#like….. just dogging on her while praising van

[winter-bitch]

the way some of y’all talk about taissa (in relation to van & in general) (when she’s not being ignored) is concerning to say the very least

[total-dxmure]

ೃ࿔ CHERRY FLAVORED →【ELLIE WILLIAMS】→ CHAPTER ONE

pairing: mega fan!ellie williams x rock star!reader

summary: your guitarist was carted off to rehab after just one month into your recent tour. fuck. there’s only one thing you can do, and that’s hire a replacement. your band thinks it’s going to be nearly impossible to find someone that is on the same level of talent as your “beloved” guitarist. you don’t have high hopes that anyone can nail the songs quite like he did either, if you’re being brutally honest. enter ellie- she’s a mega fan. the girl knows every lyric and note like the back of her hand. . . and everything about you, which isn’t creepy at all. her apparent obsession with you is something that you and your tour manager can overlook if it means carrying on with the rest of the tour. forced proximity with a stalker-level fan . . . what’s the worst thing that could happen?

warnings: smut in next chapter, talk of substance abuse, the reader is a tease and a bit of a bitch but it’s hot i promise, ellie is obsessed with reader to an unhealthy degree.

from the river to the sea, palestine will be free 🇵🇸 READ: this account stands with palestine, and so— i require everyone who interacts to educate themselves, and support/donate. READ THESE; 1 and 2, HELP HERE, BOYCOTT. silence is complicity, do not scroll past this. DO NOT BUY THE REMASTER, TLOU2, TLOU1, OR ANY GAME FROM NAUGHTY DOG! neil druckmann (the creator) is a zionist. PLEASE READ THIS. AND REBLOG THIS.

It was the kind of love that tortured poets mused over. Ribs straining against a heavy heart. 

Ellie had deluded herself, as any love drunk person does, that she wouldn’t dissolve into a puddle on the floor if she were to meet you. She could keep her cool- downplay the crushing significance you held in her life. Your voice was constantly ringing in her ears. She could see your face in perfect clarity any time she closed her eyes. Pictures like snapshots played out behind her eyelids, and yet you always felt a million miles away for her. You were a perfect performer, situated on your sky-high pedestal, always out of her puny reach. 

Because Ellie, as much as she despised this fact and dreamed of greatness, was a nobody. She grew up in a tiny town of no noteworthiness, her adolescent years spent dreaming about the planets and playing guitar with Joel. By all accounts Ellie was normal, while you were certainly not. Still, she liked to tell herself that she’d somehow manage to make herself worthy of your affections if she were ever to be blessed with them. 

Finding herself in a situation like this seemed like an impossibility. She was partially convinced that she was daydreaming, having concocted some elaborate fantasy just to feed the insatiable ache. She was starved for you with no way to feed herself. 

All it had taken was a single audition tape. One. Single. Tape. Ellie was staring, wide eyed, at Gene fuckin’ Murray. 

The blood rushed from her head, hands breaking out instantaneously into a clammy sweat. She couldn’t think, couldn’t function at the realization that she was staring at one of the people that she had worshiped for years. Gene’s talent had been praised by the likes of Lars Ulrich and Danny Carey. He wasn’t popular just for his looks but for his undeniable talent. 

And he was staring straight at Ellie, arms crossed over his toned chest as he waited expectantly. She felt like an idiot. Should she be playing? If so, what did they want her to play? Surely one of their songs. She’d glossed past the fact that she was a megafan, instead making it sound like she was just looking for a successful band to join. She was talented. No, Ellie was really talented. 

She wasn’t just a technical player, but excelled at making her own rules. She enjoyed the creative freedom that playing the guitar granted, and felt as though the world needed more Jimi’s and Van Halen’s. Ellie excelled at thinking outside of the box. 

She wasn’t very successful when it came to women, but had no problem making her guitar scream and cry for her. 

She wasn’t very successful when it came to women, but had no problem making her guitar scream and cry for her. 

She wasn’t very successful when it came to women, but had no problem making her guitar scream and cry for her. 

So she took a deep breath and tried to steady her heart, once again stepping up to the mic. If there was one thing that all of your bandmates had in common, it was the attitude. She’d watched hundreds of interviews, had studied all of their movements and mannerisms. . .she understood you down to a science. 

“So do you want me to play or what?” Ellie spoke into the mic, gripping the neck of the guitar in the hopes that it might act as an anchor. She was scared that she might float away. 

The manager’s eyebrows twitched at her sudden change in attitude but he didn’t say anything, merely turned to look at Gene. For a second everyone just stared at her, like a bug under a microscope. After what felt like five minutes but was really just five seconds, Gene broke out into a grin, motioning to her with a flick of his wrist. He wasn’t confident in her, Ellie could tell. 

She had a sweet face, she knew that. Big green eyes and freckles- she was unsuspecting. People were usually shocked to find out that she had wrestled competitively in high school and had no problem putting a man three times her size on his ass. People expected very little from her, and perhaps that was part of Ellie’s real charm. 

“What song?” She was staring at Gene now, gripping her guitar pick between two sweat-slick fingers. 

“What ‘bout ‘Sometime Soon’? Know that one?” His tone was teasing. Condescending. 

The song was fast paced. It was supposed to be played loud and hard- one of your angrier songs. Ellie knew that you had been the one to write this one, meaning it was one of her favorites. The notes weren’t beginner friendly, but it wasn’t exactly hard for her. 

It was more style, less technical ability- which meant that Ellie would have no problem making this song her bitch. 

It was obvious that Gene was the one meant to judge her. The manager was just that- a manager. They needed an actual musician to listen in. So she took a deep breath and readied herself. . . 

and then the sound of your singing voice blasted into the booth. Drums, bass- she was meant to play with you. 

She almost missed her que, eyes widening in nervousness. She thought that she’d be playing all by her lonesome. She thought wrong it would seem. They’d started her off right in the middle of the song. Probably to throw her off. She jumped in, fingers sliding along the frets to shape out the correct notes. She tucked her guitar pick against the palm of her hand with her thumb, using the pads of her fingers to tap the strings. Faster. Faster. Faster. She didn’t look up from her guitar to look at the men’s reactions to her playing. Instead she just pretended she was standing in the living room of her apartment, hellbent on getting another noise complaint from the bitchy nextdoor neighbor. 

Her calloused fingers pinched the strings, satisfied with the way the guitar whined over the speakers. The guitar solo in this song was meant to be impressive- and it was, she had to give it to Leon. A lot of it was just bullshitting though. He’d admitted that he came up with the solo in the actual sound booth off of the top of his head while they were recording the song. 

The man was a god. He deserved “guitarist of the year” two years in a row. Ellie had the Los Angeles native beat though. Where he had grown up in the constant presence of “the greats”, Ellie had grown up in a constant state of boredom. She’d been playing the guitar since she was fourteen. Every day she’d sit down for hours and practice until her fingers bled. . . literally. She had thousands of hours on Leon, and she knew that with certainty. 

Ellie moved the guitar up and down gently with her fret hand, prolonging the last note so that it cried the way she wanted it to. The muscles in her arms were sore from how hard she had been tensing during the song. She’d been a lot more mechanical about it than she was used to, but she had something to prove. 

After a second she looked up from her guitar to gauge everyone’s reactions. The manager had dropped his cold and indifferent demeanor, instead flashing her a small smile. It bolstered her, gave her the strength to turn and look at Gene. 

He still had his arms crossed over his chest, and for a second Ellie was sure that he would tell her that she sucked. She widened her stance, shuffling her feet so that she was in a more defensive position. His heated gaze made her feel as though she needed to protect herself from whatever mental anguish he was about to put her through. 

“I thought she was kick ass,” Gene finally spoke up, giving Ellie a small thumbs up. Her face lit up into a wide smile before she could school her reaction into one of indifference. “What do you think? You’re the one that calls all the shots.” He spoke behind him, looking down at someone that had been hidden on the couch all along. 

Ellie squinted her eyes, taking a step closer to the glass to see if there was another businessman she’d somehow overlooked. 

She saw your hair before she saw anything else. It was freshly dyed, different than the last she’d seen you in all of the recent tabloid photos. You were clad in leather- pants so tight that they looked like a second skin. Your top was just as restrictive, breasts spilling out from the top, midriff revealed to show off the small silver piercing you had decorating your belly button. 

You were Hecate in the flesh- dark, sinister, mysterious and capable of anything. Ellie didn’t think that it would be possible, but you were even prettier in person. The sight of you sent a shock through her system, and for a second she felt her knees quiver, as if she could no longer hold up the weight of her own body. Her insides turned to mush; white, hot mush. 

The Stendhal syndrome: Ellie had been brought to the very precipice of existence by sight alone. She was so overcome by your mere existence that she felt her eyes begin to well up with tears. Body trembling, eyes locked on to your face and nothing else- it felt like she might faint. She remembered reading about the syndrome once before in an art history class she took in college. 

“Absorbed in the contemplation of sublime beauty. . . I reached the point where one encounters celestial sensations.” 

The urge to flee was just as great as the urge to get her hands on you was. She was thankful for the wide stance she was currently in, because if her legs had been any closer together then she was positive she would have lost her balance and fallen over. 

You were right there in front of her. You’d been right in front of her the entire time, she’d just been so focused on Gene that she hadn’t even seen you in her panic. She stumbled forward, her sneakered foot catching the jack for the amp. She slapped her hands over her ears as a blood curdling screech began blaring over the speakers. 

Ellie could have died. In fact. . . she just might. She dropped her guitar roughly on the ground as she raced over towards the amp, fingers shaking as she turned the knob to the volume.

The booth, once again, was silent. Silent enough to hear a pin drop. Slowly she turned, grimacing when she noticed the looks on everyone’s faces. She’d embarrassed herself and ruined her chance. Even worse was the fact that she’d humiliated herself in front of you. 

She had somehow deluded herself into believing that the two of you were soulmates over the years. She’d compared your birth charts, life numbers- had taken multiple celebrity compatibility tests. All signs pointed to a resounding yes. The two of you were star crossed lovers, cursed to never know one another. She had told herself that if she were ever to bump into you in person that she’d be able to keep her cool. Ellie was certain that she could pretend that she didn’t know who you are- could downplay the significance that you held  

Her ignorance was laughable. She’d been so overcome by your mere presence that she’d stumbled on air while standing completely still. You were standing up straight now, and even from her spot behind the thick glass she could tell how much taller you were than her. You had to be wearing heels or platforms, because according to Google you were- 

“You know how many auditions we’ve listened to today?” You had grappled the mic from the tech and were now hunched over his soundboard, the lights from all of the buttons and knobs casting strange, beautiful shadows over your face. Your eyeliner was dark and smoked out around your eyes, and in that moment Ellie wondered if you were an angel or a demon. “Twelve. Twelve fuckin’ people have walked into that booth today. Every single one of them has been absolute shit. So bad, in fact, that I’ve wanted to blow my fuckin’ brains out in this buildings tiny, piss-stained bathroom.” 

Ellie blanched, lips losing their pink color as the blood drained from her face. She was about to pass out. Her vision was already starting to tunnel. She grabbed onto one of the microphone stands to hold herself up, trying to keep her expression hard and unreadable. People often told her that she had “dead eyes”, and she could only pray that her face wasn’t giving her crushing grief away. It felt like someone had just died; like she had just died. Actually, she would have rather you just go ahead and stab her then tell her she sucked. You were her idol, her dream girl, her everything. 

And you were telling her that you’d rather blow your fucking brains out then listen to her play. How was she supposed to recover from this? She’d heard the saying “don’t meet your heroes” a thousand times, but this? She’d rather you just be a bitch to her. Actually, Ellie would probably like that. This was the worst thing she could have ever heard. Her nose twitched as tears began pooling in her eyes. She blinked a few times, praying that you couldn’t tell in the nearly pitch black room you were standing in. 

“But this?” You turned towards your manager and pointed passionately at Ellie. “This is music.” 

Breath left her lungs in a loud, audible whooshing sound, like a balloon deflating. Her shoulders relaxed, the hand that was white knuckling the mic stand falling limp at her side. No, you didn’t hate her. You liked her. 

You liked her. 

Everyone had their vices. Leon’s had, apparently, been copious amounts of prescription drugs- often consumed simultaneously. You were used to getting what you wanted. You drank whenever you wanted to, fucked just about anyone that peaked your interest and got away with your usual rotten antics and bitchy behavior. You lived the lifestyle that you’d always dreamt of, even when you were a little kid. 

You enjoyed putting on shows. You were flamboyant, loud, and weren’t afraid of expressing yourself. Teachers often described you as a “free thinker” back in your elementary school days. You dressed yourself for school each morning, each outfit louder and more daring than the next. You were an artist, and like most artists you had some inner demons that you fought against. You still fought tooth and nail, even to this day. 

Finally though, after what felt like a thousand years of waiting and biding your time, you had the life you had always yearned for. 

You sold out arenas, appeared on the front page of just about every magazine imaginable, and had celebrities clamoring over themselves to be your “best friend” of the week. Things were good. 

But also a bit empty. 

The friends that you’d made in your youth only used your name for bragging rights. Your parents had stopped showing up to concerts years ago, instead choosing to listen about your successes through their shitty television shows. Life felt a bit hollow.

Exciting. . . just different than you had always been used to. 

“Come play with us.” One of the women whined from her spot on your plush hotel mattress. The bombshell blonde was already stripped down to her underwear, her eyes glazed over from whatever overpriced alcohol she’d already taken from the suite's bar, at your expense no doubt. 

Your manager was used to the up-charges on the company card. He would probably be relieved in the morning when he found out that you didn’t break anything. There was still time for that, of course. It was only one in the morning, which meant you had nine more hours to get fucked up and wreck the cushy room. 

“I’m not feeling up to it right now.” You said simply, already disinterested in the two women you had invited to bed with you tonight. You were holding a beer bottle loosely between two of your fingers, swishing the remainder of the room temperature alcohol absentmindedly.

You weren’t much of an “observer” when it came to sex, more of a very active participant. Still, all you could do was sit back in one of the comfortable lounge chairs, muscles tense after a long show. You weren’t exactly sure why you’d invited the women back to the hotel. They were both attractive and had come onto you at the same time. It was obvious what they had been insinuating, and who were you to deny two beautiful women? The first thing that had popped into your head being “a threesome might make me happy”.

Except now you were bored out of your skull and would much rather be sleeping right now than watch two ditzy girls clumsily fondle each other’s fake breasts. 

“Please? I want you to fuck me so bad-” There was a knock at the door, causing both girls to go silent for a second. 

You pinched the bridge of your nose, exhaustion threatening to swallow you up whole. If it was your manager here to yell at you for “accidentally” breaking an amp at tonight's show you were going to scream. It was too late for that bullshit. Still, you saw this excuse as a blessing. 

“Hear that, ladies? Looks like we’ve gotta pack it up. Thanks for showing me a good time.” You stood up from the seat with a small groan, placing your beer bottle onto the counter clumsily. The glass clattered, almost spilling all over the shag carpet. 

The two girls groaned, obviously frustrated that they hadn’t successfully gotten you into bed with them. You weren’t sure what was wrong with you lately. If this had happened a few months ago then. . . well, you would have fucked them- no questions asked. Were you maturing out of your “wild and crazy” phase? No, you didn’t think so. 

You bent down, scooping up a discarded bra so that you could toss it onto the bed. Fabric rustled behind you as they began to quickly sort themselves out, hoping to beat you to the door. 

“Who is it?” You called out in a sing-song voice, deciding that if your manager was already angry enough to show up in front of your door at one in the morning then you might as well have a little fun with it. 

There was no reply on the other side of the door, causing you to scoff. He was giving you the silent treatment. You reached out for the door handle, only to have your shirt yanked on by one of the women. You could hear the seams ripping against the weight of her, her eyes wide with desperation. 

“Please let me show you a good time. I promise I’m good- I swear.” There was a fear of rejection there, you could tell. 

You felt a bit guilty and were quick to lean in to press a kiss on her cheek. “Baby, you’re gorgeous. I’m sure you would have been wonderful- but I’m tired. That’s all, okay? It’s nothing personal.” 

And with that you opened the door. The air from the hallway was brisk, causing goosebumps to instantly break out on your bare arms and legs. You were expecting the balding, bespectacled Barry to be standing on the other side of the door, all in a huff about “expenses” and “damages to the venue”. Blah, blah, blah. 

Instead it was Ellie. A very broken looking Ellie. 

The girls were quick to straighten out their outfits, their attention now turned towards the guitarist. Groupies like this didn’t care who they slept with, just so long as they were getting it in with someone that was in the band. 

“You’re Emma. . . right? The new guitarist? You were so great tonight. I mean- Leon was always a bit of a poser anyway. You’re killing it.” One of the girls started, moving to stand next to you in the doorway. 

You weren’t sure why, but you felt angry. Genuinely angry. Were you jealous of Ellie? No, because you were sure they would still rather fuck you than her. You’d been their first choice, afterall. Maybe you felt the need to shelter Ellie a bit? Yeah, that had to be it. She was still learning the ropes, and the last thing she needed was to be sexually harassed in a hotel hallway.

“. . . -lie” She was mumbling under her breath, eyes locked on the expensive carpet beneath her ratty old sneakers. 

She had changed out of her stage clothes and put on jeans and a t-shirt. Her hair looked wet too, meaning she’d already taken a shower. She smelled earthy- Alpine, even. 

You leaned against the frame, slamming your hand against the doorway to box the two women in, hoping to keep them away from the newbie. They flinched but both seemingly weren’t off put in their newfound pursuit. 

“You’re the most talented guitarist I’ve ever seen live. I mean. . . your solos were incredible.” You hadn’t managed to successfully remember the girl’s names. Just that they were friends with two guys that had worked security for the venue tonight. People often took advantage of connections like that in order to get close to you and your bandmates. It usually worked too. Tonight was different though. Tonight you had a real stick up your ass. 

Ashley? Amber? Sophie? God, you were bad with names.

“. . . -is Ellie.” Your guitarist mumbled again, slowly moving back down the hall in the direction of her suite. 

Your eyebrows furrowed in confusion over her attitude, and you were quick to stumble out of your room and down the hall after her. 

“Wait! Emma, can we get an autograph!” One of the half naked girls called after the two of you, trying desperately to shrug on her shirt to follow after. 

Ellie turned then, eyes narrowed and teeth bared. You’d. . . You’d never seen her like that before. 

“My name is fucking Ellie! Who is Emma? Jesus fuckin’ Christ-” She dug her hand into the back pocket of her jeans, trying desperately to find her keycard. 

The girls gasped at her outburst, jostled by the look of pure evil on her face. Even you were taken aback, not used to this kind of attitude from her. Still, you’d be lying if you said that you didn’t know why she was acting like this. 

Ellie was what some would call a “mega fan”, though that would be putting it lightly. The word “stalker” would be more appropriate. Your manager knew that before he even messaged her for an audition. He’d checked all of her social media sites and scrubbed the internet for anything he could find on her. One thing was made very clear: 

Ellie was obsessed with you. 

For whatever reason she seemed to be keeping it a secret from Gene and Chris. All she fessed up to them was that she enjoyed your music, which was why she’d auditioned in the first place. She’d conveniently left out the dedicated fan blogs and the status of her cult-like following.

You didn’t mind it. Sure, it was a bit creepy. . . but she was talented and you liked her. She could hold her own against Gene and Chris’ constant asshole behavior, and had been receptive to Barry trying to teach her the ropes of the business. It was obvious that she wanted this, even if her motives weren’t exactly purely for the music. You’d let her be as close to you as she wanted if it meant that she’d continue playing the way that she does. The crowd had loved her, and it was only her second show with the band. 

She was a bit shy, but that would pass eventually. You remember your early debut days vividly. You’d been just like her, maybe even a little worse. 

“Hey, stop for a second.” You reached out to grab her wrist, stopping her from fleeing after her outburst. She turned to glare at you, but her eyes softened as she took in your features. 

You could feel her arm trembling in your grasp, so you gently let go. No matter how many times you touched her or spent time with her, she still seemed to get overly nervous in your presence. It was endearing. 

“Aren’t you a bit busy? Don’t let me ruin your fun-” She was being sarcastic. 

“I was done with them by the time you knocked on the door. They aren’t exactly my type. I’m not sure why I even invited them back in the first place.” If you had to guess, you’d probably done it out of habit. You were used to inviting people back to your room or tour bus. 

Ellie didn’t seem pleased by your answer. If anything it seemed to upset her even more. She bristled, reaching back into her pocket for her keycard. What did she want to hear? That you hadn’t touched them? You groaned, wiping an exhausted hand down your face. 

The elevator dinged behind you, meaning the girls had finally taken the hint and were leaving with their tails tucked between their legs. 

“Are you jealous or something?” You asked once the elevator doors were closed. The last thing you needed were the girls trying to sell information to some shitty gossip magazine. 

She froze, eyes going wide and lips going pale. It was almost like she didn’t think that you knew all about her dirty little secret. A part of you wanted to tease her. Really make her squirm. 

“Why would I be jealous? Those girls weren’t exactly my type either.” She was good at playing things off. Ellie was a good liar. 

But you were good at sniffing out the bullshit. It was one of your many talents. 

“Not of me,” You leaned against the wall next to her door, watching with curious eyes as she began fumbling in her pockets for her key. “Of them. Do you wish I had taken you back to my room or something?” You cooed flirtatiously, flashing her one of your most sinister smiles. 

She coughed, turning around so that she could hide her face from you. This nearly had you groaning out loud in disappointment. Was she blushing? Do her freckles look even brighter when her skin gets all pink and hot? 

Nah, it was dangerous to think like this. Band members were always off limits. It was a recipe for disaster. The last thing you needed was another Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham situation on your hands. Your PR team wouldn’t be able to recover. They’d just barely gotten over the “Leon” incident by the skin of their teeth. 

Your old band member having to be tackled by three cops in a hotel lobby was horrible. It made you look sloppy. And sleeping with the brand new edition to the band was definitely sloppy. 

“You’re acting crazy.” Ellie told you, shoving the keycard into the lock so that she could clammer into her room. 

Pushing the boundaries was sort of your thing. You enjoyed being bad, fuck the consequences. Right about now you wanted to kiss Ellie. What would her reaction be? Was she a good kisser? You wanted to know. No- you needed to know. 

“You’re right. I’m talking nonsense, don’t listen to me,” You called after her into the room. “Sweet dreams.” 

And with that you sauntered back to your own room, practically purring in delight over the fact that it had been that easy to get to Ellie like that. You loved pushing the boundaries. . . and now you had a new toy to play with.

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[boldlyvoid]

No pressure blurb request for Eddie: "Please don’t touch me. I can’t fall any deeper."

(Actual line not required but I like the feeling)

absolutely bestie! thank you <3

he's been having dreams about her for months now. they started out as nothing serious, little appearances and funny moments that made no sense mostly... and then his brain decided to conjure up a whole life with her inside his dreams. a life where she held him in her arms and kisses his forehead, she made him laugh and smile and she married him. she wore a ring with his initials engraved in the band, she wore a beautiful white dress and her hair looked perfect and she kissed him at the end of the aisle...

that dream took a while to recover from. then he had a dream that she had his kids. he had dreams about holding their babies, ones who looked so much like her and had his attitude. he snuggled them close, and they cuddled all together in a big comfy bed with the sun shining through the windows and the birds chirping and it was perfect. then he woke up. it always broke his heart to wake up... to reach out for her and only find his pillow because she wasn't really his.

she's just a friend.

he has to get that through his thick skull before he accidentally wraps himself around her and kisses her on the cheek, or the back of her neck or her shoulder... it would be so easy, too. she's always so close, it just feels right to want to reach out and give her some love but he can't... until she makes it almost impossible.

a group camping trip was supposed to be a fun way to have a vacation together. they'd all take a vehicle, they'd bring tents and supplies and smores and they'd spend a weekend at a lake 3 hours away from Hawkins where they could just be normal. it was a great idea until they had to separate for the night. Steve and Robin take a tent, Nancy and Jonathan head into the back of her station wagon, the kids are in a huge 10-person tent that ted wheeler bought, overjoyed to know they'd be leaving his house for a weekend.... leaving Y/N with Eddie.

the back of his van is stuffed full of blankets and pillows, he wanted to be comfortable in the night and he didn't even account for someone sleeping with him... it was BYOT. bring your own tent, he brought a van, and he expected Y/N to partner with someone like Robin or Max and El. Not him. but he can't say no to her when she asks ever so sweetly, "can i sleep in the van with you?"

so now he's here, laying completely flat on his back, blanket tucked under his chin as he stares at the ceiling. there's enough room between them for a third person, he's so close to the wall of the van it's like he's afraid she's going to bite him or give him cooties or something. he's so scared of her. and she can feel it too.

"Eddie?" she moves closer and he tenses.

"what?"

"it's cold, don't you want to cuddle?" she pouts, bringing out the puppy dog eyes.

he shakes his head and keeps looking at the ceiling, he can't give in. not when it means something completely different to him. "please don't touch me... I can't fall any deeper."

it takes her a moment to realize she did hear that right. "Eddie... baby?"

"Don't," he pleads, begging with his eyes. "you can't lead me on, I'm so gone for you already I won't recover from a night of cuddling with you."

"so don't," she shrugs. "fall completely sickly in love with me and let me take care of it. let me shower you in care and kisses and comfort and praise. let me love you."

the anxiety of loving her in secret for so long all comes out in one simple, wobbly-lipped, "please?"

she pulls him into a hug and cradles his head and kisses his cheek gently, "I thought you'd never ask... I've wanted to tell you for so long, Eddie."

he laughs then, pulling back so he can look at her, "since when? if I knew you liked me back I would've done something about my crush ages ago?"

"I thought being subtle would help... little touches and sweet compliments and making you things I know you'd like, those were all my attempts at showing you I care," she explains. "but if you want me to come on stronger I can tell you I've been dreaming about loving you for ages."

"I've been dreaming about your love just as long," he admits.

"you don't have to dream anymore," she looks at his lips and then his eyes and back down to his lips again.

he can read her a lot better now that he knows it's mutual, so he lays her back against the makeshift mattress and hovers over her. she reaches up to brush his hair back behind his ear, leaving her hand on his cheek, "are you gonna kiss me?"

"can I?"

she nods, "please?"

he leans in slowly, watching her the whole way until their lips meet and both of their eyes close. she hums with contentment, relaxing under him as he breathes her in, pushing into her slightly before he pulls back, barely. their noses touch, he smiles at her and she steals another kiss, and then a third before she starts to giggle.

she brings up her other hand to hold both his cheeks, "i love you..."

"I love you," he says, shocked and in complete disbelief that this is real and happening and not another dream he'd regret in the morning. "I love you so much."

she pulls him in for another kiss and another one after that. he had a feeling she was going to kiss him until the sun came up and he was okay with that. more than okay with it. he wanted to live here forever, right in this feeling of newness and tenderness and excitement. it's everything. she's everything he dreamed of.

maybe he can actually see the future... he was always meant to be here.

[zombieunicorngamerzu]

(Adult Van Palmer and Taissa Turner x fem reader)

[Warnings - GIP Van, Top Taissa, sub reader, penetration, threesome, young reader, peeping, manipulation, seducing, praise, aftercare]

Van and Taissa see a member of Lotties cult they find very attractive, teaming up like they used to.

When Van and Taissa first met you, you were chopping wood. Lottie was showing them around the retreat and there you were… swinging that axe, even though you were just a little thing, just nineteen, they couldn’t help but lock their eyes on you before giving each other “that” look. You were wearing a crop top and jeans with some boots, but fuck did that crop top show your biceps and back muscles, every swing looked aggressive but calculated, like it was your own therapy, it probably was.

“Look at that.” Van drew out with a low whistle, leaning close to Taissa to keep their conversation private, “I didn’t know they had girls like that here, I might just join to-“ Taissa smacked Van on the back of the head before she could finish, whispering back in a sharp sarcastic tone, “We haven’t even been here for more than a few hours and you can’t keep your dick in your pants?” Her words just made Van pout with that kicked puppy dog look as she stuffed her hands in her pockets, still looking up at you through her lashes innocently as the group walked by you, you caught both the ladies eyes as you looked up, giving them a polite nod.

Taissa couldn’t help but give you a small smile back, she did find you quiet pretty, Mabye a little too skinny for her liking but you were pretty cute. Van was much more eager to give you a wave, nodding with a smile, making you let out a adorable little chuckle, smiling before shaking your head and getting back to work. Van turned to Taissa immediately after getting far enough away, “Pleaseeeee Tai, she’s so cute, did you see the way she looked at us, that’s a baby gay, I know it, I sense it with my balls,” Taissa rolled her eyes so far back she swore they might get stuck, “Van if you don’t stop I’m gonna get you neutered.”

Van just dropped her mouth open in disbelief with a offended look, huffing on a pout, “Whatever, I saw you look at her too…” Taissa just straightened up her posture and continued to walk, Charlotte having been paying too much attention to Natalie to even notice, desperately trying to get her attention and validation as they continued the tour until later in the evening. It was dark by the time Taissa and Van finally got time to stray away from all the cult activity’s to have a moment of privacy together, sitting near the fire pit with some booze.

