I will make it work... just needs some adjustments.” Bdubs nodded to himself as he finished the circle.

Ren however rose an eye brow, “This seems like a bad idea.” was all he said looking at the ingredients used. “Do you know anything about summoning?” he asked a bit on edge.

“There would be my first, but how hard can it be?” The glare hybrid asked with a grin.

Ren and Tango took 4 large steps back at that, which was a good call.

-Bdubs was blown up-

Something told them Grian did that on purpose.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

That’s all I got for now, just little scenes in my head that made me giggle.

[mocacheezy]

Moca watches: Friday the 13th Part 2

I watched the first movie a while back, and decided to watch this one tonight!

Short: This movie is 90% eye-candy, and about 10% horror. It's a 6/10 for me.

Live reaction:

The amount of quality boobie jiggles and ass shots and panties and jfjsjfjs. My bi self is enjoying myself immenesly.

I can't wait for Scott the asshole to die.

*not 5 minutes later that I typed this*

Thanks Jason! :D

Ginny has good points and I hope she survives. Or atleast dies last.

Me looking at the girl not closing the wooden shuttters despite there being lightning and harsh winds:

"Girl there's a storm coming, close and lock these!"

"Sees her put perfume on her pubes*

GIRLIE NO, YOUR COOCHIE!

...

Ginny YOU LEFT THE FUCKING SAW THERE TAKE THAT SHIT WITH YOU

That ending where Muffin shows up, and I was constantly just like "the window, tHE WINDOW, YOUR BACK IS TO THE WINDOW", and yet they almost got me to relax completely with that doggo there.

And the close up of his moms face and then nothing jumping up had me so on edge like "no way is she gonna open her eyes. No way, she's not alive, she cannot be alive."

Thoughts:

The reviews and summaries I've read and heard about the franchise weren't kidding about everyone dying because they're doing bad stuff. And by bad stuff I mean smoking The Weed, wanting to fuck and driving fast on a motorbike.

I was surprised by the dude in wheelchair being asked if he needs help, saying he's fine and not being pressured to accept help. Learning why he's paralyzed was mreh, but again, am glad I knew the movie was going the way it was. Also if that hit didn't kill him, all those fucking stairs for sure did like damn.

I was really rooting for Ginny, but the amount of distress this girl gave me. As well as the many times where she just left a weapon nearby Jason. Broken pitchfork, knife, a CHAINSAW. CHAINSAW GINNY, KEEP A HOLD OF THAT!!!

The acting was pretty good, except for the Dumbass "I wanna go to Camp Blood!" and her ChickenShit boyfriend. Not only was the girl annoying and not convincing with her lines, but I also wanted to slap her so bad story wise. The movie wouldn't be happening if she wasn't nosey, but I just in general dislike the 'first couple to die'. They just annoy the hell out of me. At least they were somewhat attractive.

In general, all the Councelors had some beautiful bodies. The ladies especially, and I could honestly say this isn't a horror movie to me. Its eye-candy where you know that they'll die. I was too focused on the pretty shots of natural people to be actually scared.

Ginny thinking of what would happen if Jason really was more than a legend though really put some things in perspective. Her utilizing the sweater and nearly convincing Jason she was his mother was both amazing and horrifying, especially with the way it was shot.

And the character of Jason also sounds incredibly tragic, and is when you look at it. Where he lives, who knows what growing up was like, the possibilities she counted are all very bleak. It makes the whole thing quite sad really, and is disappointing from perspective of noone even looking for him after the girl from last movie said he's still out there. A kid grew up to become this.

I do wonder though, at what point did his face become this deformed? Because before he drowned it didn't appear so, but when he first dragged that teen from the boat, and in this movie, his face is very deformed. What on earth happened?

All in all the movie was good. Could do without the face eating and sloppy kissing, but it didn't last long.

On account of no-one but Ginny being likable, and the amount of sexy naked ladies, I give it 6/10 rating.

[logicalbookthief]

Christmas Movies Ranked by How Anti-Capitalist They Are

It’s a Wonderful Life

Movies that make you want to pick a fight with the 1% and also weep with joy. Absolutely a classic and anti-capitalist at its very core. Will convince you we need to start oppressing landlords again.

“Just remember this, Mr. Potter, that this rabble you're talking about... they do most of the working and paying and living and dying in this community. Well, is it too much to have them work and pay and live and die in a couple of decent rooms and a bath? Anyway, my father didn't think so. People were human beings to him. But to you, a warped, frustrated old man, they're cattle.”

SAY THAT!!! George Bailey said fuck landlords, all my homies hate landlords, they have NO rights. Local man believes poor people are human, dedicates his life to helping them, and in his time of the need literally the whole town comes together to support him and his family. Class solidarity ftw!

“Remember no man is a failure who has friends.” Bitch I CRY EVERY GODDAMN TIME. 

10/10

Home Alone

Soundtrack goes hard, the wacky hijinks even harder. 

Loses points because the bandits had a prime opportunity to seize and redistribute some of the wealth from this ritzy Chicago neighborhood and instead they focus their energy on trying to kill an 8-year-old who outsmarts them at every turn.

2/10

Elf

A family favorite in our house. Touches on the overworking and mistreatment of employees through Greenway Press – Walter forced to choose between being with his family on Christmas Eve or losing his job, it’s implied Deb has a pet grooming business on the side to makes ends meet despite being a receptionist at a NY publishing company, etc.

Honestly most of the points come from Jonie’s underrated yet highly relatable storyline. She works in retail, exhausted and cynical towards the high-paced Christmas season which gives her little to no relief or reward, since she’s surviving on ramen noodles and using the employee showers because her water was cut off. Not expanded on enough to be considered a true Marxist piece but the effort is appreciated.

5/10

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer

Although the meme is correct in that Rudolph’s red nose becomes desirable only once it proves to be useful, it does get points for exposing the harmful nature of forced conformity and those alienated by these capitalist ideals -- Rudolph, Hermie, the island of misfit toys -- are given a place to belong despite the perceived “flaws” that before made them undesirable.

Also the elves definitely have a free dental-plan now thanks to Hermie and are hopefully on their way to unionizing. Fucking superb you funky little misfit.

6/10

Klaus (2019)

Turns a member of the bourgeoisie into a man I’d trust to carry my mail. Respect for postal workers this movie contains was ahead of its time.

 No direct takedown of the establishment but a heartwarming message -- “A true selfless act always sparks another” bITCH I may be crying -- that emphasizes the importance of giving to others even when there is no selfish motivation to do so, which is inherently anti-capitalist.  

8/10

The Santa Clause

Scott Calvin starts as a toy executive who takes part in the commercialization of Christmas. He was probably a business major so automatically loses points.

The Santa dynasty itself seems to operate under the cutthroat rules of the business world where you must overthrow (or in this case, throw him off the roof) the former CEO in order to seize power. 

Elves have not unionized or seized the means of production by the end.

0/10

A Christmas Carol 

THE ORIGINAL. Charles Dickens was not even in the neighborhood of fucking around with this one. CREATED the anti-capitalist Christmas genre!!

Rich man treats his employees like shit and gets terrorized by three ghosts on Christmas Eve. Force him to redistribute his wealth by dragging him through a montage of his most epic fails -- oh, hey, remember when your fiancé left you? -- and make him listen as all his employees and relatives complain about his stingy ass. 

They end this slideshow by throwing this dude into his own grave. DIRECT ACTION. 

Like damn, the ghosts really said, “If you hoard your resources and ignore those in need when you could directly improve/save lives with no cost to yourself, you will die ALONE and you WILL pay for your crimes in hell.” Literally watching this movie is a catharsis for anyone who is or has been poor and working class. 

I’m including all versions of this movie but a special shout out to the Muppet version because it fucks the hardest. 

100/10

How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000)

Listen I’m not even in realms of joking with this one. This movie is THE anti-capitalist film of the holiday season. 

WhoVille commercializing Christmas and a fixation on consumer culture to the point where anything and anyONE who cannot be commodified -- aka the GRINCH -- is alienated? The Whos rediscovering that people should be cherished over material items once it all is stolen and they must confront how empty the holiday has become??

Cindy Lou becoming disillusioned in Christmas -- at an age that coincides when many children (those who celebrate Christmas at least) lost belief in Santa and had to wrestle with what the holiday means with the magic gone and they’re more aware of the rampant consumerism that taints the season?? Her resolve to find a meaning that goes beyond material consumption because if a holiday founded on goodwill doesn’t extend that goodwill to everyone, even those society deems undesirable, then what’s the point???

The Grinch despising Christmas because he is unable to participate and isolated from the Whos and also the better qualities within himself? His alienation serving to demonize him further as it allows the public to narrow his valid criticisms of the holiday down to him being different and thus inherently predisposed to evil?? And hmm isn’t it interesting that a LOT of this demonization comes via Mayor Augustus “generously paid for by the tax-payers of Whoville” Maywho, Mr. 1% himself.

The upper vs working class divide evident in the light show competition between Martha May and Betty Lou Who?? The opening scene of the shopping frenzy that mirrors our own consumerist culture and overworking of retail/poster workers??? This entire monologue:

“That's what it's all about, isn't it? That's what it's always been about. Gifts, gifts... gifts, gifts, gifts, gifts, gifts! You wanna know what happens to your gifts? They all come to me. In your garbage. You see what I'm saying? In your garbage. I could hang myself with all the bad Christmas neckties I found at the dump. And the avarice... the avarice never ends! ‘I want golf clubs. I want diamonds. I want a pony so I can ride it twice, get bored and sell it to make glue.’" 

MARXIST KING. MENTION IT ALL.

1000/10

[buckyownsmylife]

Follow you - Chris Evans smut

The one where Chris becomes your roomate and finds out he has a domesticity kink... and more

Warnings: Smut, breeding kink, domesticity kink, friends to lovers, rommates au, pandemic mention, hair-pulling kink, daddy kink, cockwarming, kind of allusion to an age gap, but can be read as reader being into teasing chris

Word count: 4.1k

A/N: Thanks to @mollygetssherlockcoffee​ for reading this over and helping me make it better! You’re the sweetest person ever!  this is for my own birthday celebration challenge! Like I explained here, I’m going to try to fill every single AU I listed with the characters I picked for the challenge, and since the deadline if May 27, these fics will be posted randomly, as I finish them. Hope you guys like it!

Chris’ P.O.V.

“C’mon, sweetheart,” I’d been trying to convince her to close her laptop for the last two hours, unfortunately without any luck. She just glanced at me before returning to her document, and I groaned as I left the living room in search of what I knew we needed.

“Close the laptop and I’ll give you a sip.” This time when she looked up, she found me holding a bottle of my most expensive whiskey, the one she’d been dying to try ever since she first got invited to my place.

It was a tense moment of evaluation while she took in my offer and her workload, her head turning from her computer to me and then back to the device again, and I found himself growing anxious because of how desperately I wanted her company that night.

“Please?” I tried to convince her, even going so far as to pout - which at least earned me a giggle. I considered it a win, especially with the way it made my chest warm up. “C’mon, we deserve it! After the week we had?”

She frowned when she thought back on the stresses we had confided in each other for the last couple of days, and I watched with glee when she slowly closed her laptop, prompting me to wave my arms around in victory. “We?” She teased, getting up to stand before me with her arms crossed in front of her body, making me laugh.

“Alright, so maybe just you.” I couldn’t really deny that my work “problems” paled in comparison to hers. “Listen, I’m only trying to help.” She narrowed her eyes at me, reaching out for the bottle and unscrewing it before taking the sip I’d promised.

“Shit, this really is good.” A smug smile took over my face as I wrapped my arms around her, walking us back to the couch before making us fall over it.

“Only the best for you, babe.” I watched her roll her eyes at the pet name, snickering at how it affected her. I knew it made her giddy and she hated it, it’s why I insisted on doing it - or so I told myself.

Something deep inside of me whispered differently, though. I tried to ignore it. She was my best friend and we were going to be living together for the foreseeable future. No one knew when this pandemic would let up.

And lord knows that nothing positive had ever come out of my investments in romantic relationships. So every rational thought in my mind was begging me not to overcomplicate this. I couldn’t stand to lose her friendship, anyway. That’s why I had invited her to spend lockdown with me - my need to know she was okay, and be able to have her around whenever I needed to vent.

She was the only one outside my family who got my anxiety well enough to help me work through it when I was feeling bad, and she had even been able to prevent me from having panic attacks more than once.

I just couldn’t imagine going through this with anyone other than her. I simply hadn’t anticipated how fucking horny this period of forced sexual privation would make me, and I never expected her to become a willing victim to my needs.

But boy, once the liquor hit and she ended up over my lap, shivering as she rode my thigh without a care in the world, was I glad that she did.

“Is this what you like?” I asked, looking up at her with my mouth hanging open, unbelieving of how fucking sexy she looked as she used my body for her pleasure. I didn’t even care that my cock was straining against my jeans, begging me to move her on top of it. As long as I could keep enjoying the show, being a part of it, I was satisfied.

“I wanna learn it,” I pressed, moving my hands to hold her ass, squeezing it the way I’d always wanted to do but never allowed myself to dream about. “I wanna learn how to please you.” She made me feel something I hadn’t felt before, in any of my past relationships. There was attraction, of course, but there was also this deep, familiar feeling that made me feel at home. It made me feel safe, and with the help of alcohol, I was desperate to explore it.

“Ugh,” she groaned, letting her head fall back, drawing my attention to her breasts, the way they bounced in front of my eyes, unfortunately still covered. My mouth watered at the sight of it, wanting nothing much than to strip her bare and wrap my lips around one of her nipples.

“Don’t say stuff like that, Evans.” The comment threw me off, making me frown as I took a hold of the hair on the back of her head and yanked her to me, devouring her lips. They were soft - so much softer than I’d ever allowed myself to imagine.

“Why not?” I panted against her mouth once I was forced to separate from her taste of whiskey to search for some oxygen. She kept moving, her eyes hazy and glossed over, and it sent a pang of lust straight down my body when I realized it wasn’t completely due to the drinks we shared. There was also desire in there.

“You want to learn?” She asked, hands bunching up my shirt as she used her hold to grind against me faster. “Then fuck me, Chris.” She molded her body to mine, engulfing my lips once more as I laid her down on the couch, excited to have her underneath me - excited to see her naked body, explore it, get to know every little thing that made her tick.

I knew it would be a moment I’d forever remember, regardless of the amount of bourbon in my blood. I just never expected it to become something I was so eager to relive over and over and over again.

It was supposed to be a one time thing. When I woke up in the morning, I was ready to go back to being roommates. We were good at that. She was a morning person, by the time I woke up every morning, she already had breakfast ready for me, and then we’d go out to the backyard to let Dodger out together.

We’d sit and talk and then I’d go for a run - she’d have done her yoga already, while I was still asleep - I’d answer some e-mails, she’d work on her laptop by my side and the silence was just as comfortable as all of our late night conversations.

She’d sneak out to the kitchen and come back with a few sandwiches for our lunch, and then the rest of the day would go by with us doing whatever mundane task we had in mind, together even if we were doing separate things, and I didn’t feel suffocated.

I didn’t even run out of things to say. By the time dinner rolled around and I followed her back to the kitchen, cleaning up the dishes while she fixed us dinner - I wasn’t allowed to cook in my own stove, mostly because she was terrified of my food but hid it under the excuse of that one time when I started a fire - then we’d eat together, watch a movie together, talk until we fell asleep - always together.

I was shocked. It’d never been this way in any of my previous relationships. In fact, I was certain it was the reason why they had never worked. I’d given up on any realistic expectation of settling down precisely because of this: I just never expected to find anyone with whom a day-to-day life wouldn’t eventually grow boring.

It’d been three months and I still loved to wake up to her coffee. We still fell asleep every night side by side, too tired to move into different beds because we had laughed our asses off after skyping Scott.

And now that sex came into play in our relationship? I just knew there was no way I’d ever go back to being nothing but friends - or living in a place where she wasn’t the first person I saw when I woke up.

It sucked that it took a pandemic and a night of alcohol to make me realize that, but damn, was I grateful that I decided to open a bottle of whiskey that evening.

I kept waiting for the catch, the moment it would all go to shit, but it never came. Our lives resumed to how they used to be, only now I had this ongoing inner battle to not just bend her over the nearest piece of furniture when we were busy, and the ability to do exactly that whenever there was nothing else to do.

And for a while it was bliss. There wasn’t a nagging voice inside my head questioning this arrangement because it was theoretically perfect. I had a best friend, a roommate and a fuck buddy, all wrapped into one single person that I adored.

Life couldn’t possibly get better - until I realized that I wanted more. Talks of lockdown being over started and she had plans of going back to her place, of course, but I couldn’t stand the thought of being away from her.

I wanted to see my family too, but I wanted to take her with me. Introduce her to my mom, see her get along with my sisters. Witness how she’d be with my nephews and nieces - I knew how much she loved kids. And that’s when it hit me.

I’d given my heart to her. Somewhere between the morning coffees and afternoon runs, the nights where I’d rant about all of my silly problems and she actually listened to them - really listened, never making me feel bad about what could only be described as rich people problems.

All the innocent little gestures, and the not so innocent ones - when I discovered she was exactly the nasty slut I’d always dreamed of, the way she would randomly drop to her knees and suck me off, even while I was on the phone. Most times she didn’t even let me repay the favor. She just genuinely liked to blow me.

She also liked to play with me randomly, like when we were watching a movie and she mindlessly reached for my crotch, rubbing me until I got hard. It almost always ended in sex, and I just loved it.

I loved it, and I loved her, and the idea of her ever sharing this idyllic lifestyle with anyone else made me irrationally jealous.

And that’s how I knew it. I didn’t want to mess it up. But how could I not fuck this up?

Xxx

“Chris…” Her sweet voice called out to me, reaching my ears while I was hiding in my office, trying to get my thoughts in order so I wouldn’t just randomly blurt out what I was feeling for my best friend to my best friend.

To her credit, she didn’t try to force me to keep her company - but that only made me fall even deeper for her, leaving me a complete and utter mess while she went about her day as if nothing was wrong in the world.

“Yes?” I looked up to see her by the threshold, clearly reticent about invading my privacy. It made me smile, thinking back on all of the times my exes hadn’t been as understanding, even after I let them clearly know what I was needing.

“I made cupcakes, do you want me to bring you one?” The thought of her in the kitchen, baking a sweet treat just for me had my cock twitching in my pants. Biting my lips, I pushed away from my desk to finally get up and stretch my legs, taking advantage of the monitor to hide my hard-on.

“No, I’ll come eat them downstairs with you.” She smiled before leaving, and I soon trailed after her, walking into the kitchen to find the most delicious-looking little treats, just waiting to be devoured.

Much like her, I supposed.

I was reaching for one of them, already licking my lips in anticipation when something caught my eye, prompting me to raise my gaze and look at her again, but really look at her this time.

She was wearing an apron.

There was nothing inherently sexual about the damn thing, but the way she looked with it, going about her business in my kitchen like she owned the place… It just felt right, seeing her there.

And suddenly I couldn’t hold back anymore.

“Y/N…” I started, leaving the cupcake back on the counter and brushing off the crumbs as I circled the kitchen island to go stand in front of her. She hummed before turning to meet me, smiling slightly to signal that she was listening to what I had to say.

But I didn’t know how to say it. So we just stood there, staring at each other until eventually her smile became a frown. “Chris, what’s going on?” I still couldn’t speak. Much to my absolute surprise though, she just sighed, wiping her hands on the apron while shaking her head, a knowing smile on her face.

“You’re stressed, aren’t you? You’ve been working so much, that’s why I thought the cupcakes would be a good idea,” she explained nodding towards the tray where her sweet treats laid. “They’re a reward and a break all wrapped in one delicious cake.”

The comment was like a punch to the stomach - or a scalding wave of desire rushing through my body, straight to my groin. The idea of her thinking about my needs and catering (quite literally) to them just did something to me, and I didn’t know how to explain it - I don’t think I understood it myself.

“But since they didn’t work…” she continued, blissfully unaware of the conundrum she had put me into. “I know something else that will definitely work.” And just like that, the woman dropped to her knees in front of me, reaching for my sweatpants before I could find a way to close the mouth that was hanging open.

“I guess I’ll grab a sweet treat for myself.” She looked so devious, small hand encircling my already pathetically engorged member, that all I could do was whisper an, “Oh, shit,” when she immediately wrapped her lips around it,  starting to suck me off without any preamble.

My fingers were white as I held onto the counter behind me to keep myself up. She looked so good, staring up at me with her lips wrapped around my dick, I felt like I was about to blow already.

Why did she have to be such a fucking tease?

“Oh, God,” I moaned when she managed to engulf the entirety of my member inside her throat, the choking noises getting to my head. My hand instinctively laced with her hair, first to hold her lips close to my navel, then to pry her completely off of my member.

“What’s wrong?” She questioned once she was able to speak, surprise written all over her features while I was still staring down at her slightly teary face and trying to find my voice.

“I-I have a problem.” There. I said it. I had finally made some progress in my goal to let her know what was going through my head. Only instead of curiosity, what I got was a confused expression from the woman still holding my dick, her eyes darting from my own to the member throbbing between her fingers.

“No, you don’t!” It would have been funny if I wasn’t so fucking frustrated. Yanking her by the hair, I complained, “Not that kind of problem!” pulling her to the living room so I could throw her on the couch, trying to ignore her moans of pleasure in the process.

I’d figured out pretty early on that she had a pretty serious hair-pulling kink, and if my plans of sitting down and having a level-headed conversation were ever in motion, they surely went out of the window the second she pulled my body down to cover hers and adjusted my cock so it would easily fill her.

“Son of a…” I groaned, letting my head fall down against her chest as the little vixen gleefully giggled underneath me, legs wrapped around my torso as she tried to thrust up and tempt me to move.

“Just wait a second,” I managed to reason, but she just shook her head.

“Fuck away your problem, Chris. Use me. I want you to.” Motherfucker. I really couldn’t catch a break with her. Just as she started to make me move again, my hand instinctively wrapped around her neck, lightly squeezing it just enough to get her to shut up.

“I wanna start a family with you,” I finally spilled, looking deep into her eyes as I tried to ignore that I was still balls deep inside of her. Her eyes widened, and now her mouth was the one hanging open.

I couldn’t really relish in it because she looked absolutely delicious and she felt stupidly heavenly to my throbbing dick.

A few seconds went by without as much of a reaction from her and I was about to pull out - despite still being achingly hard - but her legs held me tighter, stopping my plans of leaving her tight haven.

“You know…” She started to speak, a little out of breath, catching my attention as I finally gathered the courage to look her in the eye again. “When I first met you, I thought you were the epitome of a fuckboy.”

The unexpected sentence had me snorting, and then I just couldn’t stop laughing. Finally pulling away from her, she fixed her hair when she sat up and I did the same, shaking my head slightly as I rubbed my eyes.

Our own relative nakedness - well… mine, she was wearing her usual dress with no underwear under the damn apron - didn’t affect anything when I pondered over her words, until I decided to break the silence.

“I mean… I think I was?” She chewed on her bottom lip as she took in my response, analyzing it, weighing its validity in that gorgeous head of hers. I was nervous, but she hadn’t blew me off yet. And quite honestly? I’d do anything for that little hope that was growing inside of me.

“What changed?” Was her question, so unexpected I couldn’t help but question, “Huh?”

“What made you change?” It wasn’t an unwelcome inquiry, especially when the response became clear to me, lighting up my brain and warming my chest, spreading all over my body until I had no choice but to voice it.

“I realized I could have a future with you.” My smile was vulnerable but honest, and in her eyes, I could see that she knew that. When she threw one leg over my lap, straddling my hips, I allowed myself to breathe deeply again, leaning on the soft cushion while taking a hold of her ass.

“So, how are we gonna do this?” She non-nonchalantly asked, slowly rubbing herself against my still half-hard member. I groaned when I realized the implication of her words, knowing that the meaning paired with the feeling of her wet lips dragging along my cock would get it back up in no time at all. “You wanna do me right now?”

The brashness of the question made my eyes light up, as weird as it may sound. In that moment, it became clear just how perfect for me she really was, giving me what I needed exactly in the way I didn’t know how to ask for it.

“See? This is why I’m in love with you.” She rolled her eyes at that, making me laugh. I’d anticipated the gesture, I knew it’d take her longer to say it, but it was alright. The fact that she was willing me to give me a child was more than enough proof of her feelings for me, if her entire behavior ever since she moved in wasn’t already.

“Shut up and fuck me, Evans.” Throwing her back against the couch, she yelped in surprise when I took off my shirt and slapped the inside of her thigh, assuming my usual position of hovering over her smaller frame.

“Spread your fucking legs, darling. I’m gonna fuck you real good.” The way she bit her lip as I slowly penetrated her again showed me just how excited the prospect got her, and as I started to make good on my promise, her moans told me just as much.

“Holy fuck,” she commented as I pounded her ruthlessly, weeks of frustration and the rush of anticipation getting the best of me, and I was glad for the feeling of her nails biting into my skin because otherwise, I’d probably run over the edge of not even caring about her own pleasure as I chased mine.

“You gonna cum inside of me, honey? Make me a mom? Finally fulfill your dream of becoming a daddy?” Her words detracted me from my task of sucking bruises on the skin that was now mine to bruise, mine. I threw my head back, yelling a, “fuck yes,” as my hips sped up, desperate to fill her up, but I was determined to get her to cum before me.

“Say it,” she ordered, small hand circling my throat as best as she could, a throwback to what I’d done only moments prior. It wasn’t enough to choke me, but it did catch my attention. “I wanna hear you say it.”

Tears escaped the corners of my eyes as I blinked, the intensity of the moment overwhelming in the best of ways. “God, you are such a fucking tease…” She chuckled underneath me, giving my throat a squeeze before she raised up on her elbows to kiss my jaw.

“Better get used to it… daddy.” And just like that, I realized that I had yet another kink I hadn’t known about before her. Or maybe it was just her, and I was obsessed with the damn woman, painfully turned on by every little thing that she did.

“I’m gonna cum deep inside your little pussy, sweetheart,” I finally gathered myself enough to do as she asked me to. “You’re gonna belong to me forever now. Give me kids, make me happy. How do you like that?”

The mischievous grin she gave me told me everything. “I love it.” I knew this was her way of saying what she couldn’t yet voice, and I’d take it. I’d take anything she gave me, any chance I got to love this wonderful woman.

We came together, both riding our highs in deep ecstasy. I moaned when I felt myself empty all of my seed inside of her, incredibly excited about the prospect of starting our future together right then.

“You’re so fucking beautiful.” I cradled her face in my hands as I struggled to catch my breath, but she turned it to the side and pressed a kiss to my palm and I was breathless all over again. It was such a simple action, why did it get to me so much?

“You’re not too bad yourself, Chris.” I didn’t want to part with her warmth, so I just adjusted us on the sofa in a way that kept me inside of her, sighing contently as I realized I’d never have to sleep away from her again.

“I’m gonna stay right here all night.” I adjusted myself so I was resting my face on her boobs, perfectly happy to do just so, but by the tone of her voice, I knew she had a teasing smile when she called me an, “Old man.”

“And here I was, thinking you’d be able to go again.” Warmth filled my chest at the realization of just how badly she wanted me - just as much as I wanted her too. I was so damn ecstatic. Not even her pokes at my age would be able to affect me.