It wasn’t until Taissa perked up at the sight of you entering the shower house that Van even noticed, turning her head to see what she was looking at before smiling, “Oh come on, Taissa…” Taissa just sighed out and looked at Van, it had been a while since they had been together, why not have a little fun, they were here to relax, right? Sighing out as she finally stood up, holding her hand out to Van, “Well come on.” Her approval making Van smile immediately and shoot up before they both were walking to the shower house.

It seemed quiet when they entered, the only bags being yours on the hook near the door, making them both realize it was just you and them, Taissa locking the door behind them as Van tilted her head, walking down the floor until reaching the only shower curtain that was closed and running, smirking back at Taissa before she “accidentally” opened the curtain before jumping a little for show as you jumped and turned around, her words rushing out with a apologetic look, “Oh- shit, sorry! Me and Tai didn’t realize anyone was in here.” You collected yourself after a few moments of your heart racing, you felt awkward and embarrassed, plus it didn’t help Van had her eyes trailing down your body,

“Oh, um it’s fine- sorry, c-can you close the curtain?” You asked her timidly, a subtle barely noticeable smirk crossed her face before Taissa came up behind her, nodding to you, “Hey pretty girl, you don’t mind if we joined you, would you?” You were stunned a little at her words, standing there like a naked babe, eyes wide like some deer in headlights, at a loss for words, you thought the both of them were so so hot, the moment they arrived, but you had a habit of killing your hopes and dreams. For them to actually want you, you couldn’t believe it until Taissa was pushing Van in, “Undress you doofus.” She smirked as Van stumbled and nodded fumbling with her belt as she walked past her to you, reaching out to slide her hands onto your shoulders with a comforting smile, “Hi pretty girl, this is okay, right?”

Taissa spoke with such a comforting tone, like she was speaking to a child, you were so shocked and at a loss for words, mouth opening and closing before just blushing as Taissa’s smirk widened, brushing her thumb against your cheek, “Words sweet girl.” You whimpered out a, “Yes…” before she was smiling more before her face got annoyed, “Van hurry up.” She snapped back at her girlfriend who was hopping out of her jeans with a stumble, stuttering in her boxers, “Sorry!” You giggled at the sight of the redhead struggling with her jeans while Taissa just shook her head and rolled her eyes, “so much for sexy” she thought.

Van was always clumsy though, even with sex, like some starved puppy. But she finally got her clothes off, Taissa had stepped back to strip a lot more gracefully, making a show of it for you, both woman naked and bare just like you, which made your eyes widen when you saw the extra appendage Van had, your eyes widening, making her smile and shake her head while stepping forward, “Hey, it’s okay pretty girl, we’ll be extra careful with you.” She tried to comfort you as she held her hands out and grabbed yours, gently pulling you close before she was kissing you tenderly.

Groaning into your mouth while Taissa came up from behind, sandwiching to between them, her hands sliding around to your hips and up your waist before cupping your breasts while hers pressed into your back and Vans squished against your front along with her erect throbbing cock which she couldn’t help but rut her hips to get some friction, making you gasp out and lean back into Taissa who hummed in your ear, kissing your cheek before she pushed her hand down to wrap around your thigh and pull it up to spread you open a bit, looking down over your shoulder to bite her lip at the sight of your beautiful soaked cunt, smiling as she trailed her free hand down to stroke her slender fingers through your folds, rubbing your clit in gentle circles, “Such a pretty girl… oh your so wet for us, huh?” She coo’d out against your ear.

After a few minutes of relentless teasing and praise from Taissa while Van jerked herself off, biting her lip, she finally got the go from Taissa, a nod as she pulled you back against her while holding your thighs open, Van smiling as she pressed the tip of her cock at your folds, spreading them with her tip, making her shutter, “Fuckkk, god- pretty girl, you have such a pretty pussy baby, gonna make you feel so good.” Van moaned out before slowly pushing her cock inside you, a shuttering moan of pure pleasure slipping past her lips as she locked eyes with Taissa before thrusting all the way in, whimpering out before she kissed her over your shoulder while you got lost in the pleasure of being stretched by Vans cock.

Van didn’t waste any time before starting a sloppy pace with desperate breathy moans into Taissa’s mouth as they made out with you sandwiched between them, Vans hips slapping against yours quicker and quicker due to you being so wet, the shower still running over the three of you as your moans echoed through the shower house, you were panting and whining at how good she felt thrusting her hips into yours while Taissa dug her nails into your thigh to keep your thigh held up, she was moaning so husky in your ear, smiling as she tweaked your nipple and praised you, “Yeah… that’s such a good girl, take her cock, yeah- so pretty, does it feel good baby? Tell us how good you feel getting fucked by us, okay?” You shook your head with a whimper at Taissa’s tone, it was so obvious she was degrading you and praising you at the same time.

A smirk on her face as she watched you get fucked by her girlfriend while you trembles between them, rambling out through whimpers and gasps, “s-so good- mhm! Feels so good, please…” you begged, you were getting so close, the pleasure was burning up as Van sped up her pace ruthlessly, Taissa having to hold you up as Van went sloppy with her broken moans, balls deep with every thrust, the only noises being loud moans and sloppy skin slapping together before you were sobbing out a cry and tensing before trembling violently in Taissa’s arms, Van crying out in pleasure as you clenched down on her cock so tight she rammed her hips up hard, filling you all the way as her hands met your ass, gripping and squeezing to hold you close, tearing you away from Taissa’s grasps with her last sloppy rough thrusts, wrapping your thighs around her waist as she bucked up, panting so heavy as she tucked her face into your shoulder, spilling her load inside you.

It took a few minutes after your orgasm that you finally got your bearings, Taissa speaking down to you with a soft caring hum as she helped Van pull out and set you down on a bench, her touch soothing as you shivered and whined lazily, eyes unfocused, making her smile and chuckle at how fucked out you looked, “Christ, Van, you fucked the poor daylights out of the girl, I wanted a turn you know but I don’t know if she could handle it.” She coos out, not once taking her eyes off your face as she gripped your chin to pull you into a soft kiss, mumbling out, “You we’re such a good girl for us, baby, I’m gonna give you one more, okay?”

She whispered out, making you whimper, you really didn’t think you could handle another, so sensitive, making her brush your hair back, “Shhh, I’m just gonna clean you up, sweetheart.” Taissa whispered out before kneeling down slowly, parting your thighs open to lick her lips at the sight of your messy pretty pussy leaking out both yours and Vans cum, groaning before she dove in with her soft lips and tongue, darting it out to push through your folds which made you arch and whine, you felt like your clit was burning already, thighs trembling, “O-Oh god!”

“Shhh babygirl, it’s alright, your doing so good.” Taissa mumbled against your clit while flicking her tongue with a muffled moan, Van slowly came to your side to brush your hair back and hold you a little to support you, she didn’t want you accidentally throwing your head back and hitting it on the stall, so she held the back of your head protectively while leaning down to kiss your head as Taissa worked her magic on your poor overstimulated cunt, her hands rubbing up and down your thighs until you were crying out shakily, trembling again with a scream as you came one last final time on Taissa’s tongue, a pleasured-proud hum coming from her as she cleaned you up before both of the older woman were helping you up to all shower together.

Both Taissa and Van just held you between them silently, gentle kisses and soft words coming from the two of them as they cleaned you, dressing you after before walking you back to your cabin, (more like Van carried you because you couldn’t walk) and then they helped you into bed and decided to stay the night and crawl into bed with you so you wouldn’t be alone, Van spooning you from behind while Taissa laid on her back with your head on her breast, her slender fingers coaxing gently through your hair before she kissed your forehead, speaking out softly to you, her words making your heart flutter,

“I think we’re gonna keep you, pretty girl…”

[moth-related-inquiries]

Arthur Morgan x Reader angst

Reader does not know where they belong amongst the gang. Or at all, really.

Warnings: super angsty, Micah Bell, reader is genuinely miserable, Arthur x reader if u squint, outlaws n shit!!! Ambiguous gender, reader falls for Micah's assholery, Micah is sexist asf,

listen while you read?:

Whenever Arthur rushed to his tent, you always knew it was because he'd received a special little letter. You haven't run with the gang for long, but you've been there long enough to know that the sulky man was only ever excited by one of two things: a big fish and Mary Linton. You didn't blame him, honestly. Serving as the camp's workhorse, he had little time to himself. When he did have time, he'd go on some love-struck search for his missing half. Though it'd been years since she'd sent him a letter, it seemed like she'd find some way to follow them everywhere. It was impossible, of course, since she had no way of knowing where they'd move, but she always managed to show up close to camp. At least close enough to get him to drop his workload and come to her aid.

You knew all this solely because you had a habit of watching. It wasn't really a bad habit, considering that you'd never dared to take a peek at anyone in their tent. It was just that—a habit. Or, perhaps, a part of your nature. It was something comfortable that you did even before your time in the gang. As a teenager, you'd sit outside the general store and just observe. You were too old to go to school yet too young to go inside any of the stores on your own, so you busied yourself with pretending to be a viewer. You'd spot many things: a man riding in with a bounty, a pair of women talking about the latest perfumes, or a dog jumping around in the mud. You'd always wanted to do those things, too, but never had the courage to get out of your spot.

Then came Dutch Van Der Linde, a man who'd seen that, despite your inactivity, you were far more capable than you let on. Though you weren't a great shot like his right-hand man, you weren't utterly terrible like Sean. Your words were clumsy and awkward, but you always finished your sentences. That was one thing he seemed to like about you: that you would always finish what you started, regardless of how badly you'd mess up.

Or maybe he just liked that you were a follower, regardless of how things ended up.

Nonetheless, he allowed you to stick around his gang, and you'd get things done. Though not without struggle at first, one of which would always embarrass you no matter how many times anyone thanked you for your effort. Even if you managed to feel good about your work, one back-handed compliment from Micah would send you right back to your tent with a shameful feeling in your gut. You'd often end up watching Arthur, your usual savior, spit some venomous words on your behalf, like he'd been the berated one. That's what made Arthur a saint in your eyes. Despite being a murderer, he managed to be good and do good things when he could. Even if he denied such things, it made him all the better in your eyes. It showed that he did not do good things for praise, but because he could.

You'd never be like Arthur, no matter how many times you'd observe him and try to pick apart the things that he did. He was a rare kind of man. Maybe he wasn't even a man at all, but perhaps an angel who fell from heaven. That was considerably more plausible to you since no other man had yet to even reach his near-impossible status of honorable degeneracy. So, you settled for just watching him. Listening to him. Living through him. Wanting him and wanting to be him.

Arthur, unsurprisingly, wasn't the only person to catch your eye. There were many like-minded men and women in camp who agreed with and admired Arthur, just like yourself. Though, unlike you, they'd actually work for his attention. Young Lenny was often Arthur's first choice of partner. You didn't understand why, considering that Lenny spent the majority of his time reading, until you'd actually had the opportunity to see him in action. He fought hard and got the job done, like a true outlaw.

He was a no-nonsense kind of kid, which Arthur seemed to value. Not long after Colter did they become closer. Brothers. Not brothers, as in two boys growing up together or being related biologically, but brothers who learn from each other. You'd always wanted to be as effortlessly balanced as Lenny. Sophisticated in your own right, but willing to get your hands dirty with no fuss. A perfect brother. You were anything but that. It was true that you, too, would get things done. However, you possessed a far less methodical mind. You were too scatterbrained to finish things in one go and too finicky to be a perfect brother. Far too abnormal to amount to being anything like Lenny Summers, and yet you were older than him.

Age didn't seem to matter when it concerned your abilities, though. No matter how young or old you were, there would always be someone better. Whether it were being better at being thirteen or thirty-two, they'd beat you in a heartbeat no matter your true age.

Abigail Roberts was your favorite example to bring up. She'd always been a very mature woman, even in the face of her husband, John Marston, a grown man who acted like a fifteen-year-old boy when faced with the consequences of his own actions. While there were many women in unfortunate circumstances like her, she did what she could to make life good for her son. Many, including her stubborn husband, considered her a camp leech now that she was no longer of use. Which you despised. Abigail was so much more than people let on. Beautiful, graceful, smart, and most importantly, a loving mother.

She's had her ups and downs and continues to, but the most impactful thing she ever achieved in life was Jack. A sweet, curious little boy with a newfound obsession for the Knights of the Round Table. He was, in every way, the soft spot of the camp. It's ridiculous to admit, but you were envious of both of them. You wanted to be a virtuous parent like Abigail, too. To be able to cultivate your legacy in a purely determined manner and retain your glory despite having given life only four years ago. However, you also wanted the reboot given to little Jack, too. A fresh start to a new life. The funny little possibility of growing up to be the first great knight of West Elizabeth.

You'd never amount to anything close, though. And you knew it. Even Micah Bell, an utterly disgusting and hateful excuse for a man, achieved far greater than you. So much so that he felt like your presence at camp was the most useless of them all. Below the women, who he claimed were just mouths to feed and fuck; below the drunkards, who acted as breathing furniture; and below little Jack, a child so defenseless that he could be lured away in the middle of the night and nobody would be any wiser.

You never truly discouraged him because he was the only one to tell the truth about you. Unlike everyone else in camp, who had so much ahead of them and so many tales for future generations of children to play pretend with, you would not be remembered in a jovial manner. Your life would never, no matter how hard you tried, be anything other than an allegory of shame and failure.

A/N: I just woke up and wrote this for some obscure reason that I don't even know. 😋 I hope yall like it, tho. Let me know if yall like the 'listen while you read' !!

[munson-blurbs]

Absolutely love that gif of him on ur bsf to lovers post. 😩

Anyways, afab reader wears a short skirt and a lace thong that barely covers her privates <3 she teases eddie during a dnd campaign and bends over etc until he can’t take it anymore and he pulls her onto of him and moves her hips up and down as he fucks into her 😖 soft dom eddie and hellaaa praise

I'm combining this with a request for an Eddie breeding kink...I hope that's okay!

(”Breeding kink, you finding out by him looking at baby commercials and being nice to Dustin and the other kids thinking about him having one of his own”) @hahahafucku

Warnings: this is literally all smut and I think there’s a plot in there somewhere (18+ minors begone), breeding kink, public teasing, semi-public sex I guess, language, brief mention of reader’s body size

WC: 2.6k

A/N: I usually don’t write fics this smutty so pleeeeeeease let me know what you think! Too much? Not enough? Just right?

--

"Hey, babe?" You're glancing at the shopping list as you make your way through the store. Eddie was just by your side; you're supposed to be helping him pick up snacks for his campaign tomorrow, but your boyfriend has wandered off yet again.

"Eds, where are you?" you call out softly, attracting the attention of some irritated customers.

"Over here," you hear from four aisles down. You huff and make your way to him.

"Babe, do you really need four different types of chips?" you ask, but he's drawn into the products on the shelves. You look at what he's staring at: rows of diapers and jars of baby food.

"Are you pregnant or something?" you joke, poking his side. He jumps as you break him from his trance. "You okay?"

"Y-yeah," he shuffles towards the cart and plops down the cans of soda he'd picked up. You're not convinced but place the thought on the back burner for now.

Why would Eddie be interested in baby products?

~

You wait until you're back in his beat-up van, bags of junk food loaded into the back.

"So, you wanna tell me what that was all about?" you ask, more curious than accusing.

"What?"

"Come on, Eddie. Why did I catch you looking at baby stuff? Not just glancing, but really looking?" You'd been together for awhile, and you knew he wanted kids one day, but there was no way that he wanted them now...was there?

"I dunno," he replies sheepishly, long curls falling over his face. "'S stupid."

The worst-case scenario flashes into your mind. "Oh my god, did you cheat on me and get her pregnant?"

Eddie laughs louder than he intends to; your accusation is just too ridiculous. "Absolutely not! You know I only have eyes for you, sweetheart." He gives you his best puppy dog look and kisses you hard.

"Then why won't you tell me what's going on?"

He sighs and throws back his head in defeat. "Fine, but just...don't judge me, okay?" You continue when you nod, palms moist with sweat. "Okay, so, I've been thinkin'," he starts, looking down at the car floor nervously. The engine is running though you're still parked, and he kills it. "Thinkin' about how goddamn gorgeous you would look if you were havin' my baby."

Huh. Well, that wasn't what you'd expected him to say. "You mean in, like, ten years?" But you know better.

Eddie shakes his head. "Nah, sweetheart. Right fuckin' now."

"Oh," you manage, "but you're still in high school," you point out, though you know exactly what his reply will be, and you're right.

"Only for another month. And babies take a lot longer than that to cook," he grins while he says it, and you realize that he's no longer looking at the car floor, but at your stomach. He's imagining you pregnant with his baby.

"Wow," you breathe out. "Can I-can I think about it?"

His eyebrows shoot up; clearly, he was not expecting you to even consider this proposal.

"Y-yeah, baby. Of course." He presses a kiss to your cheek, though you can tell by the bulge in his pants that he wants to do a lot more. He starts the van up again and heads for home, leaving you with a lot to think about.

~

You thought about the prospect of having Eddie's baby all night. In the shower, you ran your fingertips over the flatness of your stomach, thinking about a bump there. A bump that held Eddie Munson's child.

Yes, you were young, but you'd been together for two years, and you were also adults. Adults with jobs--you'd been working full-time at the bank since you'd graduated last year. And Eddie will be working full-time with Wayne at the plant soon. You'd already discussed moving in together; you promised your parents that you and Eddie would graduate before doing so, and that day would be here in just about four weeks. Maybe you could do this.

The easiest way to tell him would be to call him, but you had a better idea. You'd see the feral look in his eyes when he mentioned his desires--why not allow him to...give in to those carnal instincts?

~

The plan was perfect. You'd ditch work claiming a stomach flu (no one wants someone vomiting all over the workplace) and sneak back into Hawkins High. You'd been gone less than a year and still knew the layout like the back of your hand. Most importantly, you knew the abandoned janitor's closet on the second floor, the one conveniently near the drama/Hellfire room where you could sneak off and make a quick wardrobe change.

There’s no mirror in there, of course, so you just hope that your red lipstick isn’t smudged or on your teeth. You smooth down your black tank top, adjusting your breasts so that your cleavage is perfectly framed by the neckline. The icing on the cake is the tiny miniskirt that falls at the top of your thighs, exposing the long legs that stand in your heels.

School’s out, and Eddie’s told you that Hellfire is starting a bit late today so that the boys can watch Lucas Sinclair play in a basketball game. Eddie never got the hype of school-sanctioned sports, but it was important to his little sheep, so he’d compromised. Worked out for them, and it also happened to work out perfectly for you.

You knew Eddie would already be in the Hellfire room, meticulously setting up his campaign. You could picture him pacing anxiously around the table, ensuring everything looked just right. With a peek into the hall that showed the coast was clear, you scurried into the room where Eddie was chewing on his thumbnail, looking over his Dungeon.

“Hey there,” you say softly, and his head snaps up at the sound of your voice.

“Y/N, what are you--oh, holy shit.” His tone turns from confusion to pure lust as he eyes you, taking in you and your outfit hungrily. He runs his tongue over his lips involuntarily as he makes his way to you.

“Do you like it?” you feign shyness as he grabs your hips and pulls you as close as he can. You can feel him straining against his zipper already.

All he can mutter is “Oh my god,” as he buries his face in your neck, kissing it sloppily and sucking bruises into your skin.

“Figured we could try for that baby you mentioned, but I didn’t wanna wait for you to get home,” you shrug as he moves his hands under your short skirt, moaning audibly as he presses his palms against your bare ass, left mostly uncovered by a lace thong. When he hears what you’ve said--really registers it, which takes a moment--he pulls back.

“Are you serious?” He smiles, holding your face in his strong, calloused hands. 

You press your own hands to his chest and whisper into his lips, punctuating your statement with a series of kisses. “Eddie, I want to have your baby. I want to get big...and round...and swollen...growing each month...with your baby.”

He shivers against you and hoists you up, slamming you against the wall; you wrap your legs around him as he pushes your skirt around your waist. He starts to rub a finger against your soaked panties, when you both hear it:

“Can’t believe the other team didn’t show!” Lucas. Oh, no.

“Buncha pussies, forfeiting like that,” Dustin’s voice rings out.

“At least Eddie will be glad we’re starting on time,” Mike chimes in.

“Fuck,” you hiss, “hand me my bag. I can run into the corner and throw on my pants.”

Eddie lets you down but grips your wrist. “Not so fast,” he growls. “I just got you how I want you, and I’m not letting you go.”

“B-but the boys--”

“We’re not fucking in front of them,” he dismisses your concern, “but you’re gonna sit on my lap, dressed like my perfect little slut.” He grabs you by the hem of your skirt and you yelp. “You think I’m gonna let my fantasy slip through my fingers?”

You nod, feeling a heat rising in your lower body. 

“So now, you’ll be a good girl for me. You’re gonna sit on my lap, be my...helper...during the campaign, and then I’m gonna fuck a baby into you once we’re done. Got it?” He tilts your chin up so you’re looking directly into his eyes.

“Yes, sir.” Eddie takes his seat on his throne and you do as he’s instructed, feeling his erection underneath you as he slides a ringed hand up your thigh. 

“Welcome, boys!” Eddie’s voice booms. You feel a blush creep up your neck toward your cheeks. “Got my little helper here today.” He takes the hand farthest from the boys and squeezes your ass and you gasp softly.

Oh, that’s how it’s gonna be, Munson? you think. Game on.

~

You spend the rest of the Hellfire meeting doing whatever you can to torture Eddie. You’re constantly “repositioning” yourself, grinding on him and feeling him grow harder with each subtle movement.

“Knock it off, princess,” he whispers, but you’re in the mood to be a brat. You pretend to get a little sleepy and stretch, showing off your breasts in Eddie’s face. You watch his eyes flick to your chest before returning to the game.

While he’s reading the next part of the campaign aloud, you place your palm on his jeans, right over his cock, making him take a sharp breath in.

But your grand finale is when Gareth rolls the D20 and it lands right in front of Eddie’s notes. When it’s Mike’s turn to roll next, you stop him.

“I can get it, Wheeler,” you say, leaning over and giving Eddie a clear up-skirt view. You know he can even see your clothed pussy from the angle you’re giving him. 

Eddie hooks his arm around your waist and pulls you back down, glaring at you.

“What’s wrong?” you ask him innocently. “Am I not helping?”

“Okay, that’s it,” he mutters before turning to the rest of his group. “All right, we’re wrapping up for the night.” His announcement is met with a chorus of grumbles. “Hey, hey, hey, I don’t wanna hear it! We will continue this next week.” 

The boys file out of the room, mumbling about Eddie’s bizarre behavior. Once they leave, Eddie grabs you, positioning you so you’re straddling him in his throne. 

“What the fuck was that?” he pulls your hair to bring your face closer to his. “You tryin’ to make me blow my load in my pants? Sounds to me like you don’t really want me breeding you.”

“N-no, I do. I do,” you whimper. “Want your baby, Eddie. Please.”

“I don’t think I believe you. I need to be convinced,” he sneers.

“Please, Eddie. I need you to breed me. Need you to fill me up with your cum and get me pregnant,” you beg. You allow yourself a small sigh of relief as he eases his grip on your hair, but it’s short-lived, because he tears off your thong with a rip and slides his pointer and middle fingers along your wet folds.

“You’re soaked, princess,” he groans. “I love how wet you get for me. Ruined your panties and now you’re gonna ruin my jeans.” He presses one finger to your aching clit, making small, slow circles, and laughs menacingly as you cry out.

“What’s wrong?” he asks, mocking your earlier question. “Can’t handle being teased?” When you don’t respond, he moves his finger faster, rubbing your clit harder. “How’s this?”

“S-so good,” you manage, grinding back and forth on his finger. You want--no you need--him inside you, but you don’t dare tell him that for fear he’ll deny you that pleasure. “You know exactly where to touch me.”

Eddie beams as he receives the praise, moving his finger from your swollen nub to your pussy. He slides it in and curls it, pumping it in and out, your beautiful moans ringing in his ears. He adds a second finger and lets out a moan of his own as you clench around him.

“Sorry, baby,” he apologizes preemptively. You’re confused until he removes his fingers and cleans them with his tongue, leaving you hurting for him. He unbuttons his jeans and pulls down the zipper, palming his cock through his boxers.

“Eddie,” you whine, “I could’ve done that for you.” Touch-starved and desperate for affection, you lift your own shirt over your head. A sheer lace bra leaves little to the imagination.

Eddie sucks on the exposed part of your breasts, leaving hickeys all over them. One hand still on his erection, he uses the other to unhook your bra. As soon as it clatters to the ground, he’s groping your tits, biting your nipples as pleasure and pain intertwine and you scream loudly.

Not wanting to take his hands off of your breasts, he shuts you up with a kiss. “Can’t...fuckin’...wait...any longer,” he pants, and you take his rock hard length into your hand. You start to move to get on your knees, but he stops you.

“Need to be inside this tight little pussy,” he orders, rubbing his cock along your wetness until he’s covered in your slick, and he presses himself into you. “You were made for me, you fuckin’ know that?” 

“I’m all yours,” you agree easily, matching his rhythm as you ride him. “My body belongs to you, Eddie. You can do whatever you want with me.”

“Fuck, baby,” Eddie’s groaning. He grabs onto your hips and moves you exactly how he needs you. “Your body, your mouth, your everything is fuckin’ perfect.” His thrusts get faster and your orgasm builds inside you as you feel him get deeper, hitting that spot over and over again.

“Eddie, I’m gonna cum,” you plead, asking for permission rather than telling him. “Please let me cum all over you while you fill me up.”

“I’m cumming, too.” He grips your sides even harder, fingers digging into the flesh of your ass, and you suspect there will be bruises there tomorrow. He slams you up and down over his cock and you finish with tears streaming down your face. You feel him shoot thick, hot ropes into you. With the little strength he has left, he places you onto the table, still inside of you.

“Lay back,” he orders. “Don’t want any of this coming out. You gonna get knocked up today, aren’t you, princess?”

“Y-yes, Eddie,” you whisper. You watch as he pulls out of you. He frowns when he sees cum running down your leg. With a quick swipe of his hand, he pushes it back into you.

“You took all of me, didn’t you? Such a good girl,” he remarks. You’re too fucked out to muster up a response, and he notices. “Poor baby. I really fucked you good, didn’t I?”

“Mhm.” 

Eddie puts himself away and sits back in his throne, admiring his work. “Love seeing you like this.”

“It’s all you, Eds,” you finally say. “All because of you, and all for you.”

“My beautiful little vixen,” he throws his head back with a low growl. “Tell you what. You stay just like that, make sure it takes. Then we’ll go back to my place and relax, okay?”

“And go for round two?” you ask mischievously. “Make sure I get pregnant tonight?”

Eddie laughs. “I wish, but Wayne will be home.”

You beckon him to the table and pull him in for a long, deep kiss. “Guess you’ll just have to keep me quiet, then.”

--

Taglist: @ghosttownwherenoonegoes @benztripp @ali-r3n @munsonology

[emotionalcadaver]

WIP Wednesday

Tagging @shelbydelrey, @confidentandgood, @moral-terpitude, @runnning-outof-time, @zablife, @call-sign-shark, @peakyltd, @detectivelokis, @eclecticwildflowers, @roofgeese, @amyowl470, @areyenotfondofmelobster, @scaryscarecrows, and anyone else interested!

Dance of Darkness Chapter 7: Ride or Die

(Tommy Shelby x OC)

Apologies in advance to all the Polly fans out there!

“Business first,” Tommy ordered. Polly leapt from her seat, physically shoving Lucy out of the way in her haste to get at Tommy. Lucy caught herself against the wall with a yelp, head whirling to stare at her in shock.

“They took Michael.”

Tommy held up a hand. “I said business first. And don’t push Lucy, Polly.”

Polly continued to try to talk, but Tommy shouted over her. 

“Polly, business first!” he barked. She went silent, glowering. Lucy moved so that she was on the other side of Tommy from her, putting him between them, just in case. A movement that wasn’t lost on Tommy, if the way that his eyes tracked her were any indication. He turned back to his brother. “John?” he said, encouraging him to continue with his report. All of their whiskey had been taken, vans impounded and warehouses locked. They’d lost the Eden Club back to Sabini. Alfie had framed Arthur for Billy Kitchen’s death, so their truce with the Black Country boys was over.  

“I don’t give a fuck about whiskey,” Polly interupted. “I don’t give a fuck about Billy Kitchen. I want my son out of prison, now!” she slammed her hand on a desk.

“Thomas, I spoke to Johnny Dogs–” Esme began.

“This meeting should just be family!” Polly raged.

“I can help–” Esme tried.

“Let her talk!” Lucy said.

“It’s family only, she’s not blood, Tommy!” Polly practically screeched. 

“Let her speak,” Tommy ordered.