“Oh, darling… better get ready,” I warned as I adjusted myself to hover over her again, taking notice of the excited glint in her eyes, the way she bit her lip as she stared back at me. “I’m never gonna get enough of you.”

The next morning, I added a new kink to the list of random bits of information that were driving me slowly insane as I felt the overwhelming need to bend the woman that I now got to call ‘mine’ over the nearest piece of furniture and rail her until I had cummed deep inside her pussy: seeing her in my shirt while cooking breakfast.

Yeah, I was going to live a happy life by her side.

[handsomelyhiddleston]

The Cabin - Tom Hiddleston x Curvy Reader (Part 1/3)

“What’s got you so distracted?” Evans asked Tom.

“Sorry, I just…I had planned on visiting my family again during break, but most of them will be on a cruise for a family friend’s wedding. I know I saw them less than two months ago for Christmas, but I don’t get to see them often anymore.”

“Oh, damn!” Chris replied.

“I know, I’m considering whether or not it’s even worth it to deal with two incredibly long flights going to and from London if I’m not even going to get to see my family.” He said, opening the make-up trailer door for him and Chris.

“Where else were you thinking about spending break?” he asked, plopping down in the make-up chair to start having all of the Captain America washed off for the next two weeks.

“Honestly, I don’t know. I may just take a trip to somewhere much closer by myself.” Tom answered, running his fingers through his hair when his wig was removed.

“If that’s what you WANT to do, cool, but you should just come with me to the cabin.” Chris suggested.

“The cabin?” Tom asked.

“Yeah, my friend Y/N owns a huge cabin and I drag my family up there every few years.” He explained.

“Thank you for the invite, but I couldn’t intrude on your family’s time with you.” Tom politely answered.

“Come on. First, you know my mother loves you. Second, you aren’t intruding on anything.” Chris tried convincing him.

“I really don’t want to be a bother.” Tom felt guilty, knowing how much of a family person Chris was.

“That’s it.” Chris dramatically pulled his cellphone out. “Siri, call Ma!”

“You wouldn’t.” Tom said, struggling to keep a straight face.

“Calling ‘Ma’” Siri’s voice replied. The make-up artists were trying hard to keep their laughs to themselves at this point.

After a few rings, Chris’ mother answered the phone. “Hey sweetie.”

“Hey Ma, I’m here with Hiddleston and I need you to settle an argument.” Chris shot Tom a snarky ‘watch this’ look.

“Tom! How are you, sweetheart?” Chris’ mom Lisa asked.

“I’m doing well, thank you. How have you been?” Tom replied with a grin on his face.

“I’m good, I’m good. Now what are you two arguing about?” She asked.

“Well, Tom isn’t going to get to see his family over filming break.” Chris started to explain.

“Oh, I’m so sorry, sweetheart.” Lisa interrupted. “You should just drive up to Y/n’s with Chris! There’s plenty of room and you know I always make too much food anyhow.”

Chris gave Tom a cocky grin. “That’s exactly what I was telling him, Ma!”

“You’re too kind.” Tom laughed. “I suppose you’ve made an offer I can’t refuse.”

“Don’t be silly. You’re always welcome with us.” Lisa reiterated. “We’re getting ready for bed since our flight is so damn early in the morning, so I’ll see you two tomorrow!”

“Thanks, Ma! Be safe!” Chris answered, hanging up the phone.

“Thank you.” Tom said, getting up from his make-up chair.

“I told you, it’s no biggie. We’re gonna have a blast.” Evans answered.

“When are we leaving?” Tom asked.

“Well, we’ve got a few options.” Chris answered as the two of them left the make-up trailer.

“Go on.”

“They aren’t expecting us there until tomorrow, but if we leave in the next few hours, we’ll actually beat them there.” Chris explained.

“I mean, I’m nowhere near tired.” Tom said, letting Chris know he was down for the drive.

“Same. I’ve been so excited for this trip, I feel wired.” He replied “Wanna pack and meet me at mine?”

“Absolutely.” Tom answered. “Anything specific I should pack?” He called loudly as the two had walked a distance apart.

“Dress comfy!” Chris yelled back. “And bring a jacket! It’s snowing!”

Tom waved and made his way to his trailer.

It was about an 8 or 9 hour drive up to the cabin, so the guys rolled up at about 3 in the morning.

“Is anybody else here?” Tom asked, as Chris navigated his truck up the snowy drive.

“Y/n’s here. She spends about half her time up here.” Chris answered, parking the truck and shooting you a text.

“Where does she spend the rest of her time?” Tom asked.

“Everywhere, really. She’s a writer. She’s even come and crashed with me while I was filming.” Chris answered, hopping out of the truck when he got your text reply.

“Books? Scripts?” Tom asked, curious what you wrote.

“Books, mostly. She’s got a few popular series, but she also has a few pen names that she refuses to tell me so I’ve always assumed she like consults or edits or something.” Chris answered.

“How mysterious.” Tom chucked, grabbing his bag and following Chris up to the house.

“Y/n!” Chris yelled into the cabin, leading Tom into the large home.

“Did you really work all day and then drive 8 hours?” you laughed, walking down the stairs.

“I just couldn’t wait to see that beautiful face.” Chris dropped his bag and pulled you into a bear hug.

“Sure. This definitely has nothing to do with you beating Scott to one of the big bedrooms.” You laughed, wrapping your arms around him.

“That’s just a perk.” He teased, introducing you to Tom. “I’m sure you know who this is. Y/n, Tom. Tom, Y/n.”

“Nice to meet you.” You replied, pulling Tom into a hug.

“It’s very nice to meet you too.” Tom said, happy to see that you seemed just as chill and down to earth as the rest of Chris’ friends and family.

“He had to bail on his plans to fly home for the break, so I convinced him to join our two weeks of amazing chaos and shenanigans.” Chris laughed.

“Amazing is right, bucko. I just got two hot tubs installed” you shared.

“Yes!” Chris half yelled.

“Also, mi casa es su casa, Tom. Make yourself at home.” You told him.

“Gracias.” Tom replied in Spanish.

“Any chance you two want to take a dip tonight before the rest of the pack arrives?” Chris asked, looking between you and Tom.

“Absolutely” you answered, walking towards the kitchen. “You both okay with Beer? I’ve got other options.”

“Beer for me.” Chris answered.

“Actually, a beer sounds rather refreshing at the moment.” Tom answered.

“I’ll grab the beer and you two can pick your rooms” you called from the kitchen.

“You down for the hot tub?” Chris asked Tom.

“I am, but I didn’t pack any swim shorts.” He answered.

“No worries, Y/n has a whole closet full of random stuff. Follow me.” Chris led Tom up the stairs. “Y/n’s room is at the very top, but there’s two rooms just below that. We can take those two. Let those with kiddos stay closest to the bottom floor.”

“Sounds good to me” Tom replied, dropping his bag on the bed before following Chris to your closet of misfit swim clothes, jackets, sleepwear, blankets, and other miscellaneous stuff.

When you made your way upstairs, you saw that the guys had picked the two rooms closest to yours. You weren’t surprised. They were the two biggest after yours and Chris never got to pick one of them because he was always the last to show up for his family get togethers.

“When you two get changed, head up to mine. The second hot tub is on my balcony.” You took the three unopened beers and went up the last set of stairs to get changed in your room. Your suit was a black balconette bikini top and a pair of black high waisted bikini bottoms. The top and bottom had a few strappy bits that accentuated your curves.

“Well hello there, sexy lady.” You heard Chris and his unending charm behind you as you were finishing getting your top all sorted.

“You guys get settled in?” you asked, nodding towards the beers.

Chris opened one and handed it to you. “We did.” As he opened another for himself and sat on your bed, he shared a bit about Tom. “I’m happy he tagged along. I don’t know what he’s got going on in his personal life because he doesn’t share a lot, but he needs a break like this.”

“Well, if I had to take a guess...” you took a swig of your beer. “You two get along great which makes me think he’s a down to earth, genuine person.”

“I agree” Chris replied.

“If you’ve seen any of the tabloids lately, they aren’t very friendly to the exes of the women he’s most recently dated. I’m going to assume he’s a bit overwhelmed and a bit worn out. It’s hard to stay genuine and down to earth when the media is writing about you as if you’re a scheming fuckboy.”

Chris took a swig of his beer. “I think you might be right. God, beauty and brains? Why won’t you marry me?” he teased.

“Like you could handle me” you teased right back.

“I’m going to go get more beer so we don’t have to leave the hot tub.” Chris stood and smacked your ass on the way out.

“How did I know you were going to do that?” you laughed.

Chris was laughing as he passed Tom. “I’ll meet you two up there.”

When Tom walked in, you opened the last of the three beers and handed it to him. “Pink suits you.” You noticed he was wearing the bright pink swim shorts from the closet.

Tom blushed and laughed as he took a sip of his beer. “It was this or ones with bananas all over them. I thought I’d make a bold choice.”

“Choice well made” you replied, opening the double doors to your balcony. “It’s going to be a short chilly journey to the hot tub, but heaven once you get in.”  

When you went to walk up the steps on the side of the hot tub to get in, Tom extended his arm so you could grab his hand. “Be careful.”

“Thank you.” You couldn’t help but smile.

“God, I leave for two minutes and you two are already holding hands.” Chris snarked as he joined the two of you on the balcony. You and Tom both laughed as you walked down into the hot tub and let go of his hand. “What’s he got that I don’t got?” Chris was fake sniffling as he climbed into the hot tub after Tom.

“Oh, sweetie. I don’t think you want to know the answer to that question.” You answered, finishing the beer in your hand.

“Now I really want to know” Chris replied, opening and handing you a second beer.

“Are you two always like this?” Tom laughed.

You and Chris looked at each other and answered “yeah” at the same time.

After the three of you had spent about a half hour in the hot tub just talking and laughing, Tom cleared his throat. “Thank you for this.”

“For what?” you asked. He was sat between you and Chris, the three of you looking out at the beautiful snowy mountain view.

“Chris, for inviting me. You, for having me. Both of you for forcing me to get out of my own head.” Tom answered.

“You don’t need to thank us.” Chris replied, slapping Tom on the shoulder.

“He’s right, you know.” You smiled, looping your arm through his and leaning your head on his shoulder, looking back out at the view. “You’re pretty great company if I do say so myself.”

“Well, if I can’t thank you, at least let me share my appreciation of you both.” Tom replied, pressing a quick kiss to the top of your head.

“Just wait until the whole pack shows up” Chris laughed. “It’s calm now, but you’re going to have plenty of distractions once the shenanigans start.”

“Remember, my room is the safe zone” you laughed. “No kids, it’s off-limits during games, and it’s the only access to this balcony.”

“I’ll keep that in mind” Tom chuckled.

Chris looked over and saw you cuddled into Tom’s side. “Why do I get the feeling you’re ‘appreciating’ Y/n over there a lot more than you are me” he teased.

You laughed and Tom looked over at Chris. “If you wanted a snuggle, that’s all you had to say.”

The three of you were all laughing, the lateness of the night sinking in. “If I snuggle anyone I’m going to fall asleep, and I have a feeling that’s not the best idea in a hot tub.” He stood up and hopped over the side, almost slipping on the icy balcony floor.

“What time is everyone arriving tomorrow?” you asked, not moving from your spot at Tom’s side.

“Well, they always grab breakfast down at that old little diner after they land, so maybe 11?” Chris answered, wrapping himself in a towel.

“You mean we actually get to sleep in?” you said with a bit of exaggerated shock.

“I don’t think it counts as sleeping in if you don’t go to bed until after the sun starts peaking over the mountains.” Tom teased you.

Chris laughed. “Hey, we’ll take it. Sleep is going to be a rare commodity around here for at least a few days.” He left the balcony and went back inside to warm up.

“I can’t wait.” Tom said.

“Me either. I love when they come up here. Always makes this place feel more like home.” You shared, moving to get out of the hot tub.

“I think the chaos is something I miss when I don’t get to spend time with my family.” Tom replied, once again grabbing your hand and making sure you made it safely out of the hot tub and onto the balcony. “I think having all of my nieces and nephews running around and the fact that there is always something cooking or baking…It’s hard to feel alone.”

You handed Tom a large towel and wrapped another one around yourself. “Well, if that’s your idea of a great time, you’re going to love your time with Chris’ family. They’re love and chaos and great food with a dash of an extreme love of competition.”

Tom followed you back into the house. “Well, again. I appreciate that I’m able to experience it.”

“Me too” you said, drying your hair a bit with your towel. “It sounds like you needed a bit of an escape.”

“That’s one way to put it” Tom said, drying off.

“Well, if you need anything just come find me, okay?” You could hear Chris coming back up the stairs to your room.

“Thank you, I will.” Tom replied, seeming to hesitate for a second. “I’ve enjoyed spending time with you tonight. Or this morning, rather.” He laughed.

You couldn’t help but smile as you threw your towel into the clothes hamper. You were a very confident person. You were proud of who you were, and you loved your curvy body, but all of a sudden you felt very naked standing there in your bikini. Tom’s genuine compliment and the way he confidently looked you up and down left you with goosebumps. “The feeling is definitely mutual.”

“Let me know if I can help with anything. Preparations and such.” Tom mentioned as Chris walked in.

“Don’t worry about that, Ma usually takes over when she gets here.” Chris laughed.

You shrugged. “True” you added, both grateful for and irritated by the interruption.  

“Y/n, I checked that all of the doors were locked. Our trucks are both locked too. I’m gonna pass out and shower when I wake up.” Chris let you know.

“Thanks” you replied. “I’ll probably hop in the shower before I go to bed so that I can help your mom sort meals and such out when she gets here.”

“Sweet. I’m going to bed.” Chris interrupted himself with a yawn. “I will see both of you in a few hours”

As Chris headed back down a floor to his room, Tom cleared his throat. “I really don’t mind helping.”