“Or is this a business–have you forgotten our family–” her eyes locked on Lucy, like she’d just realized that she was there, and her face turned bright red, all the hatred that she’d kept locked up towards her spilling out in one sudden, demented roar. “Get your soulless, disgusting, bitch of a slut out of here, now!”

Lucy recoiled like she’d been slapped, sinking into herself, her back hitting the wall behind her.

“Enough!” Tommy shouted. 

But Polly wasn’t done. “We all know that you just keep her around as a hole to shove your cock into–” 

“Enough!” Tommy roared, in a voice Lucy had never heard him use before. He sounded monstrous, terrifying in a way that wasn’t wholly human. Polly went silent, eyes widening, taking a step back, like she’d actually realized that she’d gone too far. Lucy stared at the floor, eyes blinking hard, feeling the rise of warmth in her cheeks from humiliation, unable to look at any of the other people in the room, though she could feel all of their eyes on her. “Enough, Polly,” his voice was lower, but the dangerous growl was still there.

Dance of Darkness Chapter 8: Happy or Sad

(Tommy Shelby x OC)

Don't worry, there are no spoilers for chapter 7 here!

She’d picked out a bright red dress with a long skirt and intricate black beading, and had swapped out her usually simplistic and less flashy jewelry for a few of the more expensive, lavish pieces she owned. Most of which had been gifts that Tommy had gotten her throughout the years. Fussing over her hair one last time, she sighed, and began to climb down the stairs, careful in the heels she was wearing so that she didn’t fall. She heard the door open and close, as James finally left for the night.

When Tommy saw her, his eyes lit up, crossing the room to her in several quick, long strides, hands landing on her waist as he kissed her.

“You look beautiful.”

She blushed under the praise. “Thanks.”

He’d prepared the sitting room while she was upstairs, turning on a few of the lights and getting a fire started, the dim glow leaving the room feeling seductive and romantic. He had shed his coat, leaving him in only his waistcoat, slacks, and white button down shirt, making it easier for her to feel the muscles in his biceps flex as she ran a hand along his arm. 

“What if she doesn’t show up?” she asked, nerves spiking again. Tommy looked her up and down, clearly appreciative.

“I’m sure we can think of something to do.”

She laughed, leaning more solidly against his chest. He rubbed her back.

[oliverreedmasterass]

Synopsis: A young Greta Van Fleet find hope in a local battle of the bands competition to finally catch their big break.

Words: 16.4k

Notes: Here's a whopper of a chapter lmao...thank you @infinisonicosm for the fic idea!

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Day 2

The next day, the members of Greta Van Fleet walked into the competition like they owned the place. After being showered with praise the day before from friends, family, and strangers alike, they all couldn’t help but think that they were bound to win the whole thing. It felt as if nothing could get in their way. 

Sam was sitting with Danny at one of the picnic benches by the hot dog stand when Jake came rushing to them, his face obviously overcome with panic. 

“Have you seen my baby?” he asked them. 

“You have a kid?” Danny didn’t seem to follow what he meant. 

Jake pinched the bridge of his nose and huffed. “My guitar. Have you seen my guitar?” 

“It was with all of our gear,” Sam told Jake. “Is it not there anymore?” 

“No.” Jake’s eyes looked like saucers. “I can’t lose that guitar, it’s all I have.” 

“Wow, thanks,” Sam retorted. He and Danny rose from the table to follow behind Jake, who had taken off back towards the backstage area without another word, running as fast as he could. They saw him with Josh, tearing through their cases and cables, growing more frantic by the second. 

“Someone must have taken it,” Josh decided as he watched his brother. Jake snapped back upright and fumbled to brush his hair out of his face. 

“Whoever did this to me,” Jake started, “I will find them and I will kill them.” 

“Let’s tone it down a bit, okay?” Danny tried to get Jake to follow some breathing exercises. Jake only started to hyperventilate which made Danny stop. 

“But who would take it?” Sam had to ask. “I mean, maybe someone grabbed it by mistake? We can check with the other groups.” 

Josh looked between Danny and Sam. “Why don’t you both do that while I calm him down?” Sam took one look at Jake and noted that he looked like he was on the brink of foaming at the mouth he was so stressed. The guy really did need to sit down and go through a guided meditation. 

Sam grabbed Danny by the arm and they wandered around the grounds, hoping to find any of their competitors to see if they could shed some light on their situation. Danny pointed out the lead singer of The Bellhoppers, who was talking with some older guys in front of their jet black Mustang. 

“Hey!” Sam jumped and waved to catch her attention. She spotted him and excused herself to join their side. 

“What’s up?” she asked them, crossing her arms and looking Danny and Sam down with interest. She seemed to be at least a few years older than them, probably in college, and had tattoos covering her arms. Sam felt like he had never seen someone as cool as her in his eighteen years in Frankenmuth. 

“We’re missing a guitar,” Sam cleared his throat to regain his focus. “Cherry red, like the one Jimmy Page played. Have you seen it anywhere?” 

“I can’t say I have,” she answered after giving it some thought. “I’ll keep an eye out for it though and let you guys know if it turns up.” 

“Thanks,” Danny told her, dragging Sam on to find the other bands. 

Invalid Password was pretty inebriated when they found them, despite it being 1pm, and gave answers that were barely coherent. That was more than enough for Sam and Danny to consider them innocent. Their drummer kept asking their keyboardist where they were; if that was a mystery to them, they probably had bigger fish to fry than Jake’s missing guitar. 

Sam checked his wristwatch and winced when he noted that they only had thirty five minutes before they had to take the stage. He knew for a fact that Jake wasn’t going to go out there if he didn’t have his old reliable, and then it would be all over for them. Sam still wasn’t sure where the guitar could have possibly gone, but he really hoped with all of his might that it was all just a fluke, and it would turn up soon. 

They couldn't find anyone from Fellowship around, so they made their way back to Jake and Josh, who were sitting cross-legged in the field behind the stage. As they came closer, Sam realized that Josh was walking Jake through one of the meditation routines he had picked up from YouTube. It seemed like it was working, because Jake’s eyes were softly shut and his breath was level. Josh was still talking him through the steps in a soothing whisper but, when he saw Sam and Danny approach, he arched an eyebrow at them, checking their progress. Sam and Danny both shook their heads, and Josh visibly looked troubled. 

Sam was about to offer that he do one more loop around the perimeter when Danny smacked him in the arm. 

“Ow!” Sam called out in surprise. Jake opened one eye and looked at them with a frown, but then returned back to his meditation. Danny pointed across the stage to the other side, where a few members of Fellowship were huddled around something. 

“They look like they’re up to no good.” Danny whispered to Sam under his breath. Sam looked at their opponent and squinted. Even though they were a decent ways away, Sam could hear them laughing about something. 

“Should we investigate?” he asked back. Danny had already turned on his heel and was stomping across the stage to them. Sam hustled after Danny, appalled by his assertiveness. Danny was usually more of the methodical one between them; Sam wasn’t used to seeing him act so brashly. 

Danny jumped down in front of the band and put his hands on his hips, taking in the scene in front of him. 

“Are you serious?” was all that Danny could say to the other band. Sam joined Danny’s side and saw what he was scowling at. In the middle of the five band members was Jake’s guitar, laying on the grass with all its strings snapped. 

“We found it like that,” their guitarist told Danny, trying to fight back a grin. 

“Why are you standing around it like you’re doing a sacrifice or something?” Sam asked. None of the band members seemed to want to answer that one. 

“You’re lucky we found this and not our guitarist,” Danny told them. “You’d all be in serious trouble. I mean, you don’t go messing with someone’s guitar. That’s, like, the number one rule in music.” 

“You’re a bunch of shit heads,” Sam summarized what Danny was trying to say. “Just remember that karma’s a bitch.” 

“Is that supposed to be a threat?” the bassist stepped closer to Sam. He was a couple of inches taller, but Sam felt like he could take the guy. 

“That’s for you to find out,” Sam balled up his hands into fists. The bassist watched him and started to get his fists ready too when Danny jumped in, grabbed Sam’s shoulders, and steered him away from the band, only taking a brief pause to retrieve Jake’s guitar from the ground. 

“Go fuck yourselves,” Danny told them before leaving. Sam was happy to see that all of them were gaping and, luckily, none thought of anything to retort back. 

As they walked back to Jake and Josh, they tried to assess the damage. Danny held the guitar up and scanned its polished surface, looking for any scratches or nicks. 

“It looks like they just messed with the strings,” he concluded. “It shouldn’t be that hard to fix. I can put on a new set in under five minutes, we should be fine.” 

“WHAT DID THEY DO TO YOU?” they heard someone holler in the distance. Danny and Sam whirled around and saw Jake sprinting towards them with his head down, Josh chasing behind him. “MY BABY!” Jake shouted louder. Sam felt like he should  duck and cover from his brother (he was so panicked he almost looked feral) but instead Sam remained frozen in place. He reached Danny and forced his guitar out of his grasp, clutching it to his chest. “My sweet girl,” Jake practically sobbed into the wood finish. 

“It was Fellowship,” Sam told Josh under his breath, so Jake couldn’t hear. “They took it and cut the strings.” Josh’s face folded into a frown. 

“Who the hell does that?” 

“A band that’s afraid of us,” Sam tried to look for the silver lining. 

Jake held his guitar back out in front of him and let out a sharp gasp when he saw the condition of his strings. “Who did this?” Jake turned back to Sam and Danny. Sam felt like it would be best if he withheld that information since it really wouldn’t be good for their music career if their lead guitarist was charged with manslaughter. 

Josh, unfortunately, didn’t seem to have the same concern. “Fellowship,” he replied. There was a jarring fury blazing on Jake’s face, and then it calmed. In silence, he handed his guitar back to Danny and motioned towards the strings. 

“Would you mind fixing those for me?” 

“Of course,” Danny said without hesitation. Jake then looked at Josh. 

“Come with me.” 

“Hold up, what are you gonna do?” Sam tried to stop them. Jake and Josh were notorious for taking things a little bit too far. He let out a frustrated groan when he realized that his brothers were walking away, not bothering to answer his question. 

“It’ll be okay,” Danny tried to reassure Sam. 

“You’re not worried?” Sam couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Danny was usually the one who was the most up in arms about keeping things civil. Danny shook his head. 

“You don’t mess with someone’s guitar,” he repeated himself. “Whatever Jake and Josh do, Fellowship had it coming.” 

“Dear lord,” Sam whispered. He didn’t realize how intense the music industry could get. 

Jake and Josh returned back right before Danny was done adding Jake’s last string. Sam had been busy making sure that his bass was in tune (in case Fellowship tampered with that as well) but looked up when he heard his brothers’ jovial laughter. In comparison to the rage that had surged through Jake just a few minutes earlier, Jake seemed like he had entirely cleared it from his system. In a similar vein, Josh looked energized. Sam could only imagine what they had just done. 

“I can take over,” Jake told Danny, motioning for him to hand him his guitar back. “Thank you so much for doing that.” 

Josh took a seat in the folding chair next to Sam and let out a soft giggle to himself. Sam looked between his brothers and finally gave in. 

“Okay, fess up. What did you do?” 

“What do you mean?” Jake played stupid while he worked on the last string. “We took a walk.” 

“You obviously didn’t,” Sam countered. He was going to press more but caught a whiff of a strange smell and took a longer, deeper inhale. “Is that smoke?” he asked. Jake and Josh exchanged a glance and tried to hide their laughter. Sam stood and scanned around the grounds. Sure enough, at the edge of the venue just past the food concourse area, one of the porta potties was set ablaze, turning into a growing fireball of melting blue plastic. Sam stared back at Jake and Josh blankly and jutted a thumb towards the fire. “How did that solve anything?” A few volunteers were running around in a panic, trying to find water to toss on the growing flames. The fire jumped to the next porta potty in line and erupted into an even bigger inferno. 

“That’s our best work yet,” Josh nudged Jake in the side. Jake gave a wide grin and nodded while playing with an orange Bic lighter. 

“Put that away,” Sam practically shouted at his brother. They had to hide the evidence, and fast. The way that fire was spreading, they were bound to be held liable for an unfathomable amount of damages. Jake tucked the lighter back into his pocket and took a break from tending to his guitar to lean closer to Sam and Danny. 

“We stole the strings off all their guitars and basses,” Jake shared. 

“Where are they now?” Danny looked confused. Jake let out a laugh and then tried to regain his composure. 

“We put them all in the porta potty,” Josh finished Jake’s thought. “And then decided to partake in a little bit of fun and friendly arson.” 

“There’s no such thing as fun and friendly arson,” Sam hissed. 

“Sure there is,” Josh shrugged. “See?” Sam looked to see where Josh was pointing and watched as the volunteers finally got a hold of a hefty looking hose and smothered the flames with an impressive gush of water. “Only minor damages,” Josh concluded. “Fun and friendly arson.” 

“You both need to be put on a watchlist,” Sam told his brothers. 

Jake let out another chuckle. “You need to lighten up.” 

Sam wanted to protest that it was incredibly hypocritical for Jake to even consider telling him to “lighten up,” but a stagehand stopped by before he could argue. 

“Fifteen minutes before you need to take the stage,” the woman told them. 

That got them to spring to action, and they rushed to their instruments. While Sam, Danny, and Jake worked hard to get everything set up, Josh hurried to find which band they were set to square up against. 

“Bellhoppers,” he reported to the rest of the band, out of breath, a few minutes later. Jake pondered their matchup and then nodded his head. 

“They’ll be tough to beat, but we have a stacked setlist.” 

Sam had to agree with his brother there. While they had stuck to the blues and folk the day before, they made sure to prove to everyone on the second day that, at their heart, they were a rock n’ roll group. Jake, Sam, Danny, and Josh would all have time to showcase their skills in their own solos throughout their three song setlist, and that seemed to be what was feeding into Jake’s confidence. 

“They’re good for covering songs,” Jake continued, “but we know how to improv, which is sure to impress the judges. That’s what the solos are for, boys. Don’t go wasting them.” 

“But don’t get too carried away with them either,” Josh reminded his brother. Jake had a tendency to get lost in his music and, sometimes, it took pulling the plug on his amp to get him to stop. They didn’t have a time limit for the third round, but Sam had a feeling they could get some points docked if they played for too long. 

Jake was about to make a sarcastic retort back at Josh when the guitarist from Fellowship stormed up to them, his face bright red. 

“You took our strings!” he accused the band. Greta Van Fleet looked around at each other, turned back to him, and collectively shrugged. “Our bassist doesn’t have a spare set!” 

“And what are we supposed to do about it?” Jake mocked the guy. Before he could argue back, Jake added, “Maybe think twice before messing with my shit next time, twerp.” 

The dig didn’t really land, considering the guitarist was well over six inches taller than Jake, but it was evident that Jake had won their dispute since the guitarist let out an aggravated huff and then turned on his heel to clomp back to his band. Jake waved to the guy and then focused on his guitar, which was back in optimal shape. 

“Those strings were getting old,” he shared. “If anything, those guys did me a favor by cutting them, as traumatizing as it must have been for my baby.” 

“Way to look on the bright side,” Sam congratulated him. 

“Oh good,” the lead singer of The Bellhoppers greeted the band. “You found your guitar.” 

“The guys from Fellowship took it and cut the strings,” Danny caught her up to speed. She shook her head with disgust. 

“What a bunch of cowards. You don’t do that to a guitar.” 

“Exactly!” Jake and Danny both emphatically agreed with her. 

“Well, I wish you all luck,” she looked around at them. “I can’t speak for the rest of my band, but I’ll be cheering you on from the wings. You guys have a spark to you that I haven’t seen in a long time. It’s really exciting.” 

“We’ll be doing the same for you,” Sam assured her. He had really enjoyed watching her band play the day before. She grinned at him and then motioned for them to take the stage. 

“May the best band win.” 

“Hear hear,” Jake nodded.

They heard the host announce them and, just like that, they were back out in front of the growing crowd, ready to take on the third round of the Battle of the Bands competition. 

Sam slipped off his boots at the back of the stage and made his way to his amp to plug in his bass. It hummed to life and, with nerves and excitement coursing through him, he made his way to center stage where Jake and Josh were facing Danny at his drum kit. 

“Ready for this?” Josh asked around, wiggling his eyebrows. Danny twirled his drumsticks around a few times and gave an infectious smile. 

“I’ve physically never been more ready,” Jake announced. He looked around at his bandmates with a mixture of love and joy, and turned to resume his position on the right side of the stage. Sam stood, facing the crowd that extended all the way back to the food tents over 50 yards away, and took a deep breath. They had made it to the third round. They were good, and the audience in front of him knew it. It was time for him to prove that what they thought was absolutely true. 

“One, two, three, four!” Danny counted them in. Jake broke out into the opening on his old reliable, churning out a full and rich sound that Sam knew could partially be credited to his new strings. He had a feeling the Fellowship guys were probably kicking themselves for that “prank.” Sam played alongside his brother and let his head bob around to the steady beat Danny was keeping. To his left, Josh made his way in front of the microphone and took a deep breath. 

“We used to say that come the day, we’d all be making songs,” he bellowed out while Jake played behind him, using his pedals and whammy bar to create a warbling effect with each chord he struck. The crowd started to cheer when they realized that they were playing a cover of the Fairport Convention song, “Meet on the Ledge.” Josh grinned at their recognition and sang louder over his bandmates, going through the rest of the first verse. 

As they entered into the chorus, Sam kept his eyes trained on the neck of his bass to make sure he was playing the right notes. Then, alongside Jake, he approached his own microphone that was set in front of him and closed his eyes. He was definitely not the strongest singer in the band by a mile, but Jake had convinced him and Danny that their voices sounded strong together when they performed backing vocals. Sam was deemed the baritone of the trio, which worked to his favor since Jake and Danny’s higher vocals typically wafted above his and were easier to hear. So, while Josh sang his verse, Sam, Jake, and Danny sang behind him as they played, creating a mesmerizing wall of sound that filled the entire field. 

Sam took a moment to open an eye and look across at Jake as they held their elongated notes, and saw that he was looking back at him with a twinkle in his eye. That was refreshing to see, considering Jake usually looked like he wanted to bash Sam’s head in whenever he tried to sing. Sam focused back on his vocals and listened as they folded in perfectly with Jake’s middle harmony and Danny’s high notes. 

When they returned back to the second verse, Sam stepped away from the microphone to catch his breath and reopen his eyes. They were doing well, and he could see that the audience was visibly into it, swaying back and forth to their music. Josh had taken the microphone off its stand and started to work the stage, moving back and forth across it so he could wave and smile at as many people as possible. Sam chuckled when he saw Josh flash his old high school buddies a middle finger before moving back to center stage, right before the second chorus. 

Without thinking, Sam plodded across the stage, right past Josh, over to Jake, who was just starting to gear up to lean into his microphone. He gave Sam a surprised glance but then let out a chuckle when Sam nodded towards the microphone and leaned into it so they could share it. The brothers crowded around the stand and let their vocals feed into the same input so it washed over the crowd. Josh seemed tickled by their theatrics and spent more time on Sam’s side of the stage, where it was empty, to sing and try out a kind of foot shuffle that got the crowd going. Sam and Jake finished their singing and Jake stepped away to take center stage for his solo. As he passed by, Sam gave his older brother a kick in the ass with his bare foot, which caused Jake to widen his eyes in shock. It was fortunate that he was on his A game and didn’t let that surprise flub his moment in the spotlight. 

Sam took his position back on his side of the stage and smiled with content as Jake nailed every note of his solo, arching his back and holding his guitar vertically out  in front of him, as if showing it off. Behind him, Danny was working hard as well, adding in fills that Sam had never heard before, but found to be perfect for the song. He kept beat on his bass, and Josh bumped shoulders with him after taking a chug of water. 

“This is fun.” 

“Yeah,” Sam laughed back. 

Jake’s solo was wrapping up, so Josh hurried back to his microphone and belted out the last chorus of the song. Grinning from ear to ear, Sam returned back to his own microphone and closed out the song strongly, singing his rich harmonies while gazing out at the cheering crowd. Jake played the last note and let the feedback wash over the audience, who were clapping with all of their might. 

Once again, they met at center stage. Jake was already starting to sweat through his velvet black blazer decorated in silver etchings, so he hastily tugged it off, which earned them more cheers. Josh laughed at that, and then looked back at everyone. 

“Feeling good?” he asked around. 

“Never better,” Danny was the one to speak for the rest of them. Sam could only nod in agreement. He wanted to keep playing; the adrenaline was intoxicating. 

“Done getting naked for the fans?” Josh poked fun at Jake, who was readjusting his guitar strap. 

“Go introduce the next song, shit head,” Jake looked back at him with a cheeky grin. Josh laughed back and approached the microphone. 

“HOW ARE YOU ALL DOING TODAY?” he hollered so loud, Sam nearly reached his hands up to cover his ears. Cheers and applause erupted from the crowd. “We’ve got a funky one for you,” Josh continued, “Well, kinda. It’s called Motown Funk No. 4.” 

Jake began the opening riff while Josh was finishing his sentence, which earned him a scowl from Josh, but it was quickly replaced by a look of concentration. Danny joined in with Jake and, soon after, Sam played in parallel with Jake, blasting the crowd with their second song. Josh channeled a more bluesy and deep tone as he let out the first verse, 

“Hey, lady! Whatcha trying to do to me? Hey, lady! Please don’t give me anymore…” 

As Josh sang, Sam hurried to the back of the stage, where one of the stagehands had helped him set up his keys. Danny had expressed concern that he would be doing too much by switching between instruments mid-song, but Sam assured him the night before that he was faster than Roadrunner. He proved that to Danny right there in that moment as he turned down the volume on the bass, pushed it out of the way, and leaned over his keys to pound out the chords that he had written for the chorus. It went smoothly and, at the start of the next verse, he was back at the edge of the stage, playing his bass in line with Jake, tossing his hair around and mouthing along to the words. 

He scanned around and finally spotted his family in the center, a few rows from the stage, dancing and waving their arms around with glee. Next to them, their group of friends were more excited than ever, jumping around, trying to open a mosh pit. It was unfortunate that the rest of the crowd wasn’t into that idea. 

Sam retreated to his keys once more and got through the second chorus, feeling the power of their music flood through his body. Standing close to Danny’s drums made him feel like he was vibrating in place, and he loved the sensation. 

Like they practiced in their endless rehearsals, the chorus came to an abrupt end and the audience began to applaud, thinking the song was over. Jake remained frozen in front of them, holding his guitar out and grinning. The cheers grew, and then Jake called out before ripping into his solo. Sam tried to work his part of the stage for the crowd while he played along on his bass, and made a show of flipping his hair and lifting his leg up when it felt right. Jake closed out his solo and pointed at Sam, who made his way to the edge of center stage, getting as close as he could to the people in the front row. He let his fingers dance over the neck of his dad’s bass and bopped back and forth to Danny’s groovy beat while he created a riff on the spot, deviating away from the bassline he had written with Jake for the song. His fingers flew up and down in complex patterns to the roar of the crowd and, after giving it his all until he felt like his hands were going to fall off, he played a long note with vibrato to indicate to the rest of the band that he was finished. Jake was quick to jump back in and take them into the chorus, where Sam once again found himself on the keys, taking a breather from his moment of fame. He wasn’t sure that he could replicate whatever he had done out there, but he swelled with pride that he hadn’t played the wrong note or created pesky feedback to dissuade the crowd and judges. He had contributed to the band in a way that would hopefully propel them to the final round and beyond. 

They played through the last verse and then, as planned, Danny began his own solo, giving Josh, Jake, and Sam a breather before they started their third and final song of the round. While Danny played his heart out, pounding away on his drums and creating a tidal wave of noise to wash over the crowd, the brothers joined together on the wing of the stage. 

“Great solo, Sammy,” Jake congratulated him, giving him a hefty pat on the back. “I didn’t know you could play slap bass.” 

“I didn’t know either,” Sam admitted as he tried to sort his hair out. It was incredible how many knots he got after every one of their performances. Danny had suggested he learn how to do a french braid, but Sam didn’t feel like that was very rock n’ roll. 

Josh opened a bottle of water and started to down it when he stopped, made a confused and then disgusted face, and spat it out onto the floor. 

“BLEGH!” he called out. “What the hell is this?” 

Jake snatched the bottle from him and took a whiff. “That’s rubbing alcohol, dude.” 

Josh’s eyes bugged. “In my Dasani water bottle?” 

“Good to stay hydrated, right?” the guitarist from Fellowship smirked as he approached them from where his band was hanging out. 

“That could have seriously hurt him if he drank that,” Sam stared at the guitarist in shock. Isopropyl was potent enough to cause chemical burns. 

“Like how he hurt my guitar’s strings?” the guitarist shamelessly countered. 

Jake wasn’t having any of that. “Like how you hurt my guitar’s strings?!” his voice raised enough that a few people at the front of the crowd were craning their necks to see what was happening backstage. Sam was disappointed that he couldn’t focus on Danny’s solo since he was really killing it, but he needed to help his brothers put the asshole in place. 

Without a moment’s hesitation, he tore off his denim button up and jumped at the guitarist. Now, Sam wasn’t usually the fighting type, but giving a guy rubbing alcohol to drink was a step way too far out of line, especially for a local band competition. Jake seemed to have the same idea as Sam, because they both flew at the guy at the same time, their hands ready to pound him in. To Sam’s utter surprise, Josh squeezed himself in between his brothers and the guitarist before things could get ugly, waving his hands around in a desperate panic. 

“Don’t fight!” he called out. “Danny’s solo is almost done!” 

Sam cursed to himself and took a step away from the guitarist, who was laughing and calling them cowards. Even though the clock was ticking, Jake couldn’t restrain himself from reaching up to launch his balled up fist straight into the guy’s face. They watched as the guitarist dropped like a sack of bricks and then, without saying another word, marched back out to join Danny. While Danny finished out his last drum roll, Josh approached the microphone like nothing had just happened. 

“This is called Edge of Darkness. It’s about… the edge of darkness.” 

Sam could already tell from across the stage that Jake’s hand was blossoming with purple bruises from the contact he had made with the guitarist’s face, but it didn’t seem to bother him while he picked out the opening riff of the song. While they were building out their setlist, Jake had been adamant that Edge of Darkness be added so he could try out a new part of his solo that he had been working on, where he played his guitar behind his head. Sam felt like it was a risky move, but that had been just about everything they had done in the competition so far, so it only felt right. 

Jake’s playing was intense, and Sam could feel his anger and frustration with Fellowship brewing to the surface as he tore into his guitar strings. Josh, likewise, nearly shouted the lyrics into his microphone throughout the opening verse. Sam matched their energy, plucking his strings extra hard. He made a few glances at the chaos that was unfolding on the wing of the stage, where the host and a few stagehands were trying to tend to the guitarist, who was still flopped on the ground. His stomach dropped at the thought that they would be ejected from the competition for Jake’s violent lashing out, but he tried to tuck that bad thought into the back of his mind. 

He started to play his bouncy bass part for the chorus, throwing in some higher notes to stand out over Jake’s guitar and Danny’s drums, and they moved into the second verse without any issue. Sam took a deep breath and released some of the anxiety starting to ripple to the surface about the repercussions of their feud. They were playing at their top level, and technically they hadn’t started the whole thing. If anything, Fellowship should be booted for nearly killing Josh. 

Sam was so deep in thought about this that he let his muscle memory take over and, soon enough, was surprised to find that they were entering into the guitar solo. Jake nearly sprinted to center stage with a loud yell, as if releasing some of his pent up emotions. Whatever he was feeling about their beef was instantly channeled into his playing, as he hit every note with perfect precision and power. 

“Do it, Jakey!” Josh called to his brother. 

Jake’s body folded over his guitar as his fingers danced up and down the frets, and then he straightened upright and turned his back to the crowd. Sam could feel the audience hold their breath as he hoisted his guitar up and over his head, resting it across his shoulder blades so he could play without looking. Sam couldn’t believe it, but Jake’s playing increased in difficulty while holding his guitar in that unconventional position, letting his fingers flutter through complicated patterns. 

While Jake was giving quite literally everything he had to offer, Sam noticed that a few of the members of Fellowship, excluding the guitarist who was still moaning on the side stage, were sneaking closer to him. He continued playing without pause, but used his peripheral vision to make sure they didn’t try anything with him. He was relieved that their path veered away from him, but then his eyebrows furrowed when he realized that they were headed towards Jake’s amp with a pair of wire cutters. Jake was at the climax of his solo, his guitar back in front of him, and sweat poured down his face as he exerted all of his energy into playing faster than the speed of light. They couldn’t stop him while he was at his literal peak. 

Sam rushed to Josh, who was honed in on his tambourine playing, and gave him a nudge. 

“Help,” he managed to whisper to his brother. Josh turned and saw the Fellowship guys closing in on the amp and shook his head in anger. 