“You’ll eventually get roped into doing something, I promise.” You laughed.

Tom nodded and smiled. “Well then, I’m going to go shower and sleep. I’ll see you in a bit.”

As Tom turned to walk down the stairs, you spoke. “Try to relax.” When he turned to look at you, you continued. “You have nothing to worry about for two whole weeks. No schedule, no paparazzi, no expectations…just, let yourself enjoy it, okay?”

Tom smiled and nodded his head. He replied “I think I will” before continuing down the stairs.

Instead of your alarm, you were woken up by Chris crawling into your bed. “Y/n.” He was trying to wake you up gently. “Y/n!”

“Did my alarm not go off?” you asked, rolling over and snuggling into Chris.

He chuckled, wrapping his arms around you. “I underestimated my mother’s planning. Turns out they got to the diner at 8 this morning and they’re currently unloading the cabs downstairs.”

“What time is it?” you asked.

“9:30” Chris replied, the two of you hearing someone coming up the stairs.

“I’m going to need coffee” you mumbled.

Tom made it to the top of the stairs and saw you and Chris together in your bed. He tucked the thought away, making note to ask Chris about the two of you later. “Not a morning person?” he asked, laughing at your messy bed head and request for caffeine.

“I can be when I need to be, but we were awake and drinking on my balcony like four hours ago” you replied.

“Can I make you some coffee?” Tom offered.

You rolled over and sat up sorting out your messy hair. “I can make it. I just need to get dressed.”

Chris rolled out of your bed, going to your closet. “Bra, leggings, sweater, fuzzy socks.” Chris tossed your clothes onto your bed.

“You know me so well.” You laughed, gathering your clothes and getting out of bed. “I’ll be down in a few.”

“I think they’re finished unloading, but I’ll go see if there’s anything else they need help with.” Tom replied, heading downstairs.

“I’m offended that you two look like you’ve just had 12 hours of beauty sleep.” You teased Chris, pulling your leggings on.

“I think you’re underestimating yourself” Chris said, turning to leave. “You’ve definitely caught someone’s attention.” Chris had noticed the way Tom looked at the two of you cuddled up in your bed and planned on asking him about it later.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” you sleepily asked, but Chris was already gone.

You finished getting dressed in your long, oversized sweater and fuzzy socks and walked downstairs to greet Chris’ family.

“Y/n!” Chris’ sisters greeted, pulling you each into a hug, the three of you quickly catching up.

Then came Scott, who practically tackled you. “Bitch, it has been too long.”

“Agreed.” You replied, the two of you making plans to go get stuff for drinks tonight.

You’d said a few hellos and given a few hugs to various other friends and family and eventually you made your way to the kitchen with Tom and Lisa, Chris’ mom.

“Oh, my dear, it’s so good to see you.” Lisa pulled you into a tight hug, kissing both of your cheeks. “I can’t believe the boys showed up at three this morning!”

You laughed. “It’s good to see you too. And Chris warned me a few days ago that he would probably drive up after he finished filming.”

Looking over you saw Tom holding a mug of coffee out towards you. “For me?” You reached out and took the mug from him.

“It’s the least I could do. Lisa told me how you take your coffee.” He answered, nodding towards Chris’ mom.

You took a sip, humming to yourself. “Thank you, this is perfect.” You pressed a quick kiss to Tom’s cheek before hearing Chris’ niece call for you.

“In the kitchen, sweetie” you called back out, walking towards where you heard her call from.

As the adults started getting settled into their rooms, the kids were all starting to crash from the hectic morning they’d had.

“Let’s watch a movie in the den, guys.” You suggested, grabbing blankets and pillows and throwing them on the couches and floor so that the kids would spread out and nap.

“What are we gonna watch?” one of his nephews asked.

“Well, we’ve got Goosebumps, we’ve got School of Rock, and we’ve got Bedtime Stories.” You read the movies aloud, with the kids all picking Goosebumps. About 15 minutes in, all of you were asleep in various places in the room.

Scott, Chris, and Tom were bundled up in their jackets talking on the back porch as Chris set up your grill and got it ready to use.

“So how long have you guys known Y/n?” Tom asked.

“Oh, god. It’s been…I don’t even know. It’s been years.” Chris thought about how long you guys had been friends.

“Chris met Y/n one day in New York. She was there for a book project or something and Chris had ducked inside her apartment building to get away from paparazzi.” Scott laughed, remembering Chris tell him the story.

Chris let out a big laugh. “She was getting ready to walk out and I practically ran into her. When she realized why I so rudely shoved my way into the building, she asked me ‘Do you want to do something very immature but totally worth it?’ I had to, right?”

Scott continued the story. “She led him up to her apartment and ran inside. Chris just waited at the door wondering what he’d gotten himself into when she popped back out, holding a box of water balloons.”

Tom laughed. “Oh, please tell me you threw them at the paparazzi.”

“They did. They filled a bin full of them and went to the roof.” Scott replied.

“I have never made a friend so quickly in my life” Chris said. “We got through about half of the bin before they left. Even better, they never got a picture of me throwing the balloons. The tabloids alluded to the fact that it was me, but we never officially got caught.”

“I don’t know if she adopted us or if we adopted her, but she’s been family ever since.” Scott added.

“Either way, she’s the best kind of people.” Chris said, closing the lid on the grill.

“I can see that.” Tom replied. After a short pause, he continued. “Have you two ever…dated?”

Chris grinned, remembering how Tom had looked at the two of you cuddled up in your bed. “Nah, she’s one of my best friends. Possibly my actual best friend.” he answered, sitting down next to the other two guys.

“Even though I’m sure ma would love it if you two got together.” Scott laughed.

“I think ma just wants both of us to settle down and have kids like the girls did.” Chris replied. “She treats Y/n like a daughter.”

Scott looked back at Tom. “Why the interest in Y/n’s dating life, huh?” he teased him.

“Just curious” Tom answered with straightest face he could manage.

“I don’t know” Chris continued, continuing to tease Tom. “You two looked awfully cozy last night.”

Tom’s cheeks blushed a bit before he could answer. “If a beautiful woman laid her head on your shoulder, what would you have done?”

“Fair point.” Chris laughed. “She’s single, you know” he added.

“She is” Scott echoed, smirking. “And I have a date to go shopping with her if you want me to see if she’s interested.”

“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves” Tom replied, failing miserably at hiding his grin.

“No rush” Scott answered, putting his hands up. “I’m just saying…”

“Give him a break” Chris interrupted. “He’s got two weeks to see where things go.”

“True” Scott replied.

Part 2

[sometimesbeforeitgetsbetter]

Off the Record | Stiles Stilinski

Pairing: Stiles Stilinski x reader

Summary: High school in Beacon Hills, as told through the eyes of one inquisitive journalist who has a knack at getting on Stiles Stilinski's nerves.

Warnings: idk there's like a couple curse words lmao. also, spoilers? if you haven't finished teen wolf I guess??

Word count: 8,227

A/N: hi hi this is my first fic I'm posting on Tumblr (not to say that this is my first fic ever...anyway)! before you start, I just wanna say that there's a couple things that might be off from the show but please just ignore them. like I think it's bs Lydia brings Stiles back and not Scott in 6b so I righted that wrong. but I hope you enjoy and please let me know what you think of it! thanks for reading!!

--

All my life I’ve wondered why people didn’t question what happens in Beacon Hills.

It’s no secret that our town is unusual, but when odd things seemed to happen, people would just turn a blind eye and go about their business.

I, on the other hand, couldn’t let it go. I was inquisitive by nature, and my mom never knew how to answer my questions.

Why do we have so many animal attacks?

What happened to the people that disappeared in the Preserve?

Why did his eyes glow like that?

That last question almost caused my mom to get me a therapist – which probably would’ve helped me regardless – but she just continued to answer with her usual responses.

They just feel threatened by us, dear.

They’re in a better place now.

I’m sure it was nothing – you probably just saw some reflection in his eyes.

But no matter what she told me, I wasn’t satisfied. I knew there was something bigger going on, something my mom couldn’t explain, but I wasn’t sure what. As I got older, however, I realized that if I kept voicing my concerns, I’d be seen as the local crazy person – which, at the time, was the title reserved for my neighbor, Donna Romano, who always went to Town Hall meetings to complain about how some supernatural creatures were traumatizing her dogs every time she took them out at night to urinate.

Out of fear of sounding like Donna, I kept my suspicions to myself. I observed the strange actions of those around me and kept note of the bizarre events that happened in town. I found that it was something I was good at – observing. Always watching, but never voicing my opinions. Eventually, it got the best of me because I grew really quiet at school. But I didn’t mind. I liked being a wallflower.

One day in the fifth grade I saw my mom reading the Beacon Chronicle and I had an epiphany – journalists investigate weird, inexplicable events, so I should be a journalist. Reading the news became my favorite pastime, and by sixth grade I decided I would join the high school newspaper, The Daily Beacon, when I became a freshman. I figured maybe it would give me an outlet to investigate the odd occurrences in the town without looking like a lunatic.

But in sixth grade, I noticed that some of the odd things had stopped happening. There were less animal attacks and disappearances from the Preserve. Some people had even left town, including the last of the Hales, whose house had burned down that same year.

I didn’t give up hope though. I kept my head down and waited for things to get weird again. In the meantime, I wrote for enjoyment. In eighth grade I started shadowing a girl named Anna that was a part of the Daily Beacon, and I started writing articles – album reviews, movie reviews, school news.

Everything was going smoothly until my sophomore year of high school. Suddenly the weird things were happening, and I was sure that there was one person that was at the epicenter of it all – Scott McCall.

--

“...Angela, you’re covering the new faculty; Thomas, you’ve got the new Vegan Support Group club some juniors just created; and y/n, you’re covering lacrosse try-outs,” said Andrew, the editor-in-chief of the Daily Beacon.

I groaned slightly. “Andrew, couldn’t I write something a little bit more...my style? Like what about the one freshman class that boycotted their summer reading and is facing suspension?”

He gave me a slight look. “y/n, you know how important this lacrosse piece is. You know what that sport means to the school. You should be glad I’m giving you this opportunity,” he scolded. “Besides, Marlene is covering that class and is already interviewing their teacher.”

I nodded slowly and tried to refrain from rolling my eyes. I knew that Andrew meant well – he had been like an older brother to me ever since my freshman year – and he was right about the importance of lacrosse. I stayed quiet until he dismissed us, then mentally prepared myself to spend my afternoon watching some jocks exude machismo on a field.

When my last class was over, I walked over to the lacrosse field and found myself a spot on the top of the bleachers. It gave me an excellent vantage point – until a couple girls sat down right in front of me. The redhead I recognized to be Lydia Martin, the school’s resident popular girl. We’d been in class together all our lives, but I couldn’t remember a time she ever talked to me. I’m sure she didn’t even know I existed, just like the majority of the other people in our grade. The other girl, however, I didn’t recognize. I found out her name was Allison by overhearing their conversation. She was new and must have just moved to Beacon Hills.

The shrill sound of Coach’s whistle knocked me out of my thoughts. Tryouts started, and I watched as Scott McCall, a boy from my grade, was nearly knocked out by a lacrosse ball to the face. I winced but wrote down the event in the notebook I had out for documentation.

The next ball that went Scott’s way didn’t hit his face though. He managed to catch it in his goalie net. I couldn’t help but be a bit surprised – like Lydia, I’d known of Scott my whole life though he probably didn’t know me at all. But that meant I knew he was an asthmatic that wasn’t particularly skilled at sports.

“He’s actually pretty good,” I mumbled to myself as Scott continued to catch every ball that came his way.

I didn’t realize how loud I must’ve said it though because at my remark Allison turned around. “I was just thinking the same thing,” she said, obviously surprised. “Do you know him?”

I shook my head and quickly turned my attention to my notebook to write down the surprising turn of events. “Are you writing about this for the school newspaper?” I looked back up at Allison’s question. She was paying attention to me?

“Um, yeah, I am. I’d rather not write about sports, but here I am,” I joked lightly.

She let out a beautiful laugh at my statement. “Well, I’m glad you’re here. I’m Allison, and you are…?”

“y/n,” I answered. “Nice to meet you, Allison.” Suddenly the crowd roared, and I remembered why I was there. Allison, too, smiled and turned her attention back to the game. Lydia hadn’t said a word, but she was focused on watching Scott absolutely demolish Jackson Highmore, who, in my opinion, needed to be knocked down a few pegs anyway.

The more I watched Scott though, I got this weird feeling. He was good – too good. I tried to ignore my feelings and just focus on writing notes for the ridiculous lacrosse piece, which would include the headline: “Sophomore Scott McCall shines at lacrosse tryouts and becomes team co-captain.” But deep down I knew there was something up with him.

A few days later, I was sitting behind Stiles Stilinski, Scott’s best friend, in English class. Even though I’d had nearly all of my classes with him, we never talked. It originally was because I had a minor crush on him and was afraid I’d pass out if I spoke to him, but eventually it just morphed into me not speaking to many people and being convinced he didn’t know of my existence anyway.

But this one day, I was committed to speaking with him. I had to know what was going on, and if there was one person that knew anything about Scott’s new-found lacrosse talent, it was Stiles.

“Hey, Stiles,” I spoke up from behind him.

The brunette turned around, slightly confused but with that soft smile on his face. “Oh, hey, y/n. What’s up?”

I swear my heart stopped beating for a second. He knew my name? He knew who I was? I shook myself out of my thoughts before I went down the rabbit hole of the implications of him knowing me.

“Oh, nothing much. I’m just writing a piece about lacrosse tryouts for the school newspaper and I was just wondering if you had anything to say about it,” I explained.