“Not on my watch,” Josh grunted. Sam watched him storm to the guys, grasping onto his tambourine like he was ready to use it as a weapon. While Jake and Danny continued to throw their bodies around to the music, entirely oblivious to the scene unfolding, Sam watched Josh hustle behind Danny’s drum kit so he could confront the three guys without anyone in the audience seeing. Sam poked his head behind the drum kit to keep tabs on the situation in case Josh needed backup, but it seemed like he had it covered. The members of Fellowship hollered out as Josh sprung behind them and smacked them all in the head with his tambourine. Somehow he managed to stay in time as he did it. That distracted them enough that Jake’s amp and cables were left unscathed, and Josh forced the wire cutters from the drummer’s hands and slid them across the stage to Sam where he could keep them safe by his feet. 

“Stay the FUCK away from my band!” Josh barked after them as they scampered away. 

Jake closed out his solo and, for the first time, seemed to realize that something had just happened behind him. He cocked his head to the side when he saw Josh stomp back to the microphone to barrel the final chorus out. Jake made his way to the side of Danny’s drum kit, where Sam was playing, and called over the music, “What happened?” 

“I’ll tell you after,” Sam yelled back. He looked behind and saw that Danny was watching them with concern, but kept smacking away at his kit like nothing was wrong. They returned to their designated spots on the stage, gave the crowd what they wanted, and finished out the song with a collective jump on the last note. After waving goodbye to the crowd and blowing kisses to their families, the members of Greta Van Fleet rushed off the stage to get as far away from Fellowship as they could. 

Jake was immediately on Sam’s ass. “Tell me what happened,” he demanded to know. Sam mulled over the right way to share the information without riling him up too much and watched as Jake wiped the sweat away from his brow with the back of his hand. 

“Fellowship tried to cut your cable during your solo,” he shared. Jake’s face turned red.

“They’re playing dirty,” he hissed. 

“You did pop the guitarist in the schnoz,” Sam reminded him. 

“You did what?!” Danny turned to Jake in horror. 

“They slipped isopropyl in Josh’s water bottle!” Jake raised his voice, motioning back towards the stage. “What the hell was I supposed to do?” 

“Are we gonna get tossed from the competition?” Danny looked between Josh and Sam with worry. “That seems like something that would definitely happen.” 

“Maybe we can negotiate with them to only eliminate Jake and you can take over the guitar, Danny,”  Sam told him. Jake scowled at the thought. 

“We’re the best ones out there - they’d be crazy to take us out of the competition.” 

“Don’t get too cocky,” Josh reminded him. “We’re up against some really good bands.” 

“You did hear us out there, right?” Jake checked with Josh. “We sounded fucking incredible.” 

Whatever confidence Jake let take over himself immediately vanished when the host of the competition approached him with a grimace stretched across his face. The members of Greta Van Fleet all paled at his appearance. 

“Is it true one of you punched a member of Fellowship?” He checked with them. They all looked around at one another, trying to telepathically agree on a plan to talk themselves out of their sticky situation. Josh finally took the lead. 

“Yes sir,” he replied, keeping his gaze glued to the grass. The host made an annoyed ticking sound and shook his head. 

“I was hoping it wasn’t true.” 

“Please don’t kick us out, we promise we’ll keep our fists to ourselves moving forward,” Danny tried to plead with the older man. He looked back at Danny with a sympathetic smile and shook his head. 

“I know this is a big deal to you all,” he started. 

“Monumental,” Jake corrected him. 

“But I also want you to understand that AutoFest prides itself in being a safe haven for car and music enthusiasts. Fights are vehemently prohibited, even if they are in self-defense.” 

“What does that mean for us?” Josh’s eyes slowly rose to land on the host. 

“I really do like you guys, but this can’t go unaddressed. You have to face some kind of repercussions for your actions.”

“What about the Fellowship guys?” Jake couldn’t hide his anger. “They tried to poison my brother! That’s the only reason why I threw that punch.” 

The host’s eyes widened. “Of course they didn’t tell me that,” he pinched at the bridge of his nose. “Here’s my proposal: you’ll have to pay a fine to the city. All the more incentive for you to win this competition so you can forfeit some of your earnings instead of digging into your own pockets.” 

“How much?” Jake demanded to know. 

“$250,” the host had obviously given it some thought, he answered so quickly. 

“But can we still play?” Sam checked. The host nodded his head, and the band released a long sigh of relief. 

“I’d be crazy to pull you from the stage after the show you just put on,” the host admitted. Jake leaned into Josh’s side to point out that he had been right, and Josh owed him an apology. Josh responded by pushing Jake so hard, he nearly toppled to the ground. “You just have to promise me you won’t do it again. You know what? Consider this a warning. Do it again, and you’re out.” 

“Crystal clear, sir,” Danny told him. Sam felt it was only right to give him a salute. 

“I’ll have a word with Fellowship as well. I think it would be best for you both to keep your distance for the rest of the competition. You know, for all of your safety.” 

“I can’t argue with that,” Jake nodded. The host gave them a wave and made his way back towards the stage, where The Bellhoppers were getting ready to go out. Sam watched him go and thought about following behind him so he could watch their competitors perform, but Jake grabbed at his arm. “Can you help me find some ice?” 

Sam looked down at Jake’s hand, which was starting to swell a concerning amount, and pointed towards the food court. 

“I bet they have something.” 

Jake led the way and Sam followed behind, leaving Danny and Josh back to unwind after their performance. Sam wasn’t quite sure why Jake wanted some alone time with him, but that confusion was quickly resolved when Jake started to rant. 

“It’s bullshit that we have to come up with money to pay a fine for something that I was forced to do!” 

“You technically made the decision to sock the guy,” Sam shook his head. Jake studied him, looking disappointed. 

“I thought you’d understand my frustration here, you went after the guy too.” 

“I’m not saying what you did is technically wrong,” Sam backtracked. “It’s just a bit hard to play it off like you’re entirely innocent. I mean, it kinda looked like you broke the guy’s nose.” 

“I hope I did!” Jake exclaimed. 

They came up to the slushie stand and all Jake had to do was show his hand off to the college kid running the cash register. He fixed Jake a large Ziploc bag filled with ice and joked that he didn’t want to know what the other guy looked like, which got a chuckle out of Jake. Instead of making their way back to Danny and Josh, Jake motioned for Sam to take a seat with him at one of the picnic benches on the outskirts of the festival grounds. As he iced his hand, Jake continued to ramble. 

“I think the Fellowship guys should pay our fine. What do you think about me threatening them with a broken bottle?” 

“Jake, no,” Sam sighed. He understood that their opponents had gone way out of bounds with him and his band mates, but Jake matching their energy wasn’t the right way to handle the situation. The host had given them a warning, and he seemed pretty serious. 

“Well I’m not paying that stupid fine,” Jake spat out. “$250 my ass.” 

“Why don’t we try to earn it?” Sam thought aloud. Jake snapped his good hand at Sam with a look of intrigue. 

“We’ll encourage people to bring singles to our next performance and Josh can do a strip dance.” 

“No,” Sam quickly shook his head. “But you’re not too far off. We’ve played enough that I feel like we’ll be pretty recognizable around the festival. All we have to do is set up shop somewhere and do it how we used to.” 

Jake tried to make sense of what Sam was suggesting. Then, his face brightened in realization. “We’re gonna go back to the good old busking days?” 

“If that’s what it takes,” Sam replied. Jake seemed on board, but then he looked down at his hand. 

“I should probably take a break from the guitar so I’m okay to play in the next round.” 

“If we make it,” Sam cut in.

“If we make it,” Jake agreed. 

“You can sing, Josh can drum, and Danny will take the guitar,” Sam thought on his feet. Jake didn’t look entirely on board but, the more he considered it, the more the idea seemed to grow on him. Singing in front of people was a better option than forking over $250 of their own hard-earned money. 

“On one condition,” Jake held up a finger. “I’m not taking any requests.” 

Fifteen minutes later, the members of Greta Van Fleet were stationed in front of the festival entrance, serenading the guests as they filed into the venue. Sam and Danny were making use of his electric amp, and Josh was in his element, playing away on Danny’s cajon drum. Jake, although he was stiff with discomfort, was stationed in front of the group, singing along to Wonderwall. An elderly couple had requested it as they walked in and, after handing Jake a twenty, Jake was backed into a corner and forced to suck it up. 

Sam was glad that they had gained so much stamina from all their practice sessions because, otherwise, he would have been entirely burnt out. But between the excitement from their last performance and the determination to get the money they needed, Sam felt he had enough energy to continue giving performances for as long as they could. 

“I said maybe, you’re gonna be the one to save me…” Jake belted out in his best Liam Gallagher impression. A girl around their age stooped down in front of them to toss a $5 bill into Jake’s fishing hat that he had been wearing offstage. Jake flashed her a cheeky smile and gave a thumbs up with his good hand as he continued on with more energy. Sam was glad to see Jake get out of his comfort zone when it came to singing in public: Jake needed to realize sooner or later that he was fully capable of being a frontman too. 

At the end of their song, Jake took a pause to count their earnings. “$44.39!” He announced to the group. “Not bad for being out here twenty minutes.” 

Sam wasn’t sure if that really was a good sign, but he couldn’t dwell on it for long since he caught the sound of The Bellhoppers’ set. It was hard to place the song at first, but then he realized that they were playing a fast tempo version of Everybody Wants to Rule the World. From what he could hear, the crowd was pretty into it. 

“Do you think we’d have more luck if we did this after the competition is done?” Danny asked around. “You know, when everyone who watched us is leaving?” 

“I want to celebrate at the end of the competition, not be working my ass off for money,” Jake protested. 

“Again, Jake,” Josh called up to him. “We haven’t won yet. Please stop jinxing us.” 

Jake let out a soft apology and then faced back out towards the clutters of people who were entering the fairgrounds. “Welcome to AutoFest!” He greeted them with a charisma that was more characteristic for Josh. On Jake, it felt unnatural and forced. “We’re Greta Van Fleet and we take requests!” 

Sam arched an eyebrow at his older brother. Apparently his standards could change when they weren’t making money fast enough. 

“Do you know Ed Sheeran?” a younger boy approached them. Jake had trouble hiding a look of disgust, but opted to play stupid instead. 

“Who? I can’t say I’ve ever heard of Ed Sheridan before,” Jake said. “But we’ll play some Black Keys for you!” 

“Nah,” the kid waved Jake off and ran in through the front entrance. Jake stuck his tongue out at him and then shook his head. 

“I still have my limits,” he muttered to himself. Then, he looked back at Josh for help. “What music do rich people like listening to? Maybe we can lure them in.” 

“We’ve been busking for years now,” Josh looked back at him. “You haven’t figured that one out yet?” 

“Obviously I haven’t since we’re still busking,” Jake retorted. He combed his fingers through his hair while he thought, and then snapped his fingers together. “Dean Martin.”

“Do you know any Dean Martin songs?” Sam was genuinely curious. 

“Of course I do,” Jake scoffed. And then he broke into the worst rendition of That’s Amore Sam had ever heard, mostly because he only knew half of the lyrics. Josh and Danny tried to humor Jake and play along with him, but Sam shook his head and opted to watch his brother make a fool of himself instead. 

“When the moon hits your eye like a big pizza pie, that’s amore,” Jake tried to sing in a deeper tone with an Italian accent that was bound to offend someone. “When the moon seems to shine and you chugga da wine, that’s amore,” he continued, and Sam winced. “Bells will ring, ting-a-ling-a-ling ting-a-ling-a-ling…” 

Sam couldn’t help but smack his forehead when Josh and Danny joined in with Jake’s botched song, messing up the lyrics in their own unique ways as well so the song was entirely muddled. One person approached Jake’s hat and took out a $10 bill, shaking his head in disappointment. 

“Hey!” Jake took a break to holler at the guy. “Give that back!” 

“Maybe when you learn how to sing Dean Martin right!” the guy called back, and then hustled away. 

“So now we’re at $34.39,” Danny concluded. 

“Okay, I’ll admit Dean Martin wasn’t the right choice,” Jake admitted. Sam strained to hear if The Bellhoppers were still performing and took note that the live music had stopped inside the fairgrounds. That meant that Invalid Password and Fellowship were bound to go out and face off at any minute before the winners were announced. A part of him wished he hadn’t told Jake about his busking plan because the nervous anticipation was starting to feel like it was going to eat him alive. He had no clue how The Bellhoppers had done in comparison to them since he missed their entire set, and doubts started to consume him that they would make it to the final round. 

“I think you need to turn up the heat, Jake,” Josh advised him. “Flaunt what you’ve got.” 

Jake pondered Josh’s words, and then gave a half-assed shrug like he had nothing left to lose. He had tugged his blazer back on following their performance so he wasn’t walking around with his nipples fully out, but he started to slowly shimmy out of it while Sam, Josh, and Danny played Feel Like Makin Love. 

“Baby, when I think about you, I think about love,” Jake sang slowly in a husky voice, trying to make eye contact with everyone that passed. While some people did slow down to watch them for a bit, most snapped their heads down and hurried past them. Sam felt secondhand embarrassment from the countless rejections towards Jake’s show as he joined in the backing vocals. “Feel like makin’,” Jake sang out as he fully removed his coat. “Feel like makin’ love.” The blazer whirled around his head a few times and then was flung off in the distance, where it landed in a bush. With Jake’s chest fully out on display, he noticed that more people were gathering around them to watch. This encouraged Jake to go a step farther, and he retrieved a bottle of water from the ground by his feet and proceeded to dump out the contents over his hair, soaking himself. Sam thought he looked beyond ridiculous, but people started to step forward and drop bills into his hat. 

To keep it coming, Jake tried out some dance moves that closely resembled what he did on stage with his guitar, and the people seemed to eat it up. When he started to rake his hands through his hair and wiggle his hips around, Josh put his foot down. 

“Too much!” he shouted to his brother, who was getting lost in the performance. “I don’t want to see your ass moving like that back here!” 

“You’ve got a front row seat to the show, why are you complaining?” Jake took a pause from his singing to argue with his brother. Josh shook his head in disbelief and continued drumming. 

“I created a monster,” he told Sam. 

“A motivated monster, that’s for sure,” Sam agreed. He wasn’t used to seeing Jake steal the spotlight out in public, around a bunch of people. It was much more common that he was hiding behind Josh, only coming out when he was comfortable, but he was obviously motivated to earn the money to pay off their fine. 

The song ended and Jake made a show of bowing to those who stuck around for the full performance, and then called for five so he could dry off and count their earnings. As he sorted through the growing pile of cash, he took a pause to look at his bandmates. 

“I really do appreciate you guys helping me get the money to pay this fine,” he told them. “And I’m glad I’m the one out there making a fool of myself since I’m the one who got us in trouble in the first place.” 

“I mean, I’m glad you’re fronting this too, trust me,” Josh told him. “I need to rest my vocal cords, but we’ve been at this for a while and I need to take a breather. It’s been a long ass day.” 

“I think we earned that rest,” Jake agreed, shoving the money back into his hat. 

“We made it to $250?” Danny asked in surprise. 

“Kind of,” Jake replied. “Well, close enough that I can pay the rest out of pocket if I have to.” He took a break to squeeze the water out of his long locks and study his drenched black and white striped pants. “I need to change out of these.” 

“You go and do that,” Josh told him with a laugh, waving him off. 

“I want to watch the other bands,” Danny shared, and Sam agreed with him. 

“I need to hear from our friends how The Bellhoppers did.” 

They collected their instruments and left their busking area behind, setting back inside the fairgrounds to the competition. 

“They’re definitely an 80s cover band,” Leah shared when they found their friends hanging out near the fair games. Sam hoped his relief wasn’t evident to his friends but he was glad to hear that The Bellhoppers only played covers. That was bound to earn Greta Van Fleet some bonus points.  

“The crowd loved them, but I think they were louder for you guys,” Ian added. “There was an older guy next to me who looked like he was having a spiritual awakening or something when Jake put his guitar behind his head.” 

“Jake has a way of doing that to people,” Danny laughed. 

“Speaking of Jake,” Tom cut in, “is he icing his hand because he was playing faster than is humanly possible?” They all turned to look at Jake, who had changed clothes and was with some of his own friends, trying to use his left hand to throw baseballs at empty milk jugs while keeping the melting bag of ice on his bruised hand. The poor guy obviously wasn’t ambidextrous like Danny because he missed the bottles by a mile, nearly taking out the guy running the whack-a-mole booth. 

“He punched someone,” Sam shared, shaking his head with disbelief. Everyone gaped at him, so Sam continued. “We have some beef with one of the bands.” 

“That one?” Ian asked, looking back at the stage. Sam tried to make out what Ian was looking at since they were a good distance away, but he scowled when he saw that Fellowship was taking the main stage. 

“Yup,” Danny confirmed. “They broke Jake’s guitar strings, tried to poison Josh, and nearly cut Jake’s power when he was doing one of his solos.” 

“What the hell?” Leah called out. “Who would do that?” 

“A bunch of dickheads,” Sam replied. 

“I think they’re all in college,” Danny added. “They must be especially desperate to catch their big break so they don’t have to keep attending lectures and taking finals.” Sam had never thought about it that way; he thought they were just a bunch of jerks. 

Tom, Leah, and Ian nodded like they could see the rationale behind that. Sam heard Fellowship begin the first song of their set and excused himself so he could move closer to the stage. Danny’s eyebrows knit at that, and he trailed closely behind Sam. 

“You’re not gonna pull anything, are you?” he asked as he struggled to push through the crowd. Sam shook his head, but he wasn’t sure if Danny had seen him. As tempted as he was to fire a flare gun at them, he was mostly curious to see what they brought to the table, and if he should feel as threatened by them as they were apparently threatened by his band. Sam found a spot in the middle of the crowd, off to the left side of the stage where the guitarist was, and put on a pair of sunglasses so the guy wouldn’t recognize him. Danny joined his side, out of breath, and positioned himself close to Sam. 

Fellowship was playing a cover of a Rush song and, to Sam’s dismay, they did sound pretty good. Greta Van Fleet had attempted playing Rush before and, while they almost got it down, it wasn’t something they could confidently say they had in the bag. Fellowship, on the other hand, was playing through Freewill like it was nothing. The only thing that brought Sam comfort as he watched them play was the guitarist had two black eyes forming, and his nose did look a bit crooked on his face. Jake really did know how to throw a mean punch. 

The people around them whooped and hollered as Fellowship jumped straight into their second song of the set, which was an original and dark song that sounded like a mix between Metallica and Ozzy. Sam hated to admit that the guitar and bass merged together to create a rich sound that he wasn’t sure he and Jake could accomplish. The drummer was like a blur behind his kit, he was hitting so many things at once. And the lead singer knew what he was doing as well: the guy was able to let out the lyrics with an impressive range, and made a show of dancing around and pulling some moves that Jake had attempted earlier during the busking to get the crowd into it. Sam would have to tell Josh to turn it to 11 if they made it to the final round, because they would have to go against a guy who really knew how to work a crowd. 

As the guitarist went through a mind-boggling solo, Sam tugged on Danny’s arm. 

“I’ve seen enough,” he called into his ear. Danny looked relieved and nodded, so they took off to find Jake and Josh. After they made it back to the open space away from the stage, Danny and Sam exchanged worried looks. 

“I knew they were good, but I didn’t realize they were that good,” Danny admitted as he crossed his arms over his chest. Sam was utterly puzzled by everything. 

“Why are they messing with us if they could easily win this whole thing?” 

“Beats me,” Danny shrugged. “They must see something in us that we’re not seeing.” 

They reached Jake and Josh, and Sam deliberated whether he should tell them about Fellowship’s performance or not. He didn’t have to, though, since they had already found out. Jake was fuming at Josh when they approached them. 

“We need to edit our setlist,” he planned out while pacing back and forth between Josh. “No covers, more solos, we need to find ways to get the crowd excited. We need to be memorable.” 

“You need to turn up the charm and seduce the crowd more,” Sam pointed at Josh. He and Jake both whirled around to face Sam and Danny. “We saw a bit of their performance,” Sam explained. “It’s gonna be really hard to beat them.” 

“There must be something we have that they don’t,” Danny tried to assure them. 

“We’re better looking?” Jake guessed. 

“I was thinking more in terms of our playing,” Danny tried to steer him in the right direction. 

Jake’s face scrunched together, deep in thought, and then his face brightened. 

“I think I have a plan.” 

*** 

Fellowship and Invalid Password played their sets and, right at five, they were brought on stage to announce the finalists. Greta Van Fleet allowed themselves a small celebration when it was shared that they would be playing at 7pm, going against Fellowship, but then they went straight back to their preparations. 

Jake’s plan was an intricate one and, while Sam wouldn’t admit it out loud, it felt like they were trying to pull off a mini-miracle. The first step of Jake’s plan was that they dress to the nines: the members of Fellowship were all going for the skinny jeans and black shirt combo, so they could outshine them in that way. The band made a quick detour to the local thrift store and, after an hour, were back at the fairgrounds looking better than ever. Josh had found a jumpsuit on the women’s rack that looked like it was a Halloween costume at one point but, when he put it on, he looked like an ethereal being. The white velvet cloth decorated in rhinestones was guaranteed to make him stand out on stage. Danny found a mesh silver top that fit perfectly and glimmered in the sunlight, so he would be hard to miss behind his kit. Jake was ecstatic to find an army green suit in his size, and made a side comment about how he was going to customize it a bit. Sam wasn’t sure exactly what look he wanted to go for, but he spotted a baby blue suit similar to Jake’s and decided that was what he needed to wear. As they paid for their clothes, Jake whispered to Sam that he was going to add something to his outfit as well. 

Back at AutoFest, Josh and Danny were already suited up in their new clothes and rehearsing backstage, but Sam was with Jake. There were a lot of things that he didn’t know about his brother, and the fact that he was a seamstress was apparently one of them. Out of the back of their car, Jake was hunched over Sam’s suit, stitching fabric between the sleeve and body of his jacket. Sam was holding Jake’s suit, which he had already personalized, in awe of his brother’s craftsmanship. In under twenty minutes, Jake had managed to add a moth decal to the back and front flaps of the coat, along with some swirls of gold, explaining as he worked that he liked moths because they chased after the spotlight. 

“There we go!” Jake exclaimed, holding Sam’s suit up to him. Sam took it and studied Jake’s work, his eyes widening. Jake had added a rippled piece of fabric that almost looked like a wing beneath his arm. The fabric shimmered as he moved it, and Sam was immediately entranced. “Now get that on,” he told Sam. “We need to practice a bit more.” 

Once they were fully suited up, they found Josh and Danny huddled around Danny’s cajon drum. Danny was trying to explain a pattern to Josh, but stopped when he spotted Jake and Sam. 

“Looking good!” he grinned at them. 

“I can say the same!” Sam exclaimed back. Danny gave a shy grin and shook his head with a chuckle. His eyes were darkened with some dramatic eyeshadow and eyeliner that fit well with his outfit. 

“Josh started it, but Leah helped me clean it up,” Danny explained. Josh looked proud of himself. 

“If musical theater taught me anything, it’s how to put on eye makeup.” 

“I’d say we look like a rock band now,” Jake looked around at them with satisfaction. “How’s the practicing going?” 

“Josh has almost got it,” Danny gave an update. 

“Are you feeling good?” Jake checked in with Danny. 

Danny looked at ease. “I know the part like the back of my hand, it’s not gonna be a problem.” 

“Let’s run through it a few more times though,” Sam told everyone. He wanted to make sure they knew exactly what they were doing so they didn’t drop the ball when it mattered most. 

The swelling in Jake’s hand had lessened enough that he was able to practice with them without any trouble, and they wound up running through their updated setlist right up until they were supposed to go out on stage for the final round. That worked best for Sam because he was so caught up in his bass and keys that he couldn’t think about how monumental everything was shaping out to be. Their big break was within grasp. 

The host had explained to them that they were going to take the stage at the same time as Fellowship so he could announce them to the crowd that had well over tripled since the third round, and then Fellowship would go through their five songs first. Sam wasn’t sure if it was a good idea to put them out there all together, but both bands were so focused on winning that their feud was put on hold. As the host announced both groups, Sam let the applause from the crowd wash over him. This was something they had earned. This was where they were supposed to be. The feeling made him smile wide. 

He was also tickled by how his friends and family reacted to their new looks. 

“God damn, Danny!” someone had shouted close to the stage when Danny first came out. 

While Fellowship got ready to play, Greta Van Fleet retreated to the backstage area. 

“I don’t want to hear them,” Jake was telling Josh. “It’s just gonna get in my head.” 

“Wanna sit in the car?” Josh suggested. 

So they piled into Danny’s car and blasted some Tchaikovsky to clear their heads. Sam was glad that they weren’t watching Fellowship’s set; the panic he had experienced after seeing their third round performance was the last thing he wanted to feel before they were supposed to take the stage. Sam leaned his head against the passenger seat and closed his eyes so he could get lost in the strings blaring from Danny’s speakers. The rest of the car was silent as well, caught in their own heads. 

Sam’s mind wandered away from Swan Lake to reflect on the turmoil he had faced prior to the competition. He had wanted to throw the whole thing away because he wasn’t certain how he wanted to spend his future. Thinking about that now felt absurd. He had experienced an indescribable amount of joy while playing in front of people and showing off his skills. There were other things that he definitely wanted to do with his life, but he had put a lot of time and effort into playing his bass, and he realized that it would be a waste to throw that away before he could reap the benefits for his hard work. The Battle of the Bands competition was really the first time he felt like he was being truly recognized for those countless hours spent in the garage and at shady bars around Michigan. He was all in on trying to make it to the top. Like his brother had told him earlier, he needed to remain in the present and not dwell too much on the future. And in the present, it seemed like he could have an exciting future with his music. 

A timer on Danny’s phone made them all jump and Danny turned down the music. 

“Fifteen minutes until we need to take the stage,” he announced to the car. 

“Let’s do this,” Josh said as he threw his door open. “Before my nerves eat me alive. Plus I really gotta piss and I know it will take me a second to get out of this thing.” 

Jake made some kind of half-assed excuse about checking that his guitar was fully in tune and hustled out of the car. Danny and Sam sat in silence for a few beats, and then Danny took a deep breath. 

“Josh told me what you were going through yesterday.” 

Sam’s shoulders slumped. Of course Josh couldn’t keep his secret between them. “I’m feeling a lot better now,” Sam tried his best to assure Danny. He frowned when he could tell that Danny wasn’t buying it. “I swear,” he promised. 

“You really want to go to college, don’t you?” Danny asked down into his lap. Sam wished they could have this conversation at a better time, but he didn’t know how to steer things into more friendly territory. 

“That’s how I felt yesterday, but now it’s different,” Sam locked eyes with Danny. “I love playing with you guys. I think we could go all the way.” 

“But I don’t want this to get in the way of your own dreams,” Danny stared back at Sam. “This is your life we’re talking about. You don’t have to always make sacrifices for us. I know it’s been hard for you to miss out on so much.” 

“You’ve been going through the same thing with golf,” Sam pointed out. “I’m sure that’s been a hard decision for you too.” 

Danny considered this. “I do love golf, but it’s something that I can always do, no matter what. Being an engineer isn’t something you can just pick up in your offtime.” 

“I’ll bring a Lego set with me on the road and be content,” Sam tried to joke. Danny chuckled and shook his head in disbelief. 

“I want you to be happy,” he told Sam. 

“This is making me happy right now,” Sam replied. “And that’s what matters at this moment.” Danny’s frown lifted into a relieved smile and he gave Sam a pat on the back. 

“I’m so glad to hear that. I was gonna offer to blow the whole competition for your sake, but thank god I don’t have to do that. Jake and Josh would probably have my head on a stake if I pulled that one off.” 

Sam looked at his friend in amazement. He knew Danny would always have his back, but the thought of him offering to throw their big break like that was astonishing. 

“How were you gonna do it?” he had to ask. Danny mulled it over. 

“Play the wrong tempo maybe. Jake hates it when I do that and he misses notes when he gets flustered. Josh gets confused when Jake starts messing up. I know you would continue to carry, but I think that would be more than enough for us to get booed off stage. 

“Well please don’t do that,” Sam said. “I really want to win this thing.” 

“Me too,” Danny grinned at him. “I’ll be steady as a metronome back there, don’t worry.” 

With that, they got out of the car and worked their way to the stage. Josh must have managed to get to the bathroom because he was back by their instruments, looking tranquil. When he saw Sam, he motioned for him to come to his side. Sam raised an eyebrow when he saw that Josh had decorated around his eyes with a series of rhinestones. 

“Where’d you get those from?” he asked. 

“The lead singer of The Bellhoppers,” Josh answered. “Now come here.” 

Sam didn’t want to, but curiosity got the better of him and he cautiously approached his older brother. Before he could react, Josh was smearing silver eyeshadow with glitter over his eyelids. 

“BAH!” Sam called out in surprise, wiggling his arms in retaliation. 

“It’s for the aesthetic, hold still,” Josh instructed. Sam didn’t like his brother poking his fingers around his eyes, but he gave in and stood stiff while Josh continued to swipe his thumb into the palette and press it across his eyelids. “Your eyes will pop now,” Josh felt like it was important to tell Sam. Sam felt mortified that he was going to go out in front of his friends with eye makeup on, but then he remembered that Danny was wearing some too, and he looked good. 