He tilted his head slightly and shifted in his seat to more fully face me. “Um, yeah sure. I think it’s going to be a great season, especially since we’ve gotten some new leadership. My boy Scott’s co-captain now, so those Devenford Prep guys won’t know what hit them!”

“Speaking of Scott, when did he get so good at lacrosse? Would you say it’s natural talent?” I pressed a bit, hoping he’d say something that would give me a hint as to what was going on.

Stiles’ eyes squinted a little, and his head tilted slightly again. He seemed to be at a loss for words, which was unusual for the fast-talking, sarcastic boy, but he quickly recovered. “It’s definitely...natural...talent. He’s been working extra hard recently to hone his talent and skills so he could bring his A-game to this year’s tryouts.” When he finished speaking, he looked pleased with himself, and I could tell he had let out a small sigh of relief.

What are you hiding?

Though I didn’t know it yet, at that moment my rivalry with Stiles Stilinski began. He and Scott were hiding something, and I was going to find out what it was.

--

“You’re telling me that a girl is in a coma after the school winter formal and you don’t want me to write a story about it?”

Andrew leaned against the desk and crossed his arms. “It’s not that I don’t want you to write it. I just think it’s a tense time right now. The administration is receiving a lot of flack right now because of the winter formal fiasco, and Ms. Blanchard told me that we may want to avoid stirring the pot right now,” he explained. “That is not to say that we abandon our journalistic integrity and commitment to informing the student body, but we just may want to be sensitive to our environment right now.”

I trusted Ms. Blanchard, the faculty sponsor of the Daily Beacon, but not reporting on Lydia’s comatose state felt wrong. She was well-known at school, and students deserved to know the facts of her situation and how it had happened.Well, maybe I was lying to myself by saying that the real reason I wanted to pursue the story wasn’t the fact that something inexplicable had happened at the dance and I had to figure out what it was.

Andrew could sense my disappointment. “Look, maybe for now you can start collecting information and sources, and I’ll talk to Ms. Blanchard. Maybe she can advise us on how best to proceed.”

I threw my arms around Andrew in a quick hug. “Yes, thank you! I promise I’ll be sensitive when asking sources. I know how difficult this must be for the people close to her.”

“I know you will,” he said, chuckling lightly.

With a smile plastered on my face – perhaps a little inappropriately considering the topic I was excited to cover – I left the small newspaper office in search of my first source: Stiles Stilinski. He had been Lydia’s date to the dance, so surely he must know what happened to her, right? “No, I don’t know what happened,” Stiles angrily responded when I cornered him at his locker. “We were separated for a bit because she went looking for someone. When I went looking for her I–” he stopped suddenly, as if choosing his words carefully. He wouldn’t meet my eyes as he spoke.

“The next thing I know, she was at the hospital in a coma. They told me Jackson had found her out on the field when I went to check on her at the hospital,” he explained.

Something wasn’t adding up. “Ok, but where were you the rest of that time? You didn’t go looking for her when you didn’t see her for a while? What about when she had already been checked into the hospital?”

“What is this – an investigation?” Stiles shouted as he slammed his locker shut. I took a step back, eyes wide at the sudden display of aggression. Maybe I pushed too hard, I thought. Stiles rubbed a hand over his face and took a deep breath. “Sorry, I….I didn’t mean it like that. There’s just a lot going on, and my dad has been up my ass about those details too. To be honest, I can’t tell you where I was. The time just flew by and all of a sudden I’d realized I hadn’t seen Lydia for a couple hours. I wish I had been there for her, but there’s nothing I can do for her now other than check up on her.”

Running a hand over his buzzed head, he shot me a forced smile and said “good luck with your article” before walking away.

I was at a loss for words, trying to put the pieces together in my head. Surely he couldn’t have had a part in Lydia’s injury? There’s no way. But his defensiveness was off-putting–

“Hey, y/n!” I was snapped out of my thoughts by Allison approaching me from behind. “What were you talking to Stiles about?”

“Huh? Oh, um, I was just asking him about…” I remembered that the funeral for Allison’s aunt was happening and didn’t want to mention the additional stress of her best friend being comatose, so I opted for a white lie. “Biology homework. I wasn’t really paying attention in class today.”

“Oh, I didn’t realize you two were friends,” she said as she leant against the lockers.

I shook my head violently. “We’re not.” I’d grown too close to Allison for her to not pick up on my feelings though.

“You say that now, but–”

“I have to get to class. See you at lunch, Ally!”

--

Other things that year were weird, but none warranted any further investigation via newspaper article. Sure, I was wondering about Erica Reyes’ sudden transformation into the ultimate baddie, the mysterious deaths of a mechanic and Isaac Lahey’s dad, numerous paralyzations at the Jungle, and a death of someone at a secret rave, but Andrew thought it would be best for the Chronicle and Ledger to cover those bigger events. In fact, the only other unnatural event that happened that I had to cover for the newspaper was Stiles’ unbelievable winning streak at the lacrosse championship. I would have quoted him after the game, but I really didn’t want to speak to him and anyway, he had disappeared for a bit right after the team won.

I could tell that things were happening, but it was all hidden from public view. I even noticed Allison’s behavior fluctuating. The arrival of her grandfather shook things up, and while he gave me a bad feeling, I couldn’t exactly figure out why. Lydia was more troubled than usual after coming back from the hospital even though she tried to act normally. Jackson was going through something and was more angry and aggressive than usual, but I wasn’t close enough to him to ask him if he was okay.

Over the summer, I spent a surprising amount of time with Lydia. Allison spent her summer in France, but she asked me to keep an eye on Lydia to make sure she was okay, especially since Jackson had moved to London during the summer break. I was surprised how much I enjoyed spending time with the redhead, and we hung out when I wasn’t working at my internship at The Beacon Chronicle, which my mom had convinced me to apply for after she noticed how irritated I was that I couldn’t pursue some of the stories I wanted.

By the time Allison came back before the start of school, it felt like Lydia and I had been best friends for the longest time.

“So, Allison, have you talked to Scott at all this summer?” I asked when I was sitting in the backseat of Lydia’s car, Allison in the passenger seat.

She shook her head. “No, I think I still need some time. He...hides things from me and I don’t know if I can trust him.”

I nodded my head, understanding the feeling. I still couldn’t place my finger on what had happened between them or what Scott was involved in. Though I comforted her when I found out they broke up, I didn’t really know why they’d done it.

“What about you, y/n? Have you talked to Stiles at all?” Allison asked, looking back at me in the backseat.

“Why the hell would I talk to Stiles?” I questioned, confused.

She and Lydia shared a small look that I couldn’t decipher before she shrugged her shoulders. “I don’t know, but you guys are more similar than you may think. I don’t know why you guys act like you don’t like each other though.”

The car rolled to a stop at the stop light, and all of a sudden I noticed a familiar baby blue jeep approach next to us. “Speak of the devil,” I mumbled. Lydia and Allison didn’t notice Stiles staring and waving at first, but when they did the car was filled with awkward tension.

The next events were a blur: Lydia running the red light, both cars stopping in the middle of the road, and a deer running straight towards us, nearing killing me in the gap between the front seats. We were shaken, and the boys ran towards us when they saw what happened.

“Are you okay?” Stiles asked Lydia, but he kept looking at me. I nodded slightly and he turned his full attention back to Lydia.

“What was wrong with it?” Allison asked as Scott got closer to the deer.

“It was scared,” he explained. “No, terrified.”

Things got progressively weirder after that. On the first day of school, I interviewed our new English teacher, Ms. Blake. She was nice enough, but it was unfortunate that her class was the one that a whole flock of birds decided to burst through the classroom windows. By the time the police arrived, I was already drafting up a story in my brain: Why are the animals acting weird in Beacon Hills?

I had overheard Stiles talking to Scott about the deer’s weird behavior and the number of deer-related incidents in California, so I swallowed my pride so that I could talk to him and maybe get some stats and information on the whole situation.

I walked up to him when he was sitting alone, texting on his phone. “Hey, Stiles.” “y/n? What’s wrong?” He had genuine concern written on his face.

“I overheard you and Scott talking about deer-related incidents earlier,” I noticed how he tensed up at my statement, “and I was wondering if you could help me with a piece I’m writing? It seems like you know all the stats, so maybe...you could write it with me?” It pained me to finish that sentence, but I figured it might be easier to figure out what was going on if he was helping – especially if he already had inside information.

I think for the first time in his life, the talkative boy was speechless. “I understand if you don’t want to or you’re busy–” I said quickly, trying to give him a way out.

“Yeah, sure.”

I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t caught off guard by his response. “W-what?”

He smirked slightly. “Yeah, sure. I’ll help you out with your article, y/n. Collaborate with you, if you will. We can work on it at my house tomorrow afternoon if you want.”

Nodding and agreeing with the plan, I left the chaotic English classroom.

The next afternoon, I felt like I was walking into the lion’s den. Going to Stiles’ house felt foreign, but what was even stranger was seeing him in casual clothes in a comfortable environment.

He answered the door wearing some sweats and a t-shirt, looking more comfortable and confident than I’d ever seen him. “Hey, y/n. Come on in,” he greeted.

I thanked him awkwardly, and we walked to his dining room table to get set up. “Sorry, I need to go grab my notes from my room. Be back in a sec,” Stiles said before leaving me alone in his dining room.

After a moment of silence, Sheriff Stilinski walked in wearing his uniform. “Oh, y/n! What are you doing here?” He had seen me a couple weeks ago in the police station when I was requesting documents for a story for the Chronicle. Though journalists and cops don’t often have a jovial relationship, he said that he liked me because of my commitment to the truth and respectful nature.

“Hey, Sheriff. I’m writing a piece about the animals acting weird, you know, with the deer accident and bird incident, and Stiles said he’d help me since he has a bunch of statistics on deer related car accidents.”

“Stiles is helping you? Well, I’ll be damned.” When he saw the confusion on my face, he rushed to explain himself. “No, not like that. It’s just, you’re all organized and focused, and Stiles is….Stiles.”

I was laughing heartily when the boy himself walked back into the room. “What’s going on, Daddy-o?”

“Nothing, son. Just catching up with y/n here. I’ve got to get to work, but you’re welcome anytime, y/n.” He said before patting Stiles on the shoulder and heading off to work.

Stiles looked over at me oddly when he placed his notes on the table and sat next to me. “Since when are you all buddy-buddy with my dad?”

Shrugging, I said, “Ever since we started grabbing beer every Thursday night while you’re at lacrosse practice.” His jaw dropped slightly, and I laughed again. “No, idiot. We’ve just interacted a lot because of my internship. Now, can we get started on the article?”

--

After the article was published, my next assignment was writing about the track meet a couple weeks later. I found out Allison and Lydia were riding together to the meet, so I tagged along.

Both girls were extremely tense the whole ride, seemingly concerned about something going on in the bus. We were only a few cars behind the bus full of track runners (and lacrosse players who were forced to attend the meet), but the stand-still traffic was a force to be reckoned with.

“Do you think we’re too close?” Allison asked.

“Honey, if you were any closer I think you’d mount the bus,” Lydia said sarcastically. She got a call from Stiles and looked over at Allison. “Hey, Stiles,” she dragged out the ‘hey,’ tension obvious in her voice.

She listened to what he was saying, something clearly wrong. “What do you mean he’s not–” she stopped when she remembered I was in the car, “healing?” She finished the question quietly, probably hoping I wouldn’t hear.

Healing? Is he injured?

“Yeah, ok, just find a way to get Coach to stop. We’ll meet you there.” She hung up and told Allison to pull off at the next stop.

When we got to the rest stop, I could see everyone hurrying to get off the bus. Allison parked the car, and we quickly went to the bathroom where I saw Scott nearly passed out on the floor. “Oh my god, is he okay?”

“Yeah, y/n. He’s fine. At least, he will be,” Stiles responded. He positioned his body in front of me a little bit as if he was trying to block my view of Scott.

I gently pushed him aside so I could see and was shocked to see black blood coming from the injured boy. “What the hell is going on? Why is his blood black?” I ran forward to get closer, kneeling next to Allison.

“It’s nothing. We just need to stitch him up and he’ll be fine.”

“Stiles, don’t fucking lie to me. I can see that he’s obviously not fine.”

“He’s right,” Allison said quietly. “We need to stitch him up. I need something to stitch him together with.” She looked around before remembering something in her bag.

I shook my head. “We need to tell Coach. Take him to a hospital or something.”

“No!” All three of them yelled at me.

It was quiet for a moment, all of us deciding where to go from here. “Just…” Stiles started, “please go and make sure the bus doesn’t leave without us. We’ll handle this.” I got up and slowly made my way to the door.

As I reached for the door, a hand grabbed my wrist. “y/n,” Stiles said, “it’ll make sense someday. Just trust us for now. Trust me,” he pleaded quietly out of earshot of the girls and Scott.

“I do,” I replied quietly, not meeting his eyes, before pulling my hand from his grasp and leaving the bathroom.

That night, we all had to stay at the Motel Glen Capri because of the postponed meet. I didn’t like its energy, and neither did Lydia. “A lot can happen in one night,” she said.

Though it was supposed to be two to a room, I convinced Coach to let me room with Allison and Lydia. Admittedly, Coach didn’t need much convincing because I was saving the school money by doing so. Once we got our room key, we went up to our room on the second floor.

“I’m going to go get a snack from the machine,” I told Lydia once Allison was in the shower.

She nodded. “Sounds good. I’m going to the lobby. There must be something we can do about these towels that reek of nicotine.”

Grabbing a couple one’s from my wallet, I made my way down the hall to the vending machine where I ran into Boyd and Stiles. As I approached, I could hear Stiles trying to talk to an unresponsive Boyd, who subsequently punched a hole through the glass of the machine, grab his snack that the machine refused to give him, and walk away.

“What the hell was that?” I asked Stiles as I walked up next to him.