Josh finished and admired his work. “Pretty,” he commented. Sam could feel his face flush red. Danny took a look as well and whistled. Sam pulled his phone out from his pants pocket and used the reverse camera to check the damage. Josh was kind to use a lighter shade so it didn’t stand out as dramatically as Danny’s look. For what it was worth, it did look good with his baby blue suit and wing. 

A stagehand told them they had two minutes until they needed to take the stage, and Jake hustled to their side shortly after. Sam did a double take when he realized that Jake’s eyes were darkened with carefully etched on black liner. He stared back at Sam and then gave Josh a cheerful pat on the back. 

“You managed to get it on him! Congrats.” 

“I let him do it,” Sam frowned. “Since when did you learn how to do that?” He pointed to Jake’s face. Jake gave his best blue steel and then motioned back at the crowd. 

“Gabby did it,” he explained. Sam should have known that Jake needed some help from one of his friends. “We’ve got the look, we’ve got the setlist, we’ve got the extra pizzazz, we’ve got this,” Jake looked around at the group. “How are we all doing?” 

“Feeling sexy and free,” Josh replied. 

“Love it,” Jake pointed back at him. 

“I’ve never felt more alive,” Sam said, and he wasn’t necessarily lying. Jake nodded with a smile. 

“I wanna get out there,” Danny answered while twirling his drumsticks around. A stagehand nodded at them, which was their cue, and Jake pointed at the stage with the neck of his guitar. 

“Onwards!” he called out. Leading the charge, Jake held his head high and made his way out in front of the crowd, making sure to wave and give thumbs up to as many people as possible. Josh trailed behind him and followed suit, blowing kisses to everyone in the front row. Sam decided it was only right for him to salute the crowd, and he wrapped an arm around Danny before he climbed behind his kit. 

“Here’s to our future,” he told Danny. Danny squeezed his shoulder back. 

“To our future,” he repeated. 

Sam plugged his bass into the amp and closed his eyes for a brief second. It was the final round. They had proved their worth to the audience and earned their spot in the top two. All they had to do now was blow everyone away one last time to get their big break. Sam felt like they could do it. 

Jake finished greeting the audience and, after getting his guitar set, he held it up to everyone to see and immediately flattened the crowd with the loud roar of his opening notes to Safari Song. Josh matched his energy with a long and powerful scream to kick things off and, just like that, they were sucked into the music. Sam didn’t allow any of his previous doubts and worries to reach him while he played along with his brothers. He felt free in front of that crowd, and bounced around on the balls of his bare feet, making sure to stay close to the front of the stage so everyone could see him. 

During the chorus, Jake and Josh leaned into each other to sing into the same microphone, which was met with loud cheers. Sam caught a glimpse of Danny singing along at the top of his lungs as well while he drummed, even though he wasn’t mic’d up this time around. Josh had taken notes from Sam and Jake about how to increase his showmanship and get the crowd really into it, and made sure to dance around to the music more than he usually did. During Jake’s solo, he goofed around with some girls close to his age, flashing them his nipple before quickly covering it with a wide grin. 

They sounded electric, and Sam was amazed to see that the audience was matching their energy. Even though Safari Song was a new one of theirs, the people caught on fast and sang along with Josh and Jake during the chorus, pumping their fists in the air. Josh joined in and led them so they were all in unison, creating a massive wave of fists in the air. Sam had never seen anything like it before, and found himself staring. 

At the end of the song, Danny launched into the drum solo that he had been practicing in almost all of his spare time over the past year. Sam was with him for many of those hours when he was trying to figure out what solos to take inspiration from, and what moves he could use to impress. Sam hoped that the crowd appreciated what Danny was doing back there, because he was working his ass off and playing stuff that some professional drummers could only dream of accomplishing. While Danny was hard at work, Josh hurried to the side stage and retrieved a bouquet of white roses that he had picked up from a local florist after their stop at the thrift store. Jake joined Sam by his keyboard and watched Josh jump down from the stage and run across the barricade, passing out flowers to as many people as he could. 

“Do you think he’s gonna need help getting back on stage?” Jake asked Sam. They watched him continue to speed around the front of the crowd and Sam shook his head. 

“He’s gonna launch himself back on here, I’m sure of it.” 

Josh did exactly what Sam predicted, thrusting himself up onto the stage with sheer arm strength, and carried the travel bottles of Fireball and Jameson that had been handed to him from the crowd to his brothers. 

“They want us to do shots,” he told Jake and Sam. 

“They know we’re underage, right?” Sam checked. 

“It’s Michigan, does it really matter?” Josh shrugged back. He handed Jake a bottle of Jameson and Sam a Fireball and then booked it back to center stage so he could throw the hard alcohol back with no hands. Sam placed the small bottle on top of his amp and returned to the front of the crowd since Danny was nearing the end of his solo. 

“Ahh, better the isopropyl!” Josh joked into his microphone after finishing his shot, which earned him a thunderous applause from the crowd. Jake shoved the bottle of Jameson back into Josh’s hand as he passed by to return to his spot on stage, and told Josh something that Sam couldn't hear. 

“Let’s go!” Danny called behind his drum kit, and Jake took the lead, entering into their second song of the set, Black Smoke Rising. It was a crowd favorite when they played it at biker bars, and Sam felt like it truly captured the essence of Greta Van Fleet. 

He was surprised to hear shouts from the crowd like they recognized the song, and even a few people outside of those they knew were singing along with Josh. Sam didn’t know what to make of that, but he liked the feeling of having the lyrics they worked so hard to compose sung back to them. Sam played through his complicated basslines and felt Danny’s drumming pounding through his feet. From his vantage point, they were all playing at their best, and the audience was eating it up. 

“Yeah, Sam!” he could hear some of his friends holler from the sea of people. He scanned around for them and then flashed them a wide smile when his eyes met theirs. This made them cheer louder, and the people around them followed suit. On his side of the stage, Jake had the audience in the palm of his hand. They watched him in muted awe as he played and mouthed out his part and would scream when Jake jumped around the stage and shimmied his shoulders to the beat. Those in front of Josh were the loudest, and he egged them on by raising his hands up, indicating that they keep the calls of approval going. Sam only wished that Danny could experience the adrenaline rush he was feeling at the front of the stage, but he also knew that Danny was most comfortable in the back where people weren’t scrutinizing his every move. It had taken Sam a while to get used to being in that position. 

Like he had pulled off in every other song of theirs, Jake effortlessly flew through his solo with his eyes shut and held his guitar in front of him as he shredded. The song ended with the buzzing feedback from their amps, and the audience cheered over the static. They let their applause carry them as Jake retrieved his acoustic guitar and Sam set himself up behind his keys. 

“Thank you all for coming out here tonight,” Josh addressed the crowd. The sun was just starting to set, and Sam could feel the heat from the stage lights starting to reach him. “You all look beautiful out there,” Josh added. “I can’t say we’ve ever played to a crowd this big before but, well, I think I could get used to this.” Josh chuckled and then looked back at his band. “Ready?” he asked them, covering his hand over the microphone. They gave him nods and thumbs up, and Josh returned back to the crowd. “This next one is a love song to a really important movement that took place in the 60s. Some of you were around for it, and I’m jealous. It’s called Flower Power.” 

Sam was the one to bring them in this time around, and he played up and down his keyboard on the organ setting, taking the crowd to church. Danny tapped his cymbals behind him, and then Jake joined in with his acoustic guitar, filling the field with their upbeat song. 

“She’s a lady, comes from all around, she’s many places but she’s homeward bound,” Josh sang along. Sam looked up from his keys and grinned when he saw that people were starting to lift their lighters up and sway them to the beat. Josh reacted to the same thing and took a pause from the lyrics to call, “Light it up!” 

“Like we did the porta potties,” Sam could overhear Jake call into Josh’s ear. Josh laughed, which made him miss the next part of the verse, but he quickly recovered. 

“She’s a sparrow of the dawn, our love is born…” 

Sam especially enjoyed playing Flower Power since his organ playing added a complex layer to the sound they already excelled at creating. He loved how the organ wafted in and out of Jake’s guitar playing, and fell in time with Danny’s drums. Plus, he could sit on his ass and take a break from making eye contact with as many people as possible. He left that to Jake and Josh, who stood together at the front of the stage and played back to back. Someone in the crowd tossed a bouquet of daisies onto the stage, and Josh leaned over to grab it as he continued to sing. He plucked out a white one and brought it back to Jake, checking with him first before tucking it behind his ear while he continued playing his guitar. Jake met the cheers with a bashful bow, and Josh brought the bouquet back to Danny and laid it by his feet, mouthing out “for you.”

The song came to a slow as Josh drew out his notes and Sam let the music take him away into his solo. He played with the chords he had used throughout the song and created a melody from scratch, blaring the sound from his keyboard and rocking his head back and forth to the beat. His hand passed up and down the keyboard and used both levels of the keys to play the bass and higher notes. He could see Danny, Josh, and Jake watching him and nodding with happy approval as he went and then Danny joined in on the cymbals, giving Josh the cue to let out his final note to close the song. Sam could feel the final note still ringing through his finger tips, and he took the pause to remove his suit jacket, exposing his bare chest to the crowd. Those stage lights really were intense. 

Josh was back in front of the crowd and basked in their cheers for a while before calling over them, “We have a new one for you tonight. How does that sound?” They were met with roars of approval. Sam remained at his spot with his keyboard, buzzing with excitement while Jake strapped back on his electric guitar. It had been a part of Jake’s plan that they bust out a song they had been workshopping over the past year. It was a bold move, considering they hadn’t practiced it as much as some of their other songs, but Sam knew that they had created something special when they wrote it. 

Josh pointed back at Sam and he played on his mellotron setting, serenading the swarm of people with a flow of hypnotizing notes. The vibrations from his keys rose from his fingers up into his soul, and he could feel the music taking him away. He took a pause from playing to hear the claps from the crowd, and then entered into the beginning of Age of Man. Danny softly kept the beat behind him with his cymbal, and Jake added in some ad lib playing, fluttering across his strings. 

“This is about the story of us all,” Josh told the crowd over the instrumental music. “In an age of darkness light appears, and it wards away the ancient fears,” he began to sing. As Sam played along, he felt like he was transported outside of his body and soaring up into the universe, past all of the troubles of Earth. Out amongst the stars, as he played his mellotron, he felt light as a feather. He could feel the very essence of his being come to life, dancing in front of his eyes to the beat of their music. 

“Ooh ooh, oooh ooh ooh,” Josh cooed into the microphone in his high register. Sam let in a deep breath and then exhaled as they entered the main part of the song, Jake’s guitar coming to life. Sam played in time with him and continued to feel the power of the music flowing through him.

“A tree of life in rain and sun, to reach the sky it’s just begun,” Josh sang with his eyes squeezed shut. The crowd seemed to be holding their breaths as the song carried them forward, and when they hit the chorus, it felt like there was a collective release. As Josh thundered out, “And as we came into the clear, to find ourselves where we are here,” Sam noticed that the people in front of them had let the music take control. Many of them had their eyes closed and their hands raised to the sky, swaying back and forth and feeling alive. Sam had never felt such a close connection with so many people at once, but he knew that they were all brought together in that moment. He looked to his right briefly and raised an eyebrow when he saw that Fellowship was standing a few yards away, watching Greta Van Fleet with their mouths hung open. Their bassist was even moving along with the crowd, like he couldn’t help it. 

Sam was learning right then and there that, while engineering and going to college had its pros, he would never experience anything like what he was going through on that stage. He was bringing people together with his closest friends, and they were succeeding with flying colors. Sam began to understand the power of music and all that they could accomplish with it if they did it right, and all of his lingering doubts and concerns immediately flushed away for good. 

The song finished and they were met by silence before some guy in the middle of the audience called out, “Holy shit!” People seemed to agree, because the cheers were deafening. Jake pointed back at Sam, and he stood from his stool, took a shaky breath, and bowed. He had never let a song take him so many places before. It was a good thing they decided to end things with Highway Tune, since that was one of Sam’s favorite songs to play, and he knew it by heart. 

Jake teased the crowd by crouching low at center stage, looking around at everyone and wiggling his eyebrows as Danny crashed on his cymbals. 

“We don’t want to go, but we’ll leave you with one for the road,” Josh spoke into his microphone. Jake nodded his head and started to churn out the Highway Tune theme as he continued to crouch lower and lower while tapping his foot. Josh, Danny, and Sam joined in and shocked the crowd out of their hypnotic state with the high energy song. Sam jumped around while he played and grinned when he saw the crowd bouncing along with him. 

“Are you ready?” Sam approached Danny’s side of the kit to call to him. Danny didn’t miss a single beat as he smirked at Sam. 

“I’ve been waiting for this moment my entire life,” he joked back. Josh ran back to join them and expertly swooped into Danny’s position behind the drums, swapping with him so Danny was free. Josh carried the beat forward and whooped out with glee, crashing some of the cymbals just for fun. While Josh went to town and Sam and Jake continued to play alongside him, Danny retrieved his own Fender from the side stage, plugged it in, and started an overdrive solo, playing next to Jake and surprising the crowd. Jake took over the rhythm guitar part and nodded for Danny to go out into the spotlight so he could have his moment of fame. While he at first looked hesitant, Danny made his way in front of everyone and came out of his shell, transforming into a rock god. 

“Do it, Danny!” Josh hollered from the back of the stage. 

Sam watched his friend go and could feel his heart swell with pride. Jake needed to be watch out for Danny. 

Danny closed out his solo by jokingly tucking his own guitar over his head, but then motioned to the crowd that he was only kidding. He and Jake played a duet of the main riff and then the music opened for Sam to jump in and take his own solo. While Josh continued to bash on the drums with the power of a hundred men, Sam hustled to center stage, flipped his long hair out of his face, and let his bass take over the melody. He churned out bone rattling notes alongside Josh’s fast-paced drumming and was happy that he was playing a pretty funky line with a little stank on it. 

While he continued to play, Danny took the opportunity to spend some time of his own with the crowd, and caught a bottle of Fireball that was tossed to him. Even though his parents and younger sister were in attendance, he quickly opened the bottle and downed it before returning back to his guitar part. Jake grabbed a pair of oversized Elton John-esque sunglasses that had been tossed on stage and brought them back to Josh to wear. Josh called out in glee when Jake pressed them onto his face, and then stuck his tongue out while he continued to play. For Sam, Danny placed a cowboy hat on his head, which made him laugh. It was like Jake and Danny were making all the costumes and props appear out of nowhere. Danny shoved a trucker cap onto Jake’s head and Jake retaliated by tossing a feather boa around Danny’s shoulders. 

Sam’s bass solo transformed into a jam session on stage, and Jake inserted one of his favorite Black Keys riffs, which the audience approved of. Sweat was starting to plaster over Sam, so he knocked the cowboy hat off of his head and contemplated taking the shot Josh had given him earlier. Maybe not a good idea to do that, he told himself. So instead he made his way to Danny and whispered in his ear, “Do Elvis.” It was something they liked goofing around with during rehearsals. Danny looked eager to do it, and whispered the same thing to Jake. Jake passed it on to Josh and then, in a rapid transition, they slowed it down and started playing “That’s Alright.” 

To everyone’s surprise, Danny stationed himself in front of the microphone. 

“That’s alright mama, that’s alright with me,” he crooned in a nearly spot-on Elvis impersonation. He took a pause to laugh at what they were doing, and then tried out his best Elvis-inspired hip thrusts and wiggles. Sam heard a few girls scream in the crowd, which made him cackle. Danny fed into their energy and pouted his lips while he continued to sing the opening to the song. “Take it away, Josh!” he called, motioning back at Josh. He had a microphone set up in front of him, and started to scream the lyrics in his signature voice while flinging his drumsticks all over the place. 

They made it through the chorus, and then Jake retrieved his lucky harmonica from his back pocket. He held it up for Josh to see so he would stop playing, and let his guitar lazily flop in front of him as he grabbed his microphone and held it up to the harmonica, which was practically glued to his lips. 

All of the Kiszka children had been taught the harmonica by their father, since he was a pretty damn good player himself and wanted to pass it on to his kin. Of the four siblings, Jake had been the one to really feel a connection with the instrument, and spent a lot of his time on long road trips practicing, much to the protest of everyone else in the car. Jake’s incessant playing seemed to pay off though as he let out a bluesy tune which, backed with Danny’s concentrated guitar playing, sounded really good. At this point in their set, all of them were nearly drenched, they were covered in so much sweat, but Sam still felt like he had enough energy in him to light up an entire power grid. The audience was definitely into it, and their excitement was what made Sam all the more determined to give it everything he had. That, and he so desperately wanted to get Greta Van Fleet on the map. After all that they had been through, they deserved some recognition. 

Jake and Josh started to do a call and response with the harmonica and Josh’s vocals which led to a hearty applause, and then Jake, satisfied with his performance, tucked his harmonica back in his pocket and turned his trucker cap backwards. He took back to center stage, bringing Danny with him, and stood with his guitar held out and ready to play. Josh, Danny, and Sam had stopped playing alongside Jake so the only sound was the on beat clapping from the audience. Jake beamed around at everyone, looked at Danny, and raised his eyebrows. Danny held his guitar out in front of him too, indicating that he was ready to go and, together, they brought everyone back into Highway Tune with the main riff. 

While Jake continued on, Danny put his guitar away and switched back with Josh so he could finish singing while Danny closed out the song on his drums. Josh booked it to the front of the stage, got everyone to give a round of applause for Danny, and then belted out the last part of the song. As he let out his glass-shattering last note on “Sugar,” it felt like there wasn’t a single person at the festival who wasn’t cheering for them. Sam looked out at the sea of happy faces and tried his best to take a mental photo with his mind so he could remember how they looked for the rest of his life. It wasn’t too often that he felt like he had lived through a monumental experience, but this was definitely one of them. 

The host came out onto the stage as soon as they finished, calling out, “How about that? Greta Van Fleet everyone!” 

Sam dropped his arms to his sides and immediately felt the exhaustion catch up to him. He knew for a fact that they had never put on a performance like that before, and he was practically guaranteed to need a couple of weeks to recover. For that, he was grateful that Jake insisted they do their busking before the final round. 

“We’ll be announcing the winner of our Battle of the Bands competition in fifteen minutes!” the host declared. “Stick around, we’ll be back soon!” 

“Great job guys,” he congratulated the band once his mic was off and they were on the side of the stage. “Absolutely stellar.” 

They thanked him, and then enveloped each other in a celebratory hug. Sam called out in protest when Josh started to ruffle his hair. As they released from each other, Sam was glad to see them all smiling, as spent as they looked. 

“I hope someone filmed that,” Danny commented. 

Jake nodded. “That shit could go in the Rock N’ Roll Hall of Fame.” 

“Cocky,” Josh warned him. Jake threw up his shoulders and laughed. 

“I think I have every right to act cocky after a show like that, Jesus Christ.” 

They teetered down the steps to get off the stage and almost immediately were met by a small crowd, congratulating them and demanding to know how they were so good. It made Sam a bit uncomfortable since he wasn’t used to being put on a pedestal, but he did have to admit that it felt nice.

But, there was still a voice nagging at him that maybe Fellowship had managed to be better. And that was something they would find out soon. 

Final part >>>

[blubushie]

have you talked about how you got misty? i feel like you have but i dont remember

I got Misty at the very very start of 2022 from a breeder out near Chico CA (I was going to get a shelter dog because I love shelter dogs but unfortunately they wouldn't adopt to me because I live in a van). The breeder was not responsible and when Misty was given to me, she had fucking parvo. I spent six hours with her and she never stopped vomiting even after we'd been parked for four hours (I thought that maybe it was just carsickness, my childhood dog got carsick when I first brought her home).

But no, four hours later she didn't improve. So I drove her straight to the emergency vet because they were the only one open at that hour, and they immediately took a parvo test. And guess who came up a hard positive. They took her in and I camped out in the carpark until morning. She was stable but her outlook wasn't good ("critical but stable") and I then had to make the drive another hour to a different vet who could hold her in-house and treat her, as the emergency vet was only open at night. She spent ten days in ICU and then she came home, and she spent a month in quarantine at the house. It sucked because I couldn't even pet her with my bare hand due to risk of contamination to my older dogs. I spent less than six hours with my dog before she was taken from me by a preventable disease.

The breeder was fucking horrid. Kept claiming she didn't know she had parvo, but I don't buy that for a second because I asked why Misty was damp when I picked her up and she said it's because she bathed her. Either the woman was drying off Misty's vomit (and thus, as a breeder, must have at least suspected parvo) or she was outright washing the vomit and diarrhoea off of Misty, which would've been a near-definite positive for parvo in a 10-week-old puppy. And the breeder, upon finding out how dire Misty's condition was, insisted I just bring Misty back instead of taking her to a vet. She was very fucking insistent I not take Misty to a vet. I am fully convinced that if I'd brought Misty back she would've just been allowed to die.

Anyway I informed the vet of all this, and then informed animal control when they showed up to take a statement, and last I heard from the officers on the case the breeder is now blacklisted from breeding for the next five years due to not fitting California standards when it comes to disease control and prevention and negligence to provide veterinary care (which is required by law in California for breeders). The vet attested that Misty's stomach was completely empty and she hadn't eaten in at least three days, so there's no way the breeder hadn't known she'd given me a sick and dying dog. And she was content to let it run its course and kill said dog.

Anyway, I got my money back, Misty recovered, and the breeder can no longer breed dogs. I had some behavioural issues with Misty at first because it's incredibly hard to train her--she's headstrong and unfortunately because of her parvo situation she's been very wary of food ever since and she's not food-oriented in the slightest. (This is why she accepts so little treats. It took multiple Macca's runs before she'd accept even a piece of the meat). She nipped a lot, but I've never counted that against her because she's half-Aussie and that's completely normal for her breed and I knew what I was getting into with a herding-retriever mix.

For her it was mostly just training. Sit, stay, heel, things like that. She's learnt as time goes on and she's heavily influenced by praise, but I can't give her too much or she gets too excited and then distracted. She can sit, she's still learning to stay, she can heel (and knows not to jump up on people) but getting her to stop barking once she's riled up is a nightmare. But much like my first dog she picked up my visual cues while working immediately. A rising whistle is "come to me," a short chirp means "look at me," and a simple tilt of my head tells her which direction we're going to go in. It's very useful when she's stopping to sniff something, and she doesn't run off. I left her off-lead in the bush but she always stays on lead around roads except in Outback towns, where she free-roams and goes says hello to people while I do things. One of the funniest sights I've ever seen is walking out of the Daly Waters Pub and whistling for her, and from up the track comes Misty, Kevin the lab behind her, Blackface the goat behind him, and Polly the horse a short distance behind them. All in a row. She's got a massive crush on Kevin. If I park in Daly Waters and open my door she launches over me and bolts off to go find her boyfriend.

This is the first time Misty's been back in California since I got her and she's very much enjoying it, more than I am :]

[sapphire-heart-tippy]

I thought I'd go ahead and share my headcanons and head-backstory for Vanilla Ice! I've visited his wiki multiple times and there's not that much on there so I went ahead and made stuff up heheh (keep in mind I will not be angry or upset if you don't share the same/similar hcs, this is all kind of personal to me anyway ^^")

• Vanilla was given up for adoption as a baby because his parents couldn't take care of him

Edit: My pronouns have changed to he/him and xe/xem only, and I am more masc now! The sapphire heartverse fic is finished and the story below has been changed drastically!

[The Sapphire Heartverse takes place in modern times because it's a nonsensical universe where all the characters are in the same place at the same time. However, these headcanons are also for the 80's Vanilla]

• His life in the orphanage was very difficult. The caretakers didn't like him or any of the other children. They were very neglected and abused. The caretakers would make him do chores until he passed out.

• Vanilla's real name is Ezekiel. "Vanilla" was a nickname given to him as a child by a woman who wanted to adopt him. She brought him icecream one day and he wouldn't want to have any other flavor but vanilla, he was a picky eater enough as it is. He had it all over his face and was having the most fun he'd ever had in his life. The woman thought he was the sweetest thing in the world so nicknamed him "Vanilla Icecream". Adoption can be a difficult process and just when he was about to be adopted, she was murdered while getting mugged. The caretakers made fun of him for mourning her and things got even worse after that.

• Vanilla has similar trauma to what I've gone through and that's all I'm going to say. This, plus all the other abuse and neglect, caused him to be extremely clingy and willing to do anything for affection. He felt numb and agony at the same time.

• At times it felt like Cream was his only friend. Cream is the physical manifestation of the endless void in his heart. No matter what or how much Cream consumes, he is still starving and cannot be satisfied, much like a prita from folklore. This shows how much Vanilla is starving for affection of any kind. [I'm not entirely sure canonically if he was born with his stand or if he got shot with the stand arrow. I've seen that in the game, Heritage For The Future, when Alessi turns him into a child, Vanilla still has his stand and he looks absolutely adorable. This could be canon or could be strictly for the fight. I also do not have access to HFTF at the moment, so all I have to go off of is Google searches.]

• Vanilla got kicked out as soon as he became a legal adult. He was homeless for a while until he worked up enough money to be able to bathe and eat better and get new clothes. Vanilla found out about Dio and how he could pay good money in exchange for a live-in servant. Dio knew right away that Vanilla was the one.

• Vanilla lived there for a while and became a very very loyal servant. He was paid well and got to eat, drink clean water, and a warm place to sleep. Vanilla devoted his life to serving Dio and finally felt that void in his heart be filled. He showered Dio with love and did everything he was told. Vanilla fell head over heels in love with Dio.

• Dio would praise him, compliment him, rub his head as Vanilla kneeled, and of course, they would both engage in adult activities. Dio could count on Vanilla to do anything and everything asked or commanded.

• Vanilla was the maid, the cook, the guard dog, he was pretty much a caring house husband for Dio and he loved every second of it.

[Sapphire Heartverse crossover]

! Some things have been altered in the fanfic. The fanfic is the true canon. !

• Everything changed when Dio wanted a live-in commissioner to draw and paint pictures of him whenever he pleased.

• Vanilla reacted neutrally to Tippy at first, but... Dio started praising that boy more often than he would with Vanilla. Poor Vans felt so jealous and upset and strongly disliked Tippy and thus the petty rivalry was born

• One day, Dio commanded Vanilla to protect Tippy and guard him with his life because he didn't want anything to happen to his precious little commissioner. Vanilla felt like he was going to scream!!

��� Tippy wasn't very thrilled with this idea either. In fact he would use his stand, Sapphire Heart, frequently to get away from situations he didn't want to be in. The power is called invisibreak.

• That little blue haired rascal would often pull pranks, cause trouble, mildly vandalize things, steal candy, and has even made friends with Jonathan Joestar's disembodied head in the fridge.

• Vanilla was stressed out and exhausted from all of the annoying antics. He decided to give Tippy a good scolding, but the blue haired menace disappeared using invisibreak. Vanilla thought that Tippy could teleport, but.... He turned around and saw them lying face down on the ground completely unconscious.

• Vanilla was confused at first but then he started to panic when they wouldn't wake up. He listened to their chest and they were still breathing, their heart was still beating, everything was fine. Vanilla picked them up and carried them to a couch in hopes that everything would be okay and Dio wouldn't be upset with him.

• When Tippy came to, Vanilla asked frantically what the hell just happened and why did they pass out. Tippy explained that sometimes when they turn invisible and intangible for too long, they lose so much energy they pass out. It clicked for Vanilla. When he used to use Cream to move around, he would pass out too.

• Vanilla decided to train Tippy on how to use their stand better. Dio caught them both training and told Vanilla it's a good idea to teach Tippy more about his stand and to train him to fight.

• Over time, Vanilla would train Tippy but always win because they just didn't want to fight. Vanilla has even physically pinned them down before, and it was met with laughter. One day Tippy got bold and accidentally sliced off Vanilla's right bang with Sapphire's diamond spear. Oh, Vanilla was pissed.

• For quite some time it was Vanilla being fed up with Tippy's pranks and jokes, and Tippy pranking or running away from Vanilla after he had caused mischief.

• Though.... As much as Vanilla didn't want to admit it, protecting and watching over Tippy has been the most fun he's ever had in his life!

• One day Tippy got sick and tried to play it cool. Vanilla wasn't having any of that, he made sure they were resting in bed, drinking fluids, and ate. Vanilla enjoyed fussing over Tippy, even when they told him he didn't need to.

• They have always been foils for each other. Vanilla is more strict and serious while following all the rules to the letter, while Tippy is more rebellious and chaotic and always wanting to crack a joke out of nowhere. But together they are unstoppable

• Dio had experimented on them using a fusion spell. That turned them into Blue-Raspberry Snowcone, or Razz for short. He is the fusion of Vanilla and Tippy and is extremely powerful but extremely unstable and could accidentally hurt himself if not careful. (I'll go into detail about that one day)

• After a while, something happened. Vanilla couldn't hear a peep out of Tippy and was wondering what was going on. Soon he found them silently crying in the hallway. He couldn't even tell they were crying until they looked up at him. Vanilla's heart shattered, he's never seen Tippy cry before. They talked it out and Vanilla started to like them a lot more after that.

• Soon Vanilla developed strong feelings towards Tippy, but hated the fact he did. Vanilla had the biggest crush on that boy and couldn't handle it

• When some people started making fun of Tippy behind his back, Vanilla became enraged and scared them off. He soon grew more protective of that young man, more than he would ever think possible. Vanilla used to do the bare minimum of protection, but now he's always on guard.

• Vanilla will put his arm out to make sure Tippy doesn't go near danger, he instinctively steps in front of them to shield them, he opens things for them, he reaches off the top shelf for them, he does anything he can to make sure they're safe and don't get hurt.

• All the other agents started to notice that Vanilla would smile a lot more and the way he would look at Tippy. Even Dio noticed and he totally shipped it oh my gawd-

• Everyone knew about Vanilla's crush but Tippy. Well, about that... Tippy actually vented to Jonathan about having a crush on Vanilla waaaaay back then. Jonathan would listen to Tippy talk constantly about Vanilla, while being carried around the mansion or sitting on the desk where he worked.

• Tippy would tell Jonathan everything. How he thinks Vanilla's cute, he likes the fact he trips over his own feet, how pretty Vanilla's hair is, how he can't look him in the eyes because he thinks they're so pretty, how he likes the way he laughs, how good Vanilla is at using his stand, how he protects him, how talented he is at drawing as well, how tall he is, how muscular, how he never breaks a promise, Vanilla's hobbies including making his own heart shaped jewelry. Tippy went on and on to Jonathan about how cool he thinks Vanilla is and how he really likes him... And that's why he keeps messing with him, pulling pranks or causing mischief for his attention, and trying to make him laugh.

• So one day, Vanilla decided it would be a good idea to put this to rest and tell Tippy how he really feels. He couldn't exactly do it so he just asked to hang out at the mall instead heheh!

• It was a date... They even touched hands on accident and it was so awkward, their faces were hot. Vanilla noticed Tippy was blushing very much and had hope. They both went somewhere a bit more private and Vanilla confessed his feelings... Tippy tried to say that he likes him back but it came out weird. In the heat of the moment, Tippy pulled Vanilla by the shirt and kissed him. Vanilla was shocked at first but he soon gave a passionate kiss back.

• That's about it for now!

[starboygrove]

Surviving Eddie Munson - Chapter 19

Lucas is lying on his bed while lazily tossing a kickball up into the air with his legs dangling off the edge. He’s been home for maybe an hour tops and yet Dustin and Erica have been at each other’s throats the entire time, a conversation he has long since checked out of.

His eyes are tracing an invisible pattern in his ceiling when suddenly his ball is knocked clean out of the air, hitting the wall with a satisfying thwack. He quickly sits upright and glares at the culprit.

“Erica, I swear, you are seriously getting on my nerves today.” He hisses.

“Well excuse me, I must have missed the part where I asked for your opinion,” she bites back at him.

“We have another--” Dustin starts to say before Lucas cuts him off, holding a hand out in protest.

“Nope. I’m done. We have tried about a million different things and literally not a single one of them has worked!”

“But this one--”

“Uh-uh. You can do what you want, but I’m gonna go hang out with my friends and have a good time. It’s The Fourth of July,” he emphasizes the importance of the date with a pointed look.

“We can’t do this one without you, though!” Dustin cries out in desperation.

“Even better! Please, let’s just leave them alone and focus on blowing shit up and eating hot dogs like normal, sane people.”

Dustin looks highly disappointed but thankfully ceases anymore attempts to get Lucas to join in on whatever mad scheme he and his little sister have cooked up this time.

Erica just rolls her eyes and lets out an arrogant chuckle, waving them off. “In that case, I’m going to go see what Miki and Kim are doing later. Bye, losers!”

“Do you not care about protecting the sanctity of true love?” His friend complains from his spot in Lucas’ desk chair, pouting miserably.

“If it’s true love, then they’ll do it on their own time bro.”

Eddie is sitting on top of his van cross-legged, staring off into the distance, rhythmically tapping his rings on the warm metal roof. Max approached him last week and asked if he could take her to Billy’s grave today, so this morning he scooped her and El up and made the drive over to the cemetery, with an added promise of a pancake breakfast afterwards.

Understandably, Steve wasn’t all too keen on tagging along, considering what happened the last time. They’ve all done a good job at coping with their trauma and setting healthy boundaries, and he’s grateful he’s able to help in ways that his boyfriend can’t.

The girls have been sitting in front of the headstone for well over half an hour now, leaned up against each other with a box of tissues. Eddie vaguely remembers Billy from their time together in school during his second round of senior year, and while he would never say it out loud, he absolutely hated his guts. He was a bully to virtually anyone he crossed paths with, spewing some truly heinous shit without a single regard for the well being of those around him.

Despite his lack of redeeming qualities, Max was still deeply affected by his death, and it’s only natural for her to want to pay her respects. Eddie admires that about her, to do what she thinks is right even if it might be difficult

He lies down on his back to stretch out, crossing his ankles and lacing his fingers behind his head to give his neck some support. The sun crests through the clouds, shining warm light down onto him, and he starts to flush at the memory of last night. Only Steve could pick out one of his biggest childhood insecurities and turn it into something to be praised. For all his life, he’s been picked on for this and that, always for things completely out of control – like his complexion.

“Hey, can we go now?” A voice draws him out of his thoughts, startling him into a sitting position. He peers over the edge to find Max and El looking up at him with red-rimmed eyes.

“Yeah,” he breathes out his reply shakily before hopping down. Giving them a once over, he pulls the girls into a tight hug and gives a loving kiss to the top of their heads before hopping into the drivers seat.

“Eddie?” Max’s voice is uncharacteristically soft, and he uses his rearview mirror to get a look at her from her spot in the backseat. There is a beat of silence before she continues. “Thank you…for being the older brother I wanted him to be.”

*

“Robin, why don’t you wait in the car?” Steve says, leaning against the passenger side door and peering through the open window.

She’s halfway through unbuckling her seat belt and gives him a curious look before dropping her hands slowly.

“Really? You mean it?” She asks suspiciously.

“Yeah!” He snorts out a laugh. “I know how much you hate going into places like this, you can just chill in here until we get back.”

Robin beams up at him and nods in agreement, already rifling through her bag to pull out the latest book she has been devouring.

Steve leads the way into the little party supply store downtown, and Nancy is trying to piece together what his hidden agenda is for telling Robin to stay behind. They make it to the single use dinnerware section when he corners her with a scrutinizing gaze.

“You’re next,” he says ominously before pulling out a little plastic cake topper in the shape of a rainbow.

Nancy furrows her brows in bewilderment, not catching his drift. He sighs exasperatedly when he realizes, shoving a hand into his hair.

“I cannot believe that I know something you don’t,” he chuckles before tossing the cake topper aside. “It’s a, you know. A symbol. For the…us.”

Realization dawns on her and she laughs awkwardly, caught a little off guard from the implication. She’ll be the first to admit she has been having some thoughts for a little while now; ever since Spring Break, her mind supplies traitorously. What Nancy didn’t consider was the possibility of other people catching on, let alone Steve. She supposes, though, that at one point she did think of him as the only person who understood her completely.

That changed with Jonathan, of course. But they grew apart, with distance and time, and now there is a new person who has taken that seat. Someone who sees Nancy for who she truly is, all the good and the bad, a feeling that makes her feel pleasant and terrified at the same time.

She’s been able to distract herself with trying to get Steve and Eddie together, and then her brother and Will. Nancy never imagined that the same thing would happen to her.

Steve is looking at her with a warm, knowing expression on his face, and crap. She’s just been standing here next to the red white and blue solo cups, spacing out while thinking of Robin.

“Steve,” she says warningly. “I know you think what you’re doing is for my own good, but it’s not like that, alright? We’re friends, just friends.”

He peers down at her, stubbornly crossing his arms over his chest, cocking his head in defiance.

“I’m serious! Even if…that person liked me back, which they don’t, because we’re just friends, it wouldn’t work.”

“Why not?”

Nancy huffs in frustration, averting her gaze and glancing around the aisle for a way out of the conversation to no avail. “Because, it just wouldn’t. I’m going to Emerson in the fall, and Robin is going to the Cleveland Institute of Music.”

Steve breaks out into a shit-eating grin, and good heavens she wants to wipe it clean off of his face. She hates when he gets so disgustingly smug like this.

“She seriously didn’t tell you? Oh my god, am I not allowed to tell you? I feel like I have to tell you now.” He looks like a five year old on Christmas morning, vibrating with excitement.

“What, what is it?” Nancy questions impatiently.

“Nance, she’s not going to Cleveland. She’s going to the Boston Conservatory.”

[bylightofdawn]

So my mother stopped by and kidnapped me to 'return' a few things which turned into a multi-hour, multi-store trawl where yes, she did return a couple of items and then bought MORE shit. I mean, the walmart trip was fine, she needed dog food and then she needed new sheets for the new bed she hasn't even bought yet. And then we found out Tuesday Morning is closing down which is kinda lowkey sad because that was a part of my childhood. My grandma loved that place, so does my mom, so we went there and got more shit and then it was off to Kohls. Theoretically to pay off her Kohls card but more shopping happened. She and her husband got their tax returns. How the fuck do they get like 5K between the two of them on retirement/social security and I as a single person working 40 hours a week get like 500 bucks?

She made the fatal mistake of asking me to start ordering her some vans tennis shoes which they didn't have in her size as Kohl's that she wanted and then stopped halfway through because she has ADD so I ended up purchasing them as a mother's day gift which she doesn't know about. It won't get there in time but she legit stonewalled me when I asked her what she wanted for mother's day.

All this to say I didn't get home till after 8 and I've been trying to edit but I've only managed the first pass through. This chapter is definitely NOT getting posted today. Which, that's fine. I also ducked out and bought a couple of pork bahn mi for dinner and lunch tomorrow while she was at Kohls.

I really want to finish editing this chapter but NGL I am in a lot of pain and am struggling to keep my eyes open at this point. Fuck waking up at 8am. I did it for years but hell it's so hard to go back to waking up early. And 8 is the max, I don't know how people can wake up at 6am. My insane brother wakes up at like 4am or 5am. I don't know how he does it. Of course, he's a nutter who is working full time doing 12 hour days at the hospital, has a wife and kids AND is putting himself through his masters program so that crazy fuck is operating on 4 hours of sleep a night for the past four years. I don't know how he does it. It exhausts me just thinking about his lifestyle.

I really want to finish editing this chapter but NGL I am in a lot of pain and am struggling to keep my eyes open at this point. Fuck waking up at 8am. I did it for years but hell it's so hard to go back to waking up early. And 8am is the max for me, I don't know how people can wake up at 6am.

Yeah I think I'm just going to admit defeat and throw in the towel tonight, I'm getting nothing meaningful done here. Depending on what time I wake up tomorrow I might do a second run through before work or over lunch. Or if not, I'll just do it on Sunday. It's not like I have this firm promise of which day I will post stuff. And I hate to say it, but like other people, the lack of people really interacting with my work is a tiny bit demoralizing. Sure, I'll get some kudos but no one really seems to be commenting so it definitely feels a bit like I'm just putting my stuff out into the void.

Which, a big part of me feels like you should write fanfiction expecting praise or comments. But another part does appreciate, I guess, the acknowledgment or validation I'm not just writing for myself, if that makes sense? I dunno, it's a weird thing to try and put into words.

[spikesbimbo]

Drunk in Love

Summary:  Getting drunk and confessing your love for your “boy” friend and fucking him was most definitely not what you expected to go down on the usual night.

Pairing: Issei Matusukawa x Reader

Tags: Timeskip!Tattoed Mattsun, softdom!issei Hurt/comfort, friends to lovers, smut, fluff, virgin!reader, Unptrotected sex, non-penetrative sex, fingering, oral, pussy/thigh job, clit slapping, sweet dirty talk, praise, drunk sex

Word count: 7.2k

A/N: I heard pussy job and I wrote a whole ass novel

18+ Minors DNI

You run your finger over the condensation of your empty drink, drawing shapes (or what you thought to be shapes, you couldn’t tell at this point) waiting for your dear friend, Makki to bring you a refill of your cocktail.  

“Here ya go.” Makki said as he returned with your beloved Malibu Sunset. The smooth coconut rum bringing you back to your first and favorite drink that you ever got drunk on in high school. You smiling at the memory

“Thanks.” you say. Your reply being mumbled by the liquid already in your mouth.

This all started with Iwaizumi calling Mattsun up, you and Makki hearing “You wanna get wasted?” on the other side of the phone. And with pleasure, you two were already packing your stuff up, shoving yalls “pregame” bottles back in the bag. The three of you made your happy way there climbing through the fence of the abandoned skate park you were in. Needles to say it was abandoned for a reason, but what’s life without a little danger.

You three and the rest of the third years have been friends since high school, meeting in freshman year, and now including Oikawa’s girlfriend. You actually didn’t like Oikawa at first, his “pretty boy” demeanor making you internally cringe. But his personality grew quickly on you, being the perfect target to tease you and Iwa clowning him over everything.

Now back to you on your nth drink, complaining about your previous job that fired you because u got injured, even though you know you wouldn’t have lasted long there anyways because you weren’t that academically inclined. Bright? Whatever you wanted to call it.

And as-usual it wasn’t long before your crybaby ass immediately called Makki and Issei and “tried” your best to tell them what happed with your dramatic self-induced tears running down you race, while Makki urged to you to try to calm down and Issei straight up laughing at the state your were in, snot running out of your nose. You recoiling at the thought, hoping they forgot. (Spoiler, they didn’t)

But now you nanny for a rich couple and you get payed good to play with cute babies all day, sounds good to you! Luckily, you had the week off due to them going on a vacation, you think it was France, no, the south of France. Must be nice.

Cue to now, Mattsun chuckling and leaning on you and Iwaizumi; both of you, especially Iwa, being visibly done with his shit. Him reminding you about the times you bought him some random shit, which you went out of your way for since he always payed for you, like that chopper keychain because you said it reminder you of him.

He didn’t know what compelled you to say his 6’2, tattooed built self looked like a tiny reindeer but okay. It still meant a lot to him, hooking it onto his motorcycle keys. But you knew he appreciated it, despite his appearance he’s a softie.

“You wanna try this’” He says gaining his composure offering you one of the shots he got.

You took one of the mini glasses, not being the type to back down and promptly swung the drink to the back of your mouth, quickly coughing before it even reached your throat.

“This shit is fucking gross.” You coughed out bringing the glass down from your lips.

  “Imagine being sober. Can’t relate.” He said taking another shot.

  “I guess I should do that but ive passed the point of giving a fuck” You said sending yall into a giggling fit while somehow Makki was thrown in to support yall from falling over. You two carry on laughing ignoring everyone’s stares at you thinking about how much yall fit perfectly together.  

   Makki rearranges himself to sit back in his chair, far away, from the both of you, whispering “Damn. I’m really third wheeling.” under his breath. Getting a snicker out of Oikawa sitting next to him.

   “When your best friends are ignoring you. Sad times.” He continues bringing his bottle to his mouth getting no response.

  Issei chuckles and gets up shoving his hands in his pocket reaching for the cigarettes. Pulling them out while failing to find his lighter

  “Fuck.” He muttered

  “Any’all got a light?”

  No one responds so you sacrifice yourself “Yeah” you say reaching into your pocket grabbing out your prized possession of a hot pink, bedazzled lighter that you did yourself, reaching out to hand it to him.

  “Don’t lose it” you stated seriously trying not to break a smile.

  “K’ sweet cheeks.” He said smirking into the butt between his lips as he walked away. Your face now burning up, hoping that everyone would think it was because of the alcohol.

  You mind wanders, thinking about the “dates” you two go on, from watching shows you “forcing” him to watch some romantic anime, to going to the skatepark, to playing video games with the rest of the 3rd years (which you don’t really like but you’ll play for him) and him surprising you with takeout, you bringing out candles trying your best to make it cute with him telling u everything you everything about his day.

  And you always tried to remain calm, even though sometimes he deserved to get his ass beat, like that one time he broke one of your favorite pair of heels. It honestly hurt him even more, he wanted you to get mad at him but no, you just acted like nothing happened. Making the guilt rise in him. Let’s just say didn’t have to lift a finger for the next few weeks.

You basically babied him, taking care of all his “chores”, mainly making him food when you were at his place knowing he hated doing it. Makki teasing you for acting like his housewife, leading to you slapping the shit outta him while trying to cover your now red cheeks.

You’ve never been so grateful for your attire at the moment, blessing yourself for not wearing your usual outfits of short skirts and cute tops, defending yourself saying what housewife dresses in beat up vans and baggy clothes. You definitely not imaging yourself in that position for the rest of the day.

 You expressed that you just liked to take care of people, which was true. You always looked out for them, bringing an extra umbrella, to bringing cookies you made at 2 in the morning to school, always carrying band-aids (yes, the paw patrol ones you took from the kids you babysit).

You checked the time on your phone seeing it was late since the sun at last went down, your lock screen being your dogs to their complaint since they have a group photos of you all from high school as theirs. To which you replied “They’re my babies” getting a groan and huff out of them.

  Seeing the notifications of your group chat you grinned at the contact name you and Issei gave each other; yall jokingly call each other pet names, his contact being honeybun and yours being pumpkin, even including Makki in your contacts as pudding bc then it wasn’t weird, right? no.

  “What’re you smiling at y/n?” Oikawa cheekily asks teasing you. You turn to him giving him a dirty look, not having enough energy to deal him right now.

  “Don’t listen to his bullshit.” Oikawa’s girlfriend says. You’re thankful for her. She was always on your side, being the only other girl in your friend group. To be honest you just wanted her and you to hang out most of the time, but of course to your disapproval her boyfriend and his friends had to join in.

  “Fuck this. Fuck you. I’m sleeping.” You say getting up to her objection, the only thing on your mind wanting to retire for the night.

  “You sure you’ll be fine? Let us at least walk you home.” She said already grabbing her boyfriend’s arm.

  “Nah, im good. I live right down the road.” You try to say not slurring. The last thing you want is him teasing you even more, especially in this state, knowing you, you’d probably start crying at the slightest irritation when youre this drunk.

    You started to “walk” towards your house resting  your hand against the brick walls to not lose your balance, leading you to run into Issei. You stopped to watch him lean against the alley holding a cigarette between his index and middle finger.

  “I’m hiding like a bitch” He says noticing you, resting his weight against the wall.

 “Wanna be a bitch with me? He grinned  blowing out the smoke out with his words.

You didn’t reply, just walking over to him, just being around him made you feel warm.

"Fuck its windy.” He says trying to light a new cig.

“C’you make me a house?” He asks.

You go up and put your hands around his cigarette, this not being your first time. Your hands wrap a little tighter to prevent the wind from burning out his flame. He joins you with his free hand helping, finally getting his cig to light.

 “Thanks doll” He smirks.

“No problem princess.” You reply earning a laugh out of him.

He takes his first hit with his and your hands still wrapped around it. He gets an up-close look at your hands, noticing how tiny they were, seeing all the scars that he never noticed, making a mental note to ask you how you got them later.

His head gets close to yours for the first time in a while due to his height. You glance at his face, noticing his features seeing some stubble growing on his face.

“You ain’t shave?” You ask, never seeing it in the past, while he was moving back up, blowing the smoke away from you.

“What, you don’t like my majestic beard? “He jokes. Making you giggle almost losing your balance before catching yourself on the wall.

  “s’too much work.” He starts. “You wanna shave it for me?” he says slightly leaning towards you. Handing you back your lighter knowing you didn’t need him to carry it because your pants actually had pockets in them for once.

You let out a soft laugh not responding again. He catches on, you got quiet when you were tired and he made out that you were walking towards your house.

“You going home?” he asks already knowing the answer.

“Yeah.” You respond more than happy to have him walk you back, him already moving to walk next to you.

He walks you home, you two talking about random shit, both of you forgetting about your skateboards leaving Makki to deal with them. And even though you’re drunk as fuck you’re still in the right state of mind, carrying a normal conversation with him. But just because you’ve built a tolerance doesn’t mean you can do basic tasks, like walk correctly.

When he reaches your house, he types in the keycode, your first dogs birthday, being glad that you, him and Makki have each other’s memorized.

He leads you into you house setting you on the couch, petting your dogs that ran up to him.

“Mommy’s not feeling too good” He said giving them the affection they deserved.

“Yes I am.” You slurred getting them attention on you now.

He walked over to your counter putting on the playlist that you two made together on shuffle, High fashion being the first to play. You didn’t like when it was quiet because too many thoughts would run though your head. You were in no way sad, singing the lyrics while you were laughing barely being able to hold yourself up as proof.

Remembering you were tired, he takes you off the couch and borderline carries you to your room, , setting you on your plush blankets that you had so many of because it was warm and comfy.

 “Easy, there. Try to sit up.”He said, trying to ask you what draws your pj’s were in because he didn’t want to snoop around; neither of you being bothered that you were half naked, what’s the difference between panties and a bikini, he thought remembering the times you’ve been to the beach together.  

Well it was maybe the fact that you were clinging onto him because u stumbled into him and he was closest stable thing around and you wouldn’t let go because it was cold and you couldn’t stop shaking.

 He ignores his thoughts and grabs the shirt he got out figuring you don’t need to change your bra because you told him and Makki that it was normal to keep it on for a few days after they were in awe as you were explaining how expensive they were. You calling Oikawa’s girlfriend to prove your point as she immediately agreed with you…Sometimes you might have got a little too comfortable with them.

You hear the song in the background change to Love Songs, you humming along, “Hope you smile when you listen.”

You were still holding on to him, your boobs squeezing against him, him only being able to put a t-shirt on you, while you looked up at him with your red glossy eyes making him burn up.  

You fidget timidly with your face now in his chest while gripping his sweater. Trying to build up the little courage you had. He tilts your head up making you look at him, wondering what you were thinking about.

  You try to express yourself, but you can’t get the words out him having no idea what is going on in your head at the moment.

“It’s okay to be nervous sometimes. Tell me” He gently says reading your body language. He was intuitive, so there was no way you could hide your feelings from him.

But you knew you could trust him, him having full self-control, always staying collected and following through on what he said he’d do.  He went out of his way to avoid any friction coming between you two, him never raising his voice or starting an argument.

“We need to talk.” You started. “About something important.”

“Ok…What is it?” He questioned rubbing his hands on your back. You were so nervous, were you really about to say this? Confess your feelings that you’ve pushed to the back of your heart for so long?

“I… I l… I love your face. And the stuff in it. and around it.” You spoke, being surprised you did it stutter.

He stood there, hands stopped moving trying to process what you just said.

“Just you, in general…”  You finally confess trying to state three things at once barely getting your words out.

But he understood exactly what you meant, or maybe he was warping what you said to fit what he wanted.

  "I don’t even know when I started liking you, but this shit won't go away." You restated

  Nope. He clearly just heard you say that.

  He doesn’t understand what’s so different about today. Yall have been in this scenario multiple times taking care of each other, sometimes including another into the mix.  

You didn’t understand either. You just felt like the time was right, even though you know it wasn’t the best idea to confess while you were drunk off your ass.

But you couldn’t help it, your feelings overflowing, which you never until this day let get the best of you, being vulnerable and trusting is not your usual . Youve never even had a crush on anyone, him being to only in your whole life to make you blush.

  Who you been vibin' wit and why I can't make you mine?

  You should have seen the signs that you feel for him when he helped that lady that lives down the street from him set up her Christmas lights or when he first met your dog that wasn’t fond of men, but it instantly liked him. And you loved his selflessness it was something you admired and applauded.

  “y/n” He tries talking you down, making sure you weren’t just saying this because of alcohol, deep down knowing he felt the same, you always being in the back of his mind.

You were generous with your time too, always being there for him. You knew he was softer than he appeared, he was tender, sensitive and vulnerable. He tried his hardest to not get into situations where anyone would get hurt, like breakups, arguments, and so on.

Which is why he won’t make the first move. He pushes his feelings to the back of his head. He values your friendship more than anything, but he can see what develops. If love is meant to be, it will happen.

I told you I am down for the worse or the better. But I keep sticking to you cause them four stupid letters

    “You make me so happy. And I’ll always care about you. Okay? He says breaking the silence, trying to reassure you.  

  “You mean so much to me—something I can’t even put into words because nothing can compare- I’ve wanted you since that day you tripped and bust your ass in the school hallway I still want you even though you drive me insane.”

  “Iss-“ You tried to get out only to have him continue talking over you.

  "I love that you can’t leave the house without a jacket. I love the wrinkles that appear on your forehead after you call me crazy. I love that it takes you hours to get ready. I love that you always know how to make me feel better. I love that even when you don’t agree with my decisions you always trust me to make them.  I love that when I spend a day with you, I can still smell you on my clothes; and I love that you are the last person I think of  before I go to sleep at night."

  You stood there awestruck for what feels like eternity until you mustered the bravery to speak “I didn’t expect you to feel the same way-” You said, being dumbfounded because from what you’ve seen treats everyone “nice”, were you really getting special treatment?

  He tilts your chin up, locking his dark eyes with yours. “Baby I don’t know if your notice but you and Makki are my only people that aren’t my family that call me my first name.”

He has a point. You think pushing yourself more into him, trying to fuse your bodies together to hide, not relaxing what you were doing to him. He tries to nudge your legs to the side but you won’t let go still clinging onto him.

“fuck” He groans. You pulling back wondering why until you looked down and noticed. A smirk appeared on your face as you reattached your self to him like velcro. You were feeling bold, the liquid courage still in your system driving you to slide your fingers down his chest, looking him in the eyes before stopping at his waistband.  

He knows what you’re doing, him being in this position multiple times. Does he really want to ruin your friendship like this? He hasn’t even asked you to be his girlfriend. He tries to push you off him already knowing you were gonna complain. But what he didn’t expect was for you to whimper out his name in that pretty voice of yours.

 He tried to keep his calm, blood already rushing down. “You know what you’re doing”

“yeah” You start.

“y’don’t want me?” Giving him your pouty face that you know he’s weak for, hoping that’ll work, insecurity piling up. Was it because your boobs weren’t that big or that fact that you were dressed like man? Was he not attracted to you right now, only liking you when you were dolled up?

“Fuck” You think. You should have worn something cute instead of dressing like a whole ass man even with your makeup fully done. Its not like you were supposed to know you were gonna get fucked today.

His were burning holes into you now, thinking of how to say “No, I would be more that happy to fuck you!” to his best friend, soon regaining his consciousness finally speaking.

“Fuck no doll, ive wanted you for a minute. You know me better than I know myself. How did you not notice my feelings?”

 You got me singing love songs, love songs, love songs

“You’re really hard to read” You replied trying to maintain your seductive act, resting your hands back on his chest.

“So are you.” He said lowering his head, you still looking up at him, taking in your gleaming eyes.

Sex ain't the only thing that's on my mind But you get me so excited, whoa

Your heart was beating so wildly that you could only take little sips of breath. His hands running down your waist stopping at your hips.

“Can I kiss you?" He asks "...yeah” you attempted to say as confidently as you could, nodding your head along with it.

His face bent down, hot mouth breathing over you. His lips slowly moved, brushing over yours, the liquor on his lips that you hated; only choosing fruity drinks even though you got relentlessly teased you for it.  You pushed further into the kiss desperately wanting more. Your teeth clicking his from being impatient, wanting to suck him in. Your hands sliding under his shirt subconscious desires reaching out.

Irreplaceable Tattoos from your neck that drop down to your ankles

“You’re drunk…” he says snapping you out of your trance.

“So are you.”

He dove in for another kiss much more passionate than the previous one, arguably needy, pusing you on the bed to which you more than happily comply. He tugs back not letting his mind get the best of him, disconnecting your spit trial leaving you panting. “You sure this alright?” He says deep down hoping you still say yes.

  You pull him back for your answer, your grabby little hands working their way back up his shirt. He gets the hint and pauses your lips rendezvous, taking off the turtleneck that he looked oh so good in, before seeing his unclothed body.  You’re admiring his body in a new way, before just complimenting him whenever he got a new tattoo, now up under him tracing them like a lovestruck teenager.

“When did you get this one?” You quietly ask, his ears closer to you than they’ve ever been.

“I got it that day you faked sick”

“What! You said were gonna take me!” You sulked, turning your head away from his as much as you could, crossing your arms.

He let out a slight laugh before gently taking your face in his hands, guiding you back into the kiss.

This is not really what he imagined for your first time. He’s an old-fashioned romantic who likes to take one step at a time. But then again nothing was ever normal with you. That said, when he falls in love, he falls deep.

“You’ve done this before?” You uttered.

“Hmm?” He mumbles, unmoving his lips from you kissing you, moving towards your neck.

“You still with that other girl?”

“No. I broke it off her, everything that came out of her mouth was bullshit, and no she wasn’t my girlfriend.”