He shrugged. “I don’t really know, to be honest.” He reached into the machine to grab his snack and tossed one to me as well.

When I got back to my room, a shaken Allison and Lydia were hurriedly talking about something. “Oh, y/n! You’re back. You won’t believe what just happened…” Allison started

She recounted the story of Scott’s bizarre behavior in the bathroom, and Lydia filled me in on the counter that they have at the front desk. “Can you imagine having a counter for the number of suicides that take place in your hotel? Crazy,” Lydia said. Taking her phone out, she sent a quick text to Stiles telling him that we all needed to talk.

We met him in the hallway a couple minutes later. “What was the text for?” Stiles asked when he saw our little gathering.

“There’s something going on with all the…” she looked over at me before continuing, “guys. You know, Scott, Boyd, Isaac, probably Ethan too.” I tried to connect the dots between all of them, but I didn’t really know what they all had in common. Scott and Isaac were both on the lacrosse team, but from what I could tell they didn’t have a particular fondness for each other or Ethan.

“I think someone’s going to die tonight,” Lydia said decisively.

“Why do you think that?” I asked, but it seemed like I was the only one questioning her line of reason.

She shook her head slowly. “I just...have a feeling.” After a moment of silence, she told us about hearing something from the room next to ours through the vent, so we decided to investigate it. Room 217 seemed empty and locked, but all of a sudden we heard the sound of a saw from behind the door.

Stiles busted the door open, and we opened it to find Ethan turning the saw on himself. “Ethan, stop!” I yelled as we ran into the room. Stiles started wrestling him for the saw, but luckily Lydia saw where it was plugged into the wall and unplugged it.

The next thing that happened was completely unexpected to me. Ethan grew fangs and claws, his eyes blazing red. What the fu–

Allison and Lydia rushed forward, wrestling his claws away from his torso where he had been planning on slashing himself. In the struggle he fell on the space heater, which apparently brought him out of whatever state he was in. He ran out of the room soon after. When we tried to question him about what he was doing, he couldn’t answer us. He had been out of control, and it made Allison realize we were forgetting someone.

“Where’s Scott?” She asked suddenly. When no one could answer, we all decided to split up – I’d go with Allison to look for Scott while Stiles and Lydia went to find Boyd and Isaac.

Scott wasn’t in his room. Allison and I ran all over the motel, looking in every crevice. At last, we decided to check the school bus, and that’s where we saw him. Standing drenched in gasoline, a flare lit up in his hand.

“Scott…” I approached quietly, careful to not make any sudden movements.

It was then that Stiles and Lydia joined us. I watched as Stiles walked into the gasoline, my breath catching in my throat as he nearly sacrificed himself. Scott was talking, but I didn’t really understand what it meant. He said that his life was better before the bite.

Stiles eventually talked Scott down, but the flare rolled into the gasoline. Luckily, Lydia was able to make sure we had all gotten out of the way. I’d ended up next to Stiles on the ground, and though we made eye contact, no words were spoken.

We spent the night in the bus because none of us could bear the thought of spending another second in that cursed place. Coach woke us up in the morning, definitely thinking the worst about what we may have gotten ourselves into, but whatever he was thinking wouldn’t possibly compare to reality. What was reality? I couldn’t have really told you at that point. I didn’t understand what we’d just lived through.

Before the other students started loading onto the bus, Stiles slid into the empty space next to me. “y/n, you know that all of this,” he made a grand gesture to Scott and the others as well as the motel, “is off the record. You can’t tell anyone about this. About what happened.” I held eye contact with him for a moment before nodding. “I wouldn’t tell anyone. To be honest, I don’t even really know what I would tell people, but I wouldn’t.” He nodded, a sad smile on his face as he looked down and fidgeted with his hands. “But Stiles,” I said as he looked back up at me. “Please help me understand it all. You can trust me, I promise, I just want to understand. I want to help.”

With a deep sigh, Stiles nodded once more. “Okay. I’ll tell you everything.”

--

When Stiles said he’d fill me in on everything, I didn’t realize he meant everything. I couldn’t believe how oblivious I had been to everything that had happened in the past year. Sure, I knew something weird was going on, but how was I supposed to know it was supernatural?

Finding out that my little corner of the world, little old Beacon Hills, California, had werewolves (and a kanima, pack of alphas, and whatever the hell a Darach was) was a lot to process. It was unbelievable, but Stiles helped me believe it.

I could tell that he didn’t fully trust me though. There was something in the way he looked at me that told me he was wondering when I would be done with my source acquisition and I’d write the next big exposé: Supernatural Beacon Hills: How Werewolves Have Been Hiding In Plain Sight. I didn’t know how to assure him that I was on their side and wouldn’t expose their secrets.

As the year progressed, things simultaneously made more sense and less sense. To defeat the Darach, we had to perform a sacrifice for the parents that had abducted, and Deaton – the veterinarian that had taken care of every family pet we’d ever had – told me I had to hold Stiles down during it. He said we had some sort of connection, but I guess that’s what mutual loathing does to people.

In the end, we won. We beat the Darach, the alpha of the alphas Deucalion left, and Scott became an alpha himself. But it was still just the beginning.

--

The sacrifice did something to Scott, Stiles, and Allison that we didn’t fully understand. Deaton said they left a door open, which only made it harder for Stiles to trust me because he could barely trust himself.

Knowing about the supernatural didn’t preclude my other responsibilities though. I still wrote for the Daily Beacon, much to Stiles’ displeasure, but I enjoyed it. So, on the first day of school I interviewed our newest faculty member – Mr. Yukimura. He and his family had just moved from New York, and his daughter Kira was in our grade. She was nice, but shy, so I invited her to have lunch with us.

Surprisingly, Kira jumped right into the conversation at lunch by mentioning bardo, the Buddhist concept of being in an in-between state.

After lunch, I caught up with Allison to walk to our next class. “Hey, Allison, could I ask you a favor?”

“Of course! What’s up?”

“Well, I don’t really know how to ask this but...I need help learning to defend myself, I guess? It’s just that I’m going to be helping you guys now, and I actually want to be helpful, so I want to protect myself so you guys don’t have to worry about me,” I admitted.

Allison smiled softly. “I’d love to help.” I returned her smile, suddenly giddy, yet nervous. “But, I think you should know that my...aim...has been off since the sacrifice.”

I could hear the disappointment in her voice. “Nonsense, I’m sure that you’re still the best shot in this school.” She shook her head. “It’s never been this bad.”

Touching her arm lightly, I gave her a reassuring smile. “We’ll figure it out together.”

A few days later, I was surprised when I was paid a visit by both Scott and Stiles while I was sitting in the library. “To what do I owe this pleasure, boys?”

“We need your help.” I perked up at Scott’s statement. “We’re trying to solve the Tate case, you know, the one where Malia Tate disappeared all those years ago after that car accident, and we could use your help tracking her down.” He looked over at Stiles and nudged him with his elbow.

“And, you can write a piece about it. Not including all the details, if what we think happened is true, but you can still write something factual,” Stiles said, still displeased that I was writing for the newspaper.

To annoy Stiles, I acted like I was really thinking about it for a minute, but then laughed lightly. “Yeah, I’ll help you guys. Where do we start?”

--

Pull yourself together, y/n. You’re a journalist. You’re supposed to report on tragedy all the time. Be objective.

I took a deep breath and wrote the first line for what would be the cover story of the next Daily Beacon issue.

Junior Allison Argent, 17, died in an unfortunate carjacking incident last fall.

Before I could write any more, I got a phone call from Stiles.

Oh, thank god. “Stiles?”

“Do you want to come with us to Mexico?” He blurted out.

I couldn’t help the laugh that bubbled from my chest. “What? Mexico? Why? When–”

“Tomorrow.”

“Stiles, are you insane? Even if I wanted to, there’s no way my parents would ever let me go.”

“We’re all telling our parents we’re going camping, if that helps at all,” he said with what seemed like a hint of disappointment in his voice.

I was quiet for a minute, but my mind was already made up. “Why? And who exactly is going?”

“Scott, Lydia, Kira, Malia, and I have to visit some hunters and see what they know about Derek being missing.”

As soon as he mentioned Malia, my mouth started curling into a frown. It’s not that I disliked the werecoyote, it’s just that she and Stiles had been pretty full on since they hooked up at Eichen and started dating. I wasn’t jealous – though I’m sure Lydia would argue otherwise since she’s convinced I like him or something – just...weirded out by their relationship.

I sighed. “I want to help, but I really can’t tomorrow. School starts back up in a couple days, and I need to finish this elegy for Allison and come up with a bunch of assignments for the staff writers…” I trailed off, thinking about all that I had to do before the coming week.

“Oh yeah, I forgot. Ms. Editor-in-chief over here has a life outside of us,” Stiles joked.

Andrew graduated at the end of last year and left his glittering empire to me, though suddenly I felt overwhelmed at the prospect of running a newspaper while being way too involved in the town’s supernatural endeavors. It didn’t bother me last semester, but after Allison…

“I’ll just see you guys when you get back, okay?” I told Stiles. He made an unintelligible noise of agreement. “And try not to let anyone get killed.” “Yes, mom,” Stiles said sarcastically. I could almost hear the smirk in his voice.

When the pack got back, I was surprised by the events that had taken place. “What do you mean it’s a young version of Derek?”

A few days later, I had to cover the spring lacrosse tryouts. Though I wanted to assign it to someone else, I had to do it myself because everyone was busy with the assignments I had given them.

To my surprise, a new freshman, Liam Dunbar, showed everyone up at tryouts – even Scott. I took note of how he seemed almost athletically superior to everyone, and I wondered if he was supernatural.

“He’s human, I’m sure of it,” Scott said as he came up next to where I was sitting on the bleachers, scaring me out of my mind in the process.

“Jeez, Scott. A little warning next time would be nice. But how do you know?”

He shrugged. “I can just tell. He’s just a really great athlete.”

“He’s going to be a great pain in my ass, I can tell,” Stiles said, sidling up next to Scott.

I took note of their reactions, writing down Scott’s comment – about being a great athlete, not human – to consider while writing my piece.

“Oh no, don’t tell me you’re writing a story about him,” Stiles groaned.

“You know I have to write one about the tryouts, and he just happens to be the star player of today,” I told him. “Sorry, Scott.”

Scott waved me off, but Stiles was still upset about the situation. “No, don’t give him the ego boost! He’s already a little shit, and an article about him would make it worse.”

Taking a break from my note-taking, I looked over at the brown-haired boy. “Stiles, have you even talked to him?”

He looked at a loss for words. “N-not really...but I can see his arrogance from a mile away!”

I rolled my eyes. “Well then, if you’d excuse me, I’m going to write up a fantastic story about a talented up-and-coming lacrosse player.”

The article became the next issue’s front page, but I almost wished I hadn’t given him as much attention when Scott turned him into his beta.

The rest of the year didn’t go as planned either, but isn’t junior year supposed to be everyone’s worst year?

As much as I liked helping out with the supernatural problems Scott and the rest of the pack were having, it was hard knowing about what was going on and not being able to write about it, especially when all of the mysterious killings started up. We eventually found out about the deadpool, but I could write about a kill list of Beacon Hills’ resident supernaturals, could I?

At the end of the year, I finally had to make the trip to Mexico with the rest of the pack. “Stiles, I’m going. You can’t stop me!” I attempted to open the passenger door of the jeep when he reached out and shut it from behind me.

“No, it’s going to be dangerous. We don’t even really know what we’re facing,” he tried reasoning with me. “I can protect myself,” I said, thinking of the training that Allison had given me. “Besides, I can’t just sit by and wait for you guys to come back. I need to try helping Scott.”

Realizing that I wasn’t going to back down, Stiles removed his hand from the side of the door and opened it for me. I nodded a quick thanks as I hopped into the vehicle.

I wasn’t expecting to fight Scott that day, but we all did in order to return him from his Berserker form. At the end of the fight, I had a few cuts and bruises, but nothing I couldn’t deal with.

As Derek drove away with Braedan, I could feel that things were changing. “I can’t write about any of this, can I?” I asked somewhat jokingly.

“Off the record,” Stiles replied from where he stood next to me.

--

“Stiles, what’s wrong?”

“Oh thank god, you remember me!” He said as he grabbed my hands. He’d been running down the hall frantically when I saw him.

I looked at him with concern on my face. “Yeah, of course I remember you? Why wouldn’t I–”

“y/n, it’s the Hunt. The Ghost Riders. I saw them, and now they’re coming for me.” He was breathing heavily, eyes sweeping the surroundings for signs of the Ghost Riders. His eyes locked on something to his left, but when I looked, I couldn’t see anything. “They’re here. We have to go,” he said, pulling me towards the parking lot. We got into his jeep, but he didn’t start the car. “Stiles, what are you doing?”

“It’s too late.” I could see the look of grief on his face. “No, don’t say that. It’s not–”

“It’s the truth,” he cut me off, turning to look at me. “Promise me you won’t forget.”

I shook my head. “I won’t. But Stiles, I can’t do this without you,” I could feel a tear escaping my eye and slipping down my cheek, my emotions getting the better of me.

Stiles reached forward and wiped the tear away before placing his hand on my cheek. “What do you mean? You’re one of the smartest, most inquisitive people I know. If I had to trust anyone to find a way to stop the Ghost Riders, it would be you.”

I couldn’t help but smile at his honesty. “Yeah right. Lydia will probably figure it out before me.”

He shook his head. “You can do it. I trust you.” I could tell there was more he wanted to say, but he turned to look at something through the window over his shoulder. “Can I tell you something? Off the record.”

I couldn’t help the laugh that escaped my mouth. “Yes, of course. What is it?”

He took a deep breath. “I don’t hate you. I know it may seem like I’ve never trusted you or that I don’t care about you, but it’s actually the opposite. I...really really like you,” he admitted.