“You didn’t trust her? You added. Trying to distract him until you could think of a way you could say “hey in my 21 years of life I’ve never got passed kissing a guy.”

“Our relationship was purely built on lies, I’d second guess everything she said. He replied, wondering if you were interrogating him.

“Why’d you wanna know?” He asked bringing his face up from your skin.

“…No one’s ever touched me like this, fuck.” You bashfully admitted, thoughts racing through your head that he didn’t want you anymore because you weren’t experienced.

But he knew what was running through that pretty head of yours, his fingers reaching out to with your hair trying to comfort you.

“You’re a virgin?” He curiously asked dragging his hand to your cheek, you leaning into it.

“y-yeah” you muttered trying to move your eyes away from his looking down at his body.

“I thought you had a boyfriend before” he said, softly turning your jaw to make you look at him. Your eyes diverted from his arms back to his eyes.

“We weren’t actually dating” You quickly say trying to clear up the misunderstanding. “He was my friend and seatmate that pretended to be my fake boyfriend to get me out of some trouble” you spewed out “and I guess I forgot to tell everyone that it was fake.”

“Even if we were that doesn’t mean we fucked.” You sheepishly replied.

“So… what trouble did your fake boyfriend get you out of.” He questioned knowing how much trouble it must have been for you, miss independent, to go to such lengths.

“Umm, well…this guy wouldn’t stop flirting with me even after I told him I don’t like him, even following me to my other classes.”

He wasn’t surprised, you were definitely a sight for sore eyes, in fact the prettiest thing he’s laid his eyes on, your beaming eyes, your dimple when you smiled, your pretty face, your “ugly” laugh, he could go on for days.

“Why are we talking about this” You whined, reaching your hand back out to him.

He took a hint and continued kissing you, bringing you closer to him while you attempted to take you shirt off. His hands helping you seeing as that you were struggling, being lost in his touch, finishing by moving you up more on you bed, pushing your plushies out of the way, to your protested because “they had feelings too.”

He ignored you, bending down to pull your panties off stopping once he saw the slick coming through them.

“Fuck baby you’re wet” He breathed dragging his fingers across your clothed slit earing a whimper from you, leaving his fingers drenched.

 Shawty, you wanna feel good, I wanna feel good too Don't I make you feel good?

“M’always wet.” you responded.

From what? He questions taking off your soaked cotton panties, tossing them to the side.

“From me?” He smirks bringing his hand back towards your heat. You not even comprehending what he just said, just knowing that you’re ashamed of how worked up you were getting.

You were in awe. You’ve always known his hands were big, but in this situation your mind wondered. His fingers were so much bigger than yours knowing you can barely fit two inside your with out it hurting, and not in a good way.

“Do you know how pretty you are? It’s honestly distracting.”. He says kissing down your whole body, stopping at your breasts, licking lazily around and coming back to the nub. The attention on your nipples making you squirm and he finally lets go, you grateful that he stopped or you would have almost cum, how embarrassing.

“I thought you said were gonna get them pierced” He remembered, you going on a whole rant about how cute they were.

“You said u were gnna get em with me” You looked back on, reminding yourself making him promise to get them with you because you were too scared of the pain.

“That was the same day you played sick and I got that tattoo.” He stated lightening the mood, hoping you can calm yourself down before you actually embarrass yourself.

He picks back up and continues kissing all the way down your body, you playing with his hair while biting your lip to muffle your moans and whine until he reaches your entrance.

He parted your legs, your pussy laid out before him, believing you no have reason to be shy about it either. He paused, admiring your swollen cunt and puffy clit, you were beautiful.

The feeling that he didn't want anyone else ever in his position overtook him. He let out a little breath on your clit and you thrashed around. He wasn't going to play. “I’ll take care of you.”

His lips travel over your skin, light and heated before settling himself between your legs, grabbing you by your thighs and dragging you closer. “That tickles.” you giggle, nerves making you kick your legs, almost hitting him in the face before he grabs them. He puts them down locking your legs with his arms, lowering himself until he’s on the ground facing you.

“Does it make you nervous when I stare?” he teases while your covering your face trying to hide the blush he caused.  He puts his mouth on you, quickly gripping your thighs, his hands leaving imprints in your skin dragging you even more into him, deprived kisses taking over your body. 

“yer so pretty” You purred seeing the sight of his big build between your legs, your fingers grabbing onto his curly dark locks, tugging them.

  Issei moans, his voice radiating through your body, forcing out a cry, blessing him with your pretty voice. “I-Issei!” You cry, never feeling like this before, your vibrator and hands doing it no justice.

“Shh, just look at me, doll.”

You can barely make out what he says, so drunk on pleasure. You try your best, doing anything to see the pretty man beneath you. But you get interrupted by your pleasure, your back arching not being able to control your body, grinding down to meet his lips, heat rising in you.

He kisses through your wetness playing with your bud. You choking on your spit, back arching again your body tensing up. “Issei,” You beg, grabbing him knowing what you want but not being able to express it. Luckily he can read you like an open book, knowing what you want, driving you over the edge as he makes you see stars. “Good girl,” he sighs when he feels you let go of his wrist letting him bring you your first orgasm.

“Look at your thighs shaking so much.” He teasingly cooed, wrapping his hands around them, bringing you out of your daze.

Shawty, your body is so exciting

Arching your back into the blankets, letting out a whine “Want your fingers.”.

He lets out a condescending laugh. “You need to learn to be patient. You just came and you’re already so eager for more?”

But by the time he finished your body went limp, you were totally weak, body loose-limbed and pliant. Your mind clouded by lust and deep in your own world. You gasped out a little sob, unable to comprehend anything beyond the discomfort and the need to have it gone. You can’t think straight all you can do is take action, grabbing his arm him easing his fingers into to you.

It’s not too tight, is it?” you ask clenching around his fingers.

 “Just relax… let yourself feel it” He says barely being able to move in you. Fuck so were so tight.

“I love the way you look with my fingers inside you.” He added starting to thrust them inside you, making you let out a string of moans.

“Look how good you take it.”  

“Fuck, you’re so messy.” He groaned feeling the slick running down his hands, before taking them out.

“Issei-i,” You cried when he pulled away, pleasure leaving you, tears coming back.

  He shushes you easily, his fingers wiping your tears. You were so precious to him, your moans music to his ears.  He slows down repositioning his fingers, making you let out a whimper squeezing around them. Your brains so crowded you can’t focus, can’t gather the strength to speak when he thrust them faster inside you.

  Your eyes rolled to the back of your head as you fell back, fingers curling inside you, chanting his name over and over, incoherent words coming out of your mouth begging for more. 

You pussy tightens as you cum, unable to breath, letting out gasps and whines. Him still fucking you, fingers not stopping, pushing them in and out relentlessly feeling both pain and pleasure. You lay there, wet in your own cum not giving yourself a break before you went and got what you really wanted, his cock.

His eyes followed the movement of your hands as they pushed down his boxers, revealing the length of his cock, that jutted proudly from his hips. He was so pretty, so virile and handsome. Wondering how lucky you were to be in such a position with him.

You pushed away those thoughts and focused on him, pulling him forward gently, but he followed his encouragement. One of his hands tilted his cock down toward your lips. “Open your mouth for me, baby.”

You parted them instantly, tongue sliding slightly outward, and then you whimpered as the warm weight of his cock slid into your mouth. You let your eyes flutter closed and swirled your tongue around the tip of his cock not knowing exactly what you were doing, but it was working, tasting the salty tang of the precum that wept from his leaking slit. You moved your tongue as the he put his hand into your hair, gripping the strands and pushing deeper into his mouth.

“You look so good on your knees like that. “He says meeting your eyes once again, almost cumming from the picture below him.

“Slowly, baby, I’m not going anywhere.” He says slowing you down by grabbing your hair, making a pace that you follow.

“Yeah, that’s it, baby, just like that.” Seeing that sinful look in your eyes with your redden swollen lips.

You moan feeling yourself drip down your thighs, getting even wetter giving him head. Trying to ease the discomfort by closing your legs, griding them together, trying to find some friction. Your ears hearing “That’s so fucking hot.” watching the scene unfold beneath him.

Your jaw hurts, trying got make him cum faster using your hands and lips together hollowing your cheeks. “Oh fuck, oh, Jesus, fuck yes, there, just like that, fucking Christ" he groans out, his voice sounded beautiful to your ears, knowing he was about to cum.

He finally lets go cumming in your mouth, you swallowing it all, trying not to wince at the taste. “Did I do good” You ask waiting for his reply. Your doll eyes, so red and worn out looking up at him for approval. Fuck he was whipped.

“Yeah…fuck baby”

I love when you get on top and you ride it

You get back under him, his cock resting on you, drenched and clenching around nothing, resting in your cum. You working yourself up against him.

“What makes you think I’m going to fuck you?” He says to your complaint.

“You’re not ready yet.” he mumbles against your whining. Spreading your legs, slapping your clit a few times before letting his cock rest on your folds. Finally getting “seated” he picks up your legs and puts them both on one of his shoulders your thighs warming his cock, your knees touching his cheek not moving, getting a kick out of how desperate your were for him.

“s-stop being mean” You cried reaching out for him to come closer, needing affection after all you’ve been though.

“Aww, poor baby, you want me to take care of it for you? He says leaning into you, reaching your kiss, tasting the remnants of the cum in your mouth.

He plundered your mouth and slowly teased his cock over your entrance, catching it against your clit and making you whimper into the kiss, clearly wanting to be fucked. Your kiss turned you sucking on Issei’s tongue and lips, biting the swollen pout until his lips were red and puffy. He pulled back and looked down at you, a beautiful mess under him.

His fat cock head pushed between your folds. The moan escaping both of your lips was primal. You were turned on beyond imagination and the way he was thrusting forward, spreading his leaking precum on your wet clit was almost too much. He quickly picked up his pace fucking your folds, his warm head brushing against your clit with every movement, but your greedy self wanted more.

The fact that he made you cum so easily made you proud. Just because you’ve never gone this far with someone else doesn’t mean you’ve never cum, you’ve had a lot of practice over the years, being insatiable, the sheets soaked underneath you from your previous orgasms being proof.

“Keep your eyes open, look at me, baby.” He moans getting your attention him.

You tried, you really tried, but the way he was stroking you, imagining what it’d be like to actually sit on his cock, the lewd sounds echoing in the background leaving you unable to focus.

He taps on your cheek eventually getting you look at him, keeping your mind on him by placing his fingers in your mouth you letting him, hazily sucking on them, not being able to close your mouth.

“Oh, baby, you’re drooling everywhere.” He grumbles. Your spit dripping onto his fingers, the friction of your thighs making him feral, moving at an even faster pace. Your body bouncing with every thrust.

“You gonna cum after I cum on your little clit? Come one more time for me, I know you’ve got it in you.” You sob feeling the puddle beneath you, time slowing, fire pooling in your tummy.  Listening to his words you let yourself go. You come with a silent scream as the pleasure ripped through your body, your nails scratching his soft skin. Your vison fading to black feeling him lose his rhythm and moaning a mixture of curse words along with your name, feeling him cum on your tummy before resting his head in your neck while letting your legs go.

“So good for me, look at how much you came.” He says breaking the static. You whining into his shoulder, emotions high, never doing this before.

“I know, baby, I know. I’m right here, just breathe.” He says. You two laying in silence for an unclear amount of time, him rubbing your back while you rest in his chest almost dozing off.

“Are we still…friends?” You croak out trying to hold back your sobs already knowing the answer that you two were defiantly not friends now and never would be just friends again.

“Friends don’t do this type of shit” He maintained grabbing your shoulders to sit you and him up. You were worried, did he only do this with you because he was drunk? You were anxious that you scared him away because you just poured your heart out to him and pushed yourself on him. You left your head down, tears already coming out to your dismay. You moved your hand up to wipe them but he beat you to it.

“Look at me… I love you.” He says holding your cheeks in his palm. You in awe, hoping that you weren’t imagining it, that this was real life.

“R-really” You question making him worry too, preferring to forgive and forget rather than letting this a divide between the two of you in case you went back on your feelings. You were so overwhelmed, never feeling love until this moment, so happy that the person you longed for liked you back. Yours tears running once again.

 “Shh, shh, it’s alright...Don’t cry.”

You don’t even know why you were crying, the hangover already getting to you making you get a headache. You groaning in his arms complaining that your head and throat hurt.

“Ill be back” he says detaching himself from you, letting you know he was coming right back.

He walks to your fridge opening it to see every drink but water, having too dig through all of them, especially the absurd amount of apple juice guessing it was your “once a year craving for it”. He finally got you some cold water, putting It in a cup and waked back to your room.

  “Issei” you whined not picking your head up from the pillow.

  “Shh baby im right here.”

  He sat down beside you on your bed lifting your head up. “Here drink this” he reassured, to which you ignored not wanting anything to go in your mouth, just wanting the day, or night as it was now, to end.

  “It’s just water, honey, look.” You sat yourself up with his help seeing him in just his boxers, you remembering your still naked, not caring enough to cover yourself. He held to glass to your mouth, babying you, tilting it far back enough to where you could drink it. The water hit the back of your mouth feeling like a shot making you cough.

“I know, it hurts. I’m sorry but we have to” He stated. You continued to drink it, feeling the stinging in the back of your throat, him comforting you, calling you “good girl” which was unsurprisingly working.

  He put the cup on your dresser when you finished, climbing back into bed with you leaning your body into his. “Have you ever thought about...us? Y’know, as an...item?” he said causing you to look at him with wide eyes.

 “Call me selfish, but I don’t ever want anyone else to touch you.” He insisted making you cheeks flush. You try to think of a way to respond, not wanting to keep him waiting.

“You’re the best thing that has, and ever will, happen to me. Not only am I deeply in love with you, you’re my best friend.” You stammer out, your shaky hands somehow made there way to his neck, letting them fall slowly before he grabs them dragging you in for a kiss before you got to even see his face.

“Everybody has always thought we’re a couple.” He continued taking his time kissing you all over your face. “Then I guess we should be.” You retort, kissing him back before you could see his reaction, not wanted to be embarrassed anymore today. But he caught you, holding you still “Really “y/n? Like deadass?” He asked.

  “Yes dummy, I want to be your girlfriend” You say causing him to grin swearing you’ve never seen him smile that big, before he gives you one last kiss.

  “I always kiss you on the cheek, why are you blushing now? He teases laying back down, you following along. You just snuggle into him mumbling something along the lines of “m’tired”, he understanding and speaking to you in a soft, gentle voice while helping you to bed, so he doesn’t make it harder for you to sleep by being loud. “I’m here love, I’m not going anywhere.” He whispers into your ear mkanig your heart swoon one last time before you pass out.

  “I l-love you issei.” You sleepily mumble.

“Tell me this when you’re sober.” He says stroking your head.

“Just relax, close your eyes...”He murmurs, your heart beating slower every second. Both of you together, lazy, slow presses. Limbs pressed together, chests heaving, fingers trailing down backs, tracing lazy patterns.

  “Oh!…” He remembers. “If you really wanna get them pierced, we could get matching ones.”

© all content belongs to spikesbimbo. do not alter or repost .

[angelmavmurdock]

The Boy Next Door

WARNINGS: SMUT, ORAL (fem+mal), DIRTY TALK, PRAISE, CHOKING, THIGH RIDING, MENTIONS OF DRUGS.

inexperienced!reader x stoner!tom

(inspired by Ginny and Georgia)

The new house was a lot bigger than our last house. But of course that's due to my mother marrying a man 30 years older than her who owns some workout company. She's a gold digger is what I'm trying to say. Ever since I can remember, whatever guy she was dating dictated where we would live, where my brother and I would go to school, what I'd wear, how I'd act and even what friends I had. Or, lack there of. Always being the 'new girl' was beginning to get exhausting so I never really had friends. If I gained any friends then I knew that we'd get close then I'd move and we'd stay in touch for about a month before they move on and forget about me.

y/n. Always the new girl.

"y/n would you help us, please?" Mum asked in an annoyed tone, brushing past me with a box in her hands.

I rolled my eyes and sighed, walking to the car and beginning to lift stuff out and into the house. It was a huge driveway - unnecessarily large - and everyone on the street was the same. Everyone in the town was the same. It was a rich, suburban area. No place I hadn't seen before but we definitely didn't belong. My Mum just shapeshifted into whoever she thought Greg would want. Greg being my 'step-dad'. He's 63. My Mum is 33. How is that even allowed.

We unloaded everything from the cars and waited on the trucks arriving with everything else. Cameron and I scuffed our shoes as we strolled through the huge house, taking in everything and familiarising ourselves with our new home.

"I'm so glad I'm not at school anymore because being in a class with snobby assholes like these people would be shit." Cameron said, crossing his arms as he gestured to the family across the road.

I walked over to him and watched too. A family of 5 - two girls, one boy, Mum and a Dad - were dressed rather nicely in dresses and suits. They came out of their house and waltzed to their Tesla nonchalantly with their noses in the air. The eldest girl looked around my age. She would probably be in some of my classes.

"I'm not looking forward to Monday." I groaned.

We stood in comfortable silence, watching the Tesla inquisitively as it drove off with the family inside.

"Trucks arrived!" Mum called from the front door.

We both shared our sibling look with one another then walked back out with reluctance. Mum was standing in the middle of the driveway with her hands on her hips, watching as Greg approached the van and signed some forms off. Cameron and I walked down and stood either side of her. She grinned and wrapped her arms around us, rubbing both our backs simultaneously.

"I've got a good feeling about this, guys." She took a deep breath.

"At least someone does." I remarked.

She ignored the comment and we watched Greg do practically nothing. I mean he was basically an ancient artefact.

"I've heard your new school is wonderful. The pass grade levels are insanely good and there's a lot of people there to befriend." Mum spoke positively.

"My last 6 schools also had a lot of people to befriend but of course, I always lose them because we move so bloody much." I clenched my jaw.

"Well...this time it's different."

I scoffed, "You always say that."

"I swear this time!"

"And that!"

"y/n I don't know what you want me to do. Greg is a great guy who is supporting us fully! I mean, look at this place! Surely you can't be mad we're living here." Mum shook her head, removing her arm from my waist.

"I'd rather live in a box with just you two than live in a huge house with some random guy in a town I hate." I argued then stormed away dramatically up the driveway.

I got into the house and slammed the door, grabbing the banister and stomping up the flight of stairs. There was one flight then a landing then another flight. This house was too bloody big.

I finally found what was meant to be my new room and slammed that door shut. Just for good measure. I huffed and sighed as I leaned my back against the white, wooden door.

The room was stark white and empty, only a bay window to give some character. I might hate Greg and my mother and this whole situation but I loved this bay window. I snaked in between the boxes and suitcases and sat on the wooden ledge. I kicked my shoes off before sitting my feet up and watching outside. My room faced the front of the house so I could see the movers offloading furniture and boxes off while Greg stood helplessly.

I groaned and leaned my head back, closing my eyes, just wanting to crawl into a shell and hide.

A slam of a car door forced my eyelids open and I jumped slightly.

"Where do you think you're going?!"

I heard a woman's voice from outside. I looked outside curiously, scanning the street with my eyes to find where the noise was coming from. It finally caught my eye and I had to sit up and switch sides of the window to look properly.

A red-headed woman and a curly headed boy were standing in the driveway.

Our next door neighbours apparently.

The boy was around my age, maybe a little older. He stumbled a little as he walked up the drive, his mother - I think - watching from behind her car door.

"I'm going to bed!" He shouted back.

"Not now you're not, you have to talk to me, Thomas!" She shouted, slamming her own car door.

Thomas.

He hung his head on his shoulders, "I need to sleep, mum."

"Well I just had to bail you out of jail for marijuana possession and use so you better talk to me."

Oof, I thought. He was a stoner. A criminal basically. But he was attractive from what you could see. Dark brown curly hair, tall enough, a sharp jawline, a good body from where I was sitting and a good style too - a hoodie with a denim jacket and jeans. But he was my neighbour. And a stoner.

"Mum can we just talk later?" He pleaded, running a hand through his hair.

"Tom we will talk about this right now." She said sternly.

He rolled his eyes and shook his head, turning his back to her and walking away. I watched him with a slight smile. He really was attractive.

"Thomas Holland you get back here right now!" His mother shouted.

"When I'm not on drugs, I'll talk." He stated.

His mother stuttered then just grunted in annoyance, allowing him to go inside.

I kept my eyes on him, my smile still on my face as he started to walk into his house. He suddenly turned his head with a confused expression then looked up. Straight at me through my window.

I froze in shock, eyes widening, mouth parting. He slowly smirked and nodded his head at me before going inside.

I sunk off the window ledge in humiliation, snaking to the floor and mumbling how stupid I was and how embarrassing that was.

"y/n! Come meet your neighbour!" Mum shouted up.

My ears perked up then I leaped up to look out the bay window. The boy next door's mum was standing outside, chatting to my mum.

-

I hardly learned anything talking to his mum. Her name was Nikki Holland, she had a husband named Dominic who was a comedian and a writer. She was a photographer. Along with Tom - the oldest - she had three other sons: twins named Harry and Sam and then Paddy who was a good bit younger. I can't remember the exact age. My mum had nosily asked her about Tom and that was the only part I listened to.

"He's 18,"

"Dropped out of school last year,"

"Says he wants to be an actor,"

"Oh today? He got in trouble from the police about...you know what, that isn't important."

"You look so young to be a mother to a teenager. How old are you?"

"And you're 18, too?" "Still in school?" "What do you want to do?" "Ah, smart girl."

The conversation was brief and slightly awkward. She was clearly stressed about Tom and his situation so I slid out of the engagement pretty fast and escaped up to my room.

During the entirety of the weird conversation, the movers had put my bed, mattress and desk into my room. It felt a lot more homier.

-

It was the next night and I had finished dinner and immediately gone upstairs. I was not participating in any sort of 'family time'. I sat down on my bed and scrolled through my phone aimlessly.

A thump outside drew my attention away and I looked to my right at the regular window which faced our neighbours house.

I sat up and squinted to see out into the dark. It was Tom. He was halfway out his window.

I didn't even realise our windows faced each other. And here he was, one leg out the window and his other following on. He had thrown a backpack down which caused the dull thump on the grass - which I only assume contains weed - and now he was escaping his house.

I got out of bed and walked to the glass, peeking out to see what he was doing.

He climbed impressively down the wall and jumped the last few metres, landing in a Spider-Man like pose. Admirable, I thought as he picked up his back pack and slid a skateboard out from a bush. He brushed it off then slotted it under his armpit.

He was sporting a black t-shirt with a dog-tag necklace and some distressed deep blue jeans with a denim jacket over top and a baseball cap placed on backwards that sat on top of his curly head of hair.

He looked around in case he was going to get caught then looked up. Directly at me. Again.

This time I didn't shy away. I just made a gesture and mouthed 'what the fuck?' then he laughed to himself and looked back up at me.

'Don't be so nosy, neighbour', he mouthed.

I squinted and shook my head in disapproval. He just smirked boyishly then walked to his driveway where he flipped his skateboard and skated off into the night.

I gulped and sat back on my bed, feeling my heart rate slow back down.

But curiosity filled my brain.

Where was he going?

-

Just as Sunday night came around, I had finished decorating my room. My pictures and paintings hung on the wall, along with some mirrors to fill the blank space of the white walls. My bed was cosy and was filled with throw blankets, fluffy sheets and way too many pillows. My desk was organised and my laptop sat atop the white surface, making it look a lot more professional than I had anticipated.

I had turned my bay window into a reading nook. A few blankets lay on the ledge and a couple pillows too, along with my current read.

I had seen Tom sneak out a few nights ago but I tried to stay away from the regular window, only ever sitting on the bay one because I couldn't see Toms room from there.

However, it didn't shield me from him completely.

I would see him outside in their front garden playing games with his brothers and sometimes I'd watch them from just over the top of my book. The way he played with their dog was cute. I had gathered her name was Tessa and I knew she was a staffy because we used to have one. He'd throw balls or sticks for her and sometimes she'd clamber on top of him with excitement. He'd dodge her licks but still clap her because she was excited after all.

Every once in a while he'd catch me looking down at him or I'd catch him looking up at me. Whenever it happened, it seemed as if everyone and everything disappeared. Like it was just us. Tunnel view. But then one of us would look away or stick the middle finger up or mouth 'fuck off'. Our unusual and silent rivalry was the closest thing to a friend I'd had in years.

But now, Mum, Greg and Cameron were going out to a nice dinner to celebrate the first week of living here. I thought it was an incredibly stupid idea so I decided to stay home alone and eat pizza.

They all left and Cameron immediately texted me.

Cammando: I hate you for leaving me

y/n: your fault not mine :)

I didn't really know what to do. I walked around the house and asked Alexa to play some songs but I couldn't be bothered dancing. I wasn't really in a dancing mood.

I just gave up and went back upstairs into my room. My windows were still open so before I got changed I went to close them and put down the blinds. I closed the bay window and then I went to the next one.

I looked straight ahead into Toms room and my jaw dropped.

He was hopping and hyping himself up in front of a punch bag...shirtless with gloves on. I watched as he punched the bag skilfully, moving his feet as if it was a choreographed routine. His damp curly hair hung onto his forehead and I could see glimpses of airpods in his ears. His back muscles tightened and flexed as he threw punches.

He moved around the bag and now I could see the front of him. He had a very visible six pack. I definitely didn't expect that from the stoner boy next door. If I thought he was attractive before...now I don't even know what I would call him.

Otherworldly, perhaps?

He suddenly looked up and I gasped, turning and slamming my back against the wall next to the window, wincing at the pain. Hopefully he didn't see me...

It was creepy to be staring at him. I shouldn't have done it.

I peeked back and he was back to beating the poor punch bag.

God, he was so hot.

I could feel the heat rising in my cheeks and ears, burning with lust. I gulped and looked away, closing the blind to stop myself from looking anymore.

I got changed into shorts and a burgundy Cambridge University jumper that used to belong to my Dad. He gave it to me the first time he properly left for a while and I still have it even though I see him more often.

I hopped downstairs and played some music while I sorted the pizza and chips out to eat.

I sat and ate while listening to music. Once I was finished, I cleaned everything up then went back upstairs into my room, shutting the door behind me and jumping onto my bed.

I scrolled through tiktok aimlessly, just filling the time before it was an acceptable hour to go to bed as a teenager.

I switched apps to Instagram when I lay on my side, my back facing my windows. I scrolled through for a while but a certain picture caught my eye.

I had to blink a few times to really look.

It was my so called 'best friend' who I hadn't talked to since I moved twice after befriending her and my ex-boyfriend. My ex. My only boyfriend I've ever had. My first kiss, my first date...my first time. My only time. We only had sex twice. Three if you count foreplay but I faked it. Actually I faked it all of the times. He was never good at it and I had no idea how to go about telling him because to be honest, I had no idea what to do either.

But my ex-best friend and my ex-boyfriend? She didn't even tell me. She didn't even think to ask me.

They were dressed nicely and holding each other's waists. It looked a little awkward but most of those pictures are because they are being taken by parents.

I looked through the comments.

OMG! Hot couple alert! You two are the cutest just marry already yall are too happy it's been the best year of my life baby

"WHAT?!" I exclaimed, sitting up sharply.

They had been together for a YEAR.

"Ugh!" I groaned and threw my phone across my room, hearing it basically break against the wooden floor.

"Rough night?" A voice spoke from my window.

I screamed, jumping with fear and successfully landing my ass on the floor.

I panicked and grabbed the first thing I could use as a weapon. A glass of water. It would have to do.

I quickly flung the water at the intruder, "WHAT THE FUCK, GET OUT!" I screamed, my eyes closed tightly in fear.

I heard the water splash over them but they still came in. I just threw the glass at them. It thumped against them dully and then crashed onto the floor.

"Ouch."

I slowly opened one eye and looked up at the figure who had just entered my room.

It was Tom.

He was in a grey t-shirt and black basketball shorts with a baseball cap placed on backwards, a backpack thrown over his shoulder.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING CLIMBING INTO MY ROOM?!" I shouted, standing up.

He was taller than me by a few inches but we were basically at eye level.

"I was clearly looking for some company but you then threw water over me and then a literal glass." He spoke calmly, wiping a hand over his wet face.

"How the hell are you being so calm about this?! You just intruded into my home!" I exclaimed.

"Well, darling, I have a thing called weed. It's great for calming you down. You clearly need some." He slung his bag around and went to open it.

"W-what? No, I'm not smoking weed!"

He sighed and slung his bag back, "Well, why are you being so uptight about this I just wanted to say hello." He smiled boyishly.

I licked my teeth in annoyance. He was so fucking attractive but he was so fucking annoying and I didn't even know him.

"You need to get out. I didn't invite you in here so you are not welcome." I stated, crossing my arms.

"Okay, yes. But also- my mother nearly just caught me sneaking out so it's a cover if she comes round here."

"Why would she come here?" I asked.

"Because she's a mad woman who hates me having a life apparently."

"You're an 18 year old who sneaks out of the house to smoke weed. I wouldn't call that a life." I remarked.

He smirked, "You know what, I like you."

He sat his bag down then started to walk slowly around my room, inspecting my pictures and decorations intricately.

I stuttered, not knowing how to react to this whole situation.

"I'm sorry, what the hell are you doing?" I asked, brows furrowed.

"You're quite an interesting person, I must say."

I sighed and shook my head at the ceiling.

"Ah, this makes sense." He picked up one of my camera's.

I scoffed, "What's that supposed to mean?"

He sat it down and picked up the next one, shrugging with a smug smirk.

"You like looking at things."

I gulped, red rushing to my cheeks.

"Clearly very beautiful things." He said, referring to my pictures on the walls.

"I'm just honoured I'm one of them."

I rolled my eyes and scoffed, "You wish you were."

"Oh but I am, aren't I?" He challenged, sitting my camera down.

I licked my back teeth and watched with heavy breath as he paced towards me slowly.

"I've never taken a picture of you before." I said matter-of-factly.

"You might not have but you definitely love a good stare, don't you?" He asked, his left eyebrow quirked cockily.

I noticed the unusualness of it and then looked into his dark, dilated eyes.

"I have no idea what you're talking about." I said quietly.

He laughed lowly, "So you weren't staring at me earlier when I was working out?"

I stuttered as we came face to face.

"You're stubborn but I feel like I know you," He placed his fingers under my chin, tracing up my jaw and to my ear where he tucked some of my hair behind.

"Because I've been looking at you, too." He whispered.

I practically melted and a whimper left my mouth, eyes rolling back.

He chuckled, "Already needy for me I see."

I looked up at him as his thumb swiped over my lips.

This whole situation was insane. I didn't even know how we got here. I didn't know how to feel, either. I had never been turned on like this before.

He slowly pushed his thumb into my mouth and I moaned around it, tasting his skin.

"Good girl." He praised, taking his thumb out and replacing it with his tongue.

I moaned again, feeling his lips on mine. His hands gripped my waist and I tangled my fingers into his hair.

He tasted of weed but I didn't mind it at all. He pushed me backwards until I hit the wall next to my bed. He gripped my hips tightly and I kept my hands in his hair. He must have gone for a shower since his workout because he smelled fresh and clean and his hair was damp.

I couldn't believe I was doing this. I was kissing a stranger. Who climbed into my room.

"Wait-" He pulled away briefly.

"Is your family home?" He asked.

"No, they're out all night." I answered breathlessly.

He smirked, "Good."

He suddenly lifted me up and I squealed, automatically wrapping my legs around his taut torso.

His tongue slipped between my lips again and I welcomed it. He lay me down on my bed and started to kiss down to my jaw and my neck.

I gasped and tugged his hair when he started kissing a certain spot on my skin. He got the message that I liked it and started licking and sucking on it. I arched my back slightly, moaning as he worked his tongue and lips on my skin.

He left the spot on my neck but kissed over my skin as he started to lift my jumper up. Panic and nerves suddenly settled in and I grabbed his hands, stopping his movements.

"You alright?" He asked breathlessly.

I swallowed, "I uh...I've never-"

His eyes widened, "You're a virgin?"

"No, no. I've had sex it just...it just wasn't that great." I bit my lip nervously.

He encased my lips in his and I relaxed to his touch.

"Do you want to?" He asked against my lips.

"Yes, fuck yes." I practically moaned into his mouth.

"I just need you to guide me through it." I said in between kisses.

He pulled away, "I can do that." He smiled.

He started to lift my jumper off and this time I let him. I sat up and he removed it, throwing it off the bed. He admired the pink bralette I was wearing and immediately pressed his lips and tongue to the valley of my breasts. He nipped and sucked on my skin and I moaned as he palmed one of my boobs while leaving marks on the other.

He came back up and kissed me again but flipped us over so I was now on top. He sat up and shuffled back against my headboard and pulled me onto his lap.

He brushed my hair off my shoulders and cupped my chin, taking me in.

"D'you wanna try riding my thigh?" He asked lowly.

I gulped, "S-sure."

He smirked and I straddled his left thigh, holding his shoulders.

"Just rock your hips back and forwa-"

"Fuck," I moaned, the rubbing of the different materials causing my core to clench.

"Does that feel good?" He asked, his breath fanning over my face.

His hands rested on my hips and he helped my movements.

"Feels so good." I moaned.

"Yeah? You like riding my thigh?" He prompted, his hands making me speed up.

I fisted the material of his shirt in my hands as my mouth fell agape with pleasure.

"Riding my thigh like such a good girl." He praised.

"Fuck!" I hung my head back, his words going straight to my core.

He chuckled cockily, "D'you like when I call you that? Huh?"

I nodded, too flustered with these new senses of pleasure to speak.

His hand travelled up into my hair and tugged on it by my roots. A louder moan than I would have liked escaped my lips.

"I asked you a question, answer me." He said sternly.

"Fuck! Yes, I love it when you call me that." I answered pathetically.

"Good girl." He praised, letting go of my hair and rocking my hips on him.

I felt an immense amount of pleasure build up and it felt as if something was going to snap in me.

"Oh shit, I- fuck!" I furrowed my brows in concentration and confusion.

"R'you gonna cum, darling?" He asked, almost shocked.

"I don't- fuck - know!" I moaned, feeling the knot inside my stomach about to snap.

But before that could even happen I was being flipped back onto my back and Tom was ripping off my shorts and panties, diving in between my legs with lust.

His hands held my thighs and brought me closer to him. His lips attached to my clit and sucked, giving me a whole new feeling.

"Oh, fuck! Yes! Yes!" I moaned shamelessly, tugging his hair and fisting the bedsheets.

"Go on, darling. Cum in my mouth for me. Taste so good. Please, love."

The mixture between his words and his nicknames for me and the fact his mouth was working wonders on my core completely sent me over the edge: an experience I had never had before.

"Holy shit! Tom! Yes!" I subconsciously tightened my thighs around his head and my hands practically pushed him completely onto me.

He continued riding me through my high until I unclenched my thigh and he pulled away slowly.

I lay breathless and in a state of shock and euphoria at the same time.

"You okay?" He asked soothingly, rubbing his hand over my bare thigh as he came up to kiss me.

"Yeah I've...I've never-"

"You've never came before?" Tom asked, baffled by me.

"Nope..."

He kept his eyes on me but slipped a hand down to my core again. I bucked my hips against his hand with a gasp as he moved his fingers in circles over my core.

"You've never even touched yourself?" He asked lowly.

I bit my lip and shook my head.

"You're so wet for me, darling, fuck." He cursed.

He suddenly dipped a finger into my core and I moaned. He curled it up and I gripped his arm tightly.

"What d'you want?" He asked.

"I want you, Tom, please." I bit my lip.

He smiled and sat back, his hand coming away from my clit, leaving me feeling empty. He shed his shirt and I finally got to look at his chiselled torso up close. He then slid his shorts and boxers off and my jaw dropped at the sight of him.

He was semi-hard but he was already bigger than my ex. A lot bigger.

He pumped his member in his hand, "You sure about this?"

I stuttered, completely distracted by his actions than his words.

"What? You like the look of it? Hmm? Wanna suck me off?" He asked, his hand cupping my chin and sliding his thumb into my mouth again.

I moaned at his words and nodded.

"You want to suck me off, darling? You sure?" He asked, removing his thumb.

"Yes, fuck Tom, I wanna suck you off." I moaned.

"Good girl." He praised.

We switched positions so he was sitting against the headboard and now I was in between his legs.

"I don't know how to..." I said shakily.

"You're okay," He gathered my hair up in his hands.

"Do whatever feels natural and I'll tell you if it's good, yeah?"

I nodded and gulped, moving my mouth closer to his member. I pumped him in my hand a few times and I could almost feel him harden right there. I had done this part before, at least.

I lowered my mouth onto him, swirling my tongue around his lip. He hissed slightly and gripped my hair tighter. I slowly let my mouth down on him and came back up.

"That's it, good girl." He praised.

I moaned and continued bobbing my head slowly on him, finding a rhythm. I held his thigh for support as I got faster, easing into it.

"Fuck, darling, feels so good." He groaned.

The taste of him in my mouth was amazing, pre cum already escaping onto my tongue.

I slackened my jaw and took as much of him as I could then pumped the rest in my hand.

"Holy shit! Fuck!" He held my head there and thrusted up.

His member hit the back of my throat but I didn't mind it at all. He made sure I was okay then did it again. And again. And again. Until he was continuously throat fucking me. I enjoyed it, surprisingly. The obscene sounds my mouth was making was not only making Tom more aroused, but also me.

I felt some drool drip down from my mouth onto my chin and even onto his lower stomach but I didn't care.

"Fuck, love those pretty little sounds coming from your throat, baby." He groaned.

I moaned, my eyes rolling to the back of my head.

"Such a good girl."

But then he pulled me off of him. I looked at him in confusion but he flipped me onto my back sooner than I could say anything.

"Need to be in you before I cum, princess." He said, kissing me deeply, his tongue exploring my mouth.

"Ready?" He asked.

I felt his tip brush up and down my folds. I gripped his arms and nodded, closing my eyes to concentrate.

"Hey, look at me." He said.

I looked up into his gorgeous chocolate eyes.

"Breathe in," He instructed.

I did as he said.

"And out."

As I breathed out, he pushed into me slowly.

I moaned and arched my back at the feeling of him inside of me. His technique worked.

"You okay?" He asked caringly.

I nodded, biting my lip.

"You can move."

He started thrusting slowly in and out of me, my arousal making it a lot easier for him to move.

"So fuckin' tight, darling." He cursed.

I wrapped my thighs around his waist and he bottomed me out.

"Yes!" I moaned, my back arching so our chests were touching.

"Does that feel good?" He asked.

I hummed, "Faster, please."

He smirked, "As you wish."

His thrusts got gradually faster and my mouth hung open in a silent moan. He brushed past my g-spot with every movement and I scraped his back with my finger nails.

"So fucking good," I gasped.

He sped his thrusts completely and his head fell into the crook of my neck, leaving sloppy kisses on my skin.

"So big! Yes!" I moaned pornographically as he perfectly met my g-spot.

He reached a hand down and started rubbing my clit in skilful circles. I screamed out in overwhelming pleasure as I felt the now familiar feeling come back in my stomach.

"So good for me, darling. Been such a good girl. You gonna cum?" Tom whispered his praises into my ear.

"So close! Oh my god!" I curled my toes and dug my fingernails into his back.

"Come on darling. Feel so good around my cock. Feel so fucking good. You're a fucking angel, y/n. Fuck." He moaned.

I rolled my eyes back at his words. God his words.

"I'm gonna cum!" I squealed, eyes squeezing shut.

"Look at me when you cum, love."

I could hardly hear his voice anymore as I felt my second high approaching.

"I said-"

I gasped as I felt his hand around my throat, pressing the sides of my neck, activating some unknown pleasure button.

"Look at me when you cum all over my fucking cock." He grunted, his dark, dilated eyes staring into mine.

I kept my eyes on him as my high began to wash over me. His thrusts kept the same pace but his fingers moved faster, spurring my orgasm along.

"Yes! Fuck, feels so- yes!" I moaned.

I was extremely loud, I'm surprised the police hadn't come knocking asking about it.

My high seemed to be everlasting. Tom began to pull out but I kept my legs wrapped around him.

"Want you to cum in me, Tom. Please." I begged.

"You sure?" He asked, holding his orgasm back.

"Yes! Please! Need your cum in me." I moaned seductively against his lips.

"Fuck- so good for me- yes!"

I felt as he stilled in me, and as his cum painted my walls. His face contorted in levels of pleasure as he finished and I was finally coming down from my own high.

He pulled out after a second and collapsed next to me.

We both lay together, not saying a word, just listening to each other's breathing calm.

After a minute or two, he turned to face me.

"That- was so fucking good." He laughed.

"It was." I smiled back.

He reached a hand over to my face and brushed my hair behind my ear. I softened into his touch and hummed.

But that bliss was broken quickly.

"Hello?! We're home!"

I gasped, shooting up on my bed.

"Is that your mum?!" Tom whisper shouted.

"Yes! You need to go like now!" I whispered back.

He scurried off the bed and into his boxers and clothes, shakily putting on his shirt and attempting to put his shoes on quickly but leaving them untied.

I grabbed his backpack and handed it to him.

"Thank you," He smiled, taking it from me and heading for the window again.

He swung a leg out but then hesitated.

"Oh and uh-"

He held his hand out.

"I'm Tom, by the way." He grinned.

I smiled, shaking his hand.

"I'm y/n. Nice to meet you, neighbour."

"Nice to meet you, too." He winked, before climbing out the window, down the wall and back into his own house.

Nice to meet you indeed.

-

A/N: this is written for my amazing friend Caitlin and it's her birthday today! and she gave me all the details for this piece so i hope you guys enjoyed!

[oigimi]

. vincent, mozart, and arthur with children! .

. i wanna do sebas jean and napoleon next teehee .

Vincent

Vincent’s baby is a little boy with his golden hair and your eye color.

He’s got his father’s kissable cheeks and adorable smile!

Vincent was born to be a father

He always insists on changing baby’s diapers and burping him and getting up in the middle of the night to soothe him.

His favorite thing to do is cuddle the baby while he sleeps.

He’s just so warm and peaceful and cute!

Sometimes he wraps the baby in his scarf.

Of course Vincent is gonna have an ocean of art supplies for your son to play with

The stuff he has is good, but he wanted to go out and get stuff just for the baby to play with.

And he wanted to be sure it was child-safe!

Vincent gushes over every piece of work your son makes.

“I love the colors you chose! That’s such a beautiful shade of green!”

You explain to Vincent how in your time, parents sometimes put children’s drawings on the refrigerator.

He loves this idea.

It’s not just the refrigerator that hosts your son’s artwork, it’s the whole kitchen!

Eventually Sebastian complains about the amount of room the little Van Gogh’s masterpieces are taking up, so Vincent moves them to his art room.

He likes being able to see them anyway.

The little boy loves Uncle Theo so much.

He follows him around when he isn’t following Mommy or Papa.

For his birthday Theo gives him a plushie of a golden retriever!

Your son can’t stop giggling and thanking his uncle, and decides to name the plushie King after the real dog.

He’s a sweet boy, and steals the hearts of everyone in the mansion.

One day he’s going to get one of his own pieces hung up in a gallery for all the world to see.

Vincent cheers him on, adoring everything his baby boy puts out.

He’s known since the moment his son was born that he was going to be fantastic.

Mozart

Mozart’s baby is a little girl with white hair and purple eyes just like him.

But her face looks exactly like yours!

At first, Mozart was very apprehensive at the idea of having a baby.

Babies create messes and make noise, his two least favorite things in the world.

Plus, what if he doesn’t even like the baby?

His fears keep him up all night, leaving him hoping he can be a good father to your child.

But when his daughter is born, all his worries and inhibitions melt away.

The only thing he can think of is how much he wants to hold his daughter and protect her from all of the scary things this world has to offer.

Her little coos and sounds are music to his ears.

Mozart wants his daughter to love music just as much as he does.

He plays music for her all the time

When she’s upset, when she’s cranky, when she’s playful, when she’s happy, there’s always a song playing just for her.

Mozart affectionately calls her his Mäuschen, his little mouse.

She’s quiet like him, but just so sweet and friendly.

And she loves her Vati more than anything in the world.

She always wants to hug Mozart and play dollies with him and show him her blossoming piano skills.

Your daughter is a very talented pianist, even as a little kid!

She wants to be like Vati, so she always spends time at the piano, playing out of a little book of sheet music Mozart bought for her.

One day, your daughter decides she wants to hold a concert for everyone in the house!

So everyone crams into Mozart’s music room, and stands around as they watch your little girl play “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star”, giving her a large round of applause when she’s done.

Mozart couldn’t be more proud of her.

He scoops her up in his arms and kisses her cheek, praising the primadonna for her excellent performance.

Someday she’s going to be traveling across the world, playing in concerts for all to hear.

And Mozart may or may not tear up when she has to leave.

As he hugs her after her little concert for the mansion, he can’t help but think to himself

That he wants his little Mäuschen to stay his little girl forever.

His daughter truly changed his life.

Arthur

Oh, how far he’s fallen from the man he used to be!

A few years ago Arthur was a frivolous womanizing playboy, but now not only is he married, but he’s having a child!

As big of a change as it is, Arthur can’t complain one bit about it.

He adores being your spouse, and having you as his one and only.

He wouldn’t trade that for the world

And now his little family is about to grow.

He’s very excited for his new baby

A little girl with your hair color and his blue eyes, and his beauty mark.

The first thing you notice is her smile looks exactly like his.

Not his cocky smile, but the true smile Arthur shows you when he’s truly happy.

Arthur has wasted no time preparing for the baby.

He’s fantastic with children, and adores them, so he wanted her room decorated nice and pretty for her to have fun and play in.

Fairies are real, he insists, so your daughter’s room is full of fairies and pixies and all sorts of little storybooks about them.

Some of those storybooks were written for her by Arthur himself.

He’s written poems about her, stories about her, and so many little tales inspired by the little daughter that he loves so much.

Aside from her mole, there’s another thing your daughter inherited from Arthur

His cleverness.

She’s very clever, and manages to play the both of you for little things, like an extra cookie or staying up past bedtime a few moments longer.

Arthur is aware of this, by the way. He just thinks it’s absolutely hilarious.

There’s a little him running around!

A lesson Arthur is going to teach her is about men, and how to not let anyone manipulate her or get with her for favors.

He’s quite protective of her, and is definitely the type of dad a boyfriend should fear.

He can deduce bad intentions just from a single glance.

One time, your daughter asked why Arthur’s name is on his books. When he explained it’s because he made it, she wants to make a book so her name is on it too.

Arthur gives her a task, to draw about ten pictures, and he’ll make a story with them.

When she completes the task, and Arthur strings together a story, he gets the book published with only three copies: One for you, one for him, and one for his daughter.

It’s his favorite book he’s ever published, and can’t help but tear up when he thinks about how wonderful his life is now that he has you and his little girl.

He said you’re the only one he’d ever love, but now he might need to make room for one more.

[random-imagines-blog]

All I Need {Colossus x Reader One Shot}

Requested by: Anonymous Wordcount: 2494 Summary: After Piotr helps you get out of a humiliating situation, your best friend Beast advises you to come clean with your feelings.

‘You have got to be kidding me’, you thought to yourself. Enclosed in small spaces was uncomfortable under the best circumstances, but being in a cage that was made for a cat? You just hoped that someone back at the school was able to track you despite your animal frame. You walked in a circle, your four black paws balancing carefully on the metal bars that made up all sides of the enclosure. You weren’t the only one in the back of the van - there were a couple of dogs, other cats ... and what smelled like a ferret. The humane society was on a roll today. Normally you would applaud them for getting animals off the streets and trying to find them good homes - but they picked up the wrong cat today. You sniffed at the metal, picking up the scents of all the other scared and alone animals that had been in this cage - and then sat down to accept your fate. Having the power to turn from your normal human self to any animal that you wanted, as long as you had touched it, was amazing. The unfortunate downside was that you always had to turn back into a human before you could shift again.

Hence why you were stuck in this damn cage instead of turning yourself into a mouse or a bird and escaping.

When the van got to the shelter, a large man took  hold of your crate gently and brought you inside. You smelt faint traces of honeysuckle on his hands. A gardener, perhaps, in his spare time. That was kind of cute. As a cat, you did have a good sense of smell, not as much as a dog but less overwhelming than one. You played the part, licking at the man’s fingers and he praised you for being such a ‘pretty kitty’. “I’d adopt you myself if I didn’t already have four of ya,” He sighed. At least you found a friendly animal-catcher, and not a brute like in the movies.

You were transferred over to a woman who started up water in a small bathtub. This was going to be your chance. They were going to let you out for a bath. You leaned forward, shaking your little behind and your tail when -

When she held onto you and didn’t give you a chance to change because you might hurt her. And you would definitely break the tub. So as grumpy as you were, you had to endure getting washed and scrubbed down by a younger woman. And then was the check for mites, for ticks, for fleas, for anything that might be on your body. But you were clean, thank God. You had caught fleas before, and they tried to stick on you, even when you were human again.

And then back into the crate you were, all shiny and ready for people to come looking at you. You paced back and forth, waiting for Hank or for Charles or for anyone really to come looking for you. You would even have put up with Logan if it got you out of here. But an hour later, it turned out so much better than that.

The footsteps were familiar, for you listened for them every dinner at time. They were heavy, in their boots, unmistakable. You ran immediately for the front of the cage, sticking your paws out, trying to get his attention. You waved them in a way that the animal shelter woman found adorable, and cooed over, and recommended you to him. Colossus - otherwise known as Piotr Rasputin; and the man that you had a huge crush on and turned into a wreck around - stopped and crouched down in front of you. You did your best to look into his eyes and scream ‘it’s me, it’s me!’ You even purred, but that wasn’t entirely voluntary.

“Yes, I will take this one,” He said with a nod. The worker was very pleased, and once more, you thought that you were about to get your chance of freedom but she put you into a little carrier bag for Piotr to carry with his shoulder, like a purse. This one was even smaller than the cage, but at least you were able to lay down on the fluffy blanket inside.

Everything was bright when you were brought back out into the sunshine, and then dark as you were put into another van. The backseat this time. Piotr unzipped the bag and you walked out of it, settled on the seat, then turned back into your human self. Usually this meant that you were naked, but thanks to the special suits that Hank had made, it was able to work with your mutation so you were dressed in it as you stretched out to your human form. You stretched out your legs and then your arms.

“We should petition them to make their cages more comfortable. I think Charles would fund it, what do you think?” You asked to Storm, who was driving one of the school vans.

“I think we ought to microchip you,” She said, only somewhat amused. “Like a real pet. How did you end up at an animal shelter again?”

“I thought I was being clever and chasing down a lead,” You mumbled. “I knew I should have turned into a squirrel instead. Or even a cute little chipmunk, it’s the right season.”

“But you went with the cutest black kitty-cat that was going to get all of the attention?” Piotr questioned.

“When you say it like that, it does sound stupid...” You sighed, looking out the window. “You thought I was cute though?”

“All cats are cute,” Piotrr said with a smile. Well, wasn’t that just enough to make your heart melt, and imagine a cat being the flower-girl for your wedding. Oh what a union it would be.

“Next time, don’t get caught. I had lend Piotr a hundred dollars to adopt you,” Storm said, making you look at her in surprise.

“I’m worth a hundred dollars, that’s sweet,” You said with a smile. It was a nice thought, knowing that you were worth some cash. She gave you a look in the rearview mirror that told you she didn’t think that was all that cute. “Alright, I’ll pay you back Ororo, thanks.”

-

“I hear you go caught by the humane society,” Hank said as you entered his lab. You took a seat in one of his chairs, extra large to fit his big, furry frame, and started to spin.

“Yeah, but that’s not the best part,” You said, biting down on your lower lip.

“I don’t know, I’d say that’s pretty funny,” He said, chuckling, pushing his glasses back up onto his face. He was doing something with a microscope. Blood samples, probably. Your blood fascinated him in particular, because when it was taken while you were an animal, it would show as animal blood. Everything, down to your very inner cells, changed.

“Okay, it was a bit hilarious. Though very claustrophobic. We should do some protests about that by the way. It is not fun to be in one of those cages.”

“They weren’t built with human comfort in mind. But go on, please,” He twirled his finger at you, as he peered down at some slides.

“I was a cat, and they didn’t even give me a damn toy. I feel clean though. Anyways - the best part was that our dear Colossus-”

“Your dear Colossus,” Hank corrected but you continued on.

“- said that I was the cutest kitty-cat. I wonder if he meant that. I mean, I know I make a  damn cute cat but I didn’t really think that he was a cat person.”

“Wow. Something you don’t know about him. Shocking,” Hank said, sounding completely sarcastic. You stopped your chair from spinning by putting your foot on the ground, then used it to kick him.

“Don’t make me turn into a bee and sting you. I know you’ve got sensitive skin under all that hair,” You threatened. Hank sighed, looked away from his microscope, and took off his glasses, tossing them on the desk.

“You’ve been like this for over a year now, y/n. Why not just talk to him? What’s the worse that could happen?” He questioned. You tapped your finger against your chin, your mind going through the possibilities.

“Rejection is a pretty bad thing. Oh, and laughter. If he laughs at me, I’m just going to be a penguin in the arctic. It’s going to take a lot of ice to get rid of that burn.”

“Look, you’re torturing yourself. You’re torturing me. I even started to dream of him,” Hank grumbled which made you start to laugh. He didn’t mind that. He was just glad you were able to smile after thinking about rejection. “So just ... go tell him how you feel? And if you chicken out, just turn into the cute cat he likes so much.”

-

You flew back and forth in front of Piotr’s room, turning into a hummingbird because of how fast, yet quiet, it was. You didn’t want him to hear any pacing footsteps as you thought of what you were going to say.

‘Okay, what about ... I thought I’d quit Stalin? No, that’s ridiculous. And probably offensive,’ you thought, flitting back and forth. A couple of other mutants walked past you, looked at the floating bird, then continued on their business. There was enough madness around here without them having to stick their nose in more. ‘Do I just go Russian in? No, no, that’s probably racist.’

Hank walked by, looking at some papers and not paying much attention to where he was going. Not until you flitted by his ear, anyway. He looked around, noticed where he was, then saw you and sighed. “You’re welcome,” He muttered, knocking on Piotr’s door, then rushed away, leaving you awestruck. You had just enough time to turn into your human self before the door opened, and Piotr stood there with only his track pants on, and no shirt. Hubba hubba.

“Hello, y/n,” He said with a smile that reached all the way up to his eyes. It might have something to do with just being a small bird, but you somehow felt very heavy as you stood there.

“H-Hi,” You said, smiling in return. “Do you think that we could maybe talk for a minute? I want to tell you something.”

“Yes, yes, come in,” He said, moving to the side. You took a couple of steps into his room and looked around. You never actually went in it before, though you’ve had the chance to turn into an insect and go through the ducts. He at least deserved his privacy. It smelled like him, you noticed. A bit like a gym. A tinge of sweat, of metal. “What do you need to say?”

You met his eye nervously. His eyebrows were lifted, anticipating whatever news you had for him. You put your hands behind your back, clasping them, trying to hide how sweaty your palms were getting.

“I just wanted to say...” You started, looking away from him. The pressure was mounting. You could feel your heart beating from your stomach. “Uhh.. thanks for picking me up from the animal shelter! Those cages sure were itty bitty.”

“You’re welcome,” Piotr said with a smile. He always made you feel so welcomed - which was why you were kicking yourself for actually saying the words ‘itty bitty’. “Is that all?”

“No, no, there’s something else. Something that I guess I’ve been meaning to tell you for a while.” You bounced on the balls of your feet, and shook out your palms, trying to get the sweat off. You looked up at the ceiling as if trying to find the answer to a difficult test. You really couldn’t look at Piotr. “Okay, so... I think you’re really hot.”

“Hot?” Piotr asked. You could imagine his face, that adorable little confused expression. No, don’t look damnit, that’ll get you even more tongue-tied.

“Oh yeah. You’re definitely a babe. And I might have had a thing for you for a while. And I wasn’t going to tell you about it but Hank told me that I should. I should have known better than to take his advice, I guess. For a scientist, he can be real dumb sometimes. And now we’re never going to work together because you know that. So good afternoon, good evening, goodnight and good life.”

“Wait, wait wait,” Piotr said, blocking the doorway before you could make a motion to move. He put his arm out, making an actual block, with it turning metal so you couldn’t bend it away. “You have a thing for me? A good thing?”

“I mean, I think it feels like a good thing but that doesn’t necessarily mean...” You rambled on. “Can you just let me go? I’m already a prisoner of embarrassment, don’t need to be one of you too.”

“You are not prisoner here, you are always welcome,” Piotr said, standing right in front of you so that you could not avoid looking at him. “I have a thing too.”

“Well, yeah, have you noticed that a lot of us mutants are really attractive? Like Ororo is stunning, and Kitty, and then you got-”

“You talk too much,” He said with a smirk. “I have a thing for you. When you’re you and when you’re cute little kitty-cat.”

“Hmmm,” You said, attempting to play it cool, but you knew your mouth wasn’t going to go along with that plan. “Does that mean you want to go out sometime with me? Not to the animal shelter because if you need cuddles, I’m your kitty-cat.”

Piotr let out a large laugh at that, his hand going to his stomach to hold himself together. “My kitty-cat, huh?”

“I can be an elephant too, we can see how strong you are if I step on you.”

“You wouldn’t do that, you like me too much,” He said, putting his metal arm around you. It wasn’t as heavy as you thought that it would be. He probably wasn’t putting much weight on you. You were a shifter, not a super-strengther. “Is it almost dinner time?”

“Not even close, but I could make us a late lunch?”

“We’ll make a date of it.” Piotr grinned. And there went your heart again, flipping and flopping as if it were shoes on a beach.