I was stunned. Stiles likes me? He was searching my face for any indication of feelings as I sat there silently.

“Oh, shit,” Stiles mumbled. “Ok, forget I said that. Well, you won’t need to forget when you forget me in a minute–”

I cut off his rambling by placing my lips on his. They were warm and familiar, as if they were made for mine. “I like you too,” I mumbled when I disconnected, my eyes still closed from the interaction.

But when I opened them, I was alone in the baby blue jeep.

--

All semester, I’d felt that something was missing, but I couldn’t figure out what it was. Or who it was.

But after months of searching for it, we finally figured it out. Lydia had gone into a banshee trance to discover the word “Stiles,” and it brought back vague memories for me when I heard it. The feeling of soft flannel. A sarcastic laugh. Red string around my finger. A hefty wooden baseball bat.

The collection of memories made sense when we all finally got our memories back and remembered the person we were missing from our lives.

We traced the trail of clues to the sewers, where Scott tried to bring back Stiles because of their brotherly love for one another. I thought it would work, but the portal closed and Stiles hadn’t appeared. Come on, Stiles. Where are you?

We had to fight the Ghost Riders off, making sure they didn’t turn our beloved Beacon Hills into another ghost town. I’d run into the high school, looking for something to use as a weapon when I ran into someone in the hall. A tall, brown-haired figure wearing a flannel shirt. “Stiles?”

He turned, and smiles emerged on both of our faces. I broke into a run again, right into his arms. “I can’t believe you’re here. You’re really here.” I mumbled, the sound muffled against his shirt.

“I knew you could do it,” he said.

I pulled back slightly and looked up at his face, suddenly nervous. “That night in the jeep...did you hear what I told you before you disappeared?”

A soft smile rested on his face. “Of course I did. It was the one thing that kept me going, especially when I was stuck with Peter.”

“Peter Hale? Why the hell were you with Peter Hale?”

Stiles shook his head. “We can go over that later. For now, there’s one thing I��ve been wanting to do.” I was a little confused, but I understood once he leaned in and connected our lips.

This is what I’d been missing, and I was never going to let it go again.

--

I watched from afar as Stiles gave his trusty baseball bat to Mason, who didn’t seem to appreciate the hunk of wood.

“Have you told him yet?” Lydia asked as she appeared next to me.

I shook my head. “We haven’t really had time to talk about that stuff. I think he doesn’t really want to think about it just yet and what that might mean for us.”

She nudged me with her elbow, silently telling me to go over there and talk to him. Rolling my eyes, I walked towards the familiar blue jeep and familiar mess of brown hair.

Liam and Mason had already walked away, and Scott and Stiles were standing and talking at the jeep’s trunk. “Hey, y/n. I’m just heading out, but I’ll see you guys later,” Scott said as I came up and Stiles threw his arm around me.

We waved as Scott left, and Stiles pulled me closer. “Hey,” he said, looking down at me with an affectionate expression.

I pulled him over so we could sit in the open trunk. “We need to talk.” I could see the panic flare up in his eyes.

“Oh, um, okay? Is everything okay?”

Chuckling lightly, I nodded. “Yeah, we just haven’t talked about college at all,” I explained.

His head dropped. “Yeah, I know. I just don’t want it to ruin what we have here, and I don’t even know what life will be like outside of Beacon Hills, and I feel like we just got together and now–”

“Stiles,” I cut him off. “I’m going to GW too.”

His eyes widened at my confession. “You...you’re going to GW?”

I nodded, a small smile on my lips. “I committed a while ago. I’m going to study journalism there.”

I watched as a smile spread across his face. Then, it was replaced by a quick smirk. “Oh great, you’re following me there, huh? I just can’t seem to get rid of you.”

I shrugged. “What can I say? I’m going to need someone to give me the inside scoop on the FBI’s antics.”

He looked pensive for a moment. “I think what you’re describing is illegal.”

“Not if it’s in the public’s interest. But maybe it just needs to be off the record,” I admitted. Stiles laughed. “Oh, it’s definitely going to be off the record.”

[salazarslytherin]

dance lessons (j.p x gn!y/n)

requested: yes! by @riddikulusweasleys

🃛 masterlist!

summary: james teaches you how to dance

cw/tw: nothing, fluff is all, genderneutral!reader!!!

word count: 1.5k

a/n: short and sweet james fluff <3 hope you like it love! reblog to boost xxx

tag list at the bottom ☯︎ join tag list here

"So Y/N, who are you going to the ball with?"

Suddenly, all eyes were on you, the vivid conversation that had fogged the large table vanishing as you stared at Sirius like a deer in headlights. Froth covered your top lip from the mug of butterbeer you'd been sipping on, and you quickly wiped it away on your sleeve, blinking and stuttering slightly as you tried to answer the question.

"Um, no one."

Mutters of confusion sounded around the round table, a few other students in the Three Broomsticks whispering to each other as they caught wind of your words.

"What? Did nobody ask you to-"

Marlene delivered a quick slap to Dorcas's shoulder, widening her eyes as a quick sign of 'shut up' before turning back and smiling at you, a reassuring look in her eyes.

"It's okay Y/N, there's still time before the ball."

You shook your head at your friends, biting your lip to prevent a laugh from bubbling out of your mouth.

"No, no, no. It's not that, I just don't really feel like going to the ball."

A series of gasps sounded around the table – your friends were quite the drama kings and queens indeed.

"It's not that big of a deal! Relax."

Protests of "of course it's a big deal!" came around, but you quickly cut them off, wanting nothing more than to just move on from the conversation.

"Who wants another round of butterbeer? I'm buying!"

⚔︎.

"So, Y/N."

It was three days later now, you and James were sat in the library working on a transfiguration essay that was due the day after. Leafing through a reference book, you hummed lightly at James, a gesture for him to continue.

"Why aren't you going to the Yule Ball?"

Letting out a groan, your head fell to the table, knocking against the book.

"Can we not talk about that? Sirius literally bugged me about it all of potions."

Twirling his quill in his hand, James quirked an eyebrow at you, an inquisitive look in his eyes.

"Yeah, but unlike them, I know that you were asked. I was there when you were asked. By like, four different people. Why didn't you just agree to one of them and go?"

Letting out a deep sigh, your head turned to face the boy, tucking your hands under your legs as you sat on them, sheepish as you stared at him.

"Okay I can tell you. Just, don't laugh or whatever."

The boy nodded at you, his brows furrowed in uncertainty as he watched you trap your bottom lip between your teeth. Gnawing on the flesh, your eyes fluttered between his, dropping down for a second before exhaling:

"I don't know how to dance."

⚔︎.

That's how you ended up in the Room of Requirement, staring at your shoes while James fiddled with a charmed record player, putting on some old classical song that you might have heard somewhere in passing.

"Alright, are you ready?"

You looked up at James, pursing your lips in a semi pout.

"James I swear I've got two left feet or something, s'not gonna work out very well."

The boy rolled his eyes, straightening his back in true Pureblood fashion as he looked down at you.

"Please. I've had dance lessons since I was four. I can teach you to dance anything."

Stretching his arms out towards you, James raised his eyebrows, gesturing for you to move towards him.

"Come on, I'll lead."

⚔︎.

"Left, two, three."

"Shit!"

James's foot snapped away from under yours, the two of you stumbling as his arm wrapped tighter around your waist. Holding you closer to him, the pair of you fell down to the ground, you landing on top of him.

Your chests were pressed together, your lips ghosting his for a moment as your eyes refocused on James's. Your face was dangerously close to the bespectacled boy's, your breath fogging his glasses slightly. Noticing your distance, you scrambled to get up, brushing yourself off as you stood up. "Sorry James! Fuck, told you I can't dance." The boy laid on the ground for a few more seconds, his eyes blinking in a mist of mild confusion before he stood up as well, clearing his throat awkwardly. "That wasn't too bad. It's literally your first attempt, don't get so distraught over one mishap."

You raised your eyebrows at the boy.

"Really. One mishap. Sure, that's the first time we fell on the ground, but it's like the tenth time I've stepped on your foot."

The seeker rolled his eyes at you, stepping closer to wrap his arm around your waist again as the music automatically looped on the player. He took your hand in his larger one, extending your arms towards the door before stepping backwards.

"Yeah, well, mistakes happen Y/N. This doesn't mean that you can't dance. You're literally learning. It takes time. Not just three hours in this room."

You sighed as you stepped to the side, instinctively responding to James's movements as the two of you waltzed in time to the music.

"Do you really not want to go to the ball?"

You rolled your eyes as your feet glided over the wooden floor, James's hand resting on the small of your back as he guided you into a heel turn, shoes clicking on the smooth maple.

"I-, I don't know."

Your arm was lifted over your head as James twirled you gently, your arm extending as your left foot stepped out sideways, your intertwined hands extending as your free arms stretched outwards, before turning back in to clasp each other gently once more.

"Come on Y/N, it'll be fun."

As if to emphasize his point, James twirled you outwards, the tenacity with which he did so making you laugh as your hand flew out instinctively. Laughing alongside you, James pulled you back in, your body whirling closer towards his in a laugh.

The laugh was cut off as the momentum made you stumble, James letting go of your hand to catch you, fingers interlocking as he wrapped his arms around your waist fully. Eyes squeezing shut in fear of falling, only to find your chest pressed against James's as he pulled you in.

One eye opened as you looked up at the bespectacled boy, the other quickly following it as you watched James, his eyes darting down to glance at your lips before looking back into your eyes.

Your chests rose and fell in unison, as the seconds ticked on you became acutely aware of the fact that his grip hadn't loosened, hands wrapped around your waist, eyes boring into yours.

"Um-"

"Y/N-"

Your mouths opened in unison, smiling as both of you stopped simultaneously.

"You go."

James nodded, his bottom lip sticking out as he furrowed his brows in a bout of uncertainty.

"Do you, wanna go to the ball with me?"

A smile blossomed on your face.

"Don't you have a date?"

James looked up awkwardly, his arms stiffening around you but still not quite letting go.

"Um, I might have... been waiting to ask someone."

The corner of your lip curled upwards as you looked up at the boy.

"Oh yeah? But what if that someone still doesn't want to go?"

James's arms pulled you closer – somehow it was still possible. Your chest fully pressed against his, the prominent smell of broom polish and mint dancing into your olfactory senses.

"I thought I might've persuaded them. They'll have a fantastic dance partner too so they won't have to worry."

Your eyebrows shot up in amusement.

"But... What if they still need some persuasion?"

It was now James's turn to smile, the sides of his mouth turning up as his eyes darted down to your lips once more.

"Would a kiss persuade them, you think?"

"Maybe-"

Before the word had left your mouth properly, James had caught your lips in a kiss, melding your mouths together as your eyes fluttered shut. His hands finally left your waist, trailing up your sides to cup your chin. Your hand moved to hold him by the nape of his neck, memorising each and every crevice of his lips.

After a fleeting moment that seemed to last forever, the two of you fell apart, chests heaving as your hands left each other for the first time in minutes, the ghost of James's hands on your waist haunting you.

"So, are they convinced?"

A soft chuckle left you, pressing your lips together in a moment of shyness, cocking the edge of your mouth upwards.

"Hmm. I think they are. So, shall we practice more? So that somebody won't be too embarrassed on the dance floor?"

James held his hands out, tilting his head to the side as he smirked at you.

"Of course. But it's your turn to lead now."

Your mouth fell open, staring at the boy, bemused.

"What?"

James barked out a laugh, ruffling his hair slightly as you just watched him.

"You don't expect me to lead all night, do you?"

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[andreafmn]

I'm Not Afraid - Chapter 3

Word Count: 3,195

Characters: Female Reader Argent Character, Original Male Argent Character, Derek Hale, Allison Argent, Scott McCall, Stiles Stilinski, Isaac Lahey, Lydia Martin, Chris Argent, Jackson Whittemore

Story Description: (Y/N) Argent arrived at Beacon Hills to put to rest her father’s sister, Kate Argent. For the first time, her family has decided to settle down and sustain a life in this interesting small town. After 17 years, (Y/N) has the opportunity to establish interpersonal relationships but will she be ready to face the complications that come with relating to her cousin’s, Allison, friends; especially, the infamous Derek Hale. She will face the adventure of being associated with the Derek and McCall pack as well as being faced with the discovery of certain aspects of her life she never imagined.

*DISCLAIMER* I do not own in any way Teen Wolf, all credits of the pre-established characters, script, and storyline belong to Jeff Davis and MTV Network. The only thing I own is Argent Reader insert, her immediate family, and her storyline, as well as her effects in the others’ storyline.

Chapter: 3/?

Warnings:  brief mention of attempted suicide

A/N: If you enjoy my writing I’ll also be posting them in AO3 and Wattpad along with other stories (I also hope to start taking requests if ya’ll want) Hope you enjoy and all constructive criticism is encouraged.

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Chapter 3

"Time!" Mr. Harris looked up from his watch. "If you catalyzed the reaction correctly, you should now be looking at a crystal."

I looked down at my beaker and saw a horrible concoction of half crystal and half goo. Thanks to Stiles, my last partner of this weird-ass rotation the chemistry teacher had us partake in. Yet even though I didn't get with Stiles that well I was relieved that he was my partner. Isaac had been completely insufferable these last few days and I couldn't handle that.

"Now this part of the experiment I'm sure you'll all enjoy. You can eat it." I was bummed that I couldn't eat mine and I guess Lydia noticed.

"Hey, (Y/N), we can share mine. Don't frown." I smiled at her and she returned it.

After Lydia gave me half her rock crystal, Scott just stood up and screamed our names to stop, and everyone else just stared at us. We both turned and gave the boy a weird stare before diverging our attention back to the candy. After clinking our candies against the other, we savored the sweet treat.

Allison's POV

"Derek is outside waiting for (Y/N) and Lydia," Scott said.

"Waiting to kill them?"

"If he thinks one of them is the Kanima, then yes. Especially after what happened at the pool."

"It's not Lydia."

"Stiles, she didn't pass the test, man. Nothing happened."

"No, it can't be her."

"Well, it's not (Y/N) either."

"Well, it could be her."

"What is that supposed to mean?!" What the hell was his problem?

"Well, we have no idea who she is, and she hasn't really proven to be a good person. And the attacks did start after she first arrived at Beacon Hills."

"You don't know her, I do. Believe me, it's not her. I've known her my whole life. I think I would have noticed her turning into a killing lizard and I don't think I would be here to tell you. So, we can cross her out." We both sighed. "But it doesn't matter because Derek thinks it's one of them. So, either we can convince him that he's wrong or we've got to figure out a way to protect them."

"Well, I don't think he's gonna do anything here. Not at school." Scott stepped in.

"What about after school?" I asked and he sighed. "What if we can prove that Derek's wrong?"

"By three o'clock?"

"There can be something in the bestiary."

"Oh, you mean the 900-page book written in Archaic Latin that none of us can read? Good luck with that." Seriously Stiles, not helping. At least I was trying.

"Actually, I think there might be someone who can translate," I said thinking about our guidance counselor.

"Uh, I can talk to Derek maybe convince him to give us a chance to prove it's not either of them or... But if anything happens you guys let me handle it, okay?"

"What does that mean?"

"You can't heal like I do." I stared at him. I wasn't a defenseless baby. "I just don't want you getting hurt."

"I can protect myself." I took the crossbow out of my bag. He said nothing. "What? Did something else happen?"

"I just don't want you getting hurt. Seriously, if anything goes wrong you call me, okay?! I don't care if your dad finds out. Call or text, scream or yell; whatever, I'll find you as fast as I can." He stared straight into my eyes.

"We have until three."

He turned to leave until my crossbow went off. "Ooh." Scott quickly turned around and caught the arrow.

"Aah. Sorry." Stiles handed me the crossbow. "Sorry. Sensed a trigger on that."

Scott's POV

Currently, Stiles was on Lydia's and (Y/N)'s trail, and I was on the field with Boyd trying to find Derek.

"I wanna talk to Derek."

"Talk to me."

"I don't wanna fight."

"Good. Cause I'm twice the size of you" I looked up to find it true.

"True. Really, really true." He smirked. "But you wanna know what I think? I'm twice as fast." I smirked back and tackled him to the ground. Once we stood up, Derek appeared by our side.

"She failed the test." His face held his iconic scowl, and his arms were crossed.

"Yeah, but that doesn't prove anything. Lydia's different."

"I know. At night she turns into a homicidal walking snake."

"I'm not gonna let you kill her."

"Who said I was gonna do it?" I looked back to the school and realized Erica and Isaac were still back in the building. I tried to run towards it, but Boyd threw me down. "I don't know why you think you have to protect everyone now, Scott. But even so, Lydia has killed people and she's gonna do it again. And next time it's gonna be one of us."

"What if you're wrong? For all we know it could also be (Y/N). She didn't pass either, and how is it a coincidence that the attacks started after she arrived?" For a second I could have sworn there was a sign of desperation and worry in his face. But as quick as I blinked the look was gone.

"Lydia was bitten by an alpha. It's her."

"You saw that thing up close. You know it's not like us."

"But it is! We're all shapeshifters. You don't know what you're dealing with. It happens rarely and it happens for a reason."

"What reason?"

"Sometimes the shape you take reflects the person that you are." He gave me his hand and helped me up. "Even Stiles calls her cold-blooded."

"Well, what if she's immune? What if she has something else inside of her that makes her immune to the bite which is why she didn't get paralyzed."

"No one's immune. We've never seen it or heard of it. It's n... It's never happened." He argued.

"What about Jackson?" He looked away. "That's why you tested him, isn't it? Because you gave him what he wanted, didn't you?"

"Scott..."

"You said the bite either kills you or turns you. You were probably hoping that he would die. But nothing happened, right? You have no idea why do you?"

"No." Derek's jaw clenched and I knew I struck a never, so I pressured on buying more time.

"I have a theory. That she's immune and that somehow, she passed it on to Jackson. You know I'm right."

"No!

"You can NOT do this!"

"Look, I can't let her live! You should've known that."

"I was hoping I could convince you but then, I wasn't counting on it." He looked at me frazzled as to what I meant, I just smirked.

(Y/N)'s POV

Being stuck with Stiles and Lydia in the library is torture, an experiment I did not want to know the result of. Actually, just Stiles. Ever since Chemistry he had been on our trail like a lost puppy. Lydia and I had a project to work with, and he was just in the way. He was acting so weird and fidgety, more than usual.

"Hey, Allison. What are you doing here?" Lydia said looking behind her.

"Oh nothing, just wondering if you wanted to get together for a study group."

"Sure, that would actually maybe let the tension leave this group," I said and as we were leaving, Jackson joined.

"Study group? I'm coming with."

"Great." We left through the back door of the library, lord knows why, and we were walking at top speed.

"If we're doing a study group why don't we just stay in the library?" Lydia said. I was asking myself the same thing but since everyone else had stood up, I just followed.

"Because we're meeting up with somebody else."

"Why don't they just meet us at the library?" I asked.

"Oh, that would have been a great idea! Too late."

"Okay, hold on..." Lydia started saying but Jackson stopped her by grabbing her arm.

"Lydia, shut up and walk." Jerk.

We all got inside of Stile's jeep since he thought it would be faster that way because we were already late. It was an awkward ride to what I learned was Scott's house. No one said much except for the casual groan or scoff coming from Lydia.

"If we're meeting at Scott's house, where's Scott?" Lydia asked.

"Meeting us here. I think. I hope." Stiles said as he led us up to the front steps and into Scott's house.

Once inside he closed every single lock there was on the door. My reaction was involuntary as I stared at the slim boy in front of me as if he was another worldly creature.

"Uh, there's been a few break-ins in the neighborhood." He then put a chair on the doorknob and now Lydia joined in the stare. "And a murder. Yeah, it was bad."

"Lydia, follow me. I need to talk to you for a minute." Jackson spoke up.

"Seriously, what is going on with everyone?" Lydia said exasperated.

"Actually, I've been thinking the same thing. What the hell is going on?" I asked once Jackon and Lydia were out of sight.

"Nothing. Like we said it's just a study group." Stiles answered and I crossed my arms against my chest. Groveling for an answer seemed completely futile in this situation.

Allison's POV

"You know what, (Y/N). Why don't you go into the kitchen and help yourself to anything or go upstairs and lay down? I think Scott will take a while."

"O-kay?" She headed upstairs with an audible sigh and I motioned to Stiles to give me his phone to dial Scott.

"Hey, it's me. You need to get here. Quick." I looked outside and saw Derek and his pack waiting. I looked at the phone after Scott hung up and started dialing my dad's number.

"What are you doing?"

"I think... I think I have to call my dad."

"But if he finds you here, you and Scott..."

"I know." I stared at him. "What are we supposed to do? They're not here to scare us, okay, they're here to kill Lydia... Or, or even (Y/N)." We stood in silence and I debated on whether if it would be a good idea to call my father. If I did my relationship with Scott would be completely and truly over and if I didn't there could be a chance I would be down a friend or even a cousin.

"I've got an idea." I looked at a nervous Stiles. "Shoot one of them."

"Are you serious?"

"We told Scott we could protect ourselves. So, let's do it, at least give it a shot, right?" I debated for a moment.

"Okay." I don't think I sounded too confident.

"Look, they don't think we're gonna fight, so one of them gets hit, I guarantee they'll take off. So just shoot one of them." His reasoning made sense. I looked outside.

"Which one?"

"Um, Derek, preferably in the head."

"Stiles, if Scott can catch an arrow, Derek definitely can."

"Okay, ah, just shoot one of the other three."

"You mean two?"

"I mean three." Quickly he moved the curtains aside and looked outside to check on the pack. "Where's Isaac?" Without being able to think I was attacked and thrown to the ground and so was Stiles. I don't know how but Isaac found a way in.

(Y/N)'s POV

I was laying down on the bed of what I hoped was a guest room, scrolling through my phone when I heard a crash downstairs. I guess Lydia heard it too because when I looked outside the hallway, there she was. We moved slowly and carefully. After, I started to hear snarling and crashing.

"What's happening?" Lydia cried and I half hugged her as reassurance.

"Get back. Someone's trying to break in, okay? Go." Allison appeared from around the corner.

"I can help," I said.

"Stay." We didn't move. "Guys, go!" We both ran back to the room she was with Jackson and closed the door. Yet, Jackson was nowhere in sight.

"Jackson?!" Lydia screamed and we made our way to the bathroom locking the door.

"Who are you calling?" I asked Lydia as she took out her phone.

"Hi, I-I need the police. Th-there's someone trying to break in." She turned off the light and I heard the door outside slam.

"Stiles! It's here!" Allison screamed. What the hell was IT? Then the door crashed down. Lydia started squirming so I engulfed her in a hug and tried my best to calm her nerves.

"We're gonna be alright." But honestly, I was just as scared. Once silence was the only thing surrounding us, I checked the room. "Okay, I think it's gone. We'll go out slowly."

She nodded and followed me out of the bathroom and later out of the room. We made our way calmly down the hallway and the stairs. That's when I heard the worst screech ever and it was not human. We both ran outside to see what had made such an awful sound and were met by Derek, Isaac, Erica, Boyd, Scott, Stiles, and Allison. What the hell were they all doing here, and why were Erica and Isaac limp on the floor?

"Would someone please tell me what the hell is going on?"

"It's Jackson," Scott said. What could that possibly mean?

After everyone had calmed down, Stiles took us back to the school to look for our abandoned cars. As I made my way to my bike, Allison stopped me. Claiming that she was too worried about my safety. Not having the energy to fight, I obliged and got into her car alongside Lydia, who was still a bit shaken from the events.

"I need you to promise that you both won't say anything about what just happened." Allison staged the statement as a request but it was clearly a command.

"I promise not to say anything about what just happened if you could tell me what the HELL just happened," Lydia said, exasperated.

"I'm with Lydia on that one."

"It's kinda complicated." Allison sighed.

"How about you start with why Derek was there?" I spoke. "And Isaac and all of those kids from school?"

"Or where Jackson went or what is wrong with Erica?" She looked down. "Need to come up with a possible lie?"

"Part of the reason I am asking is because Scott and I aren't supposed to be seeing each other, okay?" Seriously? That's your excuse "So it's better if you just keep what you know to yourselves."

"Fine. I'll keep what I know about you and your boyfriend, which is nothing, to myself." Lydia started to get out, but Allison held her back.

"Hey, he's not just my boyfriend, you get that right?"

"Let me go." The strawberry blonde spat.

"Just for one second, please try and remember. "

"Remember what?!" Lydia turned.

"Remember what it feels like. All those times in school when you see him standing in the hall and you cannot breathe until you're with him or those times in class when you can't stop looking at the clock because you know that he is standing right out there, waiting for you. Don't you remember what that's like?"

"No."

"What do you mean no? You've had boyfriends."

"Not like that." She closed the door and left. Allison stared at her until she had reached the door to her house before starting the car back up.

"I know you're lying. This has nothing to do with your relationship with Scott. Maybe like five percent but when you look at the whole picture it's not. So, why don't you actually tell me the truth or I swear I will get out of this car."

"We're moving."

"Doesn't mean I won't jump out."

"What do you want me to say?!"

"The truth. Just tell me why the hell everyone has been acting so weird?"

"You're one to talk." She scoffed.

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"You! Ever since you've arrived you have pushed everyone away, even though all they have been is nice to you. You're alienating yourself for no reason."

"No reason?! How about the fact that I don't want to grow attached to anyone because I know that once the year ends, I'm gone? It has been like that for almost ten fucking years. Allison, you have only had to move about three times in your life, maybe four. I have been moving every single year since I was eight years old. Don't you think that it doesn't hurt to leave behind people you have grown to love and won't see again, possibly forever?"

"I didn't think..." she sighed.

"Exactly, you didn't think because you don't understand. The last time I grew close to someone, I had to say goodbye and you know what happened?" She shook her head no. "She was bullied into attempting suicide. I did that."

"Are you talking about Josie?" I nodded, roughly wiping away the tears that had spilled. "That wasn't your fault. It was tragic but there was nothing you could have done. You didn't do it."

"I did. She was alone because I left, and I couldn't protect her. She won't even answer my messages. Now, I don't associate myself with people so I don't have to care about what happens to them. That way it doesn't hurt once I leave."

"I'm so sorry, (Y/N), I didn't know you felt that way. But don't push me away. I will always be a constant in your life. I'm your cousin, I will always be with you." She hugged me and wiped away any other tears left. "I love you but get out."

"Dude, you just ruined the moment."

"No, I mean we're at your house and I have to get home. I love you." She smiled and I got out of the car. Before I could say anything else, she sped off. She knew there was a conversation still lingering and she was trying to avoid it. I just hoped I didn't have to explain myself to anyone else.

I entered the empty house, making sure all the doors were locked, and made my way up the stairs. Opening my bedroom door, Brody jumped off my bed and onto me, slathering my face with kisses.

"Hey, buddy. I missed you too," I laughed. Being near him instantly calmed me and helped me feel more at ease after the night I had.

I changed into my pajamas, too tired to shower, and cuddled with Brody on my bed. Talking about my past always made me tense. I tried my best to stray away from the topic and reveal as little as possible as I could, but it always found a way to be uncovered. As hard as I tried it was the dark cloud that would always follow me around. All I could do was avoid the whole thing as much as I could and hope they didn't bring it up again.

With Brody's warmth next to me, I quickly nodded off to sleep and melted the stress of the day.

